The weather has really put a damper on this holiday weekend. Today was no exception. Nevertheless, I had a successful early-morning activation at French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355).
I got off to an early start and headed up to the Hopewell Lake boat launch area in the park. The picnic area was devoid of picnickers, as one would expect early in the morning with periods of drizzle. So, I hunkered down in the truck with my usual Penntek TR-35 (5W, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip setup.
My location overlooking an empty picnic area
I also brought along a new 20Ah LiFePO4 battery I just bought. That battery was serious overkill for the little TR-35. It probably could have powered that rig for a week, but I wanted to give it a little test. I plan to use it for Field Day next month.
The gray box on the floor houses my 20Ah LiFePO4 battery. My activation barely put a dent in its capacity.
The hunters were also up early and raring to go. I had a steady stream of calls on 40M for about 40 minutes. When things slowed down, I spent the rest of my time on 20M. The 20M band did pretty well for that early hour. I didn’t work any DX today, but once again W6LEN made it into my log from California. Jess has great ears!
Hopewell Lake on a dreary morning
After about an hour and 20 minutes, the rain picked up a bit, so I started packing up. I ended up with 52 contacts, including a handful of park-to-park contacts. This was a vast improvement over my last visit to French Creek.
On this Memorial Day, please take a little time to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
We’re in the middle of our first heatwave of the year here in southeastern Pennsylvania. This isn’t my favorite kind of weather, but I wanted to get in a POTA/WWFF activation today. To avoid the forecasted heat, I made an early-morning trip to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761), hoping for some early-rising hunters.
When I got to the park, I headed to a picnic area where I knew there would be several hours of shade. I parked my truck in the shade and set up a chair and table nearby under some large trees.
My shady operating spot
I took a quick look at the band conditions before I left the house. The geomagnetic field was active, and the band conditions were predicted to be “fair” at best. I figured the higher bands would be tough today, so I planned to focus on 40M, 30M, and 20M. So, antenna-wise, I went with a 17-foot whip and my homebrew loading coil on the back of my truck. I ran some coax over to my table, where I had set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW).
My truck-mounted 17-foot whip
I started out on 40M around 0800 local time. As soon as I turned on the rig, I heard some ear-shattering signals. That was certainly a good sign. There were plenty of early morning hunters out there, so it only took about 6 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. The hunters kept me busy on 40M for about 40 minutes until the activity slowed down.
I spent the rest of my time on 30M and 20M. The activity there, although not as brisk as on 40M, produced a fair number of contacts. After about an hour and 40 minutes, I had 53 contacts in my log.
One of my contacts was with a fellow Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) member. Fortunately, I had a straight key hooked up and ready to go to complete the standard SKCC exchange.
Some highlights:
Working Jess W6LEN out in California on both 30M and 20M
A park-to-park contact with Jim N4JAW, aka Ham on a Bike
Working on-the-air friends I hadn’t heard in a while: AB4PP, W1PID, and KK4Z
As I was operating, two park vehicles came by and parked a couple of spaces away from my truck. At first, I thought it was a National Park SWAT team coming to check on my suspicious activity. Instead, two rangers and a maintence worker donned backpacks and headed down one of the trails. Apparently, there are more important things in the park than some old ham radio operator.
Despite the hot weather and mediocre propagation forecasts, today’s activation was a lot of fun. Except for a few pesky ants, my shady spot under the trees was magnificent.
Yesterday was the perfect day to be out operating in a park, so I headed over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). I wanted to keep things simple, so I used my Elecraft KH1 and its whip antenna. While this setup has worked surprisingly well for me in the past, yesterday was not one of those times.
When I arrived at the park, I headed to a picnic table in the shade of some large trees. (Given my history with skin cancer, the sun is not my friend these days.) This was a spot I have used before with the KH1, so I was hoping for similar success.
Operating from Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761)
I started out on 40M, using the AXE1 extender coil and a 33-foot counterpoise wire. I also used a Tufteln right-angle adapter with the whip. After quickly logging two contacts, things slowed way down. I spent 20 minutes of fruitless CQing, wondering if I should move on to another setup. Instead of bailing on my KH1 setup, I stubbornly pressed on.
