Activated on 18 September, 2023
After the stress, and excitement, of my first CW activation I returned to Kenneth Hann State Recreation area. The morning was overcast, and I took the opportunity to hit the park with a lot more confidence this time. My camera may not show it (I took pictures this time!), but the colors were vibrant and alive, even in the overcast. This is a beautiful spot for an activation.
As is my habit, I place my antenna stake in the ground and erect my antenna first. As I looked up from placing the antenna, I saw a park worker in a riding mower cutting the grass. The better part of valor said for me to pull the stake and set up my equipment in reverse order. It wasn’t long after my area was done that I was tuning and on the air.
Once on the air I found that I was much more relaxed and ended up enjoying the activation so much more. I am still asking for repeats, however, this time the strong QSB was a contributing factor. I received a 559 from a contact to whom I sent a 119. After the contact was over, I heard him send the di-dit at 559. C’est la vie!
I was more aware of the environment around me this time. Yes, the squirrels were still there, and so was the soft breeze. The overcast felt calming, and I was more comfortable sending. In fact, as I was responding to hunters, I realized I was looking around and taking in the view around me. I truly enjoyed the activation.
As I mentioned before the QSB was inhibitive at times leading me to ask for repeats. Then I got this hunter with a callsign that was out of the ordinary for me, SM something. The signal warbled and I wasn’t sure of the callsign, so I asked for repeats. The call was not something I was used to, and I was apprehensive. I copied the call but was still skeptical because it was not what I expected from countries I have previously contacted. I remember an instructor of mine telling me when copying callsigns to, “copy the letters!” I got another repeat to make sure as the warbling really made copying an effort. I finally finalized the QSO with SM2SUM in Sweden, although I did not know the country at the time.
Conscious of my lack of pictures from my last outing, I made sure to take several this time. I especially like the ones showcasing my Begali Traveler, as I bought it specifically to do POTA in Morse Code. I had several pictures, close and far. I didn’t have one of me, other than a selfie. I waited for the next hiker to pass by to ask for a picture. Not long after, two pretty twenty-something girls passed by and agreed to take my picture. The day was getting better!
As I started to tear down, I checked QRZ.com to see the location of my DX contact. That’s when I realized where my contact was. I slammed my hands on the bench and yelled out, “YES!”, just as a mother and teen-aged daughter were walking by. Oops! They gave me a funny look, and in my defense, I said that I just contacted Sweden on the radio. I may have detected a slightly faster pace to their walk after that.
I logged 30 contacts in all during the activation. This time I counted two possible bogus contacts. This is because I expect all callsigns to be properly identified through QRZ.com. Once I got home to prepare and fill in my log for submittal, one cleared up right away. I do not know why HAMRS did not pick up all the data. The last contact, however, wasn’t on QRZ. I cut to the chase and looked up the callsign on ULS. Sure enough, the call expired in 2014 and cancelled in 2016 so I deleted the entry.
The activation was so much less stressful than last time. Although I was still on a mild high, tearing down was not the chore it was on my first CW activation. The breeze, shade, and confidence made this a truly enjoyable experience.
Activation Statistics
| Activation Number | 24 |
| Date | 18 September, 2023 |
| Park | K-3451 Kenneth Hann State Recreation Area |
| Number of Contacts | 29 |
| DX Contacts | 1 |
| Park Activated? | Yes |
| Previous Attempts | 2 |
| Park to Park Contacts | None |
| Mode | CW |
| Radio | Yaesu FT-891 |
| Antenna | MPAS 2.0 in the vertical configutaion staked to the ground |
| Tuner | MFJ 939Y |
| Power | 50W using a 30Ah Bioenno battery |
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