Those words were spoken to me many moons ago by my CW, QRP and outdoor radio sensei Jim Cluett, W1PID.
He wasn’t talking about the Zombie Shuffle, a fun low-intensity contest that’s held each year on the Friday night that’s closest to Halloween.
This year the shuffle was on Halloween Eve, a perfect dark evening to have some great fun.
Jim’s advice about courage had to do with getting on the air and wandering into the jungle of invisible radio waves as a CW beginner.
Believe me, it can be a scary place.
But last night, I was brave. Unbeknownst to me over the past two weeks, I had reached yet another plateau on my long and arduous CW journey.
I was about to discover I finally had listening skills that would allow me to have the most fun yet on the air. And fun I had!
Last year I signed up for the Shuffle and was lucky enough to garner a very special number. Zombie numbers are given for life.
Mine was 1111.
How Fast?
The two ghouls behind the Zombie Shuffle are Paul and Jan Harden, NA5N, and N0QT. They refer to themselves as the Grand Zombie, Grand Witchess, and Contest Coroner.
I want to thank both for creating a special memory for me. Prior to last night the most QSOs I’d ever done on one day were three, maybe four.
In just over two hours last night, I’d do thirteen.
Yeah, if you’re an experienced pro, you can do 100 or more Qs in two hours, but years ago you were where I was last night. You didn’t start out doing CW at 30 WPM.
But I digress.
The shuffle is a fun contest. It’s not meant to be a high-speed adrenaline-filled sprint or like the madness of Field Day.
“There is no point to the Zombie Shuffle whatsoever except to get on the air and have fun with fellow Zombies and QRPers. Even with only 2-3 QSOs, you can earn a fairly large score to brag to your co-workers and QRO buddies. If you haven’t been on the air for a while, or you are a new CW ham, your fist is “rusty,” or your code speed is slow, this is the “contest” to put a few contacts in the log. Note that the scoring is based on SERENDIPITY rather than operating skill.”
I was sending at 12 WPM with a spacing of probably 10 WPM. Everyone who I worked slowed for me and I was able to copy 98 percent of everything sent. I was euphoric.
Sundown
Moments before sundown last night, that’s when the contest starts no matter where you live, Jim called me.
“Do you want me to work you right now on 3.560 for the Zombie Shuffle so you don’t get skunked?”
“What? Oh my gosh! That’s right, the contest starts in just a few minutes. I forgot about it! Thanks for calling! And NO, I don’t want to work you now. I’ll not be begging for QSOs tonight. I emailed you my goal of ten Qs. I’ll do just fine without you.”
What was he thinking? Well, when viewed from his perspective I’ve not been putting in the requisite time to become a skilled operator.
But Jim doesn’t know me that well. When I decide to do something, I do it. The issue with CW is that I’m still a working stiff and a few other things have nudged me away from the key.
Score!
I hung up the phone and rushed up to the shack.
Quickly I reviewed the frequencies, made a crude logbook in my notebook and turned on the radio.
I started out at 40 meters because I thought that would be alive at this time of day / pre-night.
I wasn’t disappointed. I went to 7.030.30 and started to call CQ.
Because I’m a rookie contest grasshopper, I did my CQ wrong.
Here’s what I sent: CQ CQ CQ BOO W3ATB W3ATB K
What I should have sent was: CQ BOO W3ATB W3ATB K
Oh well, the pros knew what was going on and were gentle with me.
Within a few minutes, N8RVE came back. BOOM!
I had my first Zombie QSO.
Then another, and another and another.
I can’t remember if Jim texted me or called me, but over the next hour I’d text him at least five or six times and we’d talk on the phone a few times.
I was so excited I was telling him what was happening.
Early in the contest, I had five or six QSOs to his one!
Hah! We eventually worked each other on both 80 and 40 meters. You’re allowed to work the same station more than once so long as you’re on different bands.
Time passed quickly. Before I knew it I had been on the air for over two hours with just a 10-minute break for dinner.
Jim knew I’d love to work an Elvis in the shuffle.
Elvis and Elvira stations are operators who you can work to get 666 extra points.
Jim found WA5TCZ on 20 meters and texted me.
After several attempts, he finally heard me and was extremely patient as I was battling lots of fading – QSB.
By 8:30 pm I was tired. What’s more, my body chemistry was changing as the adrenaline that powered me two hours before was being neutralized in my veins.
It didn’t matter. I had a grin on my face as big as any carved pumpkin in central New Hampshire.
It was a night I’ll never forget and there’s much to be said about being brave.
Jim Cluett, W1PID, and I went to the jaw-dropping Livermore Falls today.
It was a bright cloud-free day and even though we’re just days away from November, there was still lots of color on the trees. Fall came late this year because of a very warm September.
Here’s what I was looking at just after leaving my driveway. It was going to be a splendid day!
We met to go to the falls after I left my truck to get serviced at a local Ford dealership. Jim and I had at least two hours to play radio and get some lunch. We ended up stretching it to three hours as it was such a gorgeous day.
As we walked down the dirt path to the falls, we could hear the roar of the water.
This is the Pemigewasset River just before it dives down the falls. You can see the first step in the falls in the lower right corner.
The Pemigewasset River cuts across some very hard metamorphic rock that’s been polished and rounded by countless gallons of water over thousands of years.
I couldn’t resist shooting this video of the rushing water.
Although Jim and I have been here at least two other times, this was the first time I had wandered down to the water’s edge. There’s a giant sand bar on the west side of the river and someone had stacked a few stone cairns.
This cairn was about 18 inches tall. I wonder how long it will stand?
It was peaceful down by the river.
As I was admiring the falls and soaking up being next to the roaring water, Jim was busy setting up next to some railroad tracks above the river.
Jim’s a pro. He found a perfect spot in the sun with a nice flat rock to use as an outdoor ham shack.
He’s my outdoor QRP radio sensei and he’s a pro at working as many bands as possible in a short amount of time.
Today would turn out to be one of his best days ever with respect to other operators able to hear his signal. Propagation was superb and he was racking up the QSOs.
Here he is working his first contact. Years ago Jim was a TV news producer and helped create lots of news video, but as you’ll soon see, he doesn’t like to be on the other side of the lens.
I After shooting the above video, I wandered north up the railroad track about 150 feet and set up.
Here I am just before I make my sole QSO with G4MLW. Photo credit: Jim Cluett – W1PID
I’ve got a dandy HB-1B and was only able to work 20 and 40 meters.
Twenty meters was quite active, but for some reason many of the stations I could hear well, they couldn’t hear me. Jim thought it was my piece-of-crap 3-foot BNC cable that connects my radio to my par-EndFedz antenna.
He could be right.
I was trying to hunt and pounce and all of a sudden I heard a station BOOMING into me. It was Ian from England – G4MLW.
He was going much faster than I could copy, but I got part of his call sign the first time.
