Peanut & Rooster Adventures

Preview of SOTActivation of McCrudy Peak

2010-09-17T11:52:00.002-06:00

Rooster & Peanut Do Their Seventh 14er - Huron Peak

2010-08-21T07:37:00.005-06:00

Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado climb many of Colorado's 14,000-foot mountains to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world every second Sunday in August. This video is about N0B's adventure up Huron Peak (14,003ft) with Guy/N7UN, Rich/AC7MA and Steve/wg0at and their faithful sherpa goats Rooster and Peanut. Plus California ham radio operators who climbed, hiked and biked their way up 14ers to activate peaks for Summits On The Air (SOTA).
Slideshow Info on HAM-14er event

We Made It! But only for 4-brief QSOs on VHF!

2010-08-09T22:38:00.004-06:00

We got off Huron Peak ok! Weather on top was in low 40's, 30 mph winds, raining, in clouds. No fun! It rained hard all night at our high base camp (11,800') but finally stopped around 4AM. We left camp at 6AM, hiked 2,200' in dreary rain and clouds and summitted around 8AM. Weather NOT conducive to portable operations and Rooster and Peanut, our sherpa goats, were looking at us like we were truly crazy (well.....), so we decided for safety reasons to descend back to base camp. Heavy t'storms later frequented the area so it was a good decision although we really wanted to activate Mt Huron. But next time! Thanks to all who offered encouragement!

Slide show. Video in the works. As soon as the goats rest up.

73 till next 2011, Team-NØB: Guy/N7UN, Rich/AC7MA, and Steve/wG0AT, Rooster & Peanut

FOBB 2010 QRP Contest with Rooster & Peanut on Blodgett Peak, CO

2010-07-28T08:13:00.004-06:00

Talk about a good workout ...that trail up Blodgett Peak (9465') climbs approximately 2500' in a little over 2 miles. Got a late start 9:40AM from the trail head parking lot and didn't summit till almost noon! Weather was sunny and clear and no forecast of T-storms! Woohoo! Setup the antenna/radio and conditions were GREAT it sounded like CQ-WW Wow! ...lots of signals from 14058.5 to 68 ...absolutely amazing for a QRP 'test! I've never heard such a joyful noise!

Goats Recon Mt Huron for SOTA & Ham-14er Event as NØB

2010-07-28T08:10:00.004-06:00

The goats and I went on a reconnaissance mission to check out Huron Peak for a possible 14er (14,000') for the Ham-14er this coming August 8th. When we will operate as NØB! ... It was a picture perfect day in the Colorado mountains and us goats had a super day on the peak! Very few climbers made it out that day maybe 12 or so?
for more information on the Ham-14er:
http://n0b-14er.blogspot.com/
http://www.14er.org/
Please join us for the fun! Here's some photos:
http://picasaweb.google.com/qrp.wg0at...

A Recent QSO with Wes W7ZOI

2010-07-28T08:05:00.002-06:00

Recently I had the thrill of making contact with Wes Hayward W7ZOI! Who's Wes/W7ZOI you say? Together with another QRP giant, Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Wes was among many who was responsible for popularizing home made construction of simple radio equipment, which fostered experimentation among radio amateurs.

Most of all he inspired me to get out doors with radio! By sharing his QRP adventures and stories on the web and in print. I was eager to follow his lead taking my rigs to the woods to experiment with antennas and little QRP cw rigs I built from his and Doug's designs. You could say he started me down the "trail" of 40 years of very rewarding QRP fun!

Mt Herman - Summits On The Air with Goats (SOTA with GOTA)

2010-07-28T08:01:00.003-06:00

The goats and I put Mt herman on the air for the first time for SOTA Summits On The Air program. Our original plans were to do an overnight but weather was factor. So we hiked up and down both days instead. Made over 35 fun contacts world wide and several summit to summit contacts and several Europeans QSOs. We did get chased around by spring snow flurries but had a fun time. For more information on SOTA:

QRP To The Field with John-KA9I's Elecraft K2

2010-07-28T07:59:00.002-06:00

Our original plans were to hike up Mt Herman with the goats for one of the best QRP contests of the season "QRP to the field" QRPTTF. But Mother Nature had other plans. She dropped 20" of very wet-heavy snow on our us instead making it impossible to travel any of the backcountry roads near by. So we tossed the goats a some fresh hay and tossed another log in the wood stove and operated QRPTTF from home.

