Except for Field Day, I’ve been mostly off the air for the past few weeks. To remedy that, I took advantage of a rare day with outstanding weather for a quick, early-morning activation at Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761).
Since I have to be careful with sun exposure these days, I drove straight to an area I knew would have shade all morning. My original plan was to experiment with a wire antenna with my Elecraft KH1, but for reasons I won’t bore you with, that didn’t happen. Instead, I used a whip antenna on my truck and ran coax over to my camp chair and table. My handy-dandy propagation app showed unsettled geomagnetic conditions, so I went with my longer 17-foot whip and homebrew loading coil.
My operating position
Despite the poor band conditions predicted for 40M, there was no shortage of early risers hunting parks. Although there was a lot of static from impending storms, it only took five or six minutes to make my first ten contacts. After logging 20 contacts on 40M, I changed bands. I made a half-dozen contacts each on 30M and 20M.
My CWMouse paddles on my clipboard
I finished up with 32 contacts after an hour and 10 minutes on the air. Eight of those were park-to-park, including one with my friend Ken N3CU, and one on each of the three bands with Tom KG1A in Florida.
My antenna, as viewed from my shady location
I packed up and headed home to cut my grass before the rain moves in tomorrow. Except for a minute or two of sheer panic when I temporarily misplaced the keys to my truck, it was a good morning and fun to get back out in a park.
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.”
This was supposed to be a post about how I made a bazillion POTA/WWFF contacts in an hour. Yeah, well, that didn’t happen. However, I had some interesting visitors stop during my (attempted) activation.
I made a trip over to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355) for a short activation and a little antenna experimentation. To make sure I wouldn’t be in anyone’s way, I set up at a picnic table well away from the parking lot.
My KH1 and CWMouse paddles
My antenna today was a vertical wire just under 18 feet fed through a homebrew 9:1 unun with a counterpoise wire just under 9 feet. I ran 20 feet of RG-316 coax over to my Elecraft KH1 on the picnic table. I had used this antenna configuration with my Penntek TR-35 and T1 ATU a few times in the past. While it worked well with that rig, I wanted to see how it would work with the KH1’s ATU.
My antenna with Hopewell Lake in the background.
My first visitors showed up just as I was getting started. It was about six Canada geese who wandered over about 20 feet from my antenna. One of them had a bad attitude and hissed at me when I went over to check the antenna. I calmly told him to buzz off; I was here first. They wisely moved on, de-escalating the situation. I’m pleased to report that no humans or geese were harmed during this brief but intense standoff.
Radio-wise, I wasn’t having much luck. QSOs were few and far between. On paper, the band conditions didn’t look too bad, so I’m not sure what my issue was.
My third contact was an ear-shattering call from my friend N3CU. Ken was also in the park somewhere, so that accounted for his loud signal. I told him where I was, and he came over to visit. I last ran into Ken in French Creek back in January, so it was great catching up with him. Eventually, Ken headed off to continue his activation.
Ken N3CU (left) and me at French Creek State Park (Selfie courtesy of N3CU)
After I got back on the air, I heard a noise in the woods behind me. It was a hiker coming off a trail. He was curious about my antenna, so I gave him my Amateur Radio and Parks on the Air “elevator speech.” After a brief chat, he headed off toward the lake.
After I had six 20M contacts in my log, I moved down to 30M. Just then, another fellow came up to see what I was doing. I was wearing my Navy ball cap, so that prompted five or ten minutes’ worth of “sea stories.”
While we were swapping tall tales, I had the KH1 calling CQ with one of my earbuds in my ear. I heard N3CU calling, so I told my visitor I needed to answer a call. He wished me good luck and headed off towards the parking lot. I needed to get back home, so I shut down and packed up after finishing up with Ken.
So, after an hour and a half, I only had seven contacts in my log. This was my first busted activation in quite some time, but I don’t consider it a failure. I was out in a beautiful park with excellent weather, and I got to catch up with a friend and chat with some other random visitors.
