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 Most viewed - Parks on the Air |
114 viewsWe activated J. 'SLOPPY' Floyd State Park US-2187 this Thursday Sept 25th. It was a sloppy activation on several levels. Because of the threatening rains we set up at the picnic shelter up by the restrooms on top of the hill. As we are setting up a big truck pulls up and is there to empty the sewage tank about 20 feet from the picnic shelter. The fellow said "this might stink a bit" He was right.
Then after a bit of aroma therapy the park ranger walked up and advised us the picnic shelter was reserved for the day and we needed to pack up and move to another shelter. Both of us had not noticed the little note in the sign on the shelter saying it was reserved. As Danny AG4DW noted in the future "We must check the reservation board on shelters from now on" (see attached photos of what to look for) So we quickly packed up everything and moved down the hill to the 'Not Reserved' picnic shelter, set up again and completed the activation. It never rained a drop! However on the drive home it pored down rain for a while. It was a fun but 'Sloppy' day.
For the activation part Allen KN4FKS made 32 SSB contacts 28 Park to Parks ( one of the P2P's was to California) with DX to Cuba and Poland.
Danny AG4DW cranked up the FT8 machine and made 31 contacts 25 on 10 meters and 6 on 40 meters. He had lots of DX into Europe. Germany(5), Hungary(2), Italy(2), Canada, Poland, Spain and Ukraine.
John KB4QXI was not able to attend, he spent the entire day waiting on a Windstream technician who never showed up. Customer service?
On Wednesday Danny AG4DW got to do something special in the POTA world. He was able to activate an "ALL TIME NEW ONE" (ATNO) A new state park was created in Tennessee on Sunday. Danny contacted the POTA coordinator for Tennessee and set things in motion. The park Ocoee River State park had the POTA number US-12663 by Tuesday night. Danny made tracks over to the park first thing Wednesday morning, set up and made 94 ATNO QSO's. He had 78 on SSB and 16 FT8 before the rain set in. Two other hams activated the park later that day. ATNO's don't last long so 'You snooze you loose" Congratulations to Danny on first getting the park listed then on grabbing the ATNO activation.
Fun days, fun hobby, always something new.
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100 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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99 viewsWe activated Johns Mountain WMA US-3758 this Thursday October 9, 2025. The terrestrial weather was breezy and the space weather was great. The forest road up the mountain is getting worse but everyone made it in one piece.
Danny AG4DW set up his vertical and worked 10 meters, He made 2 SSB contacts and 60 FT8 contacts. The band was open and he made 31 DX contacts! Brazil, Dominican Republic (2) Germany (4) France (2) Haiti, Hungary, Italy (8) Kuwait, Netherlands (3) Reunion Island, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela. Yes 10 meters was open.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire and made 50 SSB contacts, 25 on 20 meters, 25 on 15 meters He had 8 Park to Park contacts and 5 DX contacts, Sweden (2) Grenada, Canada, and Slovenia.
John KB4QXI had 43 SSB QSO's on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. . He had 20 P2P contacts with 4 DX contacts, Canada (3) and Sweden. His contact SM3NRY did the heavy lifting on the QSO to Sweden. Check out his antenna farm on his QRZ page.
Dan K2DTS set up his tripod vertical and made 28 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 28 P2P. After that he made 9 FT8 contacts and like everyone else made a DX contact to Sweden.
We had several visitors at the overlook, first two large C-130 cargo plans practicing low level flying came directly over us. You almost wanted to duck they were so low. Later Jeff N2YYP showed up on horseback with several of his horseman friends and we enjoyed talking to them about POTA and the NW Georgia mountains. Then some tourists from NE Georgia came by. They had come over on a trip to see the waterfalls of the area. Finding out they are all DRY they changed plans to visiting vistas that brought them to Johns Mtn. For waterfalls we advised them to come back next spring. They were interested in our POTA radios and how far we had talked from the overlook.
It was a fun day of radios, peanut butter sandwiches and now a staple Danny's salty roasted peanuts.
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94 viewsWe activated Johns Mountain WMA US-3758 this Thursday October 9, 2025. The terrestrial weather was breezy and the space weather was great. The forest road up the mountain is getting worse but everyone made it in one piece.
