Sometimes things just don’t go according to plan. I have proven that many times over the years. My activation this morning was another example.
I drove up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) this morning for an early morning activation. My original plan was to operate from a picnic table in a wooded area, but heavily overcast skies prompted my decision to operate under a picnic pavilion.
My antenna of choice was going to be the “Gabil on a Table” configuration I used recently. I looked up at the ceiling of the pavilion and assumed there was enough headroom for the Gabil vertical on a table. Well, it did—until I slid the coil up to tune up on 40M. Doh! I probably could have used the vertical on 20M if I collapsed the radiator a little. Given the early hour, however, I really wanted to get on 40M. So, I took down the Gabil and packed it away.
Fortunately, with the KH1, there are always other options. I opted to operate the KH1 in tabletop mode with the whip, a right-angle adapter, and AXE extender coil. I had everything I needed in my KH1 box. No need to walk back to the truck to get stuff. Within minutes, I was up and running on 40M.
My KH1 set up for 40M at US-1351
This configuration on 40M never ceases to amaze me. Within 10 minutes, I had my first 10 contacts. Not too shabby for a 45-inch whip and a huge loading coil. After making 20 contacts, the action slowed considerably. I logged a few more contacts on 40M before changing bands.
I could have moved up to 20M, but I didn’t feel like changing the antenna and counterpoise wire. Instead, I went to 30M. That band always works fine with the same configuration I use for 40M. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much activity on 30M (except for a station that started calling CQ on top of me). After spending some time fruitlessly calling CQ with no takers, I called it quits.
After about 45 minutes on the air, I had logged 25 contacts—all of them on 40M. I also picked up three park-to-park QSOs. My best “DX” this morning was out to Missouri.
My (far) better half and I spent the weekend out in Central Pennsylvania to watch our grandson compete in a baseball tournament. With games scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday, I wasn’t expecting to get any radio time on this trip. I threw my radio backpack in the car anyway, and I’m glad I did.
My grandson’s team had back-to-back games on Saturday morning. It was cloudy and chilly, but it was worth it to watch them handily win both games. Towards the end of the second game, it started raining and continued on and off the rest of the weekend.
We got word Saturday night that the rest of the tournament was being cancelled. The weather forecast indicated a 100% chance of rain on Sunday. While I felt bad that we wouldn’t get to see our grandson play in a championship game, there was a plus side: I could get out for an activation Sunday morning.
I left the house early Sunday morning and drove down to a park along the Susquehanna River. The Susquehanna is part of the Captain John Smith Historic Trail (US-4567), and I have operated from this park many times in recent years. In fact, I was just here a few weeks earlier.
The Susquehanna River on a rainy morning
We drove out in my (far) better half’s compact SUV, so I also brought my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical and a mag mount. By the time I got to the park, the rain had slowed down a bit. I quickly slapped the antenna on the roof and tuned it for 40M. Because of the rain, I planned to limit my operation to one band. I didn’t relish the thought of going out there in the band to change bands. I set up my KH1 on the front console and got started.
My KH1 setup
After spotting myself, it took a minute or two for the hunters to show up. As usual, the Gabil and mag mount did a respectable job on 40M. My first contact was park-to-park with KG1A down in Florida. I also contacts with stations up and down the east coast and out to Missouri and Michigan.
Gabil GRA-7350TC on a mag mount
It wasn’t always easy, though. There was a RTTY contest going on, so now and then a RTTY station would pop up on my frequency. The QRM was annoying, but somehow I worked through it. At one point, I had some audio QRM from a freight train passing by the park. Fortunately, that train wasn’t too long.
The mag mount has much more coax than needed, so I coil up the excess to create a choke.
I got a text from my (far) better half letting me know they were going to be making breakfast soon. You don’t have to call me twice for breakfast. Besides, the coffee I brought along was almost gone. So, I packed up the KH1 and ventured out in the rain to take down the antenna. Fifteen minutes later, I was back at the house. I was only on the air for just 30 minutes, but I had logged 20 contacts, with one known park-to-park QSO.
The moral of the story: Always pack the radio gear, even if you don’t expect to use it. You just never know.
One of my favorite ways to use my Gabil GRA-7350TC antenna is on a picnic table within arm’s reach for easy adjustment. It’s a configuration I wrote about in a previous post. I wanted to try something similar using my Elecraft KH1, but with a minor twist.
