Atterbury Fish and Wildlife - No Skunk!

 

Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area - US-4183

So after I got off work today, I loaded up the gear and headed to the scene of the skunking I got in April. Today was upper 70's, sunny, with a slight breeze...for July this is what we call perfect weather to be outside. 

I arrived at about 4:45PM and was setup and on the air by 5PM.  I'm getting good at setting up and tearing down quickly.  I still use a written checklist when loading back up to make sure I don't leave anything in the park.  It's happened. 

Happy Camper

Here I am getting ready to start calling CQ POTA.  See how happy and excited I am?  Everything went smooth on the set up so off I went.  As a reminder, to activate a park, wildlife area, state forest, or other state wilderness area you must make ten contacts, minimum.  I am happy to report that within the first 20 minutes, on the 20m band, I had my ten contacts in the log.  My first contact was WA5RML from New York, then I had W3NCK from Delaware, WA7RAR from Oregon (THAT was a surprise, I was thinking I was only going to be working east coast today) then W8NLZ from Virginia, WJ0L from Minnesota, NK2C from New York, AA7WU from Arizona, KW5CW from Texas but he was at a park like me so this is a Park to Park contact, those are always cool, then K1PUG from Connecticut, and my tenth one today was N0ANE from Minnesota.  I ended up with 21 contacts for the outing.  I spent the entire hour there on 20 meters.  The band was not very good, and there was a lot of signal loss, and wavering....we call that QSB. 

KX2 Radio and Eagle One Vertical Antenna with a small hand key

Stone Arch Lake and Ominous Clouds

All Packed up and Ready to Leave

So on the way out today I decided to drive through the area and go over by Camp Atterbury.  Camp Atterbury at one time was a prisoner of war camp for Italian and a few German soldiers during World War II.  Currently it is an army camp where we train our troops, and foreign troops.  

This is my dad.  Sgt Major William J Murrey, retired.  He served in the US Army and later in the Indiana National Guard.  He passed away in January 2016 at the age of 79.  Pop was assigned to Camp Atterbury for a number of years.  

My kids went to Cub Scout Day Camp at the park next to Camp Atterbury, and my dad and a couple other guys showed up in Humvees and took the kids on some Humvee rides, and let them get a good look at the dining facilities at Camp Atterbury, I believe they were even permitted use of the on base pool as well.  This had to be 35 years ago, and those kids still talk about that to this day.  So I like to go to Atterbury to operate for POTA, I kind of feel a connection here.  Dad was a true patriot, loved his family, loved his country, and served the Lord. 

Veterans Memorial at Camp Atterbury

Before I left the property entirely, I stopped at the Camp Atterbury Veterans Memorial Park for a look around.  

Open from Sunrise to Sunset

Huey Helicopter UH-1M Iroquois - Used in Vietnam

Lots of old military vehicles in the Memorial Park 

I walked around the Memorial Park for about 45 minutes looking at all the vintage equipment they have on permanent display.  When it was time to go I drove back over by the lake and found this little duck family enjoying a early evening swim.  

Until next time! 

de KB9BVN

Walk for the Bacon Slo-Code Sprint

Once again it is time for the Flying Pigs QRP Club International to run their world famous 40m Walk for the Bacon Slo-Code Sprint! 

Whether you're a new CW operator or a long time CW operator, the Walk for the Bacon Sprint is enjoyable fun for everyone. 

The sprint is held the first Wednesday and Thursday of the month.

All logging is done on the autologger.  https://qrpcontest.com/pigwalk40/

This month it is:

Evening of Wednesday July 3^rd at 00:00Z to 01:00Z on 40m 7050 Khz to 7065 Khz 
and the evening of Thursday July 4^th at 02:00Z to 03:00Z on 40m 7050 Khz to 7065 Khz.

This is a slow code sprint, please set your keyer or your fist to no faster than 13 wpm, and please QRS to match speeds.

If you need a Flying Pig QRP Club International number, you can click on the word MEMBERSHIP at the bottom of the home page. You do NOT need to be a Flying Pig club member to participate!

https://fpqrp.org

No dues
No rules
Just fun

We hope to see you there!

de KB9BVN
Brian
FP -57

US-4215 Morgan Monroe State Forest

Finally got back out there in the wilderness today. Instead of the old standby of Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area I took a longer drive do to Morgan County Indiana and activated at Morgan Monroe State Forest.  I haven't been here since September 2023, and this was my 40th park activation since starting in POTA in June of 2020.  I am definitely not setting any records but it was a beautiful day to be outdoors. 

