February 2025 POTA Activation of Webb-Babcock WMA

 

20 CW Hunters: Thanks to you all!

It's been a while since RV the Radio Van and I  headed to the local WMA for some POTA fun. It felt good to get out and operate after a winter of other activities. These otherwise good activities just got in the way and prevented any POTA fun...until today. I could tell I was rusty doing POTA. It took me a while to get in the groove with CW momentum. I started on 40 and made 4 contacts in 5 minutes before the band seemed to dry up suddenly. I had gotten a late start for that band, so I wasn't surprised. I quickly swapped my 40 meter hamstick for the 20 meter version. The night before I implemented an idea a fellow ham and blogger suggested for quickly lowering the stinger into the middle of the helically wound base coil for storage and transport. Replace the tiny allen screws with thumbscrews that can be loosened just enough to pull the stinger out, or to push it back in for storage. I'm here to report this little trick worked very well. I need to order 1 more set for my 17 meter hamstick. Normally, I use a 17 foot Wolf River Coils vertical on top of my 9 foot tall van. This time I wanted to see how the hamsticks worked with my IC-705 barefoot. Sometimes when operating portable, such as in a Cracker Barrel parking lot, using a shorter hamstick is more appropriate. Today's test was to see if they would get the job done with only 10 watts.

Getting back to the activation, once I twisted the quick connect on the hamstick and swapped 40 for 20, I was back on the air calling CQ POTA. I also tried swapping the straight key for my CW Morse keyer paddles, but the keyer started went rogue and sent a few too many unwanted dahs without permission. So, I quickly moved right back to the straight key and made a mental note to clean the keyer contacts when I got home. First, I grabbed an activator for a Park-to-Park contact. Then, during the next 22 minutes I made 10 more contacts on 20 meters for a total of 11 on that band. My run rate was slower than on 40, but the results were better overall. Now that US-6291 was activated I ran out of hunters once again. Next band, new hamstick, and now I'm on 17 meters. This is my favorite band, especially for CW ragchewing. I thought to myself, let's see if anyone's interested in a quick POTA exchange. During the next 17 minutes I snagged 5 more contacts including one Park-to-Park to round out the activation. All in all, I was happy with my 20 contacts and I'm grateful for my 20 hunters. 

Jim, K9WA reported snow in Illinois

I spent a few more minutes calling CQ SKCC and nabbed 3 more contacts in 26 minutes. These chats were more relaxed than a POTA exchange. I was able to lure all three of my code buddies into a few back and forth exchanges before moving on, including weather, rig, and even a little bit of rubbing it in with my 82 degree Florida temperatures. That's the joy of operating in sunny Florida in the middle of winter! Two of my SKCC buddies were from "up north", and Bert called in from France. He took me by surprise, as I mostly have contacts with hams from North America. I enjoyed these more casual contacts with Bert and my two other SKCC callers before signing off to call CQ SKCC again. Then, just like during the POTA activation, my replies dried up. So, I called QRT and started packing up.

Just as predicted, I was on my way home before lunchtime. After using the iPhone's "share my ETA" function with my wife I received a request for "DD, please". That's spouse-speak for "will you stop on the way home and bring me a Dunkin Donut iced coffee, please?" I was happy to oblige, and my caramel iced coffee tasted pretty good after drinking a whole Stanley thermos full of hot coffee during my morning of CW therapy in the park.

My shack away from home

The rig for this excursion consisted of 3 Shark Hamsticks for 40, 20, and 17. I ran 10w from an IC-705 and used my 20 Ah Bioenno battery to sneak past the 5w limit when only using the internal battery. I did that mainly because of the hamsticks, reasoning that I needed a bit more power to make any headway. Next time, I'll try it fully barefoot and QRP. My straight key was a tiny Putikeeg purchased from Amazon. It's so tiny I can use it when operating ROTA -- Recliners on the Air with a small lap desk. My log for the POTA activation was hand-written on a 3x5 card transferred to Hamrs when I got home. I used the SKCC logger to log my SKCC contacts which meant a little bit more wire on the RV table than I had started with when doing the POTA activation. I'm still working on my Century with that organization. I'm finally ready to send my logs in to get that "C" after my SKCC number.

