Hey Thomas, K2OTF here! Thanks for sticking with me and pulling my signal out of the noise. I was out fly fishing and didn't have too much luck so I pulled the KH1 out of my pocket to "fish" for some contacts. That's crazy that only OTF was coming through and 2 was getting garbled up in the noise. -72
Glad to see you highlighting this park, I was beginning to wonder if you would ever make it out to it. I live not too far from there. Just on the other side of the park. I've activated this park 3 times and experienced severe QRM all three times. I believe it's from the transmission lines that run through the park from Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina. That shelter is definitely the best place to activate from, and the Rangers there are super friendly and won't bother you. Thanks again Thomas.
I was so impressed with Gorges SP. You're lucky to live nearby. Yes, I'm certain it's arcing from those lines. I plan to go out there again this summer with an external Noise Blanker and see if that helps.
Just wanted to mention, if I’m not using a tree, I lay my high-vis throw line along my coax or around the radials to give passersby a better chance to see it and walk around. Some are still oblivious and kids and dogs won’t care, though.
So good to see the PennTek TR-45 Lite 'Skinny' in action again ! Mine's been front and center on my home shack desk. So good to look at, and a ton of fun to operate without menus.
What a great location for an activation - Thank you for sharing! I'm jealous of your weather there in NC, It's the first week of April and we're expecting 6-12 inches of snow this week in NH.
Nice activation and what a great rig! I have the fatty, but it is at home and I'm away. I did get out and do a hike at Dale Sare SCA and then activated the area for ATNO. It was a great hike, good exercise for the dog and me. The outing was great and I just let it rain on me for a bit. I did cover the KX2 with my hat during the shower. You're so right about kindness. I tell myself (and my kids) often that it costs nothing to be kind. I hope to work you sometime. I am grateful. Life is good. 73 de AG7TX
Yeah, that QRM was pretty rough. Definitely line noise. I had a huge issue with it over the winter here at my QTH. S5-S9 noise that sounded like frying bacon on just about every band. It was rough. As for the subscriber thing, I'm in the same boat. I never ask people to subscribe or like or anything. I figure if they want to watch, they'll watch. I suspect most people put my videos on when they can't sleep 😂
Ha ha! A buddy told me ages ago that I seem to have designed a UA-cam algorithm-proof channel. :) I'm not sure I'm doing any of the things UA-cam would suggest. Glad you're in the same boat, Evan. I think we produce what we ourselves like in videos: no click-bait and if you like it *great*, if not, that's okay too. :) You've got a great channel.
Hi Thomas. Excellent videos. Thank you. I was one of the contacts this day. I'm pretty new to CW so I accidently sent N1KD but I'm N1KB. I clearly heard a D on your video. Sorry about that. And yes you were fading on me. Sorry for the delay. Really enjoying CW. Take care!
Your videos are an indespensible asset to the Ham Radio community. I've learned so much from your content, not just improving my instant character/phrase recognition, but POTA in general, setup and tear down as well. I have promoted your content among folk in my radio clubs and coworkers as well. I really appreciate your efforts to video and upload your activations. I hope to get out this weekend as it is a special event in GA, and all 52 state parks will be activated between 0800 est. Saturday through 2000 est. Sunday. I hope to see you on the air on CW! 72, AG4NI
Hello Thomas, This has happened to me once with the QRM during a SOTA/POTA activation. I set the CW filter on the IC-705 very narrowly (50 Hz). The result wasn't bad and I was able to minimize the disruption. But when I got back home I had a lot of emails and everyone was asking why I hadn't heard them and should I check my antenna. ;-) 73 Thomas dc5ly
You're right Tom Beautiful park/pavilion, but! sadly this was another activation I missed you on found you in time but cud not hear you gud enuf to venture a call. I would not have heard you acknowledge me. so better to miss out that screw up the air waves. Tnx for being there and sharing. de Ellis WA1RKS
I like to check out your descriptions because you list everything you use along with links. However, this time you did not mention the cable you used from the antenna to the radio. Can you give some info on it? Thank youThomas!
