I wasn’t able to get out for Winter Field Day, but I wanted to get out and do a quick POTA on Sunday 1/29. I had about an hour before a trip to Epcot with friends, so had to do a quick setup and tear down. I live near K-1893 Lake Louisa State Park in Florida and it make for a quick trip.
I keep a lip mount on my trunk for hamsticks and I keep a tote with my solar panels and battery and another tote with my radio and some other supplies. I tossed them in my Honda and was on my way. My brother Tony, KD8RTT had gotten me a Florida State Park Annual Pass for Christmas so I decided to put that to good use.
I was able to setup my FT8 station within minutes in my car and was on the air. I put my Solar Panel on the roof to supplement the battery, but I knew there was no way I would drain it in the hour or so I was at the park. I came ready with both 20 and 40 meter hamsticks, but I stuck to 20 meters. I immediately had a pileup running just 30 watts.
I ran FT8 for about an hour and made 28 QSOs. It was fun, actually quite challenging to keep up with things. Some folks hiked by on the trail and asked what I was doing and ended up in some great conversations. I might have missed replying to a few folks calling me on FT8 while I chatted about the hobby. (Sorry if I missed you!) FT8 was super successful with 3 park to park QSOs. (My first ever park to park QSOs!) I made sure to send them a QSL card as working park to park is both challenging and fun!
I wanted to make some SSB QSOs before I packed up. My mobile setup is a FT-857D and it was super easy to stand outside and enjoy the nice weather. I have an extension for the microphone and I have the control head setup on a custom made (and VERY long) remote cable. With the laptop on the hood of my car, I connected with two stations. My favorite being a challenging park to park QSO with AB9JT in Indiana. It was my first time working him and at only 30 watts, was a challenge. I could have bumped up the power, but I like a challenge.
So while it was a successful POTA, it wasn’t as fun as my first activation. For a quick trip, working from my car was fine, but I really enjoy the outdoor aspect of POTA and taking in the park. This wont be my last mobile POTA activation, especially with Lake Louisa so close to home. However, I will be putting in some extra effort to hike a little bit and find a picnic table to an area to sit on the ground and really enjoy both amateur radio and nature.
Nice post and awesome setup! I got an annual pass for FL State Parks last January and have loved it because I don’t have to pay $6 or so just to pop into a park for a quick POTA. Did you keep your car running/ACC/OFF while you operated? I’ve tried having it on in the summer because of the heat but got a lot of engine noise on HF, even when the antenna was strung up in a tree. See you at Hamcation!
My car was off. It was a nice day. Also since it was powered off battery, I usually don’t get that issue.