POTA - My first successful activation

With my daughter spending the week at the grandparents and a beautiful southern breeze, I ran out to US-2487 (Glendalough State Park) for my first attempt at a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. For an outing like this, you need to make 10 contacts through any method on any band and then log them on the pota.app website.

Attempt #1

I got to the park, setup at a picnic table with my Icom IC-7300 and started decoding FT8 messages on 20m using WSJT-X. My antenna was a newly purchased Rez 17' whip and a ground spike with 4 radials. Feeling confident in my setup, which I'd gotten QSO's with in my backyard the day before, I spotted myself on pota.app and started calling CQ. Then... nothing.

I spent 30 minutes calling CQ and wasn't spotted on PSK Reporter or responded to over FT8. I double-checked all my connections and my radio settings. I restarted my computer and did a quick lap around the area to clear my head. I was frustrated, because I could decode messages but it seemed like nobody could hear me. It turns out, there's a reason why.

In my laptop's sound menu, my audio input for WSJT-X was muted. Ahh - such a simple lesson that I hadn't learned yet. Unfortunately, I had packed up and went home from the park in my frustration before K0TML, a local ham I know, helped me troubleshoot. After that small tweak to my computer's audio, I was getting messages out all over the country.

I might have failed that first activation attempt, however I was determined later in the week to make another attempt count!

Attempt #2

A few days later, the weather cooperated and I headed back out with the same gear to the same park. I setup on a picnic table and got to work. Within a few seconds of calling CQ POTA KF0UUY EN26, I was getting responses. Success!

I quickly was able to get my required 10 QSOs and then a couple extra for good measure. With this new success under my belt, I packed up and headed home a happy man.

I love the nature of portable operation - fine tuning gear and learning how to operate it well is a skill that will help me become a better ham. POTA is also an excellent excuse to get outdoors and visit all of the public areas around this area.

Now that I know I can do it, I'll be trying my hand at activations across the 3 states I work in during my business travels. Thanks to all the folks in my area that have helped guide me as I've started out!

73,

KF0UUY