Recently, I took a break from playing radio, but now that the weather might finally be breaking here in Michigan, I have the itch again. Additionally, I thought I would start blogging about my activities. For now, I'm mainly blogging for myself, but I will share it with anyone in the radio community who might be interested. It has been since May of 2025 since I last touched a radio, so I decided to restart the adventure in a safe place.
I really enjoy POTA, and I feel comfortable activating parks, but to be safe, I activated a park (US-1511 Kal-Haven Trail State Park) that I know well. In addition, I knew it would provide an easy setup and take-down.
To further boost my confidence, I ran with my trusty Yaesu FT-891 and the Chameleon Antennas CHA LEFS 40 - 10 meter. I decided to run CW only and never went above 30 watts (so QRP+). I learned that my CW sending was atrocious after such a long break, but the hunters were great, and I'm confident I got all the calls correctly logged. I activated the park three (3) times in six days for a total of 129 contacts. I picked up the Dominican Republic on one of the days, and that was a nice highlight.
And after that, I was ready for some real radio.😀 In my career, my typical daily routine has recently changed, and I find myself in my office almost every weekday now. And what happens to be across the street from the office? Yup, a POTA park - US-6688 Gourdneck State Game Land. I decided that activating a park while on my lunch break sounded like a great idea.
I really do enjoy QRP, and for a quick, easy setup, you can't beat the Elecraft KH1. I picked my PackTenna 29' 9:1 EFRW (no counterpoise) as the antenna to see what I could accomplish. I hooked the EFRW to the tip section of the mast and raised the mast until the unun was hanging straight down. In addition, I used a KF8ASE Ham Radio Supply choke between the feedline and the radio. I had to reach over my head to attach the cable to the feedpoint, so I'd guess the mast was ~ 37' up. Twenty-five minutes later, I had 17 contacts across two bands (30 and 40 meters) and back to work I went.
My next plan for an adventure is to do some dispersed winter camping this upcoming weekend. The KH1 can run 40/30/20/17/15, so I decided to purchase a K6ARK 49:1 EFWH kit and build a linked EFHW (K8MRD style) that would be resonant on all of the bands of the KH1. The kit is assembled, but now I need to add the wire and balance each band. More to come . . .
Congrats on getting back into activations and the new blog.
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to radio. I picked you up as my first contact on the 15th during my first ever CW activation from US-1511. When I arrived, I heard a strong signal on every frequency I tuned and it wasn't long before I figured out you were in the parking lot. I was anxious to start my activation or I would've popped over to say hi.
ReplyDeleteI was using a mid-band QMX with a "Just OK Mini" antenna from the trailhead shelter. I don't get out often but maybe we will run into each other again in the future.
Wow! What a strange world. I saw the P2P log and I was scratching my head but then I remembered US-1511 is actually nearly 35 miles long so you could have been anywhere on that stretch. But that is quite funny. I love those QMX's and just finished assembling a "Just OK Mini" but I haven't tried it out yet. I should be activating everyday this week around 11-12:30 EST, if you're on the air, hunt me down. I hope run into each other again.
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