DX Gets DX - KL8DX Visits for Amazing Mountain-Top QRP DXing

2010-07-28T07:52:00.002-06:00

Phil/KL8DX and Suann/KL8SU on their way back to Alaska from vacationing in the lower 48 stop by Colorado to visit Peanut & Rooster for a goat hike up Mt Herman. Phil snags some amazing DX while on top. The goats are up to their usual tricks and antics. Great day on the mountain! Fun time for all!

Was Marconi the First Amateur Radio Operator?

2010-03-23T19:05:00.002-06:00

With the permission of the NPS and the guidance of Ranger Barbara - N1NS four radio amateurs: Pi - K1RV, Chris - W6HFP, Guy - N7UN and Steve - wGØAT spent the evening at the Coast Guard Station at Eastham on Cape Cod. Adjacent to the original historic Marconi Beach transmitter site We had a blast as the video shows!! Again please don't tell the goats!

Adventure to St Lucia as J6/wG0AT

2010-03-20T10:21:00.006-06:00

Chris- J6/W6HFP, Guy J6/N7UN and I climb up the remains of an ancient volcano Petit Piton (St Lucia Island) in order to put this summit on the air for the first time. Using ultralight equipment (FT857d at 50-watts, Versatee vertical and A123 battery) we made contacts world-wide from our dizzy island summit on 17-meters. What a huge THRILL it was!!! Please don't tell Rooster & Peanut we had so much FUN!

Kicking Off 2010 with a Day of Ice Fishing

2010-01-02T17:40:00.019-07:00

Great day on Antero Reservoir!

Polar Bear QRP and IRLP Node 3043

2009-12-16T10:50:00.004-07:00

Polar Bear Moonlight Madness on top of Mt Herman, CO 9054ft ASL. My goats and I spent the day on a snowy mountain top while making contacts world wide with ham radio, internet IRLP and APRS messaging.

Black Friday QRP

2009-12-09T19:33:00.004-07:00

Gary/N5ANF and I scrambled up Mt Herman (9054') on Black Friday for some QRP fun. Gary was operating his FT817 pedestrian mobile using his rather novel helically wound windom on a 9' whip mounted on his pack frame with MFJ tunner which worked great! I was operating mtn-top portable with my IC703 and Buddipole vertical. Conditions were ok but we were still plagued with that deep QSB of late. We tried to operate on separate bands 20/17/15 but found desensing to be an issue as we were only 20yards from one another! So we took turns running the 17m SSB-HFpack. All in all us goats had a great time!

Busy Little Goat Elves

2009-12-08T10:29:00.003-07:00

Just in time for Christmas ...Rooster finally gets off his dusty behind and with Peanut's ingenuity gets their GoatWare shop online. Currently there's limited selection of T-shirts, mugs and a tote bag but more is planned soon.

What's in my pack

2009-11-01T16:29:00.001-07:00

This is a short hike I did in July'09 with the 'boys' and my ATS3a while looking for some items I lost on FD. A thunder storm rolls up on us so we QRT'd early to dodge the wet. Peanut gets into 'what's in my pack' with his 10-essentails list and Rooster has a message for all of us at the end! Some QRP radio, more goat and fun!

Using APRS to Spot Yourself

2009-10-04T12:16:00.010-06:00

During the recent Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event I used the APRS along with the GPS feature on my newly acquired VX8 to help locate myself on a Google map on the web at aprs.fi. Not only can I show folks where I'm located but it'll show my track over time. And get this I can even include a brief message (up to 64 characters) as to what frequency I'm currently operating and my status "off duty", "in service" etc. It came in real handy when I couldn't find any more Polar Bear Ops to work! I sent another APRS beacon by just pushing a button on my VX8 and within several minutes I had callers answering my lonely CQ! How's that for results. Some would say that's cheating? Well it's all via ham radio and internet for hams by hams so why not! It's a neat tool!

