February has been a whirlwind of a month. Between juggling projects and my daughters’ incredibly busy senior year of high school, free time has been in short supply.

That said, I’ve made it a goal (for the sake of my own sanity—ha!) to squeeze in as much radio time as possible.

Super Portable POTA

Before October 2023, my go-to radio and antenna combo for quick POTA or SOTA activations was the Elecraft KX2 paired with the AX1 or AX2 antenna.

Even now, I rely on that setup when I want to minimize gear deployment and maximize on-air time. As long as I have a surface to set the radio on—be it a picnic table or my kneeboard–I’m good to go.

But in October 2023, the Elecraft KH1 changed the game. Designed for handheld operation with virtually zero setup time, this radio has made quick activations even more accessible. Given my current busy schedule, the KH1 has been an absolute lifesaver.

It stays packed in my EDC backpack at all times, ready for an impromptu activation or some portable POTA/SOTA hunting.

A Spontaneous Challenge: 45 Minutes to Activate!

Thursday, February 4, 2025, was a perfect example of this radio’s convenience.

My wife and I had a long list of errands, including dropping off donations at various thrift stores and hurricane relief centers. My wife loves thrift shopping (and volunteering), especially when it comes to browsing clothing sections. As we stopped at one of her favorite large thrift stores to drop off donations, she turned to me and said, “I’d like some time here. Could you do a really quick POTA activation and be back in 45 minutes?”

Without hesitation (I do love a challenge), I said, “Heck yeah!”

Mental Math

I quickly mapped out my plan:

• The nearest POTA entity was the Blue Ridge Parkway (US-3378), about a 5-6 minute drive away.
• I already had a mental spot in mind where I could park and get on the air fast.
• Filming the activation would add at least 3-4 minutes for setting up my camera and audio recorder.

Breakdown of the time constraints:

• Round-trip drive: ~10-12 minutes
• Camera/Audio setup: ~4 minutes
• KH1 setup: ~20 seconds
• Scheduling the activation: ~1 minute
• Remaining activation time: ~29 minutes

Totally doable—as long as nothing went sideways!

A Two-Fer Bonus!

When I arrived at my planned activation spot, I needed only one thing: a place to park. Since the KH1 is fully handheld, I could operate anywhere.

I recalled a small pull-off near the Mountains to Sea Trail (US-8313)—a place I’d used before for a quick hike. If the parking spot was close enough to the MST, this might count as a two-fer.

After arriving on site, I confirmed that I was within 20 feet of the MST. POTA rules require that an activator must be within 100 feet (30.5 meters) of a trail for it to count as an activation–obviously, I was well within those limits.

Although I could have operated directly from the trail, the MST is a busy single-track trail, and I didn’t want to block hikers. So, I opted to activate from the parking spot instead.

Next, all I had to do was grab the KH1, set up my camera gear, and hop on the air!

Gear

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Radio and Antenna System

• Elecraft KH1 Edgewood Package
  • Included 4′ whip antenna and 13′ detachable counterpoise
  • Zebra Mini Mechanical Pencil (preferred over the included Zebra pen)
  • Pelican Micro M40 mine is the modified version from Tufteln
  • Panasonic ErgoFit Wired Earbuds

Camera and Audio Gear

• DJI OSMO 4 action camera with Joby Telepod Sport Tripod
• Sony ICD-FX312 Digital Recorder ($20 thrift store find)

On The Air

Knowing that 20 meters would likely be the most productive band, I still wanted to experiment on the higher bands first. I started calling CQ POTA on 15 meters and planned to work my way down through 17 meters before finishing on 20 meters.

My first contact on 15 meters was Mike (N7CCD) in Washington state! That’s not a bad bit of DX with a handheld 5 watt radio and four foot whip antenna!

Next, I worked Tim (K5DEZ) in New Mexico, Scott (NB0W) in Nebraska, Richard (N6DXN) in California, and Laurent (W0MM) in Texas.

With a total of five hunters logged on 15 meters, I then moved down to 17 meters where I worked Mark (WA0RXR) in Iowa, Pete (WA2JMG) in New York, and Wes (AA1CX) in Maine.

On 20 meters, I worked Karl (K5KHK) in New York, Scott (VA3EKR) at CA-1518 in Ontario, John (N8JY) in Michigan, David (K2ZC) in New Jersey, Steve (K9IS) in Wisconsin, Joe (K5KUA) in Texas, and Robert (AB3GB) in Pennsylvania.

In just 19 minutes, I logged 15 contacts on three bands. Not bad at all!

QSO Map

Here’s what this five-watt activation looked like when plotted out on a QSO Map. Click on the map image to enlarge.

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.

Mission Accomplished!

I didn’t run a stopwatch, but by my estimation, I wrapped up the activation in 47 minutes—just slightly over my goal. The slight delay came from filming my intro and outro.

No problem, though—when I walked back into the thrift store, my wife was just about to check out. That’s what I call perfect timing!

Reflecting on the activation, I considered how it would have gone with my Elecraft KX2/AX1 combo. It would have worked just as well, though I likely wouldn’t have used the same two-fer location. Instead, I’d have driven another half-mile to the Blue Ridge Parkway Visitor’s Center and set up at a picnic table–the same spot and setup I used for in this recent activation.

While the setup time for the KH1 is quicker, the camera setup time for the KX2/AX1 combo would have been much easier because there would have been no need to record audio with my digital recorder.

While I love long, casual activations where I can take my time, quick-and-dirty activations like this are also a blast!

Thank you

Thank you for joining me during this quick activation!

I hope you enjoyed the field report and my activation video as much as I enjoyed creating them!

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 an amazing day!

Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)

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