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 Random files - Parks on the Air |
647 viewsWe activated Johns Mountain WMA US-3758 this Thursday from the overlook site on top of the mountain. The breeze kept up so the day didn't get too hot. Allen KN4FKS had 61 SSB contacts on 20 meters, 14 P2P and 6 DX with one P2P to the Dominican Republic and 5 Canadian stations. Ed KM6UTC had 58 digital FT8 contacts with 9 DX contacts and three contacts in a row to Indonesia. John KB4QXI had 11 contacts with 1 P2P. Danny had 16 contacts on 2 meters, 70 cm, 20 Meters and 15 meters. He had a DX SSB contact with Saint Petersburg Russia.
As usual at the overlook we had several visitors. First was the US Forest Service radio service technician checking on their repeater site 100 yards from the parking lot. They had erected a chain link fence around the tower and repeater house to hopefully slow down the copper thieves who steal the grounding wires from the tower legs and the radio equipment. Sad but true. We also had a Pinhoti Trail long distance hiker stop by and we helped him resupply his water bottles. ( He's in the background of one of the photos.) As we were getting ready to leave and elderly gentleman drove up and he was actually a HAM operator from the Villanow area. I didn't get his call sign but we had a nice chat.
Then even the drive home was eventful. Danny's truck kept overheating and he had to stop and cool down several times to limp home. Probably a water pump issue. Allen got within a mile of home and Winston just sputtered and quit running. It wasn't the heat it simply is not getting spark for some reason. Karen came and towed Winston home. Sort that out later when it cools off a bit. I hope Ed and John made it home without incident there seems to be a trend starting here. I hope not.
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492 viewsPOTA - 20021027 - What a great activation! Ham radio, picnic, friends, and sunset, nothing better.
Allen KN4FKS was on 17 meters SSB and had 36 contacts with 4P2P, and 4DX. John KB4QXI had quite a run on 40 meters with 102 contacts and 8 P2P. He was still busy when he went QRT for supper. Peter KX4BE was on 20 meters CW and had 68 contacts, 4 P2P, and 3 DX. Karen KX4KM had 31 contacts on 20 meter SSB with 8 P2P. Ed KM6UTC worked digital QRP on 30 meters and had 19 contacts with 1 P2P and 1 DX
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545 viewsMade it ! Reached a POTA milestone for Cloudland Canyon State Park K-2169 Thursday. The 'KILO' award is for making one thousand contacts from a specific park. (see attached photo)
The space weather cooperated for an exceptional day and the terrestrial weather cooperated as well by not being to hot in our shady location at the Ascalon Trailhead.
In addition to our radio gear we had two 12 volt fans running off battery power. Allen KN4FKS started off on 20 meters with Danny AG4DW logging.. Fred KQ4JXX provided adult supervision for the crew. Allen KN4FKS made a total of 107 contacts with 12 P2P and 13 Canadian contacts. After lunch Danny AG4DW got on 20 and made a quick 14 contacts before it just was getting too warm to be fun. Even on top of the mountain and in the shade it was 90 degrees F.
The rig we used was my trusty old ICOM 706 Mk IIG at 100 watts with 50 ft of RG-8-X coax feeding and end fed half wave rigged as a sloper with the balun on the ground stake. To make 107 contacts the battery meter showed only 6.5 amp hours of the 20 Ahr battery used. Fun day was had by all even after getting wasp stung.
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506 viewsPOTA - Pigeon Mountain - 4-24-2021
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623 viewsThis Thursday Nov. 21 we activated J. 'Sloppy' Floyd State Park US-2187. It was a bit chilly and at times very windy, One gust blew over Dave's antenna tripod and nearly tipped over my table. In spite of the weather we had a fun day.
