Since I was small, the outdoors have been a large part of my life. Ham radio is a perfect complement to enjoying nature.
23z/00z Double Activation at a Two-Fer: Butterfield State Trail and True Grit State Trail US-9161/10715
Home at Last to POTA / SOTA Paradise Not everyone has a two-fer trail formed by the state highway at the end of their driveway. Moreover, there’s another POTA site a five-eighths-of-a-mile behind my house along a gravel road (which I’ve yet to activate) plus the Ouachita National Forest (US-4424) which I can see from…
Some Weekday Hunting and Antenna Schemes
My poor ten month old daughter is home under the weather today. It’s nothing too serious but I knew her teachers would send her home and a day with the baby is still a good day even if she’s feeling a bit puny. While she was napping after lunch, I managed to work eleven POTA…
Ottawa State Fishing Lake, K-7420
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,…
A Portable Ham Radio Operations Checklist
Plan for success by having a checklist so that critical pieces of gear aren’t left behind.
Mushroom Rocks State Park, K-2346
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…
A Basic Portable Radio Station for SOTA and POTA Part Two: Batteries
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…
Parks on the Air 101
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…
A Basic Portable Radio Station for SOTA and POTA Part One: Portability and Capability
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…
Saline State Fishing Lake, K-7422
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…
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