WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

Wrapping Up and Kicking Off

Wow! It’s hard to believe 2024 has come and gone. I wrapped up 2024 and welcomed the new year with a pair of POTA/WWFF activations.

I finished off 2024 with an early morning activation at Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380). After rolling into the parking lot, I set up a 12-foot loaded whip on my truck. When I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) in the cab of the truck, I ran into a snag. My trusty little radio refused to power up. After trying two other batteries without success, I spotted my problem. (Notice I said “my” problem.) I had connected my earbuds to the “Paddles” input and my paddles to the headphone jack. After correcting my faux pas, all was right with the world. Apparently the little TR-35 is smarter than me.

Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) on New Year's Eve — Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) on New Year’s Eve

As they say on TV commercials: But wait, there’s more. About 25 QSOs into my activation, my QU-21C paddles decided they only wanted to send dits occasionally. I quickly switched over to a straight key and kept plugging on. When there was a lull in the activity, I dug out my Palm Mini paddles and pressed on. (When I got home, I used some contact cleaner on the paddles, and they seem to work just fine again.)

After an hour and 15 minutes, I had 43 contacts in the log. Among those were four DX stations: F4HZR, IK4IDF, SM3NRY, and DL3HXX. My last QSO for 2024 was with K7NSW in Arizona.

My intended destination on New Year’s Day was Norristown Farm Park, since I’ve been slowly creeping up on a Repeat Offender award there. When I arrived, however, the park was closed. I quickly implemented “Plan B.” Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) is only about 5 miles down the road, so off I went.

I checked the propagation forecast before leaving the house. It showed a major geomagnetic storm in progress with poor conditions for all HF bands. Because of the challenging band conditions, I used a 17-ft whip with my homebrew loading coil, instead of my usual 12-foot whip. I figured I needed all the help I could get. Once again, I used my TR-35.

New Year's Day at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) — New Year’s Day at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)

When I fired up the radio on 40M, the band was wall-to-wall with CW signals. It was hard to tell there was some geomagnetic wackiness going on. It didn’t take long for the hunters to find me. My first QSO of 2025 was with WN1E in Massachusetts. It took about 14 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. Not bad for a major storm, I suppose.

Conditions didn’t seem too bad on 20M. One difference I noted, though, was with the European hunters. Their signals had a watery, distorted sound. Despite the propagation, I had contacts with five DX stations: F1BLL, UT5PI, OZ1IPP, F4HZR, and GØBVD. An hour and 15 minutes on the air yielded 38 contacts. So, 2025 is off to a decent start.

This spot from G0BVD made my day. After all these years running QRP, it still amazes me every time I work a DX station with five watts. — This spot from GØBVD made my day. After all these years running QRP, it still amazes me every time I work a DX station with five watts.

I hope you all have a healthy and prosperous new year, and I look forward to hearing you on the air.

Happy New Year!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Replacing My Broken Whip

During a recent activation, my beloved MFJ 12-foot telescopic whip came apart. I’ve had it for a long time, so I was really disappointed when it broke. I specifically designed my homebrew loading coil to pair with a 12-foot whip. With this setup, I can work 40M through 17M by changing the tap on the coil. I don’t need to adjust the whip. These bands match the bands covered by my Penntek TR-35.

When the old whip broke, I salvaged the parts and tried to put it back together when I got home. No joy was to be had. However, all was not lost.

Although 12-foot telescopic whips aren’t aren’t as widely available as the ubiquitous 17-foot whip, I found one in stock at Ham Radio Outlet. After placing my order, I had the antenna on my porch 24 hours later on Christmas Eve. (I have no financial interest in HRO. I’m just a very satisfied customer.)

This new whip is an MFJ-1977, and it’s distinctly different from my old MFJ-1956 whip. The new whip’s construction is the first obvious difference. Additionally, the stainless steel has a less polished finish. The MFJ-1977 is also a little heavier, and its collapsed length is an inch or two longer than the older whip. In the pictures below, the older MFJ-1956 is on the top and the new MFJ-1977 is on the bottom:

The MFJ-1977 and MFJ-1956 12-foot whips compared. The older, discontinued MFJ-1956 whip is on top.

The new MFJ-1977 had its maiden deployment at Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). I used the antenna with my Penntek TR-35 (5 Watts) on 40M, 20M and 17M. As expected, the new antenna seemed to perform as well as its predecessor. After an hour and 10 minutes, I had 42 in the log with three DX contacts: two from France and one from Germany.

