Author: Ed N2EC

On March 4th my daughter had a day off from school for a teacher workday. Whenever she has the day off, I try to take the day off too and do something fun with her. We like being outside and going on hikes, so I thought I could show her how this POTA thing works, maybe get her on the air a little (under my call sign), and then go for a hike together along the banks of the Potomac River.

On my last POTA outing I heard a station operating from the Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove in Washington, DC and although I was unable to be heard by him, he inspired me to try an activation from there. The park is located on Columbia Island just across the Boundary Channel from the Pentagon. Due to the way that the border was defined between Maryland and Virginia, any island in the Potomac is part of Maryland (and thus to DC in the area that was given for the creation of the District of Columbia). If you drive down the George Washington Memorial Parkway, you may not realize you entered DC — most people think of the District as being on the other side of the Potomac River, across the 14th Street Bridge. However, from the moment you get onto the Humpback Bridge just North of the 14th Street Bridge, you are, in fact, in the District of Columbia,

I am very familiar with this park. As a frequent bike commuter into DC, I would often take the footbridge from the grounds of the Pentagon over to the park if I was doing something in Crystal City, or even if I was looking for a bit of a detour to take in a bit of peace and tranquility. LBJ enjoyed the spot as a quick getaway from the city for quiet reflection and the views of the city certainly do not disappoint. There is a monument to LBJ in the grove along with some verdant grounds and a few picnic tables. Adjacent to the grove is Columbia Island Marina where many boats are docked and small restaurant is located.

I saw a picnic table in the sun a respectful distance North of the monument by a copse of trees and I started setting up my gear. You may remember from an earlier post that I had a bit of trouble with my Buddistick Pro antenna before, likely due to a capacitive coupling with the hiking pole I used to suspend the radial the antenna uses. Thankfully, the Internet was there to give some more information, and I discovered that many Buddistick Pro users had found that an electric fence post did a good job of holding up the radial. Buddipole says the radial should be about 4 feet off the ground … conveniently, the post is 4 feet tall. The electric fence post, being for an electric fence, was also gloriously non-conductive. The only metal bit is on the base, where a metal spike gives you an easy way to get it to stay put in the ground. Additionally, being a fence post, it was designed to hold things up, so there are convenient attachment points along the length of the post perfect for attaching the radial. Although the Home Depot by me didn’t have one in stock, they were able to get it shipped to store for free for the low price of $3.48. A bargain. And best of all, as soon as I used it, the antenna tuned up just as you’d expect by following the manual. Success!

I got the Buddistick Pro with the intent of using it in places where tossing a line in a tree was impossible, impractical, or forbidden. This was to be the first practical test of it. Because I was there with my daughter, my intention was for it to be a relatively short activation. I was hoping to make at least 10 QSOs and give the new antenna a good test. So, after putting K-0784 into the logs and hooking up our headphones I started calling CQ on 20m at 14.282. In short order I made a couple contacts before moving down to 14.258 due to some QRM. I got a Park to Park with NG9B out in Wisconsin, and then I got the biggest surprise of the day. Just above the noise floor, I heard a station that was trying to make a contact. It took a lot of commitment on both sides, but I was eventually able to pull his information out of the hash and make the QSO with EA1GIB in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Spain! My mind was blown — with 10 W, the Buddistick Pro, and some determination we were able to work clear across the Atlantic ocean. Incredible! Manuel gave me a signal report of 55, which also amazed me. He was down around a 22 for me, but I was so excited when we were able to make the QSO. The Buddistick Pro definitely showed what it could do.

After that I was able to make another Park to Park with a ham radio YouTube celebrity, KB9VBR, all the way over in Wisconsin, and with two parks to boot. I finished out the activation by doing a little hunting, and then I decided to call it a day so that my daughter and I could get some lunch at the marina and soak in the scenery by the Potomac river. All told I made 16 contacts in MO, WI, GA, IL, ME, FL, and SPAIN! I could tell good things were in store for this new antenna.