All in all, it was a great morning. I spent a little over 2 hours in the park and about 45 minutes of round-trip driving plus that 15 minute detour to "DD". I can't wait until the next trip. Now, where to go next time?

Living, Working, and Playing in Small Spaces

What began as an e-mail to a code buddy ended up here instead. Gmail says my photos exceeded their 25 mb limit. Since the email was meant to be a private exchange and this post is not, my code buddy's name shall remain anonymous. Let's just call him Fred. As I promised Fred, here's another of my "write-ups" following our CW sked yesterday morning.

My Mac Desktop

Code Buddy Progress

I wish I had captured your [Fred's] signal. Your CW today was very well-spaced. Best I've heard from you since we first started our code buddy QSOs back in August. It looks pretty on the waterfall. 

Thoughts on Wireless Radio Control

My new software works very well with my Mac and IC-705 wirelessly when I'm operating CW. Not so much with digital modes. The developer and I have gone back and forth via email. I'm having some trouble getting third party software like FLDigi to interface properly with his software. The developer wrote me a long and interesting reply. In it, he basically said he gets frustrated with amateur radio software developers who still use 1980s methods and tools to develop software we all use and love including FLRig and FLDigi. I'm not a software developer, but I understood most of what he said about how more modern approaches would make it much easier to get his software working with the third party tools I want to use. I've also had some back and forth chats via email with the developer of the FLDigi suite. 

Bottom line, the Mac software developer pretty much said he's not going to go out of his way to make his software talk to what he calls "outdated software from the 80s". Instead, he developed what he calls Tools for modes like FT8 and PSK-31. These Tools are supposed to work together seamlessly with his main software, and they do. But frankly, the Tools for both modes provide only a rudimentary display of the data these modes were designed for. I've decided to use his program (at $99) for what it does well for me: CW rig control, logging, POTA hunting and activating, and it provides a very nice visual display of the IC-705 waterfall on my 32" monitor. The wireless functionality is almost rock-solid. I've only had a couple of dropouts, and a quick reconnect cures that while the radio just keeps on doing its thing. I had wanted to operate digital modes sitting in my recliner with no wires plugged into my Mac laptop, but that's not going to happen. I'll use a single USB cable with my IC-705, just like I do with my IC-7300 and my Dell laptop when I want to work with digital software. The Icom Remote Utility app (also $99, Windows only) has worked well and it also works with FLDigi and all the other digital modes apps I use. 

I can sit in the recliner with my Dell laptop and work ROTA — Recliners on the Air — using pretty much any digital mode. I can do this with no wires until my internal battery runs out. Icom's rig control software and its waterfall doesn't work so well, though. There's clearly no perfect solution for wireless control of an Icom radio from a laptop. At least not in my limited experience and with my level of expertise tinkering with computer-radio interfaces. Pieces of it "just work" on both Mac and Windows; otherwise, the other pieces don't work! Or, they work, but with lots of fiddling every time I want to start a new digital session. Having to use a single USB cable stretched from my radio to my laptop in the recliner will work fine. Or, I can go back to using my Mac to control the Dell via a VNC. That also works 99% of the time. I can't disagree with the Mac developer that some of the ham software we use today has been around for decades and "shows its age"; BUT, it works! I'll take ugly, working software over pretty, non-functional and/or fiddly software any day. Especially since I love digi modes about as much as I love CW on HF. Unless I make the move to a total SDR with a proper internal soundcard and a wired network interface, I'll have to settle for my current Icom-based lineup with Windows for my digital modes operations.

