W0EGT and I (N0RVS) embarked on an exciting adventure, taking our ham radio show on the road to the Joe Creighton Access Area (K-10387). We persevered to find the perfect spot to set up our small HF station and make some incredible contacts. POTA (parks on the air) is a fantastic way to enjoy nature while engaging in our favorite hobby of ham radio! W0EGT exceeded expectations by making over a dozen contacts using only Read More …
Did a little (POTA) Parks On The Air activation yesterday afternoon on the way back from Caplinger Mills. Had Clifford with us so why not get his first activation out of the way with many more in the future to come. Stopped at Brush Creek Conservation Area (K-8278) just west of Humansville, MO. This is a 160 acre with hunting and wildlife all around. There is one Small Parking lot on the northwest corner of Read More …
I woke up about 5:27 am to about 35°F outside with a slight windchill of 32°F at 9428 feet in elevation. Slept great. Wool blankets are toasty. Made coffee and tea and a banana for breakfast. Earl set and made a few voice contacts on the 20m band. I set up a 76-foot-long speaker wire in a tree & tuned it up and started making FT8 digital contacts around 9:15 local time. Australia was hearing Read More …
We found some free camping just outside of Bear Lake in Northern Utah. There were some ATV’s and Side by Sides driving through the forest roads. That did not stop us from enjoying our time here. If you are in the area, do yourself a favor and explore this area. September is a beautiful time to visit!
Found a spot just East of Laramie, Wyoming to set up camp for the night. I also got to play Ham Radio and made contact with my friends back in Missouri on 80m. I just threw about 62 feet of wire in the tree and connected it to my Texas Bug Catcher and and tuned it up on frequency with my Nano VNA. Turned on my ICOM 706 and started making contacts!
Thanksgiving portable in the backyard of the daughters house in Aurora, Colorado. I had the ICOM IC-706 with the MFJ 904H manual tuner with a wire going to the gutters. I had never tried loading up gutters before, so I figured why not. Using my MFJ antenna analyzer I tuned them up on 40m and made a few contacts. Then I loaded the gutters up on 20m and checked in to the Maritime Mobile Net. Read More …
We camped a few days around Granite, Colorado. During our stay there we explored the Stone Cabin that was near by. Furthermore the Arkansas River was within walking distance. I did some HF radio and made a few contacts including one to my brother W0EGT back in Missouri on 40m. I used my ICOM 706 and my MFJ 17 foot vertical attached to my homebrew induction coil. Our campsite the 2nd night. Beautiful area!!!
You don’t see a Texas BugCatcher antenna too often anymore. I acquired this antenna through a musician friend of mine who’s father had become a silent key. I had this antenna sitting around just waiting to be used. Furthermore, I still do a lot of mobile HF and enjoy it immensely when traveling to Colorado and back. Most Texas BugCatcher antennas were available from GLA Systems as a coil only. In addition, the customer either Read More …
Subsequently it has been a while since I’ve been on mobile HF radio. I was really missing it recently and decided to install it in our new vehicle. However I still have some more grounding to work on but the radio is happy, the antenna is happy and there is no crazy things happening in the vehicle. Meanwhile I am still using my homebrew loading coil that I made several years ago. On top of Read More …
I have been wanting to try FT8 on my ICOM IC-706 for quite some time. Recently my brother finally got his ticket and is a General Class. He also purchased a Yeasu FT-450 as his first HF rig. In the past I have done a few digital modes such as PSK31, SSTV, and some RTTY! But for the life of me I could not get FT8 to work with my ICOM IC-706. My brother did Read More …