He came right back to me giving me a 559 signal report and I clearly copied his name.
I responded with a 599 as his signal was so strong it was as I was sitting next to him in his shack.
I asked him to repeat his call sign and he did.
By that time Jim had wandered up the track and took one of my ear buds. He was able to hear, with ease, Ian’s call sign.
I barely avoided the skunk, but the glorious WX made up for my dismal performance.
Winter is just around the corner and you can probably count on one hand the number of great days like today that we might get out to do more outdoor radio.
Here are the easy steps, as of October 2015, to add a ham radio call sign as part of your name at the very top of your Facebook page.
See my call sign just after my name? Both are in the red oval.
Facebook calls what you see between the ( ) a nickname. They also call it all sorts of other things in a drop-down list. For example, you may want your maiden name to appear after your name.
Here’s how to get your call sign to show up.
Go to your primary account page and click the About text link.
Once you’re at that page, in the left column select the phrase: Details About You.
See it just above in that screenshot?
When you click it, you’ll see what you see above. Look at the lower right corner where the blue + is and it says: Add a nickname, a birth name …..
Click that and you get the following image:
See the drop-down list box right to the left of the red arrow tip?
Make sure it says “Nickname“.
Type in your call sign in the box just below where you now see “What’s your nickname?”.
Be sure it’s correct.
Click the SAVE CHANGES blue rectangle and get back on the air and make a few QSOs.
It’s that easy!
IMPORTANT AUTHOR’S NOTE: Please be aware that Facebook is constantly changing their interface and rules. You MAY have to do a few things differently to get the same result I did. I can’t keep coming back here to adjust my instructions to match their whims at any given time.
The Beginners Guide can be found after the following story. I encourage you to read the story first and look at the photos before reading the Beginners Guide. The Beginners Guide was last revised on October 22, 2017.
Tim Carter – W3ATB
The Head of the Charles Regatta is a world-class public service event for any amateur radio operator. It all started in 1965 and it’s held in Boston, MA every October.
Here’s how the organizers of the event describe it at their website:
“Since its origin in 1965, the Head Of The Charles® Regatta has welcomed the world’s best crew teams to the banks of the Charles River for the ultimate two-day rowing competition.”
I’ve worked quite a few public service events, including the Boston Marathon and if you’re an amateur operator that wants to challenge your skills, the Head of the Charles is one you don’t want to miss.
Yesterday, October 16, 2015, I worked the regatta for the first time. I was out on the wind-swept water of the Charles River in an odd open fiberglass pontoon boat as part of a three-man team. My tactical call sign was Safety Launch 3.
You can see a few of the odd open pontoon boats docked here at the MIT boathouse. A crew is pulling into the dock from an early practice on the water. Photo credit: Tim Carter – W3ATB
Amateur radio operators provide critical communications during the event in case crew members tumble into the cold waters of the Charles River and need to be rescued.
I’ll share my story of the day’s events and then I’ll provide you with invaluable tips that I wish I had known about prior to arriving in Boston.
Departure Time – 5:30 AM
While the competition is a two-day event, the hundreds of teams from around the USA and the world practice on the Friday before the event turning it into a three-day event for the hundreds of volunteers like me.
I decided to only work the practice day to get my feet wet. I’m glad I did because all volunteers need to be present for 6:00 AM meetings at the various boathouses dotting the shoreline of the infamous Charles River on the two competition days.
On the Friday practice day, that arrival time is pushed back to 8:30 AM. I decided that I’d leave my central New Hampshire home at 5:30 AM so I’d arrive in Boston just after 7:30 AM. It’s only a one hour and fifty-minute drive so I thought I’d pad in some time for rush hour.
Since I rarely drive into Boston on a work day morning, I discovered that the commuters must leave their homes at 4:00 AM to try to avoid the snarled roadways that feed into the metropolis.
Stressed out after three, not two, hours of fighting stop-and-go traffic I pulled into an empty parking spot at the MIT boathouse in the famous Basin of the Charles River.
This is the correct boathouse to meet at. Note it’s on the upstream side of the bridge. There’s another boathouse on the downstream side of the bridge. I’m hoping my Beginners Guide inspires the event organizers to make better use of satellite images and custom Google maps that have exact icons showing exactly where certain positions are on the course. Look below at a sample of a custom map I created for the Finish Line area complete with photos of what you’ll see when you stand in the location of one of the custom icons.
It’s just upriver from the Route 2A bridge that spans the waterway soon to be clogged with hundreds and hundreds of the sleek sculls. I discovered I had to move my truck to a parking lot about a half mile away, but that had to wait until after the brief organizational meeting down next to the dock in the boathouse.
The boathouse was clogged with volunteers of all sorts getting other volunteers checked in. Safety launch boats and other launches were being readied for the day.
Many of the launches were manned by women and men who’s job it was to try to keep the sculls from crashing into one another along the three-mile section of the Charles River where the regatta takes place.
As the day progressed I discovered these other launches would be anchored near bridges and tight turns in the river. Using megaphones the workers would alert the crews and coxswain about impending danger.
Visibility at the arched bridges that span the Charles can be limited as late in the day an eight-person scull nearly crashed into the launch I was in as we both entered, from different directions, a bridge archway.
WX – The Ham Acronym for Weather
The weather forecast for Boston yesterday was spot on. It was cloudy and windy in the morning. The air temperature was in the mid 50’s F, but there was a stiff 15 mph wind whipping across the water from the west. It felt much much colder than it was. A passing light rain shower happened just before 9 am and I was fretting being out in the rain all day.
Here are the flags that flew from a pole attached to the seat of my launch. You can see how cloudy it was and the pennants are unfurled flapping in the stiff wind. Photo credit: Tim Carter – W3ATB
As the morning passed, the sun made a welcome appearance and it was quite sunny until sunset. The wind didn’t let up all day although it was much stronger in the morning than the afternoon.
The weather almanac shows it reached 61 F in the afternoon, but I was wearing long underwear and four layers of clothes on my body core and was just barely warm enough. You can’t bring too many clothes to this event.
Here’s what the weather looked like after lunch. It was a great day on the water. Photo credit: Tim Carter – W3ATB
Puttering Along
Each safety launch is assigned a section of the regatta course to patrol. There were only five safety launches out on practice day, but on Saturday and Sunday there are usually no less than ten or more of the funny open pontoon boats scattered on the Charles River.
Our captain, Kevin, was an experienced pilot and this was his third year working the event. We kept to the Cambridge (north) side of the river and hugged the shore because some lane buoys were often just 100 feet, or less, from the shoreline.
Here’s Kevin checking out the launch controls before we left the dock. Photo credit: Tim Carter – W3ATB
We spent the day motoring at no-wake speed going up and down the river always scanning the rowers looking for someone who was in trouble. Fortunately no one ended up in the water all day. That’s what we, as volunteers, want. No medical emergencies were reported all day. That’s also a good thing.
