I almost talked myself out of this activation today. We had a long day yesterday at a family function with about four hours of driving, so my initial inclination was to take it easy today. In the end, the POTA urge was too great to deny, and I’m glad I went.
I drove over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761), which is just a couple of miles down the road. It had been about five months since my last visit, so I was overdue for an activation here.
Using my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip, I started out on 40M. The signals were surprisingly strong this morning. My activation kicked off with a park-to-park contact with N1BS up in Rhode Island.
My location in Valley Forge NHP (US-0761, KFF-0761)
Forty and 20M produced most of my contacts this morning. I ended up with 39 contacts with 6 park-to-park QSOs. I had four DX QSOs: two with Italian stations, and two with SM4BNZ in Sweden on 20M and 17M.
I also had a nice park-to-park contact with fellow QRPer, AA4XX. It had been a while since our last QSO, so it was good to hear Paul on the air this morning.
After about 90 minutes of operating, the bands seemed to dry up, so I packed up and made the short drive back home.
In the end, it was a fun morning, so I’m glad I went.
Since I’m slowly sneaking up on POTA “Repeater Offender” status (20 activations) at Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380), I made a quick trip back there this morning. Unlike the rainy weather I encountered last time, it was a beautiful, clear morning.
Since it was a weekday, the parking lot at the Western Launch area was pretty empty. When I got out of the truck to set up my antenna, I noticed a large heron. Last time, he was patrolling the shallow, marshy area near my parking spot. Today, he was proudly standing on the dock, surveying his domain. I snapped a couple of pictures of him and continued setting up.
The resident heron surveying his domain at Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380)
I went with my usual setup: my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. Starting on 40M, it took all of 12 minutes to make my first 10 contacts.
I had some errands to run, so I kept it short. In a little more than an hour, I logged 22 contacts. There weren’t any park-to-park contacts, but I did log four European stations (Italy, Sweden, Czech Republic, and Slovak Republic) on 17M.
The heron eventually flew off. Like the heron, I took off, too—for home, that is.
Over the course of the long Memorial Day weekend, I got in two short activations. As expected, there was a lot of activity going on at the parks. Parks in this area get a little busy on holiday weekends.
Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)
I rolled into Ridley Creek State Park early on Saturday morning. Even at 0900 local time, the park was fairly crowded. I was going to operate from a picnic table, but given the number of people there, I decided against that. Between the hikers, dog walkers, mountain bikers, and folks setting up for picnics, it was a busy place.
Using my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot base-loaded whip, I logged 27 contacts. Most of the contacts were on 40M and 30M, with just one on 17M. No DX today, but I had three park-to-park contacts. After about 90 minutes, I packed up and headed home.
Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)
On Monday, I had another early activation, this time at Norristown Farm State Park. As I expected, there were quite a few people at this park taking advantage of the holiday.
This activation was almost a carbon copy of Saturday’s. I used my TR-35 and 12-foot loaded whip, and once again, I made 27 contacts with three park-to-park QSOs. Like the last activation, 40M and 30M were the most productive bands for me.
This time, though, I worked two European stations (Italy and Sweden) on 17M. These were my first DX contacts in more than a month, so I was glad to be out of my slump.
I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday weekend. Be sure to take time to honor those who paid the ultimate price for the freedoms we enjoy.
I was first bitten by the parks bug, taking part in ARRL’s National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program in 2016. When NPOTA ended, I started activating parks under the World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) program. When Parks on the Air (POTA) came along, I started submitting my logs to both programs—and still do.
Since POTA and WWFF are separately administered, there are some significant differences between the two programs. One notable difference involves the park designators. In some cases the park numbers are the same, but often they’re different. For example, the designator for PA 246 State Game Land is KFF-5862 in WWFF and US-8941 in POTA. Sometimes a park will be in one program but not the other.
Fortunately, Al Zelna N3KAE has provided an online tool that makes it easy for “dual activators” to cross-reference the WWFF and POTA park designators in the U.S. and Canada. Visit the CQ Parks.net website to check it out.
If you aren’t familiar with WWFF, it’s the original Amateur Radio parks program. In its current form, WWFF dates back to 2012, but it has roots going back to about 2008. While POTA has seen tremendous growth since its inception, WWFF is still very popular in Europe and other parts of the world. When band conditions are good, a spot on the WWFF site or a DX cluster will often generate a European pile-up. It sure is fun having a bunch of DX stations chasing my little QRP station.
Lately, most weekends have been rainy around here. The forecast for tomorrow is much better than the rain today. Unfortunately, family obligations gave me no choice than to activate today.
I headed over to Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) early this morning, to avoid heavier rain later in the day. Despite the lousy weather, there were a lot of cars in the parking lot.
