Category Archives: POTA

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When Plans Change: A Relaxing “Plan B” POTA Activation at Lake James State Park

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Lately, it’s been a proper challenge to get out and activate.

I’ve had a number of projects that have kept me at home working and when I do head out the door, my timing has been tight. While I love squeezing in park activations when I’m otherwise busy running around town, I also never activate if it’s truly inconvenient.

I’m a big believer in never feeling pressure to activate. Rather, I believe in enjoying the radio journey and therapy.

This is why I don’t pay close attention to my stats in either the POTA (Parks On The Air) or SOTA (Summits On The Air) programs. Maybe when I’m an empty-nester in a few years I’ll spend some time working on my numbers–for the fun of it–but for now, it’s just not in the cards. (Admittedly, when I have more free time, it’ll be fun to achieve my first Mountain Goat award!)

On Monday, April 15, 2024, I planned a trip to my hometown of Hickory, North Carolina, to take my father out to lunch at the airport café.

A 2020 photo from KHKY

If you’ve been a subscriber/reader for long, you’ll know that for the past five years, I’ve spent a lot of time in Hickory doing caregiving for my mother. I would typically spend a night or two in Hickory per week and take her to her frequent oncologist and specialist appointments. .

When she passed away in January, and my sister and her daughter moved in with my father, I no longer had a need to do weekly overnight trips. Indeed–I have no place to stay as the house is full. It’s all worked out really well and now our family trips to Hickory are mostly day trips with my wife, daughters, and Hazel.

It was during those overnight trips that I would fit in park activations–there are a number of parks around Hickory that I would frequent.

Thwarted Rove

I’d plotted a proper POTA rove en route to Hickory on the 15th. I planned to hit a number of parks I used to activate frequently–at least two parks on the way and one or two parks during my return home.

I packed my car with three different radios and a variety of antennas with the idea of using a different pairing at each park.

Twenty minutes into my journey to the first park that morning, I received a call from my daughter’s physician who reminded me that she had an appointment at 2:00 in the afternoon. Doh!

Somehow, that appointment didn’t make it into the family calendar and it was too late to shift it to another date.

I’ll admit: I was bummed.

This dramatically changed my schedule, but I was determined to fit in at least one activation and lunch with my father. As I was driving, I did the mental time math–if I activated Lake James, it would be a very modest detour and I would have an hour or so to play radio. I’d need to pick up my father no later than 10:45 to take him to a (now early) lunch.

This would give me just enough time to get back to the QTH and pick up my daughter no later than 1:30 PM.

I called my father and confirmed it all.

Lake James State Park (US-2739)

I arrived at the Lake James entrance around 8:45 AM. The weather was beautiful and ideal for POTA.

I knew I had about one hour to fit in this activation and I wanted it to be relaxed since the rest of the day would be pretty pressed, time-wise.When I first arrived at the Lake James parking area, I thought I was going to be the only visitor on the site. After hopping out of the car, though, I heard a group of people shouting and then noticed a load of cars and a school bus at the opposite end of the lot.

Turns out, at least two school groups were visiting on a field trip.

I made my way to the lakeshore and picked out a picnic site in the shade and with a nice antenna support (i.e. tree) just waiting to assist in my activation!

I decided to pair my Elecraft KX2 with an end-fed half-wave my buddy Steve (MW0SAW) built for me a couple years ago.

As I started setting up the antenna, a school group, led by one of the park rangers, moved to a site nearby to do some hands-on science. Part of me hoped they might venture past my site and I was ready to tell them all about amateur radio, if asked, but they remained at the same site during my entire activation.

Gear:

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On The Air

Again, since I had a fair amount of time to complete this activation, I thought I’d experiment by heading to the higher bands, knowing they’d have less activity. Continue reading When Plans Change: A Relaxing “Plan B” POTA Activation at Lake James State Park →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

The POTA Babe Goes Back to Florida – Day 3

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Day 3 of my spring-break Florida POTA trip began well. Those of you who read my “A Confession from the POTA Babe” article know my personal life has been anything but settled as of late. Two weeks prior to the trip, I experienced a traumatic break with a close friend and partner. I hoped this trip would help me move past that event and began putting my life back together.  This was the first morning I woke in two and a half weeks feeling like myself and ready for whatever POTA adventures lay ahead of me.

Day 3 of my spring-break 2024 Florida trip

Participating in the pilot session of CW Innovation’s Comprehensive ICR course in October 2022 introduced me to the concept of a code buddy. A code buddy is someone with  whom you have regular CW QSOs, a trusted friend who keeps you active on the air and with whom you grow your skills. I have two code buddies currently – Caryn KD2GUT and Charles W4CLW. Charles and I usually meet Tuesday mornings at 8 AM EDT and I thought why not try to meet up during the trip.

As noted in my article about the first day of this trip, I had to take down the EFRW at my campsite as per park regulations. I pulled out the Chelegance MC-750 as I thought it might stand a better chance than the AX1 with any noise in the campground. As Charles’ QTH was only 232 miles from my campsite, I figured 40 meters would be the only option for us.

I turned on the KX2 and the noise was horrible. However, Charles cleared a frequency and called QRL. He was a 599 on my end but when it was my turn, he could not hear me at all. Oh well. We at least tried.

I figured since I already had my equipment up and running, why not have an impromptu activation?

