Early bird surprise

I had earlier written about how I take the opportunity to activate parks that are close to my work. [ Click here for that post ]. During those activations, I would head out during my lunch break or other break and squeeze in a quick activation.

Trying to squeeze such activations came with a few problems: The traffic during lunch hours is heavier. Even though the park is about a mile away, it is in downtown with multiple stop lights making the commute slower. Second, the parking lot at work is overbooked and it would be very difficult to find parking when I got back. Third, meetings and other work compulsions meant that I could not get away on a few occasions,

So I decided to change my tack and tried to get an activation before I get to work. I found that his has none of the disadvantages mentioned above. This means I would start my activations around 7:30am local time (1230 UTC). I was concerned that there may not be that many hams active early in the morning and was worried that an activation would take too long. I was surprised to note that on the two occasions I have done this, I got my ten contacts within as many minutes. So, the entire activation amounts to about 20-25 minutes. 

Another great advantage is that I found that there is an entirely different set of operators active during that time of the day allowing me to establish contacts with new hams. 

Pre-dawn POTA near downtown Detroit.

The sky in the above image actually seems brighter due to longer exposure

I find that starting the day of with some CW also dusts of the cobwebs and I feel energized for work.

Are you an early bird or a night owl? What do you think are the benefits of either one? Let me know in your comments.

First Triple Play

 Another dreary winter day in Southeast Michigan. The skies were grey and wintry mix was making driving a little tricky. Nothing like a successful POTA activation to beat back the blues!

On this Winter Field Day 2024, I set out to Proud Lake State Rec. Area K-3324. I usually am only CW on activations owing to the low power setup used in activations. However, to keep it interesting, I decided to try SSB, DATA and CW modes today. This also keeps the skills sharp for operating the rig with various modes; and provides for some variety in activations. For data I decided to try FT8 again. So I charged up my laptop and hunted for my data cables and I was on my way.

Those familiar with my activations would know that I use an Elecraft KX-3 for my activations. As with my recent activations, I chose to use the JPC-12 loaded vertical for the antenna. To hook it up to WSJTX, I have a USB hub with USB-C connector. The USB-C end hooks to my laptop. It  has 4 USB A ports for devices. I use a USB sound card, the KX-3 control cable and a USB mouse on three of those ports. So for activation, all have to do is to plug in the audio in and audio out and AUX1 cable to the KX-3 and hook the hub to the computer and I'm all set for WSJTX

I started with 20m activation on FT8 and got contacts at a good clip. It was surreal working in total silence and making contacts. Since  FT8 transmissions are 15 seconds long, the QSOs came in at the rate of 1 a minute.  I was running the rig at 5W and the band was a little short that day. So most contacts were on the eastern side of the continent. After a little while, it got too easy...and I found almost disconnected from the activation; I craved for a little action....

FT8 in progress from the rear seat 

So I switched to 20m CW. I mixed up the automated CQ caller with manual keying and was back in business. Now, I feel more engaged in the activation. Trying to copy the callsigns over the noise kicked the brain cells into gear and contributed to the rush...I then roamed the bands including 30m, 17m and 10m CW.  

Finally to make a triple play, I switched over to SSB. The 20m voice portion was extremely busy due to the field day and there was no open frequency. Trying to work the stations to gather contacts was also not possible as there was no way for my QRP rig to punch through the big guns on the hunt. I tried to listen in and make the call; however, none of the stations offered up a slot for QRPs. So I gave up and popped on over to 40m band. Here the band was a little crowded. I found my own corner and put out CQs. There were no takers. I was almost about to give up, but I finally got some contacts from the neighboring states. Success at last. 

Of the three modes, FT8 was easiest and I would probably use it when taking a lunch break; but want to keep the activation going. CW is a little trickier as I have to operate the keyer and log the contacts on my notebook. I still make errors on decoding the contact callsigns. SSB seems to be in the Goldilocks zone. I also like the ability to pass on quick comments and exchange pleasantries...

What is your order of preference for POTA modes? Let me know by leaving your comments

Mitts for mitten state

This weekend is the Winter 2024 Support your Parks day. At the crack of dawn (well 0930 local time) I headed out to K-3324 Proud Lake State Rec area for an activation. On the way back I was going to stop by Costco for our weekly resupply mission. It was cold with the temperatures in the 4-5F.  I went to the Park Headquarters area knowing that that area will be plowed and easier to access. When I reached the parking lot, I found that it was nearly full. There was a big contingent of hikers (in training walk I guess as they had big backpacks) that had used the parking lot as a staging ground to the nearby trailhead. 

