Activation Report: K-1001 James "Pate" Philip State Park, Bartlett IL

 12/26/2022

This activation was impromptu. I had a gap in my schedule and a new paddle begging to play!

Gear:

  • Rig: Elecraft KX2 @ 5W
  • Key: Begali Adventure Mono
  • Antenna: end-fed half wave inverted vee
    • 49:1 transformer 2x14 FT140-43 
    • 65' main element
    • 8' counterpoise
    • Ground-fed
  • 25' RG-174 coax
  • Jackite 31' telescoping pole
I bungied the Jackite pole to a convenient signpost and got on the air pretty quickly. It was a bit cold (21 f) so I was motivated to get back in the car. 

I spotted myself at 14.059 and began calling at 20:12. There were only a few others activating CW, and the calls began two minutes later. After a brief lull, the pileup started. It was super busy with lots of repeats due to doubling. By 20:35 things started to let up, affording me the opportunity to QSY to 40M (7.056). By 20:39 the calls started coming, again fast and furious. I stayed on the frequency until the next lull, signing QRT at 21:01 with 46 contacts in 47 minutes. 

Everything performed well. The Begali Adventure is an elegant piece of equipment that works great as a cootie. The KX2 is, well, a KX2. The end-fed was a rock star, as indicated by the coast-to-coast reach below. I tried it without the ATU on 20-meters and the SWR was 1.3:1, with contacts beyond 1,800 miles. The SWR was above 2:1 on 40-meters, but I am unsure if the 10-meter switch was open or closed. Regardless, the KX2 brought it down to 1:1 and the performance was impressive there as well, with the farthest being 800 miles. I debated trying 17-meters, but why bother? Europe was likely closed, and all the close-in stations would appreciate the contacts, so 40 got the nod.

I captured some of the setup and all of the activation on camera for a future upload to my YouTube and Rumble channels.


Location: Bartlett, IL, USA

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