What I had in mind was using the Gabil antenna on its tripod with most of the coax eliminated. To do this, I used a Gabil common-mode choke between the antenna and the KH1. Besides helping to keep RF off the shield, it also provided a little extra coax length. This makes it a little easier to connect to the radio.
I had most of what I needed, except for an adapter to go from the choke to the radio’s antenna input. After scouring through my collection of connectors and adapters, I found what I needed: a PL-259 to BNC-M adapter. These aren’t very common, but I had acquired one somewhere along the way.
Now, I just needed a picnic table. For that, I headed to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). I set up my Gabil antenna at a picnic table I’ve used several times before. I attached two 17-foot radials, which I laid on the ground. Using an SWR meter, I quickly tuned the antenna for an SWR of 1.3:1 on 40M. I swapped out the SWR meter for my KH1 and got on the air.
The Gabil vertical connected to the KH1 via a common-mode choke
After spotting myself, I logged my first 10 contacts in about nine minutes. Not bad for 3.5 watts to an eight-foot vertical. I hunted a couple of park-to-park contacts before moving up to 20M. I tuned around the band, and it seemed somewhat quiet. I called CQ a few times before getting a call from a very loud F4WBN. Right after that, I worked a station in Texas. Then the activity came to a screeching halt. My guess is that it was a little too early in the morning for 20M.
After spending more time on 20M than I should have, I went back down to 40M and picked up a couple more park-to-park contacts. I logged several more contacts after that before packing up. My one-hour effort netted 24 contacts, including five that were park-to-park.
My Gabil is an early version with scale markings applied with a sticker, rather than the engraved markings on the newer ones. I’ve already experienced a little peeling, so I wanted to add some band markings of my own. My plan was to use a Sharpie to mark the coil settings. I figured if I forgot to pack an SWR meter, I could at least get the antenna close enough for the KH1’s internal ATU to handle. It was a brilliant plan, except that I forgot to bring the pen. Doh! (Note to self: Add a Sharpie to the backpack.)
All-in-all, the Gabil proved its worth once again. It’s quick to setup, gets the job done, and it packs down small.
A while back, I came across a video by Aaron W4ARB in which he showed how to adapt the whip from a Gabil GRA-7350TC antenna for use with the Elecraft KH1. The Gabil whip is just over seven feet long, providing some height advantage over the KH1’s 45-inch whip. Since I had both the KH1 and a Gabil antenna, I gave it a try.
Aaron’s video gives you all the details you need, so be sure to go check it out. Since the Gabil and the KH1 whip use different thread sizes, Aaron found an inexpensive adapter to make it work. It reduces the M10 thread the Gabil whip requires to the M4 thread mount on the KH1. The longer whip weighs a bit more than the KH1’s whip, so Aaron used the KH1 on a picnic table with a Tufteln Right Angle Adapter. I just happened to have one of those in my KH1 kit.
To test this out, I drove out to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355) and set up at a secluded picnic table. Using the adapter, the Gabil whip attached perfectly to the KH1 angle mount. I set up for 40M, using the Elecraft AXE1 coil and a 33-foot counterpoise wire. Aaron elevated his counterpoise wire for improved efficiency. Being lazy by nature, I just laid mine on the ground.
I set the KH1’s antenna switch to the 17M/15M position to use less loading inductance. In order for the KH1’s ATU to achieve a decent match, I needed to partially collapse the Gabil whip by two sections. In this configuration, the antenna is only slightly longer than the KH1’s whip, but it seemed to get out OK. I easily made the requisite 10 contacts, including a two-way QRP park-to-park contact with a station in Michigan.
Given that I had to partially collapse the Gabil whip on 40M, I’m not sure it provides a significant improvement over the KH1 whip. It certainly works, though. A smaller loading coil would be great.
The Gabil whip antenna mounted on the Elecraft AXE1 coil
At this point, I did a little antenna experimentation. Using the fully extended Gabil whip, a 13-ft counterpoise wire, no AXE1 extender, and the switch in the 17M/15M position, the KH1 easily found a match on 20M. I also got it to load on 30M, but I neglected to make a note of the exact configuration I used. I’ll have to try that again another time.
My setup. The Gabil whip is mounted directly on the right angle adapter for 20M
The longer whip really seemed to work well on 20M. In short order, I worked nine stations, including five in Florida. I packed up after an hour on the air, with 20 contacts in the log.
This was hardly a scientific evaluation, but the KH1 and Gabil whip is a combination I will definitely use again. Thanks to W4ARB for the idea and the great video.