Another fun feature is you can send short messages to other ARPS users For example Fred DL9MDI in Eggenfelden, Germany sent me a message while I was operating on the mountain top (Mt Herman). I was very surprised? I wasn't able to respond to him as I'm wasn't experienced with the sending a message procedure of APRS messaging yet. That's next I can assure you ...once I finish reading my VX8's manual. Here's Fred's first Youtube video

Fun useful stuff for a field OP!

Peanut's View of the HAM-14er Event

2009-08-24T11:42:00.004-06:00

Kayak Marine Mobile during the Spartan Sprint

2009-08-24T11:38:00.002-06:00

Father's Day Hike with the Goats

2009-06-23T17:05:00.003-06:00

Father's Day was just a spectacular day here in Colorado with temps hitting low 80s, bright blue skies and just a few white puffy clouds. A perfect day for Rooster & Peanut and I to head up Mt Herman to play some ham radio!

Rooster & Peanut in Freezing Fog

2009-04-27T12:13:00.005-06:00

Peanut and I spent a very COLD afternoon on Mt Herman in the freezing fog just because the Old Goat wanted to play radio. The Old Goat made a dozen or so contacts other QRPTTF stations before we finally got off that freezin' ridge. It's all here in the video ....Rooster

The Squirrel Tail-Shakin' Blues

2009-03-20T09:19:00.002-06:00

A resident squirrel rips apart a tarp we use to cover the BBQ in order to build her nest. Shakes her tail at the camera telling me to get lost she's got work to do!

Rooster's Goatcam as Arrived!

2009-03-16T22:55:00.000-06:00

I'm Going Ice Fishin'

2009-01-27T15:45:00.001-07:00

While fishing at the north shore of Antero Reservoir in Colorado my buddies and I had just an incredible day on the ice. Good weather and great catch.

K3Y/Ø as Rooster & Peanut with Steve/NØTU

2009-01-22T04:49:00.006-07:00

Last Saturday the goats and I hiked up Mt Herman to operate as K3Y/0 celebrating the SKCC's third year anniversary. It was also the Polar Bear Moonlight Madness Event for January aka "Full Wolf Moon". We had incredibly nice weather and pretty decent propagation. The video tells the rest of the story.

ARRL Straight Key Night 2009

2009-01-06T15:13:00.012-07:00

SKN was a hoot! Fired up my Johnson Viking Adventurer with the Heath VF-1 and Drake 2B/2BQ. To say my signal had a little chirp on it was understatement! Ran through all my keys and rigs making about a dozen QSOs. What FUN! J5A was my key of the day/night! Video (soon to be posted) tells the story best!

Spartan Sprint from a Cave

2008-12-03T10:50:00.004-07:00

Last weekend after a good snow storm I decided to build a snow cave to operate Spartan Sprint from. Albeit without my goats! They had good sense to stay in a warm barn unlike the old goat!
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BEWARE building a snow cave can be very dangerous and even fatal especially if you don't know what you are doing! Do NOT ...I say again DO NOT try this unless you have had proper instruction by a seasoned-trained expert!
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You've been warned folks so please do not entomb yourself in a snow cave!!

November Polar Bear Madness (aka QLH)

2008-11-19T12:04:00.004-07:00

During the winter season there's a group of ham radio operators who call themselves 'Polar Bears'. They hold monthly on-the-air get togethers and to make more it interesting some choose to operate outdoors. This adventure is about my packgoats Rooster and Peanut while hiking on Mt Herman. Rooster steals the show with his silly goat antics as usual!

Zombie Shuffle QRP Contest

2008-11-09T10:43:00.019-07:00

The Zombie Shuffle is a ham radio QRP contest held every year around Halloween. During which Ham radio operaters get on the air and have fun making contact with as may 'Zombies' (other hams) as possible. The video (above) is a log of the stations I contacted.