John KB4QXI was the only smart one as he activated from inside his car .He made 46 contacts on 20 meters SSB with 17 Park to Park contacts in that total. The rest of us sat out in the wind. The sun was bright and the bands were good. Dave KQ4GLQ made 11 contacts on 10 meters SSB using his tripod vertical. Allen KN4FKS used his end fed wire to make 39 SSB contacts on several bands with 4 P2P contacts one to a park in Barbados. He had thirty contacts on 20 meters, six contacts on 17 meters, two on 12 meters and one on 6 meters. DX contacts were in Italy, Barbados and Canada. Danny AG4DW had 26 total contacts with 5 P2P contacts. Two SSB contacts on 6 meters, and 23 on FT8 on 15 meters. He had 7 DX contacts in Alaska, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Spain and Germany. By making his two contacts on 6 meters Danny qualified for the POTA "Activator N1CC" ten band activation award. He is the first of the crew to accomplish this award. Congratulations.
Dan K2DTS stayed closer to home and activated Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 where he made 15 contacts, 14 on 20 meters and 1 on 2 meters. He used a homebrew tripod vertical with elevated radials This antenna set up shows great promise in really projecting a signal well.
This coming week Thursday is Thanksgiving so we'll not schedule a planned POTA activation. However there are lots of parks and everyone can slip away sometime this week and get in an activation.
A famous Thanksgiving activation is shown in the video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UOoXJhXzlw Enjoy!
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472 viewsIt's been a busy week. This Thursday June 12 we gathered at Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 over on the west side of the park at the 'recreation field' parking lot.
Danny AG4DW set up on the west end at the picnic tables. Jody W4LWC assisted him with logging duties. Danny made 91 total contacts. 74 SSB contacts and 7 FT8 contacts on 20 meters, then went to 15 meters FT8 and made 10 more including one DX to Spain. Allen KN4FKS set up on the east end of the parking lot under the shade trees. He had 29 SSB contacts, 26 on 40 meters and 3 on 20 meters with a total of 9 Park to Park contacts. Max N4NWD completed his first activation the hard way. He used his ICOM-705 QRP rig and was using 5 watts. He made 1 SSB contact on 40 meters and 9 on 20 meters for a successful POTA activation. Welcome to the 'dark side' Max. POTA has now claimed a new believer. John KB4QXI set up around the corner at the Wilder tower parking lot to avoid the heavy RF with us. He ran SSB on 20 meters for ?? contacts. We even got a Park to Park with him.
Dan K2DTS came by and we fixed his 'leak' He moved over across the park to activate for a bit before leaving to have lunch with his wife. He had ?? contacts on the day. Ed KM6UTC set up on the Battlefield as well but he was at the Cravens House site. He had 70 total FT8 contacts 6 DX contacts to the East. The the magic band opened up and he had 4 contacts on 6 meters.
Three of us were able to make a special POTA Park to Park contact today. Dom NC4XL was activating and passed the 200,000 POTA contacts milestone. He started this personal quest in April of 2021 and in 836 activations is now passing the 200K contact mark. An amazing ride and an amazing old man. You can see his YouTube video here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZurxQY6oQvs (just for contrast I started POTA a year before Dom and I have 247 activations with 12,471 contacts)
Earlier in the week several folks were POTA active as well. Allen KN4FKS activated Cloudland Canyon SP US-2169 from the Ascalon Trail Head site on Saturday June 7. He made 50 SSB contacts with 26 Park to Park contacts. John KB4QXI was a bit further afield over near Helen GA where he activated Hartman Farm State Historic Park US-3718 on Friday June 6 and made 24 SSB contacts with 8 P2P contacts. Then on Saturday he activated Unicoi SP US-2204 with 11 SSB contacts with 6 P2P contacts.
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347 viewsWe activated the Chickamauga National Battlefield US-0716 this past Friday September 19 2025. One hundred and sixty two years ago the Indiana infantry and the Ohio artillery were in a bloody battle on the actual ground where we activate from. This was a special activation to remember that time in history. The site is at the junction of Brotherton Road and Alexanders Bridge road in the park, there is now a picnic area there. Quite a contrast from past times.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire and operated SSB on 20 meters. He made 62 contacts with 33 Park to Park contacts. No DX contacts were made. His transmit power was at 100 watts and the battery use for the day was 7 amp hours.
Alan W4PLP came by and operated as a second operator with Allen for a while. He made 12 SSB contacts for an activation. The two Allen/Alan combo worked well.
