From the Strouds Run State Park website:

The park derives its name from the Strouds family who settled in the area in the early 1800s. The land was purchased by the state for forest conservation purposes from 1948 to 1953. The dam creating Dow Lake was completed in 1960. The lake bears the name of C.L. Dow of Ohio University who was instrumental in initiating the project.

Pictures

The view from the picnic table, including the mast and antenna
Eric's KX2 station
Dow Lake, as viewed from the Blackhaw Trail trailhead
Blackhaw Trail
Dow Lake, as viewed from Blackhaw Trail

Description

On Saturday, March 30, 2024, one member of the Southeast Ohio Radio Adventure Team performed a successful activation of Strouds Run State Park (US-1994) as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA; link) program.

On a sunny and warm but very blustery afternoon, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, visited Bulldog Shelter to perform an impromptu activation of Strouds Run State Park, his 98th activation of the park in his quest to earn the Eagle's Nest Repeat Offender Activator Award for 100 activations of the park.

Eric, along with his wife Vickie and their small dogs, Theo and Ginny, arrived at Bulldog Shelter at 2030 UTC. Finding the picnic shelter to be unoccupied, Eric quickly set up his Elecraft KX2 transceiver on a sunny picnic table within the shelter, erected his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast on a spike, sloped his Tufteln (link) 35' EFRW antenna from the KX2 up to top of the mast, and deployed three 17' counterpoise wires directly on the ground. Eric was on the air at 2042 UTC.

Eric's mast and antenna, as viewed
from the operating location.


Eric's KX2 station.

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

Eric started his operation on 20m by finding a frequency to run, calling "CQ POTA", and was auto-spotted to POTA Spots. His first QSO came at 2045 UTC with K5GRZ in Texas. QSOs came slowly but steadily, with Eric's eleventh QSO coming at 2105 UTC with W2NR in New Hampshire. This run included a P2P QSO with KO5HX who was activating El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail (US-4568) in Texas and QSOs with operators located in Texas (3), Missouri (2), Alabama, Tennessee, Kansas, Florida, Utah, and New Hampshire.

Eric finished his activation by consulting POTA Spots and hunting for P2P QSOs. At 2108 UTC he completed a P2P QSO on 20m with WB0RLJ who was activating Chalco Hills State Recreation Area (US-4011) in Nebraska.

In all, Eric logged twelve QSOs, with two P2P QSOs, in just about twenty-five minutes of on-air time. 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.

After tearing down his station Eric, Vickie, and the dogs hiked the Blackhaw accessible trail.

Dow Lake as viewed from the Blackhaw Trail trailhead.


Along the Blackhaw Trail.


Dow Lake as viewed along the Blackhaw Trail.

(return)

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