Radio Traffic
The radio operators in charge of the event set up three different frequencies to handle the radio traffic. Two of them utilized local repeaters and the third frequency was a local simplex radio-to-radio frequency.
Signal propagation can change from day to day and hour to hour. We discovered that the Bravo – or secondary repeater – produced a much better clarity so all of us switched to it by Noon.
Here I am with wind-swept hair. The Weeks Bridge is in the background. It’s just down river from the historic Harvard Boathouse. Photo credit: Patrick the BC student First Aid crew member
I was equipped with two Yaesu VX-7R hand-held radios. Both had the three frequencies pre-programmed into the memory. That makes it easier to switch from one of the three frequencies we were using.
What it’s Like on the Water
It’s hard to describe what it’s like being on the water and watching the sculls go faster than the launch.
That’s why I taped a video. Watch it:
End of Day
The crews vacate the river after the sun sets. Each safety launch is released from duty once their section of the river is clear of the sculls.
We pulled into the dock at the MIT boathouse as twilight was deepening. I turned in my life preserver and Kevin and I walked the half mile back the parking lot where we could saddle up and head home.
He had a two-hour drive back to CT and I was headed north up I-93 to central New Hampshire.
I thoroughly enjoyed my day at the event and will be back next year. If you’re an amateur radio operator, I encourage you to volunteer. You’ll be a better person in many respects if you do, and you’ll get a handsome jacket or down vest and hat for your efforts.
The Amateur Radio Operator’s Beginner’s Guide to the Head of the Charles Regatta
If you’ve never worked the Head of the Charles (HOC) Regatta as a ham radio operator, the following should help you.
IMPORTANT BEGINNER TIP:If you’re a new ham operator and have never worked a public service event the scope of the Head of the Charles, by all means request to be paired up for the day with a seasoned operator. There’s NO SHAME in doing this. It will relieve your anxiety and it may save someone’s life if you were to panic in an emergency situation while alone. I’ve seen it happen.
Assignments
There are two types of assignments:
onshore
on-the-water in a safety launch
The list of assignments for 2017 was:
net control – experienced hams that make up the Communications Committee
Red Cross 1
State Police UCC
Umpire
Magazine Beach plus three walking teams
Weld Bridge plus three walking teams
Reunion Village
Harvard Boathouse plus one walking team
CBC plus two walking teams
Finish Line plus three walking team
Northeastern Boathouse – (first aid tent near corner of playground 500 yards downstream of the actual boat house)
Thirteen Safety Launch boats on the water – (there are only five on Friday practice day)
The walking teams include a ham operator and first aid volunteers to offer assistance should a scull capsize near a shoreline. They can provide initial care and call for more help if a paramedic is needed.
Finish Line Area
Here’s a sample map I made to show a few of the radio communications positions. The giant parking lot you’ll see in gray is filled with countless sculls and their trailers.
Click the tiny arrow box in the upper left corner of the below map to see the slide-out legend that explains what each of the colored icons represents. Click a few of the icons to see actual photos of what it looks like when standing at that position.
Parking in Boston and Cambridge can be a challenge. The universities seem to provide parking passes for a few parking lots near key meeting locations.
I was able to park in an approved lot about 1/3 of a mile from the MIT boathouse. It was a short walk and quite safe.
Parking for any assignment near the Finish Line is available at some businesses along Western Ave just a short walk from the giant finish-line area where the crews store their sculls.
You have to pay for these spots. I paid $30 to park in 2017. It was well worth it knowing that I would not get towed from a public street-parking location. If you decide to park on any street, pay very close attention to the signage and times parking is permitted.
My guess is it might cost you $250 or more to get your car back if it gets towed.
I parked at the Skating Club of Boston on Western Avenue when I worked at the Finish Line in 2017. There’s a convenient foot bride at the western edge of the parking lot that allows you to cross over Soldiers Field Road safely.
Here’s a handy Google Maps satellite image of part of the Finish Line area. The magenta arrow points to where I parked my car at the Skating Club of Boston. You enter the lot off Western Avenue. The red arrow points to the foot bridge that crosses Soldiers Field Road and dumps you into the giant gray parking lot. The yellow arrow points to the trailer and Red Cross area that makes up the Finish Line. On race weekend that giant parking lot and all the grass area in the park next to the river is filled with hundreds of sculls. Copyright 2017, Google, Inc.
The ramp dumps you out in the southwest corner of the massive parking lot where all the sculls are stored on trailers.
Walk across to the northeast corner of the parking lot to get to the Finish Line.
If you work on the Saturday and Sunday you should never have an issue getting into Boston at 5:30 AM to make your 6 AM meeting time.
If you work the Friday practice day as I did, plan for SEVERE traffic congestion within a 10-mile radius of the regatta course. It took me an hour to go the last ten miles of my journey.
Take extra time before the event to acquaint yourself with the exact location of the parking lots and how to navigate the dreadful one-way roads in Cambridge and Boston.
Add in enough time to walk from the parking lots to your assigned meeting place.
Request Screenshots For Meeting Locations
Don’t trust Google Maps to provide you with the correct location for any names and/or addresses of the places the ham organizers tell you to be at for morning meetings. Google Maps sent me to the wrong MIT boathouse down river from the correct one.
Request from the communication team leaders satellite maps from Google Maps like the one below that has an annotation oval or arrow showing you the exact meeting places / parking lots / etc.
Clothing
I’m told past regattas have ranged from hot to snow, sleet and driving rain. Only a tiny handful of radio operators would be under any sort of cover for the day.
If you’re out on the regatta course, you’ll have NO COVER. The safety launch boats are wide open like a row boat.
If it’s raining, plan that you’ll be out in the rain all day.
If you get wet and cold, you’ll be useless to the crews in the sculls.
Wind is an issue. It cuts like a knife coming across the water.
The seasoned workers I saw had some or all of this:
highly water-resistant ski pants / jackets
rubber boots to keep feet dry
special fisherman overalls to keep legs and body core DRY
many multiple layers
waterproof shoes or work boots
knit hat
gloves
sun glasses
Whatever clothes you bring must fit in a backpack you can carry all day. Store extra clothes in waterproof bags inside the back pack. There’s plenty of room on the safety launches for large backpacks or even a duffle bag if that’s what you want to carry.
Food / Drink
Lunch is provided by the HOC event organizers. It was delivered to those of us who were out on the water. I suspect the same held true for all the other land assignments.
However, you may get it at 11 am or at 2:30 pm. Bring your own food for the day just in case.
Bring snack food.
Bagels and doughnuts were provided at some of the early-morning meetings. I took two extra bagels and put them in my backpack. I was glad to have them as I had eaten breakfast at 5 AM. They made for a great mid-morning snack.
