2020-08-30, 12:08:57
Packed up the portable radio kit and drove up to Restoule Provincial Park (just south of North Bay) this week for three nights camping. I have always been keen on operating ham radio outdoors and I have been looking into the Parks On The Air (POTA) program for a while. This trip I was determined to attempt my first "activation" of a park. I prepared in advance by posting my planned activation to the POTA website (parksontheair.com). I needed to make 10 contacts within the same UTC day to achieve my goal.
On the first day of my scheduled activation I sent a CW message in the prescribed format:
CQ CQ POTA VA3KOT VA3KOT VE-0363 K
VE-0363 is the POTA designation for Restoule Provincial park.
The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) picked up my signal; POTA posted a "spot" on its spotting page and "hunters" looking for points in the program sought me out on the air.
Now, I am accustomed to struggling to make random contacts when I am operating outdoors. I am usually satisfied if I get a couple of contacts after a prolonged period of calling CQ. POTA is different - way different! Within seconds of calling CQ I had a pileup. It sounded like every CW op in the world calling me at once. Some of the callers were sending much faster than I could copy and others were sending as slow as 10 words per minute. My CW practice has enabled me to copy callsigns at 25-30wpm -I needed that skill for this activation. I was transmitting at 18wpm but I was so excited that my sending was somewhat QLF ("I am sending with my left foot"). 10 contacts were needed between 00:00 and 23:59 UTC. I made my 10 contacts in just 17 minutes and went on to make a total of 14 contacts over 30 minutes before calling QRT.
I am planning three more camping trips over the next couple of months and hope to activate Grundy Lake, Arrowhead and McGregor Provincial Parks. Man, this POTA thing is the best fun I have had in ham radio!
Here is my log for Restoule Provincial Park (VE-0363) activation on 27th August 2020:
Callsign | RST Sent | RST Received | QTH
NT2A 559 599 NY
N8II 559 579 WV
WA9LEY 559 559 IL
K1RO 579 579 NH
N4HD 599 599 VA
W4NA 599 449 WV
W8UA 559 599 OH
NE1D 559 599 MA
N2IGW 599 599 NY
AA8CL 599 449 OH
KD1CT 599 599 NH
WA3TVH 559 559 PA
NE4TN 559 559 TN
WB8CPG 559 449 OH
My portable rig: Yaesu FT-891 running 80 watts into a MFJ-1979 telescopic 17ft vertical with a homemade loading coil for 40m and two 33ft radials on the ground.
On the first day of my scheduled activation I sent a CW message in the prescribed format:
CQ CQ POTA VA3KOT VA3KOT VE-0363 K
VE-0363 is the POTA designation for Restoule Provincial park.
The Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) picked up my signal; POTA posted a "spot" on its spotting page and "hunters" looking for points in the program sought me out on the air.
Now, I am accustomed to struggling to make random contacts when I am operating outdoors. I am usually satisfied if I get a couple of contacts after a prolonged period of calling CQ. POTA is different - way different! Within seconds of calling CQ I had a pileup. It sounded like every CW op in the world calling me at once. Some of the callers were sending much faster than I could copy and others were sending as slow as 10 words per minute. My CW practice has enabled me to copy callsigns at 25-30wpm -I needed that skill for this activation. I was transmitting at 18wpm but I was so excited that my sending was somewhat QLF ("I am sending with my left foot"). 10 contacts were needed between 00:00 and 23:59 UTC. I made my 10 contacts in just 17 minutes and went on to make a total of 14 contacts over 30 minutes before calling QRT.
I am planning three more camping trips over the next couple of months and hope to activate Grundy Lake, Arrowhead and McGregor Provincial Parks. Man, this POTA thing is the best fun I have had in ham radio!
Here is my log for Restoule Provincial Park (VE-0363) activation on 27th August 2020:
Callsign | RST Sent | RST Received | QTH
NT2A 559 599 NY
N8II 559 579 WV
WA9LEY 559 559 IL
K1RO 579 579 NH
N4HD 599 599 VA
W4NA 599 449 WV
W8UA 559 599 OH
NE1D 559 599 MA
N2IGW 599 599 NY
AA8CL 599 449 OH
KD1CT 599 599 NH
WA3TVH 559 559 PA
NE4TN 559 559 TN
WB8CPG 559 449 OH
My portable rig: Yaesu FT-891 running 80 watts into a MFJ-1979 telescopic 17ft vertical with a homemade loading coil for 40m and two 33ft radials on the ground.