By Kevin – W8NI
It was another hot, sunny, and humid morning in Charleston, South Carolina. I was heading out to activate the final two “new-to-me” parks in the area. My bags were packed, the KX2 was in hand, and I was off—just as I have been so many times before. But this time would be different.
Charleston, South Carolina, has been our “go-to” vacation spot for years. Not necessarily because we love Charleston, but because we have family there. My in-laws moved down south in 2012. And while they certainly enjoy missing out on the frigid Ohio winters, they could probably do without the summers that regularly reach triple digits.
So, over the last few years, I have methodically worked my way through the local parks. Now, this morning, I was heading out to activate the final two: Childsbury Towne Wildlife Management Area (US-9198) and Bonneau Ferry Wildlife Management Area (US-3888).
The first stop was Bonneau Ferry Wildlife Management Area.
I pulled in, got out my random-wire antenna, connected everything to the KX2, pushed the ATU button, and…
25.4:1.
Honestly, at this point, I just shrugged it off and changed bands. After all, I’m using a random wire. It works better on some bands than others.
Band number two.
ATU…
25.4:1.
Wait. What?
I know that everything changes everything when it comes to antennas, but this thing was tuning to 1.5:1 or better just yesterday.
Third band: 25.4:1.
Fourth band: 25.4:1.
OK. Something is definitely wrong.
As the reality of a missed activation began to set in, I pulled out my phone and did a quick search. Yep. It had happened to others before, and apparently, the symptoms were exactly what I was experiencing.
The KX2’s internal tuner had decided it was done.
I’ve always heard the saying, “Two is one, and one is none.” For this particular adventure, that saying was proving painfully accurate. I’m usually the guy who has multiple radios in the vehicle. But today, I had brought exactly one.
And now I had none.
There was nothing to do but pack everything back up and head home.
As I drove away from Bonneau Ferry, I couldn’t help but laugh a little. I had driven all the way out there, had the antenna ready, had the radio ready, and had two brand-new parks waiting to be activated.
But the radio had other plans.
And that’s one of the things I’ve come to appreciate about POTA. Sometimes you make the contacts. Sometimes you chase the activation. And sometimes you spend the morning sitting in a parking lot staring at a SWR reading that refuses to cooperate.
Not every outing goes according to plan.
In fact, some of the best stories come from the ones that don’t.
I didn’t activate Bonneau Ferry that morning. I didn’t activate Childsbury Towne either. My “final two” parks would have to wait.
But I did get a reminder that, in this hobby, the equipment is only part of the adventure. The rest is the people you meet, the places you discover, the problems you solve—and occasionally, the problems you simply have to laugh about.
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