There may not be a morning meeting at all if you’re assignment is onshore. You may find expensive vendor food and $4-per-cup coffee at any number of vendor tents.
Radios & Gear
Hand-held radios work fine for this event.
I brought two of my expensive Yaesu VX-7R radios on the safety launch. That was a risky gamble in case there was a catastrophic accident aboard my launch.
It might have been smarter to bring two Baofeng $30 radios that could sleep with the fish at the bottom of the Charles River in the event I and the radios tumbled into the water.
Losing a favorite high-performance HT overboard would not be a pleasant experience.
I should have brought one of my Baofengs to see how well it performed. My guess is it would have had no trouble hitting the two repeaters.
Test Your Radios
Test your radios as you walk from the parking lot to the morning meetings to ensure you have programmed in the correct frequencies and settings.
BRING YOUR RADIO MANUALS or download a digital copies into your smart phone.
If you’re on a safety launch, attach a flotation pillow or put some bubble wrap inside your backpack. You want it to float in case your backpack ends up in the Charles River. Be sure there’s a name tag on your back pack.
Store your secondary radio in a sealed zip-lock freezer bag so it’s waterproof. Put some air in the bag to help your backpack float.
Speaker microphones come in handy.
Do NOT use VOX.
Check your radio to ensure it’s not sending out the 1750 Hz burst tone.
Geography
It’s very important for you to know where you are at all times. If there’s an emergency, you can bet the first thing net control will ask you is,”WHERE is the EMERGENCY?”
If you’re on a safety launch, ask the pilot if he knows the names of all the bridges. The pilots are given very detailed maps of the regatta course and I’m certain the maps show each bridge name
You need to know the names of the bridges if you’re on a safety launch. You need to know where you are if you’re on a walking team.
You need to communicate which side of the river you are on. If unsure, say “upstream” or “downstream” side of the bridge you’re at.
You need to know distances. How many feet or yards are you away from a bridge? Always be aware if you are up or down river from a certain bridge.
You need to know what side of the Charles River you’re on, or the nearest shoreline. It will either be the Boston or Cambridge side. Boston is on the south side of the river. Cambridge is on the north side of the river.
If you provide the wrong location for where the emergency is, precious moments could be lost that could make the difference between life and death for a crew member.
Attitude
Bring a great attitude with you and soak up the excitement, youth and vitality of the crews and the many sculls on the water at once.
Remember always that the crews and event organizers are quite aware of your presence even if they don’t say a word to you. They appreciate your efforts to keep them SAFE.
They realize you’re there to HELP them in the event something goes wrong. Don’t expect anyone to thank you, but if it happens it’s icing on the cake.
Respect the operators at net control and keep the frequencies open at all times as you never know when a full-blown emergency can happen.
If you have questions or if you’re a seasoned operator who’s worked this event, please ask questions in the comments below or provide MISSING INFORMATION or TIPS there.
Thanks and enjoy yourself when you work this event in the future.
Yesterday was the2015 Flight of the Bumblebees. It’s a fun short contest put on by the Adventure Radio Society. Richard Fisher, KI6SN does most / all of the heavy lifting to make it happen. For that, I and many other hams who participate, are grateful.
“So you’re going out to be a bumblebee? What’s that all about?”
My wife Kathy was snickering as she said it. She loves poking fun at me, all of it in good spirit. That’s how it is after nearly 41 years of marriage.
“Well, just as bumblebees go away from their nests to gather pollen, so we radio bumblebees travel outdoors to gather QSOs.”
It was the best analogy I could come up with on the fly.
I was late leaving my house as the contest was already underway for 50 minutes.
No doubt my CW and outdoor radio mentor Jim Cluett, W1PID, had already scored twenty or more QSOs. He’s so very good at outdoor radio and can hear Morse at up to speeds of 35 words per minute (WPM) or so. I’m a pathetic 10 WPM on my best day.
But I’m having fun and getting better all the time. I just need to spend more time doing it. Jim has a 57-year head start on me. But I digress.
To be a bumblebee you need to be outdoors. The weather here in central New Hampshire was dismal. It was cloudy and rain felt like it could fall at any time. The cloud ceiling was well below 1,000 feet.
I had decided to drive to a 90-acre parcel I own and operate from the top of a grand hill. There I could erect a sloper antenna pointing to the west and southwest where most of the other bees would be.
My plan was to get up there, set up, get a Q or two and then call Jim to come up and work with me. He lives just twenty minutes away. That’s a short drive in central NH!
But Jim must have ESP. He foiled my scheme!
(Imagine Morse code ring tone now of: W1PID)
“What’s up?” I was in shock he was calling me and I was only on the road for about ten minutes.
“What are you doing? I’ve been operating for nearly 40 minutes and having virtually no luck.”
“I’m on my way to my land to set up.”
“WHAT? And you didn’t call me?”
“I was going to call you once I was up there and set up with a couple of Q’s under my belt. You can’t be a bumblebee operating at home you know! Why don’t you come up and join me?”
“I’ll be there in 30 minutes.”
I was both happy and disappointed at the same time – disappointed that my plan had been spoiled.
It turns out that happiness ruled the rest of the day.
Once up at my land, it took virtually no time to set up my par EndFedz multi-band 10/20/40-meter antenna as a sloper. The top end of the antenna was a good 30 feet in the air and the matchbox end with my RG-174 coax cable was about 8 feet off the ground.
I had it sloping to the SSW.
Jim arrived just as I was about to move my truck so I could extend the coax cable into the cab. The mosquitos were thick and hungry and it seemed it could pour at any moment.
“Are you just putting your stuff away?” Jim knew better.
“No, I’m just getting set up. I only had a 15-minute head start to get here once you called me.”
Within a few moments we were on the air with my trusty HB-1B.
We tried my little portable speaker so we both could listen, but the internal battery was low and it was causing all sorts of RF with the radio. Out came the earbuds and we each shared one.
20 meters was alive.
“Wow, I couldn’t hear ANYTHING at my house. This setup on the hill is making a big difference.”
Within two minutes I had worked K4BAI.
Hah, I say “I” but it was “us”.
Jim was logging and using his SUPERIOR listening skills to capture call signs and all else the first time.
It normally would take me a few minutes to *hear* a fellow ham’s call sign as I often can only get one letter or two in a string at a time.
Jim has often scolded me about me sending kelp to someone who’s in distress needing *help*.
We were both in the truck cab laughing and having a great time.
Within ten minutes we had another Q. N9A
It was then time for a break. Often during breaks we shoot guns.
When we had our fill of lead and smoke, we operated again.
I switched to 40 meters and BOOM there was N3AO.
“That’s Carter!” Jim was talking about Carter Craige, the husband of the president of the ARRL, Kay Craige. Jim and Carter are old friends and I got to meet him last summer at the ARRL Centennial Convention.
I sent him my call, but he didn’t recognize it.