I found a secluded corner that will enable me to set up my vertical close to the car. I stuck the JPC-12 on the snow taking care to keep any melting snow from entering the feed line. I need not have worried as the temps were way below freezing anyway. The only disadvantage was that there was a bunch of trees close to the antenna on one side as seen in the picture below. While it was not ideal, it was a pretty sight as you can see the golden early morning sunlight being caught in the trees in the background.

Activation of K-3324 on Support your Parks weekend

As is the routine, I started off with 40m and got quite a few contacts. Then I went through 30m to pick up a few more. When I went down to 20m I had to work a few pileups. That was fun. However, I do not leave my car engine running during activation. I had to get down each time I changed bands to adjust the tuning coil on the JPC-12 vertical. This meant that I was losing heat that I had built up by cranking up the heater on my way to the park. When working 20m the temperature in the car had plunged and my fingers were freezing. Luckily, I had a few thin mitts (would have loved thin mints as well.. hi hi ). It was a little tricky operating the paddle with the mitts as I did not get the same feel. I did flub a few calls, but I hope the hunters would forgive me. As time progressed, it got colder even with the mitts on. You never realize the fine motor skills degrade with cold causing even sending out simple calls difficult. 

Operating the KX-3 paddle with mitts

Eventually, I had to restart the car for a few minutes to warm up the interior before continuing again. I ended up the activation on 17m. In summary I worked a little over 50 contacts including on DX [France] on 17m.  

Interesting note: I worked AE1T and AE2T from the park. Perhaps they should have an award for such things -- three calls in a sequence? I also ended up with a few first time contacts. I hope to catch you on the air soon!

Temperatures a fallin...Bands a poppin

 A few days ago I wrote about how winter tightened its grip on Michigan leading to my first true winter activation. Well that was just a start. Today, the deep-freeze really set in with our temperatures at -5F (-21C) not accounting for wind chill. Unfortunately, I had to head out towards Ann Arbor to run an errand. And if you have read my blogs enough, you'd know I'd hate to let this opportunity to go waste. I wanted to squeeze in another activation of K-1513, Mike Levine Lakelands trail. 

Brrr. Its cold out there...

I bundled myself with multiple layers of clothing; took my heavy gloves and my thinner mitts. I would need the latter to assemble my JPC-12 upon arrival. To save time in the cold, I pre-assembled sections of the antenna at home where it was warm and comfortable. The snowfall from two days ago had all been cleared; the cold in addition to a Federal Holiday (Martin Luther King Jr Day) meant that the traffic was light and I made it quickly to the park. K-1513 is a long trail that runs for many miles. I went to my favorite location at Village Trailhead Parking in Hamburg township,  Believe it or not! There were a few vehicles in the lot with people walking the trail. The lot along the trail was cleared. So it was easy to set up the antenna. I decided to start with 20m, which was suggested by VOACAP. With the pre-assembly of the antenna sections, I got started within minutes.

Working K-1513 from the rear-seat. The trail runs to the right of the screen

20m was in great shape today. The contacts were coming in at a fast clip even when I started at 5W. After a little while, I decided to switch to 30m. But after CQs for about 10 minutes did not get any bites. So I went back to 20m at 10W. 

Yours truly warm and cozy in the rear-seat. This is a mirror image due to selfie orientation

More contacts poured in. I even managed to snag a DX [F4ILH coming in at 599]. I believe that a combination of the band condition and fewer activators out in the cold contributed to the greater number of hunter contacts today. Whatever the reason, I was happy that I snagged 43 unique contacts in a little over an hour. That alone made up for the cold conditions outside. Hope to catch you on the air soon! 

POTA from a private park?

Apologies for the clickbait title :-)

I have been writing many posts about how much warmer than normal this winter has been here in Southeast Michigan. I have been enjoying many activations in the relatively warm weather. Well today winter came here with a vengeance! We had our first snowstorm of the year overnight; we experienced anywhere between 4 to 8 inches of thick wet snow. 

Today after clearing up the snow, I had to drop my wife off to work and pick up some pet supplies that were running low. My journey would take me close to my favorite park: K-1518, Maybury State Park. So I decided to stop by and have a go.

Before leaving, I checked VOACAP for propagation and noticed that 30m and 20m were the best bets for the time of the day. This suited me fine as I can get a good match on my JPC-12 for those bands.

