Amateur Radio Station WD8RIF | POTA Activation Strouds Run State Park

On Sunday, December 28, 2025, 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.

Taking advantage of a very unseasonably warm (70°) but blustery late December afternoon to do both a bicycle ride and a POTA activation, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, bicycled from his work-office's parking lot to Bulldog Shelter within Strouds Run State Park.

Eric arrived on his bicycle at Bulldog Shelter at about 1915 UTC and began setting up his Elecraft KH1 station in the unoccupied picnic shelter. Because the grassy area around the picnic shelter was saturated like a swamp and he didn't trust the wet ground to support his bicycle on its kickstand in the gusting wind, Eric chose to perform this activation using his Tufteln "EFRW QRP Antenna Long Wire 4:1" (link) supported as a vertical on his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast strapped to his bicycle, with his bicycle placed on the edge of the picnic shelter's concrete slab. Eric was on the air at 1928 UTC.

Eric's KH1/AX1 station.

Eric's bicycle-supported mast and
antenna—before it was blown down.

As has usually been the case at this location, 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.

Eric started his operation on 20m. As he was looking for a clear frequency to run, he found KD2YAR performing a two-fer activation of Stephens State Park (US-1631) and Musconetcong River National Wild and Scenic River (US-0888) in New Jersey, and at 1930 UTC Eric completed a P2P QSO with him.

After finding himself a clear frequency to run, Eric began calling "CQ POTA" and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO in this run came at 1936 UTC with KE2AXX in New York. QSOs came quickly, with Eric's fifth QSO in this run coming at 1942 UTC with K1NW at Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area (US-6981) in Rhode Island. Unfortunately, before Eric could complete this QSO, a gust of wind knocked over Eric's bicycle, and the antenna yanked the KH1 off of the picnic table onto the soft but wet grass. Upon righting his bicycle, Eric discovered that the bicycle's kickstand had been broken in the fall, but he was able to jam the bicycle between the picnic table and one of the shelter's posts in a way that appeared to hold the mast up in a stable position. Eric quickly re-hung his antenna on the mast but K1NW was no longer on frequency. Eric's next QSO in this run came at 1950 UTC with KA4AMI in Georgia, and his ninth QSO in this run (and tenth QSO overall) came at 1953 UTC with KZ4LN in Florida. This run included QSOs with operators located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, New York, Ontario, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Tennessee.

Eric's bicycle-supported mast and antenna
wedged back into a vertical orientation
after the wind broke the kickstand

Eric finished his activation by hunting for P2P QSOs on 20m.

In all, Eric made fifteen QSOs, including eight P2P QSOs, in forty-five minutes of on-air time. All of Eric's QSOs were CW and were made at five watts output.

Following the activation, Eric took some more photos, tore down his station, re-packed his bicycle, verified that the broken kickstand wouldn't pose a hazard, and began his ride back to his car.

Back at home, Eric removed the broken kickstand from his bicycle and determined that, although the job will need a piece of machined aluminum or steel, the kickstand can be repaired.

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.