We had a real pot-pourri of winter weather overnight here in southeastern Pennsylvania. It was a combination of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. Despite some residual ice on the roads, I went over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) this morning for a quick activation.
Before I could go anywhere, I had to scrape a thick layer of ice off my windshield. The temperature was slightly above the freezing mark, so it came off easier than I expected. The roads in my neighborhood were covered, but the main roads were mostly clear.
When I got to the parking lot in Valley Forge, it looked like it had been recently salted. The parking spaces were still ice-covered, and my truck was completely surrounded by it. Needless to say, I had to tread carefully around the truck.
I used my little Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip. This has been my go-to setup of late. I started off on 40M, making three Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) contacts in the monthly Weekend Sprintathon (WES) contest. I switched to my paddles and started calling, “CQ POTA.” Activity on the 40M band was a bit slow for me; it took about 20 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. Fortunately, there was more activity on 20M and 17M.
After about an hour and 15 minutes, I had 47 contacts in my log. The European WWFF hunters were out in full force, especially the German stations. I had 13 DX contacts:
- Germany (8)
- Slovak Republic (2)
- Italy
- France
- Poland
I also worked three West Coast stations (two in California and one in Washington), so all in all it was a good morning. By the time I started packing up, the sun was out and much of the ice in the parking lot was gone. Happily, the drive home was uneventful.
Now it’s time to settle in, over-eat, and watch the Super Bowl.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 