POTA

Latest POTA News

Providence Radio Association & POTA’s Support Your Parks weekend

See Latest News January 22, 2024 :

First Kilo at new RI Park

by Jim Garman, KC1QDZ – posted December 22, 2023

Congratulations to Brian Swann, N1BS, for completing the first Kilo at K-10545, Hillsdale Preserve, in Richmond, RI. POTA awards a Kilo to activators who complete 1,000 QSOs from a single reference. Using SSB and CW, Brian managed to complete the Kilo in just a little over three weeks. Well done, Brian, and on to 2,000!

POTA – 2024 Calendar

August 23-25, 2025: This summer’s New England Division HamXposition in nearby Marlboro, MA plans to offer lots of talks and trainings on POTA, SOTA, IOTA, etc.  Stay tuned for details and how to submit a speaker proposal.

January 20-21, 2024: Winter Support Your Parks POTA RI MEET-UP

    • The official Winter POTA Support Your Parks is the weekend before Winter Field Day.  Thank you to Dave Steussie, W3DRE and the Providence Radio Association for following up on your posted plan to welcome the public and gather POTA folks that weekend. https://ri-arrl.org/pra-potas-support-your-parks-weekend/

POTA – 2023 RI Highlights

December 2023: In under a month, Brian Swann, N1BS, completes 1000 QSOs at new RI POTA  park K-10545, Hillsdale Preserve, in Richmond, RI

November 2023: Eight New Rhode Island POTA Parks Added

New RI POTA parks launched November 11, 2023 UTC

September 2023: 1st POTA – Activate All RI 2023

March 2023: new ham Jim Garman, KC1QDZ appointed our RI POTA liaison

POTA – Activate All RI (Sept 6-10, 2023)

How did this come about?

by Nancy Austin, enthusiastic NCRC club president & new RI Section Manager, posted August 30, 2023

Just over a year ago in late July 2022, new RI ham Jim Garman, KC1QDZ made his very first Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. 

By March 2023, Jim had become POTA’s RI liaison and he was SO delighting in the many wonderful friendships he had easily made with so many hams across the whole welcoming POTA community that he proposed to the NCRC the idea of hosting a POTA – Activate All (52) RI Parks as an after-Labor Day welcoming, skill building, initiative across communities to share his enthusiasm. 

For Jim KC1QDZ, POTA combined: 

  • Flexible scheduling. He loved the ability to get out and make contacts according to his own schedule. As a local organic farmer raising a family, POTA delivered on radio as a hobby that literally was a breath of fresh air. POTA was a way to take a break as pockets of time became available. It was a way to get out, explore parks, talk with people around the world, achieve a small win and mentally reset before jumping back in. Refreshed. Ready to tackle all life’s other responsibilities with renewed energy. 
  • An easy welcome in a mentoring radio community. In a short time, Jim built a network of friends among the familiar call signs he made QSOs with – across the state, region, and country. 
  • Experiential learning to bridge the gap between passing the General license exam and actually getting active on HF with only a hamstick. Like many, Jim’s urban home QTH antenna challenges did not lend itself to getting active on HF. POTA offered a motivating, gamified learning community to make the journey from license to activation fun, affordable and achievable. 
  • Clarifying what you do best. Jim’s exceptional contesting skills came into focus too, clarifying new radio pathways. He passed his Extra license this June 2023 and established himself as a major contributor at Field Day. 

Six months later, it is now (almost) Labor Day weekend and POTA – Activate All RI is just around the corner. Time flies!

POTA – Activate All RI is a time-limited event for some, and a starting point opportunity for others. All are welcome; collaboration and mentoring is key.

Three Groups of Activators: Core Team, Enthusiasts, POTA-GOTA

It might be helpful to think of POTA – Activate All RI as involving three groups of activators. 

  • Core Team: Since early 2023, Jim KC1QDZ has been recruiting, leading, and organizing a core group of now about 20 activators working together to ensure that all 52 parks are activated during this intense period of activity, from September 6-10, 2023. This core group includes within it nationally top-ranked POTA activators who are eagerly supporting Jim and his labor of love, all-volunteer initiative. Most know one another well by now, love the POTA spirit, and will deliver on their mission to support POTA – Activate All RI and deliver to the Hunters. Some are traveling here from all over the country because they want to be involved – and then they will  travel on.  Their focus is on offering as many QSOs at all 52 parks as possible, while still having fun. Others are dedicated POTA activators from various clubs in RI and the nearby region. We look forward to building ongoing relationships among POTA people near and far. Welcome to RI and thank you all for volunteering your time and talents to make this a success.

