I enjoy Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio, Field Days, QRP, satellites, and CW. I have many friends in the hobby that make it fun. I will keep you posted on what I learn about amateur radio on this blog.
I was off on Friday, December 23rd. I decided to activate St Andrews State Park Florida KFF-1917 for the World Wide Fauna and Flora program. It is the closest State Park to my home QTH. I have so many antenna choices that picking one can be difficult. This time I chose the PY1AHD Alexloop which is a magnetic loop for HF. There was also a SO 50 satellite pass. So I packed my KX2 the Alexloop with tripod, and the Elk antenna disassembled into one backpack. Suzy and I walked to my favorite picnic table which is right next to the Grand Lagoon. I always try to be as close to saltwater as I can to enhance low angle vertical radiation. My results were
40 meter CW (3)
40 meter SSB (4)
2 meter FM simplex (3)
20 meter CW (8)
20 meter SSB (5)
VHF/UHF SO-50 Sat (1)
24 total
The HF contacts were good for 10 watts and the Alexloop. My DX contact was CU3AA in the Azores 3300 miles away. I spotted myself on DX Summit which brought some WWFF hunters who found me. My cadre of local chasers included WB4BLX, W5RE, K4LIX, N4STC and N1HQ. The good news is that Northwest Florida has many State Parks. They will be popular with the WWFF hunters. Merry Christmas!
