I started checking in to the [Winlink Wednesday Net](https://winlinkwednesday.net) hosted by David KN4LQN in January of 2022. I wanted to be sure that my station could send Winlink emails at all times. A net like this creates a sense of accountability. Knowing that there is a weekly event that changes its format a bit each…
Support Your Parks! Anyone into POTA probably knows that there is a weekend event each quarter called “Support Your Parks” where anyone who gets an activation in or hunts an activator on that weekend gets a nifty award. This past weekend, 20-21-Jan was the Winter event. It was a good one to be out in…
Radio Goals for 2024 Laying out radio goals last year seemed to work really well. It provided a place for me to look as I moved through the year to compare what I said I wanted to do with what I was doing. It all seemed to track pretty well. I got deeper into CW,…
Out Into The Weather I mentioned my wife’s hiking challenge in my last post. It’s still going strong and her team is doing well. Part of that is getting out every weekend and hiking both Saturday and Sunday. This makes for Park Synergy in our household. Not so much for the kids, but they are…
Wrapping Up Vacation During my time off for the holidays, I got in 6 activations. I’ve been writing them up in pairs and so it only makes sense to put out this last report for 2023 and the first of 2024 in one post. Two different parks, two different years, but still in that Ohio…
2023: The Year In Radio 2023 was a really, really great year for me with Ham Radio. I was able to get on the air and spend time investing in the hobby. It was a continual source of rejuvenation and energy for me. In short, it was exactly what a hobby should be. Parks On…
How Did That Happen? There were a lot of things stacked against doing an activation on the 27th. First and foremost, it’s my wife’s birthday so she sets the tone for the day. Having a birthday after Christmas isn’t fun. Most people are just celebrated out by that point and no one wants to eat…
A Little Time Off With the holidays upon us, I find myself looking for time to get outside and get on the air. This week has been a good one for it with two activations (so far) that landed in perfect timeslots with weather that was Good Enough. Tinker’s Creek On the 23rd we were…
What IS That Thing? December in Northeast Ohio is usually marked by leaden grey skies. It’s usually cold, windy, and the days are almost as short as they’re going to get for the year. It’s a time when going outside seems the least attractive but it’s the most necessary. Well, it is for me anyway….
Peace and Quiet in Deceptive Weather Saturday, December 09 was not what was promised by all of my various weather apps. On a day when the sun was supposed to make an appearance and it was supposed to be dry, there was a touch of rain in the pre-dawn morning and no sign of the…