Somedays, I just need a little POTA and radio-active therapy to energize the day. And this was one of those days.

On Thursday, July 18, 2024, I woke up still feeling quite tired because I had been out the entire day before helping my sister with a move–my wife and I didn’t get back home until midnight.

I was exhausted!

That Thursday, though, I still needed to hit the road again fairly early to help my sister with her home closing and then bring my dad home (finally) from the skilled nursing facility where he’d spent the previous 2.5 months!

It was a big day, and I was feeling pretty low on the energy reserves even after the morning coffee. We’ve all been there, right?

I didn’t think I would have time to fit in a POTA activation, but my father’s nursing facility contacted me and asked if I could pick him up after lunch instead of before. All of a sudden, I had a two-hour chunk of time, so, of course, I was going to get radio-active!

Fortunately, I had my GoRuck GR1 in the car, after my trip to the NC coast, packed with the KX2 and a few antenna options!

Looking at the time, I knew Tuttle Educational State Forest would be my best bet for a quick activation. Accounting for travel time and lunch, I would have about a one-hour window to operate.

Tuttle Educational State Forest (US-4861)

I arrived at Tuttle and wasn’t surprised to find the place nearly empty. Tuttle caters to school groups, and since schools were still in summer break, I didn’t expect to see any school buses or large groups.

My plan was to attempt this activation using the AX1 antenna–just to keep things simple.

I chose a picnic table in the shade and set up my gear in short order!

Gear

Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

• Elecraft KX2 with Windcamp X2 Side Rails and Cover
• KXPD2 Paddles
• Tufteln KX2 Protective Cover
• Elecraft KXBT2 Li-Ion Battery Pack
• LowePro CS60 Hard Side Case
• Elecraft AX1 with 3D-printed bipod clip and legs
• Packtenna Mini EFHW antenna
• ABR Industries 25’ RG-316 cable assembly with three in-line ferrites (Use Coupon Code ABR10QRPER for 10% Discount!)
• GraphGear 0.9mm 1000 Automatic Drafting Pencil
• Rite In The Rain Top Spiral Notebook
• Camera: DJI OSMO 4 action camera with Sensyne Phone Tripod
• DJI Wireless Microphones
• Nemo Chipper Foam Seat

On The Air

I hopped on the air hoping that propagation wouldn’t be too rough, but turns out, it was not in the greatest of shape. Anyone active in POTA lately knows this struggle!

Using the AX1 for several minutes, the only contact I made was Evan (K2EJT)–thanks, Evan!–so I decided to quickly deploy my PackTenna 20M EFHW much like I did the previous week at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site.

Deploying the PackTenna took the better part of three minutes.

Back on the air, I started accumulating more hunters. The pace wasn’t rapid, but the EFHW seemed to be doing the trick.

I added five more to the log over the course of about nine minutes.

I then noticed that my buddy, Mike (N7CCD), was activating Quakertown on Brookville Lake State Recreation Area (US-4161) in Indiana. He was on 40 meters, which I felt was likely doable, so I QSYed to his frequency.

Note that a 20M EFHW is only resonant on 20, 15, and 10 meters. To work Mike on 40 meters, I had to take the KX2 internal ATU out of bypass mode and use it to find a match on 40 meters, which it did with ease.

I was stoked to work N7CCD Park-to-Park. Normally, he’s in Washington State which makes it much more challenging.

Next, I moved back up to the 20-meter band and hunted more parks before calling CQ POTA again for a while.

In the end, between hunting and calling CQ, I logged 15 contacts over 47 minutes.

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like (noting that N7CCD was actually in IN instead of WA) when plotted out on a QSO Map:

Activation Video

Here’s my real-time, real-life video of the entire activation.  As with all of my videos, I don’t edit out any parts of the on-air activation time. In addition, I have monetization turned off on YouTube, although that doesn’t stop them from inserting ads before and after my videos.

Note that Patreon supporters can watch and even download this video 100% ad-free through Vimeo on my Patreon page:

Click here to view on YouTube.

POTA Energy

By the end of the activation, I had way more energy than I did going in. Getting outdoors and operating–even when propagation is unstable–really does lift the spirits.

Post-activation, I grabbed a quick curried chicken salad wrap at Food Matters in Morganton and made my way to the skilled nursing facility to move my father back home.

He was so happy to be back home, and I was happy to see him settling back into his routine and in much better shape than he was three months before.

I spent the afternoon with my dad until my sister arrived home, then made my way back to the mountains to eat dinner, watch a little Star Trek: Strange New Worlds with the family, then hit the sack a little earlier than usual!

All in all, a brilliant day with a brilliant ending!

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them! Thank you for following along on my radio journey.

Of course, I’d also like to send a special thanks to those of you who have been supporting the site and channel through Patreon, and the Coffee Fund. While not a requirement, as my content will always be free, I really appreciate the support.

As I mentioned before, the Patreon platform connected to Vimeo makes it possible for me to share videos that are not only 100% ad-free but also downloadable for offline viewing. The Vimeo account also serves as a third backup for my video files.

Thanks for spending part of your day with me! Have a brilliant week!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)