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 Random files - Parks on the Air |
592 viewsWe gathered today at Red Clay State Historic Park (US-2970), in Bradley County, Tennessee, which is also the origin point of the Trail of Tears National Historic Trail (US-3791).
It started off as a quiet day in the park but it wasn't too long before two school buses pulled into the Visitor Center and several dozen young kids disembarked. The buses then chose our area around the picnic pavilion to park their buses. Ed Dionne (KM6UTC) had set up in his car next to the picnic pavilion but he wound up getting sort of sandwiched in between the two buses and wisely chose to move to a different area. It was then that Ed realized that he had a low tire on his Range Rover but we managed to get it resolved and Ed worked mostly FT8 and some SSB out of his vehicle and had 41 contacts, including two DX QSO's, and five park-to-park QSO's!
Dan Strickland (K2DTS) set up his POTA Performer antenna at one of the picnic tables and worked SSB, mostly on 20 meters and had 31 contacts! (Dan also worked Chickamauga Battery last Thursday and had 32 SSB contacts.)
Danny Wooten (AG4DW) set out with a plan to activate on as many bands as possible to achieve 10 bands in both parks! Before the end of the day the goal was reached and he had a total of 38 FT8 HF QSO's, including 3 DX calls to Saint Barthelemy, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and 3 FM calls and worked total of 9 bands.
Band conditions were a little tough on SSB today but the terrestrial weather was perfect, except for the very thorough coating of yellow pollen on, well, EVERYTHING! All in all, though, a very, very good day doing POTA in a fairly busy, but beautiful park!
Oh, and around lunchtime the dozens and dozens of schoolchildren descended on the picnic pavilion above us and we all had visions of wild kids running all around and tripping over our cords and knocking over all of our antenna! Much to our surprise, these kids we well behaved and well supervised (unlike us) and caused no problems at all! Kudos to the teachers and helpers that were in charge of that group of very well behaved kids!
POTA On!
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528 viewsThis Wednesday May 1 we activated J. Floyd State Park US-2187. It was a beautiful sunny day down by the lake. However the solar weather was not exactly cooperating and the bands were "wonky". Danny AG4DW had a total of 25 contacts, 15 DX (Panama, Puerto Rico, Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba, Denmark Russia, Jamacia, Germany, Belgium, England and Canada). 5 were SSB, 4 were FM VHF/UHF and 16 FT8 digital. John KB4QXI had 12 contacts on 40 and 20 meters. His mobile mount antenna on his truck was not working very well. Allen KN4FKS had 43 contacts on 20 and 40 meters, 17 Park to Park, and 6 DX ( France Puerto Rico, and 4 Canadians. Dan K2DTS had issues with his digital set up and never got it working.
We had visitors, Several park hikers stopped by and were curious about what we were doing. They were impressed by the distance of the contacts using the simple equipment. We also had some local hams drop by Lonnie KK4VDE and Dewayne W4FDT. They both were very experienced POTA operators and have activated many of the parks we often go to. Dewayne also shared with us his experiences on a POTA trip to Alaska a few years ago. Fun bucket list type trip. Great fellowship.
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613 viewsPOTA - 2022-08-18 - Today the crew activated two different parks. Peter KX4BE went North to Hiawassee Wildlife refuge TN K-7598 and had 60 contacts mostly CW 10 park to parks and 1 DX to Switzerland. The rest of the gang went to Crockford-Pigeon Mtn. WMA GA K-3742 at the South Brow road site. The bands were wonky today. Stations would go from a 5-9 signal to a 4-3 in 30 seconds then come back up. The noise floor varied from an s-2 or 3 all the way to s-8 at one point.
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635 viewsPOTA - Otting WMA K-7913 - 01-27-2022
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514 views
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503 viewsWe activated Cloudland Canyon State Park K-2169 at the Nickajack Trailhead on 3-11-2022. Peter had some antenna gremlins but still made 71 CW contacts on 20 and 30 meters with 4 DX contacts and one P2P. John had 37 contacts on 20 meters SSB with 5 P2P and had to shut down early with logging computer issues. Tony went first on 40 meters SSB, ran a pile up for over an hour and logged 89 contacts with 4 P2P. Allen got on 40 meters after lunch and made 45 contacts with 3 P2P.
