The bands were absolutely full this weekend thanks to the ARRL CW Contest. Its great to see so many active operators enjoying the bands but it made it difficult to find a slice of spectrum for myself.
The weather has been quite cold (-20c) so quick deployment was the name of the game. I had initially setup the Buddystick Pro but the signal wasn’t able to propagate in such a manner that it could compete with the packed bands. The vertical whip on a tripod simply wasn’t enough. I also was running it with a tuner as it was cold and I didn’t wan’t to spend the time with an analyzer or SWR meter to make it resonant. Keep in mind I’m operating QRP on top of it all. I switched to the PakTenna EFHW hoisted in the tree and was able to make my activations.
I am awaiting confirmation as it looks like LN8W was in my logbooks from Norway. Quite the contest station, it is possible that the contact was for another station but I’m waiting until LOTW updates as it would be a good contact QRP.
The radio in use was the KX2. The 705 will return shortly especially as the warmer weather comes.
Tyler Kacsor