I have another another story for everyone.  Don't worry, I promise this is ham radio related, so don't bail out too early!  Sometimes it helps to give the background to how we ended up somewhere.

     So back to the task at hand - we loved the musical, so we watched the PBS special about it.  During the special, there were some references to Valley Forge (which just happens to be a national park...)  After having seen that, the YL said "we should go there tomorrow!"  As if I needed an excuse to go to NPOTA unit HP46....

     It was a rainy, somewhat chilly day, but considering some of the weather Washington and his men had to deal with while they were, I have no right to complain.  Our trip started with a stop at the visitor center so we could watch the short video, and grab a map.  Future Operator 1 was well dressed for the weather - rain coat and all!

     I also made sure to sign the visitor's log while we were there, along with grabbing our map, and snapping this picture of GW himself.

     Once we did the driving tour, and made a couple stops, we decided that the parking lot for Washington's Headquarters would be a great place for me to do my activation.  I wasn't on the air long, but in the 30 - 45 minutes or so that I was on the air, I managed 50 contacts - awesome!  Since I like to learn things, or at least have a couple takeaway's (although sometimes it's just new questions...) here's the things that jumped out this time around:

1. There are a lot more people on the radio on the weekends!  Most of my activations end up being weird weekday / random times because I do them during work travel.  this was probably the fastest and biggest pileup I ever generated, and it wasn't even a rare park!
2. Some people turn into instant weirdo's in a pileup.  At one point I started going by the numbers because the pileup was such a zoo.  I wasn't surprised that some people called out of order (I usually just ignore those folks - if you can't follow directions, you won't get the contact) but there were 2 this time that were really odd:  There was one person, whom I never acknowledged, but who held their entire half of a contact, as though I had answered them (whoever you are, you're not in my log.)  Then there was the person that called over and over, with a BIG signal, during the 2's, that wasn't a 2.  I finally answered that person but gave them a 0-0 report - I read somewhere that this is the short way of saying "I hear you, but I'm not logging you because you're being a lid."  Again, whoever that was - you're not in the log.  Lastly, was the "pileup police"  who insisted on yelling at everyone else in the pile-up who called out of turn (P.S. that doesn't help!  It's like the auditorium full of kids in an elementary school all hushing each other.)
3. In spite of the couple bad eggs, Ham radio is awesome!  I've done 20-some different parks now, and every time has been a blast!  It makes me even more excited for my upcoming NPOTAthon 2.0 - it's less than a week away!

     Here it is folks!  Some of you asked for it, and I didn't think it was going to happen, but the stars aligned, and I am now pleased to announce that NPOTAthon 2.0 will be happening on Sunday October 30th!  Mark your Calendars, because just like my first NPOTAthon, I'll need all of you to make this a success!

     During the first NPOTAthon I tried for 12 as well, but only successfully activated 10 parks in 1 day - I'm going to attempt to beat that record, AND I'm going to attempt to do it in less time!  The shorter timeframe isn't just a goal because I'm part masochist - it's an unfortunate side effect of the fact that a couple of the parks near the end of this route close at Sunset, and the days are getting shorter!  My first stop will start around 6:00 am.  My schedule gives me 30 minutes to operate at each park, with a total of about 1hour of wiggle room in the whole day - it will be tight, but with your help I can do it!

     Like all good plans, I have this timed down to the minute, but on the day of big show, anything could happen, so follow along on my Facebook Page the day of the event, where I'll post as I go.  Be sure to "like" my page so that you get the notices in your feed as I move from park to park!  You can also keep your eye on the NPOTA Facebook group as I'll share the posts there so that the regular gang of chasers can keep tabs on me as well.  

This leg covers the first 6 stops of the day, starting at approximately 6:00 EST / 10:00 UST.

• Eisenhower                NS13     6:00EST     10:00UST
• Gettysburg                 MP03     6:34EST     10:34UST
• Catoctin Mountain     DZ01     7:29EST     11:29UST
• Monocacy                  BF06      8:30EST     12:30UST
• Hampton                    NS33      9:56EST     13:56UST
• Greenbelt Park          DZ04      11:16EST   15:16UST

This leg picks up where leg 1 left off, and covers the next stops.