Gear used in this activation

• Icom IC-705
• Buddipole Buddistick Pro
• LDG Z100 Plus
• RigExpert Stick Pro Antenna Analyzer
• Icom LC-192
• Jackery Explorer 500
• Sony Headphones
• Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite Tablet
• Logitech K380 Bluetooth Keyboard
• Rite in the Rain Notebook
• Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil

For my second activation I decided to try something closer to home and went to Riverside Park in the George Washington Memorial Parkway (K-0670VA). I was a bit ambitious in my plans, as I was determined to try using a new antenna that I had not setup before, the Buddipole Buddistick Pro. The antenna is an engineering marvel, but is a bit more challenging to get going. I was able to get it assembled quickly, but was having a hard time getting it to tune to the right SWR where I wanted to operate. After about a half hour, I decided to bring out my MFJ 1984 MP end-fed half wave antenna, and was able to get quickly on the air.

In hindsight, I now know what the problem was: the Buddistick Pro requires an elevated radial (provided). I was using a hiking pole for this task, but it was aluminum. I think that there was some capacitive coupling going on there that was making a good match all but impossible. I was able to fix it later after acquiring a $3 electric fence post, but more on that another day.

After getting the EFHW into the trees I was off and running. Below is a picture of part of the Buddistick Pro which would share in the adventures of the next activation. In the background you can see how beautiful the park is. It is nestled between the George Washington Parkway and the Mount Vernon Trail alongside the Potomac River. On the other side of the bench in the distance is the pier at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Everywhere you turn there are heritage trees and gorgeous views. Right at the crest of a small hill sit a few picnic tables under the shade of those trees, and that’s where I set up.

This activation had another first — I used HAMRS for logging alongside my paper log. This made the submissions much easier, and paired with a bluetooth keyboard I was able to quickly get things into the log. Thankfully, I didn’t forget any equipment this time, and I was able to set up a very comfortable operating position with a gorgeous view. I still default to paper logs (they tend not to crash — although HAMRS has not failed me thus far), but I try to get things in the logs straightaway. If I have internet access on my phone I can even send off my logs to Parks on the Air before I even leave the park.

Learning from my last activation, I decided to get things started on 40m and set up on 7.290 MHz and gave myself a spot. Right away people found me, and the first call was N4D, a 1×1 special event station for the NC QSO Party. From there the calls kept coming from NC, SC, MD, PA, VA NY, KY, Ontario Canada, MI, and WV. After things slowed down a bit, I decided to go for redemption on 20m and made several more contacts with operators in AL, WI, GA, MI, LA, and FL. I also picked-up 6 Park to Park contacts, for a grand total of 43 contacts in 2:01 on the air. Amazing what 10W and a bit of wire can do.

I heard a station operating out of DC, but unfortunately, he could not hear me. That missed contact inspired the next activation to come. More on that soon.

This was a great activation, even if it started out a bit rocky with the antenna issues — and spoiler alert: those get resolved in our next episode.

Gear used in this activation

• Icom IC-705
• MFJ 1984 MP
• LDG Z100 Plus
• RigExpert Stick Pro Antenna Analyzer
• Icom LC-192
• Jackery Explorer 500
• Sony Headphones
• Samsung Galaxy S6 Lite Tablet
• Logitech K380 Bluetooth Keyboard
• Rite in the Rain Notebook
• Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil

I have been an amateur radio operator since I was 10 years old, but over the years I had gotten a a bit distant from the hobby.  Not too long ago, I decided to change that and to get the station I had used with my Dad growing up back on the air.  I had to get a bunch of equipment set-up at my house (antennas, cables, grounding, cable feedthrough panels, etc). But once I got back on the air I remembered what had made the hobby so fun while I was growing up.  As I started making contacts I discovered  Parks on the Air.

Parks on the Air is a radio game that encourages people “activate” state and national parks.  To “activate” a park, you need to set-up an amateur radio station inside a park and make at least 10 contacts.  The more contacts you make, the more you get achievements and awards in the game.  Good clean fun.

