This event happens seasonally, on the 3rd full weekend of the month (Saturday & Sunday UTC). These are ‘activity weekends’ where the main purpose is to get out in the parks, and have as much fun as possible.
Winter – 3rd Full Weekend of January. January 18-19, 2025
Spring – 3rd Full Weekend of April. April 19-20, 2025
Summer – 3rd Full Weekend of July. July 19-20, 2025
Autumn – 3rd Full Weekend of October. October 19-20, 2024
Hope to get you in my Logs during the upcoming event….
This event happens seasonally, on the 3rd full weekend of the month (Saturday & Sunday UTC). These are ‘activity weekends’ where the main purpose is to get out in the parks, and have as much fun as possible.
Winter – 3rd Full Weekend of January. January 18-19, 2025
Spring – 3rd Full Weekend of April. April 19-20, 2025
Summer – 3rd Full Weekend of July. July 19-20, 2025
Autumn – 3rd Full Weekend of October. October 19-20, 2024
Hope to get you in my Logs during the upcoming event….
It was a great time being back in Ottawa, visiting with friends from my old neighborhood and also spoiling my Daughters two cats.
However on the “Radio side” of things …. not so good
The plans were that I would be able (weather permitting) continue to control my hour on the Trans Provincial Net while away. It seemed that “Mother Nature” had different ideas. Most days rain or the threat of rain kept me from heading over to the park.
Above pic showing where the park was and the route I took
As I mentioned in a previous post…. there was a local (non-POTA) park within walking distance to operate from. It was a local sports field and had some bleachers for when the crowds came for Junior Soccer/Football and or Rugby…
Below pic showing how I set up at the park
Although the operating position was excellent there was NO PROTECTION from the elements which in my case meant rain.
I was able to wrap my MFJ mast to one of the bleachers and stretch the end of the EFHW antenna to the other bleacher and it did work like a charm. Signal reports were great considering I was running 50w into the antenna
So for 1 out of a potential 5 operating days it was fun and dry. Walking home with the gear safely packed in the backpack “Mother Nature” paid a short visit.
I also managed to activate CA1515 and CA1516 using my Xiegu X5105 along with a 29 foot wire (supported by the same mast mentioned earlier) with a 9:1 unun, a 17 foot counterpoise with a choke on the radio end of the coax. Jose VA3PCJ was nice enough to offer me a ride there and back. I activated the parks using SSB and VA3PCJ activated the same parks using CW and his KX3.
For Jose’s version of the park activation click HERE
I am expecting to be returning to Ottawa in Mid-January 2025 for another visit with my GrandKits and like last years winter visit there will be a car to keep me warm and dry.
It was a great time being back in Ottawa, visiting with friends from my old neighborhood and also spoiling my Daughters two cats.
However on the “Radio side” of things …. not so good
The plans were that I would be able (weather permitting) continue to control my hour on the Trans Provincial Net while away. It seemed that “Mother Nature” had different ideas. Most days rain or the threat of rain kept me from heading over to the park.
Above pic showing where the park was and the route I took
As I mentioned in a previous post…. there was a local (non-POTA) park within walking distance to operate from. It was a local sports field and had some bleachers for when the crowds came for Junior Soccer/Football and or Rugby…
Below pic showing how I set up at the park
Although the operating position was excellent there was NO PROTECTION from the elements which in my case meant rain.
I was able to wrap my MFJ mast to one of the bleachers and stretch the end of the EFHW antenna to the other bleacher and it did work like a charm. Signal reports were great considering I was running 50w into the antenna
So for 1 out of a potential 5 operating days it was fun and dry. Walking home with the gear safely packed in the backpack “Mother Nature” paid a short visit.
I also managed to activate CA1515 and CA1516 using my Xiegu X5105 along with a 29 foot wire (supported by the same mast mentioned earlier) with a 9:1 unun, a 17 foot counterpoise with a choke on the radio end of the coax. Jose VA3PCJ was nice enough to offer me a ride there and back. I activated the parks using SSB and VA3PCJ activated the same parks using CW and his KX3.
