portable – Page 7 – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

A Couple of Early Morning Activations

With the holidays closing in, it seems like it’s getting harder to find time for getting out to play radio. However, I managed to get in two early morning activations over the weekend.

Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)

First up was a chilly trip over to Norristown Farm Park on Saturday. I’m slowly progressing towards a POTA Repeat Offender award, so I’ve been activating this park quite a bit lately. My rig was my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip.

I started on 40M and got off to a brisk start, making my first 10 contacts in about 9 minutes. By the time I had 24 contacts in the log, the pile-ups subsided, and I switched to 20M.

Despite some high noise levels on the band, I added 11 more stations to the log. My first contact on 20M was with DK3DUA, who would later work me again on 17M.

I finished up on 17M, where I was plagued with the same noise levels. Undeterred, I worked nine more there, mostly European DX.

After an hour and ten minutes, I finished with 44 contacts. Among those, were two park-to-park contacts and 9 DX contacts:

Germany (4)
Finland (2)
Italy
Slovak Republic
Ukraine

And then, it was back home to help my (far) better half set up the Christmas tree.

Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)

On Sunday morning, I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park. Thankfully, the weather was a little milder this time around. My equipment setup was the same as the day before.

Once again, I was amazed with the number of early-rising hunters. The action on 40M was fast and furious; my first 10 contacts came in about seven minutes. Things were a little slower on 20M, but I made a few DX contacts. The real fun came on 17M. The signals weren’t all that strong, but there were lots of them.

After an hour and 15 minutes, I had made 55 contacts. I only had one (known) park-to-park contact, but I had a dozen Europeans in my log:

France (4) – F4HZR worked me on two bands
Germany (3)
Azores
Italy
Poland
Slovenia
Slovak Republic

After logging contact #55, I had to take off to run a couple of errands. All-in-all, it was a pretty good weekend—by my standards, anyway.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Captain John Smith Trail

I was out in central Pennsylvania over the past weekend for our family’s belated Thanksgiving get-together. Before we left for home on Sunday, I squeezed in a quick early-morning POTA activation. This time, I drove down to Falmouth Boat Launch to activate the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail (US-4567).

The Falmouth launch is about two miles downstream from the infamous Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. I was here once before back in 2018. However, I had forgotten that this water trail includes the entire length of the Susquehanna River. (I have since uploaded that log to the POTA website.)

It was about 20F (-7C) when I headed out for the 15-minute drive to the site. The parking lot was nearly empty, so I was able to park in a spot that fell within the 100 feet guideline. I had previously used Google Earth to measure the distance to the river.

WB3GCK along the Susquehanna River on a sub-freezing morning

I quickly put up my 12-foot loaded whip (before my fingers got numb) and set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts CW). Thankfully, the sun and my body heat brought the cab of the truck up to 40F (4C) in short order.

The conditions on 40M were amazing. The first two stations answered my CQs before I had even spotted myself. When I finally posted my spot, I had a huge pile-up. There were a lot of early risers out there, so Craig was a very busy boy for the first 15 minutes or so.

I gave the cheap QU-21C paddles a real workout this morning. My quick and dirty magnetic mount held perfectly, and the paddles worked great. They’ll be seeing a lot more use in the future.

QU-21C Mini Paddles with my quick & dirty magnetic mount. This clipboard has some thin, steel strips, instead of the steel washers I had been using.

After 33 minutes on the air, I had worked 32 stations, all of them on 40M. I had one known park-to-park.

Then, it was time to head back to my daughter’s house for breakfast. On the way, I pulled over to take some pictures of Three Mile Island. I also saw another boat launch that I’ll have to check out further.

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all who celebrated.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Adding Radials to a Mag Mount

Reading through some blog posts recently, I came across an interesting idea from John AE5X. In the comments section of a recent post, John mentions adding a ground stud to a magnetic mount. The ground stud allows him to connect two ¼-wave radials (for 20M) for his MFJ-1979 telescopic vertical. So what follows is my implementation of John’s clever idea.