Jim took my micro Pico paddles after I signed off with Carter and all of a sudden they stopped sending dah.
The cable had gone bad.
How experienced is Jim? He immediately put the paddle on it’s side and used the dit side as a straight key to complete the QSO with Carter.
I was in awe.
I dug into my plastic box and pulled out a spare cable to make the Pico paddles work again.
We then worked N4HAY – I say we, but it was all Jim as he heard him first time.
By then it was time to pack up and leave.
I have to say that yesterday was in the top three of all my outdoor outings with Jim. I had a blast and felt good about hearing lots of what was sent by the other hams.
I’ll never be as good as Jim, well maybe I will, but it doesn’t matter.
What matters at the end of the day is just friendship and having fun – no matter what the speed.
Author’s Note: I do have a goal to get to 18-20 WPM. When I’m really proficient at that speed, I’ll be ordering an Elecraft KX3 as a present for myself.
Today I found myself in western Maine helping to get communications set up for a world-class racing event – the New England Forest Rally.
I was with two fellow hams, Mark Kerrigan – K1MLK, and Ryan Freise – KB1VLC. We had to drive from the Sunday River ski resort in Newry, ME up past Errol, NH to a narrow gravel road the racers would zoom down on Saturday July 18, 2015.
We were there to pinpoint the start and finish lines and the places where radio operators would observe the race. The day was drop-dead gorgeous.
Blue sky, low humidity and temperatures in the mid 70’s F.
By noon our mission was complete and I had the rest of the day free.
On the way from Sunday River, we passed through Grafton Notch State Park. I saw a sign for Screw Auger Falls and decided that’s where I was going to eat lunch and operate. The falls are in the Bear River that starts at the head of the notch.
It turned out to be a wise decision.
This natural wonder was created by the retreating continental glacier about 12,000 years ago.
On this day I shared this magical place with families with small children who splashed and played in the crystal-clear water flowing down Bear River towards the falls.
I’d say at least thirty or forty people were at or around the falls, but I found a place on the bare bedrock just above the falls where I could eat lunch listening to the water bounce off the majestic rock.
The solid granite resembled carved wood with the smooth grooves cut by the moving water those thousands of years ago.
The paper cup is for scale. There were many other areas where the granite was shaped by the moving water containing sand and gravel. Photo credit: Tim Carter
While eating lunch I pondered what the sound must have been like when the giant glacier was melting and cutting away at the dense rock. How much water was flowing down over the bedrock? Was it like Niagara Falls of today? Was it even bigger? Who knows.
I also thought about my very good friend and mentor Jim Cluett, W1PID. Here I was on my first real solo outdoor radio adventure. There’s no doubt he would have loved this place and I said a prayer that I would not get skunked. That’s my goal now when I go out.
No skunks. I had plenty of time on this brilliant afternoon, so I was feeling good about keeping any skunks in the adjacent woods.
I was anxious to operate and wanted to get away from all the people. I walked up a trail into the woods and there were private eating areas along the Bear River with very nice picnic tables right at the edge of the small river’s banks.
The trees around each table created delightful privacy. Photo credit: Tim Carter
Each table was perhaps 60 feet from the other with plenty of trees to provide privacy.
I found an empty one with a perfect tall birch tree to accept my par EndFedz 10/20/40M antenna.
My first throw was perfect but my microcord line came undone from my special backpack retention hook and dangled in the air 9 feet above me. Drat!
I pulled down the line and three minutes later had my halyard up in the tree at the perfect distance for my 20-meter antenna height. The wire hung perfectly vertical next to the table.
Within minutes I had my HB-1B radio out with the micro Pico iambic paddles and my mini speaker attached. All of this fits into a tiny water-resistant plastic box.
Once I was set up and turned on the radio, I thought something was wrong. I heard absolutely no signals across the entire portion of the 20-meter band my license privileges allow me to work.
I decided to go down to the low part of the band just above 14.025 Mhz. That’s where the pros are and maybe, just maybe, one might work me if he heard me.
I started to call CQ. I did it for ten minutes and there was nothing. No answer – nothing.
I rotated the tuning dial and went higher up.
Once again, I called CQ for probably eight minutes.
I got nowhere fast.
I then decided to go back down to 14.025.20.
All of a sudden someone answered back!
K1DW
His signal to me was very strong. The only issue was he was sending Morse code a little bit faster than my brain could process it.
I had his call sign correct. Of that there was no doubt.
I gave him a 589 signal report and he gave me a 389.
Alone there at the picnic table I savored not getting skunked.
When you operate outdoors as I do, so many things are against you.
But on this day, I walked back to my truck pleased. I had newfound confidence that I can just about get a contact from anywhere at anytime.
As Kenny Chesney says in his famous hit song, “Only time will tell, but it ain’t talkin’.”
On Friday, July 10, 2015 I was loading up a few last-minute things into my Super Duty Ford F-250 4×4 truck. At 8:00 a.m. I was supposed to pick up my good friend Jim Cluett, W1PID, at his home.
We were then off to Lobstercon! This event has been happening for nearly twenty years and it’s a cozy gathering of ham radio operators that prefer to use 5 watts or less of power when transmitting. Sometimes some operators nuzzle up to 10 watts.
In ham radio, low-powered operation is referred to as QRP. That’s a Q-sign meaning reduce power when transmitting.
I arrived at Jim’s house a little early. That’s always a good idea because his watches and clocks run about 15 minutes fast for some reason.
He was ready to go and his sweet wife Judy was helping us load up his gear and food. Little did I know at this point how much delicious food and fresh fruit she had packed for our little-man-self-discovery trip.
As we made the turn to get on I-93 south, I said, “We’re going the scenic way. I don’t feel it’s a good idea to drive south to Miami only to then turn around to drive north to Maine.”
“It’s not Miami. It’s Concord,” Jim said.
Going to Concord would allow us to use roads that are rated for higher speeds, but Google Maps told me that the route I picked would get us there at the same time with less mileage.
Chatter filled the truck and the time passed faster than a bat swoops through the air.
By 10:45 a.m. we had arrived at the Thomas Point Beach Campground, the center of the vortex of Lobstercon. It was a handsome campground with fine manicured large lawns and many lofty trees that provided lots of shade and some pine pitch.
“Turn left here and drive past those trees. We want to camp over there as far away as we can from the others.”
Jim was instructing me based on his past experiences at this festive event. This was my first time at Lobstecon and I was worried if there was some crazy initiation for first-time attendees.
Within a few minutes I had my tent up, but I had it pointed the wrong direction. It had been 40 years since I had really camped and slept in a small tent, so it was going to be a re-learning experience for sure.
Here’s the tent. It set up in just minutes. Much faster than Jim set up his. CLICK the photo to order one!
I had a swell Eureka two-man tent with a wonderful rain fly. I bought it nearly twenty years ago for a father / daughter Girl Scout camping trip. For some reason the trip never happened and the tent had been stored safely for all that time.
