TR-35 – WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio

In Pursuit of a Kilo

Yeah, I know. That title sounds bad. What I’m talking about is finally making one thousand contacts at French Creek State Park (US-1351, KFF-1351). I’ve activated this park a bunch of times over the years, but I have yet to get that POTA Kilo Award. I was bound and determined to wrap it up this morning.

I started off this morning 36 contacts shy of the one thousand mark. Since we’re gearing up for a bit of a heatwave here in southeastern Pennsylvania, I headed out early to beat the heat. I was hoping for good band conditions and lots of early-rising hunters.

Hopewell Lake in French Creek State Park

My setup today was my usual Penntek TR-35 (5W, CW) and my 12-foot base-loaded whip. I normally use my Elecraft T1 tuner to touch up the SWR on the lower bands. This morning, though, the T1 refused to find a match. It took me a few seconds to realize that I forgot to set the tap on the coil. So the antenna had a bit more inductance than it needed. Doh! Once I corrected that faux pas, all was right with the world.

Given the early hour, I started out on 40M. It didn’t take long for the hunters to show up. After 12 minutes, I had my first 10 contacts logged. Although not at a breakneck pace, I had a steady stream of callers. When I hit 20 contacts, I was feeling like I had a shot at getting the 36 I needed.

The activity eventually dried up on 40M, so I moved up to 30M. After an hour on the air, I had 33 contacts logged. And then it slowed way down. After an hour and 15 minutes, I finally had the 36 contacts I was looking for. Thanks to W8AJF in Ohio for being number one thousand from this park.

My long-overdue Kilo Award at French Creek State Park

I made a couple more on 30M before dropping back down to 40M for a few minutes before shutting down. After 90 minutes on the air, I had 43 contacts—seven more than I needed. The temperature was warming up, so I packed up and headed off to run a few errands.

I don’t normally get too wound up about POTA or WWFF awards, but I do love a challenge now and then. Thanks to all the hunters who came out to play this morning.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Crowded Day in the Park

I tend to avoid activating my local parks on weekends. In this area, parks can get pretty busy in the summer, especially when the weather is nice. Being an old, retired guy, I have the luxury of doing my portable operations during the week. Sometimes, though, when the opportunity presents itself on a weekend, you just have to go for it.

I was overdue for a visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). Being a Saturday with reasonably nice weather, I expected the park to attract a fair number of visitors. To avoid the crowds, I headed out early.

When I rolled into the parking lot at 0800 (local), it was about half full and filling up quickly. It looked like some sort of organized event was forming up. I only planned to operate for an hour hoping to finish up before their event got started.

I set up my usual 12-foot loaded whip and TR-35 and got started on 40M. Electrical noise can sometimes be an issue at this location, and that was the case today. Fortunately, the bands were in reasonable shape, so I could copy all but the weakest stations. (My apologies to anyone I missed.)

Noise notwithstanding, I made my first 10 contacts with no problems. When things slowed down on 40M, I switched to 20M. Up on 20M it was wall-to-wall with contesters, so I stuck to the less-crowded WARC bands. The 30M band was fairly productive, but I only had three contacts on 17M. One of those contacts, however, was with IK4HLO in Italy. After just under an hour on the air, I had 29 contacts in the log with three (known) park-to-park contacts and the one DX QSO.

Apparently, the organized event was a walk/run event benefiting a charity. As I was taking down my antenna, a group of participants left the parking lot and took off down the multi-use trail. Driving out of the park, I noticed that the other parking areas were nearly full. So, my early start turned out to be an excellent strategy.

Have a great weekend!

72, Craig WB3GCK

Got It Made in the Shade

We’re in the middle of our first heatwave of the year here in southeastern Pennsylvania. This isn’t my favorite kind of weather, but I wanted to get in a POTA/WWFF activation today. To avoid the forecasted heat, I made an early-morning trip to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761), hoping for some early-rising hunters.

When I got to the park, I headed to a picnic area where I knew there would be several hours of shade. I parked my truck in the shade and set up a chair and table nearby under some large trees.

My shady operating spot in Valley Forge National Historical Park — My shady operating spot

I took a quick look at the band conditions before I left the house. The geomagnetic field was active, and the band conditions were predicted to be “fair” at best. I figured the higher bands would be tough today, so I planned to focus on 40M, 30M, and 20M. So, antenna-wise, I went with a 17-foot whip and my homebrew loading coil on the back of my truck. I ran some coax over to my table, where I had set up my Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW).

