POTA – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

Keeping My CW Fist Warm

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.

[Note: This post is not sponsored, and there are no affiliate links.]

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.

My Glider Gloves. (See the Amazon website for better pictures) — 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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Boschveldt QRP Winter Outing 2026

For the third year in a row, the Boschveldt QRP Club (W3BQC) held its annual winter outing in a cabin in French Creek State Park. For a variety of reasons, we had a smaller than usual group this year. Regardless, it was a fun weekend of catching up with old friends, eating some good food, and playing radio in the park.

When I arrived Friday afternoon, Ed K3YTR was already in the cabin. After unloading my gear and settling in, I wanted to squeeze in a quick POTA/WWFF activation (US-1355, KFF-1355) before the rest of the crew arrived. I operated from the truck using my Penntek TR-35 and 12-foot loaded whip. After 14 quick contacts on 20M and 17M, I headed back inside the cabin to warm up.

ED K3YTR with his KX3 station in a box (Photo credit: NK1N)

Glen NK1N rolled in from New Jersey later in the day. He put up an 85-foot inverted vee and used his Elecraft KX2 from inside the cabin. Over the course of the weekend, Glen activated the park using our club’s callsign, W3BQC. We wrapped up the first day with a lasagna dinner and some socializing.

Walt KB3SBC also stopped by on Friday and stayed for dinner. Special thanks to Walt for making sure we had a coffee maker and plenty of coffee for the weekend—a crucial part of every Boschveldt QRP Club gathering.

On Saturday morning, we had some snow starting. I drove over to the Hopewell Lake boat launch for another quick activation before the roads got too bad. Using the same setup as the day before, I hopped on 40M. The activity was fast and furious. After about 30 minutes, I had an inch of snow in the bed of the truck, and it was coming in through the window I fed my coax through. I wrapped up with 28 contacts in my log, including an ear-shattering park-to-park QSO with W3BQC (NK1N operating) less than a mile away back at the cabin.

WB3GCK operating at the boat launch in the snow

Snow piling up on my homebrew loading coil

Later on Saturday, Ed K3BVQ joined us and set up his MFJ travel loop antenna inside the cabin. With his indoor antenna, Ed was busy making contacts with a four-watt YouKits rig and a straight key. Chris W3CJW also stopped by for a visit.

Ed K3BVQ operating from the cabin with his indoor loop antenna

Saturday evening we drove into town for dinner at a local restaurant. We capped off the night by watching an old science fiction movie projected onto a screen hung on the wall.

We woke up Sunday morning to another round of snow. After breakfast, NK1N and K3BVQ got back on their radios to make some more contacts.

During the weekend, we noticed that Ken N3CU was doing a POTA activation somewhere in the park. It turned out that Ken and his XYL, Stephanie, were in a cabin just down the road from us, and they stopped by for a visit. Ken and I had worked each other many times over the years, so it was a pleasure to finally meet him in person. Ken had a successful weekend, completing his POTA Kilo award at French Creek. By virtue of his visit, Ken also became our newest Boschveldt QRP Club member.

Ken N3CU and his XYL (and future ham), Stephanie, stopped by to visit on Sunday morning.

K3BVQ and I packed up to head out on Saturday afternoon, while NK1N and K3YTR stayed over for one more night. According to the POTA website, W3BQC had close to 80 contacts over the weekend.

In true Boschveldt QRP Club fashion, our weekend get-togethers are as much about socializing as getting on the radio. Although illness and competing obligations prevented some of our regulars from attending, it was great to spend the weekend hanging out with some old ham radio friends.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Testing a New Mag Mount

On those occasions when I do an activation with my (far) better half’s car, I have been using my Gabil GRA-7350TC antenna on an old magnetic mount. Because of a recent issue with the mag mount I’ve had for 20+ years, I finally had to replace it. Today was the first opportunity I’ve had to use the new one.