Hey Thomas, K2OTF here! Thanks for sticking with me and pulling my signal out of the noise. I was out fly fishing and didn't have too much luck so I pulled the KH1 out of my pocket to "fish" for some contacts. That's crazy that only OTF was coming through and 2 was getting garbled up in the noise. -72
I actually love working weaker stations because, most of the time, I'm sure I'm a weak station, too! Thanks for fishing me out! :)
Glad to see you highlighting this park, I was beginning to wonder if you would ever make it out to it. I live not too far from there. Just on the other side of the park. I've activated this park 3 times and experienced severe QRM all three times. I believe it's from the transmission lines that run through the park from Oconee Nuclear Station in South Carolina. That shelter is definitely the best place to activate from, and the Rangers there are super friendly and won't bother you. Thanks again Thomas.
I was so impressed with Gorges SP. You're lucky to live nearby. Yes, I'm certain it's arcing from those lines. I plan to go out there again this summer with an external Noise Blanker and see if that helps.
Just wanted to mention, if I’m not using a tree, I lay my high-vis throw line along my coax or around the radials to give passersby a better chance to see it and walk around. Some are still oblivious and kids and dogs won’t care, though.
So good to see the PennTek TR-45 Lite 'Skinny' in action again ! Mine's been front and center on my home shack desk. So good to look at, and a ton of fun to operate without menus.
It is a beauty!
What a great location for an activation - Thank you for sharing! I'm jealous of your weather there in NC, It's the first week of April and we're expecting 6-12 inches of snow this week in NH.
Nice activation and what a great rig! I have the fatty, but it is at home and I'm away. I did get out and do a hike at Dale Sare SCA and then activated the area for ATNO. It was a great hike, good exercise for the dog and me. The outing was great and I just let it rain on me for a bit. I did cover the KX2 with my hat during the shower.
You're so right about kindness. I tell myself (and my kids) often that it costs nothing to be kind.
I hope to work you sometime. I am grateful. Life is good.
73 de AG7TX
Yeah, that QRM was pretty rough. Definitely line noise. I had a huge issue with it over the winter here at my QTH. S5-S9 noise that sounded like frying bacon on just about every band. It was rough. As for the subscriber thing, I'm in the same boat. I never ask people to subscribe or like or anything. I figure if they want to watch, they'll watch. I suspect most people put my videos on when they can't sleep 😂
Ha ha! A buddy told me ages ago that I seem to have designed a UA-cam algorithm-proof channel. :) I'm not sure I'm doing any of the things UA-cam would suggest. Glad you're in the same boat, Evan. I think we produce what we ourselves like in videos: no click-bait and if you like it *great*, if not, that's okay too. :) You've got a great channel.
Your noise level is an everyday thing at my QTH. You learn to live with it.
Ugh. I hate to hear that.
Hi Thomas. Excellent videos. Thank you. I was one of the contacts this day. I'm pretty new to CW so I accidently sent N1KD but I'm N1KB. I clearly heard a D on your video. Sorry about that. And yes you were fading on me. Sorry for the delay. Really enjoying CW. Take care!
Great working you, OM! :)
Perfect weather Thomas!
Great video, as always.
Your videos are an indespensible asset to the Ham Radio community. I've learned so much from your content, not just improving my instant character/phrase recognition, but POTA in general, setup and tear down as well. I have promoted your content among folk in my radio clubs and coworkers as well. I really appreciate your efforts to video and upload your activations. I hope to get out this weekend as it is a special event in GA, and all 52 state parks will be activated between 0800 est. Saturday through 2000 est. Sunday. I hope to see you on the air on CW! 72, AG4NI
Thank you so much. Your comment truly makes my day. And, yes, I hope we work each other loads on the air this year!
Hello Thomas,
This has happened to me once with the QRM during a SOTA/POTA activation. I set the CW filter on the IC-705 very narrowly (50 Hz). The result wasn't bad and I was able to minimize the disruption. But when I got back home I had a lot of emails and everyone was asking why I hadn't heard them and should I check my antenna. ;-)
73 Thomas dc5ly
Ha ha! Yes, those super narrow filters do the trick, but does leave anyone out that's a bit off-frequency. :)
You're right Tom Beautiful park/pavilion, but! sadly this was another activation I missed you on found you in time but cud not hear you gud enuf to venture a call. I would not have heard you acknowledge me. so better to miss out that screw up the air waves. Tnx for being there and sharing. de Ellis WA1RKS
The stars will align soon, Ellis! :)
I like to check out your descriptions because you list everything you use along with links. However, this time you did not mention the cable you used from the antenna to the radio. Can you give some info on it? Thank youThomas!
This one was a 40 foot ABR RG-174 cable terminated with a PL-259 and BNC. Normally, though, I use RG-316. This is one of my only RG-174 cables.