Parkgate Park

For this week’s adventure Ralph and I returned to North Vancouver. We selected the Parkgate Park as our destination for the day with plans to activate the park in the POTA program. The park had already had its first activations but it was not that popular with only two other activators showing interest in it. Ralph arrived at my place at around 10:45 and we set out for coffee and the park. We made decent time along the HOV lane and were soon leaving the highway for Mount Seymour Parkway. So far it was the same route as our previous adventure to the north shore. This trip we stopped a mile earlier on the parkway and turned onto Parkgate Avenue. Next was the large and almost empty parking lot for our park. I selected a stall and we began our walking review of the area.

The park had a few tables near the parking lot and several large baseball diamonds. We walked past a kids play area and came across a seniors play area! I had never seen such a set up before. This was a fairly large area divided into four quadrants. Each had a number of exercise stations with instructions on how to use them. Each quadrant was set out for a different type of activity – Cardio, Strength, Flexibility, and Rehabilitation. It looked inviting and a number of seniors were out there using it.  Wandering past the play areas we walked alongside the furthest ball field and noticed they were quite soggy. We found a decent spot next to the furthest diamond and Ralph decided he would set up there. I chose one of the tables near the parking lot.

We returned to the car and gathered our gear, after dropping off my stuff on the table, Ralph continued on to his location. We had good separation and in fact we were far enough apart to not cause any noticeable interference. As Ralph walked on, I studied my area for the best was to align my antenna and once decided I set up the tripod and raised the mast. I soon had the radio on the air. I called Ralph on the hand-held but he wasn’t quite set up so I dialed in the 15m band and found an activator in Nova Scotia. I was able to work him though the signals were light. By now Ralph was ready and we made our ten 10-band contacts between us, taking under 15 minutes. We are getting better at.

Having finished with Ralph, I decided to try the 12m band. The propagation report looked like it would be a decent band to use. I began calling and calling, nothing was heard for over 10 minutes! It was not looking good. Finally, I had a response from a station in Illinois with poor signal reports. I then realized I had left the power setting at 3 watts! I don’t need much to talk to Ralph so I turn it down, but the higher power does make getting heard easier for the distance. I upper the power to my normal 85watts and continued on. I soon had another station come by, this one in Michigan and then Indiana. But then things stopped again. I decided to move to 15m and posted myself there.

On 15m I soon had a response from another Michigan station followed soon after by Missouri and Texas stations. Things were working much better now. At 1pm I checked back with Ralph and we decided we wanted to keep going for a while more. I next had a station come in from Spain. It is always fun to get those distant locations. His signal was actually one of the stronger ones. Continuing on I got contacts from Texas, Colorado, Arizona and North Carolina. The Arizona contact was actually a pair of activators in a park there. So excluding Ralph, I managed three park-to-park contacts. About this time a pair of city parks workers came by intrigued by my set up. They were very interested in my activity. I shared with them about the destinations one can reach and what we talked about. I mentioned that it was also a great way to get out and see new parks which one would never have heard about before. Both of the guys said that they were not much better as they had never visited the local parks either until they started working for the city! We humans get so stuck in our ways.

By the time I had finished chatting with the two workers, it was about the time Ralph indicated we would operate to. I checked in with him and we decided to pack up. I didn’t get as many contacts today as I spent too much time on the 12m band at 3 watts which wasn’t working well. I also had long conversations with a few people ho came by. Since the radio hobby is about communicating, I didn’t feel that the time chatting explaining things was a waste. I do enjoy sharing the adventure with those who show enough curiosity to come by. As I completed tearing down my station Ralph made his way to the car. I was close enough to unlock it and he loaded his gear in. I carried a couple of items to it. I was close enough to not really need the cart, and I completed a few short trips with my gear.

It had been another successful activation and chance to explore a new park. The bands were somewhat quieter but we both had more than needed. I was impressed with the seniors’ 1area; the park workers said it was the only one around. There did seem to be a continual stream of seniors walking by, I believe there are a number of residences and other facilities nearby that brings groups out. Our drive home was dry – neither of us felt like a coffee – and we made good time as we were ahead of the Friday rush-hour.