ELA, WWFF, POTA, and Essex CW Activity

My son and I stopped at Tesco for Meal Deal lunch. We knew it'd be a busy day and we wanted lunch prepared for when our stomachs started to growl. At 9:30 UTC, we headed for Southwold Lighthouse. This was a special activation, however. At the pier car park, we would be within 1 km of the lighthouse, we'd be in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. Awesome! We'd get ELA (ENG-135), WWFF (GFF-0272), and POTA (G-0328). This weekend is the 10 year anniversary of WWFF so we knew it'd get wild. That's not all, though... this is also the Essex CW Club's Activity Week (25 contacts for the week is the goal). The exchange is just RST and Name for non-members so it should be pretty simple to get the required number during my activation. Some folks would give their name in return after I sent mine, and some would not. Here's hoping!

When we arrived at the car park, I quickly deployed my 40m ham stick antenna, hooked up the FT-891 and was on the air operating CW in no time. My first contact, as usual, was M0MJA who kindly gave his name to qualify for the Essex CW contact. After about 30 minutes, I moved to 40m SSB. That's where there's tons of activity for ELA, WWFF, and POTA so it's important to give that a go to maximize contacts and give the hunters who don't operate CW some opportunities as well. 

I spent 18 minutes on SSB and couldn't have been happier with the hunters that turned out. My son and I decided it was lunchtime because were hungry and my son had low blood sugar (he's a Type 1 Diabetic and has been for more than 5 years) so it was time to take a little break. We ate our sandwiches, crisps, and had our drinks and I was ready to get back to the activation. A quick ham stick swap put me on 20m CW. 

I was able to get another 20 hunters on 20m CW in about 40 minutes so things were looking pretty good. This was working out nicely. A quick click of a button on the FT-891 put me on 20m SSB where I spent just 10 minutes before it was time for a "convenience break". 

We walked the long walk to the toilets and got to stretch our legs a bit before swapping the ham stick again, but this time to 17m. I usually keep my 20m and 40m ham stick antennas with the mag mount in my car so I'm always prepared for a drive-by activation. This morning I grabbed my 17m ham stick as well and now after how successful I was today, that lives in my car now.

The ham stick antennas take about 1 minute to swap out and when we got back to the car, I was back on the air in no time for some 17m CW. I was able to get 11 contacts in about 30 minutes and 9 counted for Essex CW activity. It was about time to for us to head home but I needed to do 17m SSB to give some more hunters a shot. In about 10 minutes, I got 3 contacts on sideband. Not bad for a lesser used band... I like it! We packed up and headed home.

The drive from my home was about an hour and a half each way. We spent about 3 hours from first contact to last contact and was able to net 84 hunters! That's more than I've ever gotten in one outing from what I can recall... and on ham sticks! Folks like to brag about antennas and some people will snub their noses if it isn't this type or that brand. Ham sticks aren't usually spoken highly about so I'll do it. 

While activating from the car is not my go-to, and not what I enjoy most, it does provide opportunities to activate during challenging times, whether that is small space, time constraints, or bad weather. I love my ham sticks. The ability to set up, change them out, and break down my station quickly is just unmatched to anything else I've ever used. During rain, snow, hail, and wind storms (I've had success in during all of the above) they hold up great and can get you on the air even in some pretty rough weather. I will say that the only problem I've ever had was during a heavy snowstorm in the Peak District, the SWR crept up to dangerous levels within minutes as the snow was accumulating on the antenna and the wind was whipping at about 40 mph. No one else is going to be out with a dipole or end-fed with that heavy snow and wind so it can't really be blamed.

In all, I got 84 contacts: 45 on CW and 39 on SSB. Of the 45 CW contacts, 28 folks gave me their name to qualify my log for the Essex CW Club's Activity Week. The hunters, as always, make these events possible. I have tried hunting from my home and it can be rough. I know how difficult it can be to break a pile-up, how frustrating it can be to barely hear the activator but try to make the contact anyway, and how disappointing it can be to hear only the other hunters. So really, truly, thank you to the hunters and the folks who are responsible for putting these programs together, maintaining them, and keeping both hunters and activators engaged.

Until next time, keep your batteries charged and your bags packed; you never know when the portable mood might strike.

de M0NZZ