For a variety of reasons, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve gone out portable. I had the rare opportunity to get out three days in a row, so I activated three local parks.
Valley Forge National Historical Park
First up was Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) on Friday afternoon. When I rolled into the parking lot, there were only a couple of cars there. That’s a big difference from the craziness I encountered the last time I was there. I guess being a cold weekday accounted for that.
I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. I spent some time on 40M with no takers, so I spent the rest of my time on 20M and 17M.
After an hour and 15 minutes, I logged 40 contacts, including one park-to-park and five European DX stations. The DX stations included Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Slovak Republic. I also worked a station in California. So, despite some unsettled geomagnetic conditions, my 5 watts were getting out pretty good.
Norristown Farm Park
On Saturday, I made an early morning run over to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). I couldn’t get to the section of the park where I normally operate. We had some snow overnight and the road down to that area was closed. When I got there, the temperature was around 30º F with strong gusting winds.
Instead of my usual spot, I operated from a parking lot near the park office. This location has the highest elevation in the park, but it’s also wide open. So, the wind was really putting my 12-foot telescopic whip to the test. Equipment-wise, I used the same setup as the day before.
The bands were a little better than the day before, so the contacts were coming in steadily on both 40M and 20M. In just under an hour, I had 42 contacts in my log. I had one park-to-park contact, along with two DX contacts (Germany and Finland).
One call I received was from “nature.” The road closure rendered the restrooms inaccessible, so I packed up and headed to a convenience store down the road on my way home.
Evansburg State Park
I wrapped up the weekend with a Sunday morning trip to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). As cold as it felt on Saturday, it was much colder on Sunday. It took longer to get set up, with frequent breaks to warm up my numb fingers.
Although I had a successful activation, it was far from trouble-free. As I was extending my trusty old MFJ-1956 12-foot telescopic whip, the bottom section came out completely and two small copper shims fell on the ground. I guess the wind on Saturday was harder on the antenna than I thought. Luckily, I found the two shims and put them in a safe place. I don’t know if I’ll be able to repair the whip, and I don’t think anyone makes a 12-foot whip anymore. To get things going, I grabbed my MFJ-1979 17-foot whip and installed it on my homebrew loading coil.
Next, I set up my TR-35 and T1 tuner in the truck. I tried tuning up, but the T1 wasn’t responding. After a little troubleshooting, I isolated the problem to a bad RG-316 jumper cable between the radio and the tuner. I replaced the cable, and things were back to normal.
When I finally got on the air, the hunters were out in full force. It only took about nine minutes on 40M to make my first 10 contacts. The 20M band also seemed to be in good shape. I had a QSO with W6LEN out in California, so my five-watt signal was getting out OK.
I wanted to try 17M, but I would have had to shorten the 17-foot whip to resonate it. I didn’t have my antenna analyzer with me, so I decided to just let the T1 tuner work its magic on the fully extended 17-foot whip. The T1 easily found a match, and the whip seemed to work fine. My contacts on 17M included two stations in Germany.
Even sheltered in the truck, my feet were getting cold. So, it was time to pull the plug and head home. After an hour and 10 minutes, I had 44 in my log. Along with the two DX contacts, I had one park-to-park contact.
Despite the damaged gear, it was a fun weekend of activations. I think it made up for my inactivity over the past two weeks.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 