New to this group and was windering if we have any/many POTA people about? I got interested in POTA in June of 2020, it was welcome relief from all the pandemic panic and I got hooked.
My activation kit is a Elecraft K2, a portable vertical, and my straight key. I run about 8 watts most of the time and haven't had a failed
there for half a day or so. Glad for the newer LiFePO4 technology in batteries, they are so much lighter and last so much longer.
On 02-16-22 11:55, Brian Indy wrote to All <=-
Hello,
New to this group and was windering if we have any/many POTA people
about? I got interested in POTA in June of 2020, it was welcome relief from all the pandemic panic and I got hooked.
On 02-17-22 08:30, Andre wrote to Brian Indy <=-
We just built some EFHW, which we were both skeptical about, and
putting one about 50' up in a tree with the feed end 4-5' off the
ground, and we were making DX contacts on 3W. In a pinch that thing is better than I imagined. I have to eat *a lot* of crow for talking smack about them over the years.
On 02-18-22 13:53, Brian Indy wrote to Vk3jed <=-
It sure doesn't with the bands improving of late.
Back in the early 2000's the cycle was peaking and you could go nuts
with a coat hanger and a couple watts! <grin>
It sure doesn't with the bands improving of late.
A bit of quoting please to establish what "it" was in this context. ;)
On 02-19-22 13:53, Brian Indy wrote to Vk3jed <=-
It sure doesn't with the bands improving of late.
A bit of quoting please to establish what "it" was in this context. ;)
Sorry about that. IT refers to how well a end fed half wave antenna works, meaning it doesn't hurt with improving bands.
Does any one on here do POTA or have done POTA?
Does any one on here do POTA or have done POTA?
I haven't. However I do have a variation of POTA.
How about
SKATEPARKS on the AIR!
I've done it once by assisting a buddy of mine with a cw operation.
It was loads of fun. Probably did 45 contacts in an hour at a local park here in FL.
I've done it once by assisting a buddy of mine with a cw operation.
It was loads of fun. Probably did 45 contacts in an hour at a local park here in FL.
Did you get any out of country contacts?
Are there any Stakeparks that are either national or state parks as
Not that day, but I have with 5 watts more than once.
Not as many times when I run 100, but with qrp it can still be done.
Does any one on here do POTA or have done POTA?
I hunt park activators every couple days, and try to get out and
activate one myself once a month or so. I'm certainly not as hardcore about it as a couple of other operators in my circle are, though. One of them activated a park while flying his airplane (presumably the first to do so)!
Our club just went out for OS POTA (Ohio parks) a few weeks ago and had a blast.
I'm typically on 20m phone and occasionally CW, but will do FT8 on any band that's hopping.
73!
WZ8Q
What do you use for your rig?
I've been looking at the FT-991A. I'll need to save up for this but
looks like the thing to have
The FT-991A is what I use at home, absolutely. I was SO close to getting the ICOM 7300 instead, but wanted the all mode on 2m/440cm. If I find
one cheap enough, I still might.
I can't say enough about the 991, though. If you spend the time on
getting the mic dialed in for your voice, you can push that 100 watts through a lot of pileups against guys running up to 1k. (I'm only using
an end fed half wave wire, and am still amazed at some of the QSOs I've made.)
When I first started, I used the Xiegu G90. Those 20 watts were enough
to get me addicted, and bought the 100w amp shortly thereafter for the base setup. That G90 is now one of my usual POTA portable rigs. I also have the Xiegu 5900, but when you're running on battery, that's a legit
5w QRP rig, which presents a serious challenge to make activations on
SSB. (My CW is only good enough for hunting, where the back and forth is pretty formulaic.)
What I like most about the Xiegu lineup is the built-in antenna tuner. Those things can give you a 1:1 match on a rock.
I could go on all day. I love this hobby. :)
73!
WZ8Q
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