Cold Moon Polar Bear Outing

I have a long-standing tradition of operating portable on New Year’s Day. I opted out this year due to a forecast of rain and the possibility of freezing rain. Fortunately, my delayed first outing of the year aligned with a Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event. 

The Polar Bear QRPers tend to get on the air on the Saturday closest to a full moon. The full moon that occurred on December 30th is known as the Cold Moon. 

I headed out to my daughter’s property near Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, and set up in my usual spot on top of a hill. Today I went with a 50-foot wire configured as a sloper. I attached the far end of the wire to the top of my 28-foot Jackite pole and ran a 25-foot counterpoise wire off into the brush. I set up my KX3 on a small table and set to work looking for some of my fellow Polar Bears. 

As soon as I fired up the KX3 on 40M, I heard K3Y/2, one of the SKCC on-air event stations operating during January. I gave him a quick call and added him to my log. 

I moved down to the 40M QRP watering hole and started calling CQ. Not long after spotting myself on QRPSpots, I received a call from VE3WMB. After chatting with Michael for a bit, I received a call from another Polar Bear, Eric VA3AMX. Nice! Back-to-back Polar Bears!

My fellow Boschveldt QRP member, WA8YIH, wanted me to let him know when I was on the air. I fired off a text message to Ron, and a little while later, we had a QSO. 

This location on top of a hill is ideal for radio; it has good elevation and no RF noise. The downside, though, is that it tends to get windy up there. My CW sending hand was getting stiff from the cold, so I made a few more contacts before packing up. I had a chat with an Ohio station, worked a POTA activator in Indiana, and ended up working K3Y/8 in Michigan. 

Despite the cold wind, it was a fun outing. In particular, I was happy to log two of my fellow Polar Bears up in Canada. I have to admit it sure felt good to get back in the truck out of the wind. 

I’m hoping 2021 turns out to be a better year than the one we just went through. Stay well, my friends.

73, Craig WB3GCK