Back to POTA again...finally

Pisgah Lake at US-4183 Atterbury 

Well it has been a very busy month at the KB9BVN household.  Spent a week at the beaches of North Carolina a couple weeks ago, went with my oldest son and his family, there were twenty one of us in total and it was a GREAT time.  Weather was a little cool for the beach but the kids and all of us managed to get some significant beach time in.  

Then back to work, took several days to get caught up from being gone on vacation but by the end of the week it was all back to normal.  Then we got a fantastic holiday weekend.  This weekend is also our wedding anniversary, and we have been busy celebrating 46 years, all weekend.  Cookout, another cookout, a great dinner out at Ruth Chris, it's just been non-stop here. 

This morning we took a drive to visit some of the family cemetery plots. I had purchased a jug of stone cleaner, a garden sprayer, and a few gallons of water to use for cleaning headstones.  Several of them had become stained with mildew and moss and we wanted to clean them up.  We finished up around 1:00PM and headed home, I had POTA on my mind, and Ann had arranged to have a early dinner with her sister at the Cheesecake Factory in Greenwood.  So there I was, with a hall pass to POTA! 

Today I didn't stray too far from home.  Drove down to Atterbury Fish and Wildlife Area (POTA US-4183) and decided to set up near one of the lakes there.  I chose Pisgah Lake, I hadn't been there in about a year, and it is the largest lake on the wildlife area property.  

POTA Mobile with Eagle One Portable Vertical

Two 30 foot radials attached, with hopes of working 40m

I think it took about 20 minutes to get everything setup and ready to go.  I spent a total of about 45 minutes on the air, and ended up with 14 contacts today on 7060 Khz (40m band). 

Station in Action! Contacts being logged!  

14 Contacts on 40m this afternoon. 

As you can see, none of the contacts were any great distance, the band seemed a little muffled, and was in a state of changing every ten or fifteen minutes.  I have not looked at the posted solar conditions but I would have to guess we were in the midst of a solar flare, or the remnants of one.  When I got home I checked the Reverse Beacon Network and I can see where my signal was being heard and how the signal strength was bouncing around due to atmospheric conditions. 

I managed to get a little bit sunburned, but to tell the truth, the sun felt good today, as it has been unseasonably wet and cool the last couple of weeks.  Looks like that will all be changing next week.  I love summer! 

I hope you all were able to participate in Memorial Day activities, and I am glad we have this day to honor those who gave their all, their lives, in the service of this nation.  

Best DX until the next time! 

de KB9BVN