Activated on September 28th, 2024
The day started normally enough, although there was a thick overcast making for a chilly morning. This is a welcomed respite from the hot, lazy days of summer we just went through. Now, all I needed was for Mother Nature to keep her “sun” in line to allow others to play. Mother Nature aside, I broke fast at the International House instead of Albert’s. I still made stops at two gas stations for cash, each time unsuccessfully. I hoped this was not a sign of things to come.
I got to the park around 0830 and took my time getting set up. As always, I take a short walk to get the lay of the land. It’s really to see the level of activity in the area I want to set up. I took Betelgeuse this time, my 2006 Jeep Wrangler, so the back of Betelgeuse was full of gear. I took the rear seat out of the back years ago, so the back was even fuller. Using my folding wagon, I put what gear I was going to use and off I went to the last picnic table on the lookout point.
Setting up was painless. First was the antenna with its counterpoise, and then the feed line. Then came the safety orange safety cones to make sure nobody walked into anything. I even put out my POTA banner! By the time 0920 came along, everything was out and deployed. All I needed now was to set up HAMRS, spot myself, let the LICW group know my frequency, and take a note on my field book. I was off to the races!
Do you remember the Olympics Track and Field events? Well, I had a false start. I finally started calling CQ at 0945, and before I finished my second CQ, a gentleman showed up and looked at me questioningly. So, out of the blue he asked several questions; are you activating, are you on PAPA sys, did you just call for a radio check? It turns out that Adam K6ASU, is a new ham that is using the PAPA system as I am, and as hundreds of other hams use as well. He asked me those questions as he thought it was out of the blue that he would come across me as he was walking his dog. We ended up chatting for an hour on all topics ham.
One hour later, at 1045, I was calling CQ on 14.065 MHz. Six minutes later I got my first call in the log. One of the Rose Parade members, Liz W8ERR, was my first contact today. She was followed five minutes later with a contact from Dave W8XAL, and finally Bruce AJ6FB. That was the last CW contact because my new friend Alexis WZ1EEE showed up after spending about 20 minutes waiting in line to get into the park and wending her way to my location.
So, the next three hours, between my last CW QSO and my first FT8 QSO, were spent talking with Alexis, then Alexis and Adam. He came back and the three of us chatted for the better part of an hour. After he left, Alexis and I continued our chat for a bit when a lady came by. She asked us what kind of radio we had and what frequency we were on. Eventually, she tells us that she is in the Naval Reserve and her rating is in communications. Her interest in ham radio was quite clear and we gave her information on how to get started in the hobby. She was quite excited.
Once she left, Alexis and I continued our chat when I realized we could be sitting down and running FT8 to round out my activation. This was my first ever FT8 operation from a park. In fact, I made fifteen contacts on FT8 before shutting down for the day. It was so amazingly easy to do FT8 that the conversation I had with Alexis was not interrupted by pesky QSOs! I might just have to add this mode of operation to all my activations, especially if Mother Nature and her daughters, the Q-Sisters, misbehave.
This activation was thoroughly enjoyable. With my three visitors the activation had the flavor of a Micro Hamvention! Adding up the time, I was visiting with one or more of my “guests” for about four hours. Yet, thanks to FT8 I made 15 contacts. Not bad. I wonder how many more contacts I would have made if the whole activation had been done in FT8? Maybe one day I will do that and see.
I enjoy my activations, even when I do not reach the ten contacts. However, this activation was so much more interactive for obvious reasons. Ham radio is a hobby where one uses our hobby to talk about our hobby (yeah, I know), even when that hobby is sitting on the table. For me, it was seeing the excitement in in the others’ faces during this activation. Yes, there were errors I made, even a stupid human trick, but who cares? I had fun, Alexis, Adam, and the reservist all had fun.
Ham radio really does bring people together, both figuratively and figuratively.
Activation Statistics
| Activation Attempt | 76 |
| Date | 28 September, 2024 |
| Park | US-3451 Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area |
| Number of Contacts | 15 |
| DX Contacts | None |
| Park Activated? | Yes |
| Previous Attempts | 7 |
| Park to Park Contacts | 1 |
| Mode | CW, FM, FT8 |
| 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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