While visiting my daughter and her family over the Christmas holiday, I headed out to activate the Captain John Smith Historic Trail (US-4567). Normally, when using the GRA-7350TC and mag mount on my (far) better half’s car, I can easily get the SWR down less than 1.5:1 on 40M. This time was different; the tuning seemed very finicky. I eventually got it close enough to use with the KH1 and completed my activation. As I was packing up, I noticed some damage to the coax where it enters the mount.

This old mag mount has seen many years of service with a VHF/UHF antenna on my truck before being pressed into service with the Gabil antenna. It’s amazing it lasted as long as it did. I decided that trying to disassemble and repair it was more trouble than it was worth.

I ended up buying a Tram magnetic mount on Amazon. This one is a real beast. It’s five inches in diameter and weighs a whopping 2.6 pounds. It’s probably overkill for my intended use, but I figured the larger diameter would provide better coupling to the vehicle. (Spoiler Alert: It does.)

My new five-inch magnetic mount — Tram magnetic mount

To try it out, I headed out to Marsh Creek State Park (US-1380, KFF-1380) and set it up on my truck. The attached coax is 17 feet long. That’s way more than I need, so after feeding it through the passenger-side window to my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW), I coiled up the excess.

The Gabil GRA-7350TC antenna and magnetic mount on my truck

I started out on 40M and was surprised to see I could tune‌ the Gabil antenna down to 1.3:1 SWR. That’s better than I could ever get using the old mag mount on my truck. It was slow going on 40M this morning with a lot of fading. I could only manage about nine contacts before moving up to 30M.

Up on 30M, things picked up dramatically, but the most productive band was 20M. My contacts on 20M included Germany, France, and two from Finland. After logging 42 contacts, I pulled the plug and headed home for lunch.

So, the new mag mount should work great on my (far) better half’s car. Sadly, my old mount is now destined for the trash. I certainly got my money’s worth out of it, though.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Farewell 2025, Hello 2026

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.

My truck and antenna at French Creek State Park near Hopewell Lake — 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) — 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.

73, Craig WB3GCK

The Weather Was Cold – 40M Was Hot

I drove out to French Creek State Park (US-1355, KFF-1355) for an early morning activation. While I was there, I wanted to do some initial testing on an antenna I’ve been working on. With the near-freezing temperature, I picked the wrong day for antenna testing. Fortunately, the activity on the bands made the trip worthwhile.

I designed the new antenna to be attached to a picnic table, so I parked by a picnic area near a boat launch. My original plan was to set up the antenna and take some antenna analyzer readings after my activation. My impatience got the better of me, so I decided to brave the freezing temperatures and test the antenna right away. That wasn’t a smart move. By the time I got the antenna set up and took some SWR scans, my fingers were numb. I should have waited for it to warm up a little.

Taking some measurements on a new antenna I'm working on — Doing some antenna testing prior to my activation

I was hoping to hook up my Elecraft KH1 and see how it worked with the antenna, but that wasn’t happening. After tearing everything down and packing up, I sat in the truck with my gloves on and the heater running until my fingers thawed out. Then it was time to get on with my activation.

I quickly set up a 17-foot whip and my homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck. Up in the cab, I set up my trusty Penntek TR-35 (5W, CW). I went with a 17-foot whip because my band conditions app showed an unsettled geomagnetic field and poor daytime conditions on 40M. I figured the extra length couldn’t hurt.

My truck with 17-foot whip at French Creek State Park

When I fired up the TR-35 on 40M, I heard lots of activity and some very loud signals. In fact, I had to search around for a clear frequency. Once I started calling CQ, the hunters immediately pounced. I had constant pileups for the first 20 minutes. I had my first 10 contacts in about eight minutes.

About 30 minutes in, I had worked 29 stations on 40M. The 20M band wasn’t quite as productive, but it still produced 22 more contacts. Among those was one with IZ2UUG in Italy. When I pulled the plug after an hour on the air, I had 52 contacts (before removing a dupe). The moral of the story is: Don’t always go by the band condition predictions.

A partially frozen Hopewell Lake in French Creek State Park — Hopewell Lake in French Creek State Park

Now that I’m back home, I have some tweaks to make to my experimental antenna. Once I’m convinced it works and will be useful, I’ll do a separate post on it. That might take a while, though. I plan to wait for some warmer weather for the next round of tests.

