I made a run up to Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for another early morning activation. There were a few issues that made operating a little uncomfortable at first. Despite my awkward setup, it was a successful outing.
When I arrived at the park, the parking lot was nearly empty. It was just me and a few people setting up for some sort of event under the pavilion. So I parked well away from that area, so I wouldn’t get in anyone’s way. It was a beautiful morning, so I set up my little camp chair behind the truck and used a 17-foot base-loaded whip on the truck. There was a nice park bench up the hill behind me, but I opted for the shady spot behind the truck. (For medical reasons, the sun is no longer my friend.) My chair was on a slight incline, but I thought I could make it work.
Radio-wise, I went with my KH1 on a knee board. When I pulled the kneeboard out of my pack, I found the buckles had somehow come off of the elastic strap. Normally, it would have been a simple matter of threading them back on. I made a hasty attempt to do that, but something wasn’t quite right. I wanted to get on with my activation, so I just precariously balanced the kneeboard on my leg.
I got started on 40M, and things got off to a fast start. The slight slope I mentioned, however, made my camp chair a bit unstable. I felt like I was going to fall forward, so I had to use my legs to brace myself and keep that from happening. Boy, I sure didn’t plan this setup very well. I had to wait for the hunters to thin out before I could move to firmer ground. After about 30 minutes, my arthritic knee was complaining, so I finally moved my chair into the next parking space. That made things easier.
Despite my horrible ergonomics, I did pretty well on the air. My first 10 contacts only took nine minutes. I ended up with 33 contacts over the course of an hour.
Here are a few highlights:
- Worked three DX stations on 20M: OH1RR, DL8NDG, and OZ1IPP
- Worked W9GTA on 40M, 30M, and 20M. Thanks, Pat!
- Worked fellow QRP Polar Bear VA2NB (aka VE3WMB) on 40M. Always a pleasure, Mike.
Thankfully, I managed to get through my activation without dropping the KH1. When I got back home, it took less than a minute to get the buckles back on the kneeboard strap. Doh! Go figure.
72, Craig WB3GCK
