I rolled into one of my favorite spots and set up my table and chair in the grass behind my truck. From previous activations, I knew this spot always has lots of shade. Of course, with the heavily overcast skies this morning, sun exposure wasn’t much of an issue.
I mounted a 17-foot whip and my homebrew loading coil on my truck and ran some coax back to my operating position. Rig-wise, I used my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW), Elecraft T1 tuner and my little American Morse MS2 straight key.
My strategy today was to operate in the WES for an hour. If I hadn’t reached 10 contacts by then, I planned to break out the paddles and finish up as a POTA activator.
It was a good thing I had a “Plan B.” After an hour, I had only scratched together six WES contacts. I don’t know if it was the unsettled geomagnetic conditions or just a lack of early morning participants, but I didn’t hear much WES activity on 40M and 20M.
After spotting myself on the POTA and WWFF websites, I easily made the requisite 10 contacts on 20M plus three more for good measure. One of those contacts was a park-to-park.
It wasn’t my best outing, but far from my worst. Even with the humid weather and the occasional mosquito, it was nice to do a little outdoor operating and log some familiar SKCC and POTA callsigns.
Operating from Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) on the 4th of July has become something of a tradition for me over the years. I expected the park to be busy today, so my plan was to get out early before the picnic-goers arrived en masse. Then, get home to spend the rest of the day with my (far) better half.
I headed to a spot in one of the picnic areas that has some shade in the morning. Today, I used a 17-foot telescopic whip on my homebrew loading coil on the truck, along with my little Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). An 18-foot length of coax was more than enough to reach my operating position.
Speaking of my operating position… I set up my camping chair and table on a paved area next to my truck. Normally, I would set up in the grass behind the truck, but the grass was a little high and the ticks have been bad this year. In fact, I found one strolling across my notepad at one point.
I started off on 40M, and things got off to a fast start. It was probably a combination of decent band conditions and it being a holiday. Regardless, the hunters pounced on me within a minute of posting my spot. It didn’t take long to make my first 10 contacts.
After things slowed down on 40M, I gave 30M a try. That band produced just a single contact. I moved up to 20M and found a little more action up there. After an hour and 10 minutes, I started losing my shade, so it was time to wrap things up. I finished up with 31 contacts, including five park-to-park contacts.
Around that time, I saw a teenager casually throw some trash on the ground before getting in their car to leave. This was only about 10 feet away from where I was sitting. Unbelievable, since they had to drive past the trash cans on their way out of the parking lot. After I loaded up the truck, I grabbed a plastic bag and cleaned up the mess that was carelessly left behind. Apparently, my parents taught me better.
Littering incident notwithstanding, it was a fun little activation this morning. I hope my fellow citizens have an enjoyable and safe 4th of July holiday.
Another Boschveldt QRP Club Field Day is in the books. This year’s outing was a little different for our little group. Besides operating with a skeleton crew, we had a few weather challenges. But that’s part of Field Day, I suppose.
Once again, a local business owner gave us permission to set up camp on his property for the weekend. We had some storms Thursday night and steady downpours on Friday morning, so I wasn’t sure what the condition of the field would be for the weekend. There have been some years when one end of the field became a swamp. It wasn’t as bad this year, but it was close.
When I arrived Friday afternoon. Ed K3YTR had already set up his teardrop camper. I headed down to a spot I usually use. The ground down there was a little soggy, but I decided to set up my tent there, anyway. That was a decision I would come to regret.
The area in front of the tent got muddier as the weekend progressed. The ground underneath the tent was just as bad.
In the process of setting up, my walking in and out of the tent turned the area into a mud pit. I briefly toyed with tearing it down and moving it across the field, but I didn’t have the energy at that point. We had more rain overnight, so the conditions around my tent only got worse.
On Saturday morning, Andrew K2AFO arrived to spend the day operating with us. He was using a new Xiegu G90 and set about getting his end-fed halfwave up into a tree. In the process of doing that, his paracord got looped around a couple of branches and tied itself into a knot. It took a 28-foot Jackite pole, a tent stake, and some duct tape to free the paracord. Talk about some serious “MacGyvering!”