Paper Mess

All those desktop folders on my Mac laptop above pretty much mirror the piles of manila folders I have on most horizontal surfaces in my shed-shack. I like an empty desktop normally, but you can see I'm losing that battle! I've neglected my "paperwork" for way longer than usual — like, since I retired on Aug. 5 — and now I'm paying the price. It'll take me until Spring to dig out from under it all! Something about the freedom of retirement has gone to my head, and I've been playing during times when I should have been working to get my paper mess under control.

My Main operating position

Wire Mess

If you zoom in to this picture you'll see the wire mess that's somewhat hidden by my 32" monitor. It looks 100% better than the way it was over the past few months. It's only been in the past couple of weeks that I could see the top of my desk. I've decided this is about as good as it's gonna get for a guy about to turn 70. My wife once said to me, "If I were a wire, I'd get more of your attention." I can't argue with that. I'm afraid she's got a point! I've moved the paper messes to other horizontal surfaces...

ROTA operating position left, Main operating position right; former ROTA table in middle

In the photo above you can see the remnants of paper piles near the small desk lamp. Another pile is 180 degrees behind me as I took this photo.

All-purpose soldering, scanning, printing, tinkering area

If you look closely you might see the white, hidden water heater behind this little desk area. I missed a photo opportunity prior to "organizing" my piles yesterday. Any remaining papers are hidden in the bin on top of my printer, ready for scanning and later, shredding. I'll use this small area as a soldering, scanning, printing, catch-all corner. Just off to the right is a door to the carport. The stairs leading to our bedroom are to the left of the little desk area. You can just see the top "landing" level step and the first of 2 steps below it. For an 8x8 foot shed, I have very little floor space left! Did I mention I seem to enjoy small spaces? I measured the open floor space: 16 sq. ft. is available for my rolling shop stool, for standing, or for walking to the steps or to the door that leads to the carport. That's what I have left out of a total of only 64 square feet. The rest is occupied by 2 work areas, stairs, and my recliner. It's not much, but this shed-shack is mine! This room is hazardous to my wife's health; she uses a walker to get around and this room is tiny! I'm used to taking radio trips and living in RV-the-Radio-Van with 147 square feet, only about 32 of which are for walking or standing! 

Somehow, with only 2 bedrooms and the van in our driveway and available for sleeping, we've had our son, his wife, and 3 grandkids spend the night. We can provide a comfy place to sleep for everyone. Our grandkids love to spend the night here. When it's just one, two, or all three grandkids spending the night we make it work by using simple rules that grandma set up for everyone.

The Kids' Room and Grandma's Gag Rule

Looking Up

My 64 square foot shed-shack has almost 9 foot ceilings! The shed was added onto the front-left corner of my 24 x 40 foot mobile home and blocked one of two master bedroom windows. The shed is built on a concrete slab that sits about 2 feet below the level of my house which is raised up about 2 feet with a crawl space underneath. That's why the former owner decided to take out one of the bedroom windows (which looked into the inside of the shed) and put in a door instead. He had 3 steps built inside the shed for moving from the ground-based shed to the 2 foot above ground bedroom level. Not one to waste any space in an already crowded storage shed, after installing insulation and an air conditioner and sealing up the crawl space on the side of the shed that's attached to the elevated house, I put in 20" deep shelves all around the perimeter of the shed at about the 6.5 foot level above the floor. On these shelves we keep anything that doesn't fit inside our tiny home. About half of that "stuff" is mine—things I might need someday. The other half of the 25 liner feet of shelving holds our shared, bulky items—paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and other fun stuff we only need occasionally, but which doesn't fit inside the tiny house. The perimeter shelves are mounted just below the level of my single ceiling fan in the middle of the room which spins around, keeping me cool inside on 100 degree summer days when I'm in the shed running the A/C full blast. The spinning fan blades just miss hitting the stuff on the shelves all around. Here's what it looks like looking up from the top stair near the bedroom door.

