Books, News, POTA

The ARRL POTA Book Prize Package Giveaway!

245 Comments

As I mentioned in my article about the new ARRL POTA book, the ARRL has offered a generous prize package to one lucky QRPer.com reader.

The prize package includes everything you see in the image above:

How to enter…

All you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling us what you love about Parks On The Air (POTA).

If you have yet to participate in the Parks On The Air program, then please tell us what it is that you find so enticing about the program; why you plan to become active in POTA.

Details:

  • We will keep the comments open until 13:00 UTC on Friday, November 17, 2023. You can only enter once, so please include your callsign (if you have one) in the comment.
  • We will take the total number of comments, use a random number generator to pick one comment, then reach out to you to obtain your shipping information.
  • The ARRL will drop ship this prize package directly to you!
  • This giveaway is open to everyone.

Click here to comment and enter the giveaway!

Many thanks to the ARRL for offering up this POTA prize package!

245 thoughts on “The ARRL POTA Book Prize Package Giveaway!”

  1. POTA is open to everyone. Any mode is welcome- SSB, CW, FT8 Satellite… Just about everyone has a park nearby and we get to be hunters when not activating.

    Dwight KO6FE

  2. I love (at least) two things: As an activator, POTA brings me to places I would not have discovered otherwise. As I participant in the program in general, it’s the other people who participate. This is one of the friendliest group of people in ham radio.

    de Karl Heinz – K5KHK

  3. POTA has taken me to some parks I might not have visited otherwise. I also enjoy the POTA community and the new friends I have made over the years.

  4. I love the challenge of setting up my station on the air in different locations and the camaraderie of contacting my fellow amateurs around the world as we play radio together.

    Ed
    N2EC

  5. I love the activity it has created on the bands both for the activators and the hunters. I look forward to the next program. Perhaps lakes, reservoirs, and dams?

  8. There is a lot to love about POTA. What I enjoy most is combining my love of nature with my love of ham radio. A close second is the enjoyment and amazement in seeing the performance of modest equipment.

  9. When the covid lockdowns came, this new POTA-thing kept me goal-oriented, “on the move” and outside. In other words, sane!
    Craig
    N4CN

  10. I recently combined two of my favorite activities, backpacking and ham radio, by doing two POTA activations while backpacking in the park.

  11. There’s so much to like about POTA it is hard to pick just one thing! POTA hunting is fun and rewarding – most activators are happy to have hunters. As an activator, my favorite thing is activating outside at a beautiful location. My favorite day is to find a picnic area, set up the station, cook on the grill, and enjoy some beautiful weather.

  12. POTA rekindled my interest in amateur radio. Loved being outdoors while using QRP rig. It’s the best that amateur radio offers to us and keeping it fun.

    Daniel
    WD5ETR

    1. I really like the minimalist equipment that everyone uses. The small diy radios are a blast to build and use. The variety of keys that are used is amazing.
      Best
      Gene W9SR

  13. It is good that POTA is becoming popular in the UK as well, we do not have the number of Parks here but they are accessible to most of us. Even activated Exmoor with the help of some US POTA chasers

  14. I love putting together a portable station and experimenting with different antenna configurations. Always fun to look at the contact map after the activation to see where the stations were that I contacted. Always fun to be in the outdoors! KI5VIR

  15. pota: great incentive to improve cw skills, experiment with antennas, and portable stations, and most importantly, introduce public to amateur radio
    72s de randy, k8zfj

  16. This is NO4D, Ken. POTA has got me back in the HF bands as a hunter knowing there are always other POTA members out there as activators. It has also led me back to learning CW.

  17. After years of contesting and chasing DX I stumbled upon POTA and decided to try it and it sucked me in! It’s a blast. Love activating and hunting.

  18. POTA excites with chance to not just communicate with fellow hams but perhaps explain ham radio to passersby.
    I am ex-WA0DJP

  19. I have yet to try a POTA activation- I am still learning all the ins and outs. However I love the idea behind it. I would love to get my CW going to be able to feel comfortable enough to try that! I am also trying to put together a nice small kit to make that happen.

  20. Can’t wait to participate in my first upcoming POTA…
    My awesome “Elmers” at SDARES have promised me a POTA, as a reward for getting my General in the near future..
    Been to some other POTAs, and just being able to talk with the seasoned Elmers, see their equipment, and ask lots of questions make for such an informative and fun time…
    73

    Frank J
    K6FOJ

  21. I enjoy the chase of the parks.I have only been able to activate two parks so far even with some fairly close to me. I like the idea of going to new parks not only to activate but to enjoy. It has given me a goal to use my portable radios for more than just my enjoyment.
    NM8B

  22. POTA gets me out of the house, into the woods and countryside. I have the opportunity to hike and learn new skills with my radios. POTA keeps me moving and learning.

    72
    Fr Richard
    WB8YXF

  23. I like CW, deployment and distribution with low power (5 watts). POTA is perfectly suitable for me to combine these.
    ON9EEE Fero

  24. The thing I love most about parks on the air is the community. I’ve learned so much from POTA participants on youtube, slack, facebook, discord, on the air, and in person. I learned how to use a throw weight to get an antenna up in a tree, I learned the CW exchange, I learned what was possible with QRP/QRPp power, how to work a pile-up, how to move off of zero-beat to be heard in a pile-up, details about various antennas, and so much more. It has really invigorated amateur radio in me and others.

  25. Besides being outdoors the part I like most is the camaraderie among the activators and hunters. Yes some hunters are overly aggressive but all in all POTA has a great bunch of hams.

