The Valley of the Moon Amateur Radio Club (VOMARC) held its annual picnic in Sugarloaf Ridge State Park for the second time on September 22, 2024.
Darrel (WD6BOR) expertly manned the grill and produced a non-stop output of hamburgers and hotdogs for all interested.
As if that wasn’t enough, the food table contained a wide variety of main courses and sides to satisfy almost any interest. Various desserts and beverages rounded out the cornucopia.
Compared to last year, there were far fewer yellowjackets. This was a definite plus!
We combined conversation and a filling meal with a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. Using both CW and FT8, we made 49 contacts. This included stations in six different countries which included the United States, Mexico, Canada, Japan, Fiji and Madeira. Both stations used 25 watts or less of power.
We used battery power for both transmitters and simple wire antennas. Ed (W1EJ) used a vertical on CW. I used an end fed long wire antenna hanging on low tree branches. All in all, it was a very simple installation with quick set up and tear down times.
We have uploaded all log information to both Logbook of the World (LoTW) and Parks on the Air (POTA). With this new log, the club now has two activations and 109 QSOs recorded on the POTA site. Technically, we have three activations since our efforts crossed over 0000 UTC into the 23rd.
Someone hid a transmitter nearby in the brush and a few members used their recently constructed 2M tape measure Yagi’s to track it down. Stan (NJ6E) even had his antenna with modifications that included 3D printed parts.
After about three and a half hours everyone was full and we had exceeded the required number of QSOs for an official park activation.
VOMARC members finishing up their meal and catching up.
Our FT8 station, running on battery and Diet Coke power.
