Operating on summits, in parks, and backyards.
Ottawa State Fishing Lake, or as it is known to everyone around here, Lake Bennington, is a nice green wooded spot among miles and miles of wheat, sorghum, corn, and cattle. From time to time, I like to drive out here just for the woods that remind me of home. And there’s free primitive camping, […]
Plan for success by having a checklist so that critical pieces of gear aren’t left behind.
What Kansas doesn’t have in forests or mountains, it makes up for in geographical oddities. Mushroom Rocks State Park is only five acres in area and is littered with a collection of sandstone formations that look like eggs on top of pedestals. For a day in February, it was warm so there were lots of […]
In Part One, I wrote about the interaction between portability and capability with a focus on the radio transceiver itself. This time around, I would like to discuss how to pair a battery to your chosen radio. Again, portability and capability are paramount. Batteries are among the heaviest and bulkiest elements of any portable radio […]
POTA, or Parks on the Air, has to be one of the best ways to liven up your ham radio experience. It combines the thrill of making contacts with the refreshment of being outside. I can’t recommend it enough for hams, both new and experienced. Chances are, there’s a park close to you. Choose your […]
All amateur radio stations have the same five basic elements: a transceiver, an antenna, a power supply, a transmitting interface like a key or microphone, and a reception interface like headphones or a speaker. And of course, cables which connect all the aforementioned elements to the radio. There you have it! A complete amateur radio […]
Well, I haven’t been on the air at all in the past six months. My family moved from Arkansas to Kansas back in May. Between moving, house renovations, and my wife and I starting new jobs, there hasn’t been much time for hobbies. When things started to calm down a bit, I looked into getting […]
A long overdue post. This activation took place on 11 April 2021. Spring is in full swing in Arkansas. The mountains are clothed in their green and gold. Best yet, the nights are still cold. I hadn’t been camping since September and this particular weekend in April was going to be one of the few […]
The allure of an unactivated 8 pointer is hard to resist for long. Luckily, I had a four-day weekend during the Thanksgiving holiday so I set my sights on a long dreamed of summit. Potato Hill Mountain is a one-hour drive from my house and I arrived at the end of the forest service road […]
After building up my new antenna, the QRPGuys Portable Multi Band End Fed Half Wave Antenna, I was hankering for an excuse to go try it out. After some plans fell through, I decided that today was the day for this antenna’s maiden voyage. Poteau Mountain is only an hour from my house and required […]
Amateur Radio Station WB0ISG 