Morgan Monroe State Forest - POTA US-4215

 

Entrance to Morgan Monroe State Forest 

On Monday March 9th the sun was out the temperatures were above 70F so I loaded up the gear and headed to the state forest for a Parks on the Air activation and to do a little hiking.  The Morgan–Monroe State Forest is a state forest in Morgan County and Monroe County of Indiana, and is the second largest state forest in Indiana. The 24,000 acres comprising this deciduous forest was abandoned farmland, as the previous residents realized that the land's rocky soil was very poor for agricultural purposes. In 1929 the state of Indiana purchased the land to prevent further erosion and to create the state forest.

I setup my radio station in the parking lot of the Bryant Creek Shelter.  The Bryant Creek Shelter is a nice big shelter with stone fireplaces on either end.  I was pretty much on my own here, only saw one other car and a couple hiking the #9 Bike/Hike trail. 

Bryant Creek Shelter

Fireplace like this on either end of the shelter plus plenty of grills. 

Large grill next to the shelter

Something of note, the Morgan–Monroe State Forest, along with nearby Yellowwood State Forest, are among the very few places in Indiana where one can pan for gold, although a free permit is required first before doing any prospecting.  I may have to try that sometime!  There's GOLD in them hills! 

So I got all set up, once again using the Elecraft KX-2 at 8 watts, and the Alex Loop magnetic loop antenna.  I started on 15 meters, 21.065 Mhz, and almost immediately worked a station in Texas, and then the second station I worked was IW4DV - Andrea Caprara, he lives in Loiano Italy!  Not bad for low power! He was booming in and gave me a decent signal report.  The next one I worked on 15 meters was another operator in Texas.  Of the 17 contacts made today I worked POTA ops in four different parks, two in New York, one in Georgia, and one in Oklahoma.  These are called P2P or Park to Park contacts. 

Starting out on 15 meters

I moved down to 20 meters, 14.044 Mhz, and ended up with a total of 17 contacts for this session, I was on the air for about an hour total.  If you come to this location, bring the family.  Trail #9 is at the edge of the parking lot, it is a paved, 5.2 mile trail rated as Easy.  It is built for hikers, bicycles riders, and is handicap accessible.  It's not a loop though, but it takes you through the woods, on a ridge top that goes past the Walls Shelter, and then to the forestry office and the firetower.  If you just hike to the Walls shelter, that's just a little over 2.5 miles.

After I was finished with my radio work, I enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and the view of the forest and the lake. I then packed up and decided to hike down the hill to check out the Bryant Creek Lake.  It's a lot easier going DOWN to the lake than it was hiking back up the hill to the parking lot.  We've had several inches of rain the last 7-10 days so the lake was up considerably. 

Lots of picnic tables and grills in this area. Good place to fish and picnic

From the looks of that tree, beavers live here, and I saw another five or six trees in this same condition, not sure of the DNR is doing anything about that or not.  On the tromp down to the water I noticed a lot of young sprouting greenery starting to pop in the forest floor.  It'll be time for mushrooms soon! 

And last but certainly not least, this shelter area has what looks like almost brand new restroom facilities, no running water, modern pit latrines, but they were very clean.  

Modern Latrines available all year - no running water

Weather man says the temps will be in the 20's by Monday the 16th.  I keep telling myself Spring is just a few more days away. My lawn is growing, will soon need mowing, and it'll be time to plant the garden soon.  Lots to keep me busy this Spring.  Overall this state forest is a great place to operate from, will definitely be back.  From my home to the forest here, is about 45-50 minutes via I-69. 

This is my contact map for the day. 

Contact Map for March 9, 2026 at Morgan Monroe State Forest Grid EM96si 

Here's to good DX! 

de KB9BVN

Brian

70 Degrees!! What a day!

Oh man it was great today.  I got my very first social security retirement pay today, I finally feel like I am officially retired, and now a bargain hunter extraordinaire.  This being Ash Wednesday I headed to Mooresville to attend Mass with my son and a few of the grandkids this morning.  Mass was at 9:30AM, and my  eleven year old grandson Erik had an 11AM appointment to sit for his FCC Exam for the Technician Class Amateur Radio License.

