By now everyone has heard about “POTA” – Parks on the Air, and I’ve previously covered it. Based on the parks on the air rules, just being inside the park boundaries is sufficient to operate and work that park. So some people may just drive into the parking lot with their HF gear and get right to it.
But, that’s just too easy for some of us. A week ago, I activated via a walk-in campsite at Lake Maria state park. This may not seem like much of a game changer, but it really was. Weather was VERY hot, 93 degrees, and humidity was high. Every single thing had to be carried in including food, water, power, and shelter. A DX-pedition without being DX. Everything not needed was left at home – but the ICOM bag still contains the radio, a small antenna analyzer, and all of the components.
This trip was intended to be a POC for visiting more remote parks that exist on parks on the air; and in particular using a minimalistic FT4/FT8 digital setup based on sdr-mobile. This application connects to the 705 and specific other ICOM radios and allows running of both digital and analog modes via phone or tablet. This can be done in the wilderness – or even within your house if you want to operate within the coverage of your wifi network, rather than at your station. The app has both a ipad and iphone version.
A bit of QRN on the way.
The packing list:
- ICOM 705 radio (connectivity to cell phone using wifi), running up to 10 watts
- Power via Renology battery pack (powering Radio, CPAP, phones)
- Half-wave End-fed antenna tied to tree trunks, only as far overhead as one can reach:
With other activities, there were only a few hours for operation, but the setup did not disappoint. Digital modes worked great, and contacts were out there on multiple bands, FT4/8. The application logs for you automatically, and emails you the ADIF file for processing and upload.
After making the 10 contacts required to activate the park, the radio was stowed in the tent, we were reminded how summer heat can drive summer storms. Even in their bags, the inside of the tent was damp by morning and sleep was limited. The next day we made a few more contacts before heading out.
Thing’s I’ve learned:
- sdr-mobile works great and means operating without a computer is practical
- Packing for something like this is its own art. Optimizing for weight and need.
- Cooler weather might be nice. 😉
I would definitely do it again; but this is certainly more difficult than parking-lot POTAs.
73,
N0TJN
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