September 30, 2000

Ed, WA3WSJ and Rich, K7SZ, head out to the

AT to south of Tamaqua, PA on Route 309.

 Edsel Murphy has, once again, found where I live! Yesterday I wanted to be operating on the AT near S. Tamaqua in Northeaster PA around 11 AM EDT. I got there at 1115 and started setting up. One word: TRAFFIC!

 For those of you who need this info, my location was Maidenhead grid: FN20cr. (I, for one, favor using the Maidenhead system as it provides an accurate placement of the operation on the AT. Besides, why should the VHFers have all the fun).

 I had only one sinker for my sling shot/fishing reel. Lost it on the first attempt to get over a branch about 35 feet up. One thing to remember when planning an operating event on the AT, the trees are thick and your going to have problems getting your antenna high off the ground. Ed showed me a very easy method to place your antennas about 15-20 up using a spool of 30# test nylon fishing line. Ed uses the spool of line as the weight and tosses it over he limb he wants after peeling off 40 feet of so of line. This circumvents the need to take a sling shot and fishing reel in your pack. (With the current info being circulated about it being illegal to have a sling shot on PA Public Lands, which includes the AT, it might make more sense to try this method...it really works!).

 Here's where a spare Leatherman tool comes in handy. I tied the spare Leatherman onto the nylon line I was using, and slung it into the upper reaches of the tree. First shot and it work. (I sill like Ed's method better). Tromping though the poison ivy and poison oak, I connected the N2CX Gusher 20 meter antenna to the line and hoisted things up in the air. The dipole legs were staked out and I used the MFJ Antenna Analyzer to check the SWR. 3:1 ! Yikes! Looking things over, after Ed arrived, I saw that the dipole feed point was, indeed about 30 feet off the ground, but the nearby branches were causing the dipole legs to run parallel to the feed line for about 4 feet, effectively shortening the antenna! I dropped the center of the dipole down to about 25 feet and restrung the dipole legs. SWR was now 1.25:1 and I felt much better.

 The Red Hot 20 performed well. I wanted to use my LogiKey K-3 with it but brought the wrong connection cord, so I was stuck with the onboard keyer in the rig. Not that this is a bad thing, I just like the K3. It's a lot more versatile. The logging method I chose was he POQET pocket computer running Jr-EQF. I use Log-EQF on the main station computer and really like it. Jr-EQF works very well on the small POQET and is just the thing for logging while portable.

 I managed a dozen 20 meter Qs in about 3 hours of operation. I had to pack up and get back to Wilkes-Barre to baby-sit for my daughter and her husband who were celebrating their 10th  anniversary. I had an absolutely wonderful time operating with Ed Breneiser, WA3WSJ. Ed's major problem was there were so many folks calling him on 40 he couldn't get away from the rig long enough to go to the bathroom! Now that's dedication.

 Ed showed me quite a few tricks of the trade, since I was a AT Virgin. One thing for sure, I do like the tiny reels he uses to wind up his antennas. Speaking of which, Ed's 40 meter antenna was only about 15 feet off the ground and worked like gangbusters. It's a dipole fed with 300 ohm twin lead and a 4:1 balun. Ed's K2 did a fine job. I even used it on 20 for a short while.

Here's a list of the ops I worked:

 I also heard W6ABC calling me and gave him a 229. He came back with a 229 for me but I never got confirmation that he heard my report so I am not counting this contact...drat!

 I'd like to thank everyone involved with this project. Ed and I had a lot of fun and I am definitely up for this again. QSL's are being made for the 12 folks I worked. As soon as they are done I will mail them out via CB addresses.

Appalachian Trail sign on Route 309

Operating location

Rich's station

QRP Commando hits the bush!

72/73 to all

Rich K7SZ
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi all!

 Boy, I had a ball today on the AT in PA. I met Rich, K7SZ, about 11:45am and then set up my K2 and my WA3WSJ AT Cap Antenna. I loaded this antenna on all bands except 17m. Rich was on 20M and myself on 40M. I couldn't even get up to go to the rest room ( woods) because of everyone calling to me. Thanks a lot guys for all the calls. I even met a thru hiker who started from Maine. I asked him if he was going to make it because of the colder wx moving in. He said, " I'll just put on heavier clothing." We had a good day on the Blue Mountain in PA.

Where are we?

40 Meter Dipole for all bands

Clear out the cob webs

Now I am ready!

CQ de WA3WSJ/QRP/AT

K7?? who?

72,
ED, WA3WSJ