w6csn’s outdoor amateur radio

The day before what may be the first rain of the fall season provided the opportunity to try activating Olompali State Historical Park.

Olompali is situated just west of Highway 101 near Novato, CA. There are several buildings in various states of decrepitude and not many people.

One of the many oak trees supplied the branch for holding a 20 meter EFHW fed via a Sparkplug 64:1 transformer. Whenever I set up the EFHW, I try to give it a bit of slope that favors stations to the east, which where most the hunters are.

I almost didn’t bring the microphone but fortunately I did since several contacts were made on SSB which helped complete a successful activation.

Activating QRP on the weekend can be a challenge. With so many stations on the air and different operating activities it’s easy to get “pushed around” by the Big Guns and hunters have more QRM to deal with to hear your itty-bitty signal.

This activation included eight park-to-park contacts! One QSO was a 3-in-1 (a term I made up for getting three parks with a single QSO), so many thanks to that activator.

While I don’t think I’ll make a habit of activating Olompali, it was fun, and a nice day to get out and play at a little radio. Thanks to all the hunters that were patient with my QRP signals and pulled me out of the QRM.