Two days earlier than Hurricane Helene impacted western North Carolina (Wednesday, September 25, 2024), I finished by the Blue Ridge Parkway for a fast POTA activation to totally take a look at my MTR-3B self-contained discipline package.
This was essential, as I had plans to conduct a number of SOTA activations through the 2024 W4 SOTA campout in north Georgia the next week. (Sadly, attributable to Hurricane Helene, I needed to cancel these plans.)
That is one thing I all the time emphasize throughout shows about SOTA, POTA, or touring with radio: don’t assume your discipline package is full and absolutely purposeful—you need to take a look at it to know for positive.
A discipline take a look at confirms two issues:
- You could have the whole lot you want inside your package to finish an activation.
- Every part within the package really works.
When getting ready for one thing like a SOTA weekend or a household trip, I normally deploy every of my discipline kits both at dwelling or a neighborhood park. I energy up the radio and make a minimum of one contact, basically mimicking an actual activation. If the whole lot works, I do know the package is sweet to go!
This straightforward course of is an extremely efficient method to make sure your gear is prepared for motion.
Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3788)
That Wednesday, I squeezed within the activation between errands on the town. The Folks Artwork Heart close to Freeway 70 in East Asheville is the right spot—it’s a fast and straightforward detour.
Or a minimum of it was earlier than Helene. Now, with two bridges broken—particularly one main bridge on Freeway 70—the two-minute detour to the Folks Artwork Heart has become a 15-25 minute spherical journey, relying on visitors. (You by no means notice how important bridges are till they’re gone!)
I parked close to the picnic space, grabbed my gear, and headed for my standard picnic desk setup spot.
Sadly, it was completely crawling with ants—possible a results of spilled juice or meals. I moved to the opposite picnic desk in the identical space.
Within the video, you’ll see me use every bit of drugs within the discipline package, aside from the “naked bones” arborist throw line and weight. Since I had my different Weaver throw line package with me, I used it to save lots of time. I’d not too long ago examined and re-packed the throw line within the MTR-3B package, so I already knew it was in working order.
Setup was fast and straightforward. As soon as I related the antenna and powered up the radio, I used my N6ARA Tiny SWR Meter to substantiate I had a great match—for the reason that MTR-3B LCD lacks an SWR meter. Happily, I had an ideal impedance match.
Time to play radio!
Gear (MTR-3B Self-Contained Area Equipment)
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Radio
Watertight Case
Antenna System
Key
Battery
Logging
Audio
- Sennheiser earbuds with in-line analog quantity management (discontinued 1999 mannequin)
Backpack
Digicam and Audio Recording
I began calling CQ POTA on 20 meters, and inside minutes, the contacts began rolling in. Woo-hoo!
I labored my first 10 stations in simply 10 minutes, together with two Park-to-Park contacts with WJ0L and N5ILQ. It doesn’t get a lot better than that.
I saved going for an additional 11 minutes, logging 10 extra stations for a complete of 20 contacts in simply 21 minutes.
Not dangerous for 3 watts!
Thanks, hunters!
Right here’s what this three-watt activation regarded like when plotted out on a QSO Map (click on map to enlarge):
Right here’s my real-time, real-life video of the 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 adverts earlier than and after my movies.
Observe that Patreon supporters can watch and even obtain this video 100% ad-free by means of Vimeo on my Patreon web page:
Click on right here to view on YouTube.
Whereas getting ready this video and discipline report, I couldn’t assist however replicate on how profoundly Helene has impacted our lives—my household, pals, and neighborhood. As I point out within the video, we have been braced for flash flooding and as much as a foot of rain, however we by no means anticipated experiencing a 1-in-1,000-year rain and flood occasion. The dimensions of the injury has been overwhelming, and restoration will take time.
That stated, there’s hope. The Folks Artwork Heart has reopened, and I’m already planning my subsequent activation there—a small however significant step towards returning to normalcy.
Issues are enhancing little by little, and I’m grateful to your endurance as I work to catch up. I plan to share one other lengthy replace later this week, time allowing. Free time stays scarce, and I respect your understanding if my replies to correspondence are delayed.
Thanks for becoming a member of me throughout this activation!
I hope you loved the sphere report and activation video as a lot as I loved creating them.
I additionally wish to thanks for all of your type messages and feedback. Whereas I learn and respect each one in every of them, my time to reply is kind of restricted proper now. Please know that your help means the world to me, even when I can’t reply personally in the meanwhile. As issues quiet down, I sit up for being extra accessible. Thanks to your endurance and understanding.
In fact, I’d additionally prefer to ship a particular because of these of you who’ve been supporting the location and channel by means of Patreon, and the Espresso Fund. Whereas not a requirement, as my content material will all the time be free, I actually respect the help.
As I discussed earlier than, the Patreon platform related 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 superb week forward!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
