The QRP to the Field contest is always a fun time. It's like a mini Field Day for QRPers. The fact that it is a short, sprint-type event, also appeals to me. Each year, the contest has a different theme, which makes it even more fun. The theme this year was Battlefields.

So, I threw together some equipment and headed out to nearby Valley Forge National Historical Park. OK... Technically speaking, Valley Forge wasn't a battlefield, per se. However, one could hardly argue with the military significance of the Continental Army's encampment there during the winter of 1777-1778. It seems to me that it was certainly a battle for survival.

I parked my pickup truck in an isolated corner of a parking lot near one of the picnic areas. This spot had access to nearby bathroom facilities (a feature that weighed heavily in my decision to locate there).

I had heard somewhere that Valley Forge park rangers are sometimes fussy about having their trees used for supports, so I decided to try a setup that was completely self-contained. For the antenna, I set up a 28-foot collapsible fiberglass mast in the bed of the pickup truck. I supported it with an old, heavy steel antenna support, originally designed to mount an antenna mast on a flat roof. The mast supported about 34 feet of wire which was connected to a homebrew Z-match tuner. I used the truck's body and a counterpoise wire for ground.

This trip was the first field outing for my Yaesu FT-817, which was running 5 watts. I powered it using a 17 Amp-hour gel cell battery. This was also the first outing for the NorCal Keyer, which I had finished building about a week before the contest. Since QTTF was originally a NorCal-sponsored event, I guess it was also fitting that I used my NorCal paddles.

From the start, I was plagued with antenna problems. I had some problems getting a consistent match on some bands. At one point, in mid-QSO, the mast decided to spontaneously collapse itself. Toward the end of the contest, the wind kicked up and I found myself keying with one hand and grabbing the antenna with the other. Other than that, it worked out pretty well for an antenna design that was conceived about a hour before I left the house.

It was a beautiful afternoon and there were plenty of picnickers in the area. I got a few curious glances from passing park rangers but none of them stopped. A fellow in a park maintenance truck passed by several times and finally pulled up next to me. He said he couldn't contain his curiosity and just had to find out what I was doing.

Once again, not being a serious contester, I didn't set any records with this effort. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy the great weather in a very picturesque setting.

Visit the National Parks Service's website for more information on Valley Forge National Historical Park.

WB3GCK in action

The set-up

The operating position

Another view of the operating position