<Submitted by Dan Nagla KG5PVP>
It was a beautiful Montana morning at Apgar Village on the shore of Lake McDonald in Glacier National Park (POTA US-0028). Dan Nagala (KG5PVP) and Jayant Ramakrishnan (KG5JLZ) attempted an activation starting around 15:50 UTC on 25 August 2024.
From the beginning we experienced very poor reception with background QRN at 8-9 on the S meter. Still, Jayant started calling CQ POTA just before 16:00 UTC and we started to receive very faint responses. Surprisingly, we were told by club members in Houston that we were getting out pretty well, and had a couple of pileups that we couldn’t hear.
We were operating with an FT-991A, and a 41’ wire antenna that I had used on several previous POTA activations, but this time I just couldn’t pull out the signals. We changed to a vertical (MP1C Super Stick), but with no better luck.
We were totally baffled by this, and after about 90 minutes we shut down the activation attempt. During the first hour we made only 6 contacts, despite the fact that we were being heard far and wide.
Being curious about our reception problem, and to rule out any possible problem with the radio, KG5PVP setup again that afternoon from the parking lot of a hotel in Kalispell about 38 miles from the park.
Everything worked great, with almost no QRN, an antenna less than 6 feet off the ground, and under powerlines. Jayant later found out that the valley around Apgar Village, precisely where we were activating from, is notorious for HF reception and QRN.
Dan-
I have been chatting with many activators from Glacier NP on FB – apparently the spot we selected is absolutely the worst location – one activator had zero contacts.
Like John stated the lodge area has a lot of noise due to the lodge and Apgar campground with RV and eBike chargers. They say we should have gone 50 Miles to St. Mary or 32 miles to Logan Pass.
I am learning a lot of physics in this hobby. I am thinking of going back in July 2025 on my way to a Seattle conference (if you are there) and activating Glacier and a few nearby Montana state parks.
Jayant
Although it was a failed activation attempt we learned a lot about propagation, background noise/interference and the problems of being in a “bowl” surrounded by big mountains. We may attempt another W5RRR activation again next year, but with much better planning to activate from a higher and more open area.
73 Dan KG5PVP