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535 viewsActivated K-6267 Sequatchie Cave State Natural Area. Some kind folks spotted me on 20 meters as the cell service is very dismal as soon as you leave Hwy 28! I had 86 CW contacts and one SSB (my first spotter) 2 DX (Hungary and PR), 4 Canadians and 4 P2P. Propagation, I would say, was excellent, considering the location.
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499 viewsShort video of John Law, KB4QXI making a POTA contact from Cloudland Canyon State Park K-2169 on Jul 20, 2023 - You MUST download the file here and play it on your local device: https://tristatesarc.com/club/pic/albums/userpics/10001/IMG_5563.mov
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 Last additions - Parks on the Air |
10 viewsIt's been a busy POTA week. On Wednesday March 25 two separate sites were activated.
Allen KN4FKS and John KB4QXI activated Pigeon Mountain WMA US-3742 from the Sawmill Lake site where they started doing POTA activations SIX years ago. A fun anniversary date but it was also Allen's 300th POTA activation. Allen made 40 SSB contacts, 10 on 20 meters, 11 on 15 meters and 19 on 40 meters with 19 P2P contacts. He had DX to Alaska, Honduras, and Belgium. John had 29 SSB contacts on 20 meters 20 P2P contacts with 2 contacts in Canada.
Danny AG4DW and Dan K2DTS journeyed up a steep mountain road to the Mill Creek Overlook to activate the Cohutta WMA US-7446. Tough to get to but an amazing view toward the West. Danny made 52 contacts with 9 SSB contacts on 40 meter SSB, with 5 P2P contacts to include Park to Parks with the crew on Pigeon Mountain. He moved to 20 meters and made 24 SSB contacts with 11 more P2P contacts. Switching to FT* mode he mad 14 FT8 contacts with two Canadians being the only DX. Dan was also on the air at Cohutta but I don't know his totals.
Ed KM6UTC didn't read the email correctly and showed up at the Sawmill Lake site on Pigeon Mountain on the usual Thursday missing the anniversary activation the day before. The day was most eventful for him. First the GA DNR folks were conducting two very large controlled burns and Ed drove through the smoke to get to the site. Then the DNR helicopter arrived to assist with the burn and landed in the same field where Ed was set up. Then just to add to the fun across the road a timber harvesting operation cranked up for the day with several pieces of heavy equipment and log hauling trucks. The burn went well and according to plan the smoke lifted well so Chattanooga didn't get a thousand acres of smoke. Ed made 31 FT8 contacts on 20 meters with 3 DX , Spain, Canada and the Dominican Republic. Apr 01, 2026
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9 viewsIt's been a busy POTA week. On Wednesday March 25 two separate sites were activated.
Allen KN4FKS and John KB4QXI activated Pigeon Mountain WMA US-3742 from the Sawmill Lake site where they started doing POTA activations SIX years ago. A fun anniversary date but it was also Allen's 300th POTA activation. Allen made 40 SSB contacts, 10 on 20 meters, 11 on 15 meters and 19 on 40 meters with 19 P2P contacts. He had DX to Alaska, Honduras, and Belgium. John had 29 SSB contacts on 20 meters 20 P2P contacts with 2 contacts in Canada.
Danny AG4DW and Dan K2DTS journeyed up a steep mountain road to the Mill Creek Overlook to activate the Cohutta WMA US-7446. Tough to get to but an amazing view toward the West. Danny made 52 contacts with 9 SSB contacts on 40 meter SSB, with 5 P2P contacts to include Park to Parks with the crew on Pigeon Mountain. He moved to 20 meters and made 24 SSB contacts with 11 more P2P contacts. Switching to FT* mode he mad 14 FT8 contacts with two Canadians being the only DX. Dan was also on the air at Cohutta but I don't know his totals.