My (far) better half and I traveled to the Outer Banks of North Carolina last week for our annual family vacation. As we have done for the better part of 30 years, we rented a house on Currituck Sound and spent the week with our two daughters and their families. Although ham radio didn’t figure prominently on this vacation, I got on the air and made a few QSOs each day.
After the long drive from Pennsylvania to North Carolina, we unloaded three vehicles and got everything situated for the week ahead. I was assigned the task of grilling hotdogs and burgers for dinner, and getting everyone fed was the top priority. After that, I finally had some time to unpack some of my radio gear. We rented the same house we were in last year, so I knew exactly how I was going to set up.
I went with the same antenna I used last year: a 35-ft end-fed wire sloping down from a third-floor deck to a fence in the pool area. To feed the wire, I used my weather-resistant 9:1 unun and ran 25 feet of RG-316 coax into a screened-in section of the deck. While it’s not the greatest antenna in the world, it works reasonably well, sets up in minutes; and is nearly invisible. Given the development the rental house is in, the stealthiness is a big plus.
The feedpoint for my 35-foot end-fed wire. The far end of the antenna is attached to the fence below.
I didn’t get on the air until the next day. Again, my rig was identical to last year. I used my KX3 with a common-mode choke on the antenna input. I kept everything on a plastic tray, so I could move the station in and out of the screened-in porch.
My KX3 setup for some early morning operating
The monthly SKCC Weekend Sprintathon was on, so I caught a bit of that. This month’s theme was homebrew keys, so I had packed an old straight key I built from an assortment of junk box parts.
My old homebrew straight key built from an assortment of junk box parts
When I fired up the KX3, I encountered some local noise, but it didn’t seem as bad as I remembered from last year. I did a quick check and noted that the KX3 loaded up the antenna on every band from 80M through 10M. With an A Index of 27, the band conditions weren’t all that great. Regardless, I worked some SKCC stations and the occasional POTA activator.
It was very hot and humid, so I operated in three short shifts. Towards midday, I started to lose my shade. When that happened, I called it quits. I had 11 WES contacts, including one bonus contact with the club station KS1KCC. I also hunted four POTA activators. After that, I brought the rig inside and went out to spend the afternoon in the pool.
For the rest of the week, I operated on and off from the screened-in porch with the KX3. I limited my operating time to the morning hours while I had shade. I didn’t do any POTA activations this year. Mostly, I tuned around the bands, working whatever stations I could hear. The rest of the day was devoted to typical beach vacation activities.
One morning, I took the KH1 out to the dock for some POTA hunting. The dock is at the end of a 100-yard wooden walkway out on Currituck Sound. I parked myself on a bench and ran the counterpoise wire back down the walkway. I don’t know if being surrounded by water was the reason, but some of the activators were really booming in. I was able to get them on the first call.
Operating the KH1 from the private dock on Currituck Sound
Mid-week, a UFI (unidentified flying insect) stung me on the finger while I was in the pool. In the aftermath of the vicious and unprovoked—and perhaps exaggerated—attack, my finger was a little swollen. Thankfully, it didn’t impede my ability to send CW.
Grand-dog, Belle, enjoying her first trip to the Outer Banks
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, our week was over. On our last day, I made a few more contacts from the house before taking down the antenna and packing up the radio gear. I ended the week with about 47 contacts, mostly with POTA activators. Among those contacts were eight with KG1A at US-6305 in Florida. I worked him at least once each day I was on the air. Hunting with QRP, a funky antenna, and lots of residential noise is more challenging than activating, but it was still fun.
I had a great time spending the week with my daughters, sons-in-law, grandkids, and the grand-dog. Of course, getting in a little ham radio time with some beautiful scenery wasn’t bad, either.
Once again, I was out in central Pennsylvania for a week. My daughter’s family traveled out of state for my grandson’s hockey tournament. While they were gone, I looked after my grand-dog, Belle, and took care of the house. I spent much of my time walking Belle and taking her on trips to a local park, but I still carved out a little time for ham radio.
Since my grand-dog, Belle, has some separation anxiety when her entire “pack” has to leave her behind, I try not to leave her alone for long. So, instead of activating some of the local parks, I set up an antenna in the backyard for some casual operating.
Using the 35-foot wire I tried out recently, I threw together a wacky but serviceable antenna. From the chair I was operating from, I tossed the wire up over my grandson’s basketball net and ran it over to a 20-foot pole.
My thrown-together antenna. A 35-foot wire runs from the chair, over the basketball net, and up to the 20-foot pole in the background.
