Reality check: Poor band conditions lead to a long, challenging park activation!

Click here to read full details about this activation, including all equipment links, at QRPer.com:
qrper.com/2021...
In this video, I mention Julian (OH8STN) although I forgot his call sign and KZbin channel name at the time. Click here to read his notes about mAT-705 Plus battery life:
oh8stn.org/blo...
Again, I have been completely disconnecting my mAT-705 Plus between activation which is probably the reason why I have yet to recharge the mAT-705 Plus. Because I have a remote external ATU at home (at the base of my antennas) I don't employ ATUs in the shack.
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Thanks for watching!
73,
Thomas
K4SWL

[@Relayer1974]

I got a lot of value out of this video! Watching you work through various challenges makes me feel more confident about planning my first CW POTA activation. Thanks!!

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thank you!

[@alanb76]

60 meters was raised to 100W into a dipole equivalent starting March 2012. de w6akb

[@WKMG365]

Watched the whole video! Took me an hour and a half to get to ten the other day. Still a good time. Thanks - Mat K4OCY

[@brentjohnson6654]

Thanks for the video. I enjoy all your videos even though I don’t understand code …yet. Haha. But I do like how you explain things. If I understand the why I can do the necessary things to get’er done. I found your blog and commented on your path to CW. Thanks again for your videos. POTA is what has drawn me back to the hobby. All the best. 73 de KI5HXM

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thanks so much for the comment, Brent! :)

[@zedwarth]

Just started watching your videos today and really enjoying it. Gives me motivation to get licensed. But, wanted to comment because that’s great news about your mom! F@$& cancer!

[@blomidon]

Julian in Finland OH8STN. His KZbin channel is a mine of information. VO1OK

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Funny, but about the time I stopped the video that day, his callsign popped up in my head! :) I linked to his article in the description. Thanks, Thomas K4SWL

[@johnk8091]

I was just thinking to myself - you're going to get the bottom of your 705 scratched on that rock. Then you mentioned it :) I would only put my 705 on a towel/jacket or something soft to keep the bottom of the 705 from being scratched. I also have a Z mount permanently mounted underneath my 705, so my 705 would clear the rock by 2 inches anyway.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Ha ha! Yes, I'm terribly abusive to my field radios. I really need to grab a portable cage or perhaps even make one for the IC-705. No fooling, though: all of my field radios show signs of wear when I'm done with them.

[@mp6448]

Great video! I’d love to get into CW, but I have no idea how to learn it. Any recommendations on how to learn to copy/understand a message?

[@ThomasK4SWL]

One of the best ways is to join the Long Island CW Club. It's an amazing, supportive community that'll take you from zero to 20 WPM. I can't recommend them highly enough: longislandcwclub.org/

[@steveh1130]

Hi Thomas. Good video and great news about your mom!

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thanks so much, Steve! :) Yeah, that news made my year.

[@alexdokic5567]

Hi Tom, Ham radio is a bit like fishing, sometimes you will catch a bucket load and on occasions you will catch nothing! Well done for reminding us to look for power lines. PS still no sign of summer here, cold winds!

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Give summer weather a couple more weeks. Hopefully, it'll kick in! And you're right about the fishing analogy. :)

[@tonyk1amt806]

Nice long video, and yes, I did watch the whole thing. Good video to watch while I was winding torroids for a qrp labs 40m 50watt amp. I generally learn something from each of your videos. This one was no exception, thanks for sharing your cw learning experience, I'm just starting to learn cw and I see persistence pays off. 73 KJ7SHW

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thank you so much, Anthony!

