Tag Archives: POTA 101

Field Reports, How To, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, QRP Radios, SSB, Videos

Xiegu G106: From Unboxing to Your First POTA Activation (Beginner-Friendly Video!)

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Earlier this week, I mentioned that I purchased a Xiegu G106 in September. Its delivery was delayed because I had it shipped to my local post office, which, as you likely know, was flooded during Hurricane Helene.

With all the post-Helene chaos, I haven’t been able to do as much POTA as I’d like, so the G106 sat unopened in its box—until Wednesday, November 20, 2024, when I finally had a chance to take it out for its maiden activation at Lake James State Park (US-2739)!

Why the Xiegu G106?

Last year, Radioddity sent me a G106 on loan, and I wrote an in-depth review after taking it on several activations. That review was lengthy because radios like the G106—designed as price leaders—often have compromises that may not suit everyone. It’s essential to judge such radios based on their goals, not by comparing them to premium models like the Icom IC-705.

For the G106, the question I aimed to answer was: “Does this radio accomplish what it sets out to do?”

I believe its mission is to offer affordable field radio fun—capable of completing park or summit activations without excessive struggle, providing performance commensurate with its price point.

I decided to purchase the G106 because I had returned my loaner unit over a year ago, but questions about it kept coming from readers. Instead of requesting another loaner, I opted to buy one.

To my surprise, the pricing had dropped significantly. Here’s my order confirmation:

Interestingly, as I mentioned earlier this week, Amazon (at time of posting) has a Black Friday deal for the G106 (without accessories) $199 shipped for Prime members [QRPer affiliate link].

I’d have chosen that over the bundle I ordered had it been available at the time.

Unboxing to Activation

It was a rainy day at Lake James.

A common question from readers has been, “Would the Xiegu G106 work as a dedicated field radio for POTA activations?”

Perfect weather to set up in a picnic shelter!

Most of these inquiries came from newcomers to ham radio, so I decided to test the radio in the field by setting it up from scratch—straight out of the box. This included attaching connectors to the power cord, configuring the radio, setting up the antenna, and hopping on the air.

This is a lot of picnic shelter for such a small radio setup!

I started the activation using SSB (voice) and later switched to CW (Morse Code) to give a full “out-of-the-box” experience.

The resulting activation video (below) is lengthy but was incredibly fun to film!

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

Antenna & Cable Assembly

Throw Line

Pack

Logging Supplies

Key and Cable

Battery and Power Distribution

Camera/Audio Gear

Misc

On The Air

This activation was nothing short of amazing.

I began in SSB mode, using only the default mic settings. Despite operating at just 5 watts, I logged 21 hunters in 17 minutes—woo-hoo! While most signal reports were low, no one mentioned issues with my audio. I suspect results will improve once I fine-tune the mic gain settings. Continue reading Xiegu G106: From Unboxing to Your First POTA Activation (Beginner-Friendly Video!) →

Field Reports, How To, Morse Code, News, Portable, POTA, QRP, SSB

Parks On The Air 101: Some real-time, real-life videos of a typical POTA activation using the Icom IC-705

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On Monday (October 19, 2020) I received an inquiry from Dale (KI5ARH) only an hour or so before packing up my radio gear to activate Lake Norman State Park (K-2740).

Dale is interested in using his recently acquired Icom IC-705 to get involved with Parks On The Air (POTA) and play radio in the field.

What’s in my field kit

Dale was curious about all of the components of the field kit I use with the IC-705, so I made this video:

Equipment links:

Since I had already set up my phone to record the video above, I decided to make a couple more.

I thought there might be some value in making real-time videos showing what it’s like operating CW and SSB during a POTA activation.  The videos have no edits and haven’t been trimmed.  It’s as if the viewer were there at the activation sitting next to me at the picnic table.

Operating CW with the IC-705

After setting up my station, I first started on the 40M band in CW. I meant to start the camera rolling during tune-up, but forgot to hit record. The video begins after I’d made a few CW contacts, but shows what it’s like changing bands and relying on the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) to pick me up then the POTA website to auto spot me.

Note: to be automatically spotted by the RBN, you must schedule your activation via the POTA website in advance, or have been already spotted by yourself or someone else, so the system will know to look for you.

My video cut off abruptly due to a low battery message. I had to give my iPhone a quick power charge to make the next video.

Operating SSB with the IC-705

After operating CW for a while, I plugged in the hand mic that ships with the IC-705 for a little SSB action. My main goal with this video was to show how I call CQ and use the voice keyer memories in order to manage the field “work flow” process.  I also speak to how important it is to either self-spot or have a friend spot you to the POTA network while operating phone.

I spent so much time setting up and running the camera, I wasn’t actually on the air for very long, but I easily managed to achieve a valid activation and had a lot of fun in the process.

I’m not a pro “YouTuber” as I say in one of my videos. I much prefer blogging my experiences rather than “vlogging,” I suppose.

Still, I think I’ll do a few more “real-time” videos of POTA activations and speak to the various techniques I use to activate parks. Since these videos aren’t edited for time, they may not appeal to the seasoned POTA activator or QRPer–that’s okay, though. My goal is primarily to assist first-time POTA activators.

Have you been activating Parks or Summits lately?  Do you have any advice or suggestions I failed to mention? Or do you have suggestions for future topics? Please comment!