For Jose’s version of the park activation click HERE
I am expecting to be returning to Ottawa in Mid-January 2025 for another visit with my GrandKits and like last years winter visit there will be a car to keep me warm and dry.
Its another gig sitting my “Grand Kittens” for my daughter as she and her hubby will be out of town from September 20th for a week. I guess I did a good job when they went to Cuba last January so I got invited back…I will be operating /p from Ottawa from September 21st to September 27th.
Most of my operating will be from September 23rd onwards.
As you can see from the above pic… they like having me around (one cat at least)
This time its a bit different because the car will be going with them to their rental cottage which is about 2 hours north of Ottawa.
However I plan to take both my Portable Station and my Transportable Station with me so I can activate some POTA locations with the Xiegu X5105 and also use my Yaesu FT 891 as I control the Trans Provincial Net for my 11am slot.
Before we go any further please remember that all my RF Plans you will see below are if the weather is good. I don’t like operating outside in the rain and neither do my radios….
The closest park to where they live is a City Park and not a POTA park.
The park has two sport fields and they have bleachers so it will be easy as I will have somewhere to sit along with strap my MFJ 33 foot mast to so the EFHW will have some altitude.
That will allow me to act as NCS with a 100w station with a full size antenna.
Once the net is over I will be packing up and heading back to the apartment for lunch. In the afternoons…. Once again if the weather is cooperating I plan to take the X5105 out to one or two of the local POTA Parks for a couple of hours. Check POTA Spots….
Due to the fact of not having access to a vehicle I will be heading out either on foot or public transport. After checking the POTA map it seems there are quite a few POTA sites that are fairly easy to access via the Bus and LRT service. However a few of the “Locals” have mentioned that they might pick me up and we could do an activation as a group so you never know.
They say that “getting there is half the fun” and this might be the case.
Stay tuned…
73bob
Yes its an old picture but the hobby has been fun since the 1990’s
Its another gig sitting my “Grand Kittens” for my daughter as she and her hubby will be out of town from September 20th for a week. I guess I did a good job when they went to Cuba last January so I got invited back…I will be operating /p from Ottawa from September 21st to September 27th.
Most of my operating will be from September 23rd onwards.
As you can see from the above pic… they like having me around (one cat at least)
This time its a bit different because the car will be going with them to their rental cottage which is about 2 hours north of Ottawa.
However I plan to take both my Portable Station and my Transportable Station with me so I can activate some POTA locations with the Xiegu X5105 and also use my Yaesu FT 891 as I control the Trans Provincial Net for my 11am slot.
Before we go any further please remember that all my RF Plans you will see below are if the weather is good. I don’t like operating outside in the rain and neither do my radios….
The closest park to where they live is a City Park and not a POTA park.
The park has two sport fields and they have bleachers so it will be easy as I will have somewhere to sit along with strap my MFJ 33 foot mast to so the EFHW will have some altitude.
That will allow me to act as NCS with a 100w station with a full size antenna.
Once the net is over I will be packing up and heading back to the apartment for lunch. In the afternoons…. Once again if the weather is cooperating I plan to take the X5105 out to one or two of the local POTA Parks for a couple of hours. Check POTA Spots….
Due to the fact of not having access to a vehicle I will be heading out either on foot or public transport. After checking the POTA map it seems there are quite a few POTA sites that are fairly easy to access via the Bus and LRT service. However a few of the “Locals” have mentioned that they might pick me up and we could do an activation as a group so you never know.
They say that “getting there is half the fun” and this might be the case.
Stay tuned…
73bob
Yes its an old picture but the hobby has been fun since the 1990’s
Life is great IF you can get everything happening when it should. Today was living of proof of having to improvise and adapt….
Liz (the patient one who tolerates/supports this hobby) had a follow up appointment at the Providence Care Health Facility here in Kingston for 1030 am… At 11am I was supposed to be the Net Control Station for the Trans Provincial Net on 7.100.
