Posts Tagged ‘portable ops’
Skeeter Hunt News
June 15th, 2017 | 
Author: They say Memorial Day is the "unofficial" 1st Day of Summer. That may be true; but in Skeeterland, we wait until the "official" Official 1st Day of Summer to start issuing NJQRP Skeeter Hunt numbers. That day is coming up fast - next Wednesday, June 21st is when Skeeter numbers for 2017 will start being dispensed.
All you have to do to get one is to send an e-mail to [email protected] and one will be sent back to you in a confirming e-mail. Be sure to include your name, call sign and either the state you'll be operating from or the POTA #.
POTA # ????? Yes - because this year, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring the Parks On The Air program. For all the details, please visit http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/
Last year, it was NPOTA and this year it will be POTA. 100 Bonus points will be added to your score if you activate a POTA entity, and there are PLENTY of them available! To find one near you, please visit the interactive map at: http://wwff.co/directory/map/
Now I know some of you faithful Skeeters are probably reading this and are thinking, "Wait a darn sec, there, LJ! Where's the Soapbox page from 2016 and where are our certificates? Huh? What do you have to say about that? Huh?"
Mea culpa, friends! I'll readily admit that I was tardy on both counts. However, the 2016 Soapbox page is now up at http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209 and your richly deserved certificates are in the process of being printed. I hope to have them in the mail, no later than this weekend. And hey, the timing isn't so bad, is it? You can read the soapbox and make plans for this year, while reminiscing over last year!
There's also a new Fabook group devoted to the Skeeter Hunt - https://www.facebook.com/groups/175763746290252/, if you're so inclined to join.
So to answer one last question - why new Skeeter numbers every year? Why aren't they good for life? The reason for that is that I like to give everyone the opportunity to get a low number. Those seem to be the most coveted. For various reasons, not everyone is able to participate from year to year - family commitments come up, business trips happen, vacations happen. It's not fair to lock up a low number because of that - so they get issued to folks who really want them and have every intention of using them.
That being said, if you're not certain that you'll be able to participate - DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM GETTING A NUMBER !!!! I'd rather numbers go un-used than not issued at all. Sometimes things come up, but then there are times that potential conflicts get resolved and it's better that you have a Skeeter number than not!
Lastly, I kinda fibbed on that statement about Skeeter numbers not being good for life - at least in one instance. Let it be known, throughout the kingdom of Skeeterland, that from henceforth, W2LJ will always be lucky Skeeter #13. There are some superstitious folks out there, who have specifically asked me to make sure they are not issued #13 - so I've solved that little predicament by assigning it to myself in perpetuity.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
POTA # ????? Yes - because this year, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring the Parks On The Air program. For all the details, please visit http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/
Last year, it was NPOTA and this year it will be POTA. 100 Bonus points will be added to your score if you activate a POTA entity, and there are PLENTY of them available! To find one near you, please visit the interactive map at: http://wwff.co/directory/map/
Now I know some of you faithful Skeeters are probably reading this and are thinking, "Wait a darn sec, there, LJ! Where's the Soapbox page from 2016 and where are our certificates? Huh? What do you have to say about that? Huh?"
Mea culpa, friends! I'll readily admit that I was tardy on both counts. However, the 2016 Soapbox page is now up at http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209 and your richly deserved certificates are in the process of being printed. I hope to have them in the mail, no later than this weekend. And hey, the timing isn't so bad, is it? You can read the soapbox and make plans for this year, while reminiscing over last year!
There's also a new Fabook group devoted to the Skeeter Hunt - https://www.facebook.com/groups/175763746290252/, if you're so inclined to join.
So to answer one last question - why new Skeeter numbers every year? Why aren't they good for life? The reason for that is that I like to give everyone the opportunity to get a low number. Those seem to be the most coveted. For various reasons, not everyone is able to participate from year to year - family commitments come up, business trips happen, vacations happen. It's not fair to lock up a low number because of that - so they get issued to folks who really want them and have every intention of using them.
That being said, if you're not certain that you'll be able to participate - DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM GETTING A NUMBER !!!! I'd rather numbers go un-used than not issued at all. Sometimes things come up, but then there are times that potential conflicts get resolved and it's better that you have a Skeeter number than not!
