NJ State Free Throw Championship SES

On Saturday, April 5, 2025, I attended the New Jersey Knights of Columbus Free Throw Championship.  I set up a Special Event Station on the second floor of Monsignor Dalton Hall, part of Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church in Sayreville, NJ.

My attempts at deploying a series of Hustler Super RM mobile antennas with a mag mount worked.  However, I couldn't quite get it far enough away from the building while having the antenna remain in the upright position.  I tried 10m, 15m and 20m.  Too much noise.  There was entirely too much noise.

After several attempts at making contact, I pulled the antenna in, quite frustrated.  John Crovo, DD 48, with whom I hitched a ride to Sayreville, went outside to connect the coax to the Hustler antenna, by placing the mag mount on the ground, if necessary.  One thing.  A male connector and a male connector do not go together, and I had not brought a barrel connector with me.  Time for Plan B.  I had two other antennas with me, for just these circumstances.

I had a dipole, with just two strands of wire and a connector purchased from overseas that I thought I could just throw out the window.  I had bent it and wrapped it so carefully the last time that I used it; I should be able to unwrap it and throw it out the window, right?  Think again.  I spent 10 minutes trying to unravel it after I unwrapped it, that I said....well, what I said wasn't important----the fact is, I didn't get it unraveled.

My last option was the Wolf River Coil.  I didn't want to go out in the rain, but I did what I had to do.  Where should I set it up?  Well, right by the empty bottle of Fireball, of course.  Where else?

I used my MFJ-259 Antenna Analyzer on a 20m frequency, and came up with about a 2.5:1 SWR.  Not bad.  Not good, not good at all, but not in the red.  Let's give it a shot.  So, with one end of the coax screwed into the antenna, I threw the rest of the coax up onto the aforementioned concrete roof.  Not a bad toss.  First try, too.

Up the stairs I went, again, to the second floor, where my Kenwood TS-570S(G) was set up.  Hmmm....how to get the coax through the narrow opening afforded by the windows?  Well, the Hustler mobile antenna wasn't a total waste--I used it to hook the coax, and brought both into the building.  Success!

I re-checked the SWR, and lo and behold, it was now a more pleasing 2:1.  Using the built-in antenna tuner on the Kenwood, I brought it down even further, to acceptable levels.  Now, time to operate!

I put on my Heil Pro 6 Elite headset, asked if the frequency was available, and started calling CQ.  Nothing.  Not for a long time.  The Missouri QSO Party (MQP) was going on, and I made a few contacts here and there.  However, the highlight of the day was when Jim, W2UM, came by and made a couple of contacts himself!  It was great to finally meet Jim in the flesh.  I think we did more talking to one another than talking on the radio, but that's okay!  Our total number of contacts for the day was nine, 21 LESS contacts than last year.

In 2024, I was set up across the street from Monsignor Dalton Hall, on a beautiful day when the sun was shining.  I used the Hustler mobile antennas for 20m.  

What was the difference?  I truly don't know.  I believe the Wolf River Coil is superior to the Hustler mobile antenna.  I used my vehicle roof as a Ground Plane last year.  This year, I had radials on the Wolf River Coil.  Last year I had the antenna tip up about 12-15 feet in the air.  This year, I had the antenna tip up about the same distance as last year.  Last year there was quite a bit of noise on the bands.  This year, the same.  Last year, I operated continuously except for one small break.  This year....this year, I spent quite some time getting the antenna situation figured out, there was food right next to me (yay!) and Jim visited the SES.  True, we chatted for about 90 minutes, but did that account for 21 contacts?  Who knows?

I do know that each of the state officers chatted with me for awhile, and some looked at the QSL cards I had displayed from our prior NJ2KC SESs.  Was it a success?  Contact-wise, no.  Promotional-wise, absolutely!  The more we are seen, the more we are validated.  Having Jim with me showed yet another member of our club to the state officers, and to  our Brother Knights.

As I am located in the Camden Diocese, I of course am most friendly with my Brother Knights from there.  Of all the times I have spoken about our club, our progress and our goals, I have been met with nothing but accolades and encouragement.  From hitching a ride with fellow DD John Crovo, hauling my gear in his vehicle and trying to connect the antenna to the coax, helping me carry my gear into and outside of the hall, to Former District Master Paul Pinkman and DD Ken Cutugno helping me, or offering to help me, deploy or retrieve my antenna.  

Another great moment, one that was equal to or even better than spending time with Jim, W2UM, was when Lady Barbara Sands, wife of State Deputy Raymond C. Sands, spend about 30 minutes with me, asking me questions about our hobby.  She wanted to know if our contacts knew who we were when we called CQ, if we knew where they were by their call, and other very thoughtful questions.  I explained how prefixes determine the country where the callsign is issued, showed her the QRZ page of NJ2KC, and more.  It was made even more special when she informed me that her late father was also a ham.

So, another Special Event Station in the books.  Up next, the BIG ONE, the convention.  This will be our third year in a row.  How many contacts can we rack up in a week?  Only time will tell.

Thank you for being members of the New Jersey Knights of Columbus Amateur Radio Club, or for just following our page.  I hope to meet each and every one of our followers at some point in time.

I  hope to see you at the convention!

Vivat Jesus and 73,

Tom

N2JIE