[@stephenw8dbc882]

Thomas, W8DCX, that was me. Yes, I'm new to CW but I had to return my Xiegu G90 for replacement so I 3D printed and cobbled together a straight key for my Kenwood TS-850SAT, the spring popped off so I panicked trying to finish the contact but didn't log that one. If you haven't submitted your logs yet and have time to change I will log, otherwise not a problem, you got 10 without mine anyway. Sorry about that! Should have waited for my replacement Xiegu before doing any more CW. I am looking to buy a decent straight key, just ordered a CW filter for the old Kenwood. 73, W8DBC

[@ThomasK4SWL]

No worries at all, my friend! Once, one of the center posts of my KXPD2 paddles fell off when I was in the field trying to activate. All I could send was dits. Period. This, after I got spotted and people were waiting on me to answer their calls. Other times, people have passed by and started talking to me (hint: I can't do CW and talk simultaneously) and my sending would fall apart. Also, I can't tell you how many times I confuse Ss and Hs, Bs and 6s, Vs and 4s. You did a fine job and I'm proud of you for hopping on the air. I only need to sort out how to re-submit the proper call via the new POTA log format. I've confirmed you on LOTW and Clublog. :) 73 and I look forward to the next contact, OM! Cheers, Thomas K4SWL

[@DaveW6OOD]

The fabric bandaids work well for me. They are more flexible and very sticky. I’m always banging up my hands and I hate wearing gloves.

[@alanb76]

Are Parks on the Air activities on 60 meters okay?

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Absolutely! I use it all the time.

[@potatoslim2332]

Your audio sounded great for the video. I'm still blown away at how good your videos are even though you're "not a youtuber" ; ) Thanks for the videos, you always get my thumbs up.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thank you! 😃

[@rabbit6914]

Wonderful video --- even more interesting when things are not ideal. I do wonder if having the distant end of the antenna on the ground is having a significant effect on it :)

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Possibly some effect, but not enough to make a significant difference. I've learned over the years that in the field, you can make almost any antenna and configuration work. At home, I'm pickier because, of course, the installation is permanent and you want it to be as ideal as possible. That day, it really was about the poor propagation. Thank you for your comment!

[@AndrewMurphy8383]

@@ThomasK4SWL but in teh same time thomas the nets don't own the freq either i seen well hear some one from getting mad at a cw op for working on a cw freq because the guy who got bad was doign digital mode on cw freq and trust me thomas it happen more than you think

[@propagating-radio]

I had the same issues when trying to activate a park yesterday. Was my first POTA attempt ever, and I failed. Better luck next time, I hope.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Yes, you will have better luck next time! Conditions are really, really rough at present. Do a little "propagation dance" before you head out next time. :) You've got this!

[@StuartM0TTQAmateurRadio]

Enjoyed the "epic struggle between man and conditions". I had the video running on one monitor while I did some work on the other and it was very pleasant!

[@ThomasK4SWL]

It was in no way less of a struggle than what that Survivor man does when they drop him in the middle of a deserted island with no provisions! :) Ha ha! I'm glad you made it though and thank you for the kind comment. :) Cheers & 73, Thomas K4SWL / M0CYI

[@BikingHikingRadio]

Always enjoy your videos and I made it into your log. The band was so horrible that day. I was surprised to hear how strong I was actually. As for the MAT - when I have mine in the shack it holds a charge for maybe 2 days. I'm amazed yours is still going on the first charge! 73 de KN3A.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Always good to have you in the logs, OM. Yeah--I fully expect one of these days when I reach the field to find that it's like, "Yeah, dude you pushed it a little too far. I'm worn down." :) 73 de K4SWL

[@JosephAnthonyJosefius]

CW Morse is by far the best way to go with its efficiency for low power. I rarely do SSB with my KX2. Thanks for another awesome video. 73 de AI5DD

[@ralphnunn3]

Yep. I've had activations like that, too. It was 30 meters that saved my bacon on the last one I struggled with. Funny how the contacts all seem to start rolling in at the last second - right as you're about to give up! Also, I think I've learned something, hopefully. I have never been able to get the POTA spot page to pick me up from RBN. I noticed that you had a 'long' CQ call to get that to work. I've always just done CQ POTA DE K7RLN. Unfortunately, that's never worked. So, is that how you get it to work? CQ CQ CQ POTA DE K7RLN K7RLN K7RLN K? If so, I'll give that a try next time.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