My old 12-foot whip saw heavy use, and it served me well. In the future, however, I plan to rotate whips occasionally. I extended my MFJ-1979 17-foot whip to 12 feet and marked it with a permanent marker. I did the same with my cheap 5.6M whip from AliExpress. Hopefully, having two other whips available will let me avoid beating up my 12-foot whip and extend its life.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Pre-Holiday Bingeing

For a variety of reasons, it’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve gone out portable. I had the rare opportunity to get out three days in a row, so I activated three local parks.

Valley Forge National Historical Park

First up was Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) on Friday afternoon. When I rolled into the parking lot, there were only a couple of cars there. That’s a big difference from the craziness I encountered the last time I was there. I guess being a cold weekday accounted for that.

I set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and my 12-foot loaded whip. I spent some time on 40M with no takers, so I spent the rest of my time on 20M and 17M.

After an hour and 15 minutes, I logged 40 contacts, including one park-to-park and five European DX stations. The DX stations included Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Slovak Republic. I also worked a station in California. So, despite some unsettled geomagnetic conditions, my 5 watts were getting out pretty good.

Norristown Farm Park

On Saturday, I made an early morning run over to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). I couldn’t get to the section of the park where I normally operate. We had some snow overnight and the road down to that area was closed. When I got there, the temperature was around 30º F with strong gusting winds.

Instead of my usual spot, I operated from a parking lot near the park office. This location has the highest elevation in the park, but it’s also wide open. So, the wind was really putting my 12-foot telescopic whip to the test. Equipment-wise, I used the same setup as the day before.

The bands were a little better than the day before, so the contacts were coming in steadily on both 40M and 20M. In just under an hour, I had 42 contacts in my log. I had one park-to-park contact, along with two DX contacts (Germany and Finland).

One call I received was from “nature.” The road closure rendered the restrooms inaccessible, so I packed up and headed to a convenience store down the road on my way home.

Evansburg State Park

I wrapped up the weekend with a Sunday morning trip to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). As cold as it felt on Saturday, it was much colder on Sunday. It took longer to get set up, with frequent breaks to warm up my numb fingers.

Although I had a successful activation, it was far from trouble-free. As I was extending my trusty old MFJ-1956 12-foot telescopic whip, the bottom section came out completely and two small copper shims fell on the ground. I guess the wind on Saturday was harder on the antenna than I thought. Luckily, I found the two shims and put them in a safe place. I don’t know if I’ll be able to repair the whip, and I don’t think anyone makes a 12-foot whip anymore. To get things going, I grabbed my MFJ-1979 17-foot whip and installed it on my homebrew loading coil.

Next, I set up my TR-35 and T1 tuner in the truck. I tried tuning up, but the T1 wasn’t responding. After a little troubleshooting, I isolated the problem to a bad RG-316 jumper cable between the radio and the tuner. I replaced the cable, and things were back to normal.

When I finally got on the air, the hunters were out in full force. It only took about nine minutes on 40M to make my first 10 contacts. The 20M band also seemed to be in good shape. I had a QSO with W6LEN out in California, so my five-watt signal was getting out OK.

I wanted to try 17M, but I would have had to shorten the 17-foot whip to resonate it. I didn’t have my antenna analyzer with me, so I decided to just let the T1 tuner work its magic on the fully extended 17-foot whip. The T1 easily found a match, and the whip seemed to work fine. My contacts on 17M included two stations in Germany.

Even sheltered in the truck, my feet were getting cold. So, it was time to pull the plug and head home. After an hour and 10 minutes, I had 44 in my log. Along with the two DX contacts, I had one park-to-park contact.

Weather conditions at Evansburg State Park on Sunday. Fortunately, it was a balmy 42º F inside the truck. — Weather conditions (Fahrenheit) at Evansburg State Park on Sunday morning. Fortunately, it was a balmy 42º F inside the truck.

Despite the damaged gear, it was a fun weekend of activations. I think it made up for my inactivity over the past two weeks.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours.

72, Craig WB3GCK

A Half-Century of Ham Radio

Wow! Where has the time gone? Today marks 50 years of ham radio for me. I was first licensed as WN3YSV on this date in 1974, after finishing a four-year hitch as a Navy Radioman. Over those years, I’ve made a lot of great memories. I also made a lot of great friends, both in-person and on the air.