Lastly, I kinda fibbed on that statement about Skeeter numbers not being good for life - at least in one instance. Let it be known, throughout the kingdom of Skeeterland, that from henceforth, W2LJ will always be lucky Skeeter #13. There are some superstitious folks out there, who have specifically asked me to make sure they are not issued #13 - so I've solved that little predicament by assigning it to myself in perpetuity.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Skeeter Hunt News
They say Memorial Day is the "unofficial" 1st Day of Summer. That may be true; but in Skeeterland, we wait until the "official" Official 1st Day of Summer to start issuing NJQRP Skeeter Hunt numbers. That day is coming up fast - next Wednesday, June 21st is when Skeeter numbers for 2017 will start being dispensed.
All you have to do to get one is to send an e-mail to [email protected] and one will be sent back to you in a confirming e-mail. Be sure to include your name, call sign and either the state you'll be operating from or the POTA #.
POTA # ????? Yes - because this year, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring the Parks On The Air program. For all the details, please visit http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/
Last year, it was NPOTA and this year it will be POTA. 100 Bonus points will be added to your score if you activate a POTA entity, and there are PLENTY of them available! To find one near you, please visit the interactive map at: http://wwff.co/directory/map/
Now I know some of you faithful Skeeters are probably reading this and are thinking, "Wait a darn sec, there, LJ! Where's the Soapbox page from 2016 and where are our certificates? Huh? What do you have to say about that? Huh?"
Mea culpa, friends! I'll readily admit that I was tardy on both counts. However, the 2016 Soapbox page is now up at http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209 and your richly deserved certificates are in the process of being printed. I hope to have them in the mail, no later than this weekend. And hey, the timing isn't so bad, is it? You can read the soapbox and make plans for this year, while reminiscing over last year!
There's also a new Fabook group devoted to the Skeeter Hunt - https://www.facebook.com/groups/175763746290252/, if you're so inclined to join.
So to answer one last question - why new Skeeter numbers every year? Why aren't they good for life? The reason for that is that I like to give everyone the opportunity to get a low number. Those seem to be the most coveted. For various reasons, not everyone is able to participate from year to year - family commitments come up, business trips happen, vacations happen. It's not fair to lock up a low number because of that - so they get issued to folks who really want them and have every intention of using them.
That being said, if you're not certain that you'll be able to participate - DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM GETTING A NUMBER !!!! I'd rather numbers go un-used than not issued at all. Sometimes things come up, but then there are times that potential conflicts get resolved and it's better that you have a Skeeter number than not!
Lastly, I kinda fibbed on that statement about Skeeter numbers not being good for life - at least in one instance. Let it be known, throughout the kingdom of Skeeterland, that from henceforth, W2LJ will always be lucky Skeeter #13. There are some superstitious folks out there, who have specifically asked me to make sure they are not issued #13 - so I've solved that little predicament by assigning it to myself in perpetuity.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
POTA # ????? Yes - because this year, the NJQRP Skeeter Hunt will be featuring the Parks On The Air program. For all the details, please visit http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/
Last year, it was NPOTA and this year it will be POTA. 100 Bonus points will be added to your score if you activate a POTA entity, and there are PLENTY of them available! To find one near you, please visit the interactive map at: http://wwff.co/directory/map/
Now I know some of you faithful Skeeters are probably reading this and are thinking, "Wait a darn sec, there, LJ! Where's the Soapbox page from 2016 and where are our certificates? Huh? What do you have to say about that? Huh?"
Mea culpa, friends! I'll readily admit that I was tardy on both counts. However, the 2016 Soapbox page is now up at http://www.qsl.net/w2lj/index%20page%209 and your richly deserved certificates are in the process of being printed. I hope to have them in the mail, no later than this weekend. And hey, the timing isn't so bad, is it? You can read the soapbox and make plans for this year, while reminiscing over last year!
There's also a new Fabook group devoted to the Skeeter Hunt - https://www.facebook.com/groups/175763746290252/, if you're so inclined to join.
So to answer one last question - why new Skeeter numbers every year? Why aren't they good for life? The reason for that is that I like to give everyone the opportunity to get a low number. Those seem to be the most coveted. For various reasons, not everyone is able to participate from year to year - family commitments come up, business trips happen, vacations happen. It's not fair to lock up a low number because of that - so they get issued to folks who really want them and have every intention of using them.
That being said, if you're not certain that you'll be able to participate - DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU FROM GETTING A NUMBER !!!! I'd rather numbers go un-used than not issued at all. Sometimes things come up, but then there are times that potential conflicts get resolved and it's better that you have a Skeeter number than not!