Once we had our tents up, we went exploring to see who was there.
The first person I met was Carl Achin, WA1ZCQ. He has a forty-three-year-old orange tent he sleeps in and it was set up right in the middle of a large grassy area.
He’s a very sociable person and told me all about his thin antenna up in the air and the *white reflector* on the ground. Most other people would have called the white wire laying on the ground a counterpoise. But I digress.
I got to meet Seab, AA1MY and his lovely wife Sharon. They were camping for a week and had a very cute small teardrop trailer that was ultra-compact. It have a delightful screened vestibule that would easily accommodate four chairs and a small table.
Soon it was time for lunch and Jim and I went back to our camp site.
“Judy made you a sandwich.”
Oh my was I hungry and it was delicious. It was a vegetarian medley inside a pita bread. Boy did it hit the spot. I really loved the wonderful brown waxed paper it was wrapped in.
We then ate a few delicious cookies made by Judy.
The afternoon was spent visiting with many of Jim’s radio buddies and I got to meet all sorts of radio icons and titans in the QRP.
The plan was to go to Cook’s famous restaurant at the end of Route 24 on Bailey Island just the other side of the world-famous crib bridge between Bailey and Orr’s Islands.
About twelve people went to dinner here from the campground and Jim and I sat at a table with Dave Benson, K1SWL and his wonderful wife Katie.
As we ate dinner the sun was getting low in the sky. This is when the color temperature is very warm and the crib bridge looked simple stunning.
After we ate, we raced down to Land’s End where Route 24 stops at the sea.
It’s a very popular spot and some other locals or tourists were there too.
Here’s Land’s End at Route 24 on Bailey Island. Photo credit: Tim Carter
Jim decided to set up his radio to see what would happen.
The options for an antenna were bleak. He decided to attach his 27-foot wire to the open window of my rear cap. It was just 6 feet off the ground at that point.
The antenna then stretched across some small trees and who-knows-what down to the rocks just by the salt water. I’d say the average height of the antenna above the ground was maybe 4 feet.
There’s Jim working DX to Europe on a wretched antenna! Photo credit: Tim Carter
I was down helping but had to leave because the mosquitos were thick as thieves and hungry.
Within a few minutes, Jim had worked three DX contacts all in Europe. I was astonished that horrible antenna would work. It must have had something to do with the proximity to the salt water.
After getting back to the campground we helped Seab get his sloper antenna soldered and working. We had started the project before dinner.
Just after getting it hooked up, I went back and went to bed. I was beat.
I was restless all night sleeping and although I had a nice inflatable pad, I was not comfortable. It could have been much worse had I just slept on the ground.
At 5 a.m. it was light but a nearby camper decided to fire up his Honda 2000-watt generator. They are renowned for being quiet, but believe me it woke me up and kept me awake.
By 7 a.m. Jim was up and we had a delicious granola and strawberry breakfast courtesy of none other – Judy!
The morning was spent with more visiting and introductions.
The event organizers had a wonderful lunch spread with burgers, hot dogs brats and all sorts of great dressings.
By 3:30 p.m. it was time to head home.
Jim had seen all his friends and I had my fill of the event too.
We didn’t stay for the trademark dinner of lobster – the dish the event is named for.
Perhaps next year!
I recommend you attend Lobstercon 2016 if you want to meet some great people.
Hopefully you’ll run into Arn, K0ZK. Ask him why he doesn’t apply for the vanity call sign K0TNT. It’s a great story.
That’s what I said to Cliff Dickinson, N1RCQ, back a month or so ago about the first public-service ham radio event of the year on the flanks of Mt. Washington. It was time for over 1,200 people to run, run/walk or walk to the top of Mt. Washington with the race set to start at 9:00 a.m.
I knew I’d be busy with re-roofing my home and I also felt there would be other new hams who would want to experience the epic nature of providing emergency communications on the infamous Mt. Washington Auto Road.
But as things turned out, Cliff needed me and I was driving towards the iconic mountain at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday June 20, 2015. It’s a good thing I left a little early because once I was on the north side of Crawford Notch, I got stuck in a quarter-mile backup of runners and other volunteers who were trying to pull into the event.
The day was cool and sunny. It was a rare bluebird day at the rock pile as Mt. Washington is affectionately known by those that work there and visit on a regular basis.
The term comes from the random large rocks that litter the top 1,000 feet or so of the mountain. The continental glaciers weren’t thick enough to completely cover Mt. Washington and carry them away. Normal weathering has left behind the millions of rocks of all shapes and sizes you see towards the top of this magnificent mountain.
I’m at the hairpin turn landmark just below the cow pasture. This turn is about at the 5,550-foot elevation. Photo credit: Tim Carter
The base area of Mt. Washington was a hive of activity. Runners, friends or spouses of runners, volunteers, auto road employees were all bustling about. It’s controlled bedlam.
Hundreds of runners have a friend or family member take a car up to the summit so the runner can have a ride back down after the race. This traffic clogs the auto road from 7:15 a.m. until about 8:30 a.m. After that, the race organizers close down the road to all but authorized support vehicles.
I was stationed at the Hairpin Turn that’s just below the cow pasture near the summit. It’s about 700 feet in elevation below the summit. It’s a little over six miles from the base area to the Hairpin Turn.
This location has a great view out to the northeast and across to a few of the other peaks of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains. You’re at the top of what they call the Great Gorge.
I’m reasonably sure this it Mt. Jefferson with Mt. Clay off to it’s left. Yes, that’s a patch of snow still hanging around. Photo credit: Tim Carter
My favorite part of an event on Mt. Washington is what I call the lull.
After the auto road closes but before the race begins, it’s just you and the mountain. On this particular bright and clear day, it was truly food for the soul.
The lull lasts longer the higher you are on the mountain. In my case it took the lead runner about 45 minutes to make it up to my location.
I usually ask to be higher up on the mountain for this reason, plus I enjoy the views when the weather cooperates.
Not only was it cloud-free – a rarity at this weird weather location – but it was unusually calm. There was not much wind. That’s even more rare.
This particular day it was peaceful, serene and quiet. It was just me and a black spider that must have had some roadrunner DNA in it because he could scatter over the blacktop like a quarter horse.
Before the race begins, it’s a normal practice for the net control operator to perform a roll call to make sure all the other radio operators are ready and the radio signals are strong. Each operator chimed in when called and some talked about food. I was fixated on pulled pork for some reason.
The race began and within an hour runners of all ages were huffing and puffing their way past me.
Here’s a group of runners clawing their way to the top. The photo really doesn’t show well the steepness of the inside part of the hairpin turn. Photo credit: Tim Carter
The Hairpin Turn location is a mentally tough part of the course for many runners. The grade at the inside part of the turn, the line most runners take, approaches 25 percent or more. By the time most runners get to this point, they’re exhausted and each step is an effort.