My first station included a Heathkit DX-60 crytal-controlled transmitter and a Realistic DX-160B receiver. This picture was taken in 1975, about 8 months after leaving the Navy. — WN3YSV (pre-WB3GCK). My first station included a Heathkit DX-60 crystal-controlled transmitter and a Realistic DX-160B receiver. This picture was taken in 1975, about 8 months after leaving the Navy.

Thanks to the thousands and thousands of hams I’ve had the pleasure of working over the past 50 years. I look forward to many more contacts over the next 50 years!

72, Craig WB3GCK (ex-WN3YSV)

A Couple of Early Morning Activations

With the holidays closing in, it seems like it’s getting harder to find time for getting out to play radio. However, I managed to get in two early morning activations over the weekend.

Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)

First up was a chilly trip over to Norristown Farm Park on Saturday. I’m slowly progressing towards a POTA Repeat Offender award, so I’ve been activating this park quite a bit lately. My rig was my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip.

I started on 40M and got off to a brisk start, making my first 10 contacts in about 9 minutes. By the time I had 24 contacts in the log, the pile-ups subsided, and I switched to 20M.

Despite some high noise levels on the band, I added 11 more stations to the log. My first contact on 20M was with DK3DUA, who would later work me again on 17M.

I finished up on 17M, where I was plagued with the same noise levels. Undeterred, I worked nine more there, mostly European DX.

After an hour and ten minutes, I finished with 44 contacts. Among those, were two park-to-park contacts and 9 DX contacts:

Germany (4)
Finland (2)
Italy
Slovak Republic
Ukraine

And then, it was back home to help my (far) better half set up the Christmas tree.

Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)

On Sunday morning, I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park. Thankfully, the weather was a little milder this time around. My equipment setup was the same as the day before.

Once again, I was amazed with the number of early-rising hunters. The action on 40M was fast and furious; my first 10 contacts came in about seven minutes. Things were a little slower on 20M, but I made a few DX contacts. The real fun came on 17M. The signals weren’t all that strong, but there were lots of them.

After an hour and 15 minutes, I had made 55 contacts. I only had one (known) park-to-park contact, but I had a dozen Europeans in my log:

France (4) – F4HZR worked me on two bands
Germany (3)
Azores
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
Slovak Republic

After logging contact #55, I had to take off to run a couple of errands. All-in-all, it was a pretty good weekend—by my standards, anyway.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Captain John Smith Trail

I was out in central Pennsylvania over the past weekend for our family’s belated Thanksgiving get-together. Before we left for home on Sunday, I squeezed in a quick early-morning POTA activation. This time, I drove down to Falmouth Boat Launch to activate the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (US-4567).

The Falmouth launch is about two miles downstream from the infamous Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. I was here once before back in 2018. However, I had forgotten that this water trail includes the entire length of the Susquehanna River. (I have since uploaded that log to the POTA website.)

It was about 20F (-7C) when I headed out for the 15-minute drive to the site. The parking lot was nearly empty, so I was able to park in a spot that fell within the 100 feet guideline. I had previously used Google Earth to measure the distance to the river.

WB3GCK along the Susquehanna River on a sub-freezing morning

I quickly put up my 12-foot loaded whip (before my fingers got numb) and set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts CW). Thankfully, the sun and my body heat brought the cab of the truck up to 40F (4C) in short order.

The conditions on 40M were amazing. The first two stations answered my CQs before I had even spotted myself. When I finally posted my spot, I had a huge pile-up. There were a lot of early risers out there, so Craig was a very busy boy for the first 15 minutes or so.

I gave the cheap QU-21C paddles a real workout this morning. My quick and dirty magnetic mount held perfectly, and the paddles worked great. They’ll be seeing a lot more use in the future.

QU-21C Mini Paddles with my quick & dirty magnetic mount. This clipboard has some thin, steel strips, instead of the steel washers I had been using.

After 33 minutes on the air, I had worked 32 stations, all of them on 40M. I had one known park-to-park.

Then, it was time to head back to my daughter’s house for breakfast. On the way, I pulled over to take some pictures of Three Mile Island. I also saw another boat launch that I’ll have to check out further.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all who celebrated.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Hacking the QU-21 Mini Paddles

When I bought the QU-21C Mini Paddles a while back, I wasn’t crazy about the small square magnet attached to the base. It didn’t seem to hold very well. When subjected to vigorous keying, the paddles would sometimes move side-to-side. I came up with a quick and dirty hack that resolved the issue for me.

