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 →

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 →

If you’ve followed my field reports in the past couple of years, you’ll know that I predominantly use Rite In The Rain notepads and mechanical pencils. When I first started my POTA journey in 2019, I would print out log sheets for each activation just like I did during the National Parks On The Air … Continue reading The Write Stuff: My pencil/paper weatherproof logging combo! →

Many thanks to Christian (IX1CKN) who shares the following field report: Friedrichshafen: POTA Across Borders by Christian (IX1CKN) The Friedricshafen fair is one of the most interesting events for its social aspects, where you can finally put a face to colleagues whose voices you’ve only ever heard. Among the various OM (radio amateurs) I met this year … Continue reading Friedrichshafen: Christian and Andrea’s Multi-Country POTA Rove →

When our family needs a change of scenery without a long drive, Mount Mitchell State Park is our go-to destination. I’ve mentioned before that it’s my “happy place” here in North Carolina. Mount Mitchell is only about 6 miles from our home as the crow flies, but it takes about 50 minutes to drive there, … Continue reading Tabletop QRP POTA: A Father’s Day Getaway to Mount Mitchell State Park →

by Matt (W6CSN) Bletchley Park Most readers of this blog are probably familiar with Bletchley Park and the significance of this place in breaking the codes used by the axis military forces during the second world war. The electromechanical systems developed and used here to aid the codebreakers in their daily work led directly to the electronic digital computers … Continue reading UK POTA Rain and Shine →

On Tuesday, June 11, 2024, I took my production run Xiegu X6200 (on loan from Radioddity) to the Blue Ridge Parkway for its first POTA activation. The activation was a success, with good band conditions on 40 and 30 meters. You can read that field report by clicking here. Later that day, I had a … Continue reading Xiegu X6200: Second POTA activation with rough propagation, but CW saves the day! →

If you’re following the new Xiegu X6200 closely, you might recall that I took a prototype version of the radio out two weeks ago for a POTA activation. Propagation was so challenging–as in, a complete radio blackout in North America due to an X-Class flare–it took about 90 minutes of calling CQ POTA to snag … Continue reading The New Xiegu X6200: First POTA activation in CW with a production unit! →

You might recall that my friends Eric (WD8RIF), Miles (KD8KNC), Brian (K3ES), Kyle (AA0Z), Charlie (NJ7V), and Joshua (N5FY) all played hooky on the final day of the 2024 Hamvention (Sunday, May 19) and instead activated a couple of POTA sites. I wrote a short field report about our first activation at Pater State Wildlife … Continue reading From Hamvention to History: A POTA Excursion with friends through Indiana’s Past →

On the morning of Wednesday, May 15, 2024, I woke up, grabbed breakfast, and headed to Strouds Run State Park in Athens, Ohio. (You can read about that activation in my previous field report.) Once I returned to Eric’s (WD8RIF) QTH, Eric, his son Miles (KD8KNC), and I packed up the car for the drive … Continue reading Overcoming Band Conditions: A Challenging (But Rewarding) POTA Activation at Scioto Trail State Park! →

On Tuesday morning, May 14, 2024, I hopped in my car and headed north to Athens, Ohio. It was in Athens, back in 1997, that my ham radio journey truly began, and where I met my friends Eric (WD8RIF) and Mike (K8RAT). For over 14 years, Eric, his son Miles (KD8KNC), and I have made … Continue reading POTA Activation at Strouds Run State Park: A Rainy Morning and Ham Radio Memories! →

On Saturday, May 4, 2024, I drove to the Hickory, NC area to visit my father, who had recently been released from the hospital and was starting rehab at a skilled nursing facility. I had a busy afternoon planned back home in the mountains, but I couldn’t resist squeezing in a quick POTA activation! Many … Continue reading Soggy POTA: Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and AX1 Amidst Flaky Propagation! →

I arrived back at the QTH late yesterday afternoon after an amazing week of travels. I’ve got (no kidding) more than 100 emails in the inbox that require attention, so if you’ve written to me recently, my apologies in advance for the late reply. I’m spending the next few days catching up with my family. … Continue reading Elecraft KH1 in Motion: Proper Pedestrian Mobile Activation in an Ohio State Nature Preserve →

In May 2022, my buddy Eric (WD8RIF), his son Miles (KD8KNC), and I opted to skip Hamvention that year and, instead, plan an extended weekend POTA campout in West Virginia. Although attending the 2022 Hamvention was a tempting idea, I had already committed to a two-month family camping trip to Québec, Canada, scheduled to begin … Continue reading From the Activation Archives: Pairing the Elecraft KX2 and MPAS 2.0 at Babcock State Park →

I’ve received a few messages from readers and subscribers about failed park activations over the past few days. It’s no surprise, really, since we’ve had several extended periods of HF radio blackouts with powerful solar flares and CMEs bombarding our planet. I experienced this firsthand on Sunday. We celebrated Mother’s Day with a picnic and … Continue reading It’s not you, it’s the bands! (Also, see you at Hamvention!) →

On Friday, April 26, 2024, I dropped in on a POTA site I hadn’t visited in months: South Mountains State Park (US-2753). The Clear Creek Access area–on the north west side of the park–is the quickest POTA detour for me as I travel from Asheville to Hickory along the I-40 corridor. In my previous field … Continue reading POTA at South Mountains: Wet Weather, Flaky Bands, but Brilliant Field Radio Fun! →