For a very long time, I used paper logging for my POTA activations. The primary reason for this was convenience. When logging on paper, I preferred a standard pencil on a notepad. It was much easier to scribble down call signs and make quick erasures or corrections. I would keep the pencil in hand, work the keyer, and then move straight to the notepad to write down the call signs and signal reports. At the end of the activation, I would take a picture of the log with my phone as a backup in case the paper got lost. Because I travel by motorcycle, I always pack light and don't have room to carry a laptop. This meant I didn't have the luxury of a physical keyboard that would have made electronic logging easy, and the small touch keyboard on a mobile phone was simply too inconvenient.
However, convenience in the field came at a steep price. After every activation, I had to come home and manually re-enter all of the QSOs on the POTA website. Logging elements like park-to-park contacts added even more complications. I also noticed that I would sometimes forget to write down a band change, forcing me to cross-reference RBN reports later just to find my operating frequencies. Needless to say, I grew tired of that routine.
That is when I decided to give smartphone logging a try. My software of choice is Ham2K PoLo. I find the clean, simple design of this app a delight to use, and I have quickly grown fond of its ability to automatically spot me on the POTA site. Once I got used to the small virtual keyboard, I really began to enjoy how the software handles timestamping and automatically records the frequency as I enter each QSO. In addition, PoLo's built-in, cached call sign database means I can instantly confirm call signs on the fly—especially those who report states not directly associated with their ARRL region.
It would be wonderful if the story ended there. Unfortunately, a new problem arose. I use a keying paddle attached directly to my Elecraft KX3. It is one of the QRP Kits single-lever paddles that relies on the bending of a steel strip to make contact on either side, which means it requires a bit of side-to-side force to operate. Things went smoothly when I was using a picnic table, as the friction of the radio resting on the wood provided a stable base. Recently, however, more of my activations have taken place with the radio sitting on my motorcycle seat or a car console. No matter what I tried, I just could not get the radio to stay put. The rig would slide across the surface with every flip of the paddle, leading to numerous flubbed call signs and sloppy responses. To prevent this, I had to stabilize the rig with my left hand—the very same hand trying to hold my phone. It was incredibly awkward.
There had to be a better way. And here it is: the "Paperclip POTA Special." This is a dirt-cheap CW paddle built from a few paperclips, a small plywood base wrapped in duct tape, and a few wood screws. The core concept of a paperclip paddle isn't my original design; I found multiple examples of this clever hack on YouTube. My initial plan was to build one of these paddles and anchor it directly into the phone's USB-C charging port. However, I didn't want to risk putting structural stress on the port, so I opted for an extended base design instead. The pictures below explain the setup better than words.
I used needle-nose pliers and formed the shorter, inner loop of a paperclip into the center ground post. I then used two longer pieces of straight paperclip wire to form the left and right paddles.
 |
Side view of the paddle assembly. |
 |
| Top-down view showing the layout |
I bench-tested this by holding the phone and the paddle base together, and it feels fantastic so far. The spring tension of the paperclips feels completely natural, and I can easily send well above 30 WPM if needed. Now, I just need to take it out into the field to see if I have finally solved this nagging stability issue. If it holds up, it will finally allow me to enjoy the full benefits of PoLo logging on the trail.
No comments:
Post a Comment