Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, POTA, QRP, SSB

James’ first POTA activation with the IC-705

June 4, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 8 Comments

Many thanks to James (KI5OEB) who shares the following field report:

My First POTA Activation with a New Radio

by James (KI5OEB)

I decided, thanks to the influence of many people, mainly Thomas K4SWL and Steve KM9G, to purchase my first-ever new transceiver. I purchased an ICOM IC-705 from a retailer that had an open box item for sale. This was just before the 2025 Dayton Hamvention, when the new Yaesu FTX-1F was to be premiered. Many hours of evaluating specifications and performance numbers went into my decision, with a bit of influence from other videos as well. Most of the video footage that is available is actually from four years ago when this radio was first released.

Before going into the field, I unboxed the transceiver and made a few clicks on the new transceiver. I charged the attached battery during the week prior to use. A few other things I did were to prep an Apache Case and make sure I had the appropriate external batteries. I wanted to be ready to take this out for a successful first park activation.

Last Saturday, Memorial Day Weekend, I had some free time at about noon to go to a park, POTA US-7687 Drummond Flats Wildlife Management Area, to give this radio its maiden activation. It takes less than 20 minutes to drive there from my house, so this is my second most frequent location for activating. The site is a zero noise floor site on any band, which I have observed in the past, and today was no different.

Some quick history, I have a few years under my belt using both ICOM and Yaesu transceivers. I still ask others about things, but I can usually figure it out if given enough time. I have regularly used IC-7600, IC-7100, IC-706 MKIIG and IC-703+ transceivers with success. My standard antenna setups are 40m-10m EFHW from Coffee and Ham Radios with a 10m mast for a sloper configuration, 17’ Chameleon Whip on a Spike, and if I’m going to be activating for a longer time I use a DX Commander Classic 40m – 10m.

Today was only going to be a short, 1 to 3 hour activation, giving plenty of time for the QRP Single Side Band propagation to get out and be heard, much like I have done with the IC-703+ in the past. I set up the CHA-17 on the spike like normal, driving the 18” spike into the hard dirt with a hatchet from the truck. Nothing difficult, just spread out the nine radials on two crimped alligator clips, raise the mast for 17m to start, connect the RG-8x, and I was ready.

Next, I hooked up the external battery to the new transceiver, but wait, I need to make sure the nanoVNA has the perfect tune for 17m. Let me think, the IC-705 has an SWR sweep function like the IC-7100, let’s try that first and see. Bam, first try I was near 1:1 throughout the entire 17m band.

I placed the microphone and transceiver on the table where I’m set up and ready to go. Opened the screen to start the logging software on the laptop. Opened my phone to the POTA APP and self-spotted. I’m ready, but I’m not. In the 10 minutes it took to set up all the things I wanted to use, I got warm in the midday sun. So, I put the tailgate down, slid the canopy out, and proceeded to put up my 10×10 Sun shade, to include 16” nail spikes on each corner for the wind. Placed the beverage tote next to my chair, and now I was ready.

I turned the transceiver back on and listened. Okay I don’t know how to really run this new gadget, but it probably needs AF gain and RF gain, that is the same knob on this radio. Yes, they were nearly zero; now, with a flick of the knob, they are at 60% each. I am concerned that the waterfall is not showing signals. Well, it was learn as you go day here in the park, but the gain being raised made a difference on the waterfall, too. I saw a few faint signals; this will be okay. I hit the center/fix button and have the entire 17m band in view. Looking at the POTA APP, there are only two stations besides me on the band.

I zeroed in on an open spot that wasn’t being occupied and listened for about a minute. I asked a few times, like I’m supposed to, to find if the frequency was in use, but I heard nothing. Spotted that frequency, and we are off. I called CQ for over five minutes, and no reply. Then, I got two contacts back-to-back! Cool! This is going to be easy. Nope, someone moved in 1k below me and made it impossible. I moved up 3k and listened. Spotted on The POTA APP and started calling. Then, I get a few more contacts, and another intruder moved in above me this time by 2k. So I moved down 7k, to complete my activation. Frustrated a bit, but i now had 10 contacts and that was an activation.

