N4KGL's RaDAR Challenge Plans Saturday, Nov 2nd (Revised)

Dennis WA6QKN and I will combine Rapid Deployment Radio (RaDAR), Parks On The Air (POTA), and Amateur Satellites along with a fun bike ride. All of this will be in Wakulla County, Florida. Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio combines the outdoors, amateur radio, and movement. You are welcome to try RaDAR in the field or chase us on the radio.  Please check https://pota.us/ for our spots. We will use N4KGL as our callsign. In RaDAR we need at least five contacts to move to the next location. For bikes, we need to move at least two kilometers. Our bike rides will be longer to get from park to park.

Our four-hour clock for the challenge will start at 1300 UTC, 9 AM EDT, with the SO-50 pass at the Wakulla Station Trailhead on the Tallahassee St Marks Historic Rail Trail (POTA K-3661). We will complete our five contacts on HF and ride our bikes to Wakulla State Forrest (POTA K-4643). Then continue the bike ride to Wakulla Springs State Park (POTA K-1862). Our HF contacts will be CW or SSB on  40, 20, or 17 meters. Please watch for our spots on https://pota.us/#/ 

Our rig will be the Elecraft KX2 with the Elecraft KXPA100 amp. I will use a bike cart to pull the rig and a 30 AH Bioenno battery. The antenna will be a SOTABeams Band Hopper Link Dipole.

We may continue this pattern beyond four hours to qualify for one of the RaDAR Awards sponsored by Parks On The Air.

Warthog Award: two RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period.
Rhino Award: three RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period.
Cheetah Award: five RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period
Ostrich Award: seven RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period.
Leopard Award: ten RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period.
Lion Award: twelve RaDAR* transitions at or between entities during a 24 hour period

 

RaDAR rules

http://radarops.co.za/index.php/radar-rules/

RaDAR Group on MeWe

https://mewe.com/group/5c1156b6a08bc414d0dd76dd  

RaDAR on Groups.io

https://groups.io/g/RaDAR/topics  

Parks On The Air

https://parksontheair.com/  

Tallahassee St Marks Rail Trail

https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/tallahassee-st-marks-historic-railroad-state-trail

N4KGL Blog

https://www.n4kgl.info/

My Go-To Antennas

Here are some antenna choices that serve me well. I operate portable more often than at home.

For horizontal polarization on portable ops, I am favoring the SOTAbeams BandHopper 40-30-20 meter link dipole. This is an extremely lightweight antenna that comes with RG-174 feedline. The good news is that the antenna does not weigh down the top of a telescoping pole. You will need to lower it to change the band using the jumper clips. I use the SOTABeams Tactical 7000 telescoping pole to support the BandHopper. There are lighter telescoping poles that would work as well. Note, I also like the LNR Trail Friendly End-fed for 40, 20, and 10 meters. I just have not used it lately.

SOTABeams Band Hopper at a campsite. Hard to see, isn't it.

For vertical polarization on portable ops, I love the N6BT Bravo 7K vertical. The Bravo 7K is self-supporting with integrated radials. When I am on the saltwater shore, the vertical is my top choice due to the saltwater effect. I also have had good success inland. It does not require a tuner. I find I can switch between 40 and 20 by changing the coil jumpers. The other bands require adjusting the element lengths. The adjustments are pretty straightforward.

My Bravo 7K Vertical. The horizontal elements are hard to see.

For the ultimate in portability, my choice is the Alexloop magnetic loop. During the current solar minimum, it has been my backup, not my go-to. However, I have high hopes for the Alexloop in Solar Cycle 25 when the upper HF bands get better. You can't beat it for a quick and easy setup. The performance will surprise you even on 40 meters.

My PY1AHD AlexLoop magnetic loop on the beach.

For FM Satellites on portable ops, I use the 2 meter/440 MHz Elk Log Periodic. I can disassemble it for easy pack up. It is also great for T hunts.

My Elk Sat Antenna. It was a cold January day.

For ARRL and Winter Field Days, the MyAntennas.com 80-10 EFHW has been very successful.  It is 130 feet long. I support it with a camo pole support and several Jackite poles.

My MyAntennas.com 80-10 EFHW. It is 130 feet long.

