Swain State Forest | I reached out to the NH State Parks Department about the deplorable condition of the state forest signs. It’s been a week and no one has gotten back to me.
Swain State Forest POTA Activation – Tough Going!
I activated Swain State Forest K-4969 today. New Hampshire has quite a few state forests and this one happens to be directly across Lake Winnisquam from my home. I should say I barely activated it getting the required ten contacts in 90 minutes.
We were blessed again with rare deep warmth for early spring. The temperature was 63 F but in the direct sun you could easily be in a purple polo shirt and khaki shorts. My mentor Jim Cluett, W1PID, was dressed in this attire a few miles away on Johnson Hill in Sanbornton, NH.
He was doing outdoor radio too and I logged him not once, but twice today. It’s so magical to contact another operator who’s doing low-powered radio outdoors!
This magnificent tree held my 29-foot vertical antenna. My 25-foot coax cable was 10 feet in the air so the tip of the antenna was up 40 feet.
No Cell Service = No Self Spotting
After I got my antenna up in this wonderful tall pine tree, I decided to text Jim to see if he could spot me so other radio operators would know the frequency I was on. I was stunned to discover there was no cell service. You’ve got to be kidding me.
This is the rock I used as an operating platform. It was not too comfortable!
I set up on a moss-covered rock thinking it would be somewhat comfortable. I was wrong. Within a few minutes my rump was aching and I knelt down on the soft bed of pine needles on the forest floor.
I used my Elecraft KX3 again because it can transmit with 15 watts of power. Attached to it is my Begali Adventure Dual paddles. Powering today’s activation was my trusty 4.5 Ah BioennoPower LiFePh battery.
Jim Finds Me
A moment after turning on my radio, Jim found me. The trouble was there was another operator camped out very close to that frequency so I needed to move. He spotted me and a few Parks on the Air chasers found me. I’m talking just a few. This could get ugly fast.
Once the few operators made contact, I started hunting for others calling CQ. I even tried calling CQ for minutes on end with little luck. I switched to 40 meters and gathered a few more contacts.
I heard IK2CKR in Italy. He had a very strong signal so I thought he’d hear me. Nope, not today. So much for living a pure and simple life.
After nearly an hour and a half I needed just one more contact to make the required ten. I wandered up to 14.062 and heard Jim contacting my second contact of the day, WA3GM. He was also a POTA activator. I was desperate to talk with Jim, but couldn’t break in as that’s not polite.
Here are my ten contacts. It was a skin-of-the-teeth POTA day to be sure.
I went to 14.060 and called CQ. Jim heard me! It was a miracle. I sent: QSY 7030 7030. He’s a pro and knew that I needed to work him again but on a different frequency. Moments later we finished the QSO and I packed up and left.
I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t make more contacts because my antenna was fantastic. The only thing I can think of is that I was only 30 feet away from a high-tension electric line that services all the houses on the eastern shore of Lake Winnisquam.
Jim told me on the phone when I got home that he heard other operators trying to contact me, but I never heard them. Without Jim’s help today, I would still be over there gathering up dry pine needles to make a bed to stay warm tonight!
I’m going to try an inverted V antenna tomorrow on my next activation. Stay tuned.