#TeamTopLeft was back in CN78 for Winter Field Day 2023. VA7USD took a day trip to Gordon Bay Provincial Park, located on the south shores of Lake Cowichan. What started as a cold, cloudy morning turned into a sunny, but still cold day.

Matt managed only 41 contacts, working stations on 10, 15, 20, and 40 meters; both SSB and FT8. While the volume wasn’t great, it was a chance for Matt to test out a portable, 6-80 meter vertical Alpha Antenna. Unlike a BuddiPole, or other coil-loaded vertical antenna, the Alpha doesn’t need to adjust the counterpoise or whip to change bands. The SWR was within limits for the IC 7300’s internal 3:1 tuner, so bands can be changed at the push of a button.

Obviously, an antenna like this will come with lots of loss, but there were still some respectable contacts to be made at 100W. A look at the QSO map below shows that the antenna got broad coverage across the United States, with FT8 DX into Cuba.