I activated Alum Creek State Park (US-1933) via “Parks on the Air” (aka: POTA), on Saturday, March 8th, 2025 for International Women’s Day and the “YL POTA Party” advertised by the Young Ladies Radio League (aka: YLRL).
Initially I scheduled myself to be at the park from 10:00 AM, local time, until 4:00 PM, but I ended up heading out around 2:00 PM. The last hour I was there, 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM, was busy! I made most of my contacts during that time.
Adventures of the Day! #
I arrived at US-1933 a little around 9:30 AM, and spent the first half hour or so setting up my equipment. The spot I ended up at wasn’t initially where I was planning to activate from. I wanted to activate near the south of the lake, where the dam is located. However, there wasn’t many trees for shade and all the picnic tables were very closely together. I wanted to be a little out of the ways, so the “loudness” of my voice speaking wouldn’t bother others.
The weather was mostly enjoyable. It was a bit chilly when I first arrived. It was 29F (-1.67C) when I first started setting up. By the time I left it had warmed all the way up to 34F (1.1C)! The sun did help a bit in keeping things a little better, but the wind off of the lake made the temperature a bit more stingy.
In the beginning of the activation, I was slow to make contacts. I was mostly doing what I did last time, and answering other POTA activators and other people calling CQ. I only used 20m, but when I first turned on the radio, it was super busy. I had trouble finding an open section that I didn’t hear anyone else on.
After a break of warming up in the car, I came back and found a frequency to stay on. I initially tried 14.233 MHz and was making a few, but someone pointed out I was stomping on someone else. So I moved up to 14.236 MHz. Though, after a little bit I was getting stomped on myself.
I went and warmed up one last time. When I got back on the radio, I settled on 14.266 MHz and just started calling CQ. Soon, I got spotted on pota.app after a few calls, and then the pile-up hit! It was a busy hour from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM. I made the majority of my contacts during that time.
Once things settled down, I ended up packing up because the cold was getting to me. I departed around 2:00 PM and headed for home.
I finished the day with about 60 contacts!
Overall, it was a great experience and I hope to make more activations soon!
My Setup / What I Brought #
I took my primary station from home, and packed up everything into a small suitcase.
The equipment I brought:
- Radio: Yaesu FT-857D
- Tuner: MFJ-949E
- Antenna: MP1DXTR80 / Super Antenna (with radials)
- Jackery 500
- feedline (25-ft and 3-ft)
- microphone that came with Yaesu FT-857D
- cables to attached the face-plate of the radio to the radio itself
- a lunch
Pictures #
Lessons Learned #
- I didn’t “self-spot” accurately at first. I had trouble managing my phone while using the radio.
- Pack a mini-table and camping chair. (I was lucky to find a picnic table, but it would be nice to have the flexibility to set up anywhere.)
Things I Did Right #
- Bring a notebook for paper logs.
- Prepare a folder of my amateur radio license and permit for the park, along with other information about ham radio, in case anyone asked about what I was up to.
- Double-check that I had all equipment in my suitcase before heading out, the night before.
73, K8VSY
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