{"id":28673,"date":"2017-10-07T09:06:02","date_gmt":"2017-10-07T13:06:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=28673"},"modified":"2017-10-13T13:31:09","modified_gmt":"2017-10-13T17:31:09","slug":"radio-day-at-mount-mitchell-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/10\/radio-day-at-mount-mitchell-state-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio Day at Mount Mitchell State Park"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Troy Riedel preparing the Tecsun S-8800 and Grundig Field BT for a comparison review.<\/p><\/div>\n

Shortly after publishing my review of the Tecsun S-8800<\/a>, SWLing Post<\/em> contributor Troy Riedel<\/a> contacted me and asked if I would consider comparing the S-8800 to the Grundig Field BT. Of course I was very curious how the $130 Grundig Field BT might compare with the $268 Tecsun S-8800, but I’ve got a lot<\/em> on my plate at the moment and didn’t really want to purchase another large portable.<\/p>\n

Long story short: Troy found a honey of a deal on a perfect Grundig Edition Field BT via eBay. He ordered it and we decided to bring the two radios together yesterday at beautiful Mount Mitchell State Park<\/a>—\u00a0the highest point east of the Mississippi river.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yesterday was an ideal day, too. The weather was picture-perfect, the park was (surprisingly) not too busy and propagation was the best I’ve experienced in weeks.<\/p>\n

Troy left early in the morning and embarked on the 6+ hour pilgrimage to Mount Mitchell–I only live an hour away, so it was a casual drive for me. We met at noon.<\/p>\n

Parks On The Air<\/h2>\n

After a quick lunch, we deployed my Elecraft KX2<\/a> with EFT Trail-Friendly antenna and made my first Parks On The Air (POTA) activation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You might recall I was very active during the ARRL National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) program last year<\/a>, but since then I’ve done few field deployments. It was great fun to get on the air again and do a park activation for the\u00a0World Wide Flora & Fauna POTA program.<\/p>\n

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While we didn’t log a lot of stations, I was still impressed we worked stations from Texas to Quebec to the Azores. Not bad for 10 watts SSB!<\/p><\/div>\n

Sure, I only worked a handful of stations, but this activation was essentially unannounced so chasers had no advance notice. No doubt, many more POTA activations are in my future! The bug has bitten!<\/p>\n

Radio Fun<\/h2>\n

Except for a break to eat dinner at the park restaurant and a short hike to the peak of Mount Mitchell,\u00a0 we played radio until about 8:00 PM. It was amazing, uninterrupted fun.<\/p>\n

Troy spent a lot of time comparing the Tecsun S-8800 with the Grundig Field BT and made several videos. No doubt, he’ll post his thoughts and review in the near future!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Being a bit of radio geek, I couldn’t help but bring a few “extra” radios and accessories. Here’s what I packed:<\/p>\n