January 2023 – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

Winter Field Day 2023

I’ve been a little under the weather this week, but I managed to get out and make a some Winter Field Day contacts. I was on the air for a couple of hours each day, operating in the new “Mobile” category.

My location this year was on some land owned by my daughter and her husband. I operated from my truck on top of a hill, which has always been an excellent location for me. (Thanks to my son-in-law for clearing out the area for me.)

On Saturday, I operated during the first hour or so of the contest, using my KX3 and homebrew vertical. I spent all of my time on 40M, and the band was in great shape. I logged 23 CW contacts. Among those, were three SSB contacts I made for the extra multiplier. Winter Field Day is usually the only time I use a microphone on HF, so it always feels awkward for me.

I went back out there on Sunday morning, but this time things got off to a rough start. After I set up my antenna, I got in the truck to set up my KX3 only to find I left it at home. Fortunately, I had my TR-35 in the truck as a backup. (I guess I need to go back and read my old post on checklists.) There was also a protracted search for an adapter I dropped. Eventually, I got my act together and got on the air.

The setup this time out was my TR-35, Elecraft T1 ATU, and a Rybakov vertical. The antenna was simply a 25-foot (7.6M) vertical wire fed through a 4:1 unun that I built recently. I used another 25-foot (7.6M) wire on the ground for a radial. Since I only worked 40M the day before, I planned to concentrate on 20M, 15M, and 10M. With the TR-35, however, 20M was as high as I could go for Winter Field Day.

The 4:1 unun used with the Rybakov vertical

Most of my contacts this time around were on 20M. The band was in good shape, and the Rybakov vertical performed well for me. I was able to work just about every station I could hear including a couple of west coast stations.

I ended the weekend with a total of 46 WFD contacts in 25 sections. While I never set any records, WFD is always one of my favorite events.

73, Craig WB3GCK

Boschveldt Winter Outing 2023

The Boschveldt QRP Club once again descended on the historic Daniel Boone Homestead in Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, for our annual winter get-together. Like last year’s trip, it was a cold but fun weekend spent socializing and getting on the air.

We spent the weekend in the Wayside Lodge, a large, rustic—and drafty—log cabin. The attendees this year included: Ed K3YTR, Glen NK1N, Ed WA3WSJ, Ed K3BVQ, John NU3E, Ron WA8YIH, Rob KE3TI, and yours truly.

The Wayside Lodge at the Daniel Boone Homestead. This was the Boschveldt QRP Club’s home for the weekend.
NU3E operating digital modes
NK1N operating in the NA QSO Party
WA8YIH operating with NU3E looking on
K3BVQ hunkering down and listening to CW
K3YTR’s Elecraft KX2
WB3GCK operating QRP-portable from a picnic area
The bridge across the creek behind the lodge
The dam near the Wayside Lodge
Another view of the dam
The rear of the Wayside Lodge viewed from across the creek
WA3WSJ keeping warm by the fire
The fireplace in the “Great Room.” This was the only source of heat in the main area of the Lodge.

A few folks arrived on Thursday, so by the time I showed up on Friday, there were three stations set up. By Saturday there were four stations on the air from the lodge.

K3YTR brought a DVD player and a projector, so we watched a movie after a lasagna dinner. The only source of heat in the main room—also known as the “Great Room”—was a large, stone fireplace. Unfortunately, most of the heat was going up the chimney. The temperature in the Great Room was down in the 40s F during the movie. After that, everyone turned in for the night. Fortunately, the two bunk rooms had electric heaters, so they were slightly warmer than the Great Room.

After breakfast, I explored some trails and buildings around the lodge and took some pictures. In particular, there’s an interesting dam very close to the lodge, and I got some pictures of it from both sides of the creek.

After lunch, I headed out for some QRP-portable operation. Like last year, I set up in my truck in the North Picnic Area. I made nine contacts while I was out there. Six of those were POTA stations, including one in Puerto Rico. I also worked SKCC Straight Key Month special event stations in Puerto Rico and Portugal. Like last year, I had a brief CW QSO with K3BVQ who was back at the lodge. After an hour, my fingers were getting cold, so I packed up and headed back.

