Blog
VP5/KD8RTT 1/30 Update
We spent yesterday at the beach and exploring the island. I was able to try RS-44 at 1808z, but was not able to make any contacts; while I was able to find myself on the downlink, my CQs were never full audible. There may be some interference at play. I also tried the...
Activation Report: Prairie Dog SP (POTA K-2349) and DN90/EN00 Grid Line
Day three of my 4th of July rove - and the 4th of July itself - led me to Prairie Dog State Park, an interesting park that's named after the creatures that inhabit the area. After arriving, I headed to the Prairie Dog Town, a field in the park...
Activation Report: Webster SP (POTA K-2354) and DM99
After spending the night in Concordia, Kansas (see my 7/2 activations for more information on the preceding stops), I headed toward Webster State Park on the morning of July 3rd to grab some of the FM passes. After arriving and driving around a bit, I found the park...
Activation Report: Glen Elder SP (POTA K-2339)
As the second stop on my 4th of July weekend rove after Lovewell State Park, Glen Elder State Park provided another nice place to give out the EM09 grid to many of my fellow satellite operators who needed it. I arrived in the middle of the day and quickly searched for...
Activation Report: Lovewell SP (POTA K-2343)
This year for the 4th of July holiday weekend, I decided to do a four day rove to hit four new POTA parks (K-2343, K-2339, K-2354, K-2349) and four new grids (EM09, DM99, DN90, EN00) around northern Kansas. I'll be posting a separate writeup for each park, so check...
Activation Report: Elk City SP (POTA K-2337) for Field Day
After going back and forth on plans for Field Day this year, I decided to do it as a satellite-only operation from Elk City State Park to double dip on my goal to activate all Kansas State Parks on satellites. I reserved one of the campsites right on the shore of the...
2020 ARRL June VHF Contest Report
I've wanted to give a VHF contest a go for awhile, it never seemed like I could have a workable station for real weak signal VHF being an apartment dweller. With all my travel plans canceled this summer due to COVID-19 and plenty of time to experiment, I figured I...
Activation Report: Crawford SP (POTA K-2333) and EM27/37 Grid Line
Continuing my mission to activate all Kansas State Parks, I decided to take the Friday before Memorial Day (5/22/2020) off from work to travel down to Crawford State Park in southeast Kansas. This park is nicely situated around a lake and offers camping, boating, and...
VUCC Circle Checker Script
As a relatively active rover for satellite operations, I'm often looking to check whether a new location will be within my "VUCC circle" and be eligible to count for my home station VUCC certificate. Rule six of the ARRL's VHF/UHF Century Club (VUCC) Award Rules...
Activation Report: Prairie Spirit Trail SP (POTA K-2350)
Although technically a Kansas State Park entity, the Prairie Spirit Trail State Park is actually a 51 mile trail that connects Ottawa and Iola, Kansas and replaces the old railroad that used to link the cities. Along the way, this trail brushes up against several city...
Activation Report: Hillsdale State Park (POTA K-2340)
As the first step on my mission to activate all Kansas State Parks for Parks on the Air, I decided to visit the park nearest to my home in the suburbs of Kansas City - Hillsdale State Park. This park has numerous RV and tent campsites as well as a few day areas spread...
Activating All Kansas State Parks on Satellites
Being a relatively recent transplant to Kansas (back in the fall of 2018), I've realized there is still much of the state I haven't seen. I've ventured down to Wichita and Topeka, but for the most part, I've only explored the Kansas City...
Raspberry Pi METAR Ticker Display
When I was still in graduate school a few years ago, my office was in the center of a building which meant no windows and no way to quickly see the weather outside. This motivated me to make a project that would display the current weather on my desk. Being a pilot, I...