Outer Banks 2021

Yep, it’s that time of year again. My extended family and I headed down to Corolla on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for our annual vacation. Of course, I spent some of that time on the radio. 

On Friday August 14th, after a long drive and a bunch of unpacking, I went about setting up an antenna. We had rented this house before, so I was familiar with the layout. 

I considered other antenna options, but in the end, I went with my trusty 29.5-foot vertical wire and 9:1 unun. With my limited mobility right now, it was a quick and easy option. Like last year, I mounted the 31-foot Jackite pole on the 3rd story deck and set up my radio in the shade on the 2nd story deck overlooking Currituck Sound. 

After breakfast on Sunday morning, I set up the radio to test the antenna. I made three quick POTA contacts to verify that things were working. 

Later that day, I participated in the New Jersey QRP Club’s Skeeter Hunt contest. Storms in the area made for some rough conditions, and the static crashes were horrendous at times. After an hour and a half, I saw some lightning across Currituck Sound from a storm cell headed my way. With 8 QSOs in the log, I decided to pull the plug and head indoors.

For the rest of the week, I got on the air each day after breakfast for an hour or so. I made a handful of CW contacts each day, primarily chasing POTA activators. There was no shortage of activators to hunt, and I worked a couple of ATNOs (all-time new ones). These are parks activated for the very first time.

Like last year, I had intermittent noise on 40M, presumably, from something inside the house. That’s not unusual, as I generally run into some degree of noise issues in these rental houses. I still managed to make contacts, but it was a real challenge at times. I’ll probably try a different antenna next year. My Up & Outer worked well here in 2019, so I’ll probably go that route again next time.

The forecast for Friday—our last full day—was calling for rain and thunderstorms most of the day. So, I decided to take the antenna down a day early. Despite the noise and weather, I ended up with 37 CW QSOs in the log for the week.

I also like to check into the Thursday night net on the local repeater system when I’m here. The Outer Banks Repeater Association maintains linked repeaters that cover the entire area. Last night they were running a hurricane exercise and passing simulated emergency traffic. Being involved in EmComm myself, I enjoyed listening in on their emergency operations.

Man, this week went by fast. It seemed like I turned around, and it was time to pack up for the long drive home. We’re already looking ahead to next year, though, and we’ll probably rent the same house again. So, I have a year to think about next year’s antenna. 

73, Craig WB3GCK