3000km, 13 Days and 5 Activations – Not a Good Start!

Everything was packed and ready to embark on our 12 night camping and Parks On The Air (POTA) expedition to Northern Ontario. It would be about a three thousand kilometer round trip with stops at Chutes Provincial Park (VE-0181) on the north shore of Georgian Bay, then Pancake Bay Provincial Park (VE-0336) just north of … Continue reading 3000km, 13 Days and 5 Activations – Not a Good Start! →

VE3KOT meets VA3KOT

The Ontario QSO party was in full swing and I was having a ball logging lots of CW QSOs, mostly US stations hunting for VE3s and VA3s. Then I heard another Ontario station calling and I thought to myself "I just gotta bag this one!" So I called him back and then the frequency fell … Continue reading VE3KOT meets VA3KOT →

The Red Button and the Conservation Officer

A few kilometers south of MacGregor Point Provincial Park (where we were camped and successfully activated the day before) is an unusual Parks On The Air (POTA) entity called Stoney Island Conservation Area (#VE-1646). A Most Unusual ParkPOTA designations in Canada are usually reserved for National and Provincial Parks. But this park is a day … Continue reading The Red Button and the Conservation Officer →

Wires that Stick and Ticks that Bite!

They say problems come in threes; they are wrong. This POTA activation involved four problems and one of them was bad! It was the end of the first week in May 2022 and XYL and I were on our first camping trip of the season with our old friend "Harvey". Harvey is a 19ft KZ … Continue reading Wires that Stick and Ticks that Bite! →

What Are We Prepping For?

In the summer of 1969 a musician called Country Joe McDonald went onto the stage at the Woodstock festival in New York and performed an impromptu solo performance to fill a gap in the schedule. The song he performed became an iconic memento of the festival. To paraphrase Country Joe's lyrics: "and it's 1,2,3 what … Continue reading What Are We Prepping For? →

First POTA Activation of 2022

Friday 29th April was a mild, sunny day in southern Ontario and I was eager to get outside and play radio. My wife suggested one of our favourite places, Black Creek Provincial Park in Northern Bruce Peninsula and I readily agreed. Most Ontario Provincial Parks are well signposted to make them easy to find. But … Continue reading First POTA Activation of 2022 →

Enough About Winlink Already!

The most important task that amateur Radio operators could be asked to perform in an emergency is … to send emails? The amateur radio emergency preppers have circled their wagons around a technology called Winlink. This proprietary collection of software facilitates sending emails over radio. Those who live in the Winlink bubble have made sending … Continue reading Enough About Winlink Already! →

Random Wire Revelations

Back to QRP I was inspired to dig my old Hendricks PFR3 QRP rig out of the closet recently. I wanted a super lightweight rig with an easy to deploy, but efficient, antenna that I could grab and go without any advance planning. VA3KOT's Hendricks PFR3 QRP/CW radio The antenna I chose was a random … Continue reading Random Wire Revelations →

Wire Supports for Solid Ground

One of the challenges of living in the Great White North at this time of year is frozen ground. I was reminded of that just recently when, after a few days of milder temperatures, I optimistically stepped out of the house to probe the ground with one of the stakes I use for supporting the … Continue reading Wire Supports for Solid Ground →

A Backpack Radio Lap Desk

It isn't always easy to find a picnic bench just where you need one for outdoor radio operations. Quite often a compromise is necessary. That is where my lap comes in handy. Somewhere convenient to put the logging notepad, writing instrument, CW paddles and a small clock for logging the time when contacts are made. … Continue reading A Backpack Radio Lap Desk →