Lastly, I kinda fibbed on that statement about Skeeter numbers not being good for life - at least in one instance. Let it be known, throughout the kingdom of Skeeterland, that from henceforth, W2LJ will always be lucky Skeeter #13. There are some superstitious folks out there, who have specifically asked me to make sure they are not issued #13 - so I've solved that little predicament by assigning it to myself in perpetuity.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Arduino Projects for Amateur Radio with Glen Popiel – ETH072
Do you want to get back to the original roots of Amateur Radio? Maybe you are a new ham and you have a DIY side? Maybe you just want to try something new? There are so many things that you can do with an Arduino that cost only $4 or so! Anything from a morse code keyer to a 40m QRP CW Radio and a whole lot in between. You can even do things with an Arduino that has nothing to do with amateur radio but you will find a use for.
In this episode with talk with Glen Popiel, KW5GP the author of the ARRL published books, Arduino for Ham Radio and his new book that just came out, More Arduino for Ham Radio. He is also the author of the ham mesh networking book, High Speed Multimedia for Amateur Radio.
We had a great conversation and it made me literally go to the ARRL website and buy his new Arduino book while we were recording! Check out the show notes of this episode to listen and to get more information about what we talked about. There are also links to his books that you can go to to buy one for yourself.
Amateur Radio …. sort of
Today was a busy day with a lot of commitments and a lot of chores and not much time for Amateur Radio. So what does an intrepid Amateur Radio op do? Put his tail between his legs and slink off into the distance? No, he does the next best thing - he engages in related activities.
I had a class this morning that meets one Saturday a month. It started last September and ends next month, and it runs from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can see that that's a good chunk of the day. So it was SOTABEAMS WSPRLite to the rescue! It's kind of like a Ronco counter top oven - "set it and forget it". So I hooked up my WSPRLite to my W3EDP, set it up for 200 milliWatts on 20 Meters and let it go to town!
I figured that I'd let it run, see how the W3EDP gets out and still do the things I had to do today.
This WSPRLite is so cool! It's a software defined WSPR beacon in a package about half the size of an Altoids tin. It's powered by the USB port of your computer. You pick the band and power output and hook it up to your antenna. You wait until 2 seconds past any even minute and you press the little black button on the right to kick things off. The beacon transmits for 110 seconds and then waits for the next opportunity when the frequency is clear. I set it so that it would randomly transmit about 20% of the time; and you can let it run for up to three days if you want.
In the meantime, yesterday, while checking my e-mail, I saw that Joe Everhart N2CX co-founder of the NJQRP Club was going to be activating Edison State Park for Parks on the Air. It's designator is KFF-1615 and it's all of about 15 minutes from my house. So I e-mailed Joe back with my cell phone number and told him to text me when he got there; and I would come out and meet him.
After class I came home and broke out the lawnmower and got the front yard done. As I was walking to the backyard, I felt my pocket buzz. I whipped out my phone and read a text that Joe was on site and setting up. I dropped the lawnmower like a hot potato and high tailed it to the park. After all, what QRPer in his right mind would miss the opportunity to talk with a QRP Legend, right? When I got there, I saw Joe had finished setting up and was operating from his car.
It was getting out all right! Into the midwest USA and into Europe on 200 milliWatts! The W3EDP seems to be doing OK!
It turned out to be a good day, after all. I got to attend my class, got my chores done and got to hob-nob with a QRP giant - while giving my wire antenna a check out at the same time!
And here I thought the day would be a bust, Amateur Radio-wise!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I had a class this morning that meets one Saturday a month. It started last September and ends next month, and it runs from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can see that that's a good chunk of the day. So it was SOTABEAMS WSPRLite to the rescue! It's kind of like a Ronco counter top oven - "set it and forget it". So I hooked up my WSPRLite to my W3EDP, set it up for 200 milliWatts on 20 Meters and let it go to town!
I figured that I'd let it run, see how the W3EDP gets out and still do the things I had to do today.
This WSPRLite is so cool! It's a software defined WSPR beacon in a package about half the size of an Altoids tin. It's powered by the USB port of your computer. You pick the band and power output and hook it up to your antenna. You wait until 2 seconds past any even minute and you press the little black button on the right to kick things off. The beacon transmits for 110 seconds and then waits for the next opportunity when the frequency is clear. I set it so that it would randomly transmit about 20% of the time; and you can let it run for up to three days if you want.
