Amateur Radio Station WD8RIF | POTA Activation Strouds Run State Park

On Friday, May 29, 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 a day of use-or-lose vacation, Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, performed a bicycle-portable POTA activation of Strouds Run State Park, bicycling from Habitat House on the west side of Athens to Bulldog Shelter within the state park. Eric was joined by Len Touth, W8VQ.

Eric and Len started their rides at 1513 UTC, with Eric riding his new Surly Preamble and Len riding the inexpensive folding mountain bike he had purchased specifically for a bicycle-portable adventure in Dayton with Eric and Thomas Witherspoon on May 17, 2026. They arrived at an unoccupied Bulldog Shelter at 1553 UTC, startling two families of geese with goslings who escaped onto the safety of Dow Lake.

Len posing at the Strouds Run State Park sign.

Eric posing at the Strouds Run State Park sign; photo by Len Touth.

While barn swallows in the picnic shelter expressed their dissatisfaction, Eric and Len chose picnic tables at opposite ends of the picnic shelter. Len got busy throwing a line and hanging his 40m end-fed halfwave antenna and setting up his (tr)uSDX transceiver station. Eric deployed his KH1 Micro Travel Kit's 35' ad hoc end-fed random wire antenna as a sloper to the top of his Goture Red Fox Super Hard 720 carbon-fiber mast bungied vertically to his bicycle, placing a single 13' counterpoise wire directly on the concrete floor of the picnic shelter, and placing his Elecraft KH1 on the table in "picnic table" mode. Eric and Len were both on the air at just about 1635 UTC.

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

Eric's Elecraft KH1 station deployed on the picnic table.

Cell-signal at the site was weaker than Eric would have hoped, but he and Len had both announced their activations on POTA Spots (link), just in case.

With Len starting his operation on 20m, Eric started his operation on 30m. After finding himself a clear frequency to run, Eric began calling "CQ POTA" and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first QSO came at 1641 UTC with NT4T in North Carolina. This was followed eight minutes later, at 1649 UTC, by a QSO with W8NWG in Illinois.

Len was having trouble making QSOs on 20m, and Eric switched to that band at 1651 UTC to complete a park-to-park (P2P) QSO with Len. Returning to 30m, at 1653 UTC, Eric had a QSO with KC9HEK in New York, and at 1709 UTC, he had a QSO with K8OD in Michigan.

Dow Lake as viewed from Eric's operating location.

Having decided complaining would accomplish nothing,
barn swallows patiently await Eric and Len's departure.

By this time, Len had given up on 20m as a lost cause and had gone to 40m. Eric switched to 20m, found himself a clear frequency to run, began calling "CQ POTA", and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. His first and only QSO in this run came at 1717 UTC with W2WC in New York.

At 1719 UTC, as much to help himself as to help Len, Eric switched to 40m and completed a P2P QSO with Len who, within just a few minutes, would validate his activation by successfully completing ten QSOs.

With Len having finished his operation, Eric switched to 40m, found himself a clear frequency to run, and was auto-spotted on POTA Spots. At 1732 UTC, he completed a QSO with K4MNF in Kentucky.

Pausing to hunt for P2P QSOs, at 1734 UTC Eric completed a P2P QSO on 40m with K3ES who was performing a three-fer activation of Clarion National Wild and Scenic River (US-12235), Cook Forest State Park (US-1345), and North Country National Scenic Trail (US-4239) in Pennsylvania.

Eric tried to continue his run on 40m, but no additional QSOs were made.

Eric finished his operation by hunting for P2P QSOs. At 1741 UTC, he made a P2P QSO on 20m with K5OHY at Big Spring State Park (US-2989) in Texas and. at 1744 UTC, he made a P2P QSO on 20m with W4LOO at Jordanelle State Park (US-3080) in Utah.

Eric had hoped to snap some photos of Len operating his station, but by the time he had finished his own operation, Len had already torn down his station and repacked his bicycle. There was nothing left for Eric to do other than to photograph some geese and tear down his own station and repack his bicycle.

Both families of geese and goslings
returned to the shore once it became
apparent Len and Eric meant them no harm.

Eric and Len began their bicycle ride back to their cars at Habitat House at 1806 UTC. Since Len needed to be back in the Columbus area rather quickly, they chose to take the most direct route back to Habitat House.

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.