Activado el Cinco de Mayo del 2024
It was a beautiful day with a bright sun, few clouds, and relatively warm temperatures. I know that some of my northern latitudinal friends giggle at my temperature sensitivity, but I am from Southern California and someone has to live here! Of course, I made my customary Mexican pit-stop prior to starting my 50-minute drive to US-3412 California Citrus State Historical Park.
Upon arriving and chatting with the park staff, I found out the pavilion I was planning to use was reserved for a baby shower. So, looking for permission to set up in the orchard itself, I was handed off to a supervisor. We ended up in the parking lot of the Visitor Center. In the end, after a nice chat discussing possible locations, I decided to set up on the knoll above the Visitor Center. First, I went on a recon of the spot. I was quite taken aback by the view and the beauty I saw. I liked the spot, so I went back down to get my gear.
This could have been a SOTA activation considering the small hike I did, however, it is a small reminder of why I don’t do SOTA. Hats off to you guys that do. However, I strapped on my backpack and off to the top I went. Retracing my steps back to the top I would come across again, and again, to a light lavender(?) smell mixed with what seemed like suntan lotion. Really? That was what I kept smelling, with maybe a twinge of rosemary. The smells were very confusing, although quite pleasant. The funny thing is that I did not get a hint of citrus.
Since I only had my backpack, I could afford to sit at the bench and set up my gear (and to catch my breath). I slowly set up my kit, set up HAMRS, logged onto the POTA spotting page, and made sure to document my initial frequency in my notebook which was 18.0875 MHz. I tried 21.063 MHz but, I was low on SWR grease, getting a 2.9 SWR, and decided to forgo the band.
I stayed on 17 meters for a little over 25 minutes getting contacts from Missouri, Louisiana, New York, and South Carolina. The entire time I was fighting Mother Nature, both in the troposphere and in the ionosphere. That is technical speak for lots of wind and lots of QSB. I had fading contacts; in that I would hear the contact quite well to whom I would respond only to have them fade back into the ether.
My hearing was tested last week, and it confirmed a previous test showing a deficiency in the 8,000 Hz range. This deficiency does not affect me at the levels I was subjected to. Even so, I found myself really concentrating due to the wind. And should I even bring up the QSB?
Considering the lack of contacts on 17-meters, I QSYed to the 20-meter band, specifically 14.060 MHz. That is pretty much where I stayed for the rest of the activation. The majority of the time on the band it seemed I was reliving the 7 Area QSO Party from last weekend, as the first five contacts on the band were from the 7-call area.
The last two contacts on this frequency were in the mid-west and east coast; Texas and New York. One of the things I never do is to upload my logs from the field. Part of my post-activation processing is to thoroughly check the log. I know I have twelve contacts, two being from New York. The New York contacts were from the same station making contact on two bands, however, HAMS put him in New York while QRZ places him on Kentucky. Further, the contacts are shown as one pin on the map showing only 11 contacts.
My last contact of the day was from Mesa County, Colorado. I had to QSY up 1 KHz since mother nature decided to give the other guy the frequency. Nonetheless, he came in with a good signal rounding out my activation. It wasn’t thirteen but I got tired of the QSB and wind. All my contacts turned out to be valid, even with the double contact from the New York/Kentucky station.
I really enjoyed the activation, regardless of the conditions. I can definitely see what the SOTA folks like about that program as I got a very small taste of it during this activation. The view from the top of that small hill was beautiful and stunning. I can only imagine, as I am sure pictures do not do their views justice.
As for me, I did not do any stupid human tricks this time as far as I can tell. Please don’t count me forgetting about the microphone. If you are thinking of doing so, do it gently so as to not ruffle my sensitivities! All told, it went smoothly, I enjoyed the view (I keep saying that) and look forward to the next time.
There will be new lessons in the future. Ciao for niao…
Activation Statistics
| Activation Number | 58 |
| Date | 5 May, 2024 |
| Park | US-3412 California Citrus State Historical Park |
| Number of Contacts | 19 |
| DX Contacts | None |
| Park Activated? | Yes |
| Previous Attempts | 1 |
| Park to Park Contacts | None |
| Mode | CW |
| Radio | Elecraft KX3 |
| Antenna | Elecraft AX-1 |
| Tuner | Internal |
| Power | 5W using a 3Ah Bioenno battery |
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