I spotted myself on the POTA website and began calling CQ. Within 40 minutes, I had a valid activation. Thirty meters gave me four contacts and 20 meters eight contacts including Manuel WP4TZ in Puerto Rico, another member of the Comprehensive ICR course I am currently facilitating with CW Innovations.

I also had one park-to-park QSO with Dave KQ4CW who was activating US-0567 in Virginia. At this point, it was time to pack up my equipment and head south to Cedar Key Scrub Preserve (US-3611).

QSO Map for Manatee Springs 4-2-24 Activation Source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

On the drive southward, I noticed lots of yellow flowers (I think dandelions) along the road as well as wild verbena. I enjoyed the encounters with the natural world I had on this trip. The previous day, I had several different caterpillar species visit me during my activations. They ended up on my clothes as well as my equipment.

During today’s impromptu activation at the campsite, three deer walked  through the area. Nature galore!

a tussock moth caterpillar
a Tent caterpillar
possibly a salt marsh moth caterpillar

Daisy and I arrived at Cedar Key Scrub Preserve (US-3611) around 11:30 AM. It was fairly warm at this hour of the day so I set up in the shade generated by Kai and some overhead trees. I chose to work with the Chelegance MC-750 again.

This activation proved to be a busy one, all on twenty meters. Over the course of 50 minutes, I logged 32 contacts including one DX with Chris F6EAZ in France, a QSO with another team member in my class – Pat K2SCH, and one park-to-park QSO with Jeff KF4VE at US-4857 in Virginia.

At this point, the sun had overtaken Daisy and I. We were beginning to roast so it was time to call QRT.

QSO Map for Cedar Key Scrub Preserve Source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/
USA Only QSO Map for Cedar Key Scrub Preserve Source: http://tools.adventureradio.de/analyzer/

I had planned to take a walk at Cedar Key Scrub Preserve but due to the warm temperatures and foliage that would not provide much shade, I scrubbed (yes, you can groan) that plan, packed up, and headed further south to Cedar Key.

The town of Cedar Key is made of small islands (called keys) linked together by bridges. We navigated over them to Cedar Key Museum State Park (US-3610).

Unfortunately, the museum was closed for maintenance. But, as I surveyed the site, I saw a shady bench beckoning me.

A QTH with potential!

I set up the Chelegance MC-750, Daisy sprawled out for a nap, and I got down to business.

This activation ran slower than the previous one. I ended up with 25 QSOs on 20 meters in an hour. However, it was pleasant to relax in the shade, enjoy the breeze, and not be in a rush. In fact, after the activation and everything was packed up, Daisy and I relaxed at this spot for a good thirty minutes, soaking in the experience.

On the drive back to my campsite, I received an unexpected call. It was the close friend and partner I thought I had lost several weeks ago.  I pulled off to the side of the road. The conversation was a heart-felt and cathartic one.

I had a choice to make. There were three days remaining in my trip and potentially four more parks I could activate toward my 60 new-to-me activation goal.  Or I could choose to step through the door that just opened. It didn’t take me long to decide.

This spring-break Florida trip was a productive one. I activated six parks toward my goal, used two antennas with which I was not very familiar, and camped on my own. I also did what I set out to do in my “A Confession from the POTA Babe” article – savor the beauty around me, think, reflect, and be. I cancelled the remainder of the trip to visit this cherished person with the joy of reconciliation.

It doesn’t matter if it is POTA or your personal life; relationships are what matter. This POTA Babe has learned her lesson and has her priorities in the correct order now. Thanks to all of you who continue to share my adventures. They are far from over.

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

K3ES’ Eclipse Clean Sweep!

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An Eclipse Clean Sweep

by Brian (K3ES)

Eclipse totality, as seen from US-8785, complete with corona.

My home QTH is located near Tionesta, PA, and the path of the 2024 eclipse put us near, but not in, the path for totality.  At home we would have more than 99.5% of the sun’s disc obscured.  I will confess that the distinction between 99.5% and totality was lost on me, but Becky was insistent that she wanted to be in the path of totality, because it gives a unique view when the sun’s disc is completely obscured by the moon.  At that point, only a halo of the sun’s corona remains visible.  Becky was right.  It was well worth the effort to get in the path of totality.

My contribution was to find a public area within the path of totality that would not be swarmed by traffic, cars, and people.

The Eclipse Plan

It turned out that we could be within the totality path by driving less than 20 miles from home.  We could also do this by driving away from population centers, rather than driving toward them.  Places like Erie, PA were expecting tens of thousands of people to visit.  I later heard stories of miles-long traffic jams, and hours of delay experienced by Erie pilgrims.  I hoped to, and thankfully managed to, avoid that fate.

After identifying that this section of PA State Game Land 086 was in the path for eclipse totality, a satellite view helped to identify open fields for viewing and activating.

I found that portions of Pennsylvania State Game Land 086 (coincidentally also POTA entity US-8785) lay within the totality zone.  Using a variety of on-line maps, I was able to find a parking area near the start of a gated Game Land road.

The road passed next to a series of small fields (satellite images are definitely helpful!).  Such fields are not uncommon at Game Lands, because it provides the opportunity for hunters to cross paths with rabbits and pheasants, both of which were out-of-season in April.  But, those same fields should have an unobstructed view of the sky.  So, we headed hopefully toward our selected parking lot, with plans to set up folding chairs (and a portable radio station) in one of the fields, as long as a parking space remained.

