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 Sam (WN5C) who shares the following guest post: Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure Sam (WN5C) I recently wrote about the homebrew transceiver I built to operate on a month-long trip through the American Southwest. Upon arriving back in Oklahoma here’s the final outcome: 27 days, 40 parks, and 669 QSOs. I … Continue reading WN5C: Notes from a homebrew POTA adventure→
Many thanks to Scott (VO1DR) who shares the following guest post: Coffee, Cobblestones and Contacts – Portable in Portugal by Scott Schillereff, (VO1DR), St. John’s, NL, Canada On a recent trip throughout Portugal (May 29 – June 12), I operated /P QRP CW at five locations, with varying success. Here are some details and pictures … Continue reading VO1DR Portable in Portugal: Coffee, Cobblestones and Contacts!→
By Jock Elliott, KB2GOM I had intended to travel light; I really did . . . but I betrayed my best intentions. Instead of a “minimal” radio go-bag, I had stuffed a small cross-body bag with: a ham radio handi-talkie (a Yaesu VX-6R) with high-performance antenna, extra batteries for the handi-talkie, a car plug-in adaptor […]
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→
Many thanks to Joe (N0LSD) who shares the following guest post: Independence River Wilderness – Adirondacks, NY by Joe (N0LSD) A recent family engagement offered me the perfect opportunity to travel to a part of my state I rarely get the chance to visit. This trip would be a single over-nighter, but allow for the … Continue reading Joe’s Adirondack Adventure: POTA activations in the Independence River Wilderness→
Many thanks to Drew (W8MHV) who shares the following guest post: QRP in Thailand by Drew (W8MHV) I travel to Southeast Asia each year and usually have a few weeks in Thailand, but this year we planned on a longer stay. My XYL (N8MHV) has family in Thailand and we own a condo in downtown … Continue reading QRP in Thailand: Drew’s Journey to Get Licensed and On the Air→
Many thanks to Sam (WN5C) for sharing the following guest post: Homebrew in the Field by Sam (WN5C) What a week it’s been! I have the opportunity to spend a month traveling through and camping in the American Southwest (specifically, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado) doing archaeological work. And of course, that means the prospect … Continue reading Sam’s Thunderbird Mk 1 Takes Flight: A Homebrew Radio Field Report from the American Southwest→
by Teri (KO4WFP) It is said that all good things must come to an end and a POTA trip is no exception. Packing up camp at Reed Bingham State Park the morning of June 3rd was an easy endeavor. Daisy and I were soon headed toward Savannah with a POTA planned along the way at … Continue reading The POTA Babe Reaches the Halfway Mark!→
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→
After a valid activation and exploration of Bullard Creek Wildlife Management Area, Daisy and I headed to Reed Bingham State Park (US-2195), roughly a two hour drive. Along the way, we passed a huge lumber mill and drove through the communities of Douglas, Nashville, and Willacoochee. Reed Bingham State Park, located in southwest Georgia, is … Continue reading Overnight at Reed Bingham State Park for the POTA Babe→
by Teri (KO4WFP) It is summer break and I’m getting stir crazy. Earlier this year, I scheduled an overnight trip to Reed Bingham State Park. However, given the chaos of my personal life, it was necessary to reschedule the trip. The earliest weekend available was Sunday, June 2nd. My son would be out of school … Continue reading The POTA Babe Embarks on an Overnighter→
The event was held on June 1st and finished on June 2nd. At the time of posting this there were 106 Museum Ships (including memorials) on the list. For more info on the event check out: https://www.nj2bb.org/museum/ .
In Kingston we were fortunate enough to have the SS Keewatin berthed at the Great Lakes Museumand so for this event it was a 45 min bus ride with all the radio gear I needed to participate.
Here is a couple of pics I took while at the museum.
The gear I used for operating from alongside the Keewatin was my POTA Station that consisted of my Yaesu FT891, Eco-Worthy 20ah LIPO 4 battery and a MFJ 33 foot telescopic mast to support the home brewed 63 Foot End Fed Half Wave (10m to 40m) antenna.
It looks rather small compared to the size of the Keewatin… Thanks to the Taxi Driver who moved into the pic so I could show the size of the ship easier. No I did not use the taxi… Kingston Transit bus #3 stops right at the front door of the Museum.
All my gear fit in my wife’s laundry cart… She may never get it back now…
I used some bungy cords to secure the mast (right of the pic) to a fence behind the tree cover. It suspended the EFHW in a “inverted Vee” configuration and worked well for me with no tuner needed.
I was able to operate for about 3 hours (or less) each day. The gear worked without a hitch but not so much the operator.
As the radio room in the Keewatin has not been updated yet, I was forced to operate from alongside (the above pic) so I was unable to leave the gear to use the facilities and so once nature called… it was time to pack up.
At the end of the event according to my logs I actually was contacted by 100 stations that were “Welcomed on Board the Keewatin”… of those 100 contacts 12 of them were other Museum Ship and their details follow.
(Pictures above the name of the ship)
Col James M Schoonmaker
USS Lafferty
USS Thresher Memorial
USS Massachusetts
Tall Ship Elissa
USS Nautilus
Claud W Somers
USS North Carolina
Watson Naval Museum
USS Salem
USS Cobia
This was a “spur of the moment” style of activation. I was going past the ship a week before and then found out the Museum Ships event was the next weekend. Although the Keewatin does have a valid Callsign without the radio room ship shape they were not in a position to activate.
I asked if I could do it and was given the green light to operate (using my own personal callsign) from where I did. (alongside but outside the fence)
As the Drydock is part of the Great Lakes Waterfront Trail (POTA CA-6003) some amateurs also got a new park in their logs.
Long story short… The activation was a success…. At least 100 amateurs now know of our ship and the Museum Ship community welcomed the Keewatin and its my hope that next year the ship itself will the on the air.
If we made the contact, thanks again. My logs for the two day event have been uploaded to EQSL, QRZ.com, the Museum Ships Group and will be uploaded to LoTW when they have fixed the security issue. I will also offer a copy of my logs to the Keewatin Radio Operators (see above link) for their records.
Many thanks to Michal (OK1SIM) who writes: I needed a map, so I programmed it! While planning one of the WWFF activities, I sighed that there was no map that suited me. So I started to program the map myself, even though I’m not a programmer, it’s not my job, I have some basics of … Continue reading Ham-Map: OK1SIM creates an interactive park and summit map!→
The 2024 Dayton Hamvention is in the books! This morning, I’m still at our hotel in Dayton, Ohio, but about to pack up and head out. Eric (WD8RIF), Miles (KD8KNC), and I are heading for a day at the Armstrong Aerospace Museum, then, hopefully, a POTA activation on the way back to Athens, Ohio, where … Continue reading Post-Hamvention Activation with Friends→
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→
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