Polar Bear – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

POTA/PBMME/FYBO – February 2023

I made a trip down to Ridley Creek State Park today to take part in three events. Besides a normal POTA activation (K-1414), the annual FYBO contest and the monthly Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME) were happening.

Because of the cold weather, I operated from the truck, using my KX3 (5 watts) and homebrew vertical. At 23F (-5C), my weather was nowhere near what folks up north were experiencing. Still, it was a little colder than I wanted to deal with today. The sun coming through the windshield kept my operating position around a comfortable 58F.

The "QRP-Mobile" at Ridley Creek State Park (K-1414} — The WB3GCK “QRP-Mobile” at Ridley Creek State Park (K-1414}

After approximately 90 minutes, I had 31 stations in my log. Among those were two fellow Polar Bears, John VA3KOT and Jamie AA4K. Jamie was one of five park-to-park contacts I made today. I didn’t hear any FYBO stations. I spent most of my time calling, “CQ POTA.,” so I wasn’t really looking too hard.

Towards the end of my outing, I spent some time up on 15M. My 5-watt signal was getting some strong European hits on RBN, but I didn’t hear much activity on the band. I eventually had four contacts on 15M, including Belgium and Italy.

Starting tomorrow, we’ll be getting back to more moderate weather here in Pennsylvania. I’m looking forward to it.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Wolf Moon Polar Bear Outing

The Polar Bear QRP Ops group held a Polar Bear Moonlight Madness (PBMME) event today. PBMMEs are held on the Saturday closest to a full moon. The most-recent full moon, known as the Wolf Moon, was yesterday. So, I coupled the Polar Bear event with a POTA activation.

I headed out to Evansburg State Park (K-1351) here in southeastern Pennsylvania. To keep things simple, I used my homebrew vertical mounted on my truck. A small table behind the truck served as my operating position. I was up and running in about five minutes.

My operating location at Evansburg State Park (K-1351)

I started on 40M and had a steady stream of callers for close to 45 minutes. About ten minutes into my activation, I got a call from my first Polar Bear of the day, VE3WMB. Later on, I heard from two more Polar Bear members, AB4PP and VA3KOT. I always enjoy hearing “GRRR,” our traditional on-air greeting.

My rig today was my trusty Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 ATU.

I switched over to 20M and picked up a few more QSOs. My last QSO of the day was with K4UPG, a fellow Polar Bear member in Florida. It’s been a few years since I’ve worked Kelly, so it was great to hear him again.

After about an hour, my fingers started getting cold, so I called it quits. I didn’t have a problem sending with the paddles, but my log entries were getting hard to read.

WB3GCK wearing appropriate headgear for a Polar Bear QRP outing

I ended up with 37 contacts, including four park-to-park QSOs and four Polar Bear members. There hasn’t been much Polar Bear QRP activity in recent years, so it’s nice to see things picking up again.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Polar Bear QSO with NJ7V

During a recent outing, I had the pleasure of having a QSO with fellow Polar Bear QRP member, NJ7V. Charlie was doing a combined SOTA/POTA/Polar Bear activation, which he documented on his Red Summit RF YouTube channel.

Our QSO is included in his video, starting around the 11:30 mark. Despite the QSB and QRM, we managed to complete a POTA park-to-park contact. Of course, we also exchanged the traditional Polar Bear QRP greeting, “GRRR.”

If you’re into portable QRP operating, be sure to check out the Red Summit RF channel. You’ll lots of great videos out there. In particular, I’ve been enjoying the reviews in his Portable Morse Code Paddles Series. Good stuff!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Three-in-One Outing

I combined three activities into one outing today. The Polar Bear QRP Club was doing a Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME), and the SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (WES) started today. I planned to make some contacts in both, while doing a POTA activation.

The Polar Bear group traditionally schedules outings on the Saturday nearest a full moon. Rather than hold a separate on-air event, the Polar Bear ops are encouraged to conduct their usual portable operations (e.g. POTA, SOTA, picnic table portable somewhere, etc.) and give the other Polar Bears a heads-up so they can keep an ear out for them. The SKCC WES is held every month, and it just happened to coincide with the PBMME.

For today’s event, I chose to do a POTA activation at Marsh Creek State Park (K-1380). I used my Penntek TR-35 (CW @ 5W) and my 19-foot vertical. I operated from the West Launch parking area with a beautiful view of the lake. My plan was to call “CQ POTA” on each band for a while. Before changing bands, I planned to “search and pounce” looking for Polar Bears and SKCC stations.