72, Craig WB3GCK

A Kilo at Norristown Farm State Park

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.

My antenna at Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363)

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.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Black Friday Activation

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.

Lousy band conditions — 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 3.5 watts on 15M — 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.

Note to self: Keep a pair of gloves in the truck!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Playing with Paddles in the Park

I headed down to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414) this morning for a pre-Thanksgiving POTA/WWFF activation. While I was there, I wanted to field test a couple of paddles, one new ‌and one I slightly modified.

I mentioned in a previous post (or two) that I somehow damaged the paddles that came with my Elecraft KH1. In searching for an alternative, I came across the KH1 Pressure Paddles from K6ARK. The kits were selling for a mere $22 on Amazon, so I fired off an order.

I’m not as good at building kits with small parts as I used to be. My close-up vision hasn’t gotten any better with age. However, with the aid of my lighted magnifying glass, I assembled the kit in less than 30 minutes with no major issues. The only issue I ran into was the 3-D printed cover didn’t fit against the KH1 too well and needed a little sanding. Once I took care of that, the paddles worked great. Using pressure-sensitive paddles feels a little different at first, but I quickly adapted.

The other thing I did was glue two more magnets onto the bottom of my CWMouse paddles. The four I glued on initially weren’t quite enough to keep the paddles from moving when attached to my clipboard. Two additional magnets seemed to do the trick.

More magnets on my CWMouse paddles — The magnets on my CWMouse paddles. I recently added the two towards the middle.

When I rolled into my usual spot in the park, the place was deserted. I wasn’t too surprised, since it was a weekday and drizzling to boot. My original plan was to operate the KH1 handheld to give the K6ARK paddles a good workout. Given the lousy weather, I abandoned that plan and set up in the truck. I used my trusty 12-foot loaded vertical on the back of the truck.

KH1with the K6ARK Pressure Paddles attached

I started off trying to use the K6ARK paddles with the KH1 on the center console. After two contacts, I decided that wasn’t the most comfortable way to operate. The pressure paddles worked fine, though. I switched over to the CWMouse paddles attached to my clipboard, and the magnets held nicely. It helps that the CWMouse paddles have a light touch, so I’m not slamming them side to side.

On the air, the bands were as mediocre as the weather this morning. According to my band conditions app, we were experiencing an unsettled geomagnetic field. Starting out on 40M, it took longer than usual to make my first ten contacts. After I had 15 in the log, I switched to 20M and picked up a few more. I spent the rest of my time on 17M and 15M. As predicted, the band conditions up there were fair at best. I worked two domestic stations on 17M, and stations in Germany and Texas on 15M.

My loaded whip at Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414)

I was getting ready to call it quits, but I wanted to adjust the KH1’s real-time clock before shutting down. It had gained a minute or two over the past couple of months, so it just needed a tweak. As I navigated through the menus to set the clock, I heard a very loud IK1LBL calling me. I quickly exited out of the menu and completed the contact. After that, I set the KH1’s clock and packed everything up.

As activations go, this one was nothing special. However, my new KH1 paddles and my modified CWMouse paddles were a rousing success.

And finally, I’ll leave you to ponder this curious AI-generated image of a turkey operating a radio. It appears the turkey might be keying with his left foot (QLF?).

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Fun Morning at US-1351/KFF-1351

It’s been a busy week here, with a major ARES-RACES exercise, medical appointments, and some unexpected repairs on my truck. With all that behind me, I was more than ready for a QRP-portable outing.

When I drove up to Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351) early this morning, the weather was dreary, and everything was wet from the rain we had overnight. I did a quick check of the band conditions app on my phone, which showed only fair conditions on the higher bands. Conditions can sometimes change minute to minute, so I don’t let those band predictions deter me from getting on the air.

I installed my trusty 12-foot loaded whip on the back of the truck and set up my Elecraft KH1 on the center console in the cab. I also used my CWMouse paddles, which are among my favorite paddles these days.

