Activated on Our Independence Day, 2024
This year, July 4th started a four-day weekend commemorating our independence. Quite a patriotic day to be sure. So, after weeks of not activating, I prayed to the solar weather gods for minimal interference from them so I could activate. I even threw some requests to Mother Nature for better weather than predicted. You see, in SoCal we have a heat warning that is in effect until Sunday evening on the 7th. My wants were granted because I had a beautiful activation at Los Angeles State Historical Park, my Plan B. The video accompanying this entry is a little patriotic. In that, I am unapologetic, and my 22 years in the AirForce and Army Guard, only served to reenforce that. So, I show a little love for my country.
I’ve been wanting to activate on the 4th because it is such a special day. So, I did, but not before stopping at Albert’s for a bacon breakfast burrito and a large pineapple-ade. Mexicans call it agua de piña, and it is a refreshing as it sounds. With a refill, I took off to Rio de Los Angeles State Park. When I got there, it was closed! Really? On a holiday? My disappointment gave me the resolve to go next door to US-3462 Los Angeles State Historical Park two miles away. I was so relieved when I saw it open, and not only that, but there must also have been at least ten park staff keeping the entrance to eye-pleasing levels.
Because there was so much activity, I asked a staff member, Bree, about using my antenna stake in the ground. I took her to the spot on which I intended to activate. She saw no problem, and I thanked her. Off I went to get my equipment from the car. There was a lot of equipment this time as I brought my FT-891 kit as well. My intent was to use it, but if I screwed something up, I still had my KX3 kit as well. It’s been a while since I used the Yaesu, and I felt it needed some love.
Even though the temp was predicted to get to 89, It did not seem to be that hot. The sun was quite bright in the cloudless sky to be sure, but the shade of the trees and the slight breeze made it delightful. Setting up was pain free, the antenna was so close to plumb that you could not tell the difference. Because of the expected traffic, I made sure to keep the feed line close and used my orange safety cones so folks would walk around. I had looks of curiosity, but no one strayed onto my coax or area. Except of course, Mateo, a beautiful latte-colored labradoodle of three months, quite well behaved, but excited to make my acquaintance.
The first contact I got came in quickly on 14.063 MHz. However, right after I logged the contact from Arizona, the band shifted, and I ended up having dueling CQs with the other operator. I QSYed to 14.065 MHz, where I enjoyed three contacts in quick succession. This is so delightful! I logged those three contacts in the span of four minutes. Before I knew it, I had four in the books. Outstanding. Twenty-five minutes into the activation, I QSYed to the 17-meter band.
I started calling CQ POTA on 18.088 MHz. After waiting for people to pick up my spot, I got my first hit four-and-a-half minutes later. Once again, I had some great success! I made four contacts in the span of six minutes! For me this is awesome. This is so much different than the experiences I’ve had in the last month or so. I can sooo get used to this! Before I knew it, I had eight Qs logged.
However, I noticed some issues. My automatic antenna tuner was not automating and my cellphone app to control the camera was not controlling. The first I attribute to not using the FT-891 in about a year. The SWRs were around 1.6:1, quite usable but not to what I am accustomed. The second, in retrospect, must have been the OTA upgrade to my phone somehow dropping the Wi-Fi connection to my camera. That was okay for the moment as I was controlling it manually. Still…
I was on 17 Meters just shy of 18 minutes. I sensed the decrease in contacts, so I moved over to the 15-meter band landing on 21.063 MHz, where I remained for the rest of the activation. Three minutes, or so, later I got the first of three contacts, and those three contacts came in in the span of six minutes. I was so enjoying myself. I’ve activated in three runs, each about six minutes or less. The rest of the time I was deciding how long to wait before switching bands, trying to figure out my SWRs, trying to fix the connection to my camera, and just enjoying the beauty of the day.
My first contact on 15 meters was Eric K9VIC, one of the instructors at LICW. This was his second contact as he made one with me while I was on 17 Meters. It is quite nice to know that the LICW group on the Discord servers lookout for each other, follow the spots of those activating, and try to hunt them. It is nice to get that support. We also try to help out newer activators when the pressure is on during their first activations.
The next three contacts came in within the span of five minutes. This does not get old! My last contact, number 15, was with Erik N2EPE, one of our LICW members. This got messed up by me and it took about seven minutes to complete the QSO. It started after I acknowledged his callsign correctly, N2EPE, but entered N3EPE into HAMRS. As I was working him, I noticed the discrepancy, as I was hearing stuff that did not match up with the screen. Now, one would say copy what you hear and move on. However, I remember getting a roger when I verified N3EPE I was confused. Then there was somebody encroaching on the frequency, and the QSB did not help. Yeah, I know, I need cheese for the whine. We finally resolved the problem, mainly due to Erik’s patience, and that was the end of the activation. I tried calling CQ again but had no heart for it, so I stopped. I was tired.
Man, I just realized I did not send out a QRT. Bad Savi…
There were a few things that could have been better during this activation. For instance, the SWR issue that turned out to be not so bad, and not making mistakes while transcribing (sorry Erik!). There were lots of things that went right too, like 15 of them! It was a good activation for me. Now what I need to do is to better gauge when to move on to another band. I admit, that will be difficult. In the end I was extremely satisfied with my activation.
Happy 4th (belated), and ciao for niao.
Activation Statistics
| Activation Number | 68 |
| Date | 4 July, 2024 |
| Park | US-3462 Los Angeles State Historical Park |
| Number of Contacts | 15 |
| DX Contacts | 2 |
| Park Activated? | Yes |
| Previous Attempts | 3 |
| 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 Autotuner |
| Power | 50W using a 30Ah Bioenno battery |
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