The POTA Plan

I had previously activated US-8785, making contacts on only the 40m band.  At that time, the goal had been a quick activation during a rove.  Lately, I have been working hard to accumulate contacts on 10 bands at multiple parks, inching my way closer to POTA’s N1CC award for making contacts on 10 bands from 10 different parks.

Prior to eclipse day, I had completed contacts on 10 bands from each of seven different parks.  While two or three of those contacts were made using VHF FM mode, my preferred method for achieving my goal at a park is to use CW mode and QRP power levels to make contacts on high frequency (HF) bands from 10m to 80m, and to also make CW QRP contacts on 160m (which is technically a medium frequency band).

The challenge with the 160m band (and the 80m band, to some extent) is that it generally works best after sunset.  Given that there would be an abnormal sunset occurring at 3:20 pm EDT, might it be possible to get a 160m contact during or near the period of totality?  That would be my quest.

So, I picked my equipment to give me the ability to rapidly move between bands.  I paired my KX3, with its excellent tuner and 160m to 6m coverage, with my VK160 homebrew 9:1 end-fed random wire (EFRW) antenna.  The story of VK160 design and construction and VK160 testing during Winter Field Day 2022 has previously been told in these pages (links provided), but suffice it to say that the radiating wire is 144 ft long.

If the crowds were sparse enough, I hoped to set it up as a shallow inverted V (I normally get a throw line up 30 to 40 ft, which is small in comparison to the antenna’s total length) along the wood line bordering the field.  I also brought two Bioenno LiFePO4 batteries that would normally be able to power my station for the large part of a day.  I chose battery redundancy, because there would be no opportunity for a re-do.

My operating plan was to make contacts on as many bands as possible.  I would start with 10m before the start of the eclipse, and work my way down in frequency, hopefully after making one or more contacts on each successive band.  I also needed to manage my time, so that I would get some time on each of the low bands – 60m, 80m, and 160m as the eclipse neared totality.  Since I already had contacts from a prior activation, I would not work 40m unless I had completed contacts on the other 9 bands.

Gear

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Eclipse Day

My cousin joined Becky and I for the outing to see the eclipse.  We all hoped that the afternoon would be memorable.  As we drove to our selected location, traffic was unexpectedly light, but the sky was overcast. There had been rain earlier in the morning, but the clouds seemed to be thinning as the day progressed, and we remained hopeful during the drive, particularly as glimpses of blue sky became apparent.

A final stretch on a dirt road brought us to the Game Land parking lot, a cleared patch of gravel, which was… empty!!!  It seemed that I had either planned well, or guessed right.  Either way, I was happy with the starting point!

We passed out the folding chairs from the back of the truck, shouldered our bags, and started the half-mile walk back the road to find our field.  We saw no vehicles and no people on the way in.  We did hear a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers drumming on branches near the side of the road, and we saw a Red-tailed Hawk and some Turkey Vultures soaring overhead.  It all made for an enjoyable walk, and the clouds continued to thin, with patches of blue emerging as the clouds continued their journey overhead.

Setting Up the Station

Here, I am preparing to throw a line to support the VK160.  I selected a tree somewhat distant from my planned operating location, so that apex would be located at about the midpoint of the radiating wire.
I used the K4SWL sling method of throwing the arborist line for this deployment.  While I am much more accurate using the “granny shot” throwing method, the sling method can get the line consistently higher.
I am deploying one of the three radial wires used with the VK160.  If you look closely, you can see the antenna feedpoint hanging behind me, level with my hat brim.  The cord holding the feedpoint can be seen just above my head.

When we arrived at the field, I scouted out a location for my antenna.  A tall tree at the woodline seemed to have a number of great branches high above the ground.  I broke out my arborist line, made my throw, and missed.  I repeated the process a couple more times, then snagged a light branch just a bit lower than I had hoped, but it would be sufficient.

Unwrapping the antenna (it takes a while to spool out 144 ft of wire) I found that it would stretch across the width of the field, and a bit further along one edge, so up it went in a bent inverted V.  A length of 550 cord secured it to a tree branch on the far side of the field, and a bit of light cord held the feed point to a tree branch near my chair.  This done, I connected and stretched out three counterpoise wires, connected the RG316 feed line, and started assembling the station.

On the Air

I am preparing for operation.  Station equipment is on the clipboard in my lap.  The antenna feedpoint can be seen at upper right.  The 15 ft RG316 feedline runs downward from the feedpoint, along the ground, and up to my operating position.
On the air with the KX3 set for 5 watts CW.
Working for a contact on 12m.
Continuing to work contacts as the light dims.  Chairs for Becky and my cousin are about 100 ft down the field from my operating position.
Between contacts I could quickly don my fashionable eclipse glasses to safely monitor progress, as the moon’s shadow progressed across the sun.

I was quickly ready to hit the air.  Having scheduled the activation in advance, I was not worried about cell service, but found that I had enough to verify my initial spot, as well as subsequent band changes.  As planned, I started on  the 10m band.  It took some time before my CQ call was returned.  After logging it, I called for a bit longer, then switched over to the 12m band, where things took a different turn. Continue reading K3ES’ Eclipse Clean Sweep! →

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

The POTA Babe Goes Back to Florida – Day 2

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Day 2 of my spring-break Florida POTA trip began well. The night before, I left the rain fly off one corner of the tent, the one out of which I could look when lying on my Thermarest pad listening to the bird song all around us. There must be something about being outside because I had the soundest and most sleep I’d experienced in several weeks.

someone is not ready to get out of bed yet
Day 2 of my April Florida trip

We headed to the Nature Coast State Trail first as I was concerned about the temperature due to the sunny forecast. We found the Old Town trailhead, parked, and walked toward the trail’s bridge over the Suwannee River. Not far from the bridge, I spied a bench with an overhang and thought it would make a great QTH.