Danny AG4DW set up his vertical and worked 10 meters, He made 2 SSB contacts and 60 FT8 contacts. The band was open and he made 31 DX contacts! Brazil, Dominican Republic (2) Germany (4) France (2) Haiti, Hungary, Italy (8) Kuwait, Netherlands (3) Reunion Island, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela. Yes 10 meters was open.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire and made 50 SSB contacts, 25 on 20 meters, 25 on 15 meters He had 8 Park to Park contacts and 5 DX contacts, Sweden (2) Grenada, Canada, and Slovenia.
John KB4QXI had 43 SSB QSO's on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. . He had 20 P2P contacts with 4 DX contacts, Canada (3) and Sweden. His contact SM3NRY did the heavy lifting on the QSO to Sweden. Check out his antenna farm on his QRZ page.
Dan K2DTS set up his tripod vertical and made 28 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 28 P2P. After that he made 9 FT8 contacts and like everyone else made a DX contact to Sweden.
We had several visitors at the overlook, first two large C-130 cargo plans practicing low level flying came directly over us. You almost wanted to duck they were so low. Later Jeff N2YYP showed up on horseback with several of his horseman friends and we enjoyed talking to them about POTA and the NW Georgia mountains. Then some tourists from NE Georgia came by. They had come over on a trip to see the waterfalls of the area. Finding out they are all DRY they changed plans to visiting vistas that brought them to Johns Mtn. For waterfalls we advised them to come back next spring. They were interested in our POTA radios and how far we had talked from the overlook.
It was a fun day of radios, peanut butter sandwiches and now a staple Danny's salty roasted peanuts.
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89 viewsYesterday Nov. 6, 2025 we activated three Tennessee parks at once: The Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, the Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499, and the Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955.
We set up in a small trailhead parking lot deep in the big woods. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun shining, the leaves turning colors and moderate temperatures. The space weather also cooperated as the solar storm did not hit till later in the afternoon after we were finished. Also enjoying the day were numerous hikers who came and went all day so we had lots of contact with folks about ham radio and what we were doing.
On the radio it was a great day, Allen KN4FKS had 107 SSB contacts for the day. The first 19 were on 15 meters then switching to 20 meters made 88 more. Of those 30 were Park to Park contacts. A few were Canadians and one was from Spain.
Danny AG4DW had 65 contacts total with 31 SSB on 40 meters, 34 FT8 on 17 meters. He had 3 DX contacts all to Canada.
Ed KM6UTC made 49 total contacts as he explored the bands, He had contacts on 6,10,15, 20, and 40 meters. A few were SSB but most were FT8.
Dan K2DTS had 15 P2P on 20 meters SSB then 9 FT8 contacts on 15 meters. He had DX contacts with Cuba and a DXpedition in Burundi Africa.
The day could not have been better , great friends, great weather, great fall color and great band conditions. And peanut butter sandwiches !
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87 viewsWe activated Johns Mountain WMA US-3758 this Thursday October 9, 2025. The terrestrial weather was breezy and the space weather was great. The forest road up the mountain is getting worse but everyone made it in one piece.
Danny AG4DW set up his vertical and worked 10 meters, He made 2 SSB contacts and 60 FT8 contacts. The band was open and he made 31 DX contacts! Brazil, Dominican Republic (2) Germany (4) France (2) Haiti, Hungary, Italy (8) Kuwait, Netherlands (3) Reunion Island, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, Venezuela. Yes 10 meters was open.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed wire and made 50 SSB contacts, 25 on 20 meters, 25 on 15 meters He had 8 Park to Park contacts and 5 DX contacts, Sweden (2) Grenada, Canada, and Slovenia.
John KB4QXI had 43 SSB QSO's on 20 meters using his roof mounted Hamstick. . He had 20 P2P contacts with 4 DX contacts, Canada (3) and Sweden. His contact SM3NRY did the heavy lifting on the QSO to Sweden. Check out his antenna farm on his QRZ page.
Dan K2DTS set up his tripod vertical and made 28 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 28 P2P. After that he made 9 FT8 contacts and like everyone else made a DX contact to Sweden.