So, I decided to move into the 20m space and hunt there for a bit. Went and extended the 17’ whip and got back to the radio to verify. I did something wrong on the screen, so no worries, I still have the nanoVNA handy, and Bam SWR near 1:1 again this time on the 20m band.

I was ready to hunt now. I did a little fiddling with the screen to let me see the Center instead of the fixed view from 17m. 20m band is packed with signals from 14.225 MHz through the top of the band edge at 14.350 MHz. This should be easy, but I’m hunting QRP!

After zero contacts, I wound up selecting a frequency between two QRO stations and parked on 14.291 MHz. I managed to make quite a few contacts here for the next 30 minutes. Great fun, and I had an ‘almost’ pile-up. Then, for 15 minutes, I used the spots page to find other stations.

In the end, I had made 38 contacts in two hours and twenty minutes. The real takeaway, though, was a realization that this is the finest receiver I have ever used. Through the front-firing speaker, I heard stations that I know no other radio in my collection would receive. I had to adjust my AF gain many times due to the fact that a 100-watt station sounded like they were sitting next to me, yelling. Then, I would hear a whisper, turn up the gain, and talk to a station in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan from Oklahoma, that is a big ask for 10 watts. In those 38 contacts, I was amazed, learning new things about the technology that allows a serious communication jump. This only took 38 contacts and a little over two hours.

If I am asked which transceiver I recommend to an amateur operator, I can’t say any other transceiver than the IC-705. This was a huge eye-opener for me. I hope other people in our hobby/service get the opportunity to use such modern equipment. Please, folks, take the time in the near future to peel the plastic off something new or at least go to a retailer or hamfest to try something new!

James Popham KI5OEB

News, QRP Radios

Scott Compares the FTX-1 and IC-705

June 3, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 4 Comments

If you’re curious about the new Yaesu FTX-1 field radio and how it compares to the Icom IC-705, Scott (KK4Z) has been doing a deep-dive series over on his blog. So far, he’s taken a look at form factor, connectivity, and power requirements, but he will add more.

You can check out all of Scott’s FTX-1 posts here: https://kk4z.com/.

Highly recommended reading if you’re considering either rig for the field!

Field Radio Kits, News, QRP Radios

Steve’s MTR3B-V4 Field Kit in a Rothco Shoulder Bag

June 2, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 7 Comments

Many thanks to Steve (KV4AN), who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit, which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post.

KV4AN’s MTR3B-V4 Field Kit

by Steve (KV4AN)

The convergence of Solar Cycle 25, lots of great new equipment offerings, many active participants in Parks on the Air (POTA), Summits on the Air (SOTA), and compatible family outdoor activities make this a great time to be a portable High Frequency (HF) QRP ham radio operator. To take advantage of this happy situation, I was recently able to purchase a MTR3B-V4 “Currahee” Mountain Topper transceiver, shown in figure (1). The MTR3B-V4 is a miniature three band (40, 20, and 15 meters) CW only QRP transceiver made by LNR Precision.

Figure 1. MTR3B-V4 “Currahee” QRP Transceiver.

Naturally, I had to form a kit around the new radio. My three goals for the kit were: small size, lightweight, and self-contained. Let’s see how I did. You can comment below if I left something out or if there’s a better choice.

The kit consists of the following items, as shown in figure (2)–links to these items are at the bottom of the page:

MTR3B-V4 “Currahee” Transceiver – 40, 20, and 15 meter QRP CW Transceiver.
Custom Faceplate Cover – A practical and reasonably priced custom faceplate protective cover. I accidentally ordered the cover for the previous version of the radio, but Joshua had no problem with me changing the order to the new one.
Morse Code paddle – This is a reasonably priced paddle with a fairly good feel that I had lying around when the capacitive knobs didn’t work out. I plan to replace it in the future with the CW Morse SP4 POTA/SOTA N0SA design paddle, which is smaller and field proven.
3.5mm Stereo Cable – A 1.5 foot, 3.5mm to 3.5mm stereo (TRS) cable.
Koss Earbuds – Nice quality stereo earbuds.
Earbud Cord Organizer – I hated to add the extra item, but I got tired of untangling the wires of my earbuds. This clever item has solved that problem and is color coordinated with the slick line.
All-Weather Notebook – All-weather notepad for copying QSO information in the field.
Miniature Pen – This is a miniature pen that says it writes on waterproof paper. It will also write upside down, although that may not be a feature you need during normal activations.
Koss In-line Volume Control – An in-line volume control for use with the earbuds. The MTR3B-V4 has a rudimentary volume control, primarily used to set the maximum volume level.
Battery Pack Pouch – A small pouch that perfectly holds the battery pack and keeps all the components together and protected. If you use Icom BP-307 or BP-272 battery packs, they fit perfectly too.
Battery Cell Holder – An eight “AA” cell holder with a 9V-style clip. Eight “AA” NiMH batteries will provide a nominal 9.6V to the transceiver.
AA NiMH batteries – Eight 1.2V “AA” NiMH 2800 mAh Low Self Discharge (LSD) battery cells.
9V Snap Clip – These are good quality 9V snap connectors that also have the coaxial power connector required by the MTR3B-V4 already attached. They are more durable than the ones with exposed thin red and black wires.
Coaxial Adapter – SO-239 to BNC adapter for use when using other antennas with coaxial cables which have a PL-259 connector.
Reliance EFHW “Bugout” Antenna – A very small and sturdy 40, 20, 15, and 10 meter End-Fed Half Wave (EFHW) resonant antenna.
Slick Line – High visibility slick line, which ties to the arborist throw bag to get the antenna into a tree and then suspends it.
Arborist Throw Bag – A well-made arborist throw bag with a good all-around weight.
Gerber Mullet Keychain – An all-in-one minimalist tool kit. Better than a sharp rock, as they say.
Rothco Shoulder Bag – A military-style shoulder bag, just large enough to hold all the kit components.
Battery Charger – The battery charger (not shown) is an eight cell NiMH charger. It does not fit in the shoulder bag and is left at home.

Of course, it all had to fit in a tacticool bag. I selected the small Rothco Excursion Organizer, The shoulder bag, shown in figure (3), has all the items from figure (2) in it (trust me). Use the orange pen as a reference for the size of the bag. Clipped to the “D” ring on the left side is the Gerber “tool kit”. The pocket on the front left has the CW Morse paddle, the pen is in its place, and the zippered pocket on the right has the earbuds. The back zippered pocket has the antenna and battery pack, and safely nestled in the main area is the MTR3B-V4 and an arborist throw bag. There is a zippered sleeve in the main pocket that contains the cable for the keyer paddle, an adjustment Allen wrench, and the SO-239 to BNC adapter.

Conclusion

One thing you may have asked yourself is why I included a Morse Code paddle when the MTR3B-V4 has a set of capacitive touch knobs. The answer is simple – they didn’t work for me. I really wanted them to, but the pad of my thumb will not activate the “dit paddle” without moistening it first. Even then, I have to press the knob hard at a point almost to the joint, which is not a natural code sending motion or feel and results in very sloppy code.

Another item I purchased, but decided not to use was a pair 9V 500 mAh Lithium Ion rechargeable batteries. The voltage of this battery right off the charger is below the specified input voltage for the MTR3B-V4.

The battery is the area in which I am most concerned. I’m concerned that the 9.6V NiMH pack may not provide enough voltage over an activation to keep the voltage above the specified minimum voltage of 9V. I may have to go to a 12V LiFePO4 battery, but that will not fit in the current shoulder bag. I may have to go with a larger bag or use a MOLLE system where I can strap together several pouches.

I think I’ve came close to achieving my three goals of: small size, lightweight, and self-contained. I’ve not completed an activation with this kit yet, so I’ll see how it all works together in a few weeks. I’m also looking forward to reading your comments and suggestions.

72,

Steve

KV4AN

Gear List Links

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Articles, How To, News, POTA, Skills, SOTA

Bitten By the Bug? Staying Safe from Ticks, Mosquitoes, and Other Blood-Sucking Nasties in the Field

June 1, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 8 Comments

If you’ve been following my field reports for any length of time, you’ll know I’m a huge fan of activating in wooded, remote, and sometimes… bug-infested places. But one thing I never take lightly is protecting myself—and my family (including Hazel!)—from ticks, mosquitoes, and other biting bugs that can really ruin an outing or worse.