A little backstory is in order. I’ve never been a big fan of “two-handed” keying; that is, holding the paddles in one hand while sending with the other. I modified a small clipboard by gluing two steel washers to it, such that they lined up with the two magnets in my Palm Mini paddles. The clipboard securely holds the paddles and gives me a nice writing surface for logging in the field. I’ve been using clipboards like this for about 10 years now.

In just a few minutes, I modified my QU-21C paddles to adapt them to my clipboards and make them more suitable for “single-handed” keying. The first order of business was to remove the square magnet from the bottom of the paddles. That was almost too easy. I wedged a knife blade between the base and the magnet, and the magnet popped right off.

Magnets glued to the underside of the perf board to line up with the steel washers on my clipboard

Next, I took some perf board from my junk box and cut off a 3.5 x 1 inch piece. I used some Goop® adhesive to attach two magnets on one side of the board. I placed them so they had the same spacing as the magnets on my Palm paddles. Then I glued the QU-21C paddles to the other side of the perf board. Except for the drying time for the adhesive, I completed the project in about 10 minutes.

The QU-21 paddles glued to the perf board and ready for use

The magnets I used are really strong and probably overkill for this application. But, I had a bunch of them on hand, so I put them to use.

Admittedly, this cheesy little hack doesn’t look like much. If I feel ambitious sometime, I might come up with something more elaborate. Maybe something like the base I made for my little MS2 straight key. For now, though, this will suffice.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Adding Radials to a Mag Mount

Reading through some blog posts recently, I came across an interesting idea from John AE5X. In the comments section of a recent post, John mentions adding a ground stud to a magnetic mount. The ground stud allows him to connect two ¼-wave radials (for 20M) for his MFJ-1979 telescopic vertical. So what follows is my implementation of John’s clever idea.

On occasion, I’ve used my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical with a small magnetic mount salvaged from an old 2M/440 antenna. I plan to use this configuration on my (far) better half’s car while visiting family over the holidays. The mag mount is only 3.5 inches in diameter, so I’m sure it’s not providing much of a ground connection. While the Gabil vertical is certainly usable with this mount, I’ve always felt that it needed more of a counterpoise on 40M and 30M to obtain a better match. I figured John’s idea might be the way to go.

Since I needed to drill a hole from inside the mount, I had to remove the foil covering from the bottom of the mount. This magnetic mount is probably around 25 years old, so removing the foil wasn’t too difficult. Using my pocket knife, I was able to peel the foil off, while keeping it intact.

Next, I drilled a ⅛-inch hole through the ground plate and out through to the top of the mount. It was a tight squeeze, but I was able to get a 4-40 bolt and a star washer in there. On the outside of the mount, I used a nut and lock washer.

Interior view of the magnetic mount. It was a tight squeeze, but a 4-40 screw and star washer just fit in there. — Interior view of the magnetic mount. It was a tight squeeze, but a 4-40 screw and star washer just fits in there.

The final step was to re-apply the foil covering on the bottom of the mount. I used some rubber cement to reattach it. I don’t know how well the rubber cement will hold up over time, but it won’t be seeing heavy use. It seems fine so far.

Exterior view of the old magnetic mount. I later removed the second nut from the screw I installed.

While I was at it, I replaced the PL-259 connector. The years had not been kind to the connector that was on there.

I gave the modified mag mount a try during a recent activation at US-1380, KFF-1380. I used the GRA-7350TC and mag mount on the roof of my truck. With no counterpoise wire attached, the best match I could get on 40M was just a hair under 3:1.

Next, I attached a 33-foot counterpoise wire to the mag mount. I ran the wire off the back of the truck and onto the ground. To avoid creating a trip hazard for others, I wrapped the wire around the side of the truck. In this configuration, I got the SWR down to about 1.2:1. Success!

The Gabil GRA-7350TC and magnetic mount with one 33-foot counterpoise attached. The wire dropped to the ground behind the truck and wrapped around the side.

Using the same counterpoise, the best I could do on 30M was a little under 2:1. I tried two 16.5-foot wires, but the result was about the same. No worries. An SWR of 2:1 is a piece of cake for the Elecraft T1 tuner.