I handheld my KH1 and used my K6ARK pressure paddles for keying. Admittedly, I was a little out of practice using those touch paddles, so it took a couple of contacts to get used to them. My apologies to the stations that had to endure my early attempts using them.
Operating my handheld KH1
As I had hoped, the KH1 found a decent match on each of its five bands. That was the good news. The bad news is that my daughter’s yard is in a low spot and tends to be a little noisy at times. Despite those challenges, I easily worked three POTA activators on 20M during the first of several backyard sessions during the week.
Most days, I took the KH1 out in the backyard for a little airtime in the morning and again in the afternoon. My grand-dog accompanied me, but she preferred to spend her time sunning herself and rolling in the grass. I mostly hunted POTA stations and worked some Alabama QSO Party stations. I also heard the occasional SKCC member, but I wasn’t set up for using a straight key. Most of these sessions were short and ended when Belle decided I needed to pay more attention to her.
Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB)
As the saying goes, it was déjà vu all over again. I was also out at my daughter’s house for last year’s ill-fated Flight of the Bumblebees contest. After blowing the finals in my (then) brand new KH1, I was hoping for redemption.
For the FOBB, I used my trusty clipboard and CWMouse paddles. This made for easier logging during the contest. I also eliminated the basketball net and sloped the antenna wire up directly to the 20-foot pole.
My setup during the Flight of the Bumblebee (FOBB) contest
Belle and I headed out to the backyard a few minutes after the contest started, and Bumblebee #37 took flight. I started out on 40M and quickly logged my first contact. The local noise was present, but stations were still getting through. Based on the signal reports I received, I was getting out better than I could hear. After an hour, Belle decided it was time to go in. So, with 11 contacts in the log, I went back inside and took a break.
I eventually headed back out for about 30 minutes towards the end of the contest. The conditions seemed better this time around, and I picked up seven more contacts. When I ran out of FOBB stations to work, I called it quits with 18 contacts in the log. Seventeen of those were bumblebees. That was a far better finish than the solitary contact I made last year—and I didn’t blow any finals this time.
Given my surroundings and local noise, I think the 35-foot wire antenna did reasonably well for me this week. My particular configuration was no DX killer; my contacts were mostly in nearby states. My most distant contacts were on 20M during FOBB: Mississippi to the south and Missouri to the west.
Although there was nothing particularly exciting about my backyard-portable operation, I still had a fun week spending some quality time with my grand-dog and getting on the radio now and then.
When I tested a 35-foot non-resonant wire with my KH1 last week, I was pleased with the results. Continuing with that theme, I thought I’d try a 29-foot wire, another popular non-resonant length.
I drove back to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) and re-created the setup I used last time. To support the wire, I again used my homebrew drive-on mount to support a partially extended 31-foot Jackite pole. I’m guessing the pole was up about 27 feet, give or take. I set up my camp chair nearby and ran the wire over to the KH1. Starting off, I used a 17-foot counterpoise wire.
First, I checked to see what kind of match the KH1 would find on its five bands. The SWR was very low on all bands except for 20M, where the best the KH1 would do was around 2.4:1.
I started my activation on 40M, and the wire seemed to get out pretty well. Although the band was noisy with static crashes, I made my first ten contacts in about 11 minutes. I eventually moved up to 30M, but I only had one hunter there.
At that point, I took a break to experiment with counterpoise wires. I tried both 29-foot and 13-foot counterpoise wires, but neither of them improved the match on 20M. I also tried repositioning the counterpoise with no luck.
I left the 13-foot counterpoise wire attached and went back to 40M. I made an additional handful of contacts on 40M before trying 17M. On 17M, I picked up three more before calling it quits.
Admittedly, I had high hopes for the 29-foot wire. I’ve used that length a bunch of times, although usually with a 9:1 unun and rigs with more robust tuners. In any event, it worked well on bands other than 20M. I managed 26 contacts in a little more than an hour.
On the drive home, I thought about some ways to improve the match on 20M. I’m not sure any of them are really worth the effort, though. For now, I’ll just stick with 35-ft when I use a random wire with the KH1.
I headed back to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) to try out an antenna configuration I didn’t get to during my last visit. I was eager to see how well my Elecraft KH1’s internal ATU would match it.
The antenna in question is just a 35-foot wire with a 17-foot counterpoise. There’s nothing novel about this configuration, as it’s a popular choice for the Elecraft KH1. Since I bought the KH1 last summer, I had never tried directly feeding a random wire. Since I already had the 35-foot wire I used in North Carolina last year, I gave it a go this morning.
