Typically you want a break. My sweetie Glenn W4YES booked two Airbnbs, one in North Carolina and one in South Carolina, the second weekend in October as my son’s faculty was on break for 4 days. Anybody who is aware of me will inform you I’m a planner. Nonetheless, it was a pleasant shock for me to NOT plan this journey. Glenn picked out the locations to remain in addition to scouted close by potential POTA websites. My job was to point out up and benefit from the shock.
Our first two nights had been at a property between Uwharrie and Troy, North Carolina. This property borders the Uwharrie Nationwide Forest (US-4511). All I needed to do for a POTA activation was stroll out our entrance door to the street on the mountain and proceed a brief distance uphill the place the nationwide forest property begins. The street continues previous a locked gate to the Buck Mountain Fireplace Tower, the very best level within the space.
Saturday is my time off from every thing together with ham radio. Nonetheless, Glenn and I took a leisurely paced stroll to the hearth tower simply to test it out.
The Buck Mountain Fireplace Tower was inbuilt 1936 and is probably going the work of the Civilian Conservation Corps. Given the narrowness of the steps, it’s apparent the construction was not inbuilt fashionable instances. The tower base is roofed in chain-link fencing however the steel door into the tower base space to entry the tower stairs, will not be locked.
We returned to the tower at sundown to climb it . You can’t entry the highest ground as it’s padlocked. However one can see for miles from the stair platform beneath the highest ground. The sliver of coloration on the horizon because the solar dipped beneath was definitely worth the climb to the highest.
Not being one to squander a possibility for POTA, the subsequent morning I woke at 6 AM and was out the door at 6:45. Gentle was simply starting to point out within the sky. The stroll as much as the hearth tower was not that tough regardless of having a backpack of POTA and digicam gear and gaining 152 ft in elevation. Because of this I stroll the steps at an area parking storage two days every week – so I’m not unprepared for some elevation change.
I arrived on the hearth tower proper earlier than dawn and had the location to myself! As I discovered the place to arrange, I assumed to myself nobody was more likely to hear me because of the tall, massive steel construction with antennas in entrance me. In truth, I didn’t trouble establishing any video tools.
I selected a spot off to the aspect of the tower with my again to the woods so I might see anybody arising the entry street . (If you end up a girl alone within the woods, you must consider such stuff.) I opted for the Chelegance MC-750 as there was not a lot time to function. I set the Chelegance for 40 meters. The solar was simply starting to rise (7:24 AM) so I figured 40 can be a greater band given the early hour.
I settled into my Helinox chair with a blanket wrapped round my legs (the temp was 49 levels – chilly for this Georgia woman), noticed myself (cell service at a POTA web site is all the time a plus!), and steeled myself for a failed activation. If I encounter noise once I do POTA, it’s virtually all the time on 40 meters. I figured with the antennas on web site and the massive steel object in entrance of me, nobody would hear my QRP sign and there can be an excessive amount of noise for me to listen to anybody who did occur to answer my CQ. I couldn’t have been extra fallacious!
There was noise on the band however not almost as unhealthy as I anticipated, partially because of the nice filters on the KX2. There was a pulsing noise at 7.056 and a few form of sign on 7.054, however 7.049 was clear. It wasn’t lengthy after recognizing myself that Ronny WB2MQQ answered my CQ. That started a gradual stream of calls over the subsequent hour. The sign I heard initially on 7.054 moved to 7.049 about 25 minutes into the activation so I switched to 7.054 when it vacated that frequency.
At 8:27 AM, I referred to as QRT as a result of Glenn and I had plans to fulfill previous faculty buddies in Charlotte later that morning. I had 39 contacts at a location I used to be sure would lead to none! It simply goes to point out you by no means know what the bands or a location gives you. Higher to arrange and check out than stop earlier than you begin, proper?
We had a pleasing drive to Charlotte. Glenn met his pal Mike and I, my pal Jennifer. (I name her Jennaboo and he or she calls me Teridactl.) Afterwards, satiated from lunch, dialog, and laughter, we headed southward into South Carolina for my subsequent activation. The place? Keep tuned…
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