My Elecraft KH1 and CWMouse paddles in use at Evansburg State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351)

As I was setting up my antenna, a woman with a group of hikers yelled over to me, “What are you going to do with that big antenna?”. I gave her my 30 second explanation of ham radio and Parks on the Air. She told me to have fun and continued on her way. Normally, I just get curious stares, but now and then someone will ask about what I’m doing.

The 40M band was really hot this morning. I made my first 10 contacts in about eight minutes. I logged 24 contacts before the activity thinned out.

Like my last activation, I wanted to focus my attention on 20M through 15M. The 20M band was a little disappointing for me today, producing only two contacts. I spent the rest of my time on 17M and 15M. Even with the “fair” band conditions, these two bands did not disappoint. My 4.5 watts was getting some strong European hits on the Reverse Beacon Network.

Today’s DX contacts included:

17M: Italy (2), Slovak Republic, Finland, Germany (2)
15M: Spain, Czech Republic, Germany, Italy (2), Switzerland, France, Denmark, Poland (2)

The action wasn’t exactly fast and furious on 17M and 15M, but I definitely had fun working the DX stations. Many of them were hunters in the World-Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) parks program, who sent the traditional WWFF greeting, “44.”

I shut down after an hour and 50 minutes, which is a little longer than my usual activations. In the end, I had 56 contacts in my log, including two park-to-park contacts.

After more than 50 years in ham radio, I still find it amazing that a little radio running less than 5 watts can be heard thousands of miles away. I think that’s what has kept me interested in QRP all these years.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Hanging Out on the Higher Bands

I have always spent a fair amount of my HF operating time on the 40M and 30M bands, with a little time on 20M. Lately, though, I’ve been making a point of spending more operating time on 20M through 15M (or at least as high as the rig I’m using will go). To that end, I had a little fun on 15M with my KH1 this morning.

I stopped by Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) this morning. I broke out my Elecraft KH1, which hadn’t seen much action over the past few weeks. We were under a wind advisory, so I operated from the truck and used my truck-mounted 12-foot loaded whip.

My Elecraft KH1 and Tumd stainless steel paddles in the cab of my truck

As I was setting up the KH1, I ran into an issue while removing the KH1 paddles from the radio. During an activation about a month ago, the spring between the paddles popped off. I found the spring and re-installed it when I got home. The paddles must have gotten damaged somehow, because the left paddle wasn’t moving as smoothly as it used to. Today, the spring came off the paddles again, but this time it was nowhere to be found. I wasn’t planning to use them today, anyway. For those times when I use the KH1 handheld, I have the N6ARA Tiny Paddles with a KH1 adapter. I also have a K6ARK Pressure Paddle kit on order. But I digress…

Anyway, I started on 40M, because here on the east coast it’s a quick way to make the first 10 contacts for the activation. That’s especially the case early in the morning. There was a lot of atmospheric noise on 40M this morning, but it didn’t take long to log 17 contacts. The 20M band was good for another nine contacts, and 17M produced three contacts.

Being inherently lazy, I left the loading coil tap set for 17M and tried to see if the KH1 would tune it up on 15M. The KH1 easily found a 1.2:1 match. That wasn’t surprising, since the 12 foot whip is only about 11 inches longer than a quarter-wave on 15M, and I only use one turn of the loading coil at the 17M setting.

After making a couple of 15M contacts with the antenna adjusted for 17M, I bypassed the coil completely. Again, the KH1 loaded it right up. I could have shortened the whip by 11 inches to make it a resonant quarter wave on 15M, but I didn’t have my antenna analyzer with me. Honestly, I don’t think it would have made a significant improvement in performance, anyway. Overall, I made 13 contacts on 15M, which included a handful of DX stations.

After 90 minutes on the air, I had made 42 contacts, including nine park-to-park contacts. The DX contacts today included:

20M: Dominican Republic
17M: Ukraine
15M: Czech Republic, Latvia, Spain, Italy (2), England

I was happy with how the 12-foot whip and KH1 performed on 15M. I’ll definitely be spending more time on 15M (and above) in the future.

I also have an idea for an antenna I might try to build. More on that later, if it works.

72, Craig WB3GCK