Old Town trailhead parking area
the trail
flowers along the trail
potential QTH

I had left the Chelegance MC-750 in the car as I wished to work with the AX1 today. It wasn’t long before I had it installed on the Joby Gorillapod ready for 40 meters. I turned on the KX2, put on my earbuds, and was greeted by NOISE, S5-S7 noise.

Well, noise happens and I typically find it on 40 meters than any other band when I activate. Undaunted, I tweaked the AX1 and moved to 30 meters. I found less noise (S3-S4) but no one answered my CQ. Now I was getting worried.

I removed the 40 meter coil from the AX1 and tried 20 meters. Now 20 meters didn’t sound that noisy; however, I had no callers. I found the same on 17 meters. What the heck?

And then I noticed the power lines across the road. How they had escaped my notice I have no idea. They weren’t just your typical power lines but also high-voltage power lines. That had to be the source of the noise. I felt like an idiot not even noticing them. The AX1 is a compromised antenna to begin with and, in those conditions, I don’t think it stood a chance.  Note: I later learned the band conditions were not great that morning either.

Deflated, I packed everything up and walked a little ways up the trail to the bridge crossing the Suwanne River. After a few moments to enjoy the view, I headed toward my second park – Fanning Springs State Park. It was but a 5 minute drive from the Old Town trailhead. I began  looking for somewhere to set up. Good news – not many power lines.

Suwannee River

I found a grassy field/parking area off to the side and set up there. My riding instructor would always say “Set your horse up for success.” Well, this I thought was a more successful situation for the AX1 (at least I hoped it would be). Once the AX1 was installed on top of my car, I got down to business.

AX1 on top of the car on Joby Gorillapod

I didn’t do well on 40 meters (only one caller in Florida) or 30 meters (no response). I removed the 40 meter coil and set up shop on 20 meters. Would anyone hear me today? YES! Over the next 20 minutes, I logged eight contacts including Dan N0ZT who is in my current Comprehensive ICR class for CW Innovations.

At this point, I only had nine total contacts, not enough for a valid activation. Hearing no more responses to my CQ on 20 meters, I headed to 17. After a while, Craig KC3TRT responded to my CQ. Over the next ten minutes, nine ops had a QSO with me including Raffaele IK4IDF in Italy. Whew – a valid activation.

QSO Map for Fanning Springs State Park
QSO Map (USA contacts) for Fanning Springs State Park
The springs (as close as we could get as dogs are not allowed near them)

By now I was worn out and decided to regroup back at the campsite. I felt kicked in the keister over the failed activation in the morning. There are five trailheads for the Nature Coast State Trail. Maybe I could find a section without power lines (not likely) and maybe the conditions in the late afternoon/early evening would be better.

After an early supper and a few minutes to read, Daisy and I headed back to the trail for another attempt. Yes, there were power lines (but not high voltage ones) near the trailhead I chose in Chiefland. It was peaceful on this section of the trail. We ambled along until I found another bench like I saw that morning.

AX1 with radials

I opted to sit instead in my Helinox chair on the ground with Daisy to my right and the AX1 to my left. There was thick foliage in front of me as well as a park area that I hoped would provide a buffer from any RFI from the businesses on that side of the trail. I took a breath and called QRL. I picked 20 meters thinking that might be my best bet this time of day, around 6 PM.

Guess what? The AX1 delivered!

I had 18 contacts in 30 minutes including a QRP-to-QRP QSO with Karl K5KHK in New York. I also had one park-to-park QSO with David WN1E at US-0897. I practically floated back to the car and then celebrated with a chocolate-dipped ice cream cone from Dairy Queen.

QSO Map for Nature Coast State Trail
Way more ice cream than I needed but it was good!

People don’t talk about the emotional component that comes with morse code. My life has been an emotional rollercoaster as of late and that failed activation felt like another punch in the gut.

You know the ops that I see make the most progress, in general and in the class I facilitate with CW Innovations? Those with determination.

They don’t give up but persevere despite their struggles. Life is really tough for me right now but I have to hang in there as I did with this activation. You never know when success or for what you are waiting will be around the corner.

For day 3, I’ll head south toward Cedar Key. What antenna will I choose to use and how will those activations go? Stay tuned…

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Field Reports, Guest Posts, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

The POTA Babe Goes Back to Florida – Day 1

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In pursuit of my 60 new-to-me park activations, I headed back to Florida for six days the first week of April. The weather forecast looked promising – high temps in the upper 70s falling to the upper 60s by the end of the week. Rain might dampen my spirits on Wednesday but otherwise, the sun was likely to shine during my journey.

Day 1 of my April 2024 Florida Trip

Daisy and I packed up the car and headed out early Sunday, May 31st. It was an easy journey – three and a half hours south down I-95 and then southwest across Florida. Of course, we stopped at the Florida welcome center and got our picture snapped, this time just the two of us.

Here we again in Florida!

We arrived in Branford which actually did look like a nice place to live. Lafayette Forest Wildlife & Environmental Area (US-6315) is just outside the town. Unlike the wildlife management areas in Georgia I’ve visited, this one looked more manicured. The road into the park could have been the entrance into some genteel Southern plantation.

