Doing a simultaneous activation of a Summits On The Air (SOTA) summit and a Parks On The Air (POTA) park is becoming more common. There is a lot of crossover between the two programs. Here in Colorado, many of the SOTA peaks are in national forests or national parks, making them an ideal double activation.

Creating one file for logging both programs can be a challenge but I’ve settled in on an approach that works for me. I’ve decided to use HAMRS for this, whether it is real-time logging or transcribing a paper log after the event. HAMRS provides useful templates for both SOTA and POTA, but not both simultaneously. HAMRS still has a few quirks on entering callsigns and timestamps, but I am hopeful those things will get addressed in the fullness of time. If you are using a different logging program, you can probably still benefit from this post.

I wrote about the different ADIF fields that POTA and SOTA use here:

More Logging Tips for SOTA & POTA

Simplest Case: No P2P or S2S

For an activation that does not involve making contact with other parks or summits, the logging requirements are simple. POTA refers to these contacts as Park-to-Park or P2P, while SOTA refers to them as Summit-to-Summit or S2S. Same basic idea.

The ADIF file for POTA needs to have the usual logging information but the special POTA fields (MY_SIG_INFO, SIG_INFO) can be left blank. The filename will indicate the park you are operating from and must meet the standard POTA format. (Example: K0NR-K-4404-20211017.adi for K0NR operating from K-4404 on 17 Oct 2021). If you do have some simple P2P QSOs in there (one park contacting another single park, no double activations), the POTA database will attempt to identify these contacts by comparing the logs of the two POTA activators. I believe this works pretty well but I have not tested it extensively.

For the SOTA log, you must provide your SOTA summit using the MY_SOTA_REF field. If you use the HAMRS SOTA template, it will take care of this for you. Then you can use the same ADIF file for POTA by setting the filename to the right format. If you need to add the MY_SOTA_REF manually, ADIF Master is a good tool to use.

With P2P or S2S

When there are P2P or S2S contacts, things get a bit more complicated. The ADIF log needs to have MY_SIG_INFO for each QSO set to your POTA number and SIG_INFO set to the other station’s POTA number. If the other POTA station is activating more than one park, this can be handled by entering multiple QSOs in the file. (I think this is the cleanest way of handling it, but let me know if you have other methods.)

The SOTA logfile requires something similar, with MY_SOTA_REF set to your SOTA summit and SOTA_REF set to the other station’s SOTA summit.

One ADIF can be created that has all four SOTA/POTA fields set correctly but you’ll probably have to use ADIF Master or a text editor to get this all entered. HAMRS can help you with either SOTA or POTA, using the corresponding template. Normally, I try to determine if I have more P2P or S2S contacts and choose the template (POTA or SOTA) with that in mind. Then, I use ADIF Master to add in the other -OTA program logging info.

POTA does allow for simultaneous activations of more than one park. For example, the Continental Divide Trail is considered a park and it