Top Perimeter Shelf and Bookshelf over desk area

Looking Down

Looking down from the same step you can see my whopping 16 square feet of usable floor space! Since the recliner swivels and reclines and the stool can be moved closer to the main desk, it's possible to sit there to operate the radios while reclining. Or, I can dial up Netflix and watch a movie. I neglected to mention that I built this desk (30x60) on top of a set of sit-stand legs. Yes, it's a standing desk! So, I can sit on a stool that also raises and lowers to match the sit-stand desk, or stand and work at the standing desk, or recline or rock in the rocking-swiveling-reclining recliner. You've heard of the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles? Well, check out how many modes of working at a desk I can pack into 64 square feet! All while simultaneously servicing the storage needs of my 2-person family.

Swiveling, Recliner, Rolling Stool, and 16 square feet to roam!

Home, Sweet Home

I've often wondered what I would do if I were encouraged to set up shop inside the house where the vaulted ceilings make it feel much bigger than it really is? Did I mention my wife isn't fond of my wire and paper messes? Can you guess why I end up in sheds, closets, and radio vans? Would I move into the house if it was suggested? I don't know. Maybe. I seem to gravitate toward smaller spaces, though. I grew up in a very tiny townhouse-like environment sharing three small bedrooms and one bathroom with 5 people. Tiny spaces confine my tinkering, computing, radio chatting, and all the other things I do with my time, and that's probably a good thing. When I confine those activities—things people I know and love don't care about—to an out of the way place that barely has room for a visitor, then my loved ones and I can "do our thing" in peace and quiet. Nobody wants to listen to CW while watching TV. A CW operator doesn't need to hear a blaring TV game show while trying to copy a weak station during a time of QSB. 

I can host one or two grandchildren sitting on the stoop of my shed-shack (the top level of my stairs), one sitting/reclining in the recliner, and there's still room for me, the host, on a stool. Ask me how I know this is possible. My wife could sit in the bedroom with the door open and join in the fun. Yes, we've done that, too. Why everyone joined me in the shed-shack is still a mystery, but it was nice having visitors for a little while! If we open the second door leading to the carport (yes, I have 2 doors and a window in an 8x8 shed!) we can have a party or make a quick getaway in the golf cart parked under the adjoining carport. My neighbors must wonder how I go into my shed and disappear, only to come out again from the front door of our mobile home. Few people know that my shed has a door that leads to the bedroom. My neighbor across the street has the same model home and the same shed, but there's no way to enter the bedroom by going into his shed. My shed is special. Magical things happen in here, including writing this little essay.

Antenna Farm at Sunset; Shed-Shack left, screen porch right, carport middle, all under metal roof

Future Plans

I have plans for that metal roof that spans my shed-shack, carport, and screened porch. I think it'll make an excellent ground plane for a vertical antenna. What do you think?

Whatever is more difficult: Do that!

Doing it the hard way is usually not a good idea. Sometimes, though, the hard way is the best way. When the hard way is the only way to accomplish conflicting goals, try the hard way. My home QTH is in a shed. I share my radio shed-shack with our second fridge, shelves of paper supplies we buy in bulk at Sams Club, a water heater, all my tools, and pretty much everything else that doesn't fit inside our very small house. My radio shed-shack is crowded. I have a large desktop measuring 2.5 x 5 feet that triples as a work bench for radio and similar projects, a work desk when I was still working full- or part-time, a place to pay the bills or do the taxes, and a radio operating position. I built it so it functions as a sit-stand desk. When I'm sitting, I have a fairly comfortable office chair. However, I enjoy operating my radios from different locations, especially during the summer when it gets hot, and during the winter when it's finally cool enough to operate outside. During summer months here in Florida the portable air conditioner has a hard time keeping up when outside temps are in the high 90s or low 100s. So, I seek other places to set up my shack and operate portable. Everything I do in my radio hobby is portable in one way or another because we live and work in a shared space. When it's just my wife and me, or when the grandkids come over to spend the night or the day, I have to carve out a place and some time to "play radio". That's not a complaint. Most all amateur radio operators have the same story.