To support the 35-foot wire, I used a 31-foot Jackite pole on my homebrew drive-on mount. I sloped the wire down to my camp chair. I laid out the counterpoise wire in the grass and used a binding post to a BNC adapter to connect both wires to the KH1. To hold the KH1, I used a kneeboard from Tufteln strapped to my leg. I used my CWMouse paddles for sending.
My Elecraft KH1 on a kneeboard
Before starting my activation, I tried the KH1 on each of its five bands. The KH1 found a 1:1 match on both 40M and 30M. The 20M band gave the highest SWR at 1.6:1; however, the KH1 was putting out a full five watts on that band. On both 17M and 15M, the SWR was a respectable 1.3:1.
My 31-foot Jackit pole on a homebrew drive-on mount
Satisfied that the KH1 was happy with this antenna configuration, I got underway on 40M. The wire seemed to get ust fine, but it’s hard to judge an antenna’s performance on the air. There are just too many variables in play. Anyway, I made contacts all up and down the East Coast and out to the mid-west. I ended up making contacts on 40M, 30M, and 20M. It was a bit too early in the morning for 17M and 15M.
After an hour and 10 minutes, I wrapped up with 25 contacts in my log with nine park-to-park contacts. Not too bad for early on a Monday morning, I suppose.
Overall, I was very happy with the 35-foot wire with the KH1. I think it might be a permanent addition to my backpack. It certainly doesn’t take up much room. I’ll probably be using it for the upcoming Flight of the Bumblebees contest.
This is one of those antenna projects that started with: “I wonder if…” Designed with my Elecraft KH1 in mind, it covers the 20M, 17M, and 15M with the use of an tuner—similar to how the KH1’s whip antenna operates. It wasn’t something I had a burning need for, but it turned out to be pretty effective.
Concept
For many of my recent activations, I’ve been using my Elecraft KH1 with my base-loaded 12-foot whip. While I built the loading coil for 40M through 17M, I found that the KH1’s internal tuner easily matched the 12-foot whip on 17M and 15M, with the coil bypassed. A 12-foot radiator is resonant somewhere around 19.5 MHz, so it falls in between the 17M and 15M bands. Even though the 12-foot whip is a compromise, I was regularly making DX contacts on those two bands running five watts or less.
That got me thinking about building a more portable antenna for 20M through 15M using a 12-foot radiator. What I came up with was a simple 12-foot wire antenna that uses a loading coil for 20M and just the 12-foot wire for 17M and 15M.
When I thought about it, what I was building was conceptually similar to the Elecraft AX1 antenna and the KH1’s whip antenna. These antennas are close to resonance on 20M and resonant somewhere in between 17M and 15M. My antenna would operate the same way, except it would be almost 8 feet longer. I’ve always had good luck with the AX1 and the KH1’s whip antenna, so I figured my proposed antenna should work even better.
Along with the electrical properties, I wanted to make the antenna small and lightweight, using a #26 AWG radiator along with two 13-foot counterpoise wires. Also, I wanted to use—as much as possible—parts I already had in my junk box.
Parts List
I selected most of the parts based on availability in my junk box. They might not be the optimal choices, but here’s what I used:
T106-2 iron powder toroid
#22 AWG enameled wire (approx. 35 inches)
SPST slide switch. I actually adapted a DPDT slide switch, since I already had a bag of them.
#26 AWG wire (12 ft for radiator)
#26 AWG wire (2x13ft for counterpoise wires)
2mm banana plugs & jacks (2 sets for connecting the counterpoise wires)
(2) ring terminals
BNC female jack
(2) 4-40 x ¾-inch bolts plus some washers and nuts for the antenna and counterpoise connections. I used a couple of knurled nuts I had on hand.
Plastic box. I had one that measures about 2.5 x 1.75 x 1 inches.
Construction:
When I first thought about building this thing, I originally envisioned a more field-friendly form factor with built-in winders for the antenna and counterpoise wires. Since I constrained myself to using parts I already had (and I don’t own a 3-D printer), I used a plastic box I bought years ago but never used.
The construction was pretty simple; it’s just a toroid, a switch, and some connectors in a box. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so have a look at the accompanying pictures to see how I built it.
Inside the matchbox
I used some online calculators to determine the loading inductance needed for 20M. Assuming I would need to tweak the number of turns, I started with one turn more than I had estimated. It’s easier to remove turns than to add turns—don’t ask me how I know this.
