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 →

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 →

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 →

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! →

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 →

Those of you who know me know that I’m a huge World War II history buff. Ever since I was a child, I’ve been fascinated by the stories of bravery, sacrifice, and technological innovation that defined this era. That’s why the activation I performed on Tuesday, July 9, 2024, was very special. I activated the … Continue reading Sweat, Signals, and History: A POTA Activation from the Battleship North Carolina’s Radio Room! →

As I write this report, I’m on the road with my family–we’ve been spending the week on the coast of North Carolina and are now (at time of publishing) in Raleigh. I’ll keep this field report short and sweet so I can publish it quickly and also fit in an activation before record temps heat … Continue reading Morning POTA with KM4CFT: Back-to-Back activations with the venerable Yaesu FT-818! →

by Teri (KO4WFP) After a five week break from POTA, it was time to get back in the game! I leave for my North Carolina camping/POTA trip Sunday, July 14th and frankly miss being out on an activation. To remedy that situation, Monday, July 8th, I headed to Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area (WMA), POTA park … Continue reading Back in the Game for the POTA Babe →

Yesterday, I met up with Jonathan (KM4CFT) who happens to be in town visiting family over the holiday weekend. Before our POTA activation, he mentioned that he is now selling a 3D-printed paddle kit for $34.95 on eBay: https://ebay.us/GhLOYz (note: this is an eBay partnership link) Jonathan told me that he’s using the kit as … Continue reading New 3D-Printed Paddle Kit from KM4CFT →

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 →

Many thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video: SOTA CW Activation on High Willhayes Dartmoor by Lee (M0VKR) It was an overcast and breezy morning when wife Joanne and myself Lee, M0VKR set out on our latest SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation adventure. Our destination was High Willhays, the … Continue reading QRP SOTA: Lee pairs the KH1 and MPAS 2.0 to activate High Willhayes (G/DC-001) →

by Vince (VE6LK) Field Day 2024 started out with the best of plans to be spent with the best of friends and ended up totally different – and, unexpectedly, I had a hoot! With my carefully made plan behind me, my new last-minute plan was to run solo for Field Day in the backcountry of … Continue reading Experimenting during Field Day 2024 →

On Thursday, June 6, 2024, I had two missions: To help fellow volunteers at the Asheville Radio Museum assemble shelving. To fit in a POTA activation over lunch. I started out the day pretty early at the QTH sorting out a few chores, then I made my way to the museum around 9:30. The Asheville … Continue reading On a POTA Mission with the RGO One! →

Many thanks to Lee (M0VKR) who shares the following field report and video: Activating Lewesdon Hill with the Elecraft KH1 by Lee (M0VKR) After taking a day off from work my wife Joanne and I pondered about what we could do. “Shall we go over to Dorset to that hill you have spoken about and … Continue reading M0VKR’s Lewesdon Hill SOTA activation with the Elecraft KH1 →

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 18, 2024, I needed to make a morning trip to Hickory, NC, to take care of some family business and visit my father. I started my day early because I also wanted to be back in the Asheville area by noon. Some quick calculations over morning coffee and I decided I had … Continue reading Xiegu X6200 SSB Field Test: A Morning POTA Activation at Lake James →