I own an RV that I call the Radio Van. The radio setup inside the van is even more crowded than my home shed-shack. You can see pictures on my QRZ page. I have RV-the-Radio-Van set up with an IC-7300. It's a great radio! I can quickly put up a roof-mounted or ground-mounted vertical antenna or run a wire from the van to a tree and be on the air from pretty much anywhere. RV-the-Radio-Van takes me to places away from home. I've written about some of those journeys elsewhere in this blog. There's nothing more fun than operating at the side of a lake, in the middle of the woods, or on top of a mountain. I've even operated from a Cracker Barrel parking lot. Operating from the RV or even at home is not always very comfortable on my behind, my legs, or my shoulders. That's why I purchased a small portable radio, a Xiegu G90, that I can fit in a backpack. My backpack portable radio setup encourages me to get out of the shed-shack at home, out of the van, and into the outdoors as a portable radio operator. I enjoy POTA—Parks on the Air—a radio activity which usually brings many responses when I call CQ POTA looking for other radio operators to "hunt" me and, if they can hear me, to give me a call. For 30-60 minutes I'm on the end of a pileup—a gathering of other radio operators who want to talk to me. That's exciting! I often pair POTA activities with a nice, long hike in the woods right where I've been operating the radio. Sometimes, I even spend the night there and extend my radio and hiking time beyond just a couple of hours. I also like to operate radio from my recliner because it's my favorite position no matter what I'm doing, from watching TV to reading to talking on the radio. When I operate radio from the recliner I'm supporting a brand new program called ROTA—Recliners on the Air. To set up for regular ROTA operating, however, required a new radio setup. That would not have been in the cards for this amateur radio operator without a windfall—a bunch of money that was not already in the budget. Fortunately, my part-time job came through when I least expected it.

I was a couple of weeks away from wrapping up a 4-year stint, post-retirement, at a part-time job working for my former full-time employer. My boss asked me to work an extra 2 months this summer before finally retiring "for good" from a part time tech support job. I said yes, partly because the summer project I would manage was the culmination of 4 years of prep work on my part. The other reason, which became apparent a couple of days after I agreed to manage the extra project, was because these extra 2 months of income suddenly became "found money" for me to spend on something unexpected. I negotiated with my wife as I always do when a lot of money is involved. We agreed that all of this extra money would go into a radio spending spree. When you get a chance to enjoy Christmas in July and still keep your relationship with your significant other intact, you do it! The only problem I had to face was: what will I buy with a pile of money devoted to my Christmas in July? Technically, the unexpected work was done in July. The spending took place in August. While the money pile grew during July's project work I spent all my free time creating a radio budget. The income was a moving target, and the radio budget kept growing as well. Seems like a good problem, right? It was! Still, it was a challenge. Never in my 50 years as an amateur radio operator did I have a pile of money to spend on radio gear. Not without selling something old before buying something new. This time was different. The money was not unlimited, but it was enough to buy a nice radio, some accessories, some wire, and even a new ladder to install the new antenna system I would build to pair with my new radio. I began the decision-making process by listing what I wanted to do with yet another radio. I'll save the rest of that decision-making story for another post. Now, I want to focus on what I ended up with, and why. 