Elecraft KH1 and Ashi Paddles
Well, after 30 minutes more of trying various bands on the KH1, I had a paltry four QSOs in the log. It felt like I was beating my head against a wall, so I packed up the KH1 and headed back to my truck. I used my 12-foot base-loaded whip and TR-35 from the truck. I allotted myself 45 more minutes. If I couldn’t reach 10 contacts by then, I would just slink home wallowing in disappointment.
Fortunately, my trusty TR-35 and 12-foot whip saved the day. After 30 minutes, I logged another nine contacts on 40M and 20M. It was getting close to lunchtime and my short attention span was kicking in, so I packed up and headed home.
Yesterday just wasn’t a good day for a 45-inch antenna. Looking back, I should have switched setups sooner and saved myself some frustration. In the words of Don Schlitz, the famous songwriter who passed away recently: “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”
Happy Morse Code Day, a day that honors Samuel F. B. Morse. Born on this day in 1791, Morse is recognized as the inventor of the code which bears his name. So, in honor of Mr. Morse, get on the air today and make some dots and dashes!
It’s been crazy around here in WB3GCK-land lately, so I’ve had very little time for ham radio. However, a mail delivery the other day brought a radio-related item that brightened up my day.
A while back, I was doing an activation in Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351), while testing a new antenna I built. I was using my Elecraft KH1 running about five watts. As I was wrapping things up, I tuned around on the 15M band and heard DL4ISX calling CQ. I had worked a few other European stations that day, so I gave him a call. After a few tries, he got my callsign, and we proceeded to have a nice CW chat.
There was some fading on the band, but we carried on for over 15 minutes. During our QSO, Werner told me he was running five watts to a Windom antenna. This wasn’t my first two-way QRP QSO with a DX station over the course of 50+ years in ham radio, but I could probably count them all on one hand with some fingers to spare. Regardless, that was a great finish to a fun activation.
Fast forward about a month later… I went out to get the mail and found an envelope from Germany containing what appeared to be a QSL card. I couldn’t remember the last time I received a DX QSL that didn’t come through the QSL bureau.
Inside the envelope, I found a QSL card from DL4ISX confirming our two-way QRP QSO. That sure brought a smile to my face. The next day, my QSL card was sent on its way to Germany.
I bought the Ashi Paddle 45 from N6ARA Electronics last year. While I like the paddles a lot, the magnetic mount wasn’t strong enough for the way I operate. I did a quick and dirty mod to address that issue.
I’m not a huge fan of holding paddles in one hand while keying with the other. I have operated like that and probably will again, but that’s not my preferred technique. My preference is to use a small clipboard with steel strips glued on and a magnetic base on the paddles. Of course, this arrangement only works if the paddles have magnets strong to keep them from moving. This is a problem with some portable paddles.
As with many portable paddles, the Ashi paddles are small and lightweight. As a result, the magnets on the included attachment are small and confined to the bottom of the base (out of necessity). This gives the paddle levers some mechanical advantage, allowing the base to slide side-to-side with vigorous keying.
With the Ashi paddles, I used a mod similar to what I used for my QU-21 paddles. As luck would have it, I had a scrap piece of fiberglass perfboard that was just about the perfect size. What are the odds of that? Then, it was a simple matter of drilling a few holes, using the original magnetic mount as a template.
The paddles attached to my clipboard
Initially, I used just the two original screws to attach the board, but I could feel a little vertical flexing when I used the paddles. I finally added a couple of strips of two-sided foam mounting tape, and that seemed to do the trick.
The underside of my quick and dirty mod. The black rectangle to the right are the steel strips covered with hockey grip tape.
The other issue I run into is highly polished magnets. Even though I used some powerful magnets, their slick finish still allowed a little sliding. While searching for something thin that would provide a little friction, I stumbled across hockey grip tape. This is the cloth tape used on hockey sticks, baseball bats, etc., to provide a better grip. I bought a roll on Amazon to try—they had a bunch of options to choose from. My grandson plays hockey, so if the tape didn’t work for me, he could use it. Fortunately, the tape was a definite improvement.
So, this quick little mod made the Ashi paddles better suited to my clipboard use case. Is it ugly? Yes. Is it functional? Also yes. Regardless, these paddles should see a lot more action in the field now.