In the meantime, yesterday, while checking my e-mail, I saw that Joe Everhart N2CX co-founder of the NJQRP Club was going to be activating Edison State Park for Parks on the Air. It's designator is KFF-1615 and it's all of about 15 minutes from my house. So I e-mailed Joe back with my cell phone number and told him to text me when he got there; and I would come out and meet him.
After class I came home and broke out the lawnmower and got the front yard done. As I was walking to the backyard, I felt my pocket buzz. I whipped out my phone and read a text that Joe was on site and setting up. I dropped the lawnmower like a hot potato and high tailed it to the park. After all, what QRPer in his right mind would miss the opportunity to talk with a QRP Legend, right? When I got there, I saw Joe had finished setting up and was operating from his car.
If you click on the picture to get a better view, you will notice that mounted at the rear of the car was Joe's 16 foot crappie pole. He had a loading coil attached and ran wire to the top. He told me that this arrangement seems to work for him as well as a full blown 31 foot mast secured via a drive on mast support. And who am I not to take him at his word? Joe is quite the QRP innovator. It seems that not an issue of "QRP Quarterly" goes by without some kind of juicy tidbit from Joe. And if N2CX says it works, then by golly, you can be assured that it works!
When I got there, Joe was making contacts on 40 Meters with his KX3. He noticed the same thing that I think we're all keenly aware of, that 20 Meters seems to stink, lately. Anyway, we kibbitzed for a few minutes and then I took my leave after Joe's son Kevin took a few photos of us together. After all, he came all the way to Edison from his home to make QSOs and put KFF-1615 on the air, not shoot the breeze with W2LJ!
When I got home, before I started on the back yard, I raced downstairs to the shack and hooked up the KX3 to the HF9V and went looking for Joe. I listened on 7.034 MHz, where I saw him operating from during our visit, only to hear not a peep. Figuring that he changed bands, I checked both 30 Meters and then 20 Meters, Bingo on 14.062 MHz (goundwave)! I got Joe in my log and helped him towards making the minimum number of contacts he needed to qualify for an activation.
Before resuming lawn duty, I decided to check WSPRNet, to see how the WSPRLite was getting out.
It was getting out all right! Into the midwest USA and into Europe on 200 milliWatts! The W3EDP seems to be doing OK!
It turned out to be a good day, after all. I got to attend my class, got my chores done and got to hob-nob with a QRP giant - while giving my wire antenna a check out at the same time!
And here I thought the day would be a bust, Amateur Radio-wise!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Amateur Radio …. sort of
Today was a busy day with a lot of commitments and a lot of chores and not much time for Amateur Radio. So what does an intrepid Amateur Radio op do? Put his tail between his legs and slink off into the distance? No, he does the next best thing - he engages in related activities.
I had a class this morning that meets one Saturday a month. It started last September and ends next month, and it runs from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can see that that's a good chunk of the day. So it was SOTABEAMS WSPRLite to the rescue! It's kind of like a Ronco counter top oven - "set it and forget it". So I hooked up my WSPRLite to my W3EDP, set it up for 200 milliWatts on 20 Meters and let it go to town!
I figured that I'd let it run, see how the W3EDP gets out and still do the things I had to do today.
This WSPRLite is so cool! It's a software defined WSPR beacon in a package about half the size of an Altoids tin. It's powered by the USB port of your computer. You pick the band and power output and hook it up to your antenna. You wait until 2 seconds past any even minute and you press the little black button on the right to kick things off. The beacon transmits for 110 seconds and then waits for the next opportunity when the frequency is clear. I set it so that it would randomly transmit about 20% of the time; and you can let it run for up to three days if you want.
In the meantime, yesterday, while checking my e-mail, I saw that Joe Everhart N2CX co-founder of the NJQRP Club was going to be activating Edison State Park for Parks on the Air. It's designator is KFF-1615 and it's all of about 15 minutes from my house. So I e-mailed Joe back with my cell phone number and told him to text me when he got there; and I would come out and meet him.
After class I came home and broke out the lawnmower and got the front yard done. As I was walking to the backyard, I felt my pocket buzz. I whipped out my phone and read a text that Joe was on site and setting up. I dropped the lawnmower like a hot potato and high tailed it to the park. After all, what QRPer in his right mind would miss the opportunity to talk with a QRP Legend, right? When I got there, I saw Joe had finished setting up and was operating from his car.
It was getting out all right! Into the midwest USA and into Europe on 200 milliWatts! The W3EDP seems to be doing OK!
It turned out to be a good day, after all. I got to attend my class, got my chores done and got to hob-nob with a QRP giant - while giving my wire antenna a check out at the same time!