A rainy morning on Marsh Creek Reservoir
The rig today was my usual Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. As is my usual practice, I started on 40M. The band predictions forecasted poor daytime conditions on 40M, but that wasn’t my experience. Although some of the signal reports I received were lower than usual, I logged my first 10 contacts in about 13 minutes. My first contact was in Georgia, so that’s not too bad for 40M. The 30M band also seemed to be in decent shape.
When I moved up to 20M, I found some annoying broadband noise across the band. I’ve never encountered that here before, so I was wondering if there was a hybrid vehicle or something in the parking lot. I skipped 20M and moved up to 17M. The band was nearly devoid of activity, and 15 minutes of CQing failed to produce a single contact. While I was CQing, though, I passed the time by watching a large heron wading by. I went back to 40M to finish up.
This Heron was walking through the shallows looking for breakfast
My final tally was 32 contacts, three of which were park-to-park. I didn’t have any DX contacts this morning, but there were some highlights:
I had park-to-park contacts with KD8IE on two bands.
I worked my friend Frank N3FLL. I talked to Frank on a local repeater on my way to the park and gave him a heads-up. He found me on 40M.
I worked Al N3KAE on 40M. Al is the Regional Coordinator who uploads my WWFF logs for me. It was great to add him to the log.
Ready for the rain, with my patented coil protector (aka grocery store plastic bag) and some pipe insulation to seal the window opening
My setup withstood the rain pretty well this morning. I used a piece of pipe insulation on the passenger side window, where I fed the coax through. The fit could have been better, but it kept the rain out. Once again, I used a plastic bag to protect my homebrew coil. When I took the antenna down, I used a chamois cloth to dry the whip as I collapsed it. That worked pretty well.
Pipe insulation sealing the window where the coax enters. The fit wasn’t great, but it was good enough.
Hopefully, we’ll have a rain-free weekend one of these days.
I had another rare opportunity to activate a park on a weekday. After all the solar wackiness over the weekend, I checked the band conditions before I got started. The numbers looked better, but I still expected to encounter some flakey band conditions.
Band conditions this morning
I rolled into Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) and started setting up. Once again, I used my 17-foot MFJ-1979 whip and homebrew loading coil. Thinking I would need all the help I could get, I went with the longer whip. The rig was my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW).
Using the MFJ-1979 17-ft whip with my homebrew loading coil
About a minute after spotting myself, I received a call on 40M from another activator. Another hunter called about a minute later. I was off to a good start, right? Not so fast! After those two calls, things really slowed down.
I split my time between 40M, 30M, and 20M, and it took me about 45 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. In fact, I thought number 10 would never happen.
An hour’s effort produced 15 contacts with 3 park-to-park contacts. Sadly, there were no DX contacts to be had. Happy to have salvaged the activation, I packed up and headed home.
Back in December, Becky Schoenfeld W1BXY, Editorial Director for ARRL’s On the Air magazine, asked me if I would be interested in writing a detailed set of step-by-step instructions for my Drive-on Portable Antenna Support. Naturally, I said I would.
I submitted my manuscript, along with an all-new set of pictures. The article was published in the current issue (May/June 2024) of On the Air (pages 20-22).
If you’re interested, have a look. ARRL members have access On the Air as part of their membership.
I’ve been toying with buying a 17-foot telescopic whip for some time now. I didn’t really have a pressing need for it, since my 12-foot whip has been doing a great job for me. As a result, I kept talking myself out of buying it—until now. When I heard the news that MFJ was shutting down production, I figured I might as well buy one while they’re still available.
With no additional matching, you can adjust the MFJ-1979 to cover the 20M band and higher. I figured this whip coupled with my “Junk Box Coil” should easily cover 40M through 20M with the antenna fully extended. The four-foot height advantage over my 12-foot whip, should yield some performance improvement. With my older, larger coil, operation on 80M might be possible.
To test my assumptions, I made a trip to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351), where I was one activation away from a POTA “Repeat Offender” award. Like my last visit, it was raining, and I seemed to be the only one in the park.
I set up the 17-foot whip and coil on the back of the truck and quickly identified the proper tap for 40M. I used a Sharpie pen to mark the tap location. (The coil now has two sets of marks.) Despite an impending geomagnetic storm, I made my first 10 contacts in about 12 minutes. Not too bad for an early activation on a Friday morning.
The MFJ-1979 17-foot whip mounted on my “Junk Box Coil.”
After about 25 minutes, I switched to the 30M band and marked the tap location on the coil. I picked up eight contacts on 30M before giving 20M a try. It was no surprise that the SWR was a flat 1.5:1 with the entire coil bypassed. Although conditions on 20M seemed a little weak, I logged five more contacts before pulling the plug. I ended up with 25 contacts in the log. No DX or park-to-park contacts today, unfortunately.