While out in central Pennsylvania over the weekend visiting family, I headed out early on a chilly Saturday morning for a quick activation of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (US-4567). The 40M band was really hopping.
My destination was Falmouth Access Park, which is along the Susquehanna River in northern Lancaster County. The place was nearly empty, except for a few anglers along the river. Not too surprising, since it was only 0730 EST. I set up my 12-ft base-loaded whip on the back of the truck and my Elecraft KH1 (4.5W, CW) up in the cab.
My truck by the Susquehanna River for a chilly early-morning activation
After posting a spot and calling CQ on 40M a couple of times, the hunters started piling up. Once they started, the action was nearly non-stop for the next 45 minutes. The 40M band was in great shape, providing contacts all up and down the East Coast and out to Iowa to the west. I was short on time, so I never got around to trying other bands.
At the end of my 45-minute activation, I had 35 contacts in the log, including five park-to-park contacts. I had a couple of errands to run before heading back to the house for breakfast, so I packed up and headed out.
Thanks to all the early-rising hunters. You didn’t disappoint.
I’ve been in a bit of a ham radio slump lately. It had been nearly three weeks since my last park activation, and I’ve only had a few QSOs from the home station. Our temperatures have finally gotten above freezing this week, so I headed out to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) for a long-overdue activation this morning.
With the slightly warmer temperatures this week, the snow and ice from last month’s storm are finally melting (a little). Even though the temperatures are above freezing, we still have what I refer to as “refrigerator weather.” Still, I braved the chilly weather and operated outdoors today.
The Evansburg State Park entrance sign with the dirty remnants of last month’s snow
I was the only person in the park this morning, so I had a large picnic pavilion to myself. Of course, there usually aren’t many picnics on a weekday morning in February. I went with my Elecraft KH1 and whip antenna with a right-angle adapter from Tufteln. I ran my counterpoise wire out across the snow.
Operating at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)
I started out on 40M with the Elecraft AXE1 extension coil. As always, the little whip antenna amazed me with how well it was getting out. I logged eight contacts in the first 10 minutes before the action slowed. After logging 11 contacts, I moved up to 20M. The action was a little slower there, but I still managed seven more contacts.
The view from my operating position this morning
My coffee mug was nearly empty, so I called it quits after an hour on the air. I finished up with 18 contacts in my log. Not bad for a 45-inch antenna and “fair” band conditions, I suppose.
It was fun getting back out in a park again. Hopefully, I’ll get in another activation or two before the next round of snow shows up.
My old, arthritic fingers aren’t what they used to be, especially when sending CW in colder weather. I’ve tried a variety of gloves over the years, but they have each had their drawbacks. Recently, my (far) better half stumbled across an inexpensive pair of gloves that seem to be just what I’ve been looking for.
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I mentioned my cold weather CW dilemma to my (far) better half in passing, and she found an interesting pair of gloves on Amazon a few minutes later. They are the Glider Touch Screen gloves for $8.99 (USD). At that price, I took a chance and fired off an order to try them. After measuring my hand and using their sizing guide, I went with the large size. Glider Gloves is a Canadian company, and our friends to the north certainly know a thing or two about cold weather.
Some reviewers on Amazon complained about these gloves having a snug fit, but that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for. I use iambic (squeeze) keying and paddles with a light touch, so bulky gloves can make accurate sending difficult.
This is how I normally send while holding a pencil. These touchscreen gloves allow me to do that with no problems.
I tried my new gloves during a recent POTA/WWFF activation. They definitely have a snug fit, but they conform nicely to the shape of my fingers. There’s no excess material in the fingertips to interfere with keying. Normally, I use the paddles while holding a pencil, so I can quickly alternate between keying and logging. I found I could still do that with no issues. My log’s legibility was no worse than my normal chicken scratch.
The Glider Gloves. (See the Amazon website for much better pictures.)
They also worked great when I entered my spotting information using my cell phone. To facilitate use with touch screens, they have some copper woven right into the material. My typing on the phone was about the same as my normal “fat-fingering.”
