[Elecraft] NPOTA NP51 Activation (KX3 and K1)

[Kevin - K4VD]

Detrick (KI4STU) with his K1 and I with the KX3 took off work on Monday and
headed up to Dickey Ridge on Skyline Drive in the Shenandoah National Park
(NP51). We were both on battery power. CW was the mode of choice. The
antennas were end-fed - Detrick's some odd-ball thingy and mine an LNR
EF-40/20 (no counterpoise). Basically the same setup we used on FD but
trimmed down significantly for mobility and quick setup.

We were able to activate NP51 with 12 CW QSOs in about 2 hours.

There were some tricky parts.

The end-fed thingy Detrick had would not tune until we swapped out the
coax. The guess is either the original coax is bad or the length of the
coax was contributing to the high SWR. Waiting to find out the results.
Detrick normally runs the antenna directly to binding posts.

Checking the weather in the morning it all looked clear. Then came the
dangerous wind and hail alerts and it was all we could do to get everything
back to the cars before the downpour. Weather changes quick!

I uploaded the QSLs to LoTW and hope I did it right, creating a new
location for the park. eQSL is all kinds of messed up but I'm losing my
patience with that service anyway. I'm not sure if I should expect
something back from the ARRL concerning the activation or just assume all
went well.

GNATS, GNATS and damn GNATS!

Then we went to Spelunkers for some Cavern Burgers and all was good in the
world again.

I'm absolutely enjoying the KX3. My go-bag is a little Nikon camera bag
containing the KX3 with side panels and cover, Begali Adventure paddles,
mic (unused), EF-40/20 antenna, Sony in-ear phones, spool of mason line,
short coax, mini-log and notepad, pen, pencil, 15Ah LiFePO4 (not used for
this trip). There's also copy of my license in a pouch. It is freedom in a
bag.

Next trip... bug spray.

To top off the good news, our new little crew - Barred Owl Radio Club
(BORC) was just issued W4OWL. We named our group for the fledgling begging
call that kept us away all night on FD (yep, we slept). You can find that
wonderful sound of nature right here:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Barred_Owl/sounds. Scroll on down to
the bottom for pure listening e​​njoyment. If you don't get the impression
of a spike being driven into your ears you don't have the volume high
enough.

73,
Kev K4VD