The temperature was about 76 degrees, which compared to the 90's and upper 80's we've been having, it was delightful to say the least.  I got to the state forest at about 11:15AM EDT and got my station setup and operational but about 11:40AM.  The solar propagation numbers were not looking too good for the lower bands, 30m down to 80m was virtually silent., so I setup on 20m at a frequency of 14059 Kilohertz and started calling CQ POTA.

I did not break out the little AX1 antenna with the KX2 transceiver, instead I raised the mast on the Eagle One, attached a couple radials, and started tuning up.  The Eagle One is a telescoping vertical that raises to a full 10 meters in height. The band was pretty quiet and I was beginning to think I made the trip down here to just practice setting up. 

With the attached radials, this antenna can be tuned on the 40m band down to the 10m band.  Which comes in pretty handy. 

I called CQ POTA for about 5 minutes, once every 30 seconds before I got that fist contact. K4AHO down in Florida answered my call.  I was running 10 watts today because I knew the band was not great.  In the next 8 minutes I made contact with W0PWE in Iowa, WE5K in Texas, W7GB in Washington State, VE3GRG in Ontario Canada, K5VWW in Nevada, and K9PMM in Florida.  That was GREAT...my hopes were raised, as you need 10 contacts for the activation to count.  

So I was munching on a bag of veggies, and enjoying a handmade turkey sandwich while I listened for a few minutes.  Next up was VE3GSS from Ontario Canada, N0EO from Minnesota, W5WIL from Oklahoma, K2MER from New Jersey and I finished up with AI5DD also in Oklahoma but he was operating from a park there.  This is called a Park to Park contact. always fun to work other operators in other parks. 

The site I was operating from within the state forest is a long term study of the local hardwood ecosystem in the Morgan Monroe State Forest. 

All in all a great day to play radio in the outdoors. The mosquitos eventually located my sweet juicy self and began attacking in full force. Total operating time was about an hour.  

The reverse beacon network was not having any trouble picking me up at 10 watts on the 20 meter band. 

Until next time! 

72 es OO de KB9BVN

I got Skunked Today...

 

KB9BVN here with my latest POTA report.  It skunked. This is the very first time I have been skunked on a POTA outing.  It was a very warm and breezy day, with a few sprinkles for good measure.  Today I tried a new spot, new to me at least.  Coyote Marsh at Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area, or in POTA terms US-4183. 

My mission was to mount the AX1 antenna in to a "puck" that was made for me by Bruce N9DBJ last fall. It allows you to screw in three aluminum legs, the AX1 goes right in the middle and there are places to connect ground radials with alligator clips or banana plugs.  So I got the antenna mounted in the center of the puck, attached the coax, and spread out two radials about 30 foot each in length.  AX was set to 20m so that is where I decided to start.  What I did not know was the band was not in very good shape at the moment.  I saw this SSN:126 SFI:153 A:12 K:1 when I got home.  A index over 5 or 6 makes it challenging to say the least.  What I did hear, I could just barely hear.  I even turned it up to 10 watts...and got no takers on 20m, 17m, or 15m. 

AX1 mounted on the N9DBJ Puck

My SUV with AX1 sitting on top.

I made zero contacts, for the first time ever.  The skunk was in the boat. 

My empty Log Book - Nothing sadder.

So as the wind picked up, and it started to sprinkle, I just packed it up.  Did some scouting for edible mushrooms, found none, found some interesting garbage left behind, all in all a good day to be outdoors. 

73 de KB9BVN

Brian

Quick Trip to the Park

I was able to leave work a little bit early today so I headed down to Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area, now known as US-4183, and setup shop in the Mink Meadow. This was a real time crunch for me, so I got set up in about 10 minutes, and got on the air for another 20 minutes, and managed 13 contacts all on 20m.  I noticed as I was tearing down the site, my KX2 was still set to 5 watts from last night's Second Sunday Night Sprint (hosted by the 4 States QRP Group).  