• Fort Washington                     DZ03     12:22EST     16:22UST
• Piscataway Park                     DZ07     13:11EST     17:11UST
• Manassas                                BP02     14:39EST     18:39UST
• Prince William Forest Park    DZ08     15:48EST     19:48UST
• Fredricksburg/Spotslyvania   MP02     16:44EST     20:44UST
• Green Springs                        AA09     18:23EST     22:23UST

     These activations will all be from my mobile, because that is the only way to hit this timeline.  It is also quite likely that all the activations will be on one band - either 20m or 40m (but probably 40m again) depending on propagation.   At the end of NPOTAthon 2.0 I'll be sending out QSL cards, the same way I did last time, and I'll also publish the list of "Most Contacted" so that everyone can see who got me at the most parks on the day of the event - will there be some new leaders, or will it be familiar callsigns?  That's up to you!

     Also, just like last time, if anyone wishes to contribute to the event, I am asking for no monetary support.  All I need is your best wishes, prayers for safety on my travels, and for you to be there on the other end of the radio waves when I call:

​CQ CQ CQ November 3 Victor Echo Mike for Parks on the Air

     Okay okay....not that kind of flying ham.  I meant this guy (*N3VEM points both thumbs at himself*)  
     So, I quite regularly see folks asking questions about traveling with Ham Radio equipment on commercial flights.  Short answer - it's easy!  As much as we think people will get excited about our radio equipment, at the end of the day, TSA sees much weirder stuff than our radios and they don't get paid enough to care about our specific brand of geekiness (is that a word?) In fact, ham radios are so non-exciting to TSA that they specifically give them the greenlight for either checked baggage or carry-on.  They just give you the generic warning about being careful how you pack electronics so things don't get damaged.  Like any other large electronics you just have to take your radio out and send it through the x-ray machine on its own if you carry-on (from experience, the 857d is considered large, but the MFJ 30 amp switching power supplies and LDG tuners are not.)
     With that bit of information out of the way, I figured the easiest way to show how I generally travel with my gear, would be to do a photo-journal.  Depending on the trip, I can sometimes get everything I need into just my carry-on/personal item (see Packing the Bags that I wrote before a trip to southwestern Ohio) but often times for work, I'm taking other equipment, so I have to take a checked bag anyway.  I would imagine that when most people travel they are doing the standard 1 checked bag, 1 carry-on, 1 personal item arrangement.  Without further ado, here's how I fit my ham radio gear into that situation for a week-long trip (I am willing to re-wear things like pants, but I insist on clean socks and underwear....):

I start with this.  I use this because it's provided by my work, to move some of our equipment around in, but it's within the size limits of checked baggage, so you can do the same thing in any large suitcase:

     Next I put a layer of pick and pluck foam in the bottom of the case, followed by the first layer of my stuff:

Next Layer:

 And then.......

Get ready for it.....

But wait, there's more:

There's still room in the box...

Is he done yet?  Nope....

Will you just close the lid already?  Okay, but this was only the checked bag - I still have my carry-on and personal item!

  
So, there's the checked bag.  You might have noticed that there was no radio in there....that's because I prefer to carry that on so that I can keep my eye on it.  I use an old, hard, laptop case as my "personal item."  The specific one I use isn't available anymore (I bought it with a laptop about 100 years ago...) but there are similar models out there.  This is another case where I put the stuff in, and then just pad as needed with foam.

Finally, done packing.  Here's the goods, ready to roll out the door:

     But wait, you say, you didn't tell us what was in the backpack, or where you got that awesome backpack with your callsign on it (L.L. Bean.  It was an anniversary gift from the YL, and I love it!)  
     I didn't show you the inside of that, because the backpack is whatever other random stuff I happen to take along.  It usually includes my toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, comb (I rely on the hotel to provide any other needed toiletries), an issue or 2 of QST, whatever book I happen to be reading at the time, my Samsung Tablet, my Laptop, and an HT and it's charger.  Sometimes even a spare set of clothes or extra pair of shoes.  
     The last recommendation I have is the headphones you see hanging through the bag.  I love them, because they communicate wirelessly (bluetooth) with my cell phone and tablet for making calls, watching videos on the plane, etc.  but they also have a wire that you can plug in and use in an analog fashion, so I use the same set of headphones to plug into my radio if I don't want to rely on the built in speaker in the 857d (I still use the hand mic for transmit audio.)  They are the Skullcandy Hesh 2 headphones - I don't go anywhere without them because it's one set that will do it all!

