w6csn’s outdoor amateur radio

The spontaneous HF radio operating enabled by the new Elecraft KH1 handheld transceiver opens up a whole new set of opportunities for the POTA activator. Combined with the sprawling Golden Gate National Recreation Area (US-0647) you could do an awful lot of POTA activations and not operate from the same spot twice.

Nestled between the San Francisco Maritime NHP and the Marina Green, Fort Mason and the land it occupies was a location of military importance from before California was a U.S. state through the second World War.

My plan today was to operate from Black Point Battery, a fortification from the time of the American Civil War, or the war between the states, if you prefer. This location is of particular interest to me because over 40 years ago I worked a summer job on an archaeology crew that unearthed this gun battery.

I remember digging and sifting a lot of dirt! We frequently found spent primers used to fire the guns, there were hundreds of them! Occasionally we’d find “live” primers which had to be treated with care. What was most exciting however is when the timbers that supported the semi-circular track on which the guns would pivot were uncovered.

While it wasn’t particularly busy, I didn’t want to setup a separate antenna atop the berm because there is a pathway there that people use to get sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. I deployed the KH1 with the supplied 4 ft. whip and Tufteln 3D printed angle adapter while sitting atop a concrete entryway to one of the old magazines.

Although I checked conditions before heading out, it seemed that propagation was really quite poor today. In a half hour of tuning and calling, I’d only managed a single QSO on 20m while 17m and 15m seemed completely dead. This was unusually quiet for a Saturday afternoon.

With only two hours of parking, if I wanted a chance at a valid activation then I needed a new plan. I descended the hill down to the the piers that served as the point of embarkation for servicemen heading into the Pacific war in the 1940s.

I found a spot behind the old firehouse that offered protection from the wind which was really blowing at this point, too windy even for a tripod vertical. However, I felt I needed longer antenna to combat the lousy propagation with my QRP signal.

I walked back to the car and retrieved a quick release mount and MFJ-1979 telescoping whip antenna. This quarter wave vertical gives a 1-to-1 match on 20 meters when fully extended. A length of ABR Industries RG-316 connected the antenna to the BNC port in the KH1. I bypassed the internal tuner and got a “perfect” match.

With this setup, and being closer to the Bay waters, I was able to make more progress towards a complete activation. A rocky outcrop at the base of Black Point blocked my view to the east and southeast, but I had a clear shot over the Bay to the north so, unsurprisingly, this is where most of the contacts came for today’s activation.

Fortunately, 30 more minutes was all that was needed to fill the log with the QSOs for a complete activation. Even though this wasn’t a purely pedestrian mobile expedition, like the Wave Organ, I probably would not have even come to this spot without the inspiration provided by the KH1.

Many thanks to the hunters and other activators that ultimately made this POTA a success. Some of the call signs in the log were familiar and some were brand new to me, this is my favorite kind of operation to work both old and new friends.

Equipment used in this activation:

• Elecraft KH1 with internal tuner and whip antenna.
• MFJ-1979 telescoping whip.
• ABR Industries RG-316, 25 feet.
• Rite In The Rain spiral notepad.
• Zebra Mechanical Pencil
• Quick Release 3/8×24 antenna mount

73 de W6CSN