Not far inside, we found a fenced-in parking area and kiosk. I figured this would be the easiest place to set up. Checking the kiosk, I confirmed we were out of hunting season though we would still wear our blaze orange items for our walk after the activation. (Before we arrived at the park, we actually saw a turkey crossing the road.)

Map of Lafayette WMA

I opted to use the Chelegance MC-750 on the tripod mount because I need more practice with it. That proved to be a good choice as I had to re-read the instructions to set it up – hi hi. This is what happens when you don’t use equipment on a regular basis.  Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes Back to Florida – Day 1 →

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

Kansas City to the Countryside: N5DUX’s Work Trip POTA Journey

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Many thanks to Tommy (N5DUX) who shares the following guest post:

Work Trip POTA

by Tommy (N5DUX)

I recently had a work trip that took me to lovely Emporia, Kansas – home of Emporia State University. Prior to leaving for the trip, I did a little POTA sleuthing to see if there were any parks in the general region I could activate after I finished work each day. As luck would have it, I found there were indeed a handful locations on the POTA map within a reasonable drive – including one right in town!

One of the locations was a fun looking site called the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve National Conservation Area (US-3673), home to a herd of bison.

Viewing on Google Maps I saw a “scenic lookout” in the middle of the prairie and figured that sounded like a great place to setup.

Packing my suitcase for the trip (there’s work to do, remember!) I included my Buddistick and a collapsable, “450cm” carbon fiber fishing rod. The rest of my kit was in a hand held bag that I would carry with me. My main radio for this activation was my Elecraft KX2.

For an antenna, I brought my a newly built 20W K6ARK EFHW trimmed which I had tuned to work on 40m, 20m, and 10m with the idea of using the fishing pole to hold up the far end of my end-fed. Should that fail or disappoint, I had my Buddistick which is self-supporting thanks to the excellent design of its shock-cord tripod and “tie-down” to keep the whole thing upright in strong winds.

Included in my bag was a 9Ah Bioenno battery, reel of kite string, a throwing weight, notebook for logging, pencil, Elecraft hand mic, Elecraft paddles, some earbuds, and a few other insignificant odds and ends (adapters, pigtails, etc)

When packing radio equipment in your suitcase, remember to not pack any batteries in your checked bag. For carry-on, remember to not pack any pointed objects like tent stakes, screw drivers, or spikes like some vertical antennas like the Chelegence 750 or PAC-12 have. Pack smart – think about what the radio will look like to someone unfamiliar with our hobby.

TSA really doesn’t care about our radios or wires – they just don’t want bricks of organic material surrounded by wires on the plane or sharp pointy things in the cabin.

On Easter Sunday, I flew into Kansas City, picked up a rental car, got a quick bite of BBQ recommended by the guy at the rental car place, and set off. The weather upon arrival was excellent. A nice breeze, sun shining, and warm temps. Lovely. But the weather forecast had told me it wouldn’t last.

While at work on Monday, the temperature began its steady slide as a cold front moved through the area. As soon as the work day was finished, I quickly changed clothes and headed west of Emporia for the Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve.

The weather continued to get cooler and the wind had picked up.

As soon as I arrived, I was greeted by a park ranger leaving. I asked about the bison herd and he told me the scenic overlook I’d picked as my destination was a couple miles down a gravel trail. I ask the ranger if he knew about ham radio and he said there was a group coming in a couple months or something but said I was welcome to setup wherever I pleased. I grabbed my gear, preparing to make the 2 mile hike, and started down the path.

I got about a quarter mile in and cresting the first grassy rise, I realized I’d underestimated just how strong the wind really was and how cold it was going to get if I stayed exposed. I had not worn my thicker coat and realized I wouldn’t last long on the prairie given my attire and the weather to come. Seeing the bison would have to wait.

My carbon fiber fishing pole at Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve in Kansas being held up by a fishing pole holder available from Walmart or Amazon.

I changed course and walked back to a historic ranch situated on the property with some still-used cattle pens. Surveying my options there, I spotted a shelter for the livestock over in the corner of one corral. Eyeing the grassy area in that pen, I decided that was going to be my operating position. No sooner had I chosen my spot when I heard the faintest tick of raindrops hitting the tin roof.

I unfolded my chair in the dirt under the roof then unpacked my radio, pencil, logbook, some trail mix (nabbed from the hotel front desk snack bin), and my water bottle. I unspooled the EFHW and erected the fishing pole to hold up the far end. I connected the antenna and let the Elecraft KX2’s internal tuner do its thing. It found a 1:1 match in no time and everything was set.

Shack in the lap with the KX2.

I dialed through the band to get a sense of conditions on 20m. I listened to a few other POTA stations and was able to work them. I then found an unused frequency, called out, and listened. Nothing heard – I was ready to go. By this point, it was only about 30 minutes total since my arrival – not too bad.

I spotted myself on the POTA site and my first hunter responded to my CQ pretty quickly. This trend continued unabated for quite some time.

When there was a lull in activity, I grabbed a handful of trail mix and was mid-chew when someone called. I tried to swallow and got choked. He’s calling me. I’m trying to clear my throat. Nobody’s around – the best I could muster was a half-wheezy reply to his call. He probably thought my signal dropped a few dB – no old man, it was my voice. A splash of water after we were clear and I was back to normal.

