w6csn’s outdoor amateur radio

The new year means time off work and the opportunity to overindulge in amateur radio activities. With no antenna installed presently at my home QTH, all of my operating must be done in the field.

For January 1st, 2024 I was able to complete two POTA activations at local parks. The first was actually on December 31st local time but was a New Year’s activation nonetheless as the calendar already turned in Greenwich.

The Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Site K-7889 is the park in my “backyard” where I rolled in just after 00 UTC. It didn’t occur to me to take a lot of pictures of the radio action but there was a nice sunset.

A total of 16 QSOs made it into the log, one was a duplicate and it seems two of the other contacts were “busted” as they didn’t return anything from lookup in qrz.com. I didn’t have any difficulty copying the calls and neither operator corrected me so I can only log what I copied.

Advice to hunters: don’t be afraid to correct the activator if you have any doubt as to whether they copied your call correctly, even if you are on the slower side with CW or the activator is working fast. POTA is not a contest and I’d rather take the time to log your call correctly than end up with a busted contact and you not getting hunter credit for the QSO.

The next morning we got up early for the traditional New Year’s Day hike. In the mediterranean climate of central California, there are good odds that January 1st weather will be clear and bright, if not overly warm.

We headed to the Tennessee Valley which cuts through the Marin Headlands out to a small beach of the same name. All of this area is within the expansive boundaries of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area K-0647.

The problem with being in a valley is the surrounding terrain is not exactly conducive to QRP radio operating. So we began to hike up one of the “roads” up toward Coyote Ridge. These trails are wide enough for a vehicle to pass but most parts are so steep that only a serious off-road vehicle could manage it. Besides, the gate is locked at the trailhead parking area.

After 800 feet of elevation gain I was not at the top of the Coyote Ridge but high enough to have a radio view to the east. The hike this far had been short, but quite strenuous so I was happy to find a flat-ish spot off the trail to setup a tripod and antenna.

I ran the RG-316 coax 25 feet from the antenna to the operating position where an embankment offered perfect place to sit by the side of the trail. While I worked for about 45 minutes to get ten contacts on 20 meters my hiking companion continued up the steep trail to Coyote Ridge, from which she assured me that the views were excellent.

Again, between the hiking and scratching for QSOs I neglected to take pictures of the radio setup. But picture in your mind the red Mountaintopper MTR-4B with N0SA Sota paddles and black 3ah 12v power source and that was the station.

As soon as the activation was complete, I packed up the station and we booked it back down the hill as we had a some errands to run before a family get-together in the afternoon.

Happy New Year and 73,

W6CSN