Video: Winter Field Day 2026

This year's WFD was mostly a POTA event. I started out giving my WFD exchange but got only POTA exchanges in return. The only known WFD for me were on SSB.

Conditions were good - plenty of North American stations on both CW & SSB, Germany on CW and Spain on phone.

And the weather? Fantastic - I rode home with the jacket stowed.

Goethe State Forest (US-4622) is an amazing place.

I've activated it before but only from the parking area. This time, I rode throughout the forest prior to getting on the air and I had the place to myself. Didn't see another soul for the 3 hours that I was riding/activating.

Here's the vid (directly on YouTube):

 

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OHR-100A - Let the build begin

I recently purchased an unbuilt OHR-100A, a popular monoband QRP kit first offered by Oak Hills Research in the 1999. This one is for 20 meters and looks to be a real gem.

Included in the kit is the optional 10-turn VFO pot to increase tuning resolution. This renders the front panel VFO dial markings as invalid so I ordered a Freq-Mite from the 4SQRP club which also arrived in today's mail.

There is plenty of room inside a finished OHR-100A to install other options necessary to putting a radio on the air and I'm already considering battery and keyer possibilities. 

OHR produced several excellent QRP transceiver kits but one of their most useful kits was the WM-2 wattmeter. I've had one for decades and it still looks and works like new. For those wanting an equivalent (almost identical) analog QRP wattmeter kit, click here and scroll about halfway down the page.

OHR was founded by well-known QRPer Doug DeMaw W1FB. Following his death in 1997, Marshall Emm N1FN took over and continued until 2020 when he became an SK.

I'll begin the build this coming week.  

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Motorcycling and ham radio

Every now and then I get comments and email from other motorcycling hams, sharing their experiences or plans for combining the two activities.

This is yet another aspect of how POTA can be combined with other activities.

My own interest in motorcycling has changed over the years, from street to dirt, and I'd like to share a bit of what I've learned in terms of what's now available to others who may be considering a new way to get to POTA locations.

Both me and my neighbor/friend/riding buddy have been motorcycling since our teens. Bob WK3P is a retired Wash. DC motorcycle cop. He also used to race professionally, both on- and off-road. He's now 78 and rides every day.

Here is a short clip of our trail ride last week:

(Or directly on YouTube) 

We've both migrated to smaller off-road-capable motorcycles, and there are a lot of options out there. Lightweight is good.

When I rode 1/2 the TAT 10 years ago, I knew that the better bike for the trip would have been lighter in weight - easier to pick up, easier to flick around sand, gravel, etc.

Contenders for TAT v2.0 were the Honda CRF300L, Kawasaki KLX300 or a Suzuki DRZ400. I settled on the Honda due to its weight, reliability and price.

Today's POTA activation - What would you have done?

 

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Tentative radio plans for 2026

Bike, KX2, folding drone, antenna mount/17ft (5m) whip

Let's see if I can pull either of these off:

 

TAT with QRP

For the past few months, I've been outfitting an off-road motorcycle that will allow me to ride the Trans-America Trail. Off pavement, from Florida to Oregon - with a QRP rig, of course.