Plans for 2026...

Here we are in 2026 and wondering what surprises this year will bring - and given the current state of the world, who knows what will happen.

I've been spending a few days making my amateur radio plans for this year, such as continuing my QRP operating, regardless of our place in the solar cycle and continuing my portable operations.

I'm still doing my "do my own thing" agenda that I started in 2017. I'm doing what I want to, when I want to do it....on my time and my space. It's a healthy "no stress" way of living, and I feel a lot better for it...and of course the older you get the better that approach is for you.

I want to restart my weekend morning QRP activities, and hopefully I can get them restarted as soon as the temperatures come out of single digits and the snow/ice disappears from the local POTA operating locations. These activities will be open to other local hams who want to join me. This is an extremely relaxing time for me, just a great way to spend a quiet morning...you guys should try it.

Plans are still being made to take part in Winter & Summer Field Days, the ILLW, and the US Island QSO Party. These have become staples in my yearly operating calendar, as have the four annual Support Your Park events for POTA.

This year I'm also planning another long road trip back home to the West Coast....I'm calling it the "Ultimate Odyssey Tour 2026" - 31 days, 10,500 km, and 52 POTA Parks, including 11 ATNO's. This will in all probability be my last solo trip home....The "Boss" has spoken.

The truck is still ready to go as I didn't remove the bed or storage racks from the last trip of last year. I've just got to clean the camping equipment, and the back of the truck, and I should be ready to roll. Hopefully I will have better weather than I had in 2024.

And as usual I look forward to writing about my adventures...or the lack thereof!

Stay Safe Out There!

First of the Year...

The first activation of 2026 happened this morning and conditions were not too bad. Lemoine Point, CA-5141, was fairly deserted when I got there, which I fully expected after the large snowfall we had yesterday....in fact it's still snowing.

15m SSB was the "go-to" band today, lots of activity there....as well as the now traditional tuner-upper and whistlers. I did try 10m and 17m but had no luck there.

First in the log today was Stuart, M0TTQ, followed by OS8D and GW0RQC. To be honest, I didn't expect any DX today given the band conditions, so these three were a nice surprise. I handed out a good number of S9 signal reports and received in return S5 to S9, so the hamstick was working well, and the 10w was definitely getting out and doing its job.

Propagation was: SFI=166, SN=124, A Index=24, and the K Index=2. There was some QSB, but not enough to worry about. The temperature was a rather frigid -16C (3F).

I have a new rule starting this year, any antenna I use on an activation that takes more than 10 minutes to erect, will not be used. I'm no longer "faffing" about with them, and for the most part my experience with them is that they don't work any better than my hamsticks do. I will therefore be in stealth mode for most of my activations. 

All-in-all a good start to 2026, and let's hope it gets better from here!

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Here Comes 2026...

There were some great amateur radio adventures during 2025 including both Winter & Summer Field Days, many park activations, Chillycon, as well as activating a few islands in late summer.

I have ended the year with over 5300 new QSO's in my logbook, 219 POTA activations, 47 new POTA parks activated, two island activations a lighthouse all successfully completed, as well as 36 DX Countries worked, and I had a total blast doing it all.

My 2026 plans are still being thrown together, I'm guessing it won't be a quiet year....and I may just be able to top my 2025 activity list. Among other things, I do have plans for both Winter and Summer Field Days, and Chillycon once again.  I'm looking at a month long road trip that is currently in the early planning stages to activate some new (to me) POTA Parks, and SOTA Summits, a bit further afield. 

One plan from last year that never happened was doing Summer Field Day from Northern Ontario. That plan will carry over into 2026 from last year.....As Baldrick would say: "I have a cunning plan".

And finally, a big THANK YOU to all my readers and visitors here, I really appreciate you dropping in.

Stay Safe Out There!!

Merry Christmas...

May peace, happiness and goodwill be with you and your family not only on Christmas, 
but throughout the year and beyond. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a

Happy New Year for 2026.

Last Activation Before Christmas?...

The question today is: "Can I go 5 days without doing a POTA activation?".....probably not, but I'm going to try. However, given the incoming weather and propagation forecasts for the next week it may be easier than I think.

This morning I drove to Lemoine Point and did a quiet activation there. It was nice and quiet, I suspect most of the usual walkers and dog people are busy doing their Christmas shopping, and have no time for exercise.

Propagation today was: SFI=118, SN=47, A Index=6, and the K Index=1. There was also no sign of any QSB today.

First in the log today was John, K8ELS, from Huntington, WV. Interestingly, John is the third generation of his family to have that callsign. Both his Grandfather and his Dad had it before him. I can't imagine that there are many third generation callsigns out there.

John was also operating QRP, 5w SSB. He had a fantastic signal, a solid S9 into my location. I was using my KX3 at 10w into my usual hamstick antenna. I used both 40m and 15m today, and managed to get 15 contacts in the log. 

The only DX contact today was with Gaspar, KP4GSC, in Puerto Rico, he managed to work me on 15m SSB with a nice S9 signal.

Here's today's contact map:

Stay Safe Out There!!

Nice Day...

Thursday was a nice day around here....for a change. Gone were the negative temperatures, and just to be different we had a positive temperature, with no snow or freezing rain falling from the heavens. It was time to go and activate a park!

