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| 4,187 files in 53 albums and 10 categories with 0 comments viewed 2,476,909 times |
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718 viewsPOTA - 20221103 - Crockford-Pigeon Mtn. WMA K-3742 today from the Estelle Trailhead field. Today Tony WA4TW with help from David KO4YQD made 37 contacts on 20 meters SSB with 19 P2P and 1 DX contact. Ed KM6UTC had 28 contacts on 40 meters digital with 1 DX. Allen KN4FKS just helped Tony chase parks. John KB4QXI overslept and was late arriving and was having vehicle electrical issues. While we were there Jeff N2YYP rode up on his horse and with two fellow riders and visited with us for a while.
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358 viewsWe activated Cloudland Canyon State Park US-2169 at the Ascalon Trailhead this Thursday Oct. 30 2025. The space weather was great and the bands were open. However the terrestrial weather was less than ideal. It was occasionally drizzily, foggy windy and cold. That damp cold that chills your bones.
Danny AG4DW set up in his truck out of the weather but Allen KN4FKS did not have enough sense to come in out of the cold. He set up under the picnic shed. Not smart. David KQ4GLQ was on call for work so he set up at the Nickajack Trailhead.
Danny had a total of 126 QSO's, with 79 SSB contacts on 20 meters, 18 SSB on 40 meters and 29 FT8 on 15 meters. He had 11 DX contacts, Canada (4) Germany (3) Spain (2) Bulgaria and France. David had 112 QSO's with 9 Park to Park contacts. He had 52 SSB contacts on 20 meters, 45 FT8 on 20 meters and 15 FT8 on 17 meters.
Allen had 49 QSO's with 28 Park to Park contacts all on 20 meters SSB. Trying 15 meters SSB, he called CQ for 15 minutes and got one QSO DX to Poland a solid 5-9 both ways.
Getting colder by the minute, the fun had run out so Allen pulled the plug early and escaped to a warm car on the drive home finally getting some semblance of warm. More clothes next time or set up in the car, lesson learned.
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60 viewsOn Thursday April 30 we activated the Otting Wildlife Management Area US-7913 which is way south on top of Lookout Mountain almost in Alabama. The terrestrial weather was a bit chilly especially early and the space weather had a 'small craft warning' in effect. The bands were "wonky" to say the least. We had 3 operators, two ham visitors and two interested hikers visiting the area.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire sloper hooked to the 100 watt Icom 7300. Working SSB on 20 meters he made 44 contacts with 13 Park to Park contacts with 3 DX contacts to Canada. John KB4QXI actually got there on time and set up his mag mount Hamstick on 40 meters to his 100 watt Yaesu Ft-891. He made 14 contacts with 4 P2P contacts and no DX.
I'll let Danny AG4DW describe his activations this week:
Otting WMA - 46 total contacts. 10 SSB and 36 FT8. Started out on 40 meters and got a quick 10 SSB contacts before the bottom fell out. Switched to FT8 and got another 10. Moved to 15 meters and got nothing on SSB but did get a lot of DX activity on FT8, another 18 contacts. Finally tried 17 meters and got another 8 FT8 contacts before calling it quits! 10 DX contacts included Brazil, Canada (3), Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Netherlands and Spain. Only 2 park-to-park contacts today.
Earlier in the week, Monday, I activated Cloudland Canyon State Park (US-2169) as it was time to renew my annual Senior ParkPass! I set up at the picnic shelter at the top of the hill, at the Disc Golf Course, and made a total of 82 contacts, 17 SSB and 65 FT8 on 20 meters.The bands were tough and it took several hours to get those! 8 DX included Canada (6), Spain and Cuba. 14 of the total contacts were park-to-park.
On Wednesday I was restless and decided to activate Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Battlefield (US-0716) from the recreation field on Glen Kelly road behind Wilder Tower. The bands were still not very cooperative but I did manage a total of 89 contacts: 56 SSB and 33 FT8, all on 20 meters. 5 DX included Canada (4) and the Azores Islands. 20 of the total contacts were park-to-park. In a first for me, I did have someone call the Park Rangers on me to report “suspicious” activity. The ranger pulled into the parking lot, walked over to my picnic table and said, “Parks on the Air, right?”. We had a good visit and he shared some good stories about well-meaning folks reporting suspicious activities in the park!
During my activation on Monday, I had an FT8 contact with KG4KTB, Perry Westberry, from McDonough, GA. Perry was visiting and staying with relatives near Mentone, AL, so this was a strong ground-wave call! Perry’s battery died just as we were completing the QSO so he contacted me via email afterwards to confirm the contact. He asked about parks to activate in this area so I invited him to join is at Otting WMA and he stopped by and visited with us for a couple hours!
Also visiting at Otting was K4WWE, Jim Sherrill, from Chickamauga! Turns out that he is practically my next door neighbor! Jim has had his ticket for a little over a year and has been checking in to some of the TSARC nets lately. Jim was wanting to learn more about POTA so we bombarded him with information and tips on equipment and park etiquette and much more. Jim said he felt like he was drinking from a fire hose today! Welcome aboard, Jim. We forgot to tell you that POTA is highly addictive!