This is a conflict and I have to give priority to Liz…. But here was the solution and it worked…
I dropped her off at her appointment for 10:15 and then walked out the back door of the Health Facility and into POTA CA-6003 which is the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.
In the above graphic the Health Care Facility if the Grey building and the Trail is the thin green line right below it.
I had activated from there before and knew which trees would work with what picnic tables.
And yes I had brought my “Transportable Station” with me….
The FT891 was quickly hooked up to the 20AH battery and my “HomeBrewed” EFHW was strung between the trees… I managed to make a couple of POTA Contacts on 40m before the TPN started up at 11am. (thanks for the 2fer Bill) I managed to wrangle up 9 Checkins to the net which is not too bad as I took the summer off from my regular 11 am shift.
After the net ended I managed a couple of POTA contacts on 20m SSB which made it a successful POTA activation along with keeping up with my obligations to the Net. At 12:15 Liz sent me a text telling me she was finished and to meet her in the coffee shop in the facility. At 12:30 I met her in the coffee shop and we headed back home.
All in all it was a busy but fun start to the day…
Life is great IF you can get everything happening when it should. Today was living of proof of having to improvise and adapt….
Liz (the patient one who tolerates/supports this hobby) had a follow up appointment at the Providence Care Health Facility here in Kingston for 1030 am… At 11am I was supposed to be the Net Control Station for the Trans Provincial Net on 7.100.
This is a conflict and I have to give priority to Liz…. But here was the solution and it worked…
I dropped her off at her appointment for 10:15 and then walked out the back door of the Health Facility and into POTA CA-6003 which is the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail.
In the above graphic the Health Care Facility if the Grey building and the Trail is the thin green line right below it.
I had activated from there before and knew which trees would work with what picnic tables.
And yes I had brought my “Transportable Station” with me….
The FT891 was quickly hooked up to the 20AH battery and my “HomeBrewed” EFHW was strung between the trees… I managed to make a couple of POTA Contacts on 40m before the TPN started up at 11am. (thanks for the 2fer Bill) I managed to wrangle up 9 Checkins to the net which is not too bad as I took the summer off from my regular 11 am shift.
After the net ended I managed a couple of POTA contacts on 20m SSB which made it a successful POTA activation along with keeping up with my obligations to the Net. At 12:15 Liz sent me a text telling me she was finished and to meet her in the coffee shop in the facility. At 12:30 I met her in the coffee shop and we headed back home.
All in all it was a busy but fun start to the day…
Once again let me take you back in time where on June 1st and 2nd I had operated the SS Keewatin in the Museum Ships on the air event.
And if you look at the below PIC its quite clear that the Ship is in the dry dock
So now fast forward to today and I get notified that the Kingston Dry Dock is a National Historic Site and had been accepted as a Parks on the Air (POTA) location.
I quickly uploaded my logs for the Museum Event to POTA and now it seems that I was the first activation for the site (All Time New One)
Over the last few years I have hunted a few ATNO locations but in my feeble attempts of activating Parks this will most likely be my first (and only) activation of an ATNO….
So…. Thanks to all the hunters…..
73bob
And a big thanks to VE3FI for bringing it to my attention.
Once again let me take you back in time where on June 1st and 2nd I had operated the SS Keewatin in the Museum Ships on the air event.
And if you look at the below PIC its quite clear that the Ship is in the dry dock
So now fast forward to today and I get notified that the Kingston Dry Dock is a National Historic Site and had been accepted as a Parks on the Air (POTA) location.
I quickly uploaded my logs for the Museum Event to POTA and now it seems that I was the first activation for the site (All Time New One)
Over the last few years I have hunted a few ATNO locations but in my feeble attempts of activating Parks this will most likely be my first (and only) activation of an ATNO….
So…. Thanks to all the hunters…..