Andrew K2AFO operating in his first Boschveldt QRP Club Field Day
K2AFO using some advanced “MacGyvering” technigues to free his stuck throwing line
This year we operated as 2A EPA, using our club callsign, W3BQC. As you might expect for a QRP club, we ran QRP on battery power. I ran CW using my KX3 and a 29.5-foot vertical fed through a 9:1 unun. Ed K3YTR operated on 6M and 2M, while Andrew operated SSB using his new G90.
K3YTR’s set up for 6M and 2M
On Saturday night, we headed out to a local restaurant for dinner (and some air conditioning). Andrew’s wife, Emily K2MLE, joined us for the evening. After enjoying a nice dinner (and some air conditioning), we headed back to our Field Day for a campfire. (Did I mention that Boschveldt Field Days are decidedly laid-back?) Observing a long-standing Boschveldt QRP tradition, we roasted marshmallow Peeps® over the campfire.
We had yet another storm heading towards us, so Andrew and Emily packed up and headed home, while K3YTR and I headed into our respective shelters. I operated on and off through the night, but dealt with some heavy QRN on 80M and 40M.
After getting some coffee and breakfast on Sunday, I had one last session on the radio. This time around, 40M was in much better shape. After that, Ed and I started tearing down and packing up. My tent and tarps were a real mess, so I just rolled everything up and shoved it in the truck. Needless to say, I have some gear to clean up this week.
Each year, our Field Day outings are an adventure. Although this one had some minor challenges, it was fun. Plus, we have some more stories to tell at future get-togethers.
Today was shaping up to be the first day of a five-day heatwave here in southeastern Pennsylvania. Since there are excessive heat warnings in place for the next few days (and I don’t hold up too well in the heat these days), I went out for an early morning activation to beat the heat.
I drove up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351), since my last visit was back in March. Because of a medical condition, I need to be careful with sun exposure. So, I looked around until I found a shady spot where I could set up my radio and use an antenna on my truck. My rig today was my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip mounted on my truck.
I started on 40M, and it didn’t take long to make my first 10 contacts. The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) was reporting some strong hits from my 5-watt signal. After logging 15 contacts, I did some hunting and logged a few park-to-park contacts.
The 30M band was pretty quiet, yielding only 2 contacts. I had a little better luck on 20M, but the band conditions there weren’t all that great. I shut down after about an hour and a half, with 26 contacts in the log. Considering the early hour, I was satisfied with that.
In the end, it wasn’t the heat that was the problem today; it was the bugs. I was the target of both air and ground assaults by tiny mosquitos and huge ants. That was to be expected, I guess, since I was sitting in a wooded area on a warm day.
I hope the weather is better for Field Day next weekend. The extended forecast shows lower temperatures here, but a chance of rain on Saturday. Oh well, at least the heatwave will be over by then.
The (far) better half and I took the trailer back to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355) for a weekend of camping. We were hoping for some nice weather, but Mother Nature had other plans in mind. Not only was the terrestrial weather bad, the solar weather wasn’t much better at times.
It was dry when we arrived and got set up. After getting the camper squared away, I set up my usual 29.5-foot vertical wire and 9:1 unun. To avoid creating a trip hazard with my coax, I set up the antenna back in the woods behind the trailer. Not long after I got the antenna set up, the rain started. I set up my KX3 in the trailer and gave my portable station a quick test. The antenna loaded up easily as it normally does, but I couldn’t hear any signals whatsoever. I checked my connections, and everything looked good. Checking my band conditions app, I saw there was a major geomagnetic storm in progress. So, I shut the radio down and hoped for better conditions the next day.
My slightly leaning vertical among the trees
On Saturday morning, I woke up to rain showers and unsettled geomagnetic conditions. I got on the radio while brewing some coffee on the stove. The site we were on had electric hookups, so the trailer’s 12 volt converter was generating a ton of noise on the bands. To get around the noise, I shut off the main breaker and ran the lights on the trailer’s battery. The bands were plagued with static from storms in the area, but I still managed 10 contacts on 40M. A few of them were challenging, to say the least.
