Activation at K-1747 Bennett Spring State Park on February 24, 2024

The day was beautiful. We got to the park shortly after lunch, and after a bit of looking around, I began to set up. I brought my Xiegu G90 with a homebrew 20 meter dipole and 50 feet of RG-316 coax. Side note: Crimping BNC connectors onto RG-316 coax is a bit harder than it looks. My first attempt had great continuity…between the center conductor and the shield. But I digress. After setting up at a nice little picnic bench overlooking the water, I found Michael, KB9VBR, who was also activating on 20 meters, and worked him as a park to park. I then found an open frequency, spotted myself and began calling CQ. I picked up several contacts fairly quickly, but the area in which I had set up was becoming rather busy, and, after a little while, I decided to tear down and move. I found a beautiful little spot, very close to the water, and, with the help of my throw bag and throw line, put my antenna in the air and got back on 20. I stayed in this location for quite a while before packing up, and by the end of the activation, I totalled 51 contacts. Not a bad day!

My Gear for this activation:

Xiegu G90 with cooling fan

550 Paracord with homebrew throw bag

Android tablet/bluetooth keyboard with HAMRS logging app

Homebrew 20 meter dipole

50′ RG-316 coax with BNC Crimp Connectors

12ah LiFePO 4 Battery

I ended with 51 contacts

My log from K-1747 on February 24th