We had several visitors at the overlook, first two large C-130 cargo plans practicing low level flying came directly over us. You almost wanted to duck they were so low. Later Jeff N2YYP showed up on horseback with several of his horseman friends and we enjoyed talking to them about POTA and the NW Georgia mountains. Then some tourists from NE Georgia came by. They had come over on a trip to see the waterfalls of the area. Finding out they are all DRY they changed plans to visiting vistas that brought them to Johns Mtn. For waterfalls we advised them to come back next spring. They were interested in our POTA radios and how far we had talked from the overlook.
It was a fun day of radios, peanut butter sandwiches and now a staple Danny's salty roasted peanuts.
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86 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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84 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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79 viewsYesterday Nov. 6, 2025 we activated three Tennessee parks at once: The Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, the Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499, and the Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955.
We set up in a small trailhead parking lot deep in the big woods. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun shining, the leaves turning colors and moderate temperatures. The space weather also cooperated as the solar storm did not hit till later in the afternoon after we were finished. Also enjoying the day were numerous hikers who came and went all day so we had lots of contact with folks about ham radio and what we were doing.
On the radio it was a great day, Allen KN4FKS had 107 SSB contacts for the day. The first 19 were on 15 meters then switching to 20 meters made 88 more. Of those 30 were Park to Park contacts. A few were Canadians and one was from Spain.
Danny AG4DW had 65 contacts total with 31 SSB on 40 meters, 34 FT8 on 17 meters. He had 3 DX contacts all to Canada.
Ed KM6UTC made 49 total contacts as he explored the bands, He had contacts on 6,10,15, 20, and 40 meters. A few were SSB but most were FT8.
Dan K2DTS had 15 P2P on 20 meters SSB then 9 FT8 contacts on 15 meters. He had DX contacts with Cuba and a DXpedition in Burundi Africa.
The day could not have been better , great friends, great weather, great fall color and great band conditions. And peanut butter sandwiches !
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78 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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72 viewsYesterday Nov. 6, 2025 we activated three Tennessee parks at once: The Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, the Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499, and the Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955.
We set up in a small trailhead parking lot deep in the big woods. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun shining, the leaves turning colors and moderate temperatures. The space weather also cooperated as the solar storm did not hit till later in the afternoon after we were finished. Also enjoying the day were numerous hikers who came and went all day so we had lots of contact with folks about ham radio and what we were doing.
On the radio it was a great day, Allen KN4FKS had 107 SSB contacts for the day. The first 19 were on 15 meters then switching to 20 meters made 88 more. Of those 30 were Park to Park contacts. A few were Canadians and one was from Spain.
Danny AG4DW had 65 contacts total with 31 SSB on 40 meters, 34 FT8 on 17 meters. He had 3 DX contacts all to Canada.
Ed KM6UTC made 49 total contacts as he explored the bands, He had contacts on 6,10,15, 20, and 40 meters. A few were SSB but most were FT8.
Dan K2DTS had 15 P2P on 20 meters SSB then 9 FT8 contacts on 15 meters. He had DX contacts with Cuba and a DXpedition in Burundi Africa.
The day could not have been better , great friends, great weather, great fall color and great band conditions. And peanut butter sandwiches !
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62 viewsYesterday Nov. 6, 2025 we activated three Tennessee parks at once: The Prentice Cooper Wildlife Management Area US-3971, the Prentice Cooper State Forest US-5499, and the Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park US-2955.
We set up in a small trailhead parking lot deep in the big woods. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with the sun shining, the leaves turning colors and moderate temperatures. The space weather also cooperated as the solar storm did not hit till later in the afternoon after we were finished. Also enjoying the day were numerous hikers who came and went all day so we had lots of contact with folks about ham radio and what we were doing.
On the radio it was a great day, Allen KN4FKS had 107 SSB contacts for the day. The first 19 were on 15 meters then switching to 20 meters made 88 more. Of those 30 were Park to Park contacts. A few were Canadians and one was from Spain.
Danny AG4DW had 65 contacts total with 31 SSB on 40 meters, 34 FT8 on 17 meters. He had 3 DX contacts all to Canada.
Ed KM6UTC made 49 total contacts as he explored the bands, He had contacts on 6,10,15, 20, and 40 meters. A few were SSB but most were FT8.
Dan K2DTS had 15 P2P on 20 meters SSB then 9 FT8 contacts on 15 meters. He had DX contacts with Cuba and a DXpedition in Burundi Africa.
The day could not have been better , great friends, great weather, great fall color and great band conditions. And peanut butter sandwiches !
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