The rainy weather put a damper on my plans for operating outdoors—and all of our outdoor plans for that matter. So, later that afternoon, we had to hunker down in the camper. The (far) better half read her book, while I gave the radio another try. This time around, the band conditions were a little better. I logged another 10 contacts on 20M, before stopping for dinner.
Our little camper during a brief dry period on Saturday
Just after midnight UTC, I gave 40M another go. Boy, were things different this time. I quickly made 16 contacts. Just for the heck of it, I dropped down to 80M and picked up one more before shutting down for the day.
We had some torrential downpours overnight. I know this because the heavy rain actually woke me up at 3am. Having tent camped for many years, I know what the nearby tent campers had probably experienced with this storm.
The view from the camper
By Sunday morning, the rain tapered off to intermittent showers. We decided to head home early, so I got on the radio for a bit before packing up. I made a few more contacts before packing up the radio gear. I finished the weekend with 42 contacts (plus one dupe) including a bunch of park-to-park contacts.
It wasn’t the weekend we had hoped for, but we had still had a quiet, relaxing time. I hope all the dads out there had a great Father’s Day.
I’ll be spending some time in the coming weeks getting ready for Field Day (June 28-29). My current plan is to operate with the Boschveldt QRP Club (W3BQC). If you work us on CW, it will probably be me on the other end.
I recently spent six days out in Central Pennsylvania on house- & puppy sitting duty again. I got to spend some quality time with my grand-dog, Belle, and got in some radio time, too.
Grand-dog, Belle
PA State Game Land 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862)
My first radio outing was early on a Friday morning. Pennsylvania State Game Lands 246 is only about 10 minutes away, so it’s perfect for a quick activation. With an active geomagnetic field, the propagation didn’t look at all promising. I ignored all that and headed out the door. As I was leaving, Belle thought we were going for another walk. Needless to say, I had a very disappointed German shepherd at the window watching me leave.
The parking lot at SGL246 was empty when I got there. I set up my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil, along with my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I spent the whole activation—and it was a short one—on 40M.
State Game Lands 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862)
Given the band conditions and the early hour (around 0745 local) on a weekday, I got off to a slow start. My big issue was the local power line noise. Before I started, I tuned around 40M to find a frequency where the noise was lower. Despite the band conditions and noise, I seemed to be getting out well enough, and the received signals were fairly strong.
After 30 minutes on the air, I finished up with 14 contacts. I packed up my gear and headed back to take Belle for that walk. After that, I think she forgave me for leaving without her.
And Then the Rains Came
Bright and early Saturday morning, I took Belle through the basement to let her out in the backyard. I found myself splashing through puddles of water in the rec room, and the sump pump was running like crazy.
We had some severe thunderstorms the previous night, and according to the local news, we received close to two inches of rain overnight. So, much of the day was spent cleaning up and drying out instead of playing radio. Fortunately, my (far) better half drove out for the weekend and helped with the cleanup effort.
Capt. John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (US-4567)
When I woke up Sunday morning, I saw we were in the midst of a severe geomagnetic storm. Some hams on a local repeater were complaining about the poor conditions on the HF bands. So, what did I do? I headed out for an early morning QRP POTA activation.
For this water trail, I went to a public boat launch on the Susquehanna River. The river was still slightly flooded from the recent rainstorms, but the water hadn’t reached the parking lot.
Some minor flooding on the Susquehanna River
Given the poor band conditions, I used my homebrew loading coil and a 17-foot whip instead of my usual 12-foot whip. I was hoping the additional five feet would help my 5 watt signal punch through the geomagnetic storm.
I also used my brand new Pocket Paddles from CWMorse. I neglected to order one with magnets, so I couldn’t attach it to my clipboard. However, I think I have a plan to address that as a future project. On the air, the Pocket Paddles performed flawlessly, and I’m looking forward to using them a lot more in the future.
