Amateur Radio Station WD8RIF | POTA Activation Strouds Run State Park

On Thursday, January 8, 2026, 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 an unseasonably warm (~60°) January 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 the Bulldog Shelter at about 1935 UTC and began setting up his Elecraft KH1 station in the unoccupied picnic shelter. The grassy area around the picnic shelter was far less swampy than he had anticipated, so Eric chose to perform this activation using his ad hoc 35' EFRW antenna supported as a sloper on his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast strapped to his bicycle, with the single 13' counterpoise wire placed directly on the concrete floor of the shelterhouse. Eric was on the air at 1949 UTC.

Because Eric had read that very morning a report (link) by Thomas Witherpoon, K4SWL, detailing a POTA activation during which Thomas had used a small powered speaker mounted on his KH1, and since Eric had a very similar speaker that he hadn't yet tried with his KH1, Eric had brought along his little speaker and tested it instead of using his usual earbuds.

Eric's KH1 station...

... and the little powered speaker mounted on the KH1.

Eric's bicycle-supported mast and ad hoc 35' EFRW antenna.

As he has come to expect 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. 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 1949 UTC with NY4FD in Florida. QSOs came quickly, with Eric's eleventh QSO coming at 2005 UTC with N5IM in Texas. This run included QSOs with operators located in Arkansas, Florida (3), Kansas (2), Massachusetts (2), New Hampshire, and Texas (2).

The little speaker produced very pleasant audio. The improved receive audio might have fooled Eric, or perhaps propagation conditions were really good, but Eric gave honest 599 reports during ten of his first eleven QSOs.

Eric finished his activation by hunting for P2P QSOs.

In all, Eric made sixteen QSOs, including five P2P QSOs, in twenty-eight 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, and began the ride back to his car.

In the falling light, Dow Lake and Eric's mast and antenna.

Dow Lake, still showing traces of very thin ice.

This was Eric's first bicycle-portable POTA activation since the December 28, 2025 activation during which his bicycle's kickstand had failed, dumping his mast and yanking his KH1 onto the wet grass. He was happy that the repaired kickstand supported his mast and antenna well for this activation.

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.