It's so funny, isn't it? Once I struggled to get 10 contacts for well over an hour. I sent "QRT de K4SWL" thinking, "As if anyone is listening" then proceeded to work 8 more stations in fairly rapid succession!!!! It was unbelievable and I wish I was doing videos back then. So, yes. The RBN favors those longer CQ calls. With that said, I have also gotten picked up with only "CQ POTA K4SWL" but sent with only a 2-3 second break between CQ calls as I hop on the air. Two things actually happen: the RBN must spot you, then the POTA page must scrape your call, frequency and details from the RBN and combine it with the info in the schedule info you post to the POTA site in advance. Sometimes the POTA RBN scrape functionality is broken and that last step never happens. But, yes, a longer call will be easier for the RBN to pick up, hence the reason I do it in the beginning.

[@michael.speaks]

Did you realize how easily you copied K4KO when he first called, even though he had his speed cranked up really high? That's the secret to improving your CW game. Listen to high speed QSOs. Your brain likes speed.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

I didn't! Thank you for pointing that out.

[@billcosgrave6232]

Actually this is a very good video. Learned a lot.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Thank you so much!

[@JayN4GO]

How do you like that key? I think I like the kx2 better with the key on front. Yeah I’m not a net fan. They wear me out.

[@ThomasK4SWL]

I love the CW Morse Pocket Paddles. I like the KXPD2 paddles as well, but sometimes the center posts loosen and I have to re-tighten them. Not a problem at home, but in the field, it can be a pain. The KXPD2 paddles make it so that I can operate the KX2 on a clip board in my lap--that's a major convenience on SOTA activations!

[@loyannmunyan1174]

I would like to see a ssb voice video and how well that works as I am code illerate working on that maybe eventually will have enough to try it

[@ThomasK4SWL]

I will plan to do that. I have some SSB activations in my video history and I'll often mix in some SSB (if I'm at a site with mobile phone coverage to spot myself).

[@tommcmichael8679]

I made it! Listened to all of it!

[@ThomasK4SWL]

You deserve an award! :)

[@gt3940]

You worked W8DBH in Mi not "X" at the 1:01:31mark or 19:08 utc ? on your log. w8dbx comes up bogus on QRZ. it sounded like he was using a straight key but I did hear "MI" and check your P.O. Box, my care package arrived, so says USPS! I will be working Miliken State Park and Harbor on Tues afternoon 4/24/21 (20-22 utc) K-1522 & K-6823 with the Chameleon Delta Loop hoping to work a few VE3's & VE2" and of course 4 and 8 calls , on 40 CW, wrked KY the other day on testing the setup. Your video on that antenna and google maps confirm that the Delta Loop is NVIS on 40M & not so much on 20m. I'm going to use it with the ALPHA-DELTA OUTPOST from HRO rather than the spike mount. Another great video, lots of tips! 73

[@ThomasK4SWL]

You are correct! My logging software noted the mistake after I got home and (fortunately I had a video recording!) I had to correct. Good ears, OM! Care package? Maybe that explains the awesome seasoning that arrived? Many thanks for that! Used it last night! 73, Thomas

[@ThomasK4SWL]

I got it! Thank you so much for the coffee! Very kind of you, OM and I'll enjoy every drop! 73, Thomas K4SWL

[@nevellgreenough404]

Hey, could you please add the date and time of your activations to the video or description? Tnx & 73's N2GX

[@ThomasK4SWL]

Hi, Nevil, I usually have the date and time written on the log sheet, but also embed it on the KZbin description. Also, there's always an accompanying post on QRPer.com with all details. You'll find the post link in the description at the top. Cheers, Thomas

[@DaveW6OOD]

(STN-Survival Tech Nord)