A couple of months ago I purchased the Surecom SW-28HF power and SWR meter. I needed a small and inexpensive meter to test the power output of my tiny (tr)USDX transceiver. I wasn’t expecting much, but this little thing totally exceeded my expectations.
You can watch this week’s video, a review on the Surecom SW-28HF here: https://youtu.be/pR9I6b7PbEg
Dave, KZ9V, always imparted the wisdom of carrying an external SWR/Power meter. He always travels with one, and in using his Xiegu G90, he finds it invaluable. One feature that I like in the little Surecom meter is that it has an alarm for high SWR. I’ve had antennas fall over or connectors fail, and that feature will be invaluable for alerting me of an issue. I’m frequently running odd antenna combinations or using things not for their intended purpose, so this little bit of insurance is valuable for me.
Products mentioned in the video (affiliate links)
Surecom SW-28HF 1.5MHz-60MHz 120W Mini V.S.W.R. & Power Meter: https://amzn.to/42a5xJE
XRDS-RF 50W PL259 UHF Male Plug RF Dummy Load, 50 Ohm: https://amzn.to/4hPl8Ea
Superbat PL-259 to PL-259 Coax Jumper Cable (12″ RG58): https://amzn.to/422zv28
Finding the Two-fer
One of my favorite Parks on the Air activities is searching for and activating the Two-fer. That is two (or more) park entities that overlap. Two-fers let you double the number of contacts you make during an activation. Plus, I really enjoy the challenge of finding the spot where the two parks overlap.
Some two-fers are easy to find, like a state or national trailhead on state park land. Or a natural area that’s embedded inside a wildlife area. Some are more challenging. Trails are meandering and their path may take you through all sorts or public and private lands. Google maps and the open map the POTA site uses may not accurately show boundaries or public lands. In these cases you have to go drill down to primary sources to answer your question.
Two tools here in the State of Wisconsin that I use are the DNR Public Access Lands mapping tool and Interactive County Land Records maps. I’m pretty sure every county has their land records online and that GIS data is a wealth of information. Back in the old days we used to purchase platte books, but these online maps take things one step further and are invaluable to locating public lands. But, one caveat, not all public land is POTA eligible. Once you verify the parcel is owned by the state conversation or natural resources body, you will have to cross reference it with their other maps to see if it is part of POTA entity.
Caption: Navigating the DNR Public Lands tool found two small parcels that are part of the Willow Flowage State Wilderness Area, US-9827, with the Bearskin State Trail, US-9768, crossing it. I planned to do my activation at the intersection inside the red circle.
That’s where the second tool is handy. the WIDNR public land tool has layers so you can accurately spot the boundaries of state parks, trails, wildlife, and natural areas. I’ve frequently used this tool to spot if a state or national trail travels through a park entity and if there is a opportunity to active both at the same time. Google maps satellite and street view can be invaluable in finding an access point, like a pull-in, turnout, or large shoulder to park on. When I am searching for a new two-fer, it not uncommon for me to have three or more online maps spread across multiple computer screens as I am visually cross referencing a potential new location.
By the time I am done with my research, I have the geolocation loaded in my phone and I know what to expect for access and antenna deployment. With the amount of research I do ahead of time, I seldom go into a new park blind.
Caption: It pays to do your research. The Two-fer for US-9827 and US-9768 was nothing more than a wide shoulder along the gravel road, but DNR land was on both sides of me and the state trail ran down the road.
I’m not sure if all states have public access land tools, I did a quick search for “public land mapping tool” Minnesota and Michigan, so I’m pretty confident similar GIS tools are lurking on other state’s natural resource or conservation body websites.
If this is something you’d like to see developed into a video, let me know.
Finishing up
When will winter ever quit? We’ve got rain and wintery mix forecast this weekend, so I’m not sure if I will get out a park at all. I guess it will depend on the weather. We received over a foot of snow from two storms in the last week. While it is melting, it’s also making physical access into some of my favorite locations a challenge. Spring can’t get here soon enough.
For my Illinois friends, Angelo KD9QVW is putting together a POTA campout the weekend of April 26 at Chain of Lakes State Park in northern Illinois. If you are interested, drop me a line and I will connect you to Angelo.
I hope to get you in the log soon.
MIchael
KB9VBR
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