Looking southeast from my activation spot at Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve in Kansas

Around this time, the raindrops decided to spit a little and the wind had definitely picked up. I adjusted my antenna to see if that helped matters. I used my kite string to secure one end of my wire antenna to the stone wall surrounding the pen and moved the fishing pole support from the end near the wall more toward the middle This gave the antenna more of an inverted V configuration.

It actually helped! Whereas before my “sloper” was more of a “sagger”, I actually got an increase in the relative frequency of QSOs. I worked with this configuration for the rest of my stay at the preserve. The wind never let up and the temps continued to slide. I was shivering by the time I finished packing up and the sun had set and darkness was setting in.

My humble livestock pen operating shelter at Tallgrass Prairie Nature Preserve in Kansas

Back to the rental car and heater, please!

Tuesday brought a similar workday but I planned to activate a historic home there in town after enjoying a dinner at a local restaurant recommended by my hosts. The weather was considerably colder than Monday and it was downright windy. I’m glad I’d worked the nature preserve on Monday and didn’t wait to try on Tuesday!

Rental car portable at the William Allen White House known as “Red Rocks” in Emporia, Kansas

I made my way over to the William Allen White House State Historic Site (US-9183) a few blocks from the university and the dinner spot. With the weather as it was, I opted to sit in the rental car and run my antenna out the top of a cracked window over a couple low branches and over to another large tree branch. I got my rig setup in the car for my first “rental car portable” activation and found it to be considerably more comfortable than the night before. I managed to log about 20 QSOs in short order on 20m until band conditions deteriorated.

On Wednesday, we wrapped up the work project that had brought me to town. We had a final wrap-up meeting with my point of contact there and I headed back to Kansas City. The intent was to grab a quick dinner with a friend, head for the hotel, throw down my stuff and make for the World War I Museum National Memorial (US-4591). The dinner lasted much longer than I’d planned but it was okay. Dinner was with my CO whom I hadn’t seen since I was in the Guard.

We shared a great dinner with his wife, recounting funny stories from our times together and generally getting caught up. I didn’t get to the hotel until very late so I decided I better get some shut-eye and just activate the Museum and Memorial in the morning.

Thursday morning, I packed up everything to get ready for the airport.

My plan for the WW1 Memorial was to find a tree and throw the EFHW there and get some sun while sitting at a park bench or something. It didn’t happen. The strong, cold wind continued. I opted for another “rental car portable” operation. Noticing my “sloper” was again a “sagger,” I pulled the fishing pole out of my suitcase and elevated the antenna wire in the middle. Much better.

A view of the National World War 1 Museum and Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri

Band conditions on 20m were rapidly going down the drain and it was hard for me to hear anyone – the big guns that I worked toward the end of my activation provided such poor signal reports, I knew my QRP signal just couldn’t compete with the noise floor that continued to come up.

In total, I managed to bag about 14 QSOs in short order – but it was enough to count as another activation! And, since this was on the Missouri side of Kansas City, it gave me a new state.

I packed up, grabbed some more famous Kansas City BBQ at another local haunt, and headed for the airport to fly home.

The reliable, trusted Buddistick surprisingly never saw the light of day on this trip. It sure was along for the ride, but the EFHW really worked well and I enjoyed the simplicity of it when it came time to pack up. Being less of a compromise antenna led me to believe it would be more efficient anyway.

I’m still somewhat new to POTA and I continue to learn – but this was a memorable work trip because I brought my radio along with me and it took me to some spots I may not have otherwise ventured to visit. The work that brought me to the university went well enough that we began scheduling a return trip slated for sometime in a couple months. I plan on bringing my radio with me for that and on all future work trips in other places.

News, POTA, SOTA

POTA/SOTA: Why I don’t log signal reports

29 Comments

Many thanks to Peter (YO8CDQ) who writes:

“Why don’t you enter in the log the received RST and the transmitted RST. I know you’re recording with a tape recorder, but the QSOs are real. If you want to send a QSL to a hunter, what kind of RST do you enter in the QSL?”

Great question, Peter, and I’ve been meaning to make a post about this because it’s one of the top questions I receive from readers (along with why I send 72 instead of 73).

The short answer is: it’s a personal preference.

When I log a rag chew or “non-OTA” contact from home–and one that’s under no time pressure–I typically record a true RST; both what I sent and what I received.

During POTA or SOTA, however, I do not log true signal reports. Some activators do, though.  Again, it’s a personal preference, but here are some of the reasons why I do not:

I typically log on paper and on my phone in real-time. This means that when my hands aren’t sending my exchange, I’m logging as quickly as I can. I honestly don’t think I could keep up with my pace if I added RST to the mix even if just in the electronic logs!

Sometimes my hands are full which makes even basic logging a bit challenging for me!

The POTA and SOTA programs do not import RST info. When your logs are uploaded the RST info is ignored.

I rarely get paper QSLs and when I do, I can always look up the RST in my recordings if I feel it’s important to the other party. For example, I’ve received paper QSLs from DX county hunters (many of those programs require paper QSLs for confirmation) and I will look up the RST from my recordings if needed (it’s actually easy knowing the time stamps from the logs).

Also, since I send an ear-accurate RST to my hunters/chasers, I feel like they’re getting value out of my report in real-time. Many don’t need or want that confirmed on paper weeks later or in other logging systems.

Recording RST to a logging app on my phone–during the activation–simply isn’t easy for me. I struggle just typing and double-checking the callsign I enter. Going back into the app or adif file to enter real RSTs from my paper logs after the fact would be time-consuming and a bit futile since, as I mentioned, POTA and SOTA does not import RST.

