w6csn’s outdoor amateur radio

Normally when the YLs ask if I want to join them on a jaunt to a shopping center my answer is a quick “no thanks.” However, the Corte Madera Town Center is right across the highway from a possible outdoor operating location which I’d earlier identified as Corte Madera Marsh Ecological Reserve so this time I was more amenable.

This location is not a designated POTA reference and may or may not become one in the future, but I decided to try “activating” it anyway. Most of the area covered by the reserve is sensitive habitat with posted “No Trespassing” signage. However, there is a public access trail that encloses the no access habitat area.

The old SF&NP railway (later Northwestern Pacific Railroad) ran along what is now the trail between wetlands and the protected habitat.

Another trail cuts from the railway path out to “Dystopian Point” on the Bay shoreline. The active San Quentin Prison looms ominously from across the inlet where Corte Madera Creek empties into San Francisco Bay.

This trail, which is less travelled than the main path, offered up a bench for a place to sit and operate. At first I tried the pedestrian mobile configuration with the KH1 but it soon became apparent that this was not going to be a quick 10 QSOs.

Wanting more antenna in the air and to be able to sit while working the bands, I wedged the Gabil GRA-7350T into the wire fence and ran the coax over to the bench, well out of the way of any other trail users.

Since this location is not a POTA reference, I would have to hunt for contacts rather than calling CQ, which is not particularly effective when you are QRP and not being actively spotted.

Thankfully, there were enough ops doing POTA on 20 meters that I had a fair chance at not getting skunked, although I didn’t need to get 10 QSOs since this wasn’t technically an activation of anything.

At one point I QSY’d up to 15 meters to hunt KE9BHN activating from Volo Bog State Natural Area in Illinois and heard OH8X calling from Finland. Not really expecting to work him, I called anyway and to my surprise he called back. Of course OH8X is a high caliber contest station with lots of elevated Yagis doing the heavy lifting but I did have a nice low noise floor on my side.

After almost two hours I stowed the station with 11 QSOs in the log and made my way back, happy to have explored this outdoor amateur radio location.

73 de W6CSN