This field report picks up where we left off after my last post earlier this week at Lake Alma State Park (May 14, 2025).
Eric and I planned to hit two parks en route to Dayton, Ohio. Lake Alma was a successful park number one. The next park we planned to activate—another new-to-me park—was Great Seal State Park.
The skies opened up beautifully during our Lake Alma activation, so the drive to Great Seal was under clear, sunny skies.
Great Seal State Park (US-1954)
We arrived at the park around 11:45 AM EDT.
Great Seal State Park is tucked away in the hills just outside of Chillicothe, Ohio, and it’s steeped in early state history. In fact, the park gets its name from the Great Seal of the State of Ohio, which was inspired by this very landscape. Back in 1803, when Ohio was becoming a state, early leaders—including Thomas Worthington—looked out over the sunrise from Mount Logan and used that iconic view as the backdrop for the state seal: rolling hills, a rising sun, a bundle of arrows, and a sheaf of wheat symbolizing Ohio’s natural beauty and agricultural roots.
This area also has deep Indigenous history. Before statehood, the Scioto River Valley was home to the Shawnee, with several towns named Chillicothe located nearby. Later, Chillicothe became Ohio’s first state capital. These hills have seen a lot of history, and today I’m sure they make for some incredibly scenic and rewarding hikes.
Eric and I didn’t have enough time in our schedule for a hike that afternoon, but if I pass by here again, I’ll make time for one.
We first made our way to the main picnic area of the park but quickly discovered a large outdoor gathering for local utility workers. They absolutely filled that part of the park, so we checked out the campground area instead.
The campground was completely void of campers, so we felt it would be safe to set up without any issues. It was a beautiful site with numerous options for station setup.
I found a camping spot and parked there.
We decided I would set up at the picnic table at the site while Eric would use his folding chair and my Chelegance MC-750 antenna in the central island of the campground.
Poor Eric, though. When I started filming my activation video, I realized just how close we were to each other—and how much interference that could cause. I walked over to him (camera in hand) and helped him move a bit farther away.
As I was setting up my gear, Eric came back to my site and said the fellow doing the lawn mowing was about to work in the area where he had originally set up. So, Eric moved—again—a few campsites down from me. This time, he decided to use his fiberglass Jackite pole to support a random wire antenna.
This actually worked out quite well—the distance between us was just enough that we didn’t interfere with each other at all.
Gear
Note: All Amazon, CW Morse, ABR, Chelegance, eBay, and Radioddity links are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.
Radio
- Penntek TR-45L “Skinny”
Antenna System and Throw Line
- MW0SAW’s Homebrew 40M EFHW built on a SOTAbeams Winder
- ABR Industries 25’ RG-316 cable assembly with three in-line ferrites (Use Coupon Code ABR10QRPER for 10% Discount!)
- Weaver arborist throw line/weight and storage bag
Key/Cable
- CW Morse “Pocket Paddle”
- Key cable: Cable Matters 2-Pack Gold-Plated Retractable Aux Cable – 2.5 Feet
Pack/Cover
Battery
Logging
Camera and Audio
- DJI OSMO 4 action camera with Joby Telepod Sport Tripod
- DJI Wireless Microphones
On The Air
I hopped on 20 meters and started calling CQ POTA. Fortunately, as with our earlier activation, the band had a little life in it.
Within 12 minutes, I logged the ten contacts necessary to properly validate this new-to-me park.
I then worked two more stations—including a Park-to-Park with WD8RIF—for a total of 12 QSOs in 14 minutes.
I was chuffed that the activation went so smoothly—propagation had been flaky that week, so we didn’t know what to expect when we hit the air.
Eric’s activation was successful too. He logged a total of 15 hunters in 30 minutes. [Click here to read his full field report.]
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 YouTube monetization turned off, 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.
That was fun!
Eric and I packed up quickly, loaded the car, and made our way to nearby Crazy Dogs Grill for a hotdog and fries. After all, we needed to warm up our systems for all of the fast food we’d be eating from food trucks at Hamvention!
After lunch, we drove to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, grabbed some food and supplies, then met up with the rest of our crew for dinner.
Our Wednesday morning POTA activations really couldn’t have gone more smoothly. The scenery was gorgeous, we had our choice of operating locations, and propagation played fair. I was also happy to get more time in with the TR-45L “Skinny” since it had been a couple of months since I’d last used it in the field.
Many thanks to Eric for being such a great POTA companion!
Thank you!
Thank you for joining us during this 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 a brilliant weekend!
Cheers & 72,
Thomas (K4SWL)
PS: Consider joining our QRPer.net discussion board! It’s an active community of radio operators who enjoy helping and supporting each other. It’s also the best place to ask any questions you might have about radios, field activities, antennas, or pretty much anything amateur radio. Click here to join.