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A POTA Parle

A Parks on The Air presentation for

The South Pasadena Amateur Radio Club

August 7^th, 2024

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Savi W1SAV

Ham since July 19^th, 2019

Original call was KN6DDU

First POTA activation: June 12^th, 2021

Started learning Morse Code in Sept. 2021

First CW activation: September 15^th, 2023

US-3451 Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area

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All About POTA

A little history, a little of this, a little of that, all based on my experiences.

US-3462 Los Angeles Historical State Park

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Parks on The Air

2016 ARRL contest called NPOTA.

100^th year of the National Parks System.

Jason W3AAX founded POTA in 2017.

2018 POTA became nonprofit and permanent.

Parks include federal and state level parks.

There are now over 11,800 parks listed and growing.

POTA is now in all continents and hundreds of entities.

US-3412 California Citrus State Historical Park

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Why POTA?

It gets you out of the shack.

A personal Field Day.

Stress equipment/yourself.

Experiment with new equipment.

Train for off-grid comms.

Common modes: CW, SSB, FT8

It is NOT a contest.

WARC bands are okay.

Tons of awards.

It is just plain fun.

US-3425 Dockweiler State Beach

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It Takes Two to Tango

The activator at the park...

The hunter from the shack...

…sets up all equipment within the park.

…calls from heated or air-conditioned comfort.

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Spotting

Hunters can look up activators and their frequency.

Once a QSO is made the hunter re-spots the activator.

Re-spotting the activator keeps the info fresh and goes to top of list.

Fresh spots helps the activator be “seen” more easily.

You can spot yourself, especially after going to a different band.

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Scheduling

Let others know when and where you plan to activate.

When activating in CW:

RBN will spot you on POTA

Continuous spots

Follows your band changes

Do the math –

Date and time are in Zulu Time

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Some Stats

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Fun Fact

The smallest state park in the U.S.:

Watts Towers of Simon Rodia State Historical Park

US-3589

0.11 acres

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My Radio Equipment

What do I take to the field?

US-3548 Rio de Los Angeles State Park

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Two Main Radios

Yaesu FT-891

Elecraft KX3

Supported by MFJ 939Y Autotuner,

stock mike, 30Ah LIPhO Bioenno

battery, external speaker

and Begali Traveler Key.

Supported by 3Ah LIPhO Bioenno battery,

stock mike, external speaker,

and Begali Traveler Key.

KX3 is fully outfitted minus 2M option.

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Four Main Antennas

ANTENNA	COMMENTS
Chameleon MPAS 2.0 Vertical	Never failed. It’s beat up and looks like a witch’s wand. It’s worked from 100W down to 5W. DX and close-range ground wave.
Chameleon MPAS 2.0 Tactical Delta Loop	Easily set up for NVIS at 40M and below. Works well like the vertical configuration.
Chameleon LEFS	Light-weight end-fed sloper. Have not yet used for with POTA.
Elecraft AX-1	This four-foot compromised antenna is NOT a dummy load. Excellent national coverage with DX to Europe, South America, Asia, and Oceana.

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Logging The Qs

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Logging Software

Logging in the field must support efficiency. If the software must have connectivity, it’s not for me. If the software is a phone app, my old eyes and fat fingers revolt.

Program or App	Comments
N3FJP ACLog	Not used in the field. Too much for simple logging.
N1MM+	Never—too complicated even for the shack.
HAM2K PoLo	Well featured and intentioned, but not for my old eyes.
Any Cloud-Based Logger	Not used. I may not have cell coverage.

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HAMRS - My Logger of Choice

Connectivity is great – not required

Automatic contact lookup

Updated count and map

Handles P2P contacts

App version available, but use a tablet

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Logging Backup

‘Nuff said.

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Submitting Logs

After registering (free):

Upload logs

Receive credit from activators

POTA accepts .adif formatted logs

Do not upload from the field

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Analyzing My Log

https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/walter.savinovich/viz/MyLogBook/W1SAVLog

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Site Considerations

Research, location, & logistics.

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Prior planning prevents poor performance.

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Choose a Park

Hundreds within two hours

Click on a park to get more info

https://pota.app/#/map

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Pota Park Info

Website

Location

Activations

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Research The Park

Contact last activator for the 411

Distance & driving time

Alone or accompanied

Pop-ups, natural shade

Food and Water

Facilities

Parking

Toolkit

Distance from car to set up point

Cart or backpack

Weather

Establish a plan

Checklists

US-4453 Angeles National Forest – Mt. Wilson below the Cosmic Café.

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Site Considerations

Know/educate the Staff

Safety

Paths

People

Play areas

Antenna deployment

Coax length & counterpoise tripping hazard

Facilities

Benches or picnic tables

Handouts

Let someone know where you’re going

US-3534 Pio Pico State Historical Park – Inside the Adobe grounds.

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Setting up

Pictures

Antenna location

Establish safety area

Radio

Battery, solar

Electronics – tablet, speakers, camera

Logging – electronic, paper & pencil

Spot yourself

Take a break to get ready

Pictures

QRL

CQ POTA

QRT

US-1139 Chino Hills State Park – Near the Discovery Center

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Documenting My Experiences

Blog and Video

US-10832 Baldwin Lake Ecological Reserve

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