I’m sure I’ll have better luck on the radio next time.
I carved some time out of the chaos that is my life lately for some much-needed “radio therapy”. I drove over to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) yesterday morning to take advantage of some great spring-like weather. What I envisioned as an easy in and out POTA/WWFF activation turned out to be one of the more challenging activations I’ve done in a while.
I set up at a picnic table under a large pavilion. Since it was a weekday, I had the pavilion to myself—but not for long. More on that in a bit. To keep things simple, I used my Elecraft KH1 with the whip antenna on a Tufteln right-angle adapter. I ran my counterpoise wire out into the grass. This setup hasn’t failed me yet, so I was feeling confident. For keying, I used my trusty CWMouse paddles.
My setup at Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)
It was really slowgoing today. Although I was making some contacts, spots on the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) were few and far between. That’s not a good sign. Was it band conditions or my location? I don’t know, but I pressed on with dogged determination.
Not long after I got started, a park maintenance worker started mowing the grass in the picnic area. The bands weren’t all that great, and now I had to contend with some loud audio interference. They eventually finished up and moved to another area away from where I was sitting.
After 30 minutes, the 20M band had only produced seven contacts. One of those was 2,400 miles away in California, so my signal was getting out somewhere. Searching and pouncing produced two park-to-park contacts.
Before I knew it, I was sharing the pavilion with a group of about 40 exuberant kids. Apparently, they were on a school trip and taking a break from hiking for lunch. It was nice to see them enjoying the outdoors, but it also meant more audio interference for me. Eventually, some teachers rounded up the kids, and they all headed back down the trail. Once again the surrounding area was quiet, but I still wasn’t making any contacts.
I was stuck at nine contacts for what seemed like an eternity. I checked 17M and 15M a couple of times to no avail. The 20M band was the only one producing any contacts for me, and that wasn’t all that great.
After about an hour and a half, my stubborn persistence was giving way to frustration and resignation. I was about 15 seconds from shutting down and packing up when the elusive tenth contact came in. That contact came in the form of a very loud call from KB5HPM in Mississippi that had me reaching for the KH1’s volume knob. After logging that last contact, I packed up and headed home.
I ended my 40th activation at this park with the bare minimum 10 contacts, but I was okay with that. I’m not sure if this was the hardest I’ve had to work for 10 contacts, but it’s certainly right up there.
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.
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.
I’ve been very happy with the soft case that came with my Elecraft KH1 Edgewood Package. It has room enough for the KH1 and most of the accessories I typically use with it. Although I’ve been very careful with the KH1, I somehow damaged the stock Elecraft paddles that came with it. I’m not sure how I managed to do that, but that prompted me to start looking into a hard case for transporting this expensive little radio.
[Note: This post is not sponsored, and there are no affiliate links.]
Fortunately, others have gone before me in this quest, so there are a variety of boxes that others have tried. KR8L wrote a blog post about using a Pelican 1040 case for his KH1. K4SWL had a blog post and an excellent video showing a bunch of hard cases suitable for the KH1. Somewhere online I saw mention of the Apache 550 as a less expensive option from Harbor Freight. Commercially, Tufteln sells a Pelican M40 case modified to fit the KH1 and its whip antenna.
Now that I had a mind-boggling array of options to consider, it was time for the next phase of my project: over-thinking and over-analyzing.
While most KH1 users carry the bare minimum of items to get on the air. I, however, tend to over-pack. With the original soft case, I could carry everything I needed for pedestrian-mobile, picnic-table-portable, and stationary-mobile operations. Being a soft case, it has a little “give” to it when I squeeze in some extra items. So, for my purposes, I wanted a box at least large enough to hold everything I carried in the soft case.
After much agonizing, I settled on the Pelican M50. With exterior dimensions of 8.10 x 5.50 x 2.90 inches, it’s somewhat larger than others use. However, it easily holds everything I carried in the soft case—and then some.
