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