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 Most viewed - Parks on the Air |
121 viewsThis Friday March 6 we activated Cloudland Canyon State Park US-2169 from the Ascalon Trailhead.
Danny AG4DW set up his 'POTA Performer vertical and made a total of 121 contacts. 83 were SSB on 40-15-20 meters. He then made 38 FT8 contacts on 15 meters. DX was hopping as there is a DX contest this weekend. He made contacts in Bermuda, Brazil, Canada (4) Canary Islands, England, Germany (2) France (2) Spain (2) Switzerland, Venezuela.
Allen KN4FKS set up his end fed half wave wire antenna rigged as a sloper. He made 108 SSB contacts, 39 were Park to Park contacts. 100 on 20 meters, 8 on 10 meters. Ten was open long and he made DX contacts to Hawaii, Spain, Brazil, Canada and Puerto Rico.
John KB4QXI came late and set up his ham stick and made one P2P contact and his 891 radio had a crazy menu fit and refused to work any further. Tony WA4TW knows the fix and will assist John in solving the issue.
On Thursday Dan K2DTS activated the Chickamauga Battlefield US-0716 on 20 meters and made 74 contacts in quick order, 21 were hunted P2P contacts then 42 set and call 'CQ POTA' he then capped it off with 11 FT8 contacts.
On Tuesday Allen KN4FKS ran over to Pigeon Mountain US-3742 and made a quick 140 SSB contacts in two hours on 20 meters using the 25 ft. vertical and the Faraday cloth radials. He had 20 Park to Park contacts and the only DX was two contacts in Canada. This days effort sent Allen's total number of POTA activation contacts to over 15,000. Time flies when you are having fun.
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91 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.
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85 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.
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79 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.
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79 viewsIt was a beautiful day on top of Johns Mountain US-3758 at the overlook site. It was a bit chilly early with a steady wind making it seem even cooler but we POTA'd on. Band conditions were a bit wonky which made it hard work for everyone.
Allen KN4FKS set his end fed half wave wire as a sloper and made 56 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 20 Park to Park contacts and only 1 DX contact to Barbados Island.
Danny AG4DW set his 17 foot elevated vertical 'POTA Performer' and made 53 contacts, 23 were SSB on 40 meters and 1 FT8 contact. He moved to 17 meters and made 19 FT8 contacts. He had 6 P2P contacts and 5 DX to Canada. He set up his 2 meter J-pole antenna and made 10 FM contacts simplex on 2 meters. From the mountaintop he contacted: Gainesville, Talking Rock, Dalton, Lafayette, Chatsworth, and Cleveland TN.
John KB4QXI used his Hamstick roof mounted to make 15 contacts with 10 P2P contacts.
Micha K3WGC came by to see what all this POTA stuff was all about. After show and tell for everyone's rig he set up his vertical drive on pole support and used his G-90 to just chase DX and make a few contacts portable. It weas great to have him visit.
Dan K2DTS not wanting to sacrifice his car on the overlook road chose to activate the Battlefield US-0716. He had 36 contacts with 30 SSB and 6 FT8 on 20 meters. He is getting withing striking distance of his KILO for the Battlefield. Maybe soon if the bands cooperate.
Also of note this weekend is the Georgia QSO party contest. It starts at 2 pm local time on Saturday and runs till midnight than Sunday 10 am till 8 pm. The exchange is a signal report, and county abbreviation ( WLKR for Walker) This would be a great time to activate a park and take advantage of the increased traffic.
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79 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!
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76 viewsIt was a beautiful day on top of Johns Mountain US-3758 at the overlook site. It was a bit chilly early with a steady wind making it seem even cooler but we POTA'd on. Band conditions were a bit wonky which made it hard work for everyone.
Allen KN4FKS set his end fed half wave wire as a sloper and made 56 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 20 Park to Park contacts and only 1 DX contact to Barbados Island.
Danny AG4DW set his 17 foot elevated vertical 'POTA Performer' and made 53 contacts, 23 were SSB on 40 meters and 1 FT8 contact. He moved to 17 meters and made 19 FT8 contacts. He had 6 P2P contacts and 5 DX to Canada. He set up his 2 meter J-pole antenna and made 10 FM contacts simplex on 2 meters. From the mountaintop he contacted: Gainesville, Talking Rock, Dalton, Lafayette, Chatsworth, and Cleveland TN.
John KB4QXI used his Hamstick roof mounted to make 15 contacts with 10 P2P contacts.
Micha K3WGC came by to see what all this POTA stuff was all about. After show and tell for everyone's rig he set up his vertical drive on pole support and used his G-90 to just chase DX and make a few contacts portable. It weas great to have him visit.
Dan K2DTS not wanting to sacrifice his car on the overlook road chose to activate the Battlefield US-0716. He had 36 contacts with 30 SSB and 6 FT8 on 20 meters. He is getting withing striking distance of his KILO for the Battlefield. Maybe soon if the bands cooperate.
Also of note this weekend is the Georgia QSO party contest. It starts at 2 pm local time on Saturday and runs till midnight than Sunday 10 am till 8 pm. The exchange is a signal report, and county abbreviation ( WLKR for Walker) This would be a great time to activate a park and take advantage of the increased traffic.
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72 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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71 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.