I managed to work several states out west, including Colorado, Washington, South Dakota, and Nevada.  That was nice to have in the logs. I did not have any time to hunt for Park to Parks, and had to get down the road.  Weather today was bright sun and 83F ... considering we had snow flurries and four days of rain last week, it was a welcomed change. 

I was pretty impressed with the way my 5w was getting out there, here's a snip from the reverse beacon network.  Not too shabby! 

Well anyway, I hope to get back out to the parks later this week...all depends on the April Indiana weather.  

73 de KB9BVN

Brian

Running for the Bacon

Today is St.Patrick's Day, and also today we have the "Run for the Bacon" CW sprint.  This sprint has been sponsored by the Flying Pigs QRP Club International for over 20 years now.  In it's heyday there would regularly be over 100 participants.  Over the years, participation has slowed down some, mainly due to the club not being as active as it once was. QRP is still very popular and we still have new member requests every week.  The club currently has just shy of 4900 members from all over the world.  

Club Founder Diz W8DIZ

We were hit with some very bad news this month when we learned of the passing of Dieter "Diz" Gentzow, the club founder.  Diz was a great guy, patient Elmer,  designer and purveyor of kits and parts for hams all over the world.  He and his beloved wife Nancy owned and operated kitsandparts.com for many years.  

With this news, efforts are being made to revive the club to a more active level, and tonight was the "Run for the Bacon Sprint".  I admit this is the first sprint I have participated in for many years, but I had a lot of fun with it, and I plan to make this monthly sprint a "must do" item on my calendar. 

I'd like to thank Dan Shepherd N8IE, and Jim Sheldon W0EB, for taking the bull by the horns and getting the website and the domain for the Flying Pigs secured.  We are all working on the website a little at a time to try and modernize some of the features, as well as stir up more interest in the club and club events. 

Check out the Flying Pigs QRP Club International.  One of the first virtual clubs on the web!

1. No Dues

2. No Rules

3. Just Fun

If we find something broken, we fix it. 

72 es OO de KB9BVN

Brian Murrey FP -57

Revisit - Brown County State Park

Today we set a new record.  The record high temperature for March 13 was set in 1995 at 70F degrees. Today, March 13 2024 we hit 76F degrees, smashing an almost 30 year record.  Interestingly enough, the coldest March 13 was in 1960 at 0F degrees...man am I glad that record didn't get smashed today! 

So I hadn't been to Brown County State Park since last October, I got off work a little bit early and headed 50 miles south of home to activate this park, known as K-2251.  I found a good place to operate from and got setup, and was on the air by 5:15PM.  I started out on 20m, running 14.061 Mhz for about a half an hour. Then moved to 40m on 7.065 Mhz for about 15 minutes.  I did manage to work Bill K4NYM down in Florida, he was at a park on 17m 18.089 Mhz, for a surprise Park to Park contact. 

Lookout Fort at North Gate- I operated from this area

Brown County State Park is the largest state park in Indiana, it covers a little over 16,000 acres, includes two lakes, campgrounds, a firetower, nature center, swimming pool, horse stable, mountain biking, hiking ranging from mild to rugged, and there is a nice Inn on the property with a sit down restaurant.  Located just outside Nashville Indiana off State Road 46.  

My view from my operating position - looking north

Firetower

If you ever get out this way, you'd really enjoy spending a day shopping and sightseeing in Nashville, and visiting the park.  The next time I come I will bring some charcoal and grill some burgers and dogs.  They have grills and picnic tables all over the park. 

I was on the air about 45 minutes total, managed to log 21 contacts, of which two were other parks. Not a bad afternoon.  I wanted to get home before it got dark, so I packed up the POTA mobile and headed north. 

I did not get any European or South American DX today, the band seemed a lot weaker than it was yesterday, but I forgot to note the propagation index numbers to compare.  I need to try and do that in the future so I can make legitimate comparisons. 

The firetower is open to the public, and if you are so inclined you can climb up to the top level and see for miles and miles in all directions.  This is the highest point in the park, I think, and the DNR has a lot of antennas up there on top.  I did not climb the firetower, I did forty years ago and it was quite a sight. 

Here is the map of my contacts tonight.  I was running about 8 watts

My QSO Map from Brown County State Park

Until next trip!  