Danny AG4DW used his POTA Performer elevated vertical to make 50 contacts with 17 on 40 meters 32 on 15 meters and 1 on 2 meters. 15 meters was hot for DX with contacts into Spain(3), Russia(3), Germany(3), France(4), Belgium, Denmark, Honduras, Ukraine, Poland, and Italy.
David Saylors WK4DS set up his 17 ft vertical and with QRP power made 15 contacts on 17 meters 11 FT8 and 4 CW. Activating the hard way.
Dan K2DTS couldn't come on Friday so he activated the same site on Thursday with 35 Contacts, 25 SSB and 10 FT8. Danny and Fred activated the Battlefield from Signal Point on the Tennessee side on Wednesday.
Dave KQ4GLQ activated two parks in Louisiana on Wednesday. Make time for POTA after work for sure.
Come join us anytime or just activate on your own, lots of parks nearby to explore!
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509 viewsPOTA - 2022-09-01 - Today we went to Cohutta Wildlife Management Area K-7446 over East of Chatsworth GA. We set up two stations each using an end fed half wave wire rigged as a sloper fed from the bottom. Battery power ran the 100 watt transceivers. Peter KX4BE worked CW on 20 meters and had 42 contacts with 1 P2P and 1 DX contact. Allen KN4FKS worked SSB on 40 meters and had 34 contacts with 4 P2P. Tony got on 20 meters SSB and made 15 contacts with 6 P2P and 1 DX to Alaska. Another great day doing POTA !
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 Last additions - Parks on the Air |
4 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!
May 04, 2026
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3 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!
May 04, 2026
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1 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!
May 04, 2026
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3 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!
May 04, 2026
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4 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!
May 04, 2026
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2 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!
May 04, 2026
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1 viewsEven though our esteemed leader, Allen (KN4FKS), and I both had to go out of town this week, there was still a LOT of POTA activity despite there being no organized group effort!
Ed (KM6UTC) solved a but of a POTA activation problem/mystery this week that made a gigantic difference in the number of contacts! And it had nothing to do with his equipment! I mention this not to embarrass Ed but, rather, to point out how easy it is for us humans to make the wrong assumptions and maybe there is someone else wanting to do POTA that has made the same assumption. Up until this week Ed says that he thought the only calls you could log for a POTA activation were calls to another activator or a hunter answering his CQ POTA call! In fact, almost any valid QSO counts and can be logged (no repeaters can be used, however). You can answer someone else’s CQ and have a rag chew. It counts as a valid POTA contact. Make a contact with a DXExpediton? It counts!
Armed with the new knowledge, Ed activated US-0716, Chickamuaga and Chattanooga National Battlefield, from the Cravens House location on the North side of Lookout Mountain, on Thursday. hw wound up with 85 contacts for the day with a number of DX. The DX included the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Romania, Spain, France, Canada (eh), Puerto Rico, Italy, Azores, & Hungary.
Ed noted that the views from Cravens House were wonderful due to the excellent weather. He also commented on what appears to once have been a beautiful Mansion and adjacent Coach House at the Cravens House location and noted that the Nation Park Service seems to have allowed these structures to deteriorate, probably past the point of no return!
Ed asked if anyone had any information about this and someone sent a link to a 13-year old link to the Chattanoogan.com that sums it up quite well! A copy of the link is attached if you want to find out more!
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/3/25/247432/John-Shearer-History-Of-The-Hardy-Home.aspx
Before heading out of town Allen (KN4FKS) got away Tuesday afternoon for a few hours to Estelle Mine Road on Pigeon Mtn.WMA (US-3742). He set up his 25 ft vertical with the faraday cloth radials and mainly chased parks for P2P contacts. He had 22 SSB contacts with 20 P2P and 2 special event stations. Also one P2P to Puerto Rico. On 20 meters he had 16 contacts and 6 more on 40 meters.
AND… a bug congratulations to Dan Strickland (K2DTS) for achieving a Kilo (1000 activator contacts) from US-0716 on Wednesday. Dan has been working on this goal for a while and he can finally put that notch in his belt!