 

  • Enthusiasts: Many of us likely can relate to this group. We have POTA accounts, are not contesters but appreciate the gamified community aspects POTA offers to build our skills as operators. I, personally, used POTA to get started on HF after I got my General license because the home antenna situation challenge was too frustrating and I just wanted to get out in the field and easily start the experiential learning part. Within months, I had learned so much, on my own schedule. (Plus, it was still the pandemic lockdown.) It was easy to assess my skills gaps, prioritize goals, and the budget needed to accomplish what, exactly? IMO, POTA has transformed the HF learning journey in the best possible way. During the pandemic, I booked the ferry and went to be the first to activate Block Island – on my own, and as a new ham. But I did it. Discovering in the process, again, that I’m someone motivated to compete against myself but not charged up by contest wins in the same way as others. It’s a big tent, with room for all kinds of people. I have activated maybe 17 of the 52 parks, and can imagine using this POTA push to set post-Labor Day goals for fall 2023 goal. Or maybe a twelve month goal? It’s safe to say I’m never going to enjoy activating more than 1 or 2 parks a day. Certainly not 10 a day for a week. But I am going to value what an hour or two of a portable activation practice brings to my key goal to be a better radio amateur operator by being active on the air every day via nets, POTA hunting or activating, or any of a number of other options.  Enthusiasts can really help during POTA – Activate All RI by co-mentoring other Enthusiasts and reaching out to include the third group, those who are not active for whatever reason, don’t have a POTA account, and really don’t know how to get on the air with POTA to even begin. Let’s share our mistakes, lessons learned, recommend ways to move ahead, and be patient and welcoming. If you are an Enthusiast, you might ask yourself what success would look like for you by the end this upcoming event? Or, say the end of September? Thanksgiving?  


  • POTA – GOTA: The Enthusiasts can really help here. Mentoring others on how to get started with POTA really matters. The leadership you and your club provide here is always welcome. Please stay tuned as we post more resources for those totally new to POTA. 

What does success look like? 

IMO, Jim KC1QDZ has already succeeded. For over six months he has gathered and led a core team that is prepared to launch and confidently activate all 52 POTA parks in RI. Now we want to leverage this and encourage state-wide outreach and mentoring to the Enthusiasts and POTA-GOTA.  

Can’t wait to get started? Jim Garman, KC1QDZ will be offering a POTA activation demo at Brenton Point Park (POTA park K-2870) in Newport, RI on Saturday September 2, 2023 from 4:30-5:30pm. Look for him in the white van with a hamstick antenna on the roof.

Core Team Schedule: 

POTA maintains an excellent website that allows anyone to easily monitor scheduled activations and the location of real time activators. As always, cooperation is required, since no one radio operator owns a frequency or the exclusive right to operate any given park at any given time. 

The core team has committed to activate the parks they have been assigned, and it is up to them to post their final activation plans as they come into focus, as a benefit to the POTA community. 

Some would like to know the exact time and frequency every RI park is going to be activated. It is unlikely this degree of scheduling is going to happen, let alone be enforced. Please get in the spirit of this volunteer community-building outdoor adventure where uncertainty and changes of plans happen. Trust that the core team is already doing their best. Remember that many are traveling from out of state to participate, on their own dime, just to support POTA – Activate All RI. Let’s send out huge thanks!

We encourage everyone to leverage these online resources POTA maintains: 

https://parksontheair.com/ 

POTA Scheduled Activations

POTA real time ACTIVE Spots of activators operating now.   

  • Filter by: Program – select K – for USA parks + Time, Region, or Activator + Bands and Modes you are interested in

Hunters who need a particular RI park might  consider using the HamAlert app that apparently sends you a push notification when a state or park you need for an award is being activated.  Check it out. Let us know what you think. 

Enthusiasts

If you plan on activating during Sept 6-10th and are open to mentoring and/or need a mentor, please reach out to Jim Garman at KC1QDZ at gmail.com. Start by attending one of the demos various POTA activators will be offering.  Stay tuned for updates on self-guided resources, too.  (This is still going to require commitment and initiative on your part too.)

POTA – GOTA

Sign up for a POTA account. 

Get started quickly from your vehicle with a roof mounted hamstick. A draft antenna equipment list includes:

  • Magmount,
  • hamstick – 20m, 40m plus nice to have: 10m, 15m, 17m.
  • Coax to run from roof into front seat
  • Tools to adjust your hamstick the first time (file, allen key, small screwdriver) + an antenna analyzer

 

 

Next is the HF radio of your choice. It is definitely easier to succeed at first if you add in an antenna tuner. For power, many people rely on a  Bioenno portable battery (charged) (with Anderson power pole connectors).

To start, you can log your contacts on paper. Or, there are logging apps available for both Android (HAMRS, K1NGZ) and iPhones. Others use their laptops and a hotspot. Be sure and share what’s working for you.

It may take an hour or more at first to understand and put together all the steps involved. But with practice, expect to  set up for a hamstick activation in 10 minutes or less. Once you spot yourself; plan to activate at least an hour. POTA expects 10 QSOs for a successful activation. Expect a learning curve as you get on the air and take action to become a better operator. Congrats!