Spartan Sprint Blues

2008-11-04T15:24:00.007-07:00

Yesterday afternoon started out with some antenna/tower work. I had lost one element from my center fed zepp and had to climb my tower to replace it. Thus I was anxious to see how things would work?

Well it was fun but kinda slow ...activity wise? Either that or the bands were kind punk here in CO? Lots of QSB! Rig was FT817 running 1W on internal batteries and used my new DINkey paddle. Ant was a center fed zepp at 55' fed w/open wire to a tuner at the base of ant and then 150' coax to the shack.

Maybe running 1W was a mistake cause I only worked 5 stns - 40m: John K4BAI in GA, Ron W5RCP in TX and Andy W5ACM in TX, I heard and called Mike-N9OHW several times got a QRZ? but my 1W wasn't getting through I guess. on 80m: Paul NG7Z in WA and John K4BAI agn!

Thank You Hanna & Adam!!

2008-11-02T21:29:00.006-07:00

As you could guess by now Rooster and Peanut have fans all over the globe. But they have some very dear friends in Australia. Adam-VK6HFA and Hanna (his 4-year old daughter) recently sent the 'boys' an authentic Austrailian Army Hootchie. This hootchie will help keep the boys dry when we camp during the rainy season and give shelter from sun, snow and wind the rest of the seasons. Very thoughtful of Adam and Hanna indeed. Rooster and Peanut are most grateful for their new trap and are very anxious to put it to good use. Cheers to Hanna, say Rooster and Peanut (now warm and dry ...happy goats).

Hoof Trimming Time

2008-11-02T13:56:00.004-07:00

Rooster and Peanut get their hooves trimmed to the beat of the polka on nice warm fall afternoon.

Peanut & Rooster make News!

2008-10-04T08:45:00.006-06:00

Dave Philipps from the Colorado Springs Gazette did a fun story titled "From barnyard bad boys ... to backcountry bellhops" about pack goats featuring Peanut and Rooster. During the video interview Rooster gets bored and decides to walk off while I'm leaning on him and carries me off camera! As a follow up I made a video of our backpack trip which the Dave the reporter accompanied us on while he was writing his story.

QRP-a-Field with Dave/NK0E and R&P

2008-09-22T18:25:00.006-06:00

Fun time is spite of not very many QSOs or much activity? But how can you NOT have fun with Rooster & Peanut and playing radio in the woods with QRP buddies? Especially since we had such beautiful weather, great views and an isolated campsite. It almost didn't matter what the band conditions were. But they weren't horrible as I heard many EU stations on 17m although I couldn't crack the pileups and even on 20m in the early AM the EU stations were a little QRM issue for the QRPaF at times. QSB was deep and made copy a challenge at times too. All in all it was a hoot!

Buffalo Peaks Colorado

2008-09-16T09:00:00.011-06:00

For me the QRP contact on Sunday while sitting at our lunch log overlooking Buffalo Peaks was truly a highlight of our trip and there were many! Admittedly, earlier in the day having my 3-watt 20m-CQ answered by an Alaskan station Doug/WL7CDC in Anchorage was heart stopping! But not as thrilling to catch Bruce/N7RR and Margaret/K7MWP in Yellow Aster Meadows in the Mount Baker Wilderness/WA.

At first I thought Bruce didn't hear my reply to his CQ. But was quickly rewarded with a QRZ?? My jumper-dipole antenna height was limited to only 10' due to the fact I grabbed the wrong feed line to take with ...but it still worked ok! Guessing maybe our 11,500' elevation helped some?

Honestly there's nothing 'sweeter' than making contact with kindred spirits while on similar wilderness adventures!