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71 viewsIt was a beautiful day on top of Johns Mountain US-3758 at the overlook site. It was a bit chilly early with a steady wind making it seem even cooler but we POTA'd on. Band conditions were a bit wonky which made it hard work for everyone.
Allen KN4FKS set his end fed half wave wire as a sloper and made 56 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 20 Park to Park contacts and only 1 DX contact to Barbados Island.
Danny AG4DW set his 17 foot elevated vertical 'POTA Performer' and made 53 contacts, 23 were SSB on 40 meters and 1 FT8 contact. He moved to 17 meters and made 19 FT8 contacts. He had 6 P2P contacts and 5 DX to Canada. He set up his 2 meter J-pole antenna and made 10 FM contacts simplex on 2 meters. From the mountaintop he contacted: Gainesville, Talking Rock, Dalton, Lafayette, Chatsworth, and Cleveland TN.
John KB4QXI used his Hamstick roof mounted to make 15 contacts with 10 P2P contacts.
Micha K3WGC came by to see what all this POTA stuff was all about. After show and tell for everyone's rig he set up his vertical drive on pole support and used his G-90 to just chase DX and make a few contacts portable. It weas great to have him visit.
Dan K2DTS not wanting to sacrifice his car on the overlook road chose to activate the Battlefield US-0716. He had 36 contacts with 30 SSB and 6 FT8 on 20 meters. He is getting withing striking distance of his KILO for the Battlefield. Maybe soon if the bands cooperate.
Also of note this weekend is the Georgia QSO party contest. It starts at 2 pm local time on Saturday and runs till midnight than Sunday 10 am till 8 pm. The exchange is a signal report, and county abbreviation ( WLKR for Walker) This would be a great time to activate a park and take advantage of the increased traffic.
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69 viewsThis Thursday June 4 we activated Chickamauga Battlefield US=0716 from the Brotherton Road picnic area.
Danny AG4DW arrived early, set up his 'PotaPerformer' vertical and made 47 quick SSB contacts. He had 13 on 40 meters and 34 on 20 meters with 6 park to parks and 1 DX to Canada. Jody W4LWC arrived and operated Danny's rig on 20 meters SSB. He cranked out 101 QSO's with 25 P2P and no DX. Dan K2DTS dropped by for a quick 'eye ball' QSO and had to leave soon.
John KB4QXI brought his new computer by so that Allen KN4FKS could set up the N3FJP logging software for most efficient use on POTA activations. As is typical when Allen is faced with technology issues the one critical step/ menu / tab is forgotten and things do not go well. Ugly words were spoken to the computer.
Taking a break Allen KN4FKS got on 17 meters and made 4 contacts, then went to 20 meters and made 9 more for a total of 13 QSO's with 9 P2P contacts. Then it was back to the computer this time trying to watch the You Tube video on how to set everything up on John's cell phone. Once again a fail so Allen took the computer home and sat down and soon had the 'Ah Ha' moment and remembered the one critical step to get everything working. Success finally! John is now set to go.
Earlier in the week on Wednesday Danny AG4DW headed out to a newly listed park in Alabama hoping to be the first activation at the new one. After quite a drive he arrived at the park to find a sign on the gate "Closed Wednesdays" POTA rules state the park has to be 'open' so defeated but not broken he headed over to Hinds Road Forever Wild site US-12740 and made 42 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 17 P2P. Then packing up and moving to nearby Indian Mountain Conservation Area US-11027 he made 35 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 11 P2P's. Also on Wednesday Allen KN4FKS headed out to Otting WMA US-7913 (it was actually open on Wednesday) and made 106 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 36 P2P and 3 DX all to Canada.
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68 viewsIt was a beautiful day on top of Johns Mountain US-3758 at the overlook site. It was a bit chilly early with a steady wind making it seem even cooler but we POTA'd on. Band conditions were a bit wonky which made it hard work for everyone.
Allen KN4FKS set his end fed half wave wire as a sloper and made 56 SSB contacts on 20 meters with 20 Park to Park contacts and only 1 DX contact to Barbados Island.
Danny AG4DW set his 17 foot elevated vertical 'POTA Performer' and made 53 contacts, 23 were SSB on 40 meters and 1 FT8 contact. He moved to 17 meters and made 19 FT8 contacts. He had 6 P2P contacts and 5 DX to Canada. He set up his 2 meter J-pole antenna and made 10 FM contacts simplex on 2 meters. From the mountaintop he contacted: Gainesville, Talking Rock, Dalton, Lafayette, Chatsworth, and Cleveland TN.
John KB4QXI used his Hamstick roof mounted to make 15 contacts with 10 P2P contacts.
Micha K3WGC came by to see what all this POTA stuff was all about. After show and tell for everyone's rig he set up his vertical drive on pole support and used his G-90 to just chase DX and make a few contacts portable. It weas great to have him visit.
Dan K2DTS not wanting to sacrifice his car on the overlook road chose to activate the Battlefield US-0716. He had 36 contacts with 30 SSB and 6 FT8 on 20 meters. He is getting withing striking distance of his KILO for the Battlefield. Maybe soon if the bands cooperate.
Also of note this weekend is the Georgia QSO party contest. It starts at 2 pm local time on Saturday and runs till midnight than Sunday 10 am till 8 pm. The exchange is a signal report, and county abbreviation ( WLKR for Walker) This would be a great time to activate a park and take advantage of the increased traffic.
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