Activated on May 18th, 2024
Leaving the house this morning, under an overcast sky, I saw very small rain droplets on the windshield of KindaNottaJeep. I knew I was prepared for this as I headed out. Did I stop at Albert’s this morning? There is a clue in the video; I’ll let you determine that.
I got to the park around noon. However, because of the overcast I thought it was still morning. My timing was correct, but my body insisted on it being morning. As I entered the park, I saw so many people and reserved spaces I feared my normal spot may not be available. There were birthday parties, family gatherings, a 50th Wedding Anniversary, along with a multitude of hikers. It was quite colorful to see.
About forty-five minutes after arriving at the park, I made my first CQ. However, it took about ten minutes before I finally heard the call. Part of that time was the fact that I made a stupid human trick (SHT). You see, I was experimenting with the radio a few days prior, making sure I had and SSB settings properly set. To do that, I dropped the power on the radio to zero Watts. After all my work, I forgot to set it back. So, when first calling CQ on the 15-meter band, I was essentially waiting for folks to answer my non-existent signal. ‘Twas a dummy load.
I finally made contact with my friend Andrew from Idaho. It just so happened that his contact was the only one during my 20-minute stint on 21.063 MHz. Take away the 3-minute SHT and that makes for one contact every seventeen minutes, empirically. That does not a good activation make! Off I went to hopefully, greener pastures.
Once again, I spent another twenty minutes trying to make a second contact. This time I was on the 10-meter band calling CQ on 28.063 MHZ. There were no SHTs this time, however, I made a singular contact during those twenty minutes. At this rate I was going to take around 4.5 hours to get 13 contacts! That was definitely a no-go. Off to greener pastures—again.
The twelve-meter band saw me land on 24.909 MHZ. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes to get the first contact, this time from Georgia! Things were looking good so far. But there is always a but, it took about another nine minutes before I got a second contact. Things were looking bleak again with regards to time, and possibly activation. Judy, my friend from Louisiana became my second contact on the band. A little later I started to explain POTA to a couple of hikers walking by who stopped and asked a few questions. I always take the time to answer questions from passersby as you never know who may become the next ham.
My next attempt at a new band was the 17-meter band. Specifically on 18.080 MHz. Shortly after starting my CQs, the band started to shift. I did manage to fend off another station calling CQ on “my” frequency by sending two QRLs in a row, then calling CQ again. That plan failed, however, and wanting to stay on the band, I found a clear frequency at 18.089 MHz.
This ended up being a good spot as I made six contacts here. Those contacts came two from California, and one each from Missouri, Oklahoma, Indiana, and a DX contact from Canada. In the end, I was on the 17-meter band for about 40 minutes. All this time birds were singing all around me. One of those California contacts was from my friend Jon in Torrance. Torrance was where I worked for 28 years before retiring from American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
I finally hit my last band for the day. I parked myself on 14.063 MHz on the 20-meter band. I got three more contacts here before I did something I have not done in the last eighteen months during a POTA activation. I called CQ on 14.305 MHz, SSB. And wouldn’t you know it? It was a Park-to-Park contact! I then had a chat with two ladies walking by and the conversation turned to radio, as they both were part of the Los Angeles Valley College radio program. I was highlighted on video with a person-on-the-street moment, where I was called brilliant. Ha! You believe that?
My short-lived fame came crashing down moments later when my battery died. Just like that, I was off the air. I had not turned off the radio in the three hours I was at the bench. However, I did not expect it to run dry, especially since I charged the thing the night before. I was surprised and didn’t know what to say. It was, however, timely, as I was about to go QRT anyway.
My time at the park was weighed down with lots of waiting. The bands weren’t so friendly to me today. My first three contacts were on average one every 15-20 minutes. Way too long down time between QSOs. This is because I am afraid of losing contacts by QSY-ing too soon. I will have to think about that. These things are topics I need to consider for next time. Oh, and by the way, I only made one SHT during the activation. Until the next time.
Ciao for niao…
Activation Statistics
| Activation Number | 63 |
| Date | 18 May, 2024 |
| Park | US-3451 Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area |
| Number of Contacts | 14 |
| DX Contacts | None |
| Park Activated? | Yes |
| Previous Attempts | 14 |
| Park to Park Contacts | 1 |
| Mode | CW, SSB |
| Radio | Elecraft KX3 |
| Antenna | MPAS 2.0 in the vertical configuration |
| Tuner | Internal |
| Power | 5W, 10W using a 3Ah Bioenno battery |
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