I headed out this afternoon for a bike ride along the Schuylkill River Trail. I pulled off the trail where it passes through Valley Forge National Historical Park. I wanted to ride across Sullivan’s Bridge, which opened recently. This pedestrian and biking bridge crosses the Schuylkill River and provides a connection to other trails.
After riding across the new bridge and back, I made a pit stop in the Betzwood Picnic Area. I wanted to do some testing with an antenna that I’ve been playing around with lately. It’s simply a lightweight, 19-foot vertical fed through a 9:1 unun. It’s built around an inexpensive, lightweight, Chinese fishing pole I bought on eBay.
I set up at a picnic table under a shady tree. I mounted the vertical on a tripod, using an adapter that I cobbled together from PVC pipe this morning. The internal tuner in the KX3 tuned it up on every band from 40 meters through 6 meters.
My setup in the Betzwood Picnic Area in Valley Forge National Historical Park.
I didn’t hear any activity around the 30 and 20 meter QRP watering holes, so I moved down to 40 meters. Forty meters is the least efficient band for this antenna but I worked a few Ohio QSO Party stations. I also worked Joe N2CX who was doing an NPOTA activation in Ohio (NS78). I didn’t set out to activate Valley Forge today but I sent Joe the NPS unit number (HP46). I have to confess that I cranked my power up to 10 watts for the QSO with Joe. I think that’s the first time I’ve used more than 5 watts on the HF bands in the past 20 years or so.
Heading back to the Pawlings Road Trail Head along the Schuylkill River Trail
Feeling comfortable that this short vertical seems to be making some radio waves, I packed up the bike and got back on the trail for the ride back.
It was a nice day but I’m glad I got my ride in before it really started warming up.
The NJQRP Skeeter Hunt is one of my favorite QRP field contests. This year, I planned to do some biking along White Clay Creek but the dire weather forecasts made me opt for “Plan B.” “Plan B,” in this case, was to activate nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (HP46) and operate from my truck. This was my first time back at Valley Forge since I activated it on New Year’s Day.
I chose a parking spot that was away from the trees. I also made sure to face west, so I could keep an eye on the approaching storms. I took a few pictures before the Skeeter Hunt started, while the weather was still decent.
I used a 30-foot wire vertical mounted on the back. This antenna, fed with a 9:1 unun and 18-feet of coax served me well on several NPOTA outings recently. I set up my KX3 on the passenger seat of my truck.
A few QSOs into the contest, a park ranger rolled up next to me and asked what I was doing. I mentioned National Parks on the Air and he said, “that’s cool.” He also warned me about the approaching storms. I assured him that I planned to shut down if there was any lightning.
At about 20 minutes into the contest, the rain started and never really stopped. It varied between slight drizzle and torrential downpours. When the rain forced me to roll up my windows, the cab of the truck got unbearably warm. I couldn’t operate with the truck running due to electrical noise from the engine. Every so often, I took a break from the radio and ran the air conditioner to cool off.
My “stationary-mobile” set up in Valley Forge. You can see the wind bending the fiberglass pole.
The bands seemed to be in pretty good shape. After a little more than two and a half hours of operating, I had 29 QSOs in the log.
The rain was really starting to come down heavily, so I put on my rain gear and tore down the antenna. The park ranger was parked in the lot behind me. He was probably getting a chuckle out of the crazy old guy taking down his antenna in a downpour.
As I was making the 3-mile trip home, the rain stopped and the sun came out. Go figure! Anyway, I had a fun time, despite the rain. Once again, a tip of the hat goes to Larry, W2LJ, for coordinating this fun contest.
My free time has been somewhat limited lately, so I’ve been itching to get out for some QRP-portable operating. A rare mid-week opportunity presented itself, so I decided to take a quick bike ride and make a few ham radio contacts while I was out.
I threw some radio gear into my pannier bags and headed out on the Schuylkill River and Perkiomen trails. Before heading back, I made a stop at Lower Perkiomen Valley Park. There weren’t many people around on a Wednesday morning.
My first attempt to put a line into a tree got some great elevation but I missed my target branch completely. My second attempt caught a lower branch. Since I was limited on time, I decided to go with that. My 30-foot wire ended up as a sloper. I used my bike as a tie-off for my halyard and attached my 9:1 unun to one of the handlebars.
My operating location along the Perkiomen Trail
I tuned around 30 meters and heard Roger KO5Q calling CQ from Georgia. We chatted for a few minutes but there was some deep fading on the band. Roger said my signal came up to 599 for a bit and faded quickly.
I moved up to 20 meters and called CQ. Enzo VE3VTG called me from the Toronto area. He had a great signal. If I copied correctly, he said he was running 2 watts into a beam.
After that, I packed up the bike for the ride back to the trailhead. The beautiful weather and a couple of QRP-portable contacts were enough to tide me over until the QRP Skeeter Hunt this weekend.
Another Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) is in the books. This year, I was going to travel to my operating site by bicycle but forecasts for thunderstorms forced a last-minute change of plans.
I ended up in French Creek State Park (PA) near the Hopewell Fire Tower. This area has good elevation and there usually aren’t many other visitors around. Dark clouds were moving in, so I opted to set up in the shelter of an old picnic pavilion. Fortunately, the storm skirted around my location.
My operating location near the Hopewell Fire Tower in French Creek State Park (PA)
I kept my antenna simple, in case I needed to bail out in a hurry. I strapped my 31-foot Jackite pole to a small tree next to the pavilion and set up a 30-foot wire vertical with a 9:1 unun. I ran 18 feet of coax over to one of the picnic tables. I had my KX3 set up and ready to go about five minutes before the contest started.
My antenna support. I strapped my Jackite pole to a small tree near the pavilion.
Conditions were pretty rough. There was heavy fading on 20 meters and lots of static on 40 meters. Early on, most of the activity was on 20 meters but 40 meters started to come alive later on.
Despite the conditions, I managed to eek out 19 contacts in about 3 hours. I heard a lot of familiar callsigns. I was pleasantly surprised to work N6GA, Cam, in California. I guess my simple antenna was getting out OK. I also worked fellow Polar Bear QRPer, Kelly K4UPG in Florida. In addition to the contest exchange, Kelly and I exchanged the traditional Polar Bear greeting, “GRRR.” Right before I packed up, I found QRP friends, Larry W2LJ and Carter N3AO, on 40 meters.
My operating position for Flight of the Bumblebees 2016
It turned out to be a pretty nice day. The thunderstorms stayed away and not a drop of rain. I was in the shade and there was just enough of a breeze to make the heat and humidity bearable and keep the mosquitoes at bay. Thanks to the Adventure Radio Society for sponsoring this fun contest.
The 
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 