by Teri (KO4WFP) As my friend Jon KC1FUU says “Some days are diamonds, some are stone.” The third day (Tuesday, July 16) of my North Carolina trip definitely fell into the “stone” category. The day began nice enough with a slow but steady pace. As our next overnight stay was at Lake James State Park, … Continue reading The POTA Babe Strikes Out – Day 3 →

My buddy Jonathan (KM4CFT) made a big announcement this morning. He’s been working tirelessly since the start of the year, designing and testing a brand-new field-portable CW transceiver he’s dubbed the CFT1. As of this morning, you can purchase the transceiver kit on HamGadgets.com. A little backstory Jonathan first mentioned his plans to design a … Continue reading Introducing the New CFT1 Five Band Portable CW Transceiver Kit! →

Somedays, I just need a little POTA and radio-active therapy to energize the day. And this was one of those days. On Thursday, July 18, 2024, I woke up still feeling quite tired because I had been out the entire day before helping my sister with a move–my wife and I didn’t get back home … Continue reading Field Report: POTA Energy Boost at Tuttle Educational State Forest →

by Vince (VE6LK) All I wanna know is howcome our local star decides to throw in a monkey wrench when I go to activate? Huh? Huh? Monday August 5 was a statutory holiday for me and I decided to get out early at a popular picnic area in south Calgary and get some radio therapy. … Continue reading Fish Creek Provincial Park: My most frustrating activation to date →

by Teri (KO4WFP) Monday, July 15, after my “botched” SOTA activation of Black Balsam, the POTA Babe headed to Richland Balsam. Richland Balsam proved to be a nice hike and activation. The mountain is further up the parkway and the highest point on it. You access the trail to the summit via an overlook just … Continue reading The POTA Babe Becomes a SOTA Babe – Part 2 →

Many thanks to Rand (W7UDT) for sharing this short field report: Eiffel Tower QRP (Failed) “Activation” by Rand (W7UDT/FR) Earlier this Spring, my wife & I went on a ten day vacation to Paris. What a beautiful city, and a memorable time we had! Amongst our many excursions, was a visit to the Eiffel Tower. … Continue reading QRP Dreams in the City of Lights: Rand’s Eiffel Tower Beacon Attempt →

by Vince (VE6LK) On Sunday July 28 I needed some shortwave therapy. I headed west from Longview Alberta to find a location on Highway 541 where I could have the perfect convergence of having cell service and be within a POTA entity and near to the mountains. This would allow me to receive any updates … Continue reading A tale of two back to back activations →

by Teri (KO4WFP) Monday, July 15, the second day of my North Carolina camping trip for POTA and SOTA, started chilly with overcast skies. Today I would attempt my first SOTA activations. I chose two easy summits – Black Balsam Knob and Richland  Balsam. Daisy and I headed out after a simple breakfast up US … Continue reading The POTA Babe Becomes a SOTA Babe – Part 1 →

Many thanks to Anthony (M7TAW) who shares the following guest post: A first timer’s POTA activation at the Devil’s Punch Bowl! Anthony (M7TAW) Introduction Let me start with the confession that I am an amateur radio operator born out of the Covid lockdown. With the switch to remote examinations by the RSGB in 2020, and … Continue reading Code, Contacts, and a Stunning View: A POTA First-Timer’s Experience at the Devil’s Punch Bowl →

As mentioned in previous field reports, my wife and I spent the week of July 7th, 2024, in Wilmington, North Carolina, while our daughters were at summer programs at NCSU and UNCW. We had an amazing time and I managed to squeeze in some Parks on the Air (POTA) activations at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State … Continue reading A Radio-Active Day in the Triangle: POTA, Satellites, & Southern Hospitality in the Summer Heat →

by Teri (KO4WFP) Sunday, July 14 finally arrived, a day for which I prepared the past five weeks. It was time for Daisy and the POTA Babe to head to North Carolina for a week of POTA, SOTA, and camping. The drive was straight-forward and easy – Interstate 95 to Interstate 26. About four hours … Continue reading The POTA Babe Goes North – Day 1 →

My buddy, Jonathan (KM4CFT), is close to releasing a new CW Field Transceiver kit he designed for POTA, SOTA, and pretty much any other field radio activity. Today, he shared the following photo, which is a bit of a teaser: Those of you who attended Four Days in May this year may have already gotten … Continue reading KM4CFT Teases a New CW Field Radio! →

Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) for sharing the following video recorded during his multi-park rove with Andrea (IU1APL). The video was only recently published, but I’ve added it to Christian’s original field report. We’re highlighting it here for those who may otherwise miss it. (Note: Some of the video is in Italian, but YouTube closed … Continue reading Video: IX1CKN & IW0HK’s Friedrichshafen ’24 POTA Rove →

On Wednesday, July 10, 2024, my wife and I were in the middle of a week-long stay in Wilmington, North Carolina, while our daughters attended residential programs at NCSU and UNCW. That particular day, we couldn’t decide what to do because the weather was fickle! Temperatures and humidity were high, fueling a constant string of … Continue reading Beautiful POTA activation at Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson and Afternoon in Southport! →

Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: A Breathtaking “Support Your Parks” Weekend in IT-0120 by Christian (IX1CKN) …Day 1 The goal I had in mind was to take advantage of early morning greyline from a POTA reference, combining the appeal of an activating station with the propagation opportunities at that time of … Continue reading Christian Chases Greyline DX on Support Your Parks Weekend! →

Many thanks to Conrad (N2YCH) who shares the following field report: QRPppppp….WSPR By: Conrad Trautmann (N2YCH) WSPR, or Weak Signal Propagation Reporter, is a digital mode you can select within WSJT-X. You can use the data that’s generated by the WSPR network to check your own antenna’s performance for transmitting and receiving and also to see what … Continue reading Beyond the Beacon: Conrad Discovers the Unexpected Benefits of WSPR →

Tuesday, July 9, 2024, was a very radio-active day! I was in Wilmington, North Carolina, and that morning, I had the privilege of activating the Battleship North Carolina from inside the battleship. Click here to read the field report and watch the video. In short? It was amazing and certainly a fabulous way to start … Continue reading Carolina Beach State Park: A QRP Oasis Amidst the Summer Heat and Activities →

by Vince (VE6LK) Firstly, a huge shout-out and thank you to Thomas K4SWL for letting me hang out here on QRPer.com and exercise my creative writing chops, and to the community at QRPer.com for giving me such excellent feedback in my original article – both of which propelled me into this fun project. On January … Continue reading One CW Question series draws to a close after 6 months →

Many thanks to Karl (K5KHK) for sharing this guest post, which originally appeared on his blog, Karl Heinz Kremer’s Ramblings: A Digital Station in Your Pocket by Karl Heinz (K5KHK) How small can a complete station to work FT4/8 be? With the QRP-Labs QMX, we have a transceiver that certainly fits the bill for a … Continue reading Karl Heinz’s Pocket-Sized Digital HF Station →