CW – Page 2 – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

Trying a 29-Foot Wire with the KH1

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.

My KH1 on a kneeboard with the roll-on antenna support in the background

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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Trying a 35-foot 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.

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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

A Soggy Memorial Day Activation

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!

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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Got It Made in the Shade

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 in Valley Forge National Historical Park — 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 in Valley Forge National Historical Park — 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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Persistance is Futile (Sometimes)

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.

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.”

72, Craig WB3GCK

Morse Code Day 2026

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!

I bought this J-38 from a military surplus store around 1975. Nothing special but I love the feel of it. It reminds me of my Navy days, I guess.

73, Craig WB3GCK

A Surprise in the Mail

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.

Many thanks to Werner for a fun QSO.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Hacking the Ashi Paddle 45

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.

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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Forty Meter Fun by the River

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 near the Susquehanna River for a chilly early-morning activation — 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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Coming Out of a Slump

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 — 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.

WB3GCK operating at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) — 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.

72, Craig WB3GCK