As for me, Danny (AG4DW), I had to travel to Florida for the weekend but did manage to activate two new-to-me parks in Florida on the trip down. Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park (US-3647) and Price’s Scrub State Park (US-10463). These two parks are about 4 miles apart and are totally different! Payne’s Prairie has luscious tropical foliage and Spanish Moss everywhere and a large lake and picnic pavilions. Price’s Scrub is a relatively new park and is pretty primitive and expected to remain that way. One picnic table, one porta-potty and one trash can! I managed 25 SSB contacts on 20 meters at both parks!
And, in a first for me, we saw a park ranger pull in at Price’s Scrub in an unmarked truck and headed towards a small trailhead. He saw us watching him and backed up to us, identified himself, and told us he was there on official business! He was afraid we were going to call the cops and report HIM! You hear reports of rangers investigating POTA activators but usually not the other way around! We had a good laugh and he was very familiar with Parks on the Air. He said if the apocalypse ever happens, he is getting in touch with us POTA guys!Apr 27, 2026
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0 viewsEven though our esteemed leader, Allen (KN4FKS), and I both had to go out of town this week, there was still a LOT of POTA activity despite there being no organized group effort!
Ed (KM6UTC) solved a but of a POTA activation problem/mystery this week that made a gigantic difference in the number of contacts! And it had nothing to do with his equipment! I mention this not to embarrass Ed but, rather, to point out how easy it is for us humans to make the wrong assumptions and maybe there is someone else wanting to do POTA that has made the same assumption. Up until this week Ed says that he thought the only calls you could log for a POTA activation were calls to another activator or a hunter answering his CQ POTA call! In fact, almost any valid QSO counts and can be logged (no repeaters can be used, however). You can answer someone else’s CQ and have a rag chew. It counts as a valid POTA contact. Make a contact with a DXExpediton? It counts!
Armed with the new knowledge, Ed activated US-0716, Chickamuaga and Chattanooga National Battlefield, from the Cravens House location on the North side of Lookout Mountain, on Thursday. hw wound up with 85 contacts for the day with a number of DX. The DX included the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Romania, Spain, France, Canada (eh), Puerto Rico, Italy, Azores, & Hungary.
Ed noted that the views from Cravens House were wonderful due to the excellent weather. He also commented on what appears to once have been a beautiful Mansion and adjacent Coach House at the Cravens House location and noted that the Nation Park Service seems to have allowed these structures to deteriorate, probably past the point of no return!
Ed asked if anyone had any information about this and someone sent a link to a 13-year old link to the Chattanoogan.com that sums it up quite well! A copy of the link is attached if you want to find out more!
https://www.chattanoogan.com/2013/3/25/247432/John-Shearer-History-Of-The-Hardy-Home.aspx
Before heading out of town Allen (KN4FKS) got away Tuesday afternoon for a few hours to Estelle Mine Road on Pigeon Mtn.WMA (US-3742). He set up his 25 ft vertical with the faraday cloth radials and mainly chased parks for P2P contacts. He had 22 SSB contacts with 20 P2P and 2 special event stations. Also one P2P to Puerto Rico. On 20 meters he had 16 contacts and 6 more on 40 meters.
AND… a bug congratulations to Dan Strickland (K2DTS) for achieving a Kilo (1000 activator contacts) from US-0716 on Wednesday. Dan has been working on this goal for a while and he can finally put that notch in his belt!
As for me, Danny (AG4DW), I had to travel to Florida for the weekend but did manage to activate two new-to-me parks in Florida on the trip down. Payne’s Prairie Preserve State Park (US-3647) and Price’s Scrub State Park (US-10463). These two parks are about 4 miles apart and are totally different! Payne’s Prairie has luscious tropical foliage and Spanish Moss everywhere and a large lake and picnic pavilions. Price’s Scrub is a relatively new park and is pretty primitive and expected to remain that way. One picnic table, one porta-potty and one trash can! I managed 25 SSB contacts on 20 meters at both parks!
And, in a first for me, we saw a park ranger pull in at Price’s Scrub in an unmarked truck and headed towards a small trailhead. He saw us watching him and backed up to us, identified himself, and told us he was there on official business! He was afraid we were going to call the cops and report HIM! You hear reports of rangers investigating POTA activators but usually not the other way around! We had a good laugh and he was very familiar with Parks on the Air. He said if the apocalypse ever happens, he is getting in touch with us POTA guys!Apr 27, 2026
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