Many because of Jeff (VE7EFF) who shares the next visitor put up:
by Jeff (VE7EFF)
That is the 2nd backpacked-in POTA activation outing that my spouse and I’ve executed this summer season. I’m the 2nd individual to have ever activated the Campbell-Brown Ecological Reserve (CA-3925). Final yr was the primary time I activated this eco reserve and that was additionally my first ever backpacked-in POTA activation.
After finding out my GPS and Google Maps/Satellite tv for pc view of the world, my purpose this time is to trek about twice as far and twice as excessive as final yr’s outing. There are not any documented trails right here. Entry is a mix of previous overgrown and deserted forestry highway (or fireplace break, unsure which) and a few crisscrossing animal sport trails. The precise mileage/Km’s isn’t actually that far, nevertheless it’s all uphill and a mix of bushwhacking and scaling slippery grassy slopes.
The reserve borders alongside the busy freeway 97, between the cities of Vernon and Kelowna, BC. The realm overlooks the attractive Kalamalka Lake, as you will notice in a number of the images. There’s no precise parking zone, only a small gravel pull-over spot simply off the freeway. There isn’t a formal pathway into the reserve both, so we needed to scale the gated fence to begin our journey.
I’m a little bit bit accustomed to the route we took final yr, however I closely depend on my Garmin 66sr GPS and Google Maps/Satellite tv for pc view on my Pixel telephone.
My spouse Alexis (VE7LXE), accompanies me on all my POTA outings. She packs the meals and water whereas I pack the ham gear and different outside necessities. We each carry IC-V80 VHF handhelds for comms within the occasion we ever get separated. And naturally we all the time carry bear spray when doing backcountry treks.
We do have some comparatively flat areas in sections, however there are additionally lots of deadfall timber to both step over, climb over, or go round.
This grassy meadow is the place I activated final yr. Really on the high finish of the meadow. However right this moment’s purpose is to seek out one other open grassy meadow larger up the mountain. Increased normally means higher radio propagation, to not point out spectacular views.
Past the grassy meadow, we adopted some semblance of a path. But it surely wasn’t lengthy earlier than I spotted that it wasn’t taking me the place I actually wanted to go. So, in keeping with my GPS and Google Satellite tv for pc, we wanted to go straight up-hill.
This was really an actual slog uphill (particularly for us 73 and 72 yr olds). 🙂
We determined that we’ve got gone excessive sufficient. Time to off-load our packs.
It appears to be like like we’ve got intersected with an previous cut-trail which provides a foot or two of semi-level floor on which to function and set our stools and chair.
I can see the meadow far under the place I activated final yr.
What a spectacular view of the Kalamalka Lake!
I feel we’re excessive sufficient the place I can get some first rate low-angle propagation right this moment.
Time to unpack my shack-in-the-pack.
Whereas Alexis organizes the Helinox furnishings, the place we might be hanging out for the following 4.5 hours, I’ll be engaged on erecting the antenna system.
The highest Elecraft bag carries all my backpackable antennas and equipment.
The underside bag homes the Elecraft KX2 with inside battery and ATU, paddles, and spare battery.
I additionally carry a lightweight telescopic mast, which I haven’t used but. It’s for once I don’t have a viable tree to hold my antennas from. With timber, I can normally get the antenna up a lot larger than a 20’ mast can.
My antenna right this moment is an experimental homebrew ½ wave “Vertical Coaxial-Sleeve Dipole”, minimize for 20m band. That is the first time I’m deploying this antenna within the subject. I constructed it yesterday particularly for backpack ops.
Sometimes, I activate with my 20m or 30m heart fed dipole, constructed and offered by N9SAB (glorious transportable dipoles). Dipoles take extra time and work to deploy the middle feed in addition to guying the dipole finish wires. I sometimes would deploy as a flat dipole or inverted-V.
However, coaxial sleeve dipoles are sometimes oriented vertically for omnidirectional propagation. At the moment, I’m deploying it as a barely slanted vertical, maybe at a 15 or 20 diploma angle off vertical heart and oriented such that I hopefully maximize propagation to the SE route, which supplies me good protection of the SE USA from the pacific NW.
Whereas the dipole is bodily end-fed, electrically it features as center-fed dipole, as a result of magic of RF pores and skin impact over the primary half of the dipole. I used RG-174 because the medium for the coaxial sleeve dipole. The coax is electrically minimize for ~ ½ wavelength on the 20m band. The underside finish of the dipole is terminated by a Truthful Ceremony #43 1.4” toroidal core. This core blocks any RF from touring again under the toroid in the direction of the transmitter and units the general size of the ½ wave dipole above the toroid. On the obvious heart of the RG-174 coax antenna, ¼ wave above the toroid, I separate the shields. I soldered the higher defend to the coax heart conductor to reinforce the higher radiator conductor floor space.