Western boat launch area in Marsh Creek State Park (PA) — West Launch area in Marsh Creek State Park (PA)

After about two hours, I had 37 contacts in my log. I spent most of my time making POTA contacts, so I only made three SKCC QSOs. I found two Polar Bears on the air, however. NJ7V was doing a combined POTA and SOTA activation out in Arizona. I saw Charlie’s spot come up on the POTA website, so I called him on 20M. We had a “tuner-upper” on the frequency, but we got our park-to-park QSO done. I also had a park-to-park QSO with AE5X, another Polar Bear member. John was activating a park down in Florida. Altogether, I had ten park-to-park QSOs today.

I have to say this was a fun way to spend a chilly December morning.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Cold Moon Polar Bear Outing

I have a long-standing tradition of operating portable on New Year’s Day. I opted out this year due to a forecast of rain and the possibility of freezing rain. Fortunately, my delayed first outing of the year aligned with a Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event.

The Polar Bear QRPers tend to get on the air on the Saturday closest to a full moon. The full moon that occurred on December 30th is known as the Cold Moon.

I headed out to my daughter’s property near Birdsboro, Pennsylvania, and set up in my usual spot on top of a hill. Today I went with a 50-foot wire configured as a sloper. I attached the far end of the wire to the top of my 28-foot Jackite pole and ran a 25-foot counterpoise wire off into the brush. I set up my KX3 on a small table and set to work looking for some of my fellow Polar Bears.

My set-up for the January 2021 Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME).

As soon as I fired up the KX3 on 40M, I heard K3Y/2, one of the SKCC on-air event stations operating during January. I gave him a quick call and added him to my log.

I moved down to the 40M QRP watering hole and started calling CQ. Not long after spotting myself on QRPSpots, I received a call from VE3WMB. After chatting with Michael for a bit, I received a call from another Polar Bear, Eric VA3AMX. Nice! Back-to-back Polar Bears!

My fellow Boschveldt QRP member, WA8YIH, wanted me to let him know when I was on the air. I fired off a text message to Ron, and a little while later, we had a QSO.

This location on top of a hill is ideal for radio; it has good elevation and no RF noise. The downside, though, is that it tends to get windy up there. My CW sending hand was getting stiff from the cold, so I made a few more contacts before packing up. I had a chat with an Ohio station, worked a POTA activator in Indiana, and ended up working K3Y/8 in Michigan.

Despite the cold wind, it was a fun outing. In particular, I was happy to log two of my fellow Polar Bears up in Canada. I have to admit it sure felt good to get back in the truck out of the wind.

I’m hoping 2021 turns out to be a better year than the one we just went through. Stay well, my friends.

73, Craig WB3GCK

Polar Bear Moonlight Madness – December 2020

The Polar Bear QRP group started scheduling Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Events (PBMME) for the Winter, so I went out to operate for a couple of hours today to see if I could find any of my fellow Polar Bears on the air.

The weather has been a little sketchy; a nor’easter came up the coast overnight bringing some heavy precipitation. Fortunately, my area is far enough inland that we escaped the heaviest weather. It was only a rain event that tapered off this morning. However, with the soggy ground and the predicted high winds for today, I decided to wimp out and operate from the truck.

I drove over to nearby Upper Schuylkill Valley Park, one of my favorite operating locations during the Winter. Mine was the only vehicle in the parking lot today. I used my trusty KX3 and went with my usual 19-foot vertical, mounted on my truck.

My operating location for the Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event on a dreary afternoon. My truck was the only vehicle in the parking lot.

I spotted myself on the QRPSpots and the Polar Bear QRP Ops mailing and started calling CQ on 40M. After one or two calls, W3FSA gave a holler from Maine. John and I chatted for a while, and I went back to CQing.

I wasn’t having much luck, so I started chasing some POTA activators. I ended up with 8 POTA stations in my log, including fellow Polar Bear, VE2JCW. Jean was doing a joint POTA/PBMME operation, and I managed to find him on 30M.

I switched over to my straight key and finished up with 2 SKCC contacts. All in all, I logged 11 contacts during my 2 hours of operating.

Although it was a dreary, windy day, it was a fun day for radio. Thanks to fellow Polar Bear VE2JCW for allowing me to bag a bear and avoid getting skunked.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Rainy Polar Bear Outing

Today was the monthly Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME). While the weather had warmed up to a balmy 50°F, it came with a bunch of rain. The weather was lousy, but the bands were pretty good.

I headed back to Black Rock Sanctuary for today’s outing, and it rained the entire time I was there. So, I hunkered down in the truck for this one.

The WB3GCK portable QRP shack on a rainy afternoon

I started on 40M and was greeted with loud static crashes from the storm passing by. Despite the QRN, I had two-way QRP QSOs with W9ILF in Indiana, WI8J in Michigan, and fellow Polar Bear, Mike VE3WMB, in Ontario.