Why It Matters

Ticks are more than just a nuisance. In many parts of the world—including right here in eastern North America—they carry diseases like Lyme and others that can have serious, long-term consequences. They’re not just a seasonal inconvenience; they can be a life-changing encounter if you’re not careful. And our four-legged trail companions? They’re just as vulnerable.

Mosquitoes are no joke either. While disease-carrying mosquitoes are more prevalent in other regions, we still have occasional cases of West Nile Virus, and for those who are allergic, mosquito bites can cause serious reactions. At the very least, they’re a major distraction during activations.

My Defense Strategy

Over the years, I’ve built up a toolkit of bug-defense tactics that vary depending on location, season, and bug density.

Please note: many of the links below link to Amazon and are affiliate links that support QRPer.com at no cost to you.

“Natural” On-Skin Treatments

If I’m in a place like the mountains of North Carolina—especially outside of the heavy tick season (typically spring)—I’ll often reach for more natural repellents. Here are a couple I use:

Repel Plant-Based Lemon Eucalyptus Insect Repellent
This one’s a favorite. It’s DEET-free and surprisingly effective. I’ve even used it successfully in the Maritimes of Canada, where mosquitoes can be relentless. Every time I catch its scent, it brings back memories of hiking through PEI, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick.
No Natz
A kind reader sent me a bottle last year, and it’s worked well so far in low-density insect areas. It has a milder scent than Repel, but I haven’t tested it in high-tick or mozzie zones yet.

DEET

I have a real love/hate relationship with DEET. It works, no doubt.

When I’m in an area with heavy mosquito and tick populations, I’ll reluctantly use it—but only as a last resort. I dislike the feel of it on my skin when I’m sweating. It also has this odd side effect: if it gets near my lips, it makes them go numb.

That said, it’s very effective and widely available.

Be aware: DEET can damage certain plastics and synthetic fabrics—your radio gear, GPS screens, and eyeglass frames included—so use it cautiously. Still, it’s more effective (from my point of view) than many of the natural options.

If I’m plotting activations in the backwoods of Alaska where mosquitoes are the size of birds? Yeah, I’m going to use DEET.

The brands I tend to use (although, honestly, I’m not sure there’s much of a difference because the percentage of DEET is a more important indicator) are:

Deep Woods Off – You can find these bottles in any local retailer as well. I find that their 25% DEET concentration works in most situations.
Coleman 100% Max – These bottles are small and easily fit in my backpack. It’s a very high concentration of DEET (98.11%) so I use it when in areas with a high concentrations of mozzies or ticks.
Repel 100 – These are like the Coleman bottles above (98.11% DEET) and you’ve likely seen me use them in videos in the past. I do like these pump spray bottles for backpacking.

Clothing Choice

Bug season usually overlaps with hot, sunny weather, so I wear lightweight, breathable long-sleeve shirts and trousers—typically light in color so ticks are easier to spot. I also wear a wide-brimmed Tilley sunhat, which pulls double duty as sun and bug protection.

I also pack a mosquito head net that fits over my wide-brimmed hat. Frankly, I rarely operate where I need to use this, but I appreciate knowing it’s tucked away in my backpack just in case. This net also works well if I’m hiking through an area heavy with gnats–keeps them out of my eyes!

Treating Your Clothing with Permethrin

Of all the bug-fighting strategies, treating clothing with permethrin has been the most effective for me.

I started using permethrin when traveling to rural parts of Belize where malaria-carrying mosquitoes are a real threat. I treated my hat, shirt, trousers, and shoes, and while my colleagues were constantly swatting bugs, I barely noticed them. Not one single bite.

My go-to product:

Sawyer Products SP649 Premium Permethrin Clothing Insect Repellent Trigger Spray (12 oz).