After dropping my wife off and picking up the pet supplies, I headed towards the park. The drive up there was much slower than usual.  The roads were being cleared and were drivable. But, high winds created some squalls and near white out conditions. Surprisingly, almost all drivers were sensible and I did not encounter any spinouts.

Marginal driving conditions on the way to K-1518

When I finally reached the park, I was happy to note that there was a snow plow clearing the parking areas. I found that I had the park all to myself; in effect my own private park. I found a place that was already cleared and set up for the activation. The snow plow had piled up the edge of the parking lots with snow, which made setting up my antenna a little tricky. I had to climb up on piled snow and plant the antenna. The winds were howling; I was glad to get back into my car and begin the activation.

All alone in the park; my own private park...

 

I started off with 30m and got the required 10 contacts within minutes. When the contacts started dying down, I switched to 20m and worked several more stations mostly on the eastern side of the continent. I did manage to work a few stations for the first time. When I get back home I find that these are newer CW operators. I am glad more are entering the fray.

A warm car makes even a bleak view enjoyable!

At the very end of the activation, I tried to prove VOACAP wrong. I switched to 40m and put out calls. I got just two responses in about 15 minutes; both gave marginal RSTs for my signal. Well sometimes going contrarian pays off; that was not the case today. Time for me to pack up and head back home for a warm meal. 

Is a public park on which you are the only one a private park? It at least felt that way for me today!

A Tale of two activations

New year activaganza!

I rang in the New year with family on a road trip to Chicago! Of course no trip is complete without POTA activations. I am absolutely blessed to have understanding family members who put up with my little detours during the road trip to complete the activation. 

The I-94 corridor between Detroit and Chicago is dotted with many parks within a quick detour. On the way up to the windy city on 30 Dec, I managed to activate K-1522 Warren Dunes State Park. This park had eluded me twice before. Each time I had passed through it, there were thunderstorms which derailed any possibility of an activation. It was supposed to be calm and in the 40s (5 deg C) this time. The plan was to do an in vehicle activation in the parking lot, but the sunny disposition outside persuaded us to go on to the lake shore. It was a miscalculation! 

Sunny Skies belie the cold temperatures and winds on Lake Michigan shores at Warren Dunes State Park K-1552

I managed to set up my JPC-12 vertical on the beach and started the activation, while my family started to grab some lunch. By the time we settled in and I started my CQ sequence, a mild breeze started to grow in strength. Soon, the sun went back into the clouds, it started to feel a lot colder. I had no cell coverage and I had to ask my first contact (N1RBD) to spot me. By the time I had enough contacts (about 25 minutes), my hands were completely frozen. Packing the radio and the picnic gear was a chore with hands that had no sensation. I was glad to have nabbed this park.  This was just one of the three activations on the trip. 

However, I saw an interesting contrast on my next two activations. 

On the way down to the motor city on New Year's Day 2024, I decided to stop by K-4107 William Powers State Recreation Area on the South side of Chicago. Now just or unjust, the southern part of Chicago does not have great reputation in terms of personal safety. After assuring the family members that reputations are more fearsome and usually undeserved, I told them this would be a quick process. When we pulled into the park, the gates were closed. So I had to park at the gate and walk in a few paces to set up my radio and start my activation. After about 10 minutes on 40m netting only 2 contacts, decided to switch over to 20m. I had 15 contacts in 12 minutes! Hooray. Time to get out of there with the park in the bag! No time to even snap a picture. 

After motoring two and a half hours further east, I decided to pull into Fort Custer State Recreation Area K-3310. I wanted to minimize the pain to my family and decided for quick in-car activation. I went for the 20m. However, what a difference the two and half hours make! After about 35 minutes on the band, I managed only 8 contacts. So I decided to change tack and try out 30m. I should have probably started with it first as I made contacts at about one a minute. After waiting for the contacts to die down, I packed up and called it a day much to the relief of my family members.

Yours truly activating K-3310 while family waits patiently

Todays two activations were weird. 20m was active earlier on in the day and then took a dip. I am noticing as winter approaches, 30m seems to be a good compromise and generally does the trick when 40m or 20m does not. I believe there are fewer hunters on that band, and rarely make more than 10 contacts on 30m alone. 

I was happy to get 3 new to me parks activated during the trip. There is also a tinge of regret that these are fly-by activations as I prefer the more leisurely activations with more contacts.