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474 viewsIn case you have been under a rock for some time this weekend was the ARRL Field Day event. Several of us with the TSARC set up at the Cedar Grove Community Center in SW Walker County. The community center is a great location for field day with one exception. It has air conditioning a big plus, a full kitchen, lots of space to set up, a basket ball court sized big central room And did I mention air conditioning!. The one problem with the location in the valley is that it is surrounded on three sides by nearby Lookout mountain and Pigeon Mountain. So getting a signal out of this hole is difficult but doable.
We got off and running Saturday afternoon and as usual a big thunderstorm rolled in over the mountain. Quickly we disconnected antennas and watched the rain blow sideways first one direction then the other. Ed KM6UTC has his vertical antenna support tripod blow down but luckily it was not damaged. Then late Sunday morning here came another big storm so we called it quits and hurriedly got all the antennas down and everything packed away just before the storm hit once more. The timing was excellent as we had just run out of cookies to munch on. A crisis was at hand.
Field day is POTA done large and all of us have gotten lots of practice operating portable. But field day is not POTA as there were no peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
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0 viewsThis Thursday July 23 we activated the Otting WMA US-7913. The weather cooperated and was not too hot and the bands were rather active and low noise.
John KB4QXI made 14 Park to Park SSB contacts on 20 meters using his end fed half wave wire rigged as a sloper.
Danny AG4DW used his elevated radial pota performer 17 ft. vertical antenna to make 57 total contacts. He had 55 FT8 and 9 SSB contacts on 40, 80, 17,and 12 meter bands, with dx to Brazil and Canada.
Ed KM6UTC set up his backseat shack and used his ATAS 120 A antenna to make 79 total FT8 contacts. He worked 40, 30, 17, 15 and 6 meter bands and had 13 contacts on 6 meters (and the 6m band was supposed to be dead) He had DX to Canada, Brazil, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
Allen KN4FKS had 65 total SSB QSO's with 26 P2P contacts and DX to Canada (5) Puerto Rico, and the Cayman Islands. He used his 17 ft vertical with the faraday cloth radials
In other POTA news Ed got his POTA KILO award for making 1000 activator contacts from the Trail of Tears US-3791. Way to go Ed ! Danny AG4DW on his third try actually found the Dekalb County State Public Fishing Area US 13340 open for visitors. He made 32 contacts all SSB on 20 meters with 25 P2P. One P2P contact had two operators and was a "five fer" site as well He also had DX to France and Canada.
Just as a side note would you know what to do if on the way to a POTA activation site you came across an elderly man laying in the grass on the side of the road? Just such a similar thing occurred Tuesday evening. The Walker County Cave Cliff team was gathering for a training session on the South Brow Road on top of Pigeon Mountain. The first team member headed down the road came across the man in the grass. Stopping she rendered aid to him and was quickly joined by other team members, The 81 year old man had been reported missing Sunday evening in Lafayette. He had left home in a white Honda sedan. It was not anywhere near him. I quick call to Walker 911 got an officer to come and take him home. The elderly man advised his vehicle was stuck on a road somewhere. He did not know where. He was taken home and the family was glad to have him back. The vehicle was located by an equestrian group on a trail deep in the woods the next day. He had driven the sedan over a berm adjacent to the gate where we often set for POTA on South brow road. The DNR folks were able to get the vehicle out of the woods successfully. Would you have water, electrolyte drink with you to give someone in need? Would you know how to describe to the 911 dispatcher where you actually were located? The nearest address in their computer system was over 5 miles away. Could you decide whether an ambulance was needed? What if you had no cell service to call 911. Could you relay the needed information via Ham radio to the dispatcher? What if you were the Ham sitting at home and heard the emergency traffic call on the local repeater. Would you know who to call and what information is needed?
Stay safe POTA friends, remember look up before you set up. Hazards come in many shapes and sizes. Jul 27, 2026
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0 viewsWe activated Johns Mountain WMA US-3758 from the Overlook site Thursday July 16 2026. The road up the mountain is getting rougher every day so it is a bouncy ride.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire as a sloper and made 106 contacts on 20 meters SSB. He had 22 Park to Park contacts and no DX.
Ed KM6UTC used his mobile rig with the back seat ham shack set up to make 102 FT8 contacts. He had 9 contacts on 6 meters and the rest on 15,20 and 40 meters.
The Johns Mountain site is also a 'two-fer' as it is also Chattahoochee National Forest US-4473. In spite of the bad road we had some visitors, a couple interested in Ham radio for his drone hobby arrived in a Honda sedan and a family showed up in their mini-van. We also had a couple of hikers pass through.
On Friday July 17 Allen KN4FKS decided to travel a bit further out and activate two parks over near Ellijay. First stop was Rich Mountain Cartecay Tract WMA US-12417 from the archery range parking lot where he made 14 quick Park to Park contacts on 20 meters then packed up to head to the second site. About two miles away there is an access point on Owl Town Road for the Rich Mountain WMA US-7452. With storm clouds building Allen made 27 contacts on 20 meters SSB with 9 P2P contacts and no DX. As the thunder started to rumble he got packed up and headed out for home. Two quick new activations in the log.
I know other folks were also active this week so feel free to post to the group about what you did as well. Jul 21, 2026
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