Important notes:

One treatment lasts for six weeks or six washings. When applying on your clothes, the product needs to penetrate the fibers, so apply it quite liberally almost making each article wet to the touch.
Do not apply directly to your skin. Ever.
Let treated clothing dry completely (12+ hours) before wearing

This approach is so effective, I now treat my summer hiking clothes at the start of each bug season and often re-apply half way through. I don’t live or activate in an area known for heavy tick and mosquito populations, so I can usually get away with only two treatments per year. The most important one is when ticks are most active in the spring.

There are other brands of Permethrin sprays out there as well. I typically buy my bottles via Amazon or at REI (where it’s often in stock). If you live outside the US, any camping gear or hunting store will have Permethrin.

If I’m Stationary

You might’ve noticed in some of my evening or camping activation videos that I’m running a little device nearby. It’s a Thermacell Mosquito Backpacker Repeller—and I love it.

It screws onto a standard fuel canister and creates a small mosquito-free zone. I’ve used it with great success in some of Canada’s buggiest backwoods and on the coast of North and South Carolina in the evenings when mosquitoes come out in full force. One fuel canister lasts a very long time, and I often use it with the family when camping or picnicking. Highly recommended.

Note that you’ll want to keep a stash of Thermacell refills.

Since Thermacell refills aren’t cheap, I tend to stick with other repellents if I’m only performing a short activation or, especially, in an area where the mosquito population isn’t heavy. I do use the Thermacell when I plan to do a POTA rove (thus I can use the same Thermacell pad at multiple sites) or if I plan to stay at a site for one hour or longer.

Note: If You Get a Tick

Ticks happen, even with precautions. I keep a tick puller (or Tick Key) in my wallet during tick season. They’re inexpensive, lightweight, and super effective.

If you’re bitten by a deer tick in an area where Lyme disease is prevalent, consult your doctor as soon as you can.

Often, a short course of cheap antibiotics—often just two doses—can prevent infection if started early.

Final Thoughts

I feel that staying safe from ticks and mosquitoes is part of being a responsible and prepared field operator. Protecting yourself helps ensure your activations are fun, not frustrating.

Do you operate in bug-prone regions? I’d love to hear what’s worked for you—whether it’s a product, method, or even an old-school trick passed down from a camping buddy. Let’s keep the bites to a minimum and the contacts coming in!

—Thomas (K4SWL)

Accessories, New Products, News

New Xiegu WR12: Add Wideband RX (to 1 GHz) to Your X6200

June 1, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon Leave a comment

If you own the Xiegu X6200, there’s a new add-on that might interest you: the Xiegu WR12 Wideband Receiver Module.

For $69.99, it adds continuous receive coverage from 54 MHz to 1 GHz, giving you access to HF, VHF, and UHF signals—including ham bands, shortwave broadcasts, and potentially aviation and marine comms. It’s designed specifically for the X6200, integrates directly, and supposedly offers surprisingly good sensitivity and selectivity for such a compact module.

If you’re considering picking one up, feel free to use our [QRPer affiliate link] to save 5%—plus, it helps support QRPer at no extra cost. (Note: the link goes to the Radioddity home page—just type “WR12” in the search bar to find the wideband receiver.)

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel, Videos

En Route To Dayton: WD8RIF and I Activate Great Seal State Park near Chillicothe, Ohio

May 30, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon Leave a comment

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

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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

Pack/Cover

Red Oxx Micro Manager
TR-45L Transport Cover

Battery

Bioenno 3 Ah LiFePo Battery (Model BLF-1203AB)

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. Continue reading En Route To Dayton: WD8RIF and I Activate Great Seal State Park near Chillicothe, Ohio →

Accessories, News, Portable

Check out the Red Oxx Maker Series videos

May 28, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 9 Comments

If you read QRPer regularly—or listen to the Ham Radio Workbench podcast—you probably know I’m a bit of a pack geek.

Okay… that’s a gross understatement.

I’m more of a quality-pack evangelist.

For many operators, a pack or field bag is just a way to transport gear—an afterthought. But for me? It’s one of the most important parts of the kit. In some cases, I’ve spent more on the bag than the radio it carries.

Why? Because I believe a well-built pack should last a lifetime—ideally long enough to pass down to my kids. I never want to worry about a zipper failing me on a summit descent, or a strap breaking in the backcountry. To me, a good field pack is mission-critical.

