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W2IK's - McMullen County Activation
"Ham Radio Among The Alligators"
by Bob Hejl W2IK
(Also published in June 2004 "WorldRadio")
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On April 12th, after careful planning, packing and cursing, we set out on a 100 mile trek south from San Antonio, Texas with a plan: To activate McMullen County. We picked this county after snooping around in the resource area of the "Texas QSO Party" website. In September 2003, we operated our station in the hill country during the Texas QSO Party making 460 contacts in 18 hours. Looking up scores, and the counties that were activated, we saw in the resource section that there were currently NO HAMS residing in McMullen County. What a chance to combine both a vacation and offer "county hunters" a chance to bag this county! Upon investigation we found an area that would best suit our needs. The Calliham Unit of the Choke Canyon State Park is located in McMullen County and offers many sites to camp in either an RV, Tent or Screened Shelter. A short pre-visit to the park to check it out was an experience unto itself. When we paid our day-trip fee of six dollars and drove past the management building we were met with large signs that announced "ALLIGATORS EXIST IN THIS PARK". ooookay... Driving along the park roads to see the different areas available for use we saw other signs advising the same thing and "NO SWIMMING" signs also posted by the tent camping areas. humm.. Planning to take our small dog with us, we thought that he might make a tasty treat in that area, so we continued on to the screened shelter area. This area had a choice of 20 cabins with windows, electricity and water. The jackpot! We had planned to be there over a weekend, but had to defer our operation to a non-weekend because all campsites were reserved. So, with credit card in hand, we took the plunge reserving a screened shelter for April 12-14th.
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A nice sign to read, AFTER you pay an entry fee
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Our dog a.k.a
"alligator snack"
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Figuring out what to bring can be a chore as you can't go back home if you forget something. I decided to bring two HF rigs that I normally use for special event stations and three antennas. Two of the antennas that I brought with me were my "IK-STIC2" all-band verticals. They are over 25 feet tall, yet weigh under 5 pounds. The other antenna packed was my ladder-line backpack special that covers 40 and 20 meters without a tuner. The IK-STIC2s require tuners so I brought along two MFJ mobile tuners. Various coax and power cables, headphones, mics, a hand key, better speakers, two AC power supplies and three deep-cycle emergency batteries (one weighing 75 pounds), log books and pens finished most of the major components needed to operate. I had two complete stations in case invited ops stopped by. The cabins have nothing in them except a cold cement floor, so we used a blow-up air matteress, sleeping bags, folding tables, chairs, food, coolers, clothing and other camping items to make it easier on my old bones. With the back of the cab and the bed of the truck fully loaded off we went to our destination.
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A 13 Foot ex-resident of the park, removed last year for being anti-social. This park is the western most range of the American Alligator. Millions of years ago, this area of south-central Texas was the shoreline of the Gulf of Mexico!
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If Javelinas (a type of wild pig) are guarding their young they can be dangerous if approached.
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all I need is a little gravy to go with that and my life is complete
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The state park is located on the south side of the 26,000 acre Choke Canyon Reservoir which explains it's attraction to fishermen and vacation folk. The 1100 acre Calliham Unit is one of several areas operated by the state as campgrounds and incorporates many features including a large bird sanctuary. It is home to many animals including alligators, deer, wild turkeys, foxes, skunks, "javelinas", which are wild pigs, and many other creatures.
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After reaching the park and signing in, it was just a short, slow drive down a winding road to the screened shelter section of the park. Along the way we spotted many of the residents of the park. They do not fear man because no hunting is allowed in this park. Eager to get on the air, we parked next to our assigned cabin, and carefully unloaded our gear. Our cabin was only about 200 feet away from the area restrooms and showers. As I posted that our start time would be 2030 UTC, we were ahead of schedule. One of the easiest parts was erecting the "IK-STIC 2" antenna. In about 5 minutes the 25 foot antenna was up and ready to go. I didn't use the mounting system that I brought but rather lashed the antenna using bunge cords to a 4x4 pole that stood about 8 feet tall by the campfire pit. I lashed the antenna up higher so it had an additional 6 feet of vertical length. Even with the winds coming off the reservoir gusting at almost 50 miles per hour I had no problem with the antenna. There had been a cold front moving through the area that caused the high wind. The winds calmed down later in the day. Being a bright, sunny day I decided to operate outdoors and set up my ICOM 728, power supply, tuner, etc. on a picnic bench in the sun with the shelter blocking the winds. Testing the assembled station I could hear many stations on 20 and 40 meters. Tuning up the antenna wasn't a problem and soon I was "good to go". Now it was time to setup the rest of the campsite! (I do know my priorities...lol) The park, itself, is clean and very well landscaped. The park personnel were very friendly, making our stay more enjoyable.
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We had everything in place and were able to begin operating three hours earlier than expected. My first call was on 20 meters and as quickly as I finished my initial call a VE3 came back to me. His 5/9 report told me that my antenna system was working flawlessly. I am not a "59-bye" kind of operator. My way is telling about our operation, exchanging names, etc. I was told in an indirect way I wasn't welcomed on the "county hunters net". I decided that since it was MY time, money, and effort I'd rather camp out on another frequency and let hams who needed this county find me. And find me they did, to the tune of almost 300 contacts.