IC-705 on Swivel Desktop

I could have purchased a single, full-power (100 watt) radio that can still be turned down to 1 watt for QRP—low power—operations. A radio with an internal antenna tuner that can be moved from one operating position to another fairly easily. In other words, one radio that does almost everything I want to do. The tradeoff would be that I would need to dismantle my radio shack each time I wanted to change positions. One of my goals was to get away from the hassle of a take down, set up, take down, set up routine. Everything I do in a deed restricted neighborhood is done with portable and/or stealth antennas. All can be taken down or put back up within 5-15 minutes in the case of a complaining neighbor or a thunderstorm or hurricane blowing through. Portable antennas will be a necessity for as long as I live in this neighborhood, and I plan to stay here until they take me out in a pine box. But, the radios and other accessories are a different matter. Instead of using a single radio that "does it all", I bought an Icom 705 QRP radio with an RM Italy MLA-100 amplifier, a Chameleon URT-1 remote tuner, and an MFJ digital SWR/Power meter. I also bought a roll of 18 gauge wire for my new "random" length wire connected to the remote tuner. The remote tuner idea is another story for another time. The "random" wire connected to the remote tuner ended up at 84 feet long, enough to also get on the 80 meter band which I've not visited for decades. 

84' Wire, Tree to Pole, Inverted L

If you're following along you might wonder why I didn't just use my IC-7300, the single radio I already own that "does it all"? Simple. I would need to move it back and forth between the RV and my new operating position next to a new-to-me recliner in the corner of our spare bedroom. This decision-making process was truly a cart-before-the-horse situation. Before I knew I needed a new radio, I found some money to buy one. All the pieces just came together. This isn't likely to ever happen again, not like it did this summer. When I first saw the IC-705 I wanted one. I didn't really have a need for it, especially given the fact that it was lacking full power at 100 watts and an antenna tuner. I bought the G90 as a kind of consolation prize. It runs a respectable 20 watts, has an internal tuner that tunes most anything, and it's small for portable ops from a backpack. The other features of the IC-705, however, give me some benefits I wouldn't have any other way. When we coincidentally decided as a separate matter to buy my wife a new "lift" recliner so she can get out of the chair with bad knees, I was able to move her old recliner to the bedroom next to a window and operate ROTA from there instead of the living room where my recliner is located.

I found a special recliner table with a swivel top that can be moved over the right-hand arm of the recliner. From the recliner I can use a lap desk to operate CW, digital modes, and SSB voice modes if I'm so inclined. The swivel surface holds the IC-705 and accessories while putting the radio right where I need it while I'm on the air. If I'm operating a digital mode like PSK-31 or JS8 and want to move to my living room recliner, I can. The IC-705 and my laptop communicate over WiFi with no wires between them. That was one of the main benefits I wanted from the 705 from the first time I saw it online. The 705 is a small QRP rig out of the box that fits in the backpack where my G90 used to be. My G90 will likely become a dedicated JS8 station doing double-duty on WSPR to gather real-time propagation reports from my home QTH. The RM Italy amp paired with the IC-705 gives me a QRP portable rig for POTA activations plus up to 100 watts for my ROTA operating. The 7300 stays in RV-the-Radio-Van for times when I want to get away but stay in an air-conditioned van with a kitchen and bedroom. At home I have Recliner #1 (in the LR) and Recliner #2 (in the BR), and I can operate digital from either one with a single laptop. Previously, I needed 2 computers and had to tie up the IC-7300 while operating from the driveway where the van is plugged in and parked.

Now, I can operate CW from Recliner #2 with my feet up and look out the window at the clouds while I'm head copying the other operator's transmissions. Yes, all the wires and patch cables that fill roughly 2 square feet of swiveling table surface next to my recliner indicates that I did this the hard way. Guilty as charged. It's kind of like going fishing and catching dinner instead of just making a quick trip to the grocery store and picking up something already cooked from the deli. But, doing it the hard way—the opportunity cost—gave me several benefits I would not have enjoyed had I used my previously owned IC-7300 or bought a new IC-7100 with just as many wires required—AKA, the easy way. The 7100's remote head would still leave me with 2 pieces of gear compared to the 705-plus-amp. Both involve 2 pieces of gear connected by wires. The IC-7100 is greyscale and it has no waterfall. The IC-705 is color, has a waterfall, and has a WiFi card and Bluetooth inside. Besides, what ham radio operator doesn't love a bunch of wires in the shack no matter where the chair is located? I've criticized people who seem to follow the "whatever's harder" path. Sometimes, the hard way is the better way when it ticks all the boxes and opens up new options you would have missed out on if you took the easy way. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