And here I thought the day would be a bust, Amateur Radio-wise!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I had a class this morning that meets one Saturday a month. It started last September and ends next month, and it runs from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM. You can see that that's a good chunk of the day. So it was SOTABEAMS WSPRLite to the rescue! It's kind of like a Ronco counter top oven - "set it and forget it". So I hooked up my WSPRLite to my W3EDP, set it up for 200 milliWatts on 20 Meters and let it go to town!
I figured that I'd let it run, see how the W3EDP gets out and still do the things I had to do today.
This WSPRLite is so cool! It's a software defined WSPR beacon in a package about half the size of an Altoids tin. It's powered by the USB port of your computer. You pick the band and power output and hook it up to your antenna. You wait until 2 seconds past any even minute and you press the little black button on the right to kick things off. The beacon transmits for 110 seconds and then waits for the next opportunity when the frequency is clear. I set it so that it would randomly transmit about 20% of the time; and you can let it run for up to three days if you want.
In the meantime, yesterday, while checking my e-mail, I saw that Joe Everhart N2CX co-founder of the NJQRP Club was going to be activating Edison State Park for Parks on the Air. It's designator is KFF-1615 and it's all of about 15 minutes from my house. So I e-mailed Joe back with my cell phone number and told him to text me when he got there; and I would come out and meet him.
After class I came home and broke out the lawnmower and got the front yard done. As I was walking to the backyard, I felt my pocket buzz. I whipped out my phone and read a text that Joe was on site and setting up. I dropped the lawnmower like a hot potato and high tailed it to the park. After all, what QRPer in his right mind would miss the opportunity to talk with a QRP Legend, right? When I got there, I saw Joe had finished setting up and was operating from his car.
If you click on the picture to get a better view, you will notice that mounted at the rear of the car was Joe's 16 foot crappie pole. He had a loading coil attached and ran wire to the top. He told me that this arrangement seems to work for him as well as a full blown 31 foot mast secured via a drive on mast support. And who am I not to take him at his word? Joe is quite the QRP innovator. It seems that not an issue of "QRP Quarterly" goes by without some kind of juicy tidbit from Joe. And if N2CX says it works, then by golly, you can be assured that it works!
When I got there, Joe was making contacts on 40 Meters with his KX3. He noticed the same thing that I think we're all keenly aware of, that 20 Meters seems to stink, lately. Anyway, we kibbitzed for a few minutes and then I took my leave after Joe's son Kevin took a few photos of us together. After all, he came all the way to Edison from his home to make QSOs and put KFF-1615 on the air, not shoot the breeze with W2LJ!
When I got home, before I started on the back yard, I raced downstairs to the shack and hooked up the KX3 to the HF9V and went looking for Joe. I listened on 7.034 MHz, where I saw him operating from during our visit, only to hear not a peep. Figuring that he changed bands, I checked both 30 Meters and then 20 Meters, Bingo on 14.062 MHz (goundwave)! I got Joe in my log and helped him towards making the minimum number of contacts he needed to qualify for an activation.
Before resuming lawn duty, I decided to check WSPRNet, to see how the WSPRLite was getting out.
It was getting out all right! Into the midwest USA and into Europe on 200 milliWatts! The W3EDP seems to be doing OK!
It turned out to be a good day, after all. I got to attend my class, got my chores done and got to hob-nob with a QRP giant - while giving my wire antenna a check out at the same time!
And here I thought the day would be a bust, Amateur Radio-wise!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
To help with your NPOTA withdrawal
There IS a Parks On The Air program that has been up and running for a while. In the USA, POTA is part of the World Wide Flora and Fauna program, which is international in scope. Like NPOTA, WWFF was devised in order to get Amateur Radio ops off their duffs and into the Great Outdoors. I love their catch phrase - "Make nature your shack!"
POTA is the United States arm of WWFF and POTA encompasses not only NPOTA, but State Parks as well. So if NPOTA was difficult for you as an activator, POTA should be easier as it will include many places that were not part of POTA.
Take for instance, the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge (KFF-0454) here in NJ. I drive through it every time I go up to HP28, Morristown National Historical Park (KFF-0746), which is part of NPOTA. Since the Refuge is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, it was not part of NPOTA - but it IS part of POTA. My favorite portable operating spot, Washington Rock State Park, is also part of POTA (KFF-1635).