That’s why I don’t mind paying more for bags that are overbuilt and made to last—especially when they’re made here in North America, where it’s still possible to produce high-quality gear locally with skilled labor and fair, living wages. In fact, if I lived in Germany, France, Japan, or anywhere else, I’d try to support local makers too—especially in categories like packs and bags that don’t rely heavily on global supply chains the way our beloved electronics do.

Red Oxx Fan Here

One company that consistently exceeds my expectations is Red Oxx, based in Billings, Montana.

Their customer service is second to none.

I’ve been buying Red Oxx gear for over a decade, and I’ve been impressed not just with the thoughtful designs and rock-solid construction, but also with their No Bull lifetime warranty. If a Red Oxx bag ever fails you—for any reason—they’ll repair or replace it. No caveats, no hoops to jump through. Even if you bought it secondhand–they don’t need or want the original receipt–they know their own bags.

It’s not a marketing gimmick—it works because they over-engineer their gear from the start. They expect it to last.

Recently, Red Oxx launched a new video series on YouTube, showing how they make some of their most popular bags—and how you could make them too. So far, they’ve started with simpler designs like the Aviator Kit Bag and the Lil Roy.

As someone who appreciates craftsmanship, I’ve been blown away by the attention to detail and the way each component is purpose-built. Even the stitching is layered with redundancy—if one line fails, there’s another ready to hold.

Here’s their first video, showing how they make the Aviator Kit bag:

Here’s the second video, showing how they make their Lil Roy EDC pack:

Click here to bookmark the playlist for this series.

Thanks for indulging me on this little gear tangent. I’m not on Red Oxx’s payroll—I’m just a long-time, happy customer who genuinely appreciates what they do. I even keep in touch with their team from time to time because I admire their ethos and craftsmanship.

If you’ve got a company in your part of the world that builds gear with this same kind of care and commitment to quality, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. Always happy to discover and support makers who choose quality over quantity.

Field Reports, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel, Videos

QRP POTA: A Pre-Dayton Activation at Lake Alma State Park with WD8RIF!

May 27, 2025 Thomas Witherspoon 3 Comments

On Wednesday, May 14, 2025, my good friend Eric (WD8RIF) and I started our drive from Athens to Dayton, Ohio. We left Eric’s QTH early that morning—not because it’s a long drive (it’s only about 2.5 hours)—but because we wanted to activate at least two new-to-me parks en route and still arrive early enough to stop by the Commissary at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, check into our hotel, and meet up with friends for dinner.

The day before, I wasn’t able to activate a park in West Virginia as planned due to thunderstorms in the area. I also heard that propagation was incredibly poor—something we’ve seen off and on lately—so if you’re planning to validate an activation, be sure to budget extra time to reach your ten contacts.

That Wednesday morning started off foggy and misty, but the clouds quickly burned away and gave way to a beautiful day.

Amish farmers are not an uncommon site in rural Ohio.

Since I was firmly in WD8RIF’s activation territory, I let him do all of the planning for us that day. (Let’s be honest—I tend to let Eric do all of the planning no matter where we’re roving! Don’t tell him that, though.)

Lake Alma State Park (US-1967)

Our first stop was Lake Alma State Park near Hamden, Ohio.

Lake Alma is a beautiful park with large parking areas, great lake access, and numerous ideal spots for a POTA activator to set up.

Eric suggested we check out the gazebo, but I was keen to use one of the picnic shelters because it sat right beside an old-growth hardwood tree—just the kind I like to use to support my antennas!

Often when Eric and I do joint POTA activations, we activate at the same time to save time. In this case, we decided to take turns—me first at the key.

I knew Eric had never used a Penntek TR-45L, so I brought along my “skinny” version of this magnificent little rig. Paired with a 40-meter EFHW deployed next to the shelter, I figured we’d have nearly ideal conditions—even if propagation wasn’t.

Setup was quick and easy!

My Red Oxx Micro Manager has become the TR-45L Skinny’s pack of choice!

Somehow, I managed to go first, so I prepped my log and aimed to get ten contacts to validate this new park.