Princeton BC Spring Break

Princeton, B.C. Canada what a neat place to visit. We had the pleasure of staying at a friends home on 38 acres of land. One of the buildings on the site is a log home built in the late 1800's or early 1900's by the original land owner. We did not stay in that building due to some current tenants with long tails. It was so much fun exploring the area, lakes and towns. We took the 4 hour drive from Vancouver to Princeton. I am sure you can do it in less time but we had a few dog stops along the way, lunch and shopping before we arrived at the site. I had the car unpacked and items in the house in no time. By dinner time I was trying to get a line over a tree in the yard to hoist my End FED Par Electronics antenna. This took a while due to a strong wind that was determined to prevent me from hooking the branch I wanted. The XYL looked out from the kitchen window just in time to see me lose my prime branch. In the end it was at about 40 feet at the top end and 12 feet at the low end. I have had great luck using the End Fed antenna from PAR. Its simple to put up works 3 bands, and does not require a tuner. The antenna can handle up to to 25 watts, which is plenty of power to work SSB or CW. I was hearing the Eastern Seaboard from New York to Texas. There were many European stations as well.

So here I am working CW on 20 meters using a set of Palm Mini Paddles and a IC-703 radio that belongs to VE7EPP David. Its a cool little radio that has a built in tuner. The red plastic cups are from the wonderful drinks my XYL was blending in the kitchen. Alex our youngest was keeping a close eye on me to make sure that I was entering everything into the log. The fire was mostly to keep the misquotes away. It was also very warm to sit around after dark. After many portable trips using the End Fed I am convinced that the low end is the direction the antenna will favor. I had the high end pointed due west and the strongest signals where for the east. I did work stations on the west coast as well with good signal reports.