Bruce/N7RR writes:
> Sunday was our hike-out day, but we were pretty
> leisurely about it. I had rigged up my 20 m dipole
> in camp that morning and listened a bit. While
> packing up, I left the dipole up and attached my
>little amplified dual speaker to the DSW-20. I called
> CQ on exactly 14 060.00 kHz. At 1828 Z Steve
> N0TU answered. Accompanied by pack-goats
> Rooster and Peanut, Steve was camped near
> Buffalo Peak, Colorado. That portable-to-portable
> QSO was another fine hamming highlight!

Here's a few pics and the VIDEO!

Cheers, Steve/R&P

A 1800' tower in your backyard?

2008-09-08T15:54:00.012-06:00

Sunday afternoon Rooster & Peanut and I climbed Mt Herman to make some ham radio contacts only I forgot to bring the radio! "Now who's the knuckle-head?" says Rooster.
Here's some pictures.

Rooster and Peanut Romp with Misti

2008-08-31T23:24:00.006-06:00

Today we went for a short hike in the woods with Misti my wife's Arabian mare. No radios or antennas just a fun walk in the woods with our animals. Video tells the story

Old Goats QRPexpedtion to Uncompahre Peak

2008-08-11T15:00:00.025-06:00

Guy/N7UN and I with Rooster and Peanut carrying some of our gear made it to the top of Uncompahgre Peak (14,309' ) for the Ham-14er Event. While on 20m CW and SSB Guy made contacts with Brain/N6IZ who was on Mt Whitney (14,505'). This was the first time for a HF 2-way 14er-to-14er (out of state). Equipment used: Guy on his Elecraft K2(5w) & inverted-V on 30'pushup mast. Brian on his Elecraft KX1 (3w) and linear-loaded vertical. Meanwhile I was busy on VHF working other CO 14ers with my Yaesu FT817 & Elks 5-el PDA.
It took 3-videos to tell the story:
#1 Getting Attitude
#2 Gaining Altitude - shows NØB's operation and 14er climb
#3 Attitude at Altitude

Buzzing a top Raspberry Mountain

2008-07-29T06:40:00.006-06:00

Dave -NKØE, Rooster & Peanut and I had a great time in the ARS's Flight of the Bumble Bees. We had really nice weather although wouldn't have minded just a little rain or cool breeze now and then to cool us down since it was in the upper 80s. As expected band conditions weren't red hot but quite possible with QRP signals to still make lots of BB QSOs and enjoy the contest. Rooster and Peanut provided for lots of silly goat antics to keep us laughing. Or watch the video to see for yourself.

Colorado Trail trip BUSTED

2008-07-08T14:07:00.005-06:00

A rather large unexpected (by us) Pacific storm settled onto Summit County pounding the Ten Mile Range for 36hrs with heavy rains and low clouds making a safe passage over peaks 8-9 all but impossible. After spending a wet night on the mountain we decided to save our adventure for another day. Not wanting to attract more lightning than we already experienced hence no radio contacts were attempted.

On the trail again! ...Colorado Trail that is

2008-07-05T09:52:00.009-06:00

My good friend John(NØHJ) and I will be on the CT again logging some more miles towards Durango. Segment 7 starts in between Breckenridge and Frisco. (for more CT info). We''ll finish up near Leadville. We plan to be out for 4-1/2days. Rooster and Peanut are staying home to watch over their barn this time and it's just the old goat going this time. So probably no video but lots of still pics instead! We'll both have our ham gear ATS3A rigs along so listen for us on the usual 20/30m QRP freqs in early AM & late PM.

FD'08 on 2-Scoops of Grain!

2008-07-01T15:19:00.012-06:00

Field Day 2008 via QRP, Goats and Solar power was PRICELESS!

Although Es openings on 6m were not abundant if at all at least HF performed pretty darn good considering a SF of only 66! Location was our usual favorite spot a top Mt Herman at 9054' ASL with 1500' shear drop off looking East. Weather was a perfect 70F and sunny with a light shower on Saturday PM.

Maybe it was my location and/or antenna but I felt like I was running QRO as I could easily get through on the first or more often the second call on CW ...most of the time. But SSB was a different story and required more skill, timing and strategy. Calling loud stations or stations that were going unanswered or in the clear. 20m was the most productive and 40m late PM was rolling thunder with lots of big signals.

