by William Eric McFadden
From the park website:
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Kiser Lake State Park is a favorite for folks who prefer to spend the day with a fishing pole or paddle in their hands. Several boat ramps are located along the lake’s 5 miles of shoreline. The park’s 531 acres of rolling, wooded hills and diverse wetlands add to the beauty of the 396-acre known for its clean, clear waters. The park also offers relaxing picnic areas for gatherings of family and friends. Overnight guests are invited to camp under the stars in the cozy campground or leave their equipment at home and rent a camper cabin.
Pictures
Description
On Saturday, November 7, 2020, two members of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team
performed a successful activation of Kiser Lake State Park in Ohio as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link)
program.
Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, and Miles McFadden, KD8KNC, performed the activation of Kiser Lake State Park at the northern trailhead of the North Bay Trail while enjoying the sunshine and 72° temperature of the unseasonably warm early November day.
The pair arrived at the trailhead at about 1745 UTC and, parking the car on the edge of the parking area, quickly deployed Eric's 28½' wire antenna on his 31' Jackite telescoping fiberglass mast and drive-on base. Because of the very pleasant weather, Eric set up his station on a folding camp-chair adjacent to the mast. Eric was on the air at 1756 UTC.
As expected, Eric had excellent cell-signal and was able to self-spot himself on the POTA Spots website
as well as to look for park-to-park (P2P) QSO opportunities.
Eric began operations on 80m and his only QSO there came at 1802 UTC with NE4TN in Tennessee.
Checking POTA Spots for possible P2P opportunities, Eric found that his good friend K4SWL was active on 40m at the Blue Ridge National Parkway (K-3378) and at 1803 UTC he and Tom completed a QSO.
Finding his own frequency on 40m, Eric began to call "CQ POTA" and at 1808 UTC had a QSO with W8SUN in Virginia. QSOs came quickly, with Eric's fifteenth QSO in the run coming at 1826 UTC with W9OA in Illinois.
Again checking POTA Spots for P2P opportunities, Eric switched to 30m for a P2P QSO at 1828 UTC
with N5AAS who was performing an activation of Theodore Mars Wildlife Management Area (K-7107) in
Mississippi. Eric then switched back to 40m for a P2P QSO at 1835 UTC with special-event station K4R
who was activating Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (K-0662) in Georgia.
Switching back to 30m to find his own frequency, Eric worked W6OUL in California at 1836 UTC. This was following at 1839 UTC with a QSO with WB2SMK who was performing an activation of Schodack Island State Park (K-2136) in New York. After checking POTA Spots, Eric changed frequency for a P2P QSO at 1844 UTC with N0EVH who was performing an activation of Pomona State Park (K-2348) in Kansas. Eric returned to his previous frequency to call "CQ" and made one more QSO, at 1845 UTC, with K1YRW in Connecticut.
In all, Eric made twenty-three QSOs, including five P2P QSOs. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made at the 5-watt level. Miles did not operate but helped with navigation, set-up and tear-down, and photography.
Eric also submitted his log to the World Wide Flora and Fauna in Amateur Radio (WWFF; link) program.
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