     Now that you've seen how I pack, and you've gotten some of my recommendations for the gear I use, do you have any questions?  Are you ready to grab your gear and zip across the country?  Are you confident that all those folks who talk about the scary TSA people and all the weird things they will do to you and your radio probably aren't speaking from personal experience, now that you've seen what someone who actually flies multiple times a month takes with them?  I took all these pictures while packing for last weeks trip to LA, when I activated the Santa Monica Mountains for NPOTA, so check out my post called Pop Culture Central to see how I set this stuff all up on the other end.   

N3VEM out.

     So, knowing the demographic of most of my fellow hams, I'm sure Weezer isn't at the top of many of your playlists, but when they declare "Beverly Hills, that's where I want to be" they're only one of many groups in the entertainment world that make reference to the area I traveled to for work last week.  Sherryl Crow claims that when she's there she just wants to "...have some fun, till the sun comes up over Santa Monica Boulevard" (which happens about 3 hours after this East Coaster's body clock gets him out of bed...)
    Not to be left out, the TV producers have based a ridiculous number of storylines in the area - The Beverly Hillbillies, Melrose Place, The O.C., and some of The Real Housewives all happened in the area, along with a LOT of other shows (just check the Google machine and you can see how long the list is).  Lastly, there are just as many movies that took place in the area - Blade Runner, the Terminator Series, Demolition Man, Blue Streak, Crank, and Hancock are just some of the ones that are set in and around LA.

     If you're like me however, you're in LA for business.  This means that the majority of your time is spent on less glamorous things, in less glamorous places, like these:

     Luckily, I came prepared, and I did find time to sneak off one evening and get in about an hour of radio time in the Santa Monica Mountains, otherwise known as NPOTA unit RC17!  
     For this trip, I had packed along my standard HF gear.  While in the park I used the rental car and it's battery as my power supply, using this fancy arrangement that travels with me:

     I also have several short lengths of extension cable made up so that I have some flexibility where I set my equipment.  In this case that ended up being on the ground in front of my parked car.

    The rental car also provided me with something else - a counterweight to anchor my Buddipole antenna.  Thank you un-named rental company, for so kindly letting me use the spare tire in your car in this manner:

     As I mentioned, I was on a short timeframe for this activation.  I only had about an hour between the time I arrived and sunset, when the park closed.  This meant that between setup and teardown, I only had about 20 minutes of actual on-air time, but I managed to hand out this park to 21 chasers in  that window!  Also, because of the short time I had, I didn't get many pictures other than the ones above.  I did manage 2 quick shots from the parking area around the visitors center, and one GPS screenshot to prove I was actually there however!  
     Oh, and I might have fibbed about only getting to see the less glamorous places - I also got to poke around a place that many folks visit with their little ones because they are a customer of ours. Unfortunately, that visit was for work so I couldn't put that park on the air....

     73 till next around!

     Sorry for the blog silence during the last week.  If you happen to have seen my posts on instagram (yup - I joined instagram - all the cool kids are doing it!) you know I have done a little bit of radio.  If you happened to catch my posts on the NPOTA facebook group (like my YL did!) you know that I had some headaches.

     It's hard to get motivated to write about a "failure" but I think it's good to do for a couple reasons - first, for other newer hams it lets them know that sometimes things don't go well, and we can still have fun, and for me, writing about it helps move the thoughts around in my brain so I can learn from them better, and sometimes it prompts the Elmer's out there to reach out and give me some pointers, which I always appreciate!

     So, let the story commence....