CWMorse Pocket Paddles
After my third CQ call on 40M, I quickly logged my first two contacts. The contacts kept coming, but at a slow pace. After nine contacts, I thought that the tenth one might never come. Fortunately, it did. After 45 minutes, I ended up with 12 contacts, including one park-to-park. Not bad for a severe geomagnetic storm. I packed up and headed to a grocery store to pick up a few things for breakfast back at the house.
And Back to PA SGL246
On Monday morning I made another trip over to PA State Game Lands 246. There was a major geomagnetic storm in progress, so I knew this would be another challenging activation.
The parking lot was empty the whole time I was there. No big surprise, given that it was early on a weekday. I went with the same set-up as yesterday, opting for the 17-ft whip.
With a K Index of six and the usual power line noise, it was slow going on 40M. It took a few minutes of continuous CQing to log my first contact. It took almost 45 minutes to get seven in the log. At that point, things stalled for a bit. Around that time, I received a NOAA email alert saying the K Index had increased to seven.
I had allotted an hour for this activation, and I was getting close to the end. Then, out of nowhere, I had three callers in rapid succession that got me to 10 contacts. For good measure, there were three more after that.
I finished up with 13 in the log, with one known park-to-park contact. So, my little five-watt station managed to pull it off again. Take that, Mr. Sun!
And with that, I wrapped up my activations out here. Radio-wise, the band conditions were challenging, but it was still fun. I might be back in central Pennsylvania for another round of puppy sitting next month—with better band conditions, I hope!
Because of a couple of medical issues, our little travel trailer spent the last two camping seasons parked at a storage facility. With those issues resolved, my (far) better half and I spent some time last week getting the camper ready for a weekend of camping at French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355). I hadn’t been on HF much lately, so I was looking forward to getting in some operating time over the weekend.
After two years of storage, the camper needed some work to get back in shape for camping. After de-winterizing it and giving the inside a good cleaning, we deemed the camper fit for human habitation. There were a few additional maintenance items we planned to do while at the campground.
Our little home away from home is finally back on the road after a two-year hiatus.
We had some storms earlier in the day on Friday, but the rain stopped by the time we got to the campground. Given our long absence from camping, we were a little rusty getting the camper set up. After getting the camper squared away, I set up my antenna. I used my trusty 29.5-foot wire vertical with my homebrew weather-resistant 9:1 unun. A 31-foot Jackite pole supported the wire. I ran 35 feet of RG-8x coax over to the camper, where I set up my KX3. I did a quick test to make sure everything was working, but I didn’t start operating until early on Saturday morning.
The feedpoint of my antenna. the 29.5-foot vertical wire is fed through a weather-resistant 9:1 unun.
Radio-wise, it was a tough weekend for QRP. The geomagnetic field varied from unsettled to active on both Saturday and Sunday. I got on the radio around 1100 UTC (0700 local) on Saturday and it was tough going. It took about an hour to log my first 10 contacts, and some of those were a struggle. I encountered lots of weak signals that sometimes faded into the noise. Static from storms in the area made things even more difficult.
My KX3 setup inside the little camper. It’s not the most comfortable place to operate, but it works. The coax is fed through a window to the right of the radio.
I operated sporadically throughout the day on Saturday. The rest of the time was spent doing a little work on the camper and just relaxing. I ended up on Saturday with 24 QSOs.
I had another early session on Sunday while the coffee was percolating on the stove. Things were a bit better this time around. It only took about 30 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. I ended up with 11 contacts, all on 40M. Satisfied with that, I pulled the plug and set about making breakfast. After that, I started taking down the antenna and packing up the rig.
I finished up the weekend with 35 contacts, including 15 park-to-park contacts. No DX, but with the band conditions as they were, I was happy to be heard by anyone. Special thanks to W4SK in Tennessee who accounted for three of my contacts over the weekend.
After I uploaded my logs, I noticed two new POTA awards. One was for making 500 park-to-park contacts and another for making 100 early shift contacts as a hunter.
Even though we had some work to do on the camper, it was a nice, relaxing weekend. We’re planning to get the camper out more often this year. We’ll be back at French Creek State Park again next month. Hopefully, band conditions will be better next time.
