I arrived home the night before from a week-long vacation in North Carolina and still had some unpacking to do and things to catch up on. Still, I wanted to take part in the Skeeter Hunt QRP contest, which is something I look forward to each year. Despite the weather forecast for heavy rain, I got on the air for the first one and a half hours of the contest.
I drove over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761), hoping to make enough Skeeter Hunt contacts to complete a POTA activation at the same time. Since I was focusing on contest contacts, I didn’t bother to spot myself on the POTA and WWFF sites.
It was drizzling when I got to the park, so I operated from the truck. Equipment-wise, I used my trusty Penntek TR-35 transceiver, along with a 17-foot whip and my homebrew loading coil. I started out on 40M, and it sure was rough going, producing only three contest contacts. I probably spent too much time on that band. Eventually, I gave up on 40M and moved up to 20M. The skeeters were more plentiful up there.
The rain was starting to come down heavier, and I still had some errands to run, so I packed it in. After about 90 minutes, I ended up with 13 skeeters and a couple of non-skeeters in the log.
As I was leaving the park, the skies opened up, and a torrential rain ensued. My timing couldn’t have been better. Despite all the rain, it was a good time. I would have liked to stay longer, but I had things to do and places to be.
Many thanks to Larry W2LJ and the NJQRP club for organizing this fun event. I’m already looking forward to next year.
72, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 