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The complete setup of the station was so fast that Murphy never had a chance to strike. Setting up the antenna is a one-man job, made simple by it's extremely light weight. 5 pounds for a 25 foot self-supporting antenna is one of the "IK-STIC 2"s many features. It stayed aloft and operational through wind gusts in excess of 50 mph. When we were done it disassembled down with the telescoping section nicely nestled in the 6 foot PVC coil section for storage.
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My partner in crime, KD5YTN, without whom 300 hams would not have McMullen County in their logs
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There were many other nets that did welcome us and allowed us to stay on their frequencies for a spell to see if any of their ops wanted to contact us. Many did. Some of them were the 20 meter YL ISSB Warm up Net (each morning) and the RV Net to name a few. On 40 meters several of the traffic nets, after their work was done, were more than happy to welcome us.
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Our operation was a delight and all of those we contacted were happy that we made our journey to hand out McMullen county. Whenever a QRP station was contacted I reduced power so they'd capture a two-way QRP contact. I was amazed at the lack of QRN from man-made sources. It made digging out a few weak stations easier. I don't think there was a single station that I couldn't "pull out" and give a contact to, although a few times I was tempted to break out the headphones
There were many inquiries as to our setup which I was glad to explain, including endless requests about our IK-STIC 2 antenna system. We explained a bit to each who asked and also pointed them to the construction website I have on making the antenna. I was very pleased at the IK-STIC 2's performance on all the bands we operated. In the evenings we moved our station indoors thinking there would be hundreds of bugs bothering us. We were wrong. The dozens and dozens of small bats flying around the area took care of that problem. "Nature's insecticide", they were like dive bombers swooping down with such speed and grace you had to stop and watch them in action. Sadly to say, they must have been "camera shy" because they never stopped long enough for me to capture a picture.
When the bands seemed to be slow or closed it was a joy to exchange contacts with hams who seemingly came out of no where to work us. Very late on the second night, the last contact of the evening came from a ham operator in Alaska on 20 meters! That kind of contact, when the band was "closed" keeps you coming back, like a golfer who birdies a putt on the 18th hole. Quiet walks at night had us spotting families of javelinas walking within the campsite, bats busy at work and deer cautiously poking around. During the day, wild turkeys strutted their stuff near the shoreline and birds of every color and size could be seen overhead. Although there is another 13 foot alligator around the tent site area, alas, he eluded our eyes. The reports from park personnel were that there are many more alligators in the swampy areas of the park. We decided not to press our luck and gave those areas a wide berth. The trouble with seeing too many jungle movies is that it had me keeping at least one eye on the area where the landscaping ended and the under-brush began, just in case a "lost" gator decided to stop by for lunch. When I awoke each morning, the sky was such a brilliant blue that from the inside of the cabin it seemed as if the windows had been covered from the outside with the brightest of blue tarps. I had to look twice to believe the color was real.
The contacts were endless, as were the states. The only states not worked were Hawaii and a handful from New England. In the past, I have visited many locations to setup and operate and have done first-time activations at three different lighthouses (making over 600 contacts at each lighthouse location during "International Lighthouse-Lightship Weekend"), activating new VHF grid squares and operated in dozens of special events, JOTA and demo stations all of which were exciting and rewarding for myself and to the operators who contacted me. You don't know the joyous thrill involved in activating a lighthouse until you have to climb up 130+ steps to the top, assemble a Cushcraft "R5" antenna (and it's 10 foot aluminum mast), slowly extending it out the access door until you have to follow it likewise outside and clamp it to an iron railing, hoping that until it's secured it won't fall into the glass panels surrounding the light, all of this with winds that could easily gust and throw both the antenna and yourself over the edge of the railing. It was at that point that I told myself I needed a light weight all band antenna! I never came up with a good idea until several years later when in 2002, I devised the "IK-STIC", then later that year the light-years better "IK-STIC 2".
Our McMullen County operation, however, was by far the easiest and least stressful from a setup and operational standpoint. Setting up and packing at the end of our visit went very quickly. Perhaps this was due to my experience at doing many such operations or the team work of KD5YTN. I just hope that all my future operations run just as smoothly.
I am not a county hunter, but I can imagine the thrill of filling in a space in my logbook with a "new one" and it was my pleasure to be a new one in so many logs. I will be back in McMullen county again. I am also planning a trip to West Texas, where I will be operating from 4 counties in 3 days and will make it a point to operate from the viewing area for the "Marfa Mystery Lights" (click on title) which are floating lights seen for well over 150 years! At least in West Texas I won't have to deal with alligators... just rattlesnakes, coral snakes, gila monsters, scorpions, tarantulas and a pain inflicting plant that almost seems to attack you with sharply barbed needles (like fish hooks) as you walk by, called "Jumping Cholla". Wait a minute!! Maybe the alligators weren't so bad after all. I think the dog will stay at home. I will NOT be on the county hunters net frequencies but will be close by. I am sure that if you tune a bit you'll hear me camped out on a clear frequency and we can exchange more than a "59". I enjoy telling other operators where we are and what's going on around us. Maybe, if you contact me at the right time, I'll give you a "play-by-play" of the Marfa light display. I hope you can catch up with me.
Until then..Happy Hamming!
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