    Marshall de W4MKH

  27. I love the fact that POTA has re-awakened the bands and brought more people into our state and national parks at the same time! It also lets us test our equipment and our packing skills for remote operations.

  28. More fun and excitement than I got working any contest. QRP in the field requires you to have efficient antennas in the field. I work mostly cw and some digital. Most times I have passerby’s ask me about the hobby and that their father or brother did that in the past. I’m happy to tell them that it’s going strong.

    Tom W3TW

  29. I enjoy portable operating, being outdoors and enjoying the outdoor environments. POTA is like Field Day and a mini DX exposition wrapped up into one.

  30. I love the opportunity to get on my bike and get some exercise on the way to my activation site! Also, the stream of callers you get with POTA is invigorating.
    Daniel KD4AN

  31. My call is KI8I and I live in St Albans, WV. I started working POTA about threecyears ago. Boy, what adifference from then to now. There are a lot more activators now and Thomas is almost impossible to contacct what with the HUGE pileups he generates. He has definitely become one of the most sought POTA contacts. Watching his videos got me to get out and do some activations. Health has slowed me down but I hope to be able to do them again. In the meantime, I am a hunter and having a blast running QRP using a Elecraft KX3 or Icom IC-7000. Antenna is either a 160 mtr doublet at 20 ft around my small city lot or a hex beam 10 ft above my garage roof.
    Very best 72/73,
    Dave
    KI8I

  32. I love POTA because it gives me a reason to get on the air! I love talking to fellow hams in short conversations and POTA is perfect for this.

  33. POTA is just so much fun and it has given me a renewed enthusiasm for getting on the air, especially on CW. The POTA operators you work are top notch and very friendly. It’s a great addition to this great hobby.

    George
    K2WO

  34. I love getting outdoors and exploring new places. I love being able to use my newly acquired CW skills. I love the way adding POTA to my CQ is like magic. I love all the new people I am meeting and the excitement everyone seems to share for POTA.

  35. POTA is an adventure every time! From picking the park, to deploying the antenna, to picking the mode and dealing with the elements. You have the opportunity to test your skills in a highly dynamic environment. You test yourself in your ability to successfully achieve the minimum number of contacts. Ad variants such as QRP and it makes for a lot of fun! And if you are a hunter, it hones your ability to find signals and break through pileups!

  37. POTA has given me a new focus in the hobby. I have learned that QRP power, especially from a park location, is just as effective as 100 watts at home. Getting outside the shack creates extra excitement too. I love doing POTA.
    73, Gil – KS4YX.

  38. The people and community that POTA has fostered over the air. I look forward everyday to see who is on and where!

    Rob
    KE8CUG

  39. I love POTA because it creates CW on the air that I can actually copy… somewhere… pretty much all day long.

  40. I have always loved hiking andr camping and started operating portable from trails many years ago long before POTA became a program. In recent years it has become so much easier with the huge number of choices for rigs, antennas and batteries. Now I try to be take other members from my local club and they are always astonished but what can be done with a few watts and a modest antenna. At 71 the hiking helps keep in shape and I have never lost the wonder of the outdoors. 72 de WA3JAT.

  41. I have been involved with QRP ever since I got my license!
    I love doing more with less. I love QRP!

  42. Parks On The Air is an attractive and intriguing activity to get involved in as a new ham. As someone who is almost to the point of venturing out to one of my local parks to activate, I am evermore motivated to continue laboring in the study of CW by the countless number of hams who publish content about their adventures on the air.

    72,

    John (KI5MKH)

  45. Pota provides a fun way to enjoy operating qrp and to improve cw skills while enjoying being out doors in our parks.

  46. As a newer ham I found POTA hunting to be a good way to get my feet wet and get to know my home qth setup better.

    As an activator it gets me to parks I would not have been to otherwise and gets me into “portable” mode easier every time I do it, which is food practice.

    Plus its just a lot of fun!

    Jim
    KQ4AVP

  47. I have always loved radio and the great outdoors. Ever since I was 9 I’ve been playing with radio in one form or another. From the 9V AM radio I used to listen to under my pillow to fall asleep, to the 9V 49 MHz walkie talkies that I figured out if you hold the antenna next to a ground wire on a telephone pole they would work all over town. Then on to CB radio starting with a 3 watt 3 channel walkie talkie with Channel 14 crystals in them to a HyGain 23 Channel on an unfiltered train transformer and a mag mount stuck into the gutter out my bedroom window. Didn’t get licensed till 1997 but been having a blast since.

    My main reason I love POTA is because living in an apartment in very urban & RF noisy NJ isn’t conducive. It gets me out of the house and out into nature to enjoy a hobby I’ve had a long passion for. It amazes me how far you can reach out with something as simple as a 5-10 watt radio and a wire.

  48. Hello.

    Greetings from Germany. POTA is a great way to mix outdoor activities and ham radio, even promote ham radio to others. However, personnaly I tried my first POTA FT8 activation end of September when I was on a business trip to Taragona, Spain. It was near the amphithratre at the sea with a home bresed AX1 antenna, but unfortunately, it did not work. I could receive FT8 stations, but was only copied by reverse beacon net by 2 stations in Germany. However, first try was not sucessfull but I had a lot of fun. This is POTA, you try, sometimes you fail, but you keep on going and evolving. Thanks for your attention. Cheers from DL7CW, Chris

  49. I check the POTA site every morning to check on activator status. The first 10 contacts are most important so I give out as many contacts as possible. It’s also a great way to check propagation on the bands.

    It’s also a geography lesson to learn about the parks I will never get to.
    Dean
    N2TNN

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