Hagerman didn’t disappoint.  But I did.  I made it all the way to the fishing area, opened the back hatch to unload and discovered some idiot forgot to grab a battery on the way out of the door this morning. So, this activation included a dummy tax – I drove back home and got a battery.

The day was a stunner – one of those rare-beautiful days we get in that space between summer and winter. I can’t really call it Autumn because we don’t get that season in Texas.  We typically see a short cold front that blows in from the North and kills all the leaves.  Not really what you’d call Autumn.  So it’s Fall because that’s what happens – the leaves fall.

My son James joined me.  He’s not a radio guy and that’s fine with me.  One hungry pit of hobby expenses in the family is enough.  But, he is an outdoor guy and always has been.  He came along for the wind and sun. 

He, Pepper, and I explored a few trails before I got down to business.  James took chair and book and walked to the bank of the Big Mineral.

LoadOut:

• FT-891
• 20ah LiPo4
• ABR RG-8X
• 20m EFHW w/ Sparkplug 49:1
• 33ft Spiderbeam mast
• BaMaKey TP-3
• Admin pouch

The goal here was to get in a park activation and be quick about it.  I didn’t want to bore my son to the point of never wanting to join me again.  He’d come along before, during my “digital-phase” where I subjected him to two hours of watching me silently nod and click on things.  Not a very entertaining representation of amateur radio, for certain.

So, with a wire raised on my telescoping mast and my trusty 891 driving 30 watts, I found an open frequency on 20 meters, called QRL, spotted, and sent CQ.

One of my recurring hunters, KJ7DT Paul from Idaho, was first to answer.  It’s kinda nice to start with someone you know.  The rest of the activation went quick, 11 contacts in 10 and a half minutes according to the log.  I’ve included a QSO Map and video below.

As always,

TNX ES 73
KA5TXN
DitWit