One woman was eternally grateful I took a crushed empty paper cup she got from the last water stop.
“Oh, thank you so much. Each gram of weight I can get rid of helps me make it to the top.”
A silly paper cup. How much does an emptypaper cup weigh? Maybe a half an ounce? But after six grueling miles, to the average runner, it may seem like 50 pounds.
Many of the runners groaned or lamented out loud when they saw they had to grind their way up and past this short and steep part of the course.
As I watched each runner looking for signs of distress, my biggest takeaway was determination and goal setting.
Here’s George Etzweiler in the beige shirt on the right. His son has his hands on his hips. If George can walk or climb to the top of Mt. Washington at age 95, you know you can do things you thought impossible. Photo credit: Tim Carter
George made it to the top grunting with each exhaled breath. How bad did he want to finish? What was his level of determination?
Not too far behind George was the last competitor. I don’t know her name. But she did finish the race and she was all alone doing it.
Here she is, number 174. She’s all alone in her thoughts trudging up the last mile. That’s me and my truck to the right. I was getting ready to snap the next photo you’ll see. Photo credit: Cliff Dickinson GoPro camera
I don’t know about you, but I’m going to use this race as inspiration to finish all sorts of projects, many of which have nothing to do with physical exercise. I believe it’s all about mental toughness at the end of the day.
Here’s my photo of number 174. Now you get an idea of how steep the inside part of the Hairpin turn is. Can you imagine how your mind would be screaming at you to STOP? Photo credit: Tim Carter
The last runner, and just about every runner that day on Mt. Washington, decided she wasn’t going to give up and her legs obeyed willingly.
Good for her, George and all others who displayed such strong mental fortitude!
What are you going to finish now? Tell me in the comment section below.
Livermore Falls is just 500 feet upstream (behind me and over my left shoulder as I shot this photo) from this very rare lenticular arch bridge. It was built by the Berlin Iron Bridge Company based in East Berlin, CT in 1886 for a total cost of $7,100. Wrought iron was used instead of today’s more ductile steel. This bridge employed a unique Pratt truss with bowed upper and lower iron chords. It used to have cars go across the top. There was a smaller span to the left – see postcard image below – but it was removed by a scrap dealer back in 1959. Legend has it that the scrap dealer lost a piece of heavy demolition equipment taking down the smaller east span. As that section fell into the abyss, the machinery tumbled down into the gorge. The contractor then abandoned the job and the main span still stands to this day. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter.
The hot temperatures today gave me a chance to do a much-needed outdoor radio adventure with Jim, W1PID at the stunning Livermore Falls located in a deep gorge of metamorphic rock sliced in two by the Pemigewasset River.
Livermore Falls Features the Pumpkin Seed Lenticular Arch Bridge
Livermore Falls are located within the town limits of Campton, New Hampshire in central New Hampshire. Travel north out of Plymouth, New Hampshire along the west side of the Pemi as the locals call it, and you’ll most probably hear them.
I’m re-roofing my house and it’s so hot on the roof after 10 a.m. when the sun’s out, I’ve decided for my own safety and sanity to work early morning and late afternoon unless it’s cloudy. Today was a therapeutic day of outdoor radio for the soul.
Livermore Falls is a great spot for young people who come to swim and swing from a long rope tied to an old rusty bridge splashing into the cool deep water of the Pemi as locals call it. You can see the normal water flow and tranquil nature of the river after it flows under the bridge in the photo at the top of this article.
Here’s an old postcard photo of the famous pumpkin-seed bridge. The photo was taken south of the bridge. You can see the secondary lenticular shorter truss that extends to the east shoreline. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
However, the Pemi can transform into a raging beast when a hurricane or monster Nor’easter produces vast amounts of rain in a short time. Watch the video just below to see why you’d not want to be near Livermore Falls when this happens. This footage was captured on the morning of October 30, 2017 just after a monster Nor’easter lashed all of New Hampshire.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This video was shot standing at the exact same spot as I was standing when I shot the photo at the top of this article. Pay close attention to the water flowing through the rampart notches in the foundation of the old mill around 0:10 to 0:13. Then go up to the photo and look at the same notches in the lower right of the photo. My guesstimate is the river was 20 feet higher, or more, than what it is at normal flow.
You know if this bridge could talk it would have scores of great stories. Imagine what it could say about some of the times the river was raging below trying to sweep the iron away.
Today I was fishing for some DX above the frothy water and barely avoided a skunk even though the 20-meter band was pulsating from dead to alive much like blobs float around in a lava lamp.
Jim set up in the sun about 100 feet away in the hot sun under his new dipole antenna. With his multi-band Elecraft KX3 he worked Russia, Israel, and Italy. I was restricted to 20 meters because I couldn’t get my par EndFedz antenna up as high as I would have liked to take advantage of its 40-meter extra length.
The KX3 gives you so many possibilities with its built-in tuner.
When I first powered up my trusty HB-1B the band was dead. I mean no breath, no signals, no nothing dead-on-arrival DEAD. My radio, on it’s best day, puts out a meager five watts. This is the upper threshold of low-powered radio, better known as QRP.
If you decide to do outdoor QRP radio, you discover in short order that to be successful you need some luck and patience. Today I was looking for a little help from the sun since it wasn’t scalding me on my roof. I needed it to energize the atmosphere just right to help me make a contact or two or three.
But that’s the fun of outdoor radio. You don’t know what you’ll get and so much depends on things you can’t control. This is what makes a completed QSO that much more fulfilling.
I tuned up and down 20 meters and all of a sudden while at 14.060 I heard the faintest CQ being called.
It was Roger, K3RNC from Maryland. He answered me back. After exchanging RST reports, I gave him a generous 359 and he have me a 559, I told him I was QRP.
His response, “QRP ALSO.”
How cool was that?
Here I am moments after my QSO with Roger in Maryland. TNX Roger!
After my QSO I walked up to tell Jim and he was busy working a station. He then got up and came down and put his arm around me.
“What’s that for?” I asked because it’s rare for us men to show affection.
“I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad you made a contact. It’s a fantastic day here,” he replied with a huge grin on his face.
It’s has been an odd spring this year with me gone to Antigua and then coming back working on my roof. What I thought would be lots of outdoor radio days this season has turned into just an outing here and there for me.
I enjoy Jim’s company and I know he does mine even if I still have pitiful slow CW skills. It’s no matter. I’m getting better and I’m having fun. He’s always told me to focus on fun, but keeps saying I’ll have more fun if I’m faster.
Only time will tell, but it ain’t talkin’. Who knows better than Kenny Chesney.
I love everything about Livermore Falls. My college degree is geology and seeing very hard rock resist the cutting action of running water for thousands of years is almost as exciting as making a contact pulling faint radio waves from the ether.