Goats did their part of getting our <100lbs of FD/camping gear to the mountain top but were very unimpressed with the FD activities and napped most of the weekend. Between the rain, wind/tarps, camping chores and goat sitting I only made 150 QSOs (120-CW and 30-SSB) but it still made for a unforgettably FUN FD! N0TU (1B)Station setup: Rig: FT-817, ATS3A as backup Ant: 10-40m jumper dipole w/40' coax at 25' at edge of cliff, 2m/70cm 5el Elks beam Power source: (2) 7AH SLA batteries & solar panel Price to get there: 2-scoops of gain and Rooster & Peanut (goats) ...not bad considering the price of gas these days! In other words, PRICELESS!

YouTube video tells the rest of the story!

"Green" Goat Powered FD 2008

2008-06-29T17:42:00.006-06:00

Under dark skies and thanks to Rooster and Peanut we hauled almost 100lbs of gear to the top of the mountain to get ready for Field Day.

More details at YouTube video.

CQ FD de NØTU & Rooster and Peanut

2008-06-27T07:58:00.003-06:00

We'll be "hanging" out on 6m and relaxing in ham-mock shack cruising HF racking up CW QSOs while waiting for more sporadic-E openings. Please look for the 'boys' and I on 6m, 2m/70cm FD.
73, Steve, Rooster and Peanut

VHF 'test on Mt Herman

2008-06-14T09:38:00.007-06:00

Atop Mt Herman for the VHF QSO party we made many QSOs. A few nice SE openings made 6-meters sound like 20m SSB on Sunday afternoon with signals spread from 50.125MHz on up. Including CW and some beacons. I forgot to bring my mast so I used a pine tree to support the Elk beam and it worked fine just the same. Also stretched out the 6m dipole in the same tree. Since then I've built a trail friendly version (lightweight) of WB3BEL/Harry's 3-element 6m Hexbeam. Mine weighs in at 1.5lbs using 48" driveway wands from Depot. Using my 22' fiberglass push up mast to support it and the 5element 2m/70cm Elk beam. Hope to see some SE openings during FD.

My First HF Pedestrain Mobile QSO!

2008-06-08T07:34:00.006-06:00

Rooster and Peanut stood by patiently while the Old Goat made his first QSO/pm. Thanks to Paul-W0RW who loan me his PRC319 So I could talk to Budd W3FF and others on 20m SSB. Discovered the baseball back stops make good antenna reflectors. Also discovered that a drag wire isn't very goat proof! Looks like I need to figure on using half wave antenna system w/o a drag wire.

Backpacking into Collegiate Peaks

2008-06-07T16:20:00.009-06:00

Rooster & Peanut and a few friends and I spent 4-days camping and fishing at Harvard Lakes. Typical spring weather meet us with light rain and snow flurries. Goats behaved themselves while we fished and were never a dull moment in camp. View slide show.

Thunderbirds and 20m HFpack QSOs

2008-05-27T17:31:00.008-06:00

My Goats and I hiked up Mt Herman to watch the Thunderbirds practice their flyovers for the AFA graduation ceremony this week. Low clouds made for lousy viewing. But we had a blast making several QRP ham radio contacts with the FT-817 and sloper dipole. Always amazing how well this setup performs on a mountain top! Here's the YouTube version for lager format viewing.

Goat Radio on Mt Herman

2008-05-15T16:32:00.014-06:00

After 2 hours of bush whacking our way up a steep slope through scrub oak and dangerous loose rock we reached the top. Exhausted we made our way to the north summit where I had stashed a battery and spent the next 45 minutes looking for it! Finally once found we put up a sloper for 17/20m and made contact with both coast and Hawaii! While my goats played on the rocks and cleared some weeds.

Welcome to R&P's new blog!

2008-05-15T09:50:00.005-06:00

I'm in the process of adding and linking content from my old website. Please bare with me as this blog grows and gradually becomes the replacement for above. Steve