In the end, though, you’ll notice that most avid activators don’t record the RST because it simply takes time and it’s actually quite rare that the hunter or chaser needs a true RST even if they follow up with a QSL confirmation. If they need it or ask for it–again–I can probably provide it! Most don’t though, because they receive your report during the exchange.

Should you record RST?

Check out VE6LK’s logs with RST!

If you want to? Heck yeah!

I’ll admit that recording the RST just makes for more complete looking logs. It’s also fun to go back through your logs and give them a once-over to see how a certain antenna might have been performing that day.

Most of the activators I know that record RST only log to paper in the field, then transpose the logs back home and enter RST. That is a much more elegant way to do things if you have the time and it’s important to you.

Since POTA and SOTA are on-the-air activities designed around having fun, do what you feel makes it fun!

How about you? Do you record accurate TX and RX signal reports during your activations? Please comment!

Field Reports, Guest Posts, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, Travel

IX1CKN: POTA in the hills of Tuscany

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Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report:

POTA in the hills of Tuscany

by Christian (IX1CKN)

The beauty of the POTA program lies in the fact that, even if you’re not in your region, you can still participate and, in fact, feel somewhat at home even from a distance.

So, Sunday 7th April afternoon, while in Florence, given not common family commitments, I took two buses bound for Fiesole and then walked about twenty minutes to reach reference IT-1396, Monte Ceceri Park.

The concept of a peak at 414 meters above sea level might make a Valdostan smile, because it’s less than the center of Aosta, the place where I usually live, but the view of Florence and its surroundings is priceless and truly breathtaking.

Moreover, as reminded by a monument on the clearing at the summit, the mountain was the stage for Leonardo’s first flight experiments, which adds charm and historical interest to the location.

I set up the equipment I managed to bring with me on the trip: Xiegu G106 and a quarter-wave vertical on the ground, with about ten radials. Not more, but the truth is, more isn’t necessary.

The less than stellar propagation on the higher bands led me to mostly stick to 20 meters, even though they were hyper-populated for the SP contest. However, well, I found a corner with sustainable crowding…

The final log shows 30 QSOs in just over an hour and a half, including various park-to-park contacts (including Nicola IU5KHP, national POTA manager, and Andrea IW0HK).

Unfortunately, an unsuccessful attempt with Dario IZ3QFG, but there will be other opportunities.

No overseas contacts, but I repeat: it’s not about quantity or distance, but the fact that being able to reach a reference by public transport and walking is priceless. It manages to give one that feeling of familiarity – amplified by the voices of those you connect with, amazed to find yourself in a park far from home – which is why it’s no surprise that Parks on the Air is growing!

News, Portable, POTA, Skills, Travel

Planning a POTA Babe Trip – Part 3

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(Note: As many of you know, I cut my spring-break Florida POTA trip short for personal reasons. However, I did not change this article and opted to leave the original itinerary intact as that was the intent of the trip.)

Having two POTA trips under my belt, I thought I’d share how I plan my trips in hope it will inspire others to undertake the same endeavor. After I explain my process, I’ll walk through the process using my spring-break POTA trip as an example.

The first questions to answer are where do I want to explore and how am I going to get there?

So far, I’ve traveled to Nova Scotia and Florida. Air travel was a necessity for the Nova Scotia trip but not my preference for travel in general. I loved to fly as a child but as an adult, it has lost its appeal. We live in a gorgeous country and have at our disposal a wonderful interstate system such that my transportation preference for a POTA trip is to drive. For a short trip (five to six days), I try to stay within 250 miles of my home QTH. For a trip longer than a week, I’m willing to drive 500 miles or more.

Google Maps

The next step is to decide where I’ll stay. Now that I am single, I need to watch my expenses closely. Camping is a great accommodation option if one is willing to put up with some inconveniences. So far I’ve found the campgrounds in the state parks to which I’ve traveled more than adequate. One has to be willing to walk to the bathhouse, accept whatever conditions the weather provides, and be less connected than we typically are in our modern society. Camping also requires certain equipment which I addressed in my first article.

Once I’ve nailed down my accommodations, it is time to begin choosing which parks to activate. For the past two trips, I chose parks based on their proximity to the roads I drove between accommodations, whether I needed to pay for access to the park, and how easily I could ensure I’m within the parks boundaries. My priority was to fit in as many park activations as I could during the trip.

Going forward, my criteria is the same but my focus is not. I want to spend more time in the parks I activate, choosing parks based on the scenery and/or other activities they offer so I may learn about the ecology and/or history of the location. I also want to savor the parks I visit, taking time to slow down and enjoy the experience.

So let’s walk through this process as to how I planned my spring-break POTA trip in April.

Choose a destination and how to get there

As I mentioned earlier, I prefer to drive. I’ll be gone six days for my April POTA trip, so I need to find a destination within 250 miles from Bloomingdale, GA. I chose to visit the state of Florida as I enjoyed my trip this past December and think the weather during the first week of April will still be comfortable that time of year.

Choose accommodations

For the Florida winter-break trip, I stayed in a different campground nearly every night. The advantage of that arrangement is I could cover more ground and experience more places. However, taking down and setting up camp every day eats up time and, depending on the weather, can be a pain. For the spring-break trip, I thought I might stay at the same campground the entire trip.

