A Little About POTA
So many of us are in to POTA these days that I don't have to explain what it is anymore, and every Pota op I ask has an interesting story about how they got involved in Parks on the Air. My story is that I was sort of forced in to it as I owned in 2018 an antenna-restricted condo in Florida as a second home. If I wanted to operate anywhere, it had to be outdoors. I bought an FT-891 as a portable HF rig and a Par EndFedz, and headed to a nearby State Park one Sunday in early March. I called CQ Pota for years that day, the first Sunday of March, and got no takers, but heard lots of DX. Finally realizing this was the ARRL International DX Voice contest weekend, I gave up calling CQ and joined the fray to get my 10+ contacts to create a valid activation.
A few weeks later, on a non-contest week day I went to another nearby State Park and successfully called CQ Pota; in fact, it was so successful that I got a pileup going - something I had never experienced before, and boy was that exhilarating.
Being in Florida in the Winter, I expanded my horizons and activated some Beaches on the Air and some Islands on the Air, often as a double-play with Pota.
Since I enjoy the outdoors a lot, I've kept it up as a Pota activator, as well as hunter, and conducted some Sota activations as well. Next, there is an island in a State Park here in Georgia that has not been activated as a US Island on the Air so that's my next planned Pota outing.
This photo was taken in March 2025 at Cumberland Island, GA, US-0663, operating CW QRP.
A few weeks later, on a non-contest week day I went to another nearby State Park and successfully called CQ Pota; in fact, it was so successful that I got a pileup going - something I had never experienced before, and boy was that exhilarating.
Being in Florida in the Winter, I expanded my horizons and activated some Beaches on the Air and some Islands on the Air, often as a double-play with Pota.
Since I enjoy the outdoors a lot, I've kept it up as a Pota activator, as well as hunter, and conducted some Sota activations as well. Next, there is an island in a State Park here in Georgia that has not been activated as a US Island on the Air so that's my next planned Pota outing.
This photo was taken in March 2025 at Cumberland Island, GA, US-0663, operating CW QRP.
Hart SP, US-3727, at sunset, March 2025
