Hamradio on CatLan.net

Yaesu FTM-400 RAM Mount

Sat, 07 Jan 2023 00:27:33 +0000

Backstory

I recently bought a new POTA-mobile and decided to move my mobile into it. I had it mounted previously in my Ford Ranger on a PanaVise dash mount. That worked well but the new (to me) Xterra has a ton of other options. I ended up getting a dash top mount from ICS-Fab.com that allows several things to be mounted. I figured this was a better option that would allow me to move stuff around or add and subtract easily in the future.

Kaw River State Park

Fri, 25 Nov 2022 23:44:00 +0000

25 November 2022

POTA K-2341

WWFF KFF-2341

A Quick Outing

I had a few things to take care of before heading back home to Illinois, but also had some time this morning to sneak in a quick park activation. On the map this seemed a lot further away but once I got to the location I realized it was a spot that I had passed hundreds of times growing up and never knew it was there. This is one of the things I love about portable ops, it really helps me find cool places that I wouldn’t of otherwise gone. Some of them right under my nose for years.

Perry State Park

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 20:44:00 +0000

24 November 2022

POTA K-2347

WWFF KFF-2347

Park

Perry State Park or just Perry Lake as I’ve always known it, is between Topeka and Lawrence. It gets pretty busy in the summer time with its beaches, but is very open in the winter time. Like all state parks in Kansas (except Kaw River State Park) there is a small fee for parking.

Clinton State Park Kansas

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 20:44:00 +0000

23 November 2022

POTA K-2332

WWFF KFF-2332

A Small Hike

I started this one off with a small hike because I wanted to activate on top of Sanders Hill Mound that overlooks the lake.

When I got to the top I found a very nice park bench that would be perfect for setting up at. It was unfortunately for me occupied by a couple having a very deep conversation. Not one to break up a lovers rendezvous I decided to continue down the trail to see if I could find another prime spot.

Jordan Lake

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 06:44:00 +0000

16 November 2022

POTA K-3844

WWFF K-3844

North Carolina

Not my first activation in North Carolina and probably not the last. Jordan Lake is an easy drive from the Raleigh area, and a nice chance to get outside on this trip. My wife tagged along with her cousin and one of her kids. I guess everyone was pretty tired because they had planned on going on a hike but all ended up falling asleep on the beach. The cousin came over and checked out what I was doing, and I felt bad because it’s still pretty hard for me to dit and dah while holding on a conversation. In the end I think everyone had a good time and we got out of there before the sun went down.

Roan Mountain

Sat, 12 Nov 2022 18:03:00 +0000

12 November 2022

Roan High Knob W4T/SU-005

Grassy Ridge Bald W4C/EM-001

K-2972 Roan Mountain State Park

K-4525 Cherokee National Forest

K-4510 Pisgah National Forest

K-6936 Pisgah State Game Land

K-4556 Appalachian Trail National Scenic Trail

So Many References

First things first, you can activate a lot of references in a very small space. I did not do that. The Roan Mountain area contains several peaks and parks. Some overlap and some don’t. The ridge itself splits Tennessee and North Carolina. If you hike to Roan High Knob you’ll probably start at Carvers Gap and follow the Appalachian Trail up to the peak. The trail switches back between TN and NC several times.

Pere Marquette State Park

Fri, 04 Nov 2022 15:51:00 +0000

4 November 2022

K-1015 Pere Marquette State Park

Back On The Air!

So happy to be back on the air. I spent the last six months in Saudi Arabia on what is hopefully my last of six deployments with the Air Force. I brought my radio with me but could never get permission to actually operate. I spent most of my time listening to CW on YouTube, Morse Runner, and RufzXP.

Falls Lake North Carolina

Wed, 05 Jan 2022 22:40:00 -0600

5 January 2022

K-3841 Falls Lake State Recreation Area NC

Rounding Out the Family Visit

This has been a reasonably long road trip. First a night at Dillon State Park in Ohio, then staying with some family near the DC metro in Virginia and last but not least it’s time to visit family near Raleigh, NC. This gave me an opportunity to activate a park one day. I chose Falls Lake just north of Raleigh (pronounced rally or ral-ee). This allowed me to get some coffee and snacks on the way.

Anacostia Park DC

Fri, 31 Dec 2021 21:21:00 -0600

31 December 2021

K-0654 National Capitol Parks Park

Family Visit Near DC

So after hanging out with some amazing small humans I decided to get up early and head out to a park. Strangely the DC area doesn’t have a ton of CW activators so I decided to bump those numbers up a bit. I didn’t end up bumping them up quite as much as I thought I would but still better than before.

Buford Mountain Conservation Area Missouri

Sat, 18 Dec 2021 14:17:00 -0600

18 December 2021

POTA and SOTA Together

My wife was was going to be out all day hanging out with a friend so I decided to activate a park while she was gone. After some looking around I found Buford Mountain Conservation Area in Missouri about an hour and a half away. Turned out that it was POTA K-8281 and SOTA W0M/SF-002! I hadn’t done any SOTA activations yet so it took me a minute to figure out how to schedule an activation on SOTA Watch.

Julius J. Knobeloch Nature Preserve

Sun, 12 Dec 2021 15:33:00 -0600

12 December 2021

POTA with company!

My wife Alison was just getting over something so we decided to get outside and go for a nice walk. The walk just happened to be nearby in POTA K-7853. We both have park bags now so we can both enjoy getting out of the house in our own ways.

K-6498 Current River Conservation Area

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 21:48:52 -0500

3 October 2021

On my way home from K-6491 Peck Ranch I decided to try for a second activation. Another park that had never been activated before! Current River Conservation Area was about an hour away and on the way home. I had seen on the map that not far into the park was a fire tower. I decided that was probably going to be one of the highest points so I checked that out first.

K-6491 Peck Ranch Conservation Area

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 19:50:00 -0500

3 October 2021

Bruce talking with a friendly neighborhood snail.

I was planning on helping a friend with a car but he canceled last minute so I did some late night planning of another potential activation. Looking at the Missouri list on pota.app I noticed that there are several parks that were completely un-activated. I made a list and decided to start with one of the ones that was the furthest away.

POTA K-1015 Pere Marquette State Park

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 21:23:00 -0500

2 October 2021

This was the start of a long POTA weekend for me! I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to get out because the weather forecast showed thunderstorms all weekend. I took the chance and headed about an hour away from home to Pere Marquette State Park near Grafton Illinois.

OmniRig and Icom Data Modes

Sun, 07 Jun 2020 15:12:00 -0600

I use OmniRig as a middle man for radio control. It works great for what I need, but I find that it could use a couple of different data modes as it only has one mode for data, while many modern radios have separate modes for RTTY and AFSK SSB digital. The default Icom IC-756ProIII .ini file sets the radio to RTTY when digital is selected. I use a SignaLink USB external sound card interface for all my digital modes, so the RTTY mode doesn’t work for me.

Anderson Powerpole Connectors

Sun, 05 Apr 2020 16:43:23 -0600

I’ve been using Anderson Powerpole 15/30/45Amp connectors for a while now, but recently I’ve really thrown them on everything. That left me with quite a few different kits and baggies of Powerpole parts laying around. The wife was getting rid of this organizer so I decided to put it to good use. I threw everything in and printed some labels.

DIY Heil Hand Switch

Thu, 02 Apr 2020 09:40:54 -0600

HRO recently had a great deal on Heil headsets so I decided to pickup a Heil Pro Set IC. I’ve been looking at these for years, so I figured it was finally time and I’m glad I did. The headset is great, super comfy and sounds great coming and going.