73 de KB9BVN

Revisit - Stone Arch Lake and Chapel

Wow, another great day for getting outdoors. It didn't make it to 70 today but it got really close. Beautiful sunny, clear sky, and the best part is daylight savings time is in effect now so it is staying lighter later.  This is a good thing for after work POTA adventuring. 

So this afternoon I head back to Atterbury again, on a week night it is hard to beat since it is just thirty minutes from home.  The next closest park for me would be either Morgan Monroe State Forest K-4215, or Brown County State Park K-2251,coming in at 50 minutes each depending on which way the wind is blowing. One way. 

I decided to run over to Stone Arch Lake on the south and west end of Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area. I hadn't operated from there in about a year.  There was only one fishing boat in the water so I pretty much had the whole place to myself. 

Stone Arch Lake is the second biggest lake in the Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area, coming in at 25 acres, compared to 63 acres at Pisgah Lake.  According to the Indiana DNR stocking database, Stone Arch was last stocked in 2022 with 450 Channel Catfish.  It could use some help. It's beautiful, but not sure the fishing is that great. 

Stone Arch Lake - looking to the west

Stone Arch Lake is also next to the POW Chapel.  The Chapel was built by Italian POW's during WWII.  Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area used to be part of Camp Atterbury, which is still in existence just south of this location. The Camp served as a POW camp for Italian prisoners. 

Catholic POW Chapel built in 1946 by Italian prisoners

Today instead of the little AX1 antenna, I decided to deploy the Eagle One hitch mounted vertical.  This antenna collapses down to about 48 inches, I have been using it for the last  three years and it has done a great job.  Here's a picture of what the hitch mount looks like. I have two 30 foot radials clipped on the bracket holding the upright.  These make tuning on 40 meters, a breeze. 

Eagle One Hitch Mounted to the POTA Mobile 

I was running the KX-2 at 8 watts, Morse Code, and using the 3d printed paddles I got from Bruce N9DBJ.  They are taking a beating and they keep on working!  Started out on 20m frequency of 14.060 Mhz and was able to work coast to coast and up in to Canada.  Didn't get any European stations this evening.  Here is a map of where my signals were heard and worked.  

Contact Map for this outing - 20 contacts

So that's about it for today, weather supposed to be great again tomorrow, so I may try to get out and do it again after my work is done.  I can hear my grass starting to grow...UGH.  Spring is a week from today, can't get here fast enough.  

72 de KB9BVN

(72 is for low power 73's) 

Almost Spring!!

 

First good day above 70 degrees in the Hoosier Heartland!! GO POTA! 

So here is it Monday,the 4th of March and we're getting a beautiful top notch Spring like day, even though Spring is still fifteen days away.  As soon as the workday was over I got in the POTA mobile and headed to Pisgah Lake, located in the Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area, AKA K-4183. 

Pisgah Lake - 63 Acres in Atterbury Wildlife Area 

Pisgah Lake is 63 Acres in size, has a concrete boat ramp and you can access it from the north side or the south side of the lake.  At one time a very long time ago there was a bridge that linked the north side to the southside, but it has been gone for at least 50-55 years.

This lake is stocked by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and you will find Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish, Largemouth Bass, and two or three varieties of Bullheads.  

The best time to fish here is in the early spring, by June the weeds are pretty thick and the bugs will carry you off into the woods and chew on you for days.  This evening I setup my station in the parking lot next to the boat ramp. 

Trail through the woods, over to the dam

The view from my operating position 

Earth Dam at Pisgah Lake

Tonight I setup the KX-2 radio and the AX-1 antenna, with a single 14 foot radial draped over the POTA Mobile.  Something was not working well as I could not get the antenna to properly tune for the 20m band.  So I packed up that antenna and broke out the 33 foot tall portable vertical antenna, the Eagle One. I deployed that with two 35 foot radials made out of 18g speaker wire (zipcord).  It was able to tune the radio and antenna just perfectly. I was running 8 watts tonight. 

I started out working other parks on 20m, these are called Park to Park contacts, and that means I am in a park and they are in a park.  The first of five parks were VA3KOT at a park in Ontario Canada, AB9CA at a park in New Mexico, N9MM at a park in Texas, KL7AC at a park in Arizona, and then KE5AKL at a park in New Mexico.  The band was working great to the west.