Itinerary for December 2023 POTA Trip Source: My Google Map

I searched for and found a map of all the Florida state parks with camping. There were several state parks within the 250-mile radius from my home; however, I also wanted a park that had lots of potential POTA sites nearby. After looking at my options, I chose Manatee Springs State Park at which I will stay three nights. Not far away is Suwannee River State Park which had availability for two nights. Bingo – accommodations done!

Source: https://www.floridastateparks.org/statewide-map
Source: pota.app
Choose which parks to activate

Now that I’ve chosen the parks at which I’ll stay, I need to figure out what POTA sites nearby are of interest. As I stated earlier, I want to choose activation sites based on what they can offer me in addition to the activation itself. Two prime activities at parks are wildlife viewing and hiking.

When I think of wildlife, I immediately think of national wildlife refuges. I Googled “best national wildlife refuges to visit in Florida” and found the following map. The refuge closest to the areas I plan to visit is St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge and, given what I read about that refuge, there is so much to see there that it may fill up an entire day.

Source: https://www.floridarambler.com/florida-parks-forests-wildlife-refuges/national-wildlife-refuges-in-florida/

 As for hiking, I googled “best hiking trails in Florida” and found  floridahikes.com. There were a fair amount of trails from which to choose though several were eliminated because dogs are not allowed due to the presence of alligators or ticks are a major problem. I took my time exploring the site finding trails close to or in the Manatee Springs and Suwanee River State Parks.

Now that I have my accommodations nailed down and some ideas for wildlife viewing and hiking, I need to fill in my itinerary. Continue reading Planning a POTA Babe Trip – Part 3 →

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

K3ES Travels: Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas

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Ocracoke, NC, home to this iconic lighthouse, was our destination for a week of relaxation.  Ten days of QRP operation was a happy consequence.

Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas

by Brian (K3ES)

At the end of a hard (or even a not-so-hard) winter, Becky and I really enjoy the opportunity to spend a week at the beach with friends.  Even with the cooler and more unpredictable weather late in the off-season, it provides welcome relief from the cold and snow that we often get in northwest Pennsylvania.  This year we chose to visit Ocracoke Island, at the southern tip of the North Carolina Outer Banks.

While driving down and back, I fit in Parks on the Air (POTA) activations at parks in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Each of the activated parks was new to me, and  so were their states.  My time at the beach also included daily POTA hunting.  I knew that my radio activity would all be conducted using CW mode, and low power.  All of my contacts on this trip were made with 5 watts, except for a brief stint where I increased power to 10 watts to fight band noise during a longer QSO with my code buddy.  What I did not expect was that all of my contacts would be made using antenna configurations that were less efficient than normal.

At each of the activated parks, I paired my Elecraft KX2 with a brand new Elecraft AX1 vertical antenna.  While it proved very effective at making contacts, the 4 ft high AX1 vertical definitely compromises gain to achieve its tiny form factor for HF operations.  Once we moved into our rented house on the island, we knew that storms were expected.  In fact, gale warnings were issued for our area twice during our week-long stay.  Besides cutting off ferry service to the island, I feared that high winds would bring down any antenna mast that I might try to use.  So, I deployed my shortest wire antenna in a low configuration that I hoped would resist the wind, yet still enable some contacts.  I certainly did not expect it to perform like it had many times before when deployed in vertical or inverted V configurations, but proof would be in the contacts.  I will avoid suspense by saying that this installation was unaffected by the high winds that were predicted and received.

Gear

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Monocacy National Battlefield – US-0705

Monocacy National Battlefield, US-0705, is located near the junction of Interstates 70 and 270 at Frederick, MD.

Our trip south took us close enough for a visit to our 3-year old grandson and his parents.  Truth be told, any distance would have been close enough, so even though greater-Baltimore is slightly off the direct path, that was the destination for our first day of driving.  On the way to Baltimore, we also passed within a couple of miles of the Monocacy National Battlefield, near Frederick, MD.  So, we spent a couple of hours exploring interpretive displays at the Visitor Center, and of course, activating the park.

As a Civil War history buff, I knew of the Battle of Monocacy, but little about its details.  Briefly, in July of 1864 a small Union force faced off against a much larger Confederate Army led by Lieutenant General Jubal Early.  The Confederates were moving against Washington, DC in an attempt to take the pressure off of the defenders around the Confederate capital of Richmond, VA.  While the battle was a tactical defeat for the Union, it proved to be a strategic victory, because it delayed the Confederate advance for two crucial days.  In that time Washington’s defenses were strongly reinforced, so the Confederate Army withdrew back into the Shenandoah Valley without accomplishing its mission.  More on that later.

A picnic table near a wood line outside the visitor center made a perfect, unobtrusive location to activate US-0705.

For the activation, I set up my station at a picnic table.  A table top tripod supported the AX1 antenna, with a short piece of RG316 coaxial cable connecting it to the KX2.  I operated CW mode with 5 watts of power, and completed the activation with 11 contacts in less than 15 minutes.

The entire station, including table-top AX1, took up less than half of a picnic table.
Logging contacts…
Cannons overlooking the battlefield…
Map of contacts from US-0705.  Home QTH for one station is located at the south pole!

Operating from Ocracoke Island, NC

A week at Ocracoke…

We arrived on Ocracoke on the last ferry run to the island before a Gale Warning shut down service for two days.  We counted ourselves fortunate to be on the island, but gale force winds complicated deployment of antennas.  Except, that is, for the AX1. Continue reading K3ES Travels: Ten Days of QRP with Compromised Antennas →