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530 viewsPOTA - Crockford-Pigeon Mtn. WMA K-3742 - 1-19-2022
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530 views5-25-2022, I activated the Dahlonega Gold Museum K-7456. To set up radios I set my vertical antenna in the grass half way between the building and the street. The radio and tuner were placed on a low brick wall and that was my operating position. Got on the air on 20 meters and had a noise floor of S-7 to 8. Made 13 contacts with 1 P2P and 2 DX (Spain, Canada) before I had to go QRT because it was about to rain. With all the passers by and tourist I spent a fair bit of time explaining what I was doing.
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529 viewsPOTA, Estelle Equestrian Farm - 8-14-2020 - Tony W4TDH with guests
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529 viewsPOTA - Zahnd Wildlife Mgt Area - 2-19-2021, It was cold!
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529 viewsPOTA - Pigeon Mountain - 4-24-2021
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529 viewsPOTA 01-12-2023 - Crockford-Pigeon Mtn. WMA K-3742. Tony WA4TW was on 20 meters and made 82 contacts, 24 P2P, 7 Canadians, and 1 Maritime Mobile, a 30 ft. sailboat on the Mississippi River. Allen KN4FKS handled logging. John KB4QXI was on 40 meters and made 37 contacts with 3 P2P. Operating was tough with the ever increasing lightning crashes on both bands. Before the storm hit we shut down operations, disconnected coax and laid down the vertical antenna. We enjoyed a long lunch while the storm passed over. The wind blew, and the rain came down in buckets but we were high and dry inside the check station. The power stayed on the entire time as we kept a watch on the storm. We got back on the air after the storm passed but the bands were still noisy. I'm glad to report, no one overslept, no gear was left at home, and all batteries were fully charged.
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529 viewsPOTA 2023-04-13. Chief Vann House Historic Site K-7457 we had a great activation before the rain started.
Tony WA4TW and Danny AD4DW spotted and logged for Allen KN4FKS. Ed KM6UTC played digital with his loop antenna and had 62 contacts with 3 DX contacts (Italy, Ukraine, Canada) Allen KN4FKS had 49 SSB phone contacts with 14 P2P contacts and 3 DX ( Russia, and 2 Canadians) The park manager Irina Garner (who is a licensed HAM) stopped by and visited, We also had a park visitor from Germany stop by and inquire about the radio stuff.
The Vann House is a very interesting historic site. Take time to visit the museum and then tour the house and surrounding period buildings.
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529 viewsWhat an adventure. After a rendezvous in Scottsboro AL the POTA crew headed out in four vehicles to the Fern Cave National Wildlife Refuge K-0140. After a few highway miles we turned onto a county paved road and went to its end where we came to the first of four locked gates. Thanks to the Southeast Cave Conservancy Inc. for giving us permission to access their property which adjoins the NWR property. The road is 3.8 miles to our activation site and gets worse the further along we get. There are mudholes, rocky ledges, and gooey slick mud. Luckily no one got stuck or broke anything. Arriving at the end of the road we get turned around and begin unloading our gear. We walk a few steps and cross onto the NWR property where we set up four stations.
We made a total of 129 contacts. When we first got on the air we all were making contacts quickly then it was like you turned out the lights. Till we took a break for lunch getting contacts got harder and harder. The solar storm had hit hard. So then at lunch we start hearing thunder in the distance, A quick look at the weather radar reveals we are in the path of a line of thunderstorms. Radio gear and the 4x4 road we must take out do not react well to heavy rain. After we enjoyed Karen's blueberry "POTA PIE" we pack up everything and head out back to pavement, opening and closing all the gates as we go. Back on the pavement the vehicles are muddy to the windows and mud falls off the undercarriages. Luckily we outran the storms all the way home. The radar images later showed this big red blob passed directly over where we were activating. At a similar cave road location about 20 miles north a group found their access road flooded and several of their vehicles will have to be left on high ground for days till it quits raining. The vehicles that did get out had water over their headlights. The road we used only floods and traps vehicles after multiple heavy rains flood the valley. It has happened in the past but not for us this time.
Fern Cave NWR K-0140 was first activated by our crew in Nov. 2020. There have been 4 other small activations since then then our recent activation. Our group in two activations is responsible for 80% of the 487 total contacts made from this site. The other activators have accessed via canoe down the Paint Rock River. The 190 acre refuge is totally landlocked with no public access point. It is simply there to protect a cave where endangered bats live.
