Amateur Radio Station WD8RIF | POTA Activation Strouds Run State Park

On Tuesday, December 17, 2024, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed a successful bicycle-portable activation of Strouds Run State Park (US-1994) as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.

When he realized that the unseasonably-warm December day was warm enough for a bicycle ride, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, decided to combine a bicycle ride with a POTA activation. Wishing to avoid two significant hill climbs, Eric chose to start his ride at his workplace parking lot instead of at home. He began his ride at 1745 UTC, when the temperature was already 53°F, and arrived at Bulldog Shelter at 1814 UTC, finding the yard around the picnic shelter to be muddy and saturated like a sponge, but the picnic shelter itself was unoccupied.

Eric's had carried with him on this ride his KH1 Micro Travel Kit, a Whiterook MK-33 single-lever paddle and cable, clipboards, and his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast. Eric deployed the kit's ad hoc 35' EFRW antenna as a sloping inverted-L, with the near end supported on a picnic shelter post and the far end supported on his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 telescoping carbon fiber mast bungied vertically to his bicycle. Because the saturated ground was very soft, he placed the tin can he carries his Whiterook paddle in under the bicycle's kickstand, in hopes of preventing the kickstand from sinking into the ground and the bicycle toppling over. Placing his KH1 on a picnic table, laying the 13' counterpoise wire directly on the ground opposite the radiator, plugging in earbuds and the MK-33 paddle, Eric was on the air at 1825 UTC.

As he has come to expect, Eric had cell-signal at Bulldog Shelter and he would be able to access POTA Spots to spot himself and to find Park-to-Park (P2P) QSO opportunities.

For a change, Eric began his operation on 17m. After finding himself a clear frequency to run, he began calling "CQ POTA" and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO came at 1827 UTC with KB0IWW in Minnesota. QSOs came steadily, if not quickly, with Eric's sixth QSO coming at 1839 UTC with N7CQR at Bandon State Natural Area (US-9527) in Oregon. This run included QSOs with operators located in Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota (2), and Oregon.

Switching to 20m, Eric found a clear frequency to run, began calling "CQ POTA", and was again auto-spotted on POTA spots. His first QSO in this run came at 1845 UTC with KA9ZCF in Wisconsin. QSOs on 20m came quickly, with Eric's thirteenth QSO in this run coming at 1857 UTC with W8GG in Florida. This run included QSOs with operators located in Arkansas, Delaware, Florida (3), Illinois, New York (2), North Carolina (2), Texas (2), and Wisconsin.

In all, Eric made nineteen QSOs, including one P2P QSO, in just over half and hour of on-air time.

After the operation, Eric took some more photos, loaded his bicycle, and began the ride back to his car.

Eric was pleased to have been given the opportunity to perform a second bicycle-portable POTA activation during an Ohio December.

Eric also submitted his log to the World Wide Flora and Fauna in Amateur Radio (WWFF; link) program for an operation at Strouds Run State Park, KFF-1994.