Due to a "strategy change" in how the group I work for in my company plans it's district visits, between now and Thanksgiving we're doing some district visits where we team up, which means my co-workers who cover other areas of the country will come help me with some visits, and I'll go help them with some. Basically this means I'll be doing a handful of trips to areas of the country I wouldn't normally go to - so of course I want to try to hit some parks for some NPOTA and WWFF activations while I'm at it - after all if I have to be away from my family, I might as well get something out of it.

     This particular trip was to the Seattle area.  This time around also required bringing some equipment that I don't normally travel with, so some of my radio gear was able to be tucked into my checked baggage.  I didn't want to leave my 857d in the hands of the baggage crews however, so my actual rig, and a power supply (just in case I stumbled across AC power) got carried on to the plane with me as my "personal item."

     The case I have is one I bought with a laptop about 12 years ago, so I couldn't find the exact same thing, but these are the closest thing I can find on amazon now:

After my first day of meetings, I dashed back to my hotel, and grabbed my goodies. The pelican case isn't actually mine - it's one we use for work equipment, and when I have to travel with my work equipment I just stick my personal things in the nooks and crannies so that I don't have to check too many bags. It works out great though, because it is purposefully sized to be just under the size limit for air travel (weight can be another story depending on what you pack...)

With my stuff in hand I headed off to Mt Rainier. The highest point you can drive to on Mt. Rainier is just over 6,000 feet in elevation, so off I went, very optimistic about the number of contacts I was going to make, because of how high I was going to be! My biggest regret is that I was driving and couldn't take more pictures! The view is amazing, and Mt. Rainier is pretty impressive - did you know it's a volcano, just waiting to blow? And when it does the Tacoma/Seattle port will apparently fill with silt and no longer be a port..
There is a lot of other cool information about this Mountain, and the range that it is in - make sure to Google it, and to check out the park service's website for Mt. Rainier.

     So - while the view is great up here, let me pass out a tip to any of my fellow East Coasters that might find themselves in the mountains out west:  If you drive 6,000+ feet into the air it's going to be cold up there.  Like 40 degrees cold.  That's not bad if you're dressed appropriately, but if you're just wearing jeans and a long sleeve NPOTA t-shirt it can make for a chilly time while you set up your antenna.

     So why wasn't I successful in my activation?  Well, it was a number of things, that combined for a perfect storm.  Anyone who wants to give me their thoughts and advice on any of these things PLEASE comment and share - I'm always desperate for any gems of information I can glean from the more experienced hams out there:

• Fighting with my antenna mast. I have a buddiepole that usually works pretty well for me, but it's an older model that I bought used, and the clamps for each section have been wearing out. Several gave out at once, so I wasn't able to get my antenna more than about 6 feet in the air. Maybe time for the new mast that has the redesigned clamps...(or maybe I just make the switch to wire antennas....thoughts?)
• A noisy power supply. I took along a wire harness I had made up that has battery clamps on one end and powerpoles on the other. This way I could run my radio off the rental car's battery. As it turns out though, my rental car was making noise at about an S7 level, so I tried to operate some, run the car some to charge the battery, etc. Should I just start traveling with batteries? Maybe one of those fancy new Lithium Iron (that's right Iron, not Ion) Phosphate batteries...(message to my YL: if you let me buy one of the bigger ones of those, I promise not mention a tower for at least a month...)
• An inefficient antenna? Once I finally figured out how to temporarily keep my mast up (electrical tape) and figured out what my noise source was and turned it off (the rental car) I only got 1 answer to my CQ's, that I could barely hear - something in the range of a 3-3 both ways. For a lot of my activations I use the equipment permanently mounted in my vehicle - a hamstick. With that hamstick I've always had great luck on 40 meters, but my buddiepole on 40 meters seems hit or miss. Should I reserve my buddiepole for 20/17/15/12/10/6/2 and just start using wire on 40 meters?

     Because the mountain activation was a dud I decided to try and activate my hotel room instead the next night.  Unfortunately, as is the case with many hotels, the noise was very high.  I'm not sure if it had something to do with all the who-knows-what that could be generating RFI in the hotel, or if it had to do with what was right outside my hotel window:

 Bummer.  Maybe next time I'll have more luck.