My truck-mounted 17-foot whip in Valley Forge National Historical Park — My truck-mounted 17-foot whip

I started out on 40M around 0800 local time. As soon as I turned on the rig, I heard some ear-shattering signals. That was certainly a good sign. There were plenty of early morning hunters out there, so it only took about 6 minutes to make my first 10 contacts. The hunters kept me busy on 40M for about 40 minutes until the activity slowed down.

I spent the rest of my time on 30M and 20M. The activity there, although not as brisk as on 40M, produced a fair number of contacts. After about an hour and 40 minutes, I had 53 contacts in my log.

One of my contacts was with a fellow Straight Key Century Club (SKCC) member. Fortunately, I had a straight key hooked up and ready to go to complete the standard SKCC exchange.

Some highlights:

Working Jess W6LEN out in California on both 30M and 20M
A park-to-park contact with Jim N4JAW, aka Ham on a Bike
Working on-the-air friends I hadn’t heard in a while: AB4PP, W1PID, and KK4Z

As I was operating, two park vehicles came by and parked a couple of spaces away from my truck. At first, I thought it was a National Park SWAT team coming to check on my suspicious activity. Instead, two rangers and a maintence worker donned backpacks and headed down one of the trails. Apparently, there are more important things in the park than some old ham radio operator.

Despite the hot weather and mediocre propagation forecasts, today’s activation was a lot of fun. Except for a few pesky ants, my shady spot under the trees was magnificent.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Persistance is Futile (Sometimes)

Yesterday was the perfect day to be out operating in a park, so I headed over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761). I wanted to keep things simple, so I used my Elecraft KH1 and its whip antenna. While this setup has worked surprisingly well for me in the past, yesterday was not one of those times.

When I arrived at the park, I headed to a picnic table in the shade of some large trees. (Given my history with skin cancer, the sun is not my friend these days.) This was a spot I have used before with the KH1, so I was hoping for similar success.

Operating from Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761)

I started out on 40M, using the AXE1 extender coil and a 33-foot counterpoise wire. I also used a Tufteln right-angle adapter with the whip. After quickly logging two contacts, things slowed way down. I spent 20 minutes of fruitless CQing, wondering if I should move on to another setup. Instead of bailing on my KH1 setup, I stubbornly pressed on.

Well, after 30 minutes more of trying various bands on the KH1, I had a paltry four QSOs in the log. It felt like I was beating my head against a wall, so I packed up the KH1 and headed back to my truck. I used my 12-foot base-loaded whip and TR-35 from the truck. I allotted myself 45 more minutes. If I couldn’t reach 10 contacts by then, I would just slink home wallowing in disappointment.

Fortunately, my trusty TR-35 and 12-foot whip saved the day. After 30 minutes, I logged another nine contacts on 40M and 20M. It was getting close to lunchtime and my short attention span was kicking in, so I packed up and headed home.

Yesterday just wasn’t a good day for a 45-inch antenna. Looking back, I should have switched setups sooner and saved myself some frustration. In the words of Don Schlitz, the famous songwriter who passed away recently: “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.”

72, Craig WB3GCK

Exceeding My Low Expections

I’ve always heard that if you keep your expectations low, you’ll never be disappointed. My activation this morning was a prime example of that. What should have been a difficult activation turned out pretty well.

I set out for an early morning activation at Norristown Farm State Park (US-4363, KFF-4363). It was a damp and foggy morning, and the propagation forecast was as dreary as the weather. Before I left the house, I heard some hams on a DMR talkgroup complaining about poor band conditions. Checking the propagation forecasts online, I could see why. The K Index was 4 and the A Index was a whopping 43.

Propagation forecast. The A index was 43 and the K index was 4.

When I got to the park, I wasn’t feeling very optimistic about my chances today. Undeterred, I set up my usual 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil, along with my trusty little Penntek TR-35 (5 watts, CW). I figured, even in the worst conditions, there would be a hunter or two who could hear me.

Overcast and foggy morning at Norristown Farm State Park

Starting out on 40M, it turned out I was right. A minute or so after spotting myself, I was pounced on by some loud signals. After nine minutes, I had already logged my first 10 contacts, and the hunters kept calling.

After the activity on 40M dried up, I switched to 20M. The activity wasn’t quite as brisk, but it still produced a steady stream of contacts. Among those were three stations in the Dominican Republic. One was HI0A, a special event station for autism awareness. I suspect the other two might have been individual operators at the same station. F1BLL in France was my sole European contact today. I gave 17M a shot, but I only made one contact there.