Ed KM6UTC didn't read the email correctly and showed up at the Sawmill Lake site on Pigeon Mountain on the usual Thursday missing the anniversary activation the day before. The day was most eventful for him. First the GA DNR folks were conducting two very large controlled burns and Ed drove through the smoke to get to the site. Then the DNR helicopter arrived to assist with the burn and landed in the same field where Ed was set up. Then just to add to the fun across the road a timber harvesting operation cranked up for the day with several pieces of heavy equipment and log hauling trucks. The burn went well and according to plan the smoke lifted well so Chattanooga didn't get a thousand acres of smoke. Ed made 31 FT8 contacts on 20 meters with 3 DX , Spain, Canada and the Dominican Republic. Apr 01, 2026
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10 viewsThursday March 19 was a busy day for POTA. Allen KN4FKS, John KB4QXI and a friend Dean KK4EB activated the Otting WMA US-7913. Also on Thursday Ed KM6UTC activated the Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 from the Cravens House site with Dan K2DTS assisting. Danny AG4DW was a bit further afield as he activated Monte Santo State Park US-1048 in Huntsville Alabama.
Allen KN4FKS made 45 SSB contacts with 32 on 20 meters and 13 on 15 meters. He had 10 Park to Park contacts with three of those being DX parks. For DX 15 was open and he made 3 contacts in England, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Ireland.
John made 73 SSB contacts on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. He had 33 Park to Park contact two of which were Canadian Parks. He had 32 additional DX contacts Puerto Rico and Canada.
Dean KK4EB made 27 contacts with 16 FT8 contacts on 40 meters, 2 SSB P2P contacts on 40 meters. He then went to 10 meters and called CQ for over an hour for 10 SSB contacts there.
Danny AG4DW at Huntsville made 48 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 7 DX contacts to Canada (2) Canary Islands (2), Germany, and Spain, He used his Yaesu FT-710 and his Pota Performer Vertical with elevated radials.
Ed KM6UTC at the Cravens House made 34 contacts with 12 DX to Canada, France, Germany, Slovenia, England, and the Netherlands.
As a side note when Allen turned on his radio he heard a Ham in Florida calling CQ so he answered him. in the QSO I related that I was operating portable from a POTA Park this evolved into a discussion on how to get started activating for POTA. He had all the equipment but was unsure about logging, the POTA rules, and such. I explained that logging could actually be done on paper then typed directly into the POTA web site or you could use any number of software applications at home to prepare the data to send. I also suggested that the way to start easy is to go to a park , set up and hunt Park To Park contacts. Less stress and you get your feet wet slowly. As for POTA rules there are very few. One you have to be licensed, two you have to be on the POTA listed park, Three no repeaters allowed, Four you need to submit your logs. Simple enough. For a successful activation you need 10 contacts any mode, any band, any legal power. There is no 'official' exchange required. Just make the contact, have fun playing radio in the park.Mar 22, 2026
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5 viewsThursday March 19 was a busy day for POTA. Allen KN4FKS, John KB4QXI and a friend Dean KK4EB activated the Otting WMA US-7913. Also on Thursday Ed KM6UTC activated the Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 from the Cravens House site with Dan K2DTS assisting. Danny AG4DW was a bit further afield as he activated Monte Santo State Park US-1048 in Huntsville Alabama.
Allen KN4FKS made 45 SSB contacts with 32 on 20 meters and 13 on 15 meters. He had 10 Park to Park contacts with three of those being DX parks. For DX 15 was open and he made 3 contacts in England, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Ireland.
John made 73 SSB contacts on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. He had 33 Park to Park contact two of which were Canadian Parks. He had 32 additional DX contacts Puerto Rico and Canada.
Dean KK4EB made 27 contacts with 16 FT8 contacts on 40 meters, 2 SSB P2P contacts on 40 meters. He then went to 10 meters and called CQ for over an hour for 10 SSB contacts there.
Danny AG4DW at Huntsville made 48 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 7 DX contacts to Canada (2) Canary Islands (2), Germany, and Spain, He used his Yaesu FT-710 and his Pota Performer Vertical with elevated radials.
Ed KM6UTC at the Cravens House made 34 contacts with 12 DX to Canada, France, Germany, Slovenia, England, and the Netherlands.