I used some foam mounting tape to hold the toroid in place. For good measure, I also wedged in a piece of Styrofoam between the toroid and the lid. That adds some assurance that the toroid won’t come loose in the field. The trickiest part was cutting a square opening for the slide switch. That took some careful work with a nibbler tool and a file to get it done without destroying the box.
You could use a tree branch to support this antenna, but I like to keep my field setups self-contained. I found a cheap telescopic pole on eBay that measures about 12’ 3” fully extended, so I went with that.
Typical picnic table setup with the 12-ft vertical and Elecraft KH1
I envisioned using this antenna primarily for “picnic table-portable” operation, running a short length of coax to the radio. Using a piece of PVC pipe and a PVC elbow fitting, I built a simple mount for clamping to a table. As luck would have it, the base of the pole fits perfectly inside a ¾-inch PVC pipe. I just use a C-clamp to fasten the elbow to the table and slide the pole into the pipe. When I built the mount, I inserted a small screw partway up the pipe to give the pole a few more inches of height. A six-foot length of RG316 is more than enough to reach the radio at the other end of the table.
Matchbox attached to the PVC pipe picnic table mount
Testing in the Field
I don’t have a good place for antenna experimentation where I live, so it took several trips to the field to tweak the inductor. On each trip, I took readings with an antenna analyzer, made any necessary adjustments to the loading coil when I got back home, and repeated the process on the next outing. That was a tedious process, which was spread out over a few months because of winter weather.
Once I set the antenna up in the field, I found I needed far fewer turns than I originally estimated. Initially, the antenna was resonating well below the 20M band, so I removed a turn at a time. Since I was going to need to use an ATU for 17M and 15M anyway, I didn’t get too fussy about getting it exactly resonant on 20M. However, I eventually got it resonating in the 20M band, with an SWR under 1.5:1 across the band.
The good news was that, even though I hadn’t finished tweaking the coil, the KH1 easily found a match. I had five successful activations during those testing sessions, typically running 3.5 to 4 watts. I consistently worked stations in Europe on all three bands, along with some U.S. stations on the west coast. On one outing, I worked W6LEN in California on all three bands from a park here in southeastern Pennsylvania. During my final testing session with the antenna, I had a 20-minute two-way QRP QSO with DL4ISX on 15M (CW). I declared the project completed at that point.
Below is a schematic showing the final configuration:
Wrap-up
So, there you have it. No revolutionary technical breakthrough here, just a fun little project that has been even more fun to use. I envision many more picnic-table-portable activations with it.
I was out and about on a rainy and foggy Friday morning. Since I was in the vicinity, I made a stop in Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) for a quick activation. I completed the activation successfully, despite some self-inflicted problems.
I pulled into a convenient parking spot. Not surprisingly, the picnic area I was in was completely deserted. Since the weather was miserable, I planned to use my Elecraft KH1 in the truck with my trusty 12-foot base-loaded whip on the back.
As I was setting up the antenna, I noticed my first issue. The spot I had hastily chosen was under a tree—a large, rain-drenched one. Rookie error! Fortunately, my 12-foot stainless steel whip went up in between the branches and didn’t appear to be touching any of them. (Note to self: Look up next time!)
Rainy and foggy morning in Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)
I finished up with the antenna and got the KH1 set up for 40M. Normally, with this antenna, the KH1 easily finds a good match on the first try. Not this time. It would find a good match (1.5:1 or better), but the SWR would occasionally jump full scale. I had to hit the KH1’s ATU button to re-tune frequently, sometimes mid-QSO. Thinking it was the wind blowing the whip into the wet branches above, I backed the truck up a foot or two to clear the tree. That didn’t help.
After stumbling through seven contacts on 40M, I went out to change the antenna tap for 20M. As I did that, I realized what the problem was. On my last activation, I was using the KH1’s whip antenna, and I neglected to set the switch for using the BNC connector. The BNC jack is always connected, but the “20M” setting puts in some additional inductance for the whip. It appears extra loading was the source of my issues on 40M. Once I corrected my mistake, things continued normally on 20M and 17M.
Despite my struggles, I completed my brief activation with 22 contacts in my log. It was good to put a few DX stations in the log:
20M: CU3DI, F1BLL 17M: OE3KAB
All’s well that ends well, I suppose. My switch error got my activation off to a shakey start, but I got it done. Having already experienced blown finals with this rig, I’m usually mindful of the antenna switch setting. Still, I used my trusty label maker to put a reminder right on the radio.
