Sunday, September 29, 2024

DX and pile-ups at POTA US-0839 John Muir National Historic Site CA

Headed out with a short activation in mind but stayed a little longer to run through 10 - 20m.
First time being hunted by a DX station!
FT891 @ 50W; 1/4 wave vertical; Faraday cloth; CW Morse single lever paddle

No joy on 10m; radio was being weird on 12m.
15m was money - KY, KS, AK, FL, Argentina, TN, NJ, VA, WV, NC, IL
17m was quiet - TX, VA
20m went slightly longer than I was expecting - WA, IN, CT, TX, AZ, BC, NE

I heart the Faraday cloth! The bunches of radials might get relegated to emergency use.
As good as the 17' whip works, changing bands is annoying. I need to get an EFHW built and figure out a portable multiband 1/4 wave vertical.

First time being on the receiving end of a pile-up, minor as it was. There were probably only two stations but they were right on top of each other and I couldn't make out a thing.
LOL, that gave me a rush.

 - U