I have a choice of two, very close, local parks, Lemoine Point and Parrott's Bay. The last time I was at Parrott's Bay the parking lot was a total mess due to not being plowed after a large snow fall, and I thought that might be the last activation there for the winter as it was turning to solid ice. Well.....unusually for this time of the year they finally got around to cleaning out the lot, so it was off there for a quick activation. 

First up was Gary, VA3GHB, in Halliburton, with a nice S7 SSB signal, and thirteen contacts later I shut down. All contacts were made on 40m with my KX3 and a Hamstick.

Propagation was SFI=119, SN=75, A Index=18, and the K Index=3. I didn't notice any QSB which made for a nice activation. There are a few more days coming up where the weather looks half decent enough to get out and play radio in a park. I can't see travelling too far from home given the uncertainty of the weather patterns we seem to be having. But it will be nice to get away from the noise and Christmas rush, and just relax with the KX3.

Here'e the contact map:

Stay Warm and Safe Out There!

10m Contest...

ARRL 10-Meter Contest is this weekend starting on Saturday, December 14 at 0000 UTC, and concluding on Sunday, December 15 at 2359 UTC. 

Stations may contact any other station, regardless of location, using CW and phone.

The Rules can be found HERE.

I'm hoping to get on for a few hours over the weekend. It's been a long time since I took part in this contest, but this year it looks pretty good propagation wise.

Good Luck, have fun out there, and Stay Safe!!

A Cold Day...

This morning I decided to activate Parrott's Bay, CA-5142. This will probably be my last activation there until the spring unless they decide to plow out the parking lot.....which they didn't do last year. The conservation area is still open, but I needed to turn on my 4-wheel drive to get into the parking lot, as it has about a foot of snow over it.

It was a nippy -18C (0.4F) morning with the wind there today, making antenna changes very uncomfortable.

I started on 40m SSB and called for over 10 minutes and another 8 minutes on CW without a response, This is highly unusual as I can normally scare somebody up on that band....but not today. There were a number of stations on POTA Spots shown working on 40m, but I went looking for them and never heard a single one.

I then moved to 20m and made 22 easy SSB contacts in 18 minutes, so it seems 40m was just being fickle today. First in the log was John, N2XD in North Carolina. No DX was either heard or worked.

Radio was the KX3 with hamsticks for my antenna.

Propagation was: SFI=194, SN=131, A Index=8, and the K Index=0, and no QSB.

Here's todays contact map:

Stay Safe and Warm Out There!!

Finally Got Out...

It's been a weird week both propagation and weather wise here so not much radio work has been done.....in fact today was the first time this week I have been out playing portable radio.

It was -4C (24F) when I arrived at Lemoine Park this morning for a very quick activation, It was a good job that no wind was blowing to make it even worse. Winter has definitely arrived already in Collins Bay.

Propagation looked awful. Fortunately I only looked at the numbers after I arrived in the park, otherwise I would have probably stayed home. Today they were: SFI=138, SN=64, A Index=22, and the K Index=4. On top of that the solar wind was up at 620 kps, which really doesn't help matters at all.

Radio used today was my KX3 set at 10w, and as usual I used a hamstick for my antenna.

I set up on 40m, which was shown as being in poor condition, and almost immediately had Ben, KM6HJC, call me from Ohio. Another thirteen contacts made it into my log before the band seemed to shut down and I packed up.

Next week's weather isn't looking too good at the moment. The weather man is calling for snow every day, so that may slow things down a bit.

Here's todays contact map:

Nothing outstanding, and no DX. Just good fun!

Stay Safe Out There!! 

A Complaint...

I received an email last night from a reader of the Blog asking why I do so much POTA. Apparently, he doesn't appreciate the fact that I like to operate QRP, and outdoors, and he's tired of reading about it.

First of all I like to operate outdoors. It's very relaxing, and I think a damn site better for me than sitting in the shack operating all day. 

Over the years I have been doing POTA I believe it's greatly improved my operating skills. It's certainly forced me to learn CW. Keep in mind I only operate QRP when I'm portable. With QRP you either improve your skill level or you don't make many contacts. These skills also transfer over to operating QRO, so it's a win-win situation. 

Why QRP? Well let's be honest here, any fool can go out and use 200w and make 100's of contacts using big rigs and heavy batteries. I prefer the opposite, small rigs and lightweight Bioenno batteries, items I can carry with no problem in a small rucksack. I also don't care if I make 10 contacts or 100 when I'm at a park, it's the fact I'm out relaxing in nature that matters to me.

QRP requires that you also have a good grasp of the daily propagation, and how it affects the various bands so it enhances your operating session. It's all part of the bigger learning package. 

And finally, it's my hobby and I do it my way. The only person I have to please is me. It's ok by me if you don't want to read about my adventures.

For many years after I left the Air Force I suffered with huge Anxiety Attacks, a form of PTSD. Nothing helped me, and for a long time I was in a pretty dark place. Then I found POTA and threw myself into it hoping it would give me something different to think about, trips to plan, and something to look forward to other than staring at four walls in the house. It has worked, I very rarely suffer through an anxiety attack since I started doing POTA.........That's why I do it.