View from the Recliner

POTA Travels to Florida's East Coast

In January of 2024 I squeezed in a 5-day trip to Florida's east coast. I planned to see the sights while operating portable HF (high-frequency) radio at several Florida state parks. I like to participate as an activator in the Parks on the Air (POTA) program. As often happens with trip planning, the actual trip turned out differently than what my plan called for. My secondary goal was to activate parks only on or near the water. It had been a years since I visited Florida's east coast. All my stops were designed to give me something nice to look at while making contacts with hams around the country. When I'm the activator at a park, the folks who call me are called hunters. The goal is to get at least 10 hunters to contact me while I'm in the park. Ham radio operators all over the world do this. This gets me out of the (radio) shack and into the outdoors as Tracy, VE3TWM likes to say on his YouTube channel Outdoors on the Air. Thanks, Tracy, for the motivation to do just that!

My first stop on this trip was near West Palm Beach. I set up right on the beach at John D. McArthur Beach State Park. My Florida State Parks pass saved me the $4 daily use fee, and I was well on my way to making that purchase pay for itself. The beach itself was a .67 mile walk from where I parked the van.

Walk to the Beach

While the walk to the beach was calm and beautiful, the beach itself was very windy. I had one false start putting up my ground-mounted Wolf River vertical. The wind blew it over! Since I brought no paracord or rope of any kind, I had to improvise. I spotted a post sticking out of the sand that hosted a lifesaving ring. Since there was nobody in the water, I took the risk and used that post to prop up my antenna. 

My next challenge was to find a place to sit. I still had not perfected a way to bring radio, antenna, and a lightweight chair, but I did have a blue tarp with me to use as a seat. Once again, the wind was probably blowing at 20-25 mph, so I needed a way to block it. My operating position turned out to be in a small indentation similar to the foxholes we would pretend to use as kids playing "war". Crude, but it worked just well enough to make the activation possible.

View looking down into the foxhole

This was my first time using the new G90 rig to operate in a POTA park. I had practiced in my driveway on New Year's Day, but conditions on the beach were much more challenging. I managed to get everything hooked up and running within a few minutes of settling into the foxhole. Now, it was time to fire up the radio and see if anyone was on the air. I also was curious to see if the "saltwater effect" was really a thing. I had read about how saltwater acts like an amplifier for radio waves. I later witnessed Walt - K4OGO operating near the Atlantic near Norfolk, Virginia where he features portable operating on his YouTube channel, Coastal Waves and Wires. Now it was time to try this out for myself.

Well, it seems that this little physics trick actually works. Signals were coming in very strong, and the reports I received from those I contacted were all very good -- 579 to 599, which is as good as it gets. I used my brand new CWMorse Outdoor Pocket Single Paddle Iambic Key to send the code. I just held it in my lap next to a legal pad which I used to copy down the callsigns I worked on the air. I've always used a straight key to send Morse Code. Another one of my goals for this trip was to practice using a "keyer" while also increasing my sending and receiving speed. I clearly need more practice, but I managed to log 18 CW contacts from the foxhole within maybe 30 minutes from when I first called CQ POTA. Now, it was time to pack up and walk back to the van so I could move north to the next park. 

Walking back the way I came

My overstuffed backpack

I had left my home on the west coast of Florida early that morning. By the time I drove nearly 4 hours across the center of the state and did my first activation on the beach it was time for dinner and a good night's sleep. Night #1 would be spent at the Cracker Barrel in West Palm Beach. Florida has more Cracker Barrels than any other state in the United States, and I've stayed in many of them. I always call ahead to inquire as to whether they have overnight parking for RVs. So far, all of them have been able to accommodate me. Once I arrive and get settled for the night I either buy my dinner or my breakfast the next morning. I don't think it's right to just use their parking lot as a free camp sight, so I come as a customer and spend my money for a homestyle meal. During a trip to the Blue Ridge Parkway in summer 2022 I even purchased a Cracker Barrel shirt! So, I guess I'm a CB fanboy.