As a side note when Allen turned on his radio he heard a Ham in Florida calling CQ so he answered him. in the QSO I related that I was operating portable from a POTA Park this evolved into a discussion on how to get started activating for POTA. He had all the equipment but was unsure about logging, the POTA rules, and such. I explained that logging could actually be done on paper then typed directly into the POTA web site or you could use any number of software applications at home to prepare the data to send. I also suggested that the way to start easy is to go to a park , set up and hunt Park To Park contacts. Less stress and you get your feet wet slowly. As for POTA rules there are very few. One you have to be licensed, two you have to be on the POTA listed park, Three no repeaters allowed, Four you need to submit your logs. Simple enough. For a successful activation you need 10 contacts any mode, any band, any legal power. There is no 'official' exchange required. Just make the contact, have fun playing radio in the park.Mar 22, 2026
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8 viewsThursday March 19 was a busy day for POTA. Allen KN4FKS, John KB4QXI and a friend Dean KK4EB activated the Otting WMA US-7913. Also on Thursday Ed KM6UTC activated the Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 from the Cravens House site with Dan K2DTS assisting. Danny AG4DW was a bit further afield as he activated Monte Santo State Park US-1048 in Huntsville Alabama.
Allen KN4FKS made 45 SSB contacts with 32 on 20 meters and 13 on 15 meters. He had 10 Park to Park contacts with three of those being DX parks. For DX 15 was open and he made 3 contacts in England, Italy, Canada, Croatia, Slovenia, Belgium, Spain, Puerto Rico, and Ireland.
John made 73 SSB contacts on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. He had 33 Park to Park contact two of which were Canadian Parks. He had 32 additional DX contacts Puerto Rico and Canada.
Dean KK4EB made 27 contacts with 16 FT8 contacts on 40 meters, 2 SSB P2P contacts on 40 meters. He then went to 10 meters and called CQ for over an hour for 10 SSB contacts there.
Danny AG4DW at Huntsville made 48 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 7 DX contacts to Canada (2) Canary Islands (2), Germany, and Spain, He used his Yaesu FT-710 and his Pota Performer Vertical with elevated radials.
Ed KM6UTC at the Cravens House made 34 contacts with 12 DX to Canada, France, Germany, Slovenia, England, and the Netherlands.
As a side note when Allen turned on his radio he heard a Ham in Florida calling CQ so he answered him. in the QSO I related that I was operating portable from a POTA Park this evolved into a discussion on how to get started activating for POTA. He had all the equipment but was unsure about logging, the POTA rules, and such. I explained that logging could actually be done on paper then typed directly into the POTA web site or you could use any number of software applications at home to prepare the data to send. I also suggested that the way to start easy is to go to a park , set up and hunt Park To Park contacts. Less stress and you get your feet wet slowly. As for POTA rules there are very few. One you have to be licensed, two you have to be on the POTA listed park, Three no repeaters allowed, Four you need to submit your logs. Simple enough. For a successful activation you need 10 contacts any mode, any band, any legal power. There is no 'official' exchange required. Just make the contact, have fun playing radio in the park.Mar 22, 2026
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6 viewsIt's been a busy week for POTA. This Thursday March 12 we activated a triple park location. The three parks were: Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499 and Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955. Luckily the rain had quit but it was in the mid thirties with a strong wind so everyone elected to set up inside their vehicles.
Allen KN4FKS put up his end fed wire sloper and made 88 SSB contacts, 58 on 20 meters and 30 on 40 meters. He had 14 Park to Park contacts and DX to Dominican Republic and Canada.
Danny AG4DW set up his POTA Performer vertical and made a total of 74 QSO's, He had 46 SSB contacts on 40 meters then 28 digital FT8 contacts on 40,17, and 15 meters. He had DX to Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, and Norway.
Ed KM6UTC used his ATAS mobile antenna and made 49 contacts, he had DX contacts to Brazil, Austria, Germany, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, France and Canada.
Also this week there were several other activations.
Peter KX4BE activated Palm Bluff Conservation Area in Florida US-8366 and made 43 CW contacts on 20 and 15 meters with 12 DX contacts. He said it was 88 degrees there on Wednesday.