So as soon as church let out we made a bee line for home so we could get the laptop setup in time for his exam.  He was tested by the N1UVO Online ARRL VE Team, and they did a great job with making him comfortable and ready to test.  He aced it.  

He didn't just squeak by, he scored 32/35 and it was because he and I have been using the Hamstudy organization online for test preparation.  He started studying about 5 weeks ago and passed with flying colors today.  We will begin working on the General Class license next week.  

So after that exciting event, I headed out to play radio outdoors at the Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area in deep southern Johnson County.  This is US-4183 for the log books.  It was kind of a rush deal, I was only there about an hour, and on the air maybe 30 minutes.  I made 13 contacts using my Elecraft KX-2 and the portable magnetic loop antenna called Alex Loop. 

KB9BVN with his portable POTA station

It was weird seeing Pisgah Lake frozen over when it was 70 degrees and bright sun, but it has been near zero and below for almost two solid weeks.  I imagine that ice was a foot thick at one point. 

Pisgah Lake - Still frozen, all 62 acres

Did not work any DX today but I did make contacts from California to Florida today and my signal was being heard in Central and South America as well as Northwest Canada.  8 watts again for the win! 

Today's Log from US-4183 on 20 Meters

Beautiful sky today, made a nice backdrop for this shot of my loop antenna setup. 

Alex Loop Portable Magnetic Loop Antenna...about 8 feet high

Well that's it for today! Tomorrow the WX says thunderstorms, possible tornado activity, and dropping temperatures.  It's great being retired and able to take quick advantage of days like today.  

73 de KB9BVN

Brian

Snow finally Melted! Time to POTA!

I don't know about you, but this winter has been a difficult one. For one we've had more snow this winter than we've had for the last five or six years, then to make it even more miserable it's been below zero more than several times.  Cabin fever is a terrible thing.  As you may remember I retired the 2nd of January, in the middle of winter....what else did I expect?  We had about a foot of snow land here almost three weeks ago and the the temperatures dove down below zero for better than a week.  

Today, the snow is finally almost all melted, and the temperature hit a balmy 58 degrees.  Not exactly swimming weather, and most of the lakes around here still have 4 or 5 inches of ice, but the sun came out for a bit and I left the cabin and took a drive down to Morgan County to see a couple of my brothers in law and to make a jaunt over to the Cikana State Fishery in Martinsville IN (EM69tk).  It was glorious just being outdoors in the sun. In just 33 days it will be spring. 

So today I setup the Elecraft KX-2 and the Alex Loop.  I have REALLY enjoyed this little portable magnetic loop antenna. It does such a great job on  15 meters and 20 meters, which is what I used it for today.  I was running about 8 watts today when I started on 15 meters (21047 Khz).  My first contact was Bill VE7KIN way up in British Columbia, then I worked Scott KJ7DCF in Idaho, and finally Eric VA2IDX in Quebec...after that I moved down to 20 meters (14043 Khz).  I spent about 50 minutes on the air and logged a total of 20 contacts with this little setup.  Check out the map. 

Contact Map for 02/16/26 from Cikana State Fishery - Martinsville IN

After I finished I was planning on hiking one of the trails there but the mud was about 4 inches deep, so maybe the next time.  Here is what my signal strength was showing on the Reverse Beacon Network. 

And last but not least is a decent picture I took of the Alex Loop portable magnetic loop antenna system. I have it mounted on the  bottom half of a old music stand that Ivin N9IVI gave me a few years ago. 

Until next time! 

73 de KB9BVN

Brian

Brown County State Park US-2251 in January!

 

KB9BVN Setting up at Brown County State Park

Got up this morning, this third day of being retired, and checked the weather while waiting on my coffee to be ready.  The weather report said something about it being sunny and 52F by noon.  It's JANUARY in Indiana...how could this be possible?  As I read on I see that tomorrow the forecast says rain all day, temperatures dropping back to normal.  I then decided I would take advantage and go outdoors and enjoy it while it was here. 

