Getting Out To Support The Parks
One of my favorite things in amateur radio is obviously getting out to the parks and participating in POTA as an activator. It’s also pretty clear that I really love hanging out at Cuyahoga Valley National Park – US-0020. There’s really not much better on a Saturday than to bike out to the park and enjoy a couple of hours in the sun making contacts. Well, the thing is…
April Showers? No… Just More Grey Cold
My wife and I were planning to bike out to the park. We were slowly getting ready and started to look at the weather. The temperatures were in the 40s, it was overcast, and the winds were around 18 mph with 32 mph gusts. We looked at each other for a bit and realized that this was totally doable, but probably not much fun. So we changed plans. I would go out to the park on my own and activate for a bit and come home.
I moved my gear from my pannier to my backpack and headed out for the park. The sky was grey and there was a pretty stiff breeze. I went with the AX1 and set up my TR-35 to give it another go now that I had changed a ton of settings on the ATU-10. I was hoping to get a random wire in a tree if I had time.
With everything set up, I got on the air.
Anybody Home?
I started on 20-meters because I did want the activation to move along today. It was a bit cooler than I wanted it to be and with no sun, being outside felt like a continuation of winter. As I called CQ and even spotted myself, no one came back for a long, long time.
The band was crashing. There were flashes of static and a very high noise floor alternating with dead silence. It was enough to make me question the rig and the antenna. I did what I did last time and swapped the TR-35 for my IC-705. No dice.
At this point, I was giving the AX1 some serious side-eye. I reached into my bag and pulled out my 40-20-10 EFHW and my throw line. With no one around, I picked a branch in a tree that was perfectly positioned and got the line over it on the first try. This was a Batman level throw and there was no one to see it. Such is the life of a POTA Activator, I suppose.
This antenna is really the best in my collection in terms of efficiency. It never misses. So why were the bands still crashing and quiet? Why was 40-meters fading like I’ve never heard before? Oh, ya know, just luck. Later on Mastodon I would have my complaints confirmed by a panel of experts who were also frustrated by conditions.
Finally…
I did get my 10. I walked away with 12 contacts total in about 2 hours of activating. Not the worst Support Your Parks Weekend story I heard about Saturday, but not my favorite by far. By the time it was all said and done, my fingers were cold and I was pretty tired of sitting outside in the grey. I guess my mind really believes that April should be warmer and more inviting. I forget where I am sometimes.
QSO Map
Here it is. From the looks of it, it wasn’t too bad. But it didn’t feel that way getting there.
Final
Yes, any day outside is better than one spent inside. I’m just impatient for REAL SPRING and some more time with that elusive yellow orb in the sky. I know it’s coming. And I know that my TR-35 will continue to get a workout until I get a full activation with it. The conditions will change. Things will improve. Next weekend looks good so far.
Thanks for reading and 72!