73bob
And a big thanks to VE3FI for bringing it to my attention.
Remember yesterday when I mentioned the latest addition to my POTA setup, the Xiegu 5105 QRP rig….
Well this morning I decided to test it out and see how much work I would have to do with setting the parameters such as mic gain, processor, to make it sound like me… I was also testing out my EARCHI 9:1 unun with a 29.5 foot random wire to see how it would play with the built in AT of the 5105.
I figured I might as well do the testing at a POTA location just in case I was able to turn the test into an activation.
For this I chose Fort Frontenac POTA CA-5303. Its fairly easy to get there via the Kingston Transit system and its also close to downtown and all the amenities I might need. In the North East corner of the picture you will notice some white lines on the ground.
They are actually the walls of what’s left of that part of the Fort. Also the only parts of the Historic Site that is open to the public.
I leaned my MFJ 33 foot mast (supporting the 9:1 and wire in the vertical configuration) up against the tree.
And then ran the COAX over to the remains of the wall and set up my radio there and started operating.
My first contact was on 7.255 with the NCS of the ECARS net. He did hear me and considering I was QRP I was pleased. He did tell me that my audio seemed hot as if I was overdriving things. Lowering my voice seemed to help.
After that I looked at POTA Spots and managed to get W2IDG and VE3FI into the log from their parks and then finished up with the NCS of the MidCars net on 7.258.. All contacts were made on 40m SSB. I tried 20 SSB and was hearing lots of stations including a POTA Activation in VO1 but no luck breaking any of the pileups.
Then I figured it was time to get home and try to re configure the radio to my liking… I turned off the Speech Processor and lowered the Mic Gain from 60 to 40. Over the next few days I will get out again and see what else I have to do to get things sounding right.
Remember yesterday when I mentioned the latest addition to my POTA setup, the Xiegu 5105 QRP rig….
Well this morning I decided to test it out and see how much work I would have to do with setting the parameters such as mic gain, processor, to make it sound like me… I was also testing out my EARCHI 9:1 unun with a 29.5 foot random wire to see how it would play with the built in AT of the 5105.
I figured I might as well do the testing at a POTA location just in case I was able to turn the test into an activation.
For this I chose Fort Frontenac POTA CA-5303. Its fairly easy to get there via the Kingston Transit system and its also close to downtown and all the amenities I might need. In the North East corner of the picture you will notice some white lines on the ground.
They are actually the walls of what’s left of that part of the Fort. Also the only parts of the Historic Site that is open to the public.
I leaned my MFJ 33 foot mast (supporting the 9:1 and wire in the vertical configuration) up against the tree.
And then ran the COAX over to the remains of the wall and set up my radio there and started operating.
My first contact was on 7.255 with the NCS of the ECARS net. He did hear me and considering I was QRP I was pleased. He did tell me that my audio seemed hot as if I was overdriving things. Lowering my voice seemed to help.
After that I looked at POTA Spots and managed to get W2IDG and VE3FI into the log from their parks and then finished up with the NCS of the MidCars net on 7.258.. All contacts were made on 40m SSB. I tried 20 SSB and was hearing lots of stations including a POTA Activation in VO1 but no luck breaking any of the pileups.
Then I figured it was time to get home and try to re configure the radio to my liking… I turned off the Speech Processor and lowered the Mic Gain from 60 to 40. Over the next few days I will get out again and see what else I have to do to get things sounding right.
People who know me have heard me say that after all these years there are 3 radios I have sold that I actually regret selling. Well now there are only 2 radios that I regret selling…
.
Welcome the Xiegu X5105 back into my portable shack…
.
Between my FT991a and my FT891 there was a bit of a gap. The Yeasu FT891 Portable Station was a bit too heavy for my old bones. I needed something in a lighter backpack to make it easier to carry if I was to choose to activate one of the local POTA Parks here in Kingston.