Pelican M50 MicroCase with my KH1 and accessories (see text for contents)
I placed the KH1 on top of the counterpoise wires for some cushioning, but the KH1 still flopped around a bit. I found that placing a 3×5 inch notepad under the KH1 kept it in place with the lid closed. So, the notepad and a full-size mechanical pencil are now part of the kit. No problem, since they will get used for picnic table operations.
Pelican M50 MicroCase. The counterpoise wires and a notepad are under the KH1.
Although I already have a bunch of stuff packed in there, I’m still thinking about adding a random wire antenna and maybe some throw line. I might just keep that stuff in my backpack, though. We’ll see.
So that’s what I wound up with. In typical fashion, I probably packed more than I should have, but the overall weight of my backpack hasn’t increased very much. Plus, I like to think I’m minimizing the possibility of forgetting something in the field.
I haven’t had much time for ham radio this week, but I squeezed in a quick activation this morning. Not only did I get in some much-needed radio time, but I finally achieved a POTA Kilo award at one of my favorite local parks.
The park in question is Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). According to the POTA website, I needed 36 more QSOs for a Kilo award at this park, so I was hoping the bands would be in good enough shape to get there. I set up my Elecraft KH1 and 12-foot base-loaded whip and got busy.
On the air, there was some fading, but overall the bands weren’t too bad. The 40M band was the most productive for me, with 20M a close second. I made some contacts on 17M and 15M, but they were few and far between. I was amazed at the number of hunters out there early on a Friday morning. After an hour and 15 minutes, I had made 40 contacts—enough for the Kilo award with a few to spare.
As I mentioned, I didn’t make too many contacts on 17M and 15M, but I did work some DX. On 17M, I worked Germany, France, and Denmark. Stations in Mexico and France hunted me on 15M. While not DX, a special shout-out goes to N4NR in Florida who worked me on 20M, 17M, and 15M this morning.
While making a thousand contacts at a park isn’t a big deal for most activators, I was happy to finally get there after 32 activations at this park. I’m close to a Kilo award at another of my local parks, so I’m hoping to finish that one off in the next week or so.
Instead of heading out to the stores looking for bargains, I headed up to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355) looking for POTA and WWFF hunters. It turned out to be a productive morning—and I didn’t have to spend any money.
I rolled into a parking lot near Hopewell Lake and started setting up. Old Man Winter is starting to rear his head here in southeastern Pennsylvania, with an air temperature about 32°F (0°C) with a wind chill around 25°F (-3.9°C). I forgot to bring my gloves, so my fingers were becoming numb by the time I got my 12-foot base-loaded whip set up on the truck. I used my Elecraft KH1 up in the truck’s cab.
Hopewell Lake in French Creek State Park
My handy band conditions app showed an active geomagnetic field with “FAIR” conditions for 40M through 15M, my bands of interest. Even under these conditions, however, there are usually contacts to be made.
Despite the predicted band conditions, the band weren’t all that bad.
There was plenty of activity on 40M. It only took about nine minutes to log my first 10 contacts. After logging 18 contacts, I moved up to check 20M, 17M, and 15M. These higher bands weren’t too shabby either, producing 35 contacts across these three bands. I had DX contacts on each of those bands, too. The KH1’s display showed it was putting out about 3.5 watts on 15M, but that was enough to be heard in Europe.
My KH1 showing about 3.5 watts on 15M
Altogether, I had 53 contacts, including the following DX contacts:
20M: F6EOC
17M: DF2PI
15M: DL1SWB, F6DHD, IK3HMB, IK1LBL, DK1RS, EA7ZC
I also had a nice 2xQRP QSO with N8NK on 20M. He was running 1 watt from Michigan and sounded great here in Pennsylvania.
I had to pull the plug after about two hours. I would have stayed longer, but I had an errand I needed to take care of. The windchill temperature was still below freezing, so I hastily took the antenna down and headed on to my next stop.
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 