As talked about in earlier subject experiences, my spouse and I spent the week of July seventh, 2024, in Wilmington, North Carolina, whereas our daughters have been at summer time packages at NCSU and UNCW.
We had an incredible time and I managed to squeeze in some Parks on the Air (POTA) activations at Brunswick City/Fort Anderson State Historic Web site, Carolina Seashore State Park, and an epic activation on the Battleship North Carolina!
On Sunday, July 14th, we packed our baggage and drove to Raleigh the place we visited the NC Historical past Museum and NC Museum of Pure Sciences. We have been within the midst of a warmth wave, so the time spent indoors on the museums was a lot appreciated.
I had my Elecraft KH1 packed and deliberate to activate the State Capitol (US-6852), conveniently positioned subsequent to the museum parking tons. The State Capitol grounds really requires a brilliant low-impact radio just like the KH1 as a result of sturdy safety presence and restricted setup area.
Upon arriving on the State Capitol, we discovered a big gathering (presumably a protest) and sweltering warmth (104°F/40°C)! I made a decision to postpone the activation and as an alternative opted for an early morning activation, the next day, at William B. Umstead State Park, only a ten-minute drive from our resort.
I checked the park’s web site and found that the gates opened at 8:00 AM. This was excellent: I may seize breakfast at 6:00 AM, make amends for emails, head to the park, activate till 9:30 AM or so, return to the resort, and nonetheless have sufficient time for our 11:00 AM Duke College tour. (The explanation we spent additional days within the Raleigh/Durham space was in order that our daughters may tour NCSU, Duke, and UNC Chapel Hill.)
I arrived on the park only a few minutes after the gates opened.
Though I had by no means been to William B. Umstead State Park, I had studied a map beforehand and knew there was a picnic space accessible from the doorway I selected (the park has a number of entry factors, and I chosen the one closest to our resort).
It’s an exquisite park, and the distinction between the morning commuter visitors and the oasis of bushes was hanging! I parked on the first picnic space I discovered, grabbed my radio pack, and selected a picnic website.
This early within the morning, the picnic space was abandoned – I solely noticed runners, walkers, and park employees.
For this activation, I introduced my Penntek TR-45L and paired it with my KM4CFT 30M end-fed half-wave with a 40M linked extension.
Though I discovered a perfect setup spot, the encompassing bushes proved to be a problem! The branches have been both too low or too excessive. After some effort, I managed to snag an appropriate department with my throw line, deployed the antenna, and was able to get on the air!
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Being this early within the morning, I began the activation on 40 meters.
I referred to as CQ POTA just for a short while earlier than the hunters discovered me. Happily, band circumstances have been fairly respectable!
I logged a complete of 21 stations in 20 minutes.
Great!
I made a decision to maneuver as much as 20 meters subsequent, simply to see if I may snag a number of extra contacts.
It wasn’t as lively as 40 meters was (this time of the day), however I nonetheless managed so as to add six extra hunters to the logs in about eleven minutes.
With 28 stations logged, I referred to as QRT to make sure I may return to the resort in time for our Duke College tour.
Listed below are the logs:
Right here’s what this five-watt activation regarded like when plotted out on a QSO Map:
Right here’s my real-time, real-life video of your complete activation. As with all of my movies, I don’t edit out any components of the on-air activation time. As well as, I’ve monetization turned off on YouTube, though that doesn’t cease them from inserting advertisements earlier than and after my movies.
Observe that Patreon supporters can watch and even obtain this video 100% ad-free by way of Vimeo on my Patreon web page:
Click on right here to view on YouTube.
Regardless of the oppressive warmth, that Monday turned out to be an excellent day. After the activation, I met up with my spouse and daughters on the resort. We then headed to Duke College for our scheduled tour.
It was hovering round 100°F/38°C, so our glorious pupil tour guides made certain to cease as typically as attainable within the shade or in among the air-conditioned campus buildings.
After the tour, we met with QRPer reader and supporter, Dr. Roger Barr (N4GF), a Biomedical Engineering professor at Duke. He was extremely form and educated, and all of us totally loved his in-depth insights concerning the college.
Thanks, Roger!
We left Duke round mid-afternoon and returned to the resort to benefit from the air-con. I spent a few hours studying and stress-free.
Later within the afternoon, it was nonetheless round 98°F/36.5°C! I had been in communication with John Brier (KG4AKV), who invited us to fulfill him at a close-by lake as he made some Inexperienced Dice Sat and ISS contacts.
Since my daughter (K4TLI) is constructing a QRP EME station as a faculty venture, and we’re basing it on a 70cm Inexperienced Dice sat chasing system, this was an awesome alternative to see among the gear in motion.
John had put out phrase on his membership’s dialogue group, and fairly a number of individuals confirmed up for his demo. He did a superb job explaining his course of and gear. I ought to be aware hear that John paperwork a few of his satellite tv for pc adventures on his glorious YouTube channel.
His Inexperienced Dice contacts have been all digital mode, however he used FM voice for the ISS go.
It was a implausible approach to spend the early night, and we loved assembly so many nice native hams.
All in all, it was a sizzling however very radio-active day!
Thanks for becoming a member of me throughout this activation!
I hope you loved the sector report and my activation video as a lot as I loved creating them!
In fact, I’d additionally wish to ship a particular due to these of you who’ve been supporting the location and channel by way of Patreon, and the Espresso Fund. Whereas not a requirement, as my content material will all the time be free, I actually recognize the assist.
As I discussed earlier than, the Patreon platform linked to Vimeo makes it attainable for me to share movies that aren’t solely 100% ad-free but in addition downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account additionally serves as a 3rd backup for my video recordsdata.
Thanks for spending a part of your day with me! Have a beautiful week!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