The above pic shows my old X5105 with the Bandspringer attached
The Xiegu X5105 fills that gap. With the built in battery pack, the built in automatic antenna tuner along with the contest keyer and the built in CW Decoder it makes it a dream portable station.
My antennas are a 40m EFHW made with 28ga wire and a QRP AMAZON 49:1 unun. I also can use a 29foot end fed random wire using a QRP EARCHI 9:1 unun.
I also have the SOTABeams Bandspringer antenna that plugs right into the antenna input and uses the built in tuner to operate between 10m and 60m.
So what’s the other two radios you might ask?
Above is my first QRP setup. FT817, LDG QRP Autotuner.
If I could work a deal for a Yaesu FT817 and a Flex 1500 it would complete the list. However used rigs are pricy and it seems most hams think that radios seem to appreciate with age so like I mentioned above it has to be a good deal for both the seller and myself.
People who know me have heard me say that after all these years there are 3 radios I have sold that I actually regret selling. Well now there are only 2 radios that I regret selling…
.
Welcome the Xiegu X5105 back into my portable shack…
.
Between my FT991a and my FT891 there was a bit of a gap. The Yeasu FT891 Portable Station was a bit too heavy for my old bones. I needed something in a lighter backpack to make it easier to carry if I was to choose to activate one of the local POTA Parks here in Kingston.
The above pic shows my old X5105 with the Bandspringer attached
The Xiegu X5105 fills that gap. With the built in battery pack, the built in automatic antenna tuner along with the contest keyer and the built in CW Decoder it makes it a dream portable station.
My antennas are a 40m EFHW made with 28ga wire and a QRP AMAZON 49:1 unun. I also can use a 29foot end fed random wire using a QRP EARCHI 9:1 unun.
I also have the SOTABeams Bandspringer antenna that plugs right into the antenna input and uses the built in tuner to operate between 10m and 60m.
So what’s the other two radios you might ask?
Above is my first QRP setup. FT817, LDG QRP Autotuner.
If I could work a deal for a Yaesu FT817 and a Flex 1500 it would complete the list. However used rigs are pricy and it seems most hams think that radios seem to appreciate with age so like I mentioned above it has to be a good deal for both the seller and myself.
There has been lots happening and no time to keep you in the loop and so here (once again) is the “Coles Notes” version.
The POTA Support your Parks event went better than I expected.
There were some family issues that kept me from taking my FT891 out into the local parks for activation.
However I did manage (as a hunter) to get 35 activators in my log with resulted in 6 new parks in my log as I slowly (very slowly) get towards the 3000 unique Parks in my log.
A bit of a “shucks” happened when a deal I had made for some new equipment for the shack fell through.
The other party (to his credit) cancelled the deal when he found out there was problem with the radio I was about to acquire from him.
It will need major repairs and most likely will not be finding its way into my shack.
And the final “downer” for the week happened yesterday. I entered a contest at our local FM broadcast radio station with the prize being a trip for 2 on a River Cruise along the St Lawrence River and last week they informed me that I won the trip for 2. Liz and I started to make plans
Yesterday I got given notice that the cruise had been cancelled and on the Radio Stations website I found this:
The radio stations, and its TV affiliate has laid off most/all of their on air staff as their Parent Company Corus Entertainment tries to restructure so they can stay afloat (no pun intended).
This is part an an email sent to me (the day after I got notified by the ticket agent that they had cancelled) by Corus which reads as follows”
“I want to thank you for supporting 96.3 BIG FM, and for purchasing tickets to the boat cruise. Due to recent staff changes, we don’t think it’s the appropriate time to be holding a party boat cruise and have decided to cancel the event.“
Liz was looking forward to the evening out and we will still go somewhere but our feet will stay dry. (a small pun intended here)
Thinking about an earlier “3 Hour Cruise” from the past…has me thinking that keeping dry might be a good thing .
There has been lots happening and no time to keep you in the loop and so here (once again) is the “Coles Notes” version.
The POTA Support your Parks event went better than I expected.
There were some family issues that kept me from taking my FT891 out into the local parks for activation.
