The First 100 Years Are The Hardest

 One of my goals over the last year was to crack the Top 25 activity position for the RBN Network.  I got close - back in September as low as position 28.   This equates to being 'active' ie spotted by the RBN network on as many bands and as many hours as possible in a each 24 hour period.    I cracked the Top 50 in December 2024, and was Amazed.   7 months later I cracked the Top 30 in July, averaging 8.9 hours with at least 1 RBN spot each day for the last 356 days.  I got to #28 but I don't remember taking a screenshot so sharing #29.   Its a small thing, and I was able to "game the game" as they say.  It filled the time, gave me something to do in my off hours.   Notice this doesn't mean I was active for a solid 9 hours a day.  I could call CQ right before the top of the hour, get spotted by RBN, change bands, and continue calling a a few minutes right after the hour changed.  2 hours credit for 5 minute...

 A trip to Marfa Texas wouldn't be complete without a day trip up to the Fort Davis National Historic site.   Located in the foothills of the Davis Mountain range, Fort Davis is one of the best surviving examples of an Indian Wars' frontier military post in the Southwest. From 1854 to 1891, Fort Davis was strategically located to protect emigrants, mail coaches, and freight wagons on the Trans-Pecos portion of the San Antonio-El Paso Road and on the Chihuahua Trail. I was able to get 25 solid CW contacts in about 45 minutes.   This trip was a great way to close out my 54th birthday!   73,  Chris de WX7V

 The XYL and I took a trip to West Texas. Marfa, that is.  We stopped along the way for a few POTA activations.   We stayed overnight in San Angelo, home of Angelo State University, my mothers Alma Mater from back in the late 1970s.   We activated US-3053 San Angelo State Park on Thursday morning and got 20 QSOs in an hour, mostly CW.  The wife wanted to hear a few QSOs beyond the DITs and DAHs so I squeezed in a few SSB contacts to keep the peace.  We got to see the state bison herd on the way out, a highlight of the park and everyone left happy!   We reached Marfa late Thursday afternoon in time for some good food and checked into the Hotel Paisano, where they filmed parts of the movie Giant which starred Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.  I headed out Friday morning to activate US-11900 Blackwell School National Historic Site.  Not much to see but an important part of our state's history that marked the end of se...

 I took a rental car on this week's work trip along with my KX3 in hopes of getting a few QRP POTA activations under my belt after work.   The trip did not disappoint, but operating QRP with a compromise antenna (ok, don't call it a compromise) is a really tricky challenge. My first activation on Monday evening was US-0746 Morristown National Historical Park, specifically the Jockey Hollow area of the park.   This site has been on my list for several years, and its less than 10 minutes from the corporate office in Basking Ridge NJ.  Ironically there is no cell service in the park, lots of areas my phone had SOS or barely 1 bar of service which added to the QRP challenge.  I activated the park as second time on Tuesday, for a combined 23 QSOs and about 90 minutes of operating time across both days!  Morristown National Historical Park commemorates the sites of General Washington and the Continental Army’s winter encampment from December 1779 to Jun...

Found some to get back to Richland Creek WMA this morning.  We're well into summer here in north east Texas.   Sunny outside and the temp at 10am was already 88F.   But the breeze made if feel much cooler than that, I hardly broke a sweat!    I had a small panic when I reached into my backpack and realized I'd left my laptop at home, used for most POTAL logging.   I switched to Ham2K Portable Logger on my iPhone and really appreciate how easy it is to use, especially because cell service was fine at the WMA.   Rig was the Yaesu FT-857D, with ATAS-120A mounted to the truck.   16 contacts, all CW with a cootie (straight key), including those I made on the Sideswiper Net on 20M and 17M.  Chris de WX7V