A most unusual POTA activation

Scarecrow and Blue

 

I left the house early yesterday morning, driving north about 70 miles to the Suwannee River (Florida), whose shores contain a string of POTA sites.

They're back!

My destination was US-10594, known among civilians as Manatee Springs South State Conservation Area. This is distinct from Manatee Springs State Park just up the river.

The State Conservation Area became, for me, a State Conversation area, both on the air and off.

I arrived at about 8:30 am local time, not knowing what to expect in the way of amenities like picnic tables, BBQ grills or other devices whose true purposes are to support radios and antennas.

What's there is this: two picnic tables covered by a roof, located adjacent to the river at a canoe/kayak launching site.

One of the tables was occupied by a scruffy-looking man and his scruffier-looking white dog named Blue. Pulled up onshore was a loaded-for-bear kayak.

We said our hellos, then got to our "whatcha-doin's?".

Are "power packs" a better alternative to batteries?

A few weeks ago I finally bought a power pack that I've had my eye on for quite a while. I researched the daylights out of it, read maybe 1.2 kilo-reviews and compared it with the competition (Jackery) and finally pulled the trigger on a Bluetti AC50B.

With the AC50B, I have:

• a 32AH LiFePO4 battery
• a 12V DC-DC converter that that provides a 10A output
  
• a 120V inverter + two AC outlets
  
• the ability to charge via 12V from a car 
• the ability to charge from home AC
• a solar charge controller for recharging from a solar panel

That's a lot of stuff built into a small package that weighs 14 lbs (6.5kg) .

I had been thinking about building my own "battery box" but by the time I added up the cost of all the individual components, I had a re-think.

QRP SSB with the KX2

 

A beautiful 73-degree (23C) presented itself yesterday and I decided to combine a POTA activation with a motorcycle ride. The park was new to me and about 90 minutes away: Devil's Hammock Wildlife Management Area.

In my haste to get rolling, I inadvertently left my dash-cam on its lowest-resolution setting but corrected it later in the video.

The KX2 performed its magic and I was surprised at the ability to communicate so easily on phone with 8-10 watts and such a simple antenna. The mic is from Dave M0JKS and I highly recommend it. Smaller, lighter and much less expensive than the one offered by Elecraft for the KX2/KX3.

.

Directly on YouTube

.

.

Video: QMX+ receiver sensitivity comparison with KX2, FT-891

Receiver sensitivity of the QRP Labs QMX+ is currently being discussed on the QRP Labs forum with at least one member of the group is disappointed that the MDS value of the QMX+ isn't published.

With the QMX+ being a kit, any published value of MDS would have to be a range of fluid values since receiver characteristics will depend, not only on component tolerance deviations, but of builder's methods in soldering and the winding of toroids & transformers.

I decided to compare my QMX+ receiver sensitivity with the KX2 and FT-891, using a TinySA Ultra and appropriate attenuation.

As can be seen in the video below, the QMX+ does quite well.

After the video, I "measured" (by ear) the point at which a signal becomes too weak to copy on the other bands. The CP1 directional coupler does not cover 6 meters but I measured -113 dBm on that band, which is probably inaccurate. I will sweep the coupler on 6m with my VNA and post a corrected value soon.

Directly on YouTube

.

.

Video: As much DX as domestic! POTA with the QMX+

The Crystal River area of west-central Florida contains several POTA sites within a small area. Crystal River Preserve State Park is my favorite for activations due to the covered picnic table and proximity to manatee-rich waterways.

Kayaks can be rented at the park but my purpose today was to exercise the QMX+ on the high bands and the bands did not disappoint. Contacts were made on all 5 bands 10-20 meters, including a good amount of EU DX and one station in Chile.

Several people have told me that previous videos that include text overlays of the callsigns being heard are helpful so I've included those in the video below. CW speed of myself and most callers is around 22 wpm.

 

Directly on YouTube

.

.