Category: K6ARK Portable Radio

On May 10, 2024, a train of seven plasma shockwaves from recent solar flares impacted Earth, triggering a G5 geomagnetic storm. The results were spectacular.

Leading up to the weekend, I had been watching the geomagnetic storm forecast after noticing multiple significant solar flares up to X3.9. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/3-day-geomagnetic-forecast
A G4 storm was initially predicted, but @TamithaSkov predicted a significant event. So, in addition to my climbing gear, I packed my nicer cameras and fast lenses. The skies did not disappoint!

Sorry for no hamming in this one, but I hope you all enjoy the show anyway.

Minimalist radio fun in the form of a challenge? Yes please.

When @HamRadioCrashCourse proposed the 1 lb POTA Pack Challenge, he had to have known I’d take it as far as I could. An upcoming work trip presented the perfect opportunity.

I prepped the "Classic Band" modified truSDX with audio amplifier circuit, larger display, and thinner/flatter filter design, and paired it up with a minimalist EFHW built from an SMA connector, custom PCB, FT37-43 toroid, and 140 ft of 36 ga PTFE insulated copper wire. A 300 mAh 3s LiPo fed it the rig power. I used the internal mic and the rig’s now amplified speaker for phone operation, a capacitive touch key installed in the rig for CW, and a custom audio adapter made it possible to run digital modes.

Here’s the story of the activation.

truSDX digital audio adapter: https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/LwO6AYPS

With good snow conditions from a recent storm, I set out with a few friends from the Mountain Rescue Team to climb and ski Mt. Baden Powell in March 2024. I capped it off with a quickie Summits On the Air (SOTA) activation using the KH1 and a new prototype KH1 pressure paddle I’ve been designing (more to come on that). So check out the video and join us for the adventure.

www.k6ark.com

CW Learners’ Edition with mostly unedited QSOs and including captions. Great for listening/decoding practices. Operating speed is about 22 wpm.
At 4:48 CW operating begins if you’d like to skip ahead. Let me know how you like this.

@ThomasK4SWL tipped me off on a MTR5B for sale, and I couldn’t pass it up. After tuning up a 40m EFHW to operate on all 5 bands, I rounded up N1CLC and we headed out for a holiday Monday activation of a local summit. Here’s our adventure.

Every year, the SOTA geeks in Arizona coordinate a "10 point Madness" event where many of them summit high peaks in AZ and try to work lots of summit-to-summit contacts. Living in SoCal, that event is a fun opportunity for me to try working long distance 2m contacts. This year wasn’t the best for 2m propagation, but I brought another new antenna for HF which paid off well. Enjoy!

The crew from the @HamRadioWorkbench podcast hosted a fun on-the-air event December 3rd called Ham Radio Workbenches On The Air (HRWBOTA). To me, it sounded like a great excuse to get out and operate from a SOTA/POTA and get as many of the guys in the log as possible. Here’s my adventure.

If you’re not familiar with the Ham Radio Workbench, check it out.
www.hamradioworkbench.com
Every couple of weeks, the hosts deep-dive a topic related to ham radio, and talk about what fun projects are on their workbenches.

Some of the individuals in the crew have their own channels as well which you should also explore:
KJ6VU – @georgekj6vu889
@VE6LK – HRWBOTA Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgYER7MtQKI&t=6355s&pp=ygUFdmU2bGs%3D
@SmittyHalibut – HRWBOTA Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JV8vX-4oUG4
K4SWL – @ThomasK4SWL
VA3ON – https://twitter.com/va3on?lang=en
VA3MW – https://www.qrz.com/db/VA3MW

This trip, I take Josh from @HamRadioCrashCourse and his son Ben out backpacking to an otherwise typical Eastern Sierra lake that holds a special place in my heart. Trips to this place were formative in my life, helping to instill a love for the mountains, particularly the Eastern Sierra.

This time, we merge Ben’s first backpacking trip, first time trout fishing and fly fishing, and his first POTA activation for a wonderful weekend in the mountains that will hopefully change his life forever.

Check out @KD2YDN and his channel here on YouTube.

And if you’re in ultralight fly rods or blanks, check out RDP Fly Rods. https://rdpflyrods.com/

A 4 day trip turns into 2 when gear failure strikes us on an attempt at reaching two intimidating Sierra backcountry summits. Memorial Day weekend, 2023, I set out with a few of my SDMRT teammates to summit Mt. Darwin and Mendel. The epic snowpack made for great conditions despite road closures, and we had high hopes for some great summits. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Still, we managed to bag a summit and got everyone out safely. Here’s the story…

Flight tags, screen wipes, and new stickers for you radio case… check them out at the POTA booth at #Hamvention or https://www.clubgearonline.com/.