From the Garden to the Airwaves: A Spring Update

Before diving into amateur radio news, the garden demands an update — because right now, it’s putting on quite a show.

The Garden Is Thriving

Spring has officially arrived, and the vegetables are loving every bit of this warm weather. The tomatoes in particular are off to a strong start. Both the San Marzano and the Cherokee Purple were started from seedlings, so fingers are firmly crossed for a solid harvest from each plant. Already looking ahead to a batch of homemade San Marzano sauce — that’s the goal.

The arugula, also grown from a seedling, has absolutely taken off. Arugula salad has become a near-nightly ritual, and there are no complaints. Swiss chard and dill have also delivered an impressive early harvest. Still waiting on quite a few others: peppers (four varieties in the ground), lettuce, eggplant, zucchini, artichoke, onions, garlic, carrots, and scallions. Plenty to look forward to as the season builds.

The “Vineyard” and the Hop Yard

The vineyard — all two vines of it — is climbing nicely along a simple trellis installed earlier this season. On the hop front, three rhizomes were added this year: Cascade, Chinook, and Nugget. The Cascade has already pushed four shoots above ground, which was encouraging enough to justify building a 10-foot hop trellis. One vine is climbing; the others are expected to follow soon. Next item on the list is organic garden straw, which, it turns out, is not easy to source locally.

Back on the Air — Almost

Last month came a long drive back from Coupeville — roughly 18 hours nonstop to Paso Robles, with four fuel stops along the way. All the amateur radio gear is now at its new QTH and accounted for.

Dick, K6KR — a former NCCC member who lives on Whidbey Island, about 15 minutes away — has generously offered to help get the Elecraft K3 system back online. That assistance is going to be invaluable. In between laying vinyl flooring and mowing five acres, some progress was made untangling the 5-band hex beam antenna, which was an honest-to-goodness rat’s nest of rope and wire when it was dismantled back in 2011. A tripod is on order from DX Engineering; once it arrives, the hex beam gets cleaned up and should become the first usable antenna at the new station.

The bigger puzzle is placement. There are three pine trees close to the house — around 50 feet tall — but the taller trees sit further down the hillside, and a coax run from there could be problematic. Worth exploring, but a conversation with the HOA will come first. Fortunately, it’s a small community and everyone knows each other, so getting approval to put up a few antennas should be a manageable ask.

A Good Day in Coupeville

Now back in Coupeville through May 26, a productive session at the operating desk finally happened. The Elecraft K3 was unboxed along with its accessories, and contact was made with Bob, N6TV, up in Northern California. Bob walked through configuring the radio for the modes planned for operation — and it appears the rig is in good shape. The missing piece, as expected, is an antenna.

Six antennas made the trip last month: one still needs to be built, two need to be cleaned up and reassembled, and the most straightforward option is a wire antenna covering 10–80 meters. That one will likely go up first.

It’s been since 2011 since there was a working station on the air. Getting back into the hobby after that long a break is equal parts exciting and humbling — change is hard. The help from Bob and Dick has been much appreciated. One lingering question is whether to stick with N1MM or return to Win-Test, the logging software used in years past.

But that decision can wait. First things first: get an antenna in the air.

73 — more updates to follow.