Even with the lousy propagation numbers, an hour’s worth of operating netted me 37 contacts. It’s a good thing I went out early, as the geomagnetic storm seemed to worsen as the day went on.

Regardless of the propagation, park activators and hunters always seem to find a way to make contacts.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Fooled by Mother Nature

After a tough couple of weeks, I was really looking forward to a park activation today. Although the weatherman predicted storms later in the day, it was supposed to be a decent morning. I had some specific plans in mind. Mother Nature, however, had other plans.

AI-generated cartoon of WB3GCK experiencing both rainy and sunny weather.

I planned to drive over to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) to operate from a picnic table and experiment with an antenna or two. When I was about halfway to the park, it started raining. Figuring it was just a passing shower, I continued on. Hah! It just kept raining.

Not wanting to get my radio gear wet, I gave up on the picnic table idea and stayed in the truck. I quickly set up my usual 12-foot whip and homebrew coil in the rain. I fired up my trusty Penntek TR-35 in the truck and got started.

About three QSOs into my activation, the rain stopped, and the sun came out. That was a cruel prank, Mother Nature! I briefly toyed with moving my gear over to a picnic table and setting up the antenna I wanted to try. Since I didn’t want to spend my limited operating time tearing down and setting up again, so I pressed on.

As activations go, it was nothing special. The bands were so-so, and I could hear some static from the impending storm. Still, I logged 19 contacts in about 50 minutes. Among those were park-to-park contacts with K4NYM in Florida on 30M and 20M. I had other business to attend to, so I started packing up to leave.

As I was out taking my antenna down, the sky clouded over and it started raining again. Well played, Mother Nature! You were quite the prankster this morning.

72, 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

Round Two with the AD8HK EFRW

A while back I purchased one of AD8HK’s end-fed random wire (EFRW) antennas. I tried it for the first time during my ill-fated Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) outing. With everything that went wrong that day, the AD8HK antenna certainly deserved a better evaluation—at least one where I wasn’t in a panic over problems with my newly acquired Elecraft KH1.

The AD8HK EFRW is a really slick little antenna. It consists of a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-foot counterpoise wire. It has a neat 3-D printed winder for the wires that also incorporates a 4:1 unun and BNC connector. It’s compact and well-built. AD8HK Antenna Systems sells this antenna (and other offerings) through eBay.

During my infamous FOBB outing, I fed the antenna with 6 feet of RG-316 coax. It loaded up on 30M through 15M, but neither my KH1 nor my Elecraft T1 tuner could find a match on 40M. I’m not sure what the issue was, but I didn’t have much time to look into it.

Sometime later, tried the same length wires with one of my homebrew 4:1 ununs. That time I used 20 feet of RG-316, and it loaded up fine on all bands.

The AD8HK winder/unun. The gray thing is a Velcro strap I used to secure it to the pole. — The AD8HK winder/unun secured to the pole with a Velcro strap.

This morning I took the AD8HK EFRW over to Valley Forge National Historical Park (US-0761, KFF-0761) for an activation. I supported the antenna with a 20-foot pole and my homebrew ground mount. I fed the antenna with 20 feet of RG-316, and this time my T1 ATU easily found a match on 40M. It also loaded up fine on 30M through 17M.

A 15-foot radiator isn’t going to be a barn burner on 40M; however, this little antenna certainly held its own today. I easily logged 13 contacts on 40M before moving on to try other bands. When I wrapped up after a little over an hour, I had twenty contacts in the log, with four park-to-park contacts. I made contacts on all four bands covered by my Penntek TR-35 (40M-17M), and I was pleased to work W6LEN out in California on 20M.

My usual set up: Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 ATU

After today, the AD8HK EFRW has definitely earned a spot in the KH1 kit I’m putting together. It’s easy to deploy and has a relatively small footprint.

Thanks to NU4F for the nice spot from Florida

Speaking of my KH1… I heard from Elecraft a few days ago. They replaced the FET in the final amplifier, and now the rig is on its way home. I can’t wait to get it back on the air.

72, Craig WB3GCK

Antenna Testing at Ridley Creek

On Wednesday, August 7th, I set out to do some antenna experimentation. So, why not get in a POTA/WWFF activation at the same time? To kill those two birds with one stone, I drove down to Ridley Creek State Park (US-1414, KFF-1414). (Disclaimer: No birds were actually harmed during this activation.)