My spot for the night

I counted twelve RVs spending the night with me

First time I've seen a cartop tent in a CB parking lot!

For this trip I ate dinner in the camper and enjoyed a hot breakfast inside Cracker Barrel the next morning. Then, it was off to the next town north and three more parks to activate. One was a two-fer, or two parks that overlap which allows me to log two parks for one activation. As I learned later, that activation was also a rerun. More on that discovery in my next installment.

Sunset in my Neighborhood

 

I love a good sunset.

It sets the tone as I reflect on my day.

The colors of a sunset often mirror the colors of the day.

Sometimes blue with sadness, sometimes red with fury,

and sometimes orange and brilliant.

The next best thing? Sunrise. Time to get up and try again.

What's A 5-Paragraph Essay?

What is a 5-paragraph essay, and why would you want to read one of mine? Well, first of all a 5-paragraph essay has 5 paragraphs. At its most basic, this type of paragraph begins with an introduction that leads the reader into several related details that support the main theme or thesis of the essay. Finally, a 5-paragraph essay often concludes with a wrap-up paragraph, sometimes called a conclusion. My essays here will follow this basic format, yet I'll use it loosely at times when it serves my purpose. My main areas of focus will be three of my favorite pastimes including radio, computers, and travel. My first and life-long hobby is amateur radio.

Amateur radio requires a license. A ham license authorizes the holder to transmit on several radio frequencies. An amateur, or "ham" radio license, is a license to learn about radio by tinkering with them. It's a hobby that contains many sub-specialties, and I've tinkered with many of them over the past 50 years. I got my first ham radio license when I was 15 years old. I've been tinkering and communicating with radios for most of my life. This blog gives me a place to write about my ham radio experiences.

I had my first computer experience in 1986. I was working in a church as the director of Christian education. Most of the written creations I authored to support my work with children, youth and families were done with an IBM Selectric typewriter. A member of our church's education board who was also a friend of mine worked at a computer store and helped me decide which computer to buy for my work at the church. Remember, this was 1986 when personal computers were just starting to show up in homes and businesses. My friend sat me down in front of an IBM PC Jr driven by DOS, a command line interface. Then, he sat me down in front of an Apple Macintosh Plus. The Mac had a GUI, or a graphical user interface. Everything was controlled with a mouse by pointing and clicking. I chose the Mac and haven't looked back. However, my the world of work forced me to learn Windows and, much later, the Chrome OS. Today, I use a computer every day for many things including work. The marriage of computers and ham radio helped re-ignited my love of computing and tinkering with computers to do creative and exciting things. One of the things I like to do on a computer is research, and one of my favorite things to research are travel destinations.

My love of travel was passed down to me by my father. He and my mom took my siblings and me on several cross-country and regional trips. We camped along the way and slept in campgrounds with a 12x12 canvas tent. It looked like something you might see in an Army camp, but my dad found a way to fold it into a 3x3 foot square and crammed it into the trunk of our family car. We took many memorable family vacations together including trips from Michigan to California, Michigan to Florida, and trips all around the state of Michigan during my childhood. Today, my idea of a fun trip is when I travel in my camper van, operating my radio in different locations along the way. I love to set up portable antennas, connect my computer to my radio to communicate using "digital modes". Think of this as a form of texting, but instead of the Internet connecting people, hams use radio signals to connect people from all over the world.

This blog site is my place on the Internet to create and share my essays, including pictures and videos, to help document the experiences I enjoy when I'm engaging in my three favorite hobbies. If radio, computers, or travel interest you, or you enjoy reading random ramblings of a guy who has enjoyed 6 decades of experience on Planet Earth, then you might enjoy reading along with me. If you do, then feel free to read along, comment, and share, and please keep your comments positive and constructive!