However I did manage (as a hunter) to get 35 activators in my log with resulted in 6 new parks in my log as I slowly (very slowly) get towards the 3000 unique Parks in my log.
A bit of a “shucks” happened when a deal I had made for some new equipment for the shack fell through.
The other party (to his credit) cancelled the deal when he found out there was problem with the radio I was about to acquire from him.
It will need major repairs and most likely will not be finding its way into my shack.
And the final “downer” for the week happened yesterday. I entered a contest at our local FM broadcast radio station with the prize being a trip for 2 on a River Cruise along the St Lawrence River and last week they informed me that I won the trip for 2. Liz and I started to make plans
Yesterday I got given notice that the cruise had been cancelled and on the Radio Stations website I found this:
The radio stations, and its TV affiliate has laid off most/all of their on air staff as their Parent Company Corus Entertainment tries to restructure so they can stay afloat (no pun intended).
This is part an an email sent to me (the day after I got notified by the ticket agent that they had cancelled) by Corus which reads as follows”
“I want to thank you for supporting 96.3 BIG FM, and for purchasing tickets to the boat cruise. Due to recent staff changes, we don’t think it’s the appropriate time to be holding a party boat cruise and have decided to cancel the event.“
Liz was looking forward to the evening out and we will still go somewhere but our feet will stay dry. (a small pun intended here)
Thinking about an earlier “3 Hour Cruise” from the past…has me thinking that keeping dry might be a good thing .
This weekend is the Summer Support your Parks event. Basically get on the air and Hunt Activators from the comfort of your shack and/or Activate some parks and let the Hunters find you.
Below is a “Cut N Paste from the POTA Website
Support Your Parks
This event happens seasonally, on the 3rd full weekend of the month (Saturday & Sunday UTC). These are ‘activity weekends’ where the main purpose is to get out in the parks, and have as much fun as possible.
Winter – 3rd Full Weekend of January. January 18-19, 2025
Spring – 3rd Full Weekend of April. April 19-20, 2025
Summer – 3rd Full Weekend of July. July 20-21, 2024
Autumn – 3rd Full Weekend of October. October 19-20, 2024
For myself the plan (remember plans can change without notice) is to spend some time on Friday night as a hunter and then on Saturday as an activator spread some RF out in a couple of the local Kingston Parks.
The below map shows the local parks (Yellow Dot)
If the band conditions co operate I hope to hear you on the air and also get you in my log.
Well the RAC Canada Day Contest is over for another year.
As with all the RAC Contests I set certain goals for my self and for this one was no different.
The goals were as follows:
HAVE FUN- This is a must. I am a casual operator and not a “dyed in the wool” contester. The main thing is to have fun and keep it friendly… This was not an issue and I had a blast working across Canada.
TRY AND WORK CANADA COAST TO COAST TO COAST-
Well almost… I had contacts in:VE1, VE2, VE3, VE4, VE5, VE6, VE7, VE8, VE9 and VO1. East Coast to the West Coast and the North West Territory.
Unfortunately this time VO2,VY0, VY1 and VY2 escaped me.
HAVE A SCORE IN THE TOP 50% OF MY CATAGORY. Needless to say that this time its not going to happen. I made contacts on 15m, 20m and 40m and they were good contacts…. I just needed more of them.
After about 9 hours of radio stretching it out over a 24 hour period it was all over. One of the lowest scores I will not be submitting but it was still fun.
Onwards and upwards so…. Happy 4th of July to my American Friends…. I’ve already gotten 7 of the 13 Colonies station in the log and I started chasing them today.
For those of you not certain where Uxbridge Ontario is…. Look up for a map.
From the info given on the Global TV site (see above link) I am led to believe that this will be a “Day Use” Park but it will be a “Provincial Park” which means that when the work is complete and the park is opened to the public it will qualify as a POTA entity once it gets assigned a POTA Number.
Looking forward to getting another new park in my log
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