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266 viewsYesterday Thursday Jan. 23 we activated Crockford-Pigeon Mtn. WMA US-3742 from the check station on Rocky Lane. It was warm inside but getting the antennas up was COLD !
Danny AG4DW set his rig up on the dining area table and Allen set his rig up in the front entry room. The coax was passed through a window and a piece of foam pipe insulation was used to keep the cold out and prevent damage to the wire.
With room for only two operating positions inside Ed KM6UTC opted to use his back seat shack to operate on 15 meters. He made 64 FT8 contacts with 22 being DX into Europe. Inside Tony WA4TW used Allen's rig and quickly made 44 contacts in 30 minutes on 20 meters with 3 P2P and 2 DX to Canada.. Allen handled the logging and helped grab callsigns out of the nonstop pileup.
After a bathroom break Allen KN4FKS got on 20 meters and again quickly made 48 contacts in 32 minutes. He had 4 P2P and 1 DX to Canada. Tony handled the logging which helped maintain the fast pace contacts. Later John KB4QXI got on the 20 meter rig and made 48 contacts with 5 P2P and 2 DX to Canada. Dan K2DTS fired up the 20 meter rig later and made ??? contacts. So after 4 successful activations of over 140 contacts the 100 watt radio had used less than 10 amp hours from the battery.
In the other room Danny AG4DW set up his station and operated on 10 meters. he made 35 total contacts with 17 SSB and 18 FT8. 22 contacts were DX with contacts made to Argentina, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Canary Islands, Maderia Island, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Puerto Rico, and Spain.
Just think in about six years we'll remember how 10 meters was super hot and even open for dx after 10 pm local. Now we are in the good times so get on 10 meters and talk to the world.
Matt AF4MH got on Danny's 10 meter rig and using SSB made 15 contracts with 2 P2P and 7 DX to Canada, Brazil, England, Chile, Spain, Argentina, and Puerto Rico.
At lunch we were joined by four of the DNR wildlife folks who were our host and also wanted to enjoy a warm place to have lunch. Thanks for letting us "play radio" in the check station. Another fun day of activating POTA!
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266 viewsWell the day started off dark and rainy. Everyone except me (Allen KN4FKS) bailed for one reason or another. When I arrived at the Nick A Jack trailhead for Cloudland Canyon SP US-2169 the rain let up long enough to get everything moved to under the picnic shed. Then it rained hard while I watched and waited.
A hiker came out of the trail and we chatted for a while and the rain stopped for a bit, he left and I set up my new 25 foot Chameleon vertical. Back under the shed and the bottom fell out again. I got on 20 meters SSB and made 52 contacts before lunch. The band was busy and the adjacent QRM was bothersome at times. Had lunch by myself (the usual peanut butter jelly) the rain tailed off and eventually the sun came out. After lunch I went to 17 meters to avoid the crowd and made 9 contacts there. One DX from Sweden. Went back to 20 meters and made several more Park to Park contacts. Finished up with one park to park on 40 meters and called it a day with 69 QSO's and 25 P2Ps.
After I got home and uploaded my log I checked my totals for Cloudland Canyon SP and suddenly realized I had gone QRT early and was only 18 QSO's away from my double KILO on the park. Could have made that easy in a short bit. Oh well next time will be the clincher. No pressure.
Peter KX4BE ventured out close to home at Harrison Bay SP US-2951 today. He used the mini Tarheel antennal on the car and made 18 quick contacts on 20 meters with 4 P2P and no DX. He reported a beautiful day there with a nice breeze. Oh well.
Field Day is coming up next weekend June 28-29. Just think of it as a looong POTA activation with better food and air conditioning ! If you haven't signed up yet RSVP now! Go to the club website https://tristatesarc.com/club/ and sign up. See you there.
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265 viewsOn late Monday afternoon (Oct 23, 2023) we gathered at the Johns Mountain WMA (K-3758) overlook to activate the park, cook a hotdog and watch the sunset. All three objectives were met. We set up three stations and played radio! Danny AG4DW made 43 SSB contacts with 3 P2P, 2 Alaska and one Venezuela mostly on 15 meters. John KB4QXI made 61 contacts with 9 P2P, 5 Canadian contacts plus one North Africa and one Venezuela mostly on 20 meters. Peter KX4BE made 20 contacts on CW with one FM contact for DX he had 2 Japan and one Chile. Allen KN4FKS had 12 contacts with 5 FM contacts on 70 cm. The other 7 were on 40 meters.
As it got close to sundown at about 7 pm we took a break for supper and to watch the sunset from the overlook. We had hotdogs with the fixins cooked over charcoal, chips, macaroni salad, and smores for desert. There was supposed to be another desert cooked over the fire but someone (Karen KX4KM) forgot the essential ingredient, butter. We were assisted by our mascot dog I4ZZY.
The sunset was spectacular and the company was the best. Thanks to all the hunters who make our fun possible.
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265 viewsWe activated Cloudland Canyon State Park US-2169 from the Ascalon Trailhead location this past Thursday Oct 31 2024.
Danny AG4DW, John KB4QXI, Dan K2DTS, Allen KN4FKS and new General Dave KQ4GLQ all showed up. Allen got Dave's logging software set up for POTA, Danny had a cold so he operated digital only, John cranked out the SSB contacts on the Ham Stick and realized his new 110 v inverter was very NOISY! Dan made several contacts with his vertical and used some jumper cables to create elevated radials. Wonderful idea and they come with handy clamps to attach them to the antenna base.
We also discovered that those fancy electric bicycles come with a ton of electric motor noise. You find out these things by activating at a popular trailhead. Horses however have no electric noise but can create hazards to laying out radials.
BTW only Danny AG4DW sent me any contact information. He had 50 contacts, all FT8 Mostly on 15m but a few on 30m and 10m. He had 19 DX contacts. Austria, Belgium, Canada 2, Dominican Republic, Russia, Germany, France, Hati, Hungary, Netherlands 2, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Puerto Rico, Spain 2, and Switzerland.
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