For part of the activation, I used a plastic bag to keep the rain off the coil. When I got home, I brought the coil and the whip inside and dried everything off. While I had the whip extended, I measured the actual length. By my measurements, it’s 16 feet 11 inches long.
Based on this brief test, I made a few observations:
Compared to my older 12-foot MFJ whip, I don’t think the quality of the MFJ-1979 is as good. The older whip just seems to telescope more smoothly. Some online reviews mention problems keeping the antenna from collapsing after using it for a while. In an effort to avoid problems like that, I’ll be extremely careful when extending and collapsing the whip.
Performance on 40M, 30M, and 20M should be better than the 12-foot whip, given the additional length. A big difference? Given today’s band conditions, it was hard to tell.
With the 17-foot whip and my coil, I can cover 40M. 30M, and 20M without adjusting the length of the whip. However, the 12-foot whip gives me 40M, 30M, 20M, and 17M without adjusting the whip. This lines up perfectly with the bands on my TR-35.
I won’t be retiring my 12-foot whip anytime soon. I think for most POTA activations, I’ll stick with the 12-foot whip out of convenience. For contesting and activities like Winter Field Day, I will probably go with the 17-foot whip. I have an old 20M mono band QRP rig I want to put back on the air in the near future. The MFJ-1979 should be perfect for that.
This was another of those weekends that involved different aspects of ham radio. I was involved in a public service event on Saturday, and I got my QRP-portable fix on Sunday morning.
Once again, I served as the net control operator for the event. Chester County ARES-RACES (CCAR) had 13 operators at nine locations along the course. Several local dive teams also took up positions along the course, to ensure the safety of the participants.
This year, I was set up at the Northbrook Canoe Company, which is the end point for the course. The weather was less than stellar, with on and off drizzle throughout the event. The CCAR team, along with a paramedic, hunkered down under a large overhang off of one of the buildings. Communications-wise, this is a straightforward event. CCAR’s repeater system provides excellent coverage in the area, so the entire course can be covered using HTs. I was able to run the net from my camp chair with my AnyTone HT.
I neglected to take pictures of the Canoe Challenge, but I did snap this one of the WB3GCKmobile next to the Brandywine River.
Fortunately, there were no serious issues to be dealt with, and judging by the cheers at the finish line, the participants had a great time, despite the weather.
Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)
On Sunday morning, I wanted to get in a quick POTA activation. The weather was worse than the day before, with chillier temperatures and a more steady rainfall.
I rolled into Evansburg State Park and found the park completely empty—except for one crazy old ham. After setting up my 12-foot loaded whip, I draped a plastic bag over the loading coil to give it some protection from the elements. I used my trusty TR-35 (5 watts, CW) up in the cab.
My antenna and I sporting our raingear in Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)
For as early as it was (0900 EDT), the number of callers surprised me on 40M. I had my first 10 contacts in about 13 minutes. I operated for exactly an hour and spent most of my time on 40M. Moving up to 30M, I picked up three contacts there before shutting down.
I ended up with 31 contacts, including one park-to-park contact that I’m aware of. No DX today, but the Canadian stations were really booming in.
Towards the end of my activation, I had some rain coming in the passenger-side window where I bring the coax in. Normally, I use a piece of pipe insulation to help seal things up a bit, but I couldn’t find it in the truck. I have some more in the basement, so I’ll have to cut a new piece to fit the window.
Now it’s time to dry off my antenna parts before putting them back in the truck for next time.
I drove over to Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for a quick activation. The bands weren’t very “QRP-friendly,” but I made the required 10 contacts plus another half-dozen for good measure.
I went with my usual setup: TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. After getting things setup, I tuned around the 40M band and heard Greg WA3GM booming in. Greg was operating from a POTA gathering at Evansburg State Park (US-1351). Since we were only about five miles apart, it was an easy park-to-park contact.
My antenna at Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)
After making 13 contacts on 40M, I moved up to 30M. My only QSO there was with W3WJ who was operating from Tyler State Park (US-1430, KFF-1430) about 20 miles away (as the crow flies). Our signals weren’t very strong, but we completed the park-to-park contact.
I finished up with 16 contacts, three of which were park-to-park. I made all but one of them on 40M.
Since I wasn’t too far away, I stopped by Evansburg State Park on my way home. The POTA gathering, sponsored by the Pottstown Area Amateur Radio Club (PAARC), was easy to find. The plethora of antennas was a dead giveaway. There were quite a few local hams there, and a good time was being had by all. After saying hello to WA3GM, KB3SBC, and a few others, I continued on my way home.
The PAARC in the Park POTA Event at Evansburg State Park (US-1351)
We’re finally getting some warm weather here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so it was a nice morning to be out in the parks.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 