KM1NDY
A Secret Little Adventure Ham Radio Blog
Category: Adventure
Winter Field Day 2026 Reflections: Is Ham Radio Relevant For Emergency Communications And Prepping?
I say yes. There is a lot of debate amongst amateur radio operators as to whether or not ham radio can be an effective component of an emergency communication plan for a municiple or other governmental jurisdiction. The national organization for ham radio promotes the hobby as a way to “serve” agencies who purportedly need …
Back To Basics: A Little Radio, Some Bad Morse Code, A Restless Shepherd, And Ten Beautiful Contacts (CUTLER PARK RESERVATION, POTA US-8407)
It is hard to believe that I am approaching seven years of ham radio. I started as a portable operator who liked to experiment with antennas and transceivers. This hobby is a source of tremendous joy and inspiration, leading me down paths I never knew existed. I consider myself a “hyperlocal traveler.” I take immense …
Guess What I Forgot? SOTA W1/MV-006 Oak Hill
If you said paracord, you win! KM1NDY
Back In The SOTA Saddle: The Blackhead Mountain Range
One hundred of my 849 SOTA points are accounted for by five years of hiking Black Dome and Blackhead Mountains in the Catskills. We often stop near the trailhead to take a picture of this blown over tree. That is AA1F and Nellie in 2021. I snapped a shot with Georgie hiding in the grass …
The Unofficial 2025 Alexandria Bay QSO Party & Our Failed Radio-Free Thousand Islands Vacation
There is a saying we all have probably heard. If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. I learned to stop making real plans a long time ago. The fleeting nature of life is drilled into me. Another nuance to this exists though. Of course the ruined plan is catastrophic. However, the …
We Done Good: The KX1Q 2025 ARRL Field Day After Action Report With Updated Equipment Checklist & Station Block Diagram
OVERVIEW After several years of helping coordinate club Field Day events, AA1F and I set off to tackle 2023’s ARRL Field Day by ourselves. We squeaked out 264 contacts, but still had a great time. By 2024, KX1Q was back on the air at our farm for Field Day in Upstate New York. This time, …
SOTA’s Heartbreak Hill
All it takes to feel like quitting is for the journey to be long enough. I remember joking on my now long-deleted ham radio twitter account that it would take me a decade to achieve my Mountain Goat — the coveted title bestowed upon you once you reach a thousand SOTA activator points. I am …