On occasion, I’ve used my Gabil GRA-7350TC vertical with a small magnetic mount salvaged from an old 2M/440 antenna. I plan to use this configuration on my (far) better half’s car while visiting family over the holidays. The mag mount is only 3.5 inches in diameter, so I’m sure it’s not providing much of a ground connection. While the Gabil vertical is certainly usable with this mount, I’ve always felt that it needed more of a counterpoise on 40M and 30M to obtain a better match. I figured John’s idea might be the way to go.

Since I needed to drill a hole from inside the mount, I had to remove the foil covering from the bottom of the mount. This magnetic mount is probably around 25 years old, so removing the foil wasn’t too difficult. Using my pocket knife, I was able to peel the foil off, while keeping it intact.

Next, I drilled a ⅛-inch hole through the ground plate and out through to the top of the mount. It was a tight squeeze, but I was able to get a 4-40 bolt and a star washer in there. On the outside of the mount, I used a nut and lock washer.

Interior view of the magnetic mount. It was a tight squeeze, but a 4-40 screw and star washer just fit in there. — Interior view of the magnetic mount. It was a tight squeeze, but a 4-40 screw and star washer just fits in there.

The final step was to re-apply the foil covering on the bottom of the mount. I used some rubber cement to reattach it. I don’t know how well the rubber cement will hold up over time, but it won’t be seeing heavy use. It seems fine so far.

Exterior view of the old magnetic mount. I later removed the second nut from the screw I installed.

While I was at it, I replaced the PL-259 connector. The years had not been kind to the connector that was on there.

I gave the modified mag mount a try during a recent activation at US-1380, KFF-1380. I used the GRA-7350TC and mag mount on the roof of my truck. With no counterpoise wire attached, the best match I could get on 40M was just a hair under 3:1.

Next, I attached a 33-foot counterpoise wire to the mag mount. I ran the wire off the back of the truck and onto the ground. To avoid creating a trip hazard for others, I wrapped the wire around the side of the truck. In this configuration, I got the SWR down to about 1.2:1. Success!

The Gabil GRA-7350TC and magnetic mount with one 33-foot counterpoise attached. The wire dropped to the ground behind the truck and wrapped around the side.

Using the same counterpoise, the best I could do on 30M was a little under 2:1. I tried two 16.5-foot wires, but the result was about the same. No worries. An SWR of 2:1 is a piece of cake for the Elecraft T1 tuner.

In this configuration, I had two 16.5-foot counterpoise wires attached.

I ran the entire activation on 40M and 30M with great results (40 contacts in less than an hour). In fact, it was the best I have done with the Gabil antenna and mag mount. Was it because of the counterpoise wire? Maybe. Regardless, my five-watt signal was getting out just fine with this thing.

Thanks again to John AE5X for the inspiration.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Crowded Activation at Valley Forge

I made a quick trip over to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) this morning. It almost didn’t happen, but it turned out to be a fun morning.

Located a few miles from my home, Valley Forge has always been one of my favorite places for QRP-portable operations. During the winter months, I usually operate from a trailhead away from the main areas of the park. When I rolled in this morning, I couldn’t believe how crowded it was. It’s usually a popular place, but this was different. The parking lot was full, with a few folks even parking on the grass. There were a few sizeable groups of hikers/walkers gathering, which accounted for the crowded conditions. I was about to leave, when a parking spot in the middle of the lot opened up.

That's me in the middle of all those cars — That’s me in the middle of all those cars. Fortunately, my location didn’t impede my efforts on the air.

It was a beautiful, albeit windy, morning. I was hoping to get a spot where I could operate from the tailgate, but that was not to be. One of the hiking groups had occupied the only picnic table, so I operated “stationary-mobile” from the middle of the parking lot. I used my usual TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip.

The bands were as busy as the parking lot I was in. There were a ton of hunters out on 40M, so I made my first 10 contacts in less than 10 minutes. After logging 20 contacts on 40M, I moved up to 20M, where it was just as active and produced some DX contacts. Same goes for 17M. After an hour and 20 minutes, I had logged 41 contacts, of which four were known park-to-park contacts.