About that time a DNR ranger SUV pulled up and two of the park rangers and I chatted about radio and fishing, and how nice the day was for about a half hour.  They were surprised when I showed them my gear and explained that I had contacted hams in Europe, the Caribbean, and South America with my little antennas and 8 watts of power.  They told me to come by the dispatch office and show them how to do it because they can't hardly talk from one end of the property to the other at times.  I explained I was using shortwave frequencies, and they were using VHF or UHF...which is line of site, and doesn't penetrate trees very well.  Not sure it sunk in but we had a good chat and then they moved on.  I ended up with 10 more contacts, furthest was Washington State. 

This is my first POTA outing of the month.  March is always a crapshoot for weather around here.  It's March 4th today, Indiana has already had two EF1 tornadoes, one near Gary Indiana this weekend, and one near Jeffersonville Indiana about a week ago.  Forecast for tomorrow is everything from light  showers, to heavy thunderstorms, with high gusts, and potential for severe weather all afternoon.  I hope to have four more parks activated this month, and with daylight savings time returning next weekend, that'll give me more daylight at the end of the day so maybe I can get out and work from some other parks.  Atterbury is just super convenient to me, being less than 30 minutes away from home. 

73 de KB9BVN

RadioActive At K-4183

 

I feel like I am off to a good start so far this year.  I just completed my 3rd park activation for the year.  All three have been at Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area in central Indiana, just north of Camp Atterbury.  My first trip this month was on February 11th when we got a day of unseasonal weather, meaning it was warm and sunny!  I was able to setup the KX2 and the AX-1 antenna and I worked 18 contacts, with four of them being Park to Park contacts. This was set up at the Parking Area 11A down by Stone Arch Lake, and it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon.  I got started at about 1PM and pulled stakes and headed back home at about 2PM, as the temperature was starting to drop again.  I was even visited by a flock of grouse, that started drumming and startled me pretty good!  

Parking Area 11 by Stone Arch Lake

My second activation at this location was on February  22, I ran down to the park when I got off work at 4PM.  By 5PM I was setup and operating, same setup using the KX2 and the AX-1 antenna.  I was able to work 24 stations in about 30 minutes, before it started getting dark. Best DX was Iggy EA2BD calling me from Pamplona Spain!! He gave me a 449 for the report and I was pretty happy to log that one!  This was a quick run down and a quick run back home.  Didn't see another person the whole time I was down there.  It's still pretty chilly and too cold to go fishing, at least for now.  My next activation at Atterbury was February 23rd, this evening. Once again I headed down right after work.  

This time I decided to try a new spot, new this year anyway, and I set up at Beaver Bottom Lake.  I was also happy to see the Indiana DNR had already dropped the Porta Potty at this location!  I was in position in the parking lot, with the KX-2 and the AX-1 antenna once again.  The AX-1 Antenna works on 17m and 20m.  I have been using it pretty much only on 20m the last few outings.  I still like to use my hitch mounted Eagle One vertical but when in a hurry the AX-1 can't be beat for ultra quick set up and tear down. 

Fishing Docks at Beaver Bottom

Beaver Bottom Lake at Atterbury

So tonight I operated from about 4:40PM to about 5:10PM, the going was much slower than the day before, best DX was Utah and Arizona.  The best contact was with Jay AJ4AY.  I met Jay almost 25 years ago, at a Flying Pigs QRP Club Field Day event at Caesar Creek State Park in Ohio.  He drove all the way up from Mobile Alabama to hang out with the Flying Pigs that weekend. 

 
We had the best time, and I've QSO'd with Jay a few times over the years.   It was great to hear his fist, and knowing we were both still above ground, and walking around.  One of the coolest things about amateur radio is you never know who you will bump into.  Thanks for working me Jay!  I loved it!!

Anyway that about wraps it up, I ended up with 14 contacts, and the breeze blowing off that lake was cold, so I packed it up until next time.  I am shooting for 30 activations this year, will try to do Atterbury one more time before March.  Once DST comes back on the 10th of March, I'll have more daylight to work with, and will start going out further to some other parks. 

73 de KB9BVN from K-4183 - Beaver Bottom Lake

BTW I LOVE those little 3D printed paddles that Bruce N9DBJ gave me.  They are great in the outdoors and hold up very well.