Yesterday I went to Sawhill Ponds just outside Boulder, Colorado. I have had a cold (no, not COVID) for 4 days and I was getting really sick of staying in the house feeling sorry for myself, so I did what any responsible amateur radio operator would do – I went outside, socially distanced my self just in case, and did a POTA activation.
Here’s the video:
This time the POTA activation would be different. I already was the first to activate this park a few weeks ago on FT4, but as you know from my previous activations, when I activate via FT4/8, I’m left with a burning desire to activate via SSB. There’s just something about hearing an excited hunter on the other end when we QSO.
So I packed up my Icom 705 go-box which is complete with a QRP 20 meter 49:1 end fed. I also grabbed my SuperAntenna MP1-C and Windows Surface 4 laptop just in case SSB wasn’t going to be friendly today on QRP.
Since it was a nice day out, I took Wilma, my Audi convertible. Sure there’s a dirt road leading up to the trailhead but Wilma has Quattro all-wheel-drive complete with soft rubber snow tires on her!
So we made our way to Sawhill Ponds and I parked. There were a lot of bird watchers leaving. It was around 5pm and I guess the birds had been sleeping away in their afternoon slumber ahead of the evening gnat-fest. I got out of the car and looked overhead at the high tension/voltage lines which are buzzing near a pavilion and table that I sat at last time and activated digitally due to the noise. The trail was pretty empty so I donned my mask and grabbed my go-box and antenna bag as well as my nearly empty backpack. After looking at the trail map, I hit the trail. I think I walked in a westerly direction, closer to the mountains, paying attention to the north-south power lines that I was walking away from as well as paying attention to make sure I don’t get too close to hills and mountains that would screw with my take-off angle.
It was already getting late – close to the UTC cutoff date for a single POTA activation so I found a spot on the path, next to the water, in the shade of some trees. I set up my SuperAntenna with the 40, 20, 10, and 6m radials pointed mostly in the eastern direction with 25 feet of coax pointing west going into my ICom 705. I then used my NanoVNA to tune the coil do 20 meters to start out with. 1:1 SWR. Wow.
The hard case for my go-box turned out to be great because it made a good seat instead of having to sit in the dirt or grass.
I did contemplate also setting up my EFHW but I didn’t find a stick or something else to throw into a tree. And I definitely didn’t bring my 7.2m fishing pole (which, ironically, would not have looked out of place being next to a pond!). Oh the irony!!
I turned on my radio and was amazed at the S-0 noise! I couldn’t believe that there was no noise whatsoever. I hunted for the first few minutes and found some POTA people but since I was QRP, they couldn’t hear me. I checked if the frequency was in use a few times around 14.300MHz and actually stepped on a POTA activator! So I spun the dial and found a comfy open frequency at 14.330MHz. I called CQ POTA a few times and was still at the S-0 noise and 1:1 SWR. I thought surely something was wrong. But it wasn’t and my radio was working so after a minute or 2, I got a crappy cell signal and spotted myself.
It was 5:20 PM local time which was 23:20 UTC – just a little more than 1/2 hour to activate the park! I took out my pen and Field Notes style booklet ready to write down some call signs.
Calls came in waves and looking back, that’s how I would describe my emotions, wondering if I would be able to activate the park on SSB or “cheat” by using FT4 or 8. QRP is tricky and messes with your head like that. Sure I have a 50 watt amp at home for this radio but where’s the fun in cranking the dial up? But the faithful hunters and several park-to-parks delivered the goods! By 23:34 I’d gotten the 10 QSO’s to activate the park.
I was moved by a few of the QSO’s for various reasons or another. Since I often operate where there is no cell signal, I am not on WiFi checking call-signs as they come in. So when I talk to someone, I think about their voice, perhaps their accent, QTH and think about their town and surroundings. One of the more memorable ones was (I’m guessing based on their lookup data) a child that was using their father or grandfather’s call sign to respond to my CQ. I imagined a little boy at his grandpa’s big rig and Texas-sized antenna tower in the eastern part of Texas that I’ve driven my Jeep through so many times when we lived there.
Other notable QSO’s were from a YL and several Park-To-Parks, as well as some that had accents that made my head travel to that part of the country wondering what their shack looked like and what they maybe just had for dinner. This is the romance of ham radio and one of the reasons I love it – when you’re not having the best day, you can listen to a OM’s voice that sounds like its just going to be ok from here on out.
Ok back to the present. So the next 20 or so minutes brought 11 more QSO’s including 2 or 3 “pileups” of doubles and the last caller who made it under the wire. And then 00:00 hit.
The sun was already behind the trees and mountains. That means it went from a beautiful sunny 65 degrees to a cold, arctic sunless 65 degrees which was no joke because I was in flip-flops! I grabbed my Patagonia jacket as I patted myself on the back for bringing it. With cold hands, I systematically packed the radio away, making sure I didn’t bring home any critters or flora this time. Then I packed my SuperAntenna away and scurried back down the road. It was past 6 o’clock and I was already supposed to be home for dinner so I texted my XYL and apologized. Luckily she wasn’t starving just yet.
Here’s the QSO Map courtesy of LevineCentral.com
I wondered why my butt hurt so much. Was I sitting on a block of ice or something? No! I was sitting on a hard case and I had bleacher butt! I vowed to put my blow-up seat pad in my go-box for next time.
So I walked back down the trail for probably 10-15 minutes and took photos and videos of the setting sun. As cold as I was and as sure as the sun sets everyday, the view never gets old.
Then I continued back down the trail, finally getting back to the car which showed it still being 60 degrees. I was freezing so I turned on the seat heater and heat for the 10 minute ride home, shivering yet grinning from ear to ear, the voices from my QSO’s echoing in my head.
The next day, I opened up my logbook, listened to the QSO’s that were all recorded on my 705, and submitted the logs to POTA, QRZ, LOTW, and eQSL. I’m planning on sending a QSL card to each USA QSO. I don’t need one back but I just love sending and receiving QSL cards. I make sure I always put a short note in them to personalize them – especially since I have the QSO recorded only ICOM’s memory card. I also thought about how silly it was to have my ham gear in 3 separate containers – especially the hard go-box for my 705. I’ve carried most of this stuff (plus experimental gear) to a local summit for the VHF weekend not too long ago, so I know I can whittle this down to the bare necessities. I also remembered knocking the dial twice and changing my frequency only to realize a second or two later that I was off frequency. I know to use the lock button to prevent this but I never can seem to remember to do it! And finally, with my voice being as hoarse as it was from all the talking, I realized digital modes aren’t so bad in situations where you can’t speak a whole lot (or at all) for whatever reason.
All in all this was a fun activation, thanks to you Hunters, Activators, and the Parks On the Air organization!
73,
ae0rs