On Saturday night, we all went out to a nearby restaurant for a delicious dinner, some drinks, and some warmth. By the time we returned to the lodge, it was too late to start another movie, so we all called it a day and headed off to our bunks for the night.

On Sunday morning, the temperature in the Great Room was down to 37°F (2.8°C) before we got the fire restarted. After breakfast sandwiches prepared by NU3E, it was time to pack up our gear and clean up the cabin before leaving for home.

It’s always a fun time getting together with the Boschveldt crew. The weekend ended too soon, but it sure felt good to get back to a warm house and a hot shower.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Wolf Moon Polar Bear Outing

The Polar Bear QRP Ops group held a Polar Bear Moonlight Madness (PBMME) event today. PBMMEs are held on the Saturday closest to a full moon. The most-recent full moon, known as the Wolf Moon, was yesterday. So, I coupled the Polar Bear event with a POTA activation.

I headed out to Evansburg State Park (K-1351) here in southeastern Pennsylvania. To keep things simple, I used my homebrew vertical mounted on my truck. A small table behind the truck served as my operating position. I was up and running in about five minutes.

My operating location at Evansburg State Park (K-1351)

I started on 40M and had a steady stream of callers for close to 45 minutes. About ten minutes into my activation, I got a call from my first Polar Bear of the day, VE3WMB. Later on, I heard from two more Polar Bear members, AB4PP and VA3KOT. I always enjoy hearing “GRRR,” our traditional on-air greeting.

My rig today was my trusty Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 ATU.

I switched over to 20M and picked up a few more QSOs. My last QSO of the day was with K4UPG, a fellow Polar Bear member in Florida. It’s been a few years since I’ve worked Kelly, so it was great to hear him again.

After about an hour, my fingers started getting cold, so I called it quits. I didn’t have a problem sending with the paddles, but my log entries were getting hard to read.

WB3GCK wearing appropriate headgear for a Polar Bear QRP outing

I ended up with 37 contacts, including four park-to-park QSOs and four Polar Bear members. There hasn’t been much Polar Bear QRP activity in recent years, so it’s nice to see things picking up again.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Kicking Off 2023

My (far) better half and I spent the holiday weekend visiting family in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania area and ringing in the new year with our grand-kids. While everyone else was sleeping in on New Year’s Day, I headed out to activate a park.

After doing some online research, I picked Memorial Lake State Park (K-1384) in Lebanon County as the site for my first activation of the year. After a quick stop for some breakfast and coffee, I made the easy 30-minute drive to the park.

I rolled into one of the three parking areas around 9AM (local time). There were quite a few walkers and mountain bikers already making use of the park. I set up my usual setup: Penntek TR-35 (5 watts) and my homebrew vertical.

WB3GCK at Memorial Lake State Park in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania

I fired up the TR-35 and got ready to start, but my Elecraft T1 tuner struggled to find a match on 40M. This is highly unusual, since the antenna is resonant on that band. I immediately recognized the symptoms of a faulty ground connection between the antenna and the body of the truck. Last week, I made an “improved” ground strap that I was using for the first time. Apparently, my soldering job on an alligator clip left something to be desired. I switched back to my old ground strap, and all was right with the world after that.

Memorial Lake. There was a thin layer of ice in this area.

After spotting myself on the POTA website, I soon had my first contact of the year. Thanks to NC4RT in North Carolina for starting things off. One of my contacts on 40M was with VE3WMB in Ontario. Michael is a fellow Polar Bear QRPer who greeted me with our traditional “GRRR.” A few contacts later, I also received a “GRRR” from VE3DN. Later on, I heard from Eric again on 30M. It’s always fun to hear from my fellow Polar Bears.

My POTA certificate for activating a park during the first week of the year.

After an hour, I had 37 contacts, including three park-to-park contacts and two Polar Bears. I packed up, took a few pictures, and was back at the house just as the rest of the family was crawling out of bed.

So far, 2023 is off to a good start. Let’s hope we all have a happy and healthy year ahead of us!

72, Craig WB3GCK