Wow! It’s hard to believe 2024 has come and gone. I wrapped up 2024 and welcomed the new year with a pair of POTA/WWFF activations.
I finished off 2024 with an early morning activation at Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380). After rolling into the parking lot, I set up a 12-foot loaded whip on my truck. When I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) in the cab of the truck, I ran into a snag. My trusty little radio refused to power up. After trying two other batteries without success, I spotted my problem. (Notice I said “my” problem.) I had connected my earbuds to the “Paddles” input and my paddles to the headphone jack. After correcting my faux pas, all was right with the world. Apparently the little TR-35 is smarter than me.
As they say on TV commercials: But wait, there’s more. About 25 QSOs into my activation, my QU-21C paddles decided they only wanted to send dits occasionally. I quickly switched over to a straight key and kept plugging on. When there was a lull in the activity, I dug out my Palm Mini paddles and pressed on. (When I got home, I used some contact cleaner on the paddles, and they seem to work just fine again.)
After an hour and 15 minutes, I had 43 contacts in the log. Among those were four DX stations: F4HZR, IK4IDF, SM3NRY, and DL3HXX. My last QSO for 2024 was with K7NSW in Arizona.
My intended destination on New Year’s Day was Norristown Farm Park, since I’ve been slowly creeping up on a Repeat Offender award there. When I arrived, however, the park was closed. I quickly implemented “Plan B.” Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) is only about 5 miles down the road, so off I went.
I checked the propagation forecast before leaving the house. It showed a major geomagnetic storm in progress with poor conditions for all HF bands. Because of the challenging band conditions, I used a 17-ft whip with my homebrew loading coil, instead of my usual 12-foot whip. I figured I needed all the help I could get. Once again, I used my TR-35.
When I fired up the radio on 40M, the band was wall-to-wall with CW signals. It was hard to tell there was some geomagnetic wackiness going on. It didn’t take long for the hunters to find me. My first QSO of 2025 was with WN1E in Massachusetts. It took about 14 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. Not bad for a major storm, I suppose.
Conditions didn’t seem too bad on 20M. One difference I noted, though, was with the European hunters. Their signals had a watery, distorted sound. Despite the propagation, I had contacts with five DX stations: F1BLL, UT5PI, OZ1IPP, F4HZR, and GØBVD. An hour and 15 minutes on the air yielded 38 contacts. So, 2025 is off to a decent start.
I hope you all have a healthy and prosperous new year, and I look forward to hearing you on the air.
Happy New Year!
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 