Humble Pi(e) day!

 Saturday, March 14 2026 [3/14]. For some math enthusiasts who subscribe to the US centric view of writing dates, it is Pi day. For some ham radio enthusiasts like me it was strange day with weird propagation.

I started of the day to get my early morning CW fix. Nothing like beginning the day with a good ragchew QSO. On weekends, I usually lurk on the 80m bands very early in the morning and then switch on to 40m as the propagation there gets better.  But today, the bands were flat and I did not hear any of the regulars on the band. This early harbinger should have informed me to be the tough band conditions that day.

But the information did not percolate in. Instead, I spent some time solving the New York Times Crossword and their other puzzles. A little while later, my wife wanted me to run some errands. Unwilling to let this chance go by, I decided to go in for a POTA activation. However, I was not prepared for how rough the bands were. It usually takes me about 20-30 minutes to rustle up 10 contacts. What should have been a quick 30 minute detour into the park turned into a 90 minute nailbiter. I hopped all over the bands. Very few CQs were answered. I knew that if I waited for someone to contact me after hearing my CQ it was going to take much longer to get my 10 contacts. I decided to answer the CQs of other POTA activators. I usually do not do that as I am at topped out at 10W on my POTA setup. I cannot compete with the KW stations in a pileup. But today, it was different. It was a mix of desperation and desire to help out other activators facing rough conditions. Most hunters decidedly stayed away due to rough band conditions; there was no pileup. It was miraculous that some of the POTA stations heard me. I eventually ended up with 11 contacts with about 7 of them being park-to-park QSOs initiated from my end.

I reflected on the day and wondered why I even decided for an activation that day. Then I realized this was perhaps due to the strange propagation I experienced earlier in the day. I was looking at my RBN reports of my CQs on 40m in the morning. I noticed that while most of the usual stations in the 300-600 mile range did not hear me, I was heard loud and clear in ZL. Perhaps I was hoping for a first ZL contact from the park. Perhaps one day that dream would come true!