by William Eric McFadden
Pictures
- Eric's station, with the Charles Young House in the background; photo by Miles McFadden
Continued Insanity in the Face of a Polar Vortex!
Two members of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team succeeded
in activating Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument as part of the ARRL's year-long
National Parks on the Air (link). Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, and
Miles McFadden, KD8KNC, activated Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument, MN18 (link)
in Wilberforce, Ohio on a cold (26°), snowy, windy December early afternoon.
As at previous activations, Eric's station consisted of his Enhanced KX3 Travel Kit, his MFJ-1910 33' fiberglass telescoping mast, and a custom clipboard. Because of the cold temperature, Eric chose to operate inside the car and he chose to power the transceiver using the car's power socket instead of his 5aH gel-cell. Eric was on the air at 1649 UTC.
Eric operated only on 20m and his first QSO there came at 1650 UTC with WG0AT. QSOs came quickly on 20m with his 17th QSO coming at 1705 UTC with K5MUG. All Eric's QSOs were made at the 5-watt level.
Miles did not operate but helped with set-up and tear-down and did all the activation photography.
Eric recorded a temperature of 26°F during the operation. Set-up and tear-down were uncomfortably cold but the car interior remained relatively comfortable during the operation.
Map:
(return)