Activation requirements for WWFF are a bit stricter. For a valid activation, WWFF requires 44 QSOs, while NPOTA required only 10. Happily, according to my good friend Greg N4KGL, POTA also requires only 10 QSOs for a valid activation. A good day's worth of portable operations should cover you. If you're bound and determined to work towards Activator awards, then you have a good program here to fill your heart's desire.. Me? I'll just be happy to have the "excuse" to go out and put some NJ parks on the air.
I've only just registered and have not looked into all the details about how to upload logs and stuff; but I am bound and determined to put some parks in New Jersey on the air this coming Spring and Summer for the chasers that are really into this.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
POTA is the United States arm of WWFF and POTA encompasses not only NPOTA, but State Parks as well. So if NPOTA was difficult for you as an activator, POTA should be easier as it will include many places that were not part of POTA.
Take for instance, the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge (KFF-0454) here in NJ. I drive through it every time I go up to HP28, Morristown National Historical Park (KFF-0746), which is part of NPOTA. Since the Refuge is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, it was not part of NPOTA - but it IS part of POTA. My favorite portable operating spot, Washington Rock State Park, is also part of POTA (KFF-1635).
Activation requirements for WWFF are a bit stricter. For a valid activation, WWFF requires 44 QSOs, while NPOTA required only 10. Happily, according to my good friend Greg N4KGL, POTA also requires only 10 QSOs for a valid activation. A good day's worth of portable operations should cover you. If you're bound and determined to work towards Activator awards, then you have a good program here to fill your heart's desire.. Me? I'll just be happy to have the "excuse" to go out and put some NJ parks on the air.
I've only just registered and have not looked into all the details about how to upload logs and stuff; but I am bound and determined to put some parks in New Jersey on the air this coming Spring and Summer for the chasers that are really into this.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
To help with your NPOTA withdrawal
There IS a Parks On The Air program that has been up and running for a while. In the USA, POTA is part of the World Wide Flora and Fauna program, which is international in scope. Like NPOTA, WWFF was devised in order to get Amateur Radio ops off their duffs and into the Great Outdoors. I love their catch phrase - "Make nature your shack!"
POTA is the United States arm of WWFF and POTA encompasses not only NPOTA, but State Parks as well. So if NPOTA was difficult for you as an activator, POTA should be easier as it will include many places that were not part of POTA.
Take for instance, the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge (KFF-0454) here in NJ. I drive through it every time I go up to HP28, Morristown National Historical Park (KFF-0746), which is part of NPOTA. Since the Refuge is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, it was not part of NPOTA - but it IS part of POTA. My favorite portable operating spot, Washington Rock State Park, is also part of POTA (KFF-1635).
Activation requirements for WWFF are a bit stricter. For a valid activation, WWFF requires 44 QSOs, while NPOTA required only 10. Happily, according to my good friend Greg N4KGL, POTA also requires only 10 QSOs for a valid activation. A good day's worth of portable operations should cover you. If you're bound and determined to work towards Activator awards, then you have a good program here to fill your heart's desire.. Me? I'll just be happy to have the "excuse" to go out and put some NJ parks on the air.
I've only just registered and have not looked into all the details about how to upload logs and stuff; but I am bound and determined to put some parks in New Jersey on the air this coming Spring and Summer for the chasers that are really into this.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
POTA is the United States arm of WWFF and POTA encompasses not only NPOTA, but State Parks as well. So if NPOTA was difficult for you as an activator, POTA should be easier as it will include many places that were not part of POTA.
Take for instance, the Great Swamp Wildlife Refuge (KFF-0454) here in NJ. I drive through it every time I go up to HP28, Morristown National Historical Park (KFF-0746), which is part of NPOTA. Since the Refuge is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, it was not part of NPOTA - but it IS part of POTA. My favorite portable operating spot, Washington Rock State Park, is also part of POTA (KFF-1635).
Activation requirements for WWFF are a bit stricter. For a valid activation, WWFF requires 44 QSOs, while NPOTA required only 10. Happily, according to my good friend Greg N4KGL, POTA also requires only 10 QSOs for a valid activation. A good day's worth of portable operations should cover you. If you're bound and determined to work towards Activator awards, then you have a good program here to fill your heart's desire.. Me? I'll just be happy to have the "excuse" to go out and put some NJ parks on the air.
I've only just registered and have not looked into all the details about how to upload logs and stuff; but I am bound and determined to put some parks in New Jersey on the air this coming Spring and Summer for the chasers that are really into this.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