To activate you need to go to a park, but the easier part is to “hunt” which you can do from anywhere.  All that’s involved is making a contact with someone in the park on the air.  They log the contact, and you get credit and awards on the Parks on the Air (POTA) site as soon as the logs they submit get posted.   The POTA web site is quite well done, and has lots of tools to help you make contacts.  The most useful tool is the “Spots” page, which shows you all the people activating parks at any given time, along with their frequency, mode of operation, park information, and other information from the person (or computer) that spotted them.

Very quickly you can find people in the parks and work them — which is convenient, as many of the people activating the parks may be running QRP (low power), so they might be hard to find on your own.  Since so many people are playing and having a blast with the game, you’ll frequently get a “pile-up” where dozens of people rush to work an activator in the park.  It can be a lot of fun.

After being a hunter for a while and looking forward to each opportunity I had to work a station that was activating out in the field, I wanted to try my hand at activating a park.  In order to do this, I would need a fair amount of new equipment.  I started researching what I’d want to get and settled on a QRP  (low power) radio that is so small it can be packed up inside a small backpack, along with everything you need to run it.  I selected the Icom IC-705 which is a very well regarded modern transceiver that has an excellent software defined radio.  I decided to pair it with an MFJ 1984 MP end-fed halfwave antenna that would be able to be easily tossed up into a tree with an arborist’s throw line.  To make sure that the radio and the antenna played nicely with each other, I also got a LDG Z100 Plus antenna tuner that runs off low battery power.  I already had a Jackery Explorer 500 to provide battery power (way more than was needed) and headphones to make sure I could hear everything well.   I used the Icom LC-192 backpack to carry all the radio stuff and decided to take it all out to Mason Neck State Park to give everything a try on February 19, 2022.

Mason Neck State Park is a beautiful gem of a park out on Mason Neck in Northern Virginia by the Potomac river, South of Alexandria and across Belmont Bay from Woodbridge and the mouth of the Occoquan river.  There are a few miles of trails that go through a varied landscape ranging from beaches along the bay, marshland, and  forest.  I’ve hiked there many times, and have even gone out on my canoe to explore around Mason Neck and Belmont Bay.

February 19, 2022 was a rather windy and chilly day, but I was so excited to put my gear to the test that I bundled up and drove  down and decided to set up camp at a picnic table near the visitor center that overlooked Belmont Bay.  From my perch I saw bald eagles and numerous turkey vultures hovering in the strong winds just a few dozen feet in front of me.   They always say that the first time you do something, you’re bound to forget at least one thing. That adage was proven correct for me as I left my arborist throw-line kit at home.  I only noticed once I had already unpacked my car, and I decided to roll-with the punches and see what I could do with the equipment I had on hand.  Without the line, I could not get the antenna higher into the trees than I could reach.  Fortunately, the trees near where I had setup had low branches and I was able to tie the end of the antenna off to a fence post that ran along the cliff that borders the waterfront.

After getting everything up and running I made my first contact on 20m on 14.314 MHz — success!  Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like I was being heard well on the band, and I had some stations start doing their own contacts over top of me.  I decided to switch bands and give 40m a try.  After searching for a spot I settled on 7.236 MHz, spotted myself on the POTA web site, and the pile-up began.  Station after station answered my call and made contact with me.  The action was exhilarating — this is what DX stations must feel like when they work their pile-ups.  In about an hour and a half I ended up working 36 stations from 13 states (SC, WI, PA, MD, VA, FL, NJ, MA, NC, GA, IN, OH, and LA).  After a while the contact rate slowed down and the winds picked up to a blustery 50 mph.  Having made 3.6x the number of contacts required for a valid activation, I happily called it a day, packed up my gear, and headed to the warmth of my car.  I had an absolute blast and I knew that this would definitely not be the last time I would activate a park for Parks on the Air.

Gear used in this activation

• Icom IC-705
• MFJ 1984 MP
• LDG Z100 Plus
• RigExpert Stick Pro Antenna Analyzer
• Icom LC-192
• Jackery Explorer 500
• Sony Headphones
• Laptop
• Rite in the Rain Notebook
• Zebra DelGuard Mechanical Pencil