CWT From Nelson Dewey State Park

This was my most ambitious ride so far carrying the radio.  I started in Fennimore and rode to Nelson Dewey State Park, near Cassville.  It's only about 62 km, but southwestern Wisconsin is very hilly, as the glaciers never got around to flattening it out.  I arrived Tuesday evening, just as the thunderstorms arrived.  It's a good thing the CWT's are Wednesday!

The campground and picnic area of the park overlook the Mississippi River, almost 100 meters below.  I thought it would be an excellent site for operating.

Campsite above the Mississippi

The skies cleared Wednesday morning, so I rode into Cassville for breakfast, then back up the hill to look for an antenna site.  (I could have gotten up at 5 AM at first light to make the 13Z session, but I didn't.)  The picnic area seemed to have the best potential, about 1 km west of the campground. There was a nice stone shelter which offered shade, but the trees weren't optimally located.  As usual mid-week while kids are still in school, the place was deserted.

Operating QTH

The foliage is now also making it harder to get the antenna up.  It took a few tries, but when I got the 40 meter half wave up, it was a bit short, so I had to zig-zag the feedpoint end.  (In retrospect, it would have been better to make a sort of inverted V, and drop the far end, but I didn't think of that then.)  In any case, it loaded up normally with the homebrew tuner.  The RBN results, however, weren't encouraging.

Shady Operating Position

Yes, that's a paper crosscheck!

The 19Z session was tough sledding, even compared to my previous QRP operations. Conditions were fairly good, but the antenna just didn't seem to be working as well as it had in other locations. Perhaps it was surrounded by too many trees.  Still, good ears on the other end yielded 32 QSO's.

As usual, I left the antenna up, the end tucked up in the rafters of the shelter inconspicuously, and rode into Cassville for dinner.  A third climb up the 100 meter hill got me back in time for the sunset and the 03Z CWT.

Evening at the Campsite

Evening at the Operating Site

It wasn't as cool at 03Z as a couple weeks before, but the bugs had arrived.  I had to use a headlamp to see the log and crosscheck, and it attracted lots of them.  The one dupe I called was caused by a large one flying right into my eye.  (That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!)  Best ears awards go to F6HKA and UR5MM.  I never did work some of the high-scoring stations, as they never seemed to run out of callers louder than I, which was almost everyone.  In any case, I ended up with 36 QSO's this time.  I seem to do a lot better on 40 than on 20.

As per my usual routine now, I stopped by the picnic area Thursday morning to take down the antenna, then started the ride back to Fennimore.

I'm not sure how many of these I'll do during the summer.  It will be hot in the afternoon, there will be bugs in the evening, and the picnic areas will no longer be deserted in the afternoon.  If I do, my best bet might be getting up early for the 13Z session.  (First light is now before 0500 local time.)  It will be cool then, not too many bugs, and there certainly won't be any park wardens about to interfere with antenna launching.  19Z will only be possible if I can find shade. Perhaps 03Z will be possible if I can mount my headlamp somewhere other than my head so I'm not bombarded by insects.

Once again, thanks for the QSO's!