I was one activation away from the 20 needed for a POTA “Repeat Offender” award at Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). After coming away empty-handed in my last attempt, I tried again this morning. This time I had a much better outcome.
Given the dismal weather forecast, I left my bike at home and operated instead from the shelter of my truck. I went with my go-to setup: Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot whip with my homebrew loading coil.
The bands weren’t great, but I have seen worse conditions. There was a fair amount of fading with some static crashes from storms in the area. Despite those challenges, I made my first 10 contacts in about 15 minutes on 40M.
While I was on 40M, I heard Greg WA3GM activating US-1351 about 5 miles away. Greg was operating with the Pottstown Area Amateur Radio Club’s annual PAARC in the Park POTA event. Our park-to-park contact this morning was a repeat of one we made last year.
After operating for an hour, it started to drizzle, so I called it quits. My time on 40M, 30M, and 20M, produced 26 contacts, with two park-to-park contacts.
My timing was excellent, as I ran into a heavy downpour on my way home. In any event, I was happy to close the books on activation #20 at US-4363.
“Mama said there’d be days like this.” — The Shirelles
My week got off to a good start. I activated parks three days in a row with good success. With some nice Spring weather today, I thought I’d get the bike out for an activation. I drove out to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363), since I’m one activation away from a Repeat Offender award there. My plan was to get in a bike ride, while completing my 20th activation.
Things didn’t go as well as I had hoped.
I last rode my bike there about eight years ago. A friend and I were doing some communications testing to prepare for a March of Dimes event. I rode all over the park with an HT, while my friend listened for me at the proposed Net Control location. I remembered seeing a picnic table just off the road, so I headed out in that direction. About a mile out, I found a covered picnic table. It wasn’t the one I remembered, but it seemed to be a better location.
The view from the covered picnic table I was using.
My setup was similar to the last time I used the bike. I mounted a Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical on my handlebars and used a 33-ft elevated radial. I easily adjusted the antenna for a 1.3:1 SWR on 40M. Then, I ran 20-ft of RG-316 over to the picnic table where I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and Elecraft T1 tuner.
You have to look closely to see the Gabil GRA-7350TC on my handlebars.
The 40M band seemed a little weak. I heard very little activity, and my hits on the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) weren’t all that strong. After 10 minutes or or so of futile CQing, I reconfigured the radials and tuned up the antenna for 20M. This time I used three 17-ft radials.
Despite getting double-digit Signal-to-Noise readings on RBN, 20M wasn’t producing any takers. I tried calling a couple of activators, but I wasn’t getting through the pile-ups. I didn’t have much time this morning, so I gave up after 30 minutes with an empty log. After packing up my gear, I rode back to the parking lot.
This empty cage was located in the back of the clearing I was in. I have no idea why it was there or what kind of critter it might have been used for.
On the ride back, I tried to figure out what the problem was today. Was it propagation, my location, or was it just one of those days? Who knows?
Radio-wise, today was a bust. I did, however, get in a pleasant bike ride and a little exercise.
My original plan was to do a bicycle-portable activation in Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). Lousy weather and another commitment put those plans on hold. Instead, I did a short stationary-mobile activation there instead.
The two main picnic areas in Valley Forge opened for the season on April 1st, so I rolled into one of my favorite spots. Not surprisingly, I was the only one there. I don’t think that too many folks want to have a picnic at 0830 (local time) in the rain.
I set up my usual Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip and started out on 40M. The bands were recovering from some geomagnetic storming yesterday, but were still a little flakey. Contrary to propagation predictions, 40M turned out to be the most productive band for me today. The 20M band only produced two contacts, while 17M was a total bust today.
One of my hunters on 40M sent me his SKCC number. I always keep a straight key connected to the TR-35, so I easily completed an SKCC contact with him.
Part way through my activation, the rain started picking up. I headed around to the back of the truck to put a plastic bag on my homebrew loading coil.
I had to break out the foul weather gear for my loading coil.
After 20 minutes of futile CQing on 17M, I decided to call it quits. I ended up with 18 contacts. No DX today, but there were two known park-to-park contacts.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to get the bike out sometime next week.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 