Ed KM6UTC activated Moccasin Bend area On Friday March 6 with 44 QSO's with 3 DX contacts on 20 meters.
On Monday Tony WA4TW along with Danny AG4DW activated Pigeon Mountain US-3742 from the Estelle Mine Road site.
Tony used his 17 ft. vertical and made 34 SSB contacts on 20 meters with Allen KN4FKS logging for him. He had 10 P2P contacts and DX to Curacao and Canada.
Danny AG4DW made 53 Contacts, 26 SSB and 27 FT8 on 40 and 15 meters. He grabbed an opening on 15 meters and worked DX to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Jersey (a rare one) Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain. Mar 15, 2026
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5 viewsIt's been a busy week for POTA. This Thursday March 12 we activated a triple park location. The three parks were: Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499 and Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955. Luckily the rain had quit but it was in the mid thirties with a strong wind so everyone elected to set up inside their vehicles.
Allen KN4FKS put up his end fed wire sloper and made 88 SSB contacts, 58 on 20 meters and 30 on 40 meters. He had 14 Park to Park contacts and DX to Dominican Republic and Canada.
Danny AG4DW set up his POTA Performer vertical and made a total of 74 QSO's, He had 46 SSB contacts on 40 meters then 28 digital FT8 contacts on 40,17, and 15 meters. He had DX to Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, and Norway.
Ed KM6UTC used his ATAS mobile antenna and made 49 contacts, he had DX contacts to Brazil, Austria, Germany, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, France and Canada.
Also this week there were several other activations.
Peter KX4BE activated Palm Bluff Conservation Area in Florida US-8366 and made 43 CW contacts on 20 and 15 meters with 12 DX contacts. He said it was 88 degrees there on Wednesday.
Ed KM6UTC activated Moccasin Bend area On Friday March 6 with 44 QSO's with 3 DX contacts on 20 meters.
On Monday Tony WA4TW along with Danny AG4DW activated Pigeon Mountain US-3742 from the Estelle Mine Road site.
Tony used his 17 ft. vertical and made 34 SSB contacts on 20 meters with Allen KN4FKS logging for him. He had 10 P2P contacts and DX to Curacao and Canada.
Danny AG4DW made 53 Contacts, 26 SSB and 27 FT8 on 40 and 15 meters. He grabbed an opening on 15 meters and worked DX to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Jersey (a rare one) Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain. Mar 15, 2026
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7 viewsIt's been a busy week for POTA. This Thursday March 12 we activated a triple park location. The three parks were: Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499 and Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955. Luckily the rain had quit but it was in the mid thirties with a strong wind so everyone elected to set up inside their vehicles.
Allen KN4FKS put up his end fed wire sloper and made 88 SSB contacts, 58 on 20 meters and 30 on 40 meters. He had 14 Park to Park contacts and DX to Dominican Republic and Canada.
Danny AG4DW set up his POTA Performer vertical and made a total of 74 QSO's, He had 46 SSB contacts on 40 meters then 28 digital FT8 contacts on 40,17, and 15 meters. He had DX to Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, and Norway.
Ed KM6UTC used his ATAS mobile antenna and made 49 contacts, he had DX contacts to Brazil, Austria, Germany, Poland, Spain, Slovenia, France and Canada.
Also this week there were several other activations.
Peter KX4BE activated Palm Bluff Conservation Area in Florida US-8366 and made 43 CW contacts on 20 and 15 meters with 12 DX contacts. He said it was 88 degrees there on Wednesday.
Ed KM6UTC activated Moccasin Bend area On Friday March 6 with 44 QSO's with 3 DX contacts on 20 meters.
On Monday Tony WA4TW along with Danny AG4DW activated Pigeon Mountain US-3742 from the Estelle Mine Road site.
Tony used his 17 ft. vertical and made 34 SSB contacts on 20 meters with Allen KN4FKS logging for him. He had 10 P2P contacts and DX to Curacao and Canada.
Danny AG4DW made 53 Contacts, 26 SSB and 27 FT8 on 40 and 15 meters. He grabbed an opening on 15 meters and worked DX to Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Russia, Jersey (a rare one) Lithuania, Slovenia and Spain. Mar 15, 2026
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