A mini DXpedition it was, with problems to be overcome, logistics to be planned and permissions obtained. This crew of experienced POTA operators had a successful POTA activation.
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529 viewsWe activated Booker T. Washington State Park TN K-2933 yesterday Thursday Nov 30 2023. It turned out to be a wonderful weather day in a really nice park. The park is one of those reminders of a segregated past. Now used by everyone we had a great time. For the activation we established four stations. Peter KX4BE worked CW on 12 m and 15m using the 'screwdriver' antenna on his van. Danny AG4DW worked FT8 mostly on 10 meters. One SSB contact was a park to park contact in England. He had a total of 26 contacts, for DX he also had 2 Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, and Canada. Danny used his elevated vertical antenna set up. Tony WA4TW worked 20 meters SSB with his Chameleon vertical and had 50 contacts with 9 P2P and 2 Canadians. After Tony got 50 QSO's Allen took over the rig and made 21 contacts also on 20 meters with 3 P2P's and 3 Canadians. After Allen Fred KQ4JXX took over and made 12 contacts on 20 meters SSB with 3 P2P's . John KB4QXI finally arrived and made 10 contacts with 2 P2P's on 40 meters using his 'Buddystick' on top of the car. Ed KM6UTC provided the needed 'Adult Supervision' necessary to keep the POTA crew out of trouble.
Band conditions were "wonky" all day signals would be strong then fade to next to nothing and suddenly be back strong in the midst of one QSO. You might see a 5-9 signal go to 4-3 on the next over then back to 5-9 mid sentence. Everyone just worked through the fading and made a successful activation. We utilized the loop road in the 'Recreation Area 2' and Pavillion 2 on top of a small hill and it made an excellent place to set up with some distance between stations yet close enough to enjoy visiting with each other We wondered about the odd layout of the hill top site.
While there the Park Ranger came by and stopped to chat. Very friendly fellow and he mentioned he had seen other folks like us in the past and wondered what it exactly was. We explained the Parks on the Air Program (gave him a brochure) then explained HAM radio in general and about our equipment. We then asked about the history of the hilltop and he said it was originally a campground, not for RV's but for tents. He also said they built a boat marina but neither were used much as back then the folks who came here didn't have a lot of boats or camping equipment. Times have changed he said. Well spoken. He then recruited us to help him with the parks Junior Ranger program next June. We'll be there whatever it takes!
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529 viewsThis Thursday Feb. 22 we activated the Zahnd WMA K-7903 which is in the middle of nowhere on the South end of Lookout Mountain. The small wildlife area consist of woodland, cliffs, and large sandstone boulders. The only public facility is a 10 car gravel parking lot just off the side of GA Hwy 157 south of Hwy 136.
Allen KN4FKS set up his station using an end fed half wave rigged as a sloper. on 20 meters and had 61 contacts, 11 P2P, and 3 DX. Ed KM6UTC set up his mag loop antenna and worked digital on 40 meters with 40 contacts, 4 P2P, and 14 DX. Ed was "slightly" delayed getting on the air searching for his cell phone which was hiding under his wallet in his back pocket. John KB4QXI set up his Ham Stick on top of the car and made 7 contacts on 40 meters and 25 on 20 meters with 12 P2P contacts. Danny AG4DW used the end fed rig to make 19 contacts with 3 contacts back to back from Spain, then 1 Mexico and 1 Canadian.
While there we had occasion to introduce two rock climbers and two hikers to Ham radio and POTA. Before we left Allen and Ed crossed the highway and walked a short distance to the top of the cliff line overlooking McLemore Cove and Pigeon Mountain to the East. The view is amazing even on an overcast day. Fun day once again.
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529 viewsThe terrestrial weather was hot, the solar weather was stormy but we had fun anyway.
Activating the Otting WMA US-7913 on Thursday Aug 1 saw John KB4QXI make 27 contacts with 7 Park to Park contacts on 20 meters. Allen KN4FKS made 11 contacts on 40, 15, and finally 20 meters with 2 P2P contacts. Dan K2DTS set up on several bands both SSB and digital but did not report his tally for this report.
Otting got activated with lots of sweat on the operators and even the radio equipment got hot!
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528 viewsPOTA - Crockford-Pigeon Mountain - 1-6-2021
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