I ventured out in the rain to configure my 19-foot vertical for the 20M band. The pipeline to the West Coast must have been wide open. I worked two California stations and had a two-way QRP QSO with K7QF in Washington state. I also had an SKCC QSO with K5DMC down in Mississippi for good measure.

There was a 10M contest going on, so I headed up there to see what was going on. My vertical was only giving me a 2:1 SWR on 10M, but that was good enough to work a contester 5 miles away.

I went back to 40M for a bit before packing up and ended up with a nice two-way QRP QSO with K4JJW in North Carolina. Dick was really booming in with his 5 watts.

My homebrew vertical wrapped up for the rain

After tearing down the antenna in the rain, I got back in the truck to head home. As my luck would have it, the sun was trying to break through the clouds. That figures!

Nonetheless, I had fun today. Now it’s time to go dry out some antenna parts.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Polar Bear Moonlight Madness – November 2019

Although the Polar Bear QRP Club has been around for 13 years, the club hasn’t been very active in recent years. The club’s recent move from Yahoo Groups to groups.io prompted renewed interest among the members.

Mike VE3WMB/VA2NB organized one of the club’s Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Events (PBMME). The PBMME is an informal event where we get on the air—typically outdoors—on a Saturday closest to a full moon.

For today’s PBMME, I drove out to Upper Schuylkill Valley Park near Royersford, PA, one of my favorite portable locations. I was tempted to set up at a picnic table but, with the 39°F temperature (and a windchill of 29°F), I opted to operate from my truck. I went with my usual set up: my homebrew 19-foot vertical mounted on the truck and my KX3 up in the cab.

My operating location in Upper Schuylkill Valley Park for the November 2019 Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME).

I started on 40M and almost immediately got a call from VA2NB. Mike was operating from his cottage in Quebec. This was the first Polar Bear QSO for each of us in a long time. Unfortunately, Mike would be the only Polar Bear in my log today.

After working Mike, I went on to make another half-dozen QSOs, including a couple of two-way QRP contacts and some nice rag chews. I also picked up a new SKCC number from NC7H Idaho. There were a few other Polar Bears on the air but, sadly, I never heard them.

The Schuylkill River at Upper Schuylkill Valley Park

I was only out for 2 hours but it was a fun time. Thanks to VA2NB for preventing me from getting skunked today. I’m hoping that activity in the Polar Bear QRP Club will continue to grow.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Heads Up: Boschveldt QRP Club on the Air

Boschveldt QRP Club patch This weekend (January 18-20, 2019), the Boschveldt QRP Club will be holding our annual Winter get together. We’ll be converging on a cabin at the Mohican Outdoor Center in northern New Jersey for a weekend of QRP fun.

This year, our group will be resurrecting the Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event (PBMME). We’ll be using our club’s callsign, W3BQC. Some operators will be in the cabin and others will be out portable and pedestrian-mobile. Operations will be CW/SSB/Digital on various bands, 80M through 70cm. Times, modes, and frequencies are at the discretion of the individual operators. Your best bet is to watch for W3BQC on the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) or QRPSPOTS.com.

The Mohican Outdoor Center in northern New Jersey is a popular stop along the Appalachian Trail.

Everyone who works W3BQC over the weekend will receive a PBMME certificate. See the Boschveldt QRP Club website for full details.

If you hear us, give us a call!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Ron Polityka WB3AAL (SK)

I heard the sad news this morning that Ron Polityka WB3AAL passed away on March 30th. Ron was an avid QRPer who was well-known throughout the QRP community. Ron was known for his portable operations, particularly from the Appalachian Trail.

Ron and I go back about 25 years or so. Back in the early 90s, I was contacted by Ron, who was starting up the Eastern Pennsylvania QRP Club. My first meeting with Ron was at a local hamfest and I became an active EPA-QRP member after that.

Ron WB3AAL operating CW at the EPA-QRP Field Day in 2006

Over the years, I participated in many EPA-QRP Field Days with Ron. I also camped out with Ron a few times for various QRP field contests. I spent an interesting weekend with Ron aboard the Lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor in 2003. We activated the Chesapeake for a Lighthouse/Lightship Week event.

WB3AAL aboard the Lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) in 2003

Ron was one of the founding members of the Polar Bear QRP Club. I was fortunate enough to take part in one of the very early Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Events with Ron and others at Pulpit Rock on the Appalachian Trail.

In recent years, I only had occasional contact with Ron. So, I was stunned to learn of his passing at the young age of 58. Ron touched the lives of many in the QRP Community and his presence will be missed.

RIP and 72, Ron.

de WB3GCK