Amateur Radio Station WD8RIF | POTA Activation Strouds Run State Park

On Saturday, February 25, 2023, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed a successful activation of Strouds Run State Park (K-1994) as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.

Having made himself a goal of earning in 2023 the Bear Cave Repeat Offender Activator Award by performing sixty activations of the park, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, visited the swim-beach area at Strouds Run State Park on a rapidly warming late-February morning to perform his 52nd activation of the park. Eric was accompanied by his small dog, Theo.

After a brief visit to the Athens County Amateur Radio Association (link) repeater site, Eric and Theo arrived at the swim-beach area at around 1520 UTC and found a parking place. Eric deployed his 28½' wire vertical supported on his 31' Jackite telescoping fiberglass mast and drive-on base, deployed his KX3 in the car, and was on the air at 1526 UTC.

As expected, Eric found he had good cell-signal at this location and would be able to spot himself on the POTA Spots website and to use POTA Spots to identify possible Park-to-Park (P2P) QSOs.

Eric began his operation by checking POTA Spots for P2P QSO opportunities and found several POTA activators in South Carolina participating in the South Carolina QSO Party (SCQP); most of these operators were running on 20m, and that band was just too long for Eric to hear them. At 1527 UTC, he made a P2P QSO on 40m with WZ4M who participating in the SCQP while activating Little Pee Dee State Park (K-2906) in South Carolina. At 1533 UTC, Eric made a P2P QSO on 20m with KD5ICE who was activating Purtis Creek State Park (K-3050) in Texas.

Finding himself a 20m frequency to run, Eric began calling "CQ POTA" and was pleased to be quickly auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO in this run came at 1537 UTC with K4AHO in Florida. QSOs came quickly, with Eric's ninth QSO in this run coming at 1546 UTC with W7QF in Oregon. This run included QSOs with operators located in Florida (2), Idaho (2), Ontario, Rhode Island, Texas (2), and Oregon.

Pausing to check POTA Spots for P2P QSO opportunities, at 1549 UTC, Eric made a P2P QSO on 40m with N4CWZ who was activating Hanging Rock State Park (K-2735) in North Carolina. This was followed at 1551 UTC by a P2P QSO on 40m with WB8ERJ who was activating Mt. Gilead State Park (K-1979) in Ohio, and at 1559 UTC by a P2P QSO on 40m with KB1AEM who was participating in the SCQP while activating Barnwell State Park (K-2885) in South Carolina.

Finding himself a 40m frequency to run, Eric began calling "CQ POTA" and was again pleased to be quickly auto-spotted to POTA Spots. Eric's first QSO in this run came at 1604 UTC with KB3A in Alabama. QSOs came relatively slowly, with Eric's fourth QSO in this run coming at 1610 UTC with KN4WNI in North Carolina. At this point, sensing that 40m was going to be unproductive, Eric announced on-frequency that he was QRT, but was immediately called by W4SK in Tennessee, and an unbroken string of QSOs followed, with Eric's sixteenth QSO in this second run coming at 1623 UTC with N2GSL in New York. This pair of runs on 40m included QSOs with operators located in Alabama, New York (2), Pennsylvania (2), North Carolina (3), Tennessee (2), New Jersey, Michigan, Illinois (2), Virginia (2), Georgia, Ohio (2), and Ontario.

In all, Eric made thirty-four QSOs, with five P2P QSOs, in just under an hour. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made at five watts output.

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.