I saw some discussion on the Internet about an antenna configuration I found intriguing. It’s just a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-foot counterpoise wire fed through a 4:1 unun. Folks claim they work on 40M through 15M—with a tuner, of course. I’m a sucker for simple, field-expedient antennas, so I gave it a try during the recent Flight of the Bumblebees contest.

With the unun I used, I had mixed results. I couldn’t get the antenna to load on 40M, but it seemed to do fine on 30M through 15M. I wanted to try the same configuration, but with a larger 4:1 unun I built a several years ago. After cutting another set of 15-foot and 7.5-foot wires, I was ready to go.

When I got to the park, I headed to a spot I had been using a lot lately. It’s off the beaten path and well away from the other park visitors. Using my homebrew ground mount, I set up the antenna on a lightweight 19-ft telescoping pole I bought years ago on eBay. I ran 20 feet of RG-316 coax over to my Penntek TR-35 and Elecraft T1 tuner.

My operating position at Ridley Creek State Park — My operating position

Before I started my activation, I gave the antenna a quick check. The antenna was an easy match on 30M through 17M, but it took two tries before the T1 found a good match on 40M.

Despite the slightly fussy tuning on 40M, the antenna didn’t do too badly on that band. I logged 12 contacts before the activity slowed down. I next tried 30M, but there were no takers. Moving up to 20M, I logged three more stations. Up on 17M, I worked one last station in Alabama. After an hour on the air, I had 16 stations in the log, including five park-to-park contacts.

Selfie at Ridley Creek State Park with my antenna in the background — Something in the woods behind me was not happy with my presence. Fortunately, I never came face-to-face with whatever it was.

I had better luck with this antenna configuration this time around. The unun I used for this outing uses a larger iron powder toroid (T130-2, as I recall) compared to the smaller ferrite core used in the other unun. Also, the longer run of coax I used this time was probably a contributing factor.

In any event, this configuration can definitely work. Granted, it’s a compromise antenna, but it’s super simple to deploy for casual operating in the field. Still, I think a slightly longer radiator would make for an easier match on 40M.

I have another configuration in mind that I plan to try soon.

72, Craig WB3GCK

The Disastrous Flight of Bumblebee 24

Actually, this bumblebee ‌barely got off the ground at all this year. It started off with a heartbreaking rig failure and ended with some horrendous local noise.

I had a late-breaking change of plans this week. I originally planned to operate in the Flight of the Bumblebees (FOBB) contest from a nearby POTA entity. Instead, I ended up in central Pennsylvania helping a family member recovering from a recent surgery.

So, I activated Plan B: take my new KH1 along and make a few contacts from the backyard. What could go wrong with that? A lot, as it turns out.

Using my homebrew ground mount, I set up a new antenna on my lightweight telescopic pole. The antenna comprises a 15-foot radiator and a 7.5-ft counterpoise fed through a 4:1 unun. (More about that antenna in another post.) I ran a 6-foot length of RG-316 coax over to the KH1.

I easily got a 1:1 match on 20M and up, but it wouldn’t load up at all on 40M. Going back to 20M, I started operating. Something on the display didn’t look right. It turned out that I wasn’t getting any power output. When I pressed the ATU button, I heard some relay clicking, but there was no power or SWR displayed after tuning. When I keyed up, the display showed zero bars of power and one bar for SWR.

I checked to make sure I wasn’t in “Test” mode (I wasn’t). Next, I started pouring through the settings to make sure I hadn’t messed something up. Nothing looked out of the ordinary to me. I tried the built-in whip on 20M, but still no power out.

After spending an inordinate amount of time playing around with the KH1, I packed it up and brought out my Penntek TR-35. My trusty Elecraft T1 ATU also refused to load up on 40M.

WB3GCK equipment set up for the 2025 Flight of the Bumblebees contest

So, 20M was the only band working for me, given the rig I was using. I could have set up a different antenna, but I didn’t have that much time.

The 20M band had some horrendous local noise, so it was rough going. I worked one bumblebee in Missouri, and that was it. Frustrated with my inability to hear any other FOBB activity through the noise, I called it quits. I needed to get back inside to take care of a few things, anyway.

Having owned my KH1 for less than a week, you can imagine my disappointment. I shot off a message to the support folks at Elecraft, so hopefully, they can help get this issue resolved before I head down to North Carolina on vacation next month. (Fingers crossed)

I hope you all did better in the contest than me.

72, Craig WB3GCK