Brown County State Park is about an hour due south of me, it is located just outside of Nashville Indiana off State Road 135, otherwise known as the Bill Monroe Memorial Highway.  Bill Monroe, the father of Bluegrass Music, used to have a bluegrass music festival in Bean Blossom Indiana every year. Bean Blossom is the next big town north of Nashville.  It's a very scenic drive, and a lot of winding roads so you have to pay attention if'n you don't want to end up in the holler. 

At Bean Blossom Overlook...with Morgantown Indiana in the background

Once I finally arrived at the park, I was all ready to show off my brand new annual park pass...but the gatehouse was empty, and the sign said PARK OPEN, NO GATE FEE TODAY.  Well maybe next time I can show them.  Afterall it IS January. 

I entered via the west gate and drove up to the West Lookout and setup the Alex Loop and the KX-2 on a conveniently placed picnic table.  It tuned up 1:1 pretty quick and I was on the air by 11:50AM. 

Tuned up and ready on 14047 Khz 

After about 15 minutes I had five contacts in the logbook.  The antenna was working great, the radio was doing great, and it was very nice operating today, even though the park was pretty much empty except for a few mountain bikers and one or two hikers.  

Making contacts was proving to be pretty easy today

Alex Loop deployed on top of the picnic table 

After I had 15 logged, I took the station down and drove over to the park office to see if I could pick up a map.  To my surprise I was informed by Mr. Ranger that the Indiana DNR no longer hands out FREE park maps, they now cost ONE DOLLAR.  I had no cash so we decided to charge a dollar to my credit card.  With map in hand I was looking for any hiking trail not marked RUGGED.  I have been working from home for 5 years, I am working on getting my sea legs back and figured a nice walk in the woods today would be a good way to get there.  I found a nice, mostly flat trail behind the park office and spent about an hour walking around the woods, and contemplating the potential beauty of the place if  Spring ever gets here.  They had a terrific storm here a few weeks ago, high winds, bitter cold, and snow.  Lot's of fallen tress right now ar eblocking a few of the roads in the park.  I was wanting to go activate the Ten O'Clock Treaty Line Nature Preserve, but it was closed off due to downed trees. 

So after my walk in the woods, I found a nice high ridge with a picnic table and setup the station again while enjoying a lunch of sardines, ham sandwich, and diet pop. 

Lunch in the woods, can't be beat!

I worked another six or seven contacts while I enjoyed a leisurely lunch.  I even managed to work M5EEE in England!  Did I mention I was using a magnetic loop antenna and about 8 or 9 watts?  I even plugged in the microphone and tried calling CQ POTA a few times but the antenna was getting wonky so I just decided to sit there, finish eating, and then took the station apart and headed home. 

All in all I logged 22 contacts.  It was a great day to be outdoors.  Very possible I won't be able to do this again until late February or into March....depending on the midwest weather. 

Here's what the contact map looked like for today. 

KB9BVN Contact Map for 01/07/2026 from Brown County State Park

And this is what I looked like on the Reverse Beacon Network

Stations hearing my call, and the signal to noise ratio

Well this may be it for awhile, I hope not, but we still have a lot of winter left here.  Hope to catch you on the air sometime! 

de KB9BVN - Brian

Cikana State Fishery Revisited - US-12023

Here it is, January 5th, 2026.  This year is just flying by.  Today is the first day of my retirement.  I am going to have a calendar made up that shows each week starting on Sunday, followed by six Saturdays. I can get used to this. 

So I got up this morning and was pleased to see the weather report for the day, actually this week is supposed to be way above normal for temperature but with rain toward the end of the week.  So I may get the chance to get out there and work some more POTA before the weekend.  Right now I don't have anything else to do.  That'll be changing soon. 

I had a few stops to make, firstly being at the Indiana DNR office at Atterbury Fish and Wildlife. I wanted to purchase our annual state park pass.  I am now a GOLDEN HOOSIER which means we get our pass for $25 instead of $50.  Being an old retired guy that was an excellent deal worthy of a SCHWIIIING and a HOOO HOO HOOO HOOSIERS! 

I then drove over to Stone Arch Lake in the Atterbury FWA and it was a bit windy and blowing over the lake, too cold for POTA in my opinion.  So I pointed the Trailblazer out of Johnson County and toward Morgan County....destination Cikana State Fishery.  The place we visited last November.  They have a great operating position complete with picnic table and very lovely view of the fish hatchling ponds. 

