Building a Portable Antenna Parts Bin
My first portable doublet made me want to build more antennas, so I stocked the small parts that make it easier to keep experimenting.
Robert Jackson / Notes
Field logs, software observations, radio updates, and site notes from Robert Jackson.
Latest posts
Morse Code for the Technician: resources
Slides, learning paths, practice tools, and portable-CW inspiration from my 2026 Northeast HamXposition talk.
My First KH1 POTA Activation at JL Curran
My first full POTA activation with the KH1 produced 33 CW contacts and revealed useful field shortcuts, a power question, and the limits of its tuner with my 58-foot doublet.
Mast-Supported Doublet at Carolina Management Area
The unchanged 58-foot doublet made 12 five-watt CW contacts from a pond-side picnic table and again found a usable match on 20 meters.
First Field Test of a 58-Foot Doublet at Pulaski State Park
A tree-supported 58-foot doublet produced 12 five-watt CW QSOs on four bands, including Spain on 15 meters.
Building a 58-Foot Portable Doublet for the KX2
How I built a continuous-wire 58-foot portable doublet, what its first field measurements established, and the reversible experiment I plan to try next.
Rocky Point with KA5I
An evening SSB activation with KA5I delivered his first POTA activation, 38 QSOs in my log, and a second warning about my 12 Ah Bioenno battery.
I Broke My KX2, Then It Was Stolen
How I damaged my KX2, got it repaired by Elecraft, and briefly thought its return shipment had been stolen beside the road.
My First NAQP CW
My first NAQP CW entry produced 107 contacts, 53 band multipliers, a 5,671 claimed score, and an unexpectedly useful lesson about running at my own speed.
K8CES Zippy Paddle Guide
A detailed, photo-by-photo assembly guide for the 3D-printed K8CES Zippy paddle, developed while building a batch of 25.
Helping Rhode Island Show Up for America250 as W1AW/1
I operated W1AW/1 from Rhode Island on CW, SSB, and FT8, making 253 contacts while helping a small group keep the state findable.
A Mnemonic for CW Cut Numbers
After copying `2TW` during Flight of the Bumblebees, I found a simple way to derive the full set of Morse cut numbers instead of memorizing them one by one.
Flight of the Bumblebees from Block Island
A windy West Beach activation put 62 five-watt CW contacts in the log, including a surprising 15-meter run to Alaska, Oregon, California, and Spain.
Taking Flight of the Bumblebees to Block Island
A West Beach lead turns my Block Island FOBB plan toward a saltwater vertical and a careful boundary check for US-0513.
Preparing for the 2026 Flight of the Bumblebees
Planning the location, bands, and a simple resonant wire antenna for my first Flight of the Bumblebees as Bumblebee number 121.
Learning to Read the Bands with NCDXF Beacons
A first look at the synchronized NCDXF/IARU beacon network, its stepped-power signals, and two quick ways to choose an HF band from the field.
Taking K2HRC to Rhode Island
The first Rhode Island activation for K2HRC, with 23 SSB QSOs, a 135-foot EFHW, and a misleading SWR sweep from an unplugged radiator.
Running WSJT-X through QK4 with an Elecraft K4D
A network-only setup for confirmed WSPR and FT8 operation using QK4, Loopback, and an Elecraft K4D.
Jonathan Dickinson twofer with KO4WTM
A shared Florida twofer at Jonathan Dickinson State Park with KO4WTM, 11 CW QSOs on 20 meters, and a close look at a compact EFHW field setup.
Ross Prairie morning twofer
A humid Florida hike-in twofer at Ross Prairie with the KX2, a 51-foot end-fed random wire, and 13 CW QSOs across 40, 30, and 20 meters.
Rhode Island-to-Florida rove, day five
Day five added South Carolina and Georgia with three CW activations, a fast Woods Bay run, a quiet Savannah NWR picnic-table stop, and a Jekyll Island beach finish.
Rhode Island-to-Florida rove, day four
Day four moved the rove from Virginia toward South Carolina with two CW activations, a ranger-induced reset at Fredericksburg, and a quiet Medoc Mountain stop.
Washington DC POTA rove
A walking-and-driving DC rove produced 106 Sunday-route QSOs and cleared the 15-reference POTA Rover Cheetah threshold.
Rhode Island-to-Florida rove, day two
Day two added New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the DC-area twofer to the rove, with 51 QSOs, an activator meetup, and a late legal-access pivot.
Rhode Island-to-Florida rove, day one
The southbound POTA rove started with three parks, 56 QSOs, a noisy Connecticut stop, and a relaxed evening activation at Tallman Mountain.
Building the Activate All RI weekend site
Notes on building the ripota.org event tooling for a community weekend to activate every Rhode Island POTA reference.
Big River shakedown before the rove
A quick US-6982 activation to test the hitch-supported Challenger setup, try SSB on the KX2, and make 17 QSOs before the Rhode Island-to-Florida POTA rove.
Blackstone River Valley NHP from the Rhode Island side
A Rhode Island-side activation of US-7971 with 18 CW QSOs, one Alaska contact on 10 watts, and one preventable walk back to the car for missing dipole pigtails.
John H. Chafee NWR access reconnaissance
A failed attempt at US-0514 after ice cream in East Greenwich, with the useful lesson that this refuge needs an access plan rather than a quick parking-lot activation.
2026-06-04 Sachuest Point
A breezy Pack Mule activation at US-0516 with the KX2, the KJ6ER Challenger, and 38 quick CW QSOs from the rocks at Sachuest Point.
Installing USB-C Charging and Side Rails on My KX2
A first-pass walkthrough of adding USB-C charging and protective side rails to a new Elecraft KX2.
JL Curran State Park Pack Mule Activation
A local Pack Mule outing at US-6992 with the freshly reassembled KX2, a high 51-foot random wire, and 23 CW QSOs through heavy QSB.
CQ WPX CW as a Learning Weekend
Thirty-seven CW QSOs over the CQ WPX CW weekend, a lot of repeat requests and nerves, and a surprisingly effective way to pick up new DXCC entities.
East Bay Three-Park POTA Rove
Three Rhode Island parks with the KX2: 43 CW QSOs, contest congestion at the first stop, a preventable SWR problem at the second, and a fast saltwater finish at sunset.
Durfee Hill Wildlife Management Area POTA
First outing with the KX2 at US-7715: a hike up the hill to clear the valley, a first-throw throw-line success, and 19 CW QSOs across 40, 30, and 20 meters.
Black Hut Wildlife Management Area with a 40m EFHW
A mile-plus hike into US-6984, a throw-line-supported 40-meter EFHW, and 25 CW QSOs after a slow middle stretch.
Memorial Day Rhode Island POTA Rove
A Memorial Day POTA rove through Rhode Island: five stops, six park references, 64 CW contacts, and a few useful lessons.
Reworking this site into a public workshop
Notes on shifting rwjblue.com from a placeholder landing page toward a small, maintained technical workshop.
Portable HF logging workflow notes
Notes on logging workflow for portable HF operations, including what to capture in the field and how to clean up the log afterward.
Rust CLI defaults and configuration boundaries
A small software note about command-line tools, defaults, and escape hatches.