Since they are thin and form-fitting and have some non-slip material on the palms, they are good for other tasks requiring manual dexterity. Normally, I have to take my gloves off at some point when installing the antenna on my truck. This time, however, I had the Glider gloves on and had no problems screwing the parts together.
The temperature in the truck during my brief activation was about 45° F (7° C), and my hands stayed reasonably warm. The manufacturer says they’re good for “moderate temperatures,” so I probably wouldn’t wear them on an Artic expedition. Regardless, they are a whole lot better than no gloves at all—which is how I sometimes operated in the cold. I can also put my regular gloves on over them if I need to take a break from sending.
I had hoped to use them during Winter Field Day this year, but some personal obligations and a snowstorm forced me to sit this one out. According to the weather forecasts, we have a lot more winter weather ahead of us here in Pennsylvania, so I’m sure these gloves will still get plenty of use.
There are lots of similar gloves on the market, so there may be better options out there. Since I tend to avoid operating in extremely low temperatures anyway, I think these should do the job for me.
Going out for back-to-back park activations on the first and last days of the year has become something of a tradition for me. Since my (far) better half and I had no special plans, I happily carried on that tradition. Plus, my New Year’s Day activation had a special significance this year.
New Year’s Eve
I wrapped up 2025 with a trip to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355). As with my last visit to French Creek, the weather was unpleasantly cold. Here in southeastern Pennsylvania, we’re in the midst of a stretch of days with temperatures below or near the freezing point.
The antenna project I tested last time was ready for another round of measurements. With the temperatures forecasted to remain below freezing all day, however, I didn’t bother to bring it along.
So, I hunkered down in the truck with my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) with my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck. When I powered up the radio, I was pleased to see I wasn’t the only early-morning station on the air. My log quickly started filling with familiar hunter callsigns. In fact, it took only nine minutes to make my first 10 contacts. I spent most of my time on 40M, but also worked several stations on both 30M and 17M.
New Year’s Eve at French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355)
With my supply of hot coffee running out, I made my last contact of the year. That was a park-to-park contact with G0UUU/M. It took about a dozen tries before Phil correctly copied the last two letters of my callsign. Mine isn’t the most CW-friendly callsign, so I appreciate his patience in digging my QRP signal out of the noise. After that, I quickly packed up, cranked up the heater in the truck, and headed home. I ended my activation with 42 contacts, including five that were park-to-park.
Looking back, 2025 was a pretty good year for me. I earned my first-ever Kilo Award early in the year and earned Kilo Awards at four more local parks after that. Plus, a DX park-to-park contact was a pretty good way to wrap up the year.
New Year’s Day
On this day back in 2016, ARRL kicked off its wildly successful National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) program. This one-year program led to the massive popularity the Parks on the Air (POTA) program enjoys today.
So, 10 years ago, I headed out early on New Year’s Day for my first-ever formal park activation from Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). That was far from my first time operating from a park (and Valley Forge in particular), but it was my first time activating in a formal parks program. To recognize the ten-year anniversary of my first park activation, I headed back to Valley Forge. This time, though, I was about a mile away from where I parked back then.
I still have the old Yaesu FT-817 I used 10 years ago, but I went with a more modern rig: my Penntek TR-35. This rig lets me keep both paddles and a straight key connected at the same time. January is Straight Key Month for the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC), so I would be ready if I heard any K3Y special event stations.
Mother Nature welcomed in the new year with freezing temperatures and a coating of snow from an overnight snow squall. Traveling on the back roads was a little tricky, but I arrived without incident. The trailhead parking lot I was in was fairly busy with hikers and dog walkers.
New Year’s Day at Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761)
Using the same equipment as the day before, I quickly set up and got on the air. Boy, the bands sure were busy. I split my time between the 40M, 20M, and 17M bands, and there were lots of early-risers out there hunting.
I was feeling a little under the weather, so I packed it in after about an hour. I ended up with 42 contacts, with a couple of park-to-park contacts. Some highlights included:
W6LEN in California on 40M. (Forty seemed long this morning)
F1BLL on 20M
IK2XDF, IK1GPG, and DL1AX on 17M
So, 2026 is off to a good start for me, and I hope it’s a good one for you, too. Here’s wishing you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 