Cikana State Fish Hatchery - US-12023

One of the ponds - drained for the winter - they have 16 of these

My Alex Loop antenna - Mag Loops are EZ to deploy

My KX-2 and my logbook after about 17 minutes. 20m was good today! 

I started calling CQ POTA at 19:56 UTC and by 20:09 UTC I had 13 in the log, with one dupe from Massachusetts.  Best DX was working Idaho right off the bat.  I got numerous 599's and 579's and I was really happy with the way this loop antenna was working today. Power was 9 watts. 

I hope to make it out again this week....we're showing back to the cold cold after the end of the week...but Friday is looking like maybe 60 degrees, just hoping it doesn't mean rain. 

73 de KB9BVN - Brian

November Day in Indiana

KB9BVN, N9IVI, AC9HP at US-12023

Boy, it was nice and sunny today, and a great day to go  outdoors and play radio.  So I got with Wayne AC9HP, and Ivin N9IVI and we plotted a trip to Morgan County Indiana to grab a nice lunch, shoot the breeze and take in a POTA activation.  

I think the last time we got together to have some radio fun was maybe three years ago, maybe longer.  It was a great time and really nice to hang out again. I met N9IVI on a local repeater probably 25 years ago, and met AC9HP on that same repeater maybe 15 years ago.  We keep in contact on a text channel we built out before COVID hit in 2020.  Well today the stars lined up and we all three had an afternoon free to go out and do something 

We started out at the Texas Corral in Martinsville for lunch, we had their "steak" burger and some fries. I can NOT recommend this place.  The burgers were mediocre and they've jacked their prices something fierce.  Three burgers, with fries and ice water was almost fifty dollars.  We should have went for pizza instead. Our waitress was very pleasant, so our disappointment in the food wasn't her fault. 

After lunch we discussed going to the Morgan Monroe State Forest for a POTA activation, then Ivin brought up the fact that gun season for deer started here yesterday. The state forest is a very popular public hunting area, so we were not prepared for that.  So instead we decided to head up the road about 5 miles and visit the Cikana State Fishery (POTA US-12023) and operated from there.  It was about 52F but the wind was cutting.

The equipment today was Wayne's neat little QRP radio, running about three and a half watts, CW (Morse Code) was the mode, and the antenna we used was one of two magnetic loop antennas....the Alpha Loop, and the Alex Loop.   These magnetic loop antennas are portable and can be setup in about 5 minutes.  The tuning of this type of antenna is a little different.  You basically tune for loudest signal by turning the air variable capacitor on the antenna.  These antennas are advertised to tune on 10m through 40m. We seemed to have very good luck operating on 20m today at a frequency of 14054 Khz. KB9VBR has some great info on making and using a magnetic loop antenna in the outdoors. 

Alpha Loop Antenna - Tuning capacitor in the middle

Alex Loop tuning capacitor

The radio we used today was a CFT1 5 Band QRP CW rig.  We were running about three and a half watts to these loop antennas.  This combo worked very well for us today.  I made 11 contacts in about 20 minutes, then Ivin N9IVI took his turn and had 15 or 16 contact in less than 30 minutes.  

Ivin N9IVI working a POTA pile up on 20m. It was freezing. 

We were surprised at the distance we were getting.  I worked South Dakota and Ivin worked Mexico and Canada during his time at the key.  Tom K4SWL has a great write up on his QRPer blog pertaining to this cool little QRP radio. Check it out. 

Wayne's CFT1 5 Band QRP Radio 

So here's an idea of how my signal was getting out during my turn at the key.  Looks like the antenna was pretty much oriented in an East-West radiating pattern. Signal level was being received pretty well in a lot of places. 

Here's a map of the 11 contacts I made today from Cikana State Fishery.  I think it shows an almost omni directional range.  I worked stations in SD, GA, NY, NJ, MD, GA, TX, and MN.  Not bad for three and a half watts and a portable magnetic loop antenna. 

It's always a great time going on an outing with these guys.  We always amaze ourselves at what works and what doesn't work.  I hope we get to do this again before it's too cold out. 

Best DX to everyone! 

73 de KB9BVN