I guess as with other blogs, I’m down to posting a year out of catch up. Tons has gone on, not only in the Ham world, but the world, and my own personal world. I’m going to try and timeline it in order from the last 2025 update.
This might be a long post! I’ll try and device it up between topics. Let’s see, last post I was making a dipole out of speaker wire in February 2025.
Well I put a mobile in the truck, with APRS tracking. So that got me on the air more, but it’s mostly listening to people talk about work, but making contacts here and there.
Texas Parks on the Air
April 10th 2025
Two other Ham friends of mine, Derek and Ryan went up with me to Huntsville State Park for Texas State Parks on the Air, our plan was to setup like a field day and get on the air. We weren’t too worried about scoring in the event, just wanted to get outside, in a low noise environment, and make some contacts, while testing out gear. I just checked scoring (a year late), looks like I was last, with 21 points, the other two guys didn’t even turn in a log.
It was nice to get outside, it was my first time operating in a park. My QTH is in Downtown Houston, so my noise floor is s4-s9 (most bands are s7-s9, but for some reason 10m and 40m are much more quiet). I was absolutely blown away by all the stations I could hear, and how I could pick out weak SSB stations, most of everyone I might not have even heard at the house!
I brought my FT-891 (which I bought from Derek a few months prior), and my new Reel POTA-ble EFHW antenna, that I bought at Houston Hamfest in February. I tied the end to an arborist throw line, and threw it about 30 feet up over a pine tree branch, then suspended the reel about 7 feet up in a small tree near the park bench table I was at (in the heading pic above). It was a great performer for me for the day! Mostly we were just having fun playing with the radios and setting up antennas. Derek setup an EFHW also, and also tried his Wolf River Vertical with a big coil. Ryan setup a wire antenna too, but I don’t rememeber if it was a half wave or a dipole? He also operated off his KX3’s AX1 antenna, but wasn’t having much luck (although he was trying to get PSK31 contacts, figured it would be a busy weekend).
I was really blown away by SSB out there, at home I’ve only made a few lucky QSOs on SSB as of this point, so I was mostly calling CQ on SSB. All in, I ended up with 7 ft8 contacts, and 15 SSB contacts. My furthest was KB3UKW in PA! It was really exciting, and it really got my gears turning for what’s next at the house.
Antenna Building Spree
End of April into May
Hot off the excitment from Huntsville, I was determined to get off my 6m,10m, and 20m “on the fence” dipoles. I had to do something to duplicate at least a fraction of the reception and transmission I got out of the Reel POTA-ble antenna at the weekend in April.
I saw a Youtube video interview with KB9VBR with Greg KJ6ER explaining his POTA PERformer. I was going to build one. I took a little bit of parts from a few different place, but I got it built and got it on the air! Well, I actually built his half wave design, the POTA Challenger, which is an OFC 1/2 wave vertical. I wanted the most efficient I could get in a vertical. I even ended up logging Greg as a contact on May 16th on 14.262 SSB while he was activating Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail (I should have sent him a QSL card!). It was a good feeling building an antenna and getting it on the air, and reaching the guy who told me how to build it on the actual antenna!
I also took the antenna out to my parents house in the Texas hill country, and logged some QRP contacts as far north as Canada with only 8 watts! Here’s a picture of my with the POTA Challenger. That’s a 25ft Chameleon telescoping whip!
Mid May to June
I stuck a transformer in the attic and strung a 33ft DXcommander wire out the attic eaves and attached it to my fence. It’s just an 18g black wire, and a MyAntennas transformer. I don’t have any pictures of it, but it’s been pretty decent to me. It’s been my main antenna since mid May 2025, I completed POTA WAS and ARRL WAS, and I’m up to 64 DXCC entities, and even got a start on FFMA (all grids in the US on 6m), I’m above 60 grids already (out of 488 total, so I have a way to go).
It’s been up since then, and I still made contacts today as I was writing this. It’s held up to some pretty big wind and ice and rain and its still going strong with nice SWR, most bands I can get below 1.5 with my tuner.
Field Day June 28th
Derek and I went to Summer Field Day this year with BVARC, I’m a life member now. Was my first field day, and we had a ton of fun. I got to operate on the club callsign, with all Elecraft K3 radios. It was neat to see the setup with their bandpass filters, thats what we really needed in Huntsville, we were stepping over each other back then. I also sat through some classes, they had one on passing traffic, how to handle it, what forms and what it is. Thanks BVARC!
July Heat
Derek and I went to Texas City Hamfest. Wasn’t as big as the Houston Hamfest in February, but it was nice to get to another event. I bought a Buddipole Deluxe setup, I won a Baofeng door prize, accidentally bought a TenTec Argonaut 509 too! Got a few vintage ARRL manuals for a steal, and more LMR-400 coax, I keep buying coax, it never ends!
As of writing, I still haven’t used the Buddipole yet! I also accidentally won a Buddistick on ebay, which I decided might go with me hiking, but as of now, I’ve only just played with it. It’s like a baby POTA Challenger kind of, so I haven’t had a lot of use for it.
The Argonaut has been a shelf decoration too. I really need to get it on the air also! I’m trying to learn code too, so I can use my Bencher paddle. Soon!
End of Summer, Fall, Winter
After hitting WAS (worked all states), I sort of fizzled out on the radio madness. My weekly contact totals kind of started to drop off. I hit a wall on FFMA, I need to get a mast and a 6m moxon or a yagi, I need to get out of the house too, I think I’ve reached my FFMA limit on the EFHW.
I’m still chasing DX, and still working on FFMA when I see an opening. I’ve just got in a 6m 3 element portable yagi to get ready for spring 6m openings. I’ve got a 15’ mast, but I think I might order a 25ft or so, just to have a better chance.
Went on some trips! Went to Tennessee for a weekend, just for fun, didn’t take a radio. Took a trip to Manhattan as well, just two nights, also did not bring a radio.
I went hiking in BBNP, my favorite place, (last year’s trip is the picture on my QSL card). We did three days and two nights in the Chisos. I brought an HT and messed with it a little, but didn’t make any contacts. Next time I will have an HF radio to bring with me, hopefully I’ll have some CW under my belt by then.
Not much else in the radio land happening for 2025. I started studying for my Extra. Derek and Ryan are always telling me I gotta do it.
Upcoming things
On the todo, I’ve got to post a bit about Houston Hamfest 2026, I’ll get to that soon.
Might go up to Belton, TX hamfest too, if I dont write about Houston before then, I’ll lump it in with Belton if I make it.
Tickets booked for Dayton Hamfest 2026! Will be there, my first out of state Hamfest. I’m excited to see all the big vendors, and meet new hams! If you want to meet, send me a message, my email is on my QRZ page.
Thinking about new antenna setups for the house, new radios too.
Closing
Look for me on 6m, as the propigation picks up. I’m on FT8 now and then from home, I have most luck on 10/12/15/17 meters. I’ve got a DMR hotspot now too, but I’m not on much, but you might reach me there too. Still working on DXCC 100 mixed, hopefully soon!
I need to sell some things. I’ve got too many HT’s right now that I’m not using. I’ll get to it. Look for more posts soon.
73s!