Many ham radio operators, including me, enjoy portable operations to make contacts with other radio amateurs. POTA, or Parks On The Air, involves setting up a field station with a radio, portable antenna, and power source. It is similar to Field Day however it is not a contest. The POTA organization has designated specific locations for the activation of your POTA operation. Basically you just go to a designated site, set up your field station, and start calling CQ POTA plus your call sign. The list of designated sites can be found at https://pota.app/#/parklist.
There are a few rules and they can be found at https:// docs.pota.app/docs/rules.html. One rule is that use of land based repeaters is not allowed for a POTA QSO. You are not required to submit a log of your activation QSOs but it is a good idea so that the other operators can get credit for the contact. The POTA organization considers a “successful” activation to have at least 10 QSOs.
One designated POTA location is Roman Nose State Park near Watonga, Oklahoma. Sometimes an activation there can be a challenge because most of the park is in a canyon, however I have had several successful activations there. This park has a lake that is stocked with trout, during the winter, by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. During a recent activation I took a break from the radio and caught a rainbow trout! POTA does not appear to have an award for catching fish during an activation but I plan to operate POTA/FISH as often as possible.
73
Dee, KJ5FVI