This kind of beauty surrounds Jim and me in NH. Livermore Falls are right there in the center of the photo where the green chainlink fence ends. We’re so lucky to live here. You can see how high the water can get looking at the dead tree impaling the fence and the driftwood above it.
Before I set up, I decided to take a walk to the base of the bridge where it connects to the earth. I wonder how many drivers would go over the bridge again a year ago if they saw how one of the primary piers was supported on stacked slabs of granite!
There’s no substitute for gravity and friction. Copyright 2018 Tim Carter
It’s easy to forget how blessed I am being able to drive just 30 or 45 minutes from my house to countless gorgeous scenic outdoor locations here in New Hampshire.
My guess is tens of thousands of other operators across the world would jump at the chance to do what Jim and I do. I remind myself after each outing to never ever take this beauty for granted.
I’ll do my best to chronicle and share each scenic outdoor adventure with you as they happen. If you have a chance to get outdoors, do it. It’s a completely different amateur radio experience.
On May 14, 2015 I whisked through immigration and customs at the John Bird International Airport in St. John’s, Antigua for the second time in three years.
Business as an expert witness in a trial concerning construction defects in the home of the Brazilian Ambassador drew me to this island that’s part of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea.
I was to spend a week on this tropical island with lots of time to get on the air with my QRP radio, the trusty HB-1B.
Never before had I had the real chance to operate relaxedon the air for hours. It was my chance to hone my beginner skills at CW. It was to be my first time operating next to a giant puddle of salt water which helps radio signals. Believe me, I’d need help!
I was filled with excitement about what might happen in the next seven days, the trial notwithstanding!
The WX
I live in New Hampshire and the winter of 2014-2015 was bitter cold. Spring came late to the great Northeast Kingdom. The morning I flew out of JFK airport, the air temperature in New York City was below 50 F.
Suffice it to say that the hot and humid weather in Antigua was a shock to my system.
Being so close to the equator, the sun’s infrared and ultraviolet rays are intense from 10 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. It was hard to be in the sun in the middle of the day without great discomfort. On the third day there I got sunburned and my new name was Lobster Man.
Need I say more? Wait TEN MINUTES before jumping in pool.
My QTH
I stayed in an older small two-bedroom house that’s just 30 feet from the sea. The owners call this quaint and romantic hut the Love Shack as they have guests stay in it frequently.
This is the Love Shack as it’s called by the owners.
It had a glorious screened-in porch that faces the deep blue and turquoise water, but there was no nearby tree at this end of the abode to put up an antenna.
This is a simple map of the shack in relation to the sea and the tree.
As a result, I operated most of the time on a patio at the other end of the shack.
Most of my contacts happened sitting on this bench. One day a lizard tried to take a bite out of one of my toes here. Bad lizard.
Right next to the patio was a wondrous tree that accepted my micro-cord halyard with no complaints. Once the cord is up in the tree, it’s not an issue to haul up the antenna.
The tree did its job.
Five of the nights I stayed there, I slept on a couch on the porch. It was glorious listening to the waves crash on the rocks.
This is inside the screened porch looking out. You can see there on the left my unmade bed. Life is hard in Antigua.
As you might imagine, it’s pitch black at night down there. The humid air makes it difficult to see lots of stars, but in the middle of the night on May 18th, I saw a brilliant shooting star. It was so vivid and the light so bright I was in awe. It streaked across Boone’s Bay and was the brightest shooting star I’ve ever seen.
I don’t know why I was awake to see it, but I felt it was a sign that my radio fortunes would increase the remainder of the trip.
This is the shore just below the screened porch. I can still hear the gentle waves washing up on the limestone. The tide level each 6 hours rose or fell only about 30 inches is my guess.
Antennas
I brought with me my tested and reliable par EndFedz 10, 20 and 40-meter antenna. It was the workhorse most of the days. This is a marvelous antenna for outdoor radio. The wire is as thin as an uncooked piece of angel-hair spaghetti.
All of my gear that I needed to operate fit into a water-resistant plastic box that’s only 3.5 inches tall, 7 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Isn’t that amazing?
Everything is in this box. The HB-1B is buried down under everything else. The only thing I need to operate is a rock to help get the green micro cord halyard up into a tree. A partially filled water bottle is my weapon of choice.
Less than two weeks before arriving, I also made a resonant center-fed 30-M dipole antenna as the HB-1B is set up for that band.
The first day there I set up my par EndFedz antenna as a sloper in the giant tree. It sloped to the north and it appears that was my best setup during the trip.
On the second day I threw the halyard higher in the tree and achieved a nearly vertical set up with the par. I was able to make contacts, but not as many as with it as a sloper. Propagation could have also been an issue.
On the last day I finally set up my resonant 30-M dipole and it worked quite well. It was a gentle sloper starting high up in the great tree and the other end was close to the screened-in porch. It also sloped to the north.
My License
To operate legally in Antigua, you need to obtain a license from the government. You can read all about that process and how I got my Antiguan call sign V25TB.
The Bands
What’s the old saying? Timing is everything.
The band conditions during the period of May 14 – 20, 2015 were not the best. Add to that the difficulty of operating at a power level of 5 watts or less. Yes, CW can travel quite far with minimal power, but it really helps if propagation is favorable.
I was able to complete a QSO with UT5URW – Andrei in Kiev, Ukraine, so I was thrilled with that. He got the long-distance award!
My outdoor QRP and CW mentor Jim Cluett – W1PID was able to work me several times. I was very excited that I was able to hear him and him me. He’s been eternally patient with my slow and steady, but sometimes backwards, progress in HF and CW. Jim is one of the giants in outdoor radio and has established quite a reputation in the QRP community.
A new friend, Dave Benson – K1SWL who lives in New Hampshire and is an expert at low-power operation, was in my log two times. What a delight that was to work one of the icons of QRP radio!
What I Learned
My biggest takeaway from the experience was it pays to have a longer coaxial cable from the antenna to where you think the best place is to operate. Just before the trip I purchased a 25-foot RG-174 cable. It was fantastic, but a 50-foot one would have had me operating on the screened porch. However, that long cable may have introduced too much loss with my QRP setup.
There are always compromises.
I also came away knowing that I truly love doing CW and am more determined than ever to get better and better. There’s something magical to me about CW. It’s such a basic language when you think about it, but it confounds many.
My attraction to CW is you have to work your brain to understand what you’re hearing and you get to use your hands on the micro Palm Pico paddles to send the dihs and dahs thousands of miles through the ether. As Jim often says, “It’s magic.”
Yes it is. Powerful magic for the soul.
I was also happy for all I was able to work so they would have Antigua as another foreign country in their log books. Antigua is a small country and it’s a third-world country. There can’t be but a handful of amateur operators on the island.
My Log
Here are the four pages of contacts I made while in Antigua. It’s a week I’ll never forget, that’s for sure!