For Field Day on a small campsite, I designed a 100-foot long vertical loop fed a the bottom center with a remote tuner. It is supported by three 30 foot telescoping poles. The horizontal length is 30 feet, and the vertical sides are 20 feet. The lower wire is 10 feet off the ground. I have used this antenna at campsites and on island expeditions.

My Field Day 100 foot vertical loop uses three Jackite poles for support and a remote tuner at the bottom center.

At my home QTH, I had to rethink my antennas as Hurricane Michael took down my trees. I have chosen the N6BT V8, vertical sold through HRO, as my home antenna. It is similar to the N6BT Bravo 7K but uses an MFJ remote tuner at the base of the antenna. The antenna tunes well on 40 to 10 meters. The elements come off quickly for storms. I also remove the vertical element between uses to make the antenna less of a target for lightning.

My N6BT BT vertical in the backyard of my home. The horizontal elements are hard to see.

At my home QTH for receiving, I have a noise problem on the HF bands due to high-voltage lines running over my backyard property line.. The noise is intolerable on any antenna I put in the backyard. This encouraged me to try a receiving loop. I choose the W6LVP broadband magnetic loop with the T/R switch. For me, the loop makes HF operating at home possible. I mounted the W6LVP loop on a four-foot mast in the front yard near the house. I use a lightweight rotator to adjust the orientation to get a noise null. I use the N6BT V8 in the backyard as the transmit antenna.

My W6LVP HF receive loop in the front yard of my home.

Have fun with antennas!

Greg N4KGL

Radio, History and Nature

Linda and I took a three-night camping trip to FDR State Park near Pine Mountain, Georgia over the Columbus Day weekend. For me, the draw is Dowdell Knob a 1345 foot peak in the park. This peak qualifies for Summits On The Air or SOTA. It is W4G/CE-004. Since I live in the flatlands of Florida, Dowdell is the closest SOTA opportunity. The history aspect was our visit to the Little White House and museum located nearby in Warm Springs, Georgia. This is where President Roosevelt took advantage of the warm springs for his polio. The president died at the Little White House halfway into his fourth term. Roosevelt fostered the Rural Electrification Program. I learned that when the farmers got electricity their first purchase was a radio. The nature aspect was our visit to the Butterfly Center at Callaway Gardens. We were immersed with the butterflies among the plants they enjoy. It was a challenge to capture them with my smartphone camera. I will let the pictures and video fill you in on the details.

View from Dowdell Knob more photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/cPnKRA6oNj3t5GnW7

Roosevelts Little Whitehouse, more photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/E3EAsbUgSRJeh3ty6

Callaway Gardens Butterfly Center, more photos at https://photos.app.goo.gl/AGHrY9ZLrz338d8k9

The SOTA activation on Sunday morning was successful. I had a pile-up going on 40 meters for the first hour, I was getting better than one contact per minute. In all, I had 88 contacts; 68 on 40 meters, 17 on 20 meters and 3 on two meters. Of those 51 were SSB, 34 were CW, and 3 were FM. One of the two-meter FM contacts was about 45 miles to Mauk, GA. The contacts also counted for Parks On The Air (POTA). The park reference is K-2173.



I also did some operating from our campsite number 501. It had room for an 80-meter Dipole. I talked back to Bob WB4BLX in Panama City on 80 meters SSB. So this camping idea is working out for us. I expect we can do this in a big way during our retirement years.

73,

Greg N4KGL

Our rented camper.

N4KGL's November 2019 RaDAR Challenge Plans

My plan for the November 2nd, 2019 RaDAR Challenge is to start operating at the
San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park near St Marks, Florida. After five contacts, I will bike on the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail to the Wakulla trailhead. That is about seven miles. After five contacts there, I can bike back to San Marcos de Apalache Historic State Park for more operating. I hope to do three stops during the four-hour window of the RaDAR Challenge. All the stops will be at Parks On The Air references. That should attract some chasers.

I did some RaDAR practice while camping at Top Sail Preserve State Park. Please see the video.

The RaDAR Challenge rules can be found here. Please visit Eddie ZS6BNE's web site and the MeWe RaDAR Community for more info about RaDAR.

I encourage all hams to participate and make your own plans  Let us know your plans and results.

Good luck and be safe!

Greg N4KGL