In this configuration, I had two 16.5-foot counterpoise wires attached.

I ran the entire activation on 40M and 30M with great results (40 contacts in less than an hour). In fact, it was the best I have done with the Gabil antenna and mag mount. Was it because of the counterpoise wire? Maybe. Regardless, my five-watt signal was getting out just fine with this thing.

Thanks again to John AE5X for the inspiration.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Crowded Activation at Valley Forge

I made a quick trip over to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) this morning. It almost didn’t happen, but it turned out to be a fun morning.

Located a few miles from my home, Valley Forge has always been one of my favorite places for QRP-portable operations. During the winter months, I usually operate from a trailhead away from the main areas of the park. When I rolled in this morning, I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. It’s usually a popular place, but this was different. The parking lot was full, with a few folks even parking on the grass. There were a few sizeable groups of hikers/walkers gathering, which accounted for the crowded conditions. I was about to leave, when a parking spot in the middle of the lot opened up.

That's me in the middle of all those cars — That’s me in the middle of all those cars. Fortunately, my location didn’t impede my efforts on the air.

It was a beautiful, albeit windy, morning. I was hoping to get a spot where I could operate from the tailgate, but that was not to be. One of the hiking groups had occupied the only picnic table, so I operated “stationary-mobile” from the middle of the parking lot. I used my usual TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip.

The bands were as busy as the parking lot I was in. There were a ton of hunters out on 40M, so I made my first 10 contacts in less than 10 minutes. After logging 20 contacts on 40M, I moved up to 20M, where it was just as active and produced some DX contacts. Same goes for 17M. After an hour and 20 minutes, I had logged 41 contacts, of which four were known park-to-park contacts.

Some highlights from this morning:

Working 10 European DX stations: Germany (3), Belgium (2), Slovak Republic (2), France, Poland, and Slovenia
Working three of my fellow Polar Bear QRPers: VE3DN, VA2NW, and VE3WMB (P2P)
Getting calls from a couple of fellow QRPers I haven’t worked in a while: Dave K1SWL and Fred KA4RUR

Although my location wasn’t all that great, it was a fun activation this morning.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Mini Rove

Earlier this week I had a day without my usual obligations, so I planned to do a POTA/WWFF activation somewhere. I was originally thinking of visiting one of my usual local parks. My (far) better half, however, suggested I take advantage of my free day to activate some parks in the other end of the county I had been planning to re-visit. She’s always right, so off I went.

The first stop was White Clay Creek Preserve (US-6433), which I last activated a year ago. With Monday morning rush hour traffic, it took over an hour to get to this park near the Pennsylvania-Delaware border.

My location at White Clay Creek Preserve (US-6433)

When I finally got there, I set up my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil, along with my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I fired up the rig on the 40M band and encountered a horrendous noise level. It was so bad, I didn’t even try to use the band. This was my fourth activation at this location, and I can’t recall running into noise issues like that. I ended up splitting my time between 30M and 20M. Those bands had some noise, but nowhere near as bad as 40M.

Despite the local noise, band conditions were pretty good. After 45 minutes, I had 28 contacts in the log. No DX today, but I had one park-to-park contact. After taking the antenna down, I took a short, three-mile drive over to Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093).

Situated on the Maryland border, Big Elk Creek became a state park in 2022. My first activation there was about two months after POTA added the park. Two years ago there were no amenities whatsoever. This time, I found the trailhead now had a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables.

When I last visited this trailhead in Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093) it was just a dirt parking lot. Now there's a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables. — When I last visited this trailhead in Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093) it was just a dirt parking lot. Now there’s a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables (off camera).

I used the same setup as the previous park. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with noise problems. I made a few contacts on 40M before moving up to 20M and 17M for the rest of the activation. Besides the POTA spotting page, I spotted myself using the smartWWFF app. That brought out the Europeans, especially on 17M:

Finland
France (2)
Germany
Slovak Republic (2)
Slovenia
Latvia
Italy

Activating under both the POTA and WWFF programs certainly increases the number of hunters out looking for you.

In a little over an hour, I had 35 contacts with four park-to-park contacts. I briefly thought about making a quick trip into Delaware to activate White Clay Creek State Park, but saved that one for another time.

All in all, it was a fun way to spend my free day. I’m glad I listened to my (far) better half.

72, Craig WB3GCK