The underside half of the RG-174 coax acts as each a 50-ohm transmission line and because the decrease half of a dipole (this outcomes from RF pores and skin impact on the defend outer floor). For additional particulars, you may Google the subject of coaxial sleeve dipoles. On the finish of the day, we’ll see the way it carried out…
Utilizing my 8 Oz Weaver throw bag, I used to be in a position to deploy the antenna about 30 ft above the bottom on this Douglas Fir tree. (In fact the bottom is at a ~40 diploma angle right here, so top is type of relative to the place I’m standing.)
The blue coaxial cable is the equal of RG-316 50 ohm coax. It’s known as EnviroFlex 316, accessible by way of Digikey.
A better view of the toroidal choke that terminates the underside of the 20m ½ wave antenna. I examined this antenna with my antenna analyzer at house and the choke completely isolates the antenna portion of the coax from the enter facet. Whereas this does appear like an end-fed antenna (and bodily, it’s), it’s electrically functioning as a vertical dipole (theoretically anyway). With the KX2 ATU, this antenna tunes up on all bands between 30m-10m with a low SWR.
I sometimes carry two Helinox Pace Stools, one to take a seat on and one for the KX2 and log. It’s a bit low to the bottom, nevertheless it beats sitting on the bottom. The reclining Helinox consolation chair is for Alexis, the place she sits and reads or sketches whereas I make a lot of CW noise.
I’m all set and able to log some CW contacts.
That is the place I’l be sitting the higher a part of the following 4.5 hours.
I’ll be transmitting at 8 Watts energy stage. (Thought-about QRO by some requirements 🙂 .
As all the time, I begin on 20m CW till I log at the very least 10 contacts, then I transfer on to the higher HF bands.
First contact was at 16:45 UTC (09:45 PST), with K0BXB in WI. Over the following half-hour I made a complete of 12 contacts on 20m to WI, CA, UT, NV, FL MA, MI, ON, MB, and CO.
Subsequent, I transfer on to 17m. Seven extra contacts right here to VA, TX, SD, and NC.
AND, as a bonus I bagged IK4IDF in Italy and EA1AF in Spain !
Transferring on to 15m, I make seven extra contacts, together with IL, TX, IN, MO, WI, and KS.
Time to attempt my luck on 12m. I acquired one from Texas.
Something on 10m? Sure; only one for Florida.
Again to 12m. Sure, yet one more in Illinois.
Is 15m nonetheless up? Sure, six extra on 15m for ON, CA, MI, OK, OH, and AZ.
One final crack at 17m earlier than we’ve got to pack up. Sure, 5 extra on 17m together with OK, NY, MA, GA, and PA.
My final contact was at 21:14 UTC (14:14 PST) with WB3AVD in Pennsylvania.
A pair hours earlier, we did get rained-on for a couple of minutes, however then it blew over.
In whole, I logged 40 POTA CW contacts throughout 5 bands, 20m-10m, together with coast-to-coast and even trans-Atlantic to Spain and Italy. Not unhealthy for 8W and an unknown experimental vertically oriented homebrew coaxial sleeve dipole. It does assist to be in a interval of photo voltaic most!
I feel this antenna could also be a keeper. However, I do have plans to construct a 17m model, for the occasions I can’t get the antenna up as excessive or keep a near-vertical orientation. They might even work simply nice as an inverted-L too. At some point I could attempt that.
Time to pack-up and head again down into the unknown abyss. Alexis doesn’t wish to return the way in which we got here, as a result of it is vitally steep and could possibly be too troublesome for her (us).
We’re pondering that this little bit of an overgrown previous minimize path that I operated from could also be a gentler path down, so we resolve to present it a attempt to see the place it goes.
It appeared simply nice for some time, till we understand it’s going too far in the other way that we should be going (thank goodness for GPS to really know the place we’re). Then we discover one other path that seems to be a dead-end sport path. Subsequent, we attempt completely different choices that take us in the precise route we should be going, solely to seek out out this takes us once more too far within the different route away from the place we should be to get again heading in the right direction.
In the long run, we’ve got no different however to do some bushwhacking to get again to identified territory.
It’s straightforward to get misplaced within the again nation the place there are not any well-established or marked trails. Having GPS and Google Maps with satellite tv for pc view can be a necessity when doing these sorts of treks. And, in fact, we make a lot of noise in order that the bears are conscious of our presence. This helps keep away from any probability encounters. We do have bear spray on the prepared, simply in case.
In the long run, we made it again to the automotive with none main incidents – just a bit extra strolling and bushwhacking than supposed.
Till subsequent time, 73 from Jeff and Alexis in Kelowna, BC, Canada.
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