Some highlights from this morning:

Working 10 European DX stations: Germany (3), Belgium (2), Slovak Republic (2), France, Poland, and Slovenia
Working three of my fellow Polar Bear QRPers: VE3DN, VA2NW, and VE3WMB (P2P)
Getting calls from a couple of fellow QRPers I haven’t worked in a while: Dave K1SWL and Fred KA4RUR

Although my location wasn’t all that great, it was a fun activation this morning.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Mini Rove

Earlier this week I had a day without my usual obligations, so I planned to do a POTA/WWFF activation somewhere. I was originally thinking of visiting one of my usual local parks. My (far) better half, however, suggested I take advantage of my free day to activate some parks in the other end of the county I had been planning to re-visit. She’s always right, so off I went.

The first stop was White Clay Creek Preserve (US-6433), which I last activated a year ago. With Monday morning rush hour traffic, it took over an hour to get to this park near the Pennsylvania-Delaware border.

My location at White Clay Creek Preserve (US-6433)

When I finally got there, I set up my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil, along with my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I fired up the rig on the 40M band and encountered a horrendous noise level. It was so bad, I didn’t even try to use the band. This was my fourth activation at this location, and I can’t recall running into noise issues like that. I ended up splitting my time between 30M and 20M. Those bands had some noise, but nowhere near as bad as 40M.

Despite the local noise, band conditions were pretty good. After 45 minutes, I had 28 contacts in the log. No DX today, but I had one park-to-park contact. After taking the antenna down, I took a short, three-mile drive over to Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093).

Situated on the Maryland border, Big Elk Creek became a state park in 2022. My first activation there was about two months after POTA added the park. Two years ago there were no amenities whatsoever. This time, I found the trailhead now had a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables.

When I last visited this trailhead in Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093) it was just a dirt parking lot. Now there's a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables. — When I last visited this trailhead in Big Elk Creek State Park (US-9721, KFF-6093) it was just a dirt parking lot. Now there’s a gravel parking lot, portable toilet, and some picnic tables (off camera).

I used the same setup as the previous park. Thankfully, I didn’t have to deal with noise problems. I made a few contacts on 40M before moving up to 20M and 17M for the rest of the activation. Besides the POTA spotting page, I spotted myself using the smartWWFF app. That brought out the Europeans, especially on 17M:

Finland
France (2)
Germany
Slovak Republic (2)
Slovenia
Latvia
Italy

Activating under both the POTA and WWFF programs certainly increases the number of hunters out looking for you.

In a little over an hour, I had 35 contacts with four park-to-park contacts. I briefly thought about making a quick trip into Delaware to activate White Clay Creek State Park, but saved that one for another time.

All in all, it was a fun way to spend my free day. I’m glad I listened to my (far) better half.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Plan B with the (tr)uSDX

I planned to activate two parks at the other end of the county this morning. Given the travel time involved, I figured I’d need to leave the house around 0700 local time, to get back home in time to take care of a few things this afternoon. I’m always up super early, so I didn’t need an alarm clock. Hah! Of course, I slept in this morning.

I needed a Plan B, so I stayed close to home and headed up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). To switch things up a bit, I opted to give my (tr)uSDX another shot at a POTA activation. Along with the (tr)uSDX I used my 12-foot whip, homebrew loading coil, and my Elecraft T1 ATU.

My (tr)uSDX in use at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)

Although I got off to a slow start on 40M, things picked up significantly when I moved to 30M and 20M. An hour and twenty minutes later, I had 30 contacts in the log. No DX today, but I did have one park-to-park contact. Thanks to WA2QLK for hunting me on two bands.

The little (tr)uSDX got the job done. Since my last activation with it, I tweaked a couple of settings, which made the receiver a little easier to listen to:

AGC = OFF
ATT2 = 1

I also calibrated the frequency. The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) confirmed that the frequency readout is right on the money. The sidetone still has some clicks and pops, but overall the little rig was better this time. It’s a fun little radio, although probably not my first choice for POTA activations.

I’ll have to get down to those other two parks another time. Next time I’ll use an alarm clock.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Drive-by Activation at US-8941/KFF-5862

My (far) better half and I spent some time with family in central Pennsylvania over the weekend. Our busy weekend didn’t leave much time for a POTA/WWFF activation, but I was determined to get out to a park. The result was a brief but successful activation at Pennsylvania State Game Lands 246 (US-8941, KFF-5862).

I’m a notorious early riser, so I was the first one up on Sunday morning. After sunrise, I loaded up the truck and scraped the frost off the windshield. It was about 0740 local time (1140 UTC) when I headed out. SGL 246 is only a few miles away, so I was on site and operational by 0800 local (1200 UTC). I used my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW) and 12-foot loaded whip.

I started on 40M and ended up staying there. I kicked things off hunting a park-to-park QSO, before finding an open frequency and calling CQ. A minute or two after spotting myself, I had a pile-up on my hands. A steady stream of callers kept me busy for the next 30 minutes—and it was pretty hectic at times.

My initial plan was to just make my 10 contacts and head back to the house. However, my half-hour activation yielded 29 contacts, far exceeding my expectations. I also had three park-to-park QSOs in my log.

The 40M band was amazing. I guess it was a combination of good band conditions and being a POTA Support Your Parks Weekend. Whatever it was, the hunters were up early and out in full force.

About 15 minutes after my last contact, I was back at the house and just in time for breakfast. It was a chilly morning, so that second cup of coffee hit the spot.

OK, so it wasn’t exactly a “drive-by” activation, but it was certainly a short one.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Sprinting in the Park

No, I wasn’t running through the park. I was operating in the Straight Key Century Club’s Weekend Sprintathon contest from a POTA/WWFF entity. I ended up with two POTA/WWFF activations as a result.

On Saturday morning, I drove over to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363), which has become one of my favorites. It was pretty chilly when I started, so I set up in the truck. (That turned out to be a poor decision.) I used my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts) and my trusty 12-foot loaded whip. I used my little MS2 straight key for the SKCC contacts.

My setup in the truck on Saturday. My little American Morse MS2 straight key looks unusual but has a great feel. — My setup in the truck on Saturday. My little red American Morse MS2 straight key looks unusual but has a great feel.

My plan was to operate in the WES and only spot myself on the POTA and WWFF websites if I had trouble making my 10 contacts. The band conditions had improved significantly from the severe geomagnetic storms over the previous couple of days, so I was optimistic.

Starting out on 40M, I was pleasantly surprised to find a bunch of SKCC stations. I worked 13 WES stations on 40M before moving up to 20M to work a few more. SKCC WES contacts come at a slower pace than POTA contacts, so after an hour and 20 minutes, I only had 16 contacts. I was happy with that, though.

By that time, the temperature had gone up, and the sun was beating down on the windshield. It was really getting hot in the truck, so I pulled the plug and packed up for the day.

On Sunday morning, I went back to Norristown Farm Park for more of the SKCC WES. This time, I operated from the tailgate of my truck. I rarely do that, because the tailgate is too high off the ground. I had backed the truck up to a slight slope, so my chair was a bit higher than if I had been on flat ground. Still, it wasn’t all that comfortable for keying. I ended using my clipboard on my lap. My equipment was the same as the day before.

Operating from the tailgate on Sunday morning.

This time there was much less SKCC activity on 40M. Despite numerous CQ calls, I only logged four WES contacts. So, I made the command decision to spot myself on the POTA website and switch over to the paddles. The activity picked up dramatically after that.

This time I ended up with 21 contacts, which included three park-to-park QSOs. All together, I made 20 SKCC WES contacts over the weekend, which is not too bad for me.

I’ll have to try this again for next month’s Weekend Sprintathon.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Equipment Failure but Activation Success

Another busy weekend here in my neck of the woods. We had a family get-together in central Pennsylvania on Saturday, and I took part in a public service event with my local ARES-RACES group on Sunday. Despite everything going on, I squeezed in a short POTA/WWFF activation on Saturday morning before heading out of town.

I chose a spot in Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) that’s only a few miles from home. The parking lot serves as a trailhead for a popular trail, and it can be a busy place during the summer months. It wasn’t too bad today.

My original plan was to use some different gear and try out some antenna configurations. Being pressed for time, I went with my usual setup, which I knew—or thought—would work. That, of course, was my Penntek TR-35, Elecraft T1 tuner, and my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil combination. The SWR is a little higher on 40M and 30M, so I use the T1 to keep the rig happy.

I scanned the 40M band, and it was hopping. I planned to pick off some park-to-park QSOs before setting in on a frequency to call CQ. When I hit the T1, it didn’t even try to find a match, and the LEDs showed a 3:1 (or higher) SWR. I tried other bands, including ones I knew were close to 1:1, and the T1 wouldn’t budge.

I couldn’t remember the last time I changed the battery, so I put in a fresh one. No go. Next, I ran through the T1’s internal diagnostics. Nothing out of the ordinary there that I could see. On (very) rare occasions over its 11 years of service, the T1 would get fussy and refuse to match certain bands. Just running through the diagnostics seemed enough to clear up those issues—but not today.

I disconnected the T1 and went straight from the TR-35 to the antenna. The truck-mounted whip has very low SWR on 20M and 17M, so I confined my operation to those bands.

My ailing T1 after disconnecting it — My ailing T1 after I disconnected it

Fortunately, 20M was in great shape for 0930 (local time), and I had a steady stream of hunters. I needed to leave at 1000 (local), and I had spent an inordinate amount of time playing around with the T1. However, my 30-minute activation netted me 26 contacts with two of them park-to-park. Most of the contacts were on 20M, but I had five on 17M before pulling the plug.

I drove back home, saddened that my trusty T1 was having issues. It has been so reliable over the years that I just took for granted that it would always work and match whatever antenna I was using.

Back at home, I did a couple of quick checks with different antennas, but no joy was to be had. I suspect a stuck relay, but I’m not really sure how to discern that from the internal diagnostics routine. I bought it assembled and tested, so I’ve never poked around inside. I’ll have to download the instructions for the kit version to see if that offers any insights.

When I get some time this week, I’ll pursue this further and decide how to proceed. If any T1 users out there have advice to offer, I’m all ears.

[Update: I resolved the issue with the T1. It appears to have been a case of “cockpit error.” Here’s what it was.]

72, Craig WB3GCK

POTA with the (tr)uSDX

Although I bought my little (tr)uSDX transceiver two years ago, it has only seen sporadic use. Other than an occasional contact or two, it has been mostly relegated to the shelf. I figured it was about time to put it to serious use in a POTA/WWFF activation.

I made a return visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for another activation. It was raining on and off this morning here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I pretty much had the place to myself.

I set up the (tr)uSDX with my Elecraft T1 tuner in the cab of my truck. I used three 18650 Li-ion batteries power the radio. As usual, I went with my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck.

I’m getting a little better at navigating the (tr)uSDX’s menus and using the controls. There are a lot of functions covered by three controls. To refresh my memory, I used the rig last night with my rain gutter “antenna” to make a couple of contacts. I also brought along a cheat sheet today, which I didn’t need.

Just for the fun of it, I started off using my little N6ARA TinyPaddles. They match the orange radio, so why not. Unfortunately, I had some issues with them, so I switched over to my Palm Mini paddles. I have to tweak the contact spacing on the N6ARA paddles.

My (tr)uSDX. The N6ARA paddles are in the lower left. — My (tr)uSDX. The N6ARA TinyPaddles are in the lower left.

Starting out on 40M, the signals were strong and plentiful. It only took me about 11 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. When things slowed down on 40M, I made a few contacts each on 30M and 20M. After 45 minutes, I had 21 contacts in the log with one park-to-park QSO.

My trusty homebrew loading coil. In hind sight I should have used a plastic bag to protect it from the rain this morning. — My trusty homebrew loading coil. In hindsight I should have used a plastic bag to protect it from the rain this morning.

The (tr)uSDX is an incredible little rig. They packed an awful lot of features into a tiny package, but it’s not really a high-performance radio. I have to admit it wasn’t the most pleasant rig to listen to; there were some pops and clicks in the sidetone when keying. It could have been the earbuds I was using. I also need to go back through the menu settings to make sure I haven’t missed something. Looking at my RBN spots, I could see I need to tweak the frequency calibration a bit. It’s transmitting a little lower than the displayed frequency. Having said all that, I can’t be too critical of radio at this price point.

In the end, though, the little rig got the job done today. Not bad for a five-band, multi-mode radio that costs less than $140 assembled.

72, Craig WB3GCK