Tag: kilo

By the Hand of God at US-2173

I book my campsites often months in advance to ensure I get a good campsite. This particular trip was postponed twice due to typical life events that take precedence over having a little fun. Even this trip was not without its own issues. My wife and I forgot that this weekend was also Mother’s Day and unknown to us at the time of the booking was that there was going to be a 4 major Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) making an earth strike during the trip.

The last time I witnessed solar storms of this magnatude, I was in Gulfport MS doing EmComm for my Church in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It was a humbling experience and it shaped my EmComm Philosophy.

I use the same gear for EmComm and FunComm. The equipment gets tested and exercised, and I remain proficient in its use. I also have an understanding of its strengths and weaknesses.

Most trips I take my go box.

It stays packed and contains everthing except a battery or generator to operate. I do keep a small switching power supply for mains power when it is available. Here is a look at the inside.

I have built rack mount or shelf type go boxes and in general, I do not like them. I have deployed to real disasters and found what I have here works the best for me. I do this enough that I am up and running in minutes. One thing I like is the versatility of being able to adapt my radio to the space I have to set up in. Your Milage May Vary, but for me and my 26 years in EmComm; this works best for me.

This weekend was spent at F.D. Roosevelt State Park (US-2173) near Warm Springs GA. The park was named after Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He suffered from Polio and often would travel to Warm Springs GA for hydrotherapy. He built a residence there often referred to as “The Little White Hose”. During his presidency, he established the Civilain Conservation Core (CCC) during the Great Depression. This provided jobs to young single men to help families who had difficulty finding jobs. The CCC built much of the park.

The park contains 9,049 acres (largest in GA) and is built along the Pine Mountain Ridge. It is the southern most moutain range east of the Mississippi River. The highest point is Dowdell’s Knob at 1,395 ft and is a popular POTA and SOTA (W4G/CE-004) site. I took the Radio Flyer and stayed at the campgrounds near Lake Delano.

I arrived there right at 1300 hrs eastern (check-in time) and quickly got myself settled and ready to go. I knew the solar storms were coming and that my time maybe short. I wanted to finish my kilo here (#6) and needed 310 QSO’s. I had already postponed this trip twice so I was a little edgy. My gear for the trip was my 28.5′ Random Wire Antenna with the Peter my IC-7300. I had my Lenovo Thinkpad T-14 laptop and used mains power. The nice part about the antenna besides it performance, is I get zero complaints from park employees. No wires in the trees nor holes in the ground.

Friday’s band conditions were okay. There was lots pof QSB and I stuck with FT8 (35 watts). CW in these more rural parks can be iffy and this go I needed quantity. I started at 1430 hrs eastern and by oooo hrs Saturday (Friday Night) I had 134 QSO’s and when I quit at 2315 hrs I had a total of 230.

Saturday morning, after a quick breakfast I started up again at 0730 hrs. I operated until 1140 hrs when the bottom dropped. Luckily, I ended up with 338 QSO’s including 3 that were mader after the CME hit.

I decided my time would be best spent at home to spend Mother’s Day with my Lovely Bride so I packed up and headed for the house. My stats refelected band conditions and even though I made quite a few contacts, I only had three DX entities: Alaska, Canada and Mexico. I made contacts in 40 of the 5o states.

Operating this weekend reminded me that as reliable as HF commnications can be, it does have its Achilles Heel. For those in EmComm, never stop practicing, refining your techniques, or keeping your gear in order. For everyone else, it’s just another day in paradise. 73 de Scott

Ft Mountain State Park – A Family Affair

This past weekend, my wife and I went camping at Ft Mountain State Park near Chatsworth, GA.  The park holds a special place in our hearts because we spent our honeymoon there some 32 years ago.  Believe it or not, she still loves me.

Ft Mountain is also a favored place for POTA activations. Going into the weekend I needed a little over 200 contacts to earn a kilo award for that park. This weekend was special.  We were having a family campout with my two sons and their families.  We rented 3 campsites close together and spent a great weekend enjoying each other’s company.

As you can guess, amateur radio took a back seat to the other activities.  Since my wife was with me, my little camper got a little crowded.  I had to scale back my radio gear.  I took the radio desk out of the camper and used a lap desk instead for the radio.  The radio du jour was my IC-705 with the AH-705 tuner.  The radio was battery powered and I used an external Bioenno 3 ah battery.  My mode of choice was FT-8 and I used my iPad mini to run SDR Control.  My antenna was my trusty 28.5 Random Wire.  When I first started, I hooked the antenna right up to the AH-705.  It worked flawlessly.  The AH-705 acts much like an SG-237.  It is a very versatile tuner.  As the temps dropped, I moved inside and had to change the antenna to its normal configuration with a 9:1 UnUn and a 1:1 current Balun.  I ran coax to the inside the camper to the AH-705. I did not have a long enough control cable to keep the AH-705 outside.

I knew my kids and their families wouldn’t arrive until Friday night which meant family activities wouldn’t start until sometime Saturday morning.  I got on the air Friday afternoon and stayed on until about midnight.  I took a couple hours of sleep and then got back into it.  The nice part about FT-8 is you can turn the volume down so as not to disturb the significant other.  I finished up before 10 AM, about the time everyone else was starting to stir.

I ended up with over 230 contacts covering 40 states and 7 countries with 7 watts of power.  This was enough for the Kilo. 

The rest of the weekend was with family.  When my boys were young (I call my boys, boys and my dogs boyz), I used to take them to Magic (The Gathering) tournaments.  While we were there I would run booster drafts which was an ad hoc game using new never never-opened card packs.  I did this to give myself something to do, and I got a Magic tee shirt that had “Staff”.  Street cred baby! I arranged a game while we were camping and of course, introduced the grandsons to the game.  It looks like we may do this again next year.

With careful planning, you can enjoy your family and radio at the same time.  In fact, one of my grandsons is interested in learning more about CW or Morse Code.  Yes, sir, next year’s campout is looking up.  72 de Scott