Colt Creek State Park is one of my favorite parks. It has plenty of room to set up a portable antenna and the park is seldom crowded. It is a great place to try out new things. Since my XYL gave me her blessing to activate a park today, Colt Creek made for an easy decision. The park is located between Dade City and Lakeland, FL, about 40 minutes from my house.
My go-to antenna for activations is the Chameleon Hybrid Mini with a 213″ whip on a mag mount on top of my car. When I operate portable I typically use the Chameleon CHA Spike with the 213″ whip. Today I used a Wolf River Coil tripod instead of the CHA Spike. I replaced the 213″ whip and used the 113″ Mil whip 2.0 and the 105.5″ Mil whip 2.0 extension. I put out five 33′ radials. The radials terminated into ring connectors which I put on the 3/8-24 male thread on the ground side of the Hybrid Mini. I was able to tune 15-60 meters without shortening the whip. 6-10 is possible by using the 105.5″ Mil whip 2.0 by itself. While the Mil whip and the Mil whip extension provide a good radiating element to complement the Hybrid Mini, I prefer the 213″ telescoping whip. You can raise or lower the length of the whip easily. The whip can be made resonant on 6-20 meters without the need of the Hybrid Mini. The Hybrid Mini is necessary for 30-60 meters.
Band conditions were marginal on 15, 17, and 20 meters and poor on 30 and 40 meters. Still, I managed 113 contacts on SSB and CW. DX was light today with a total of 6 contacts in Italy, Belgium, and Panama. I had one lengthy SSB contact on 15 meters into the Canadian province of Labrador.
I plan on raising the height of the Hybrid Mini on my next activation by using a Wolf River Coil extension rod. This means higher elevated radials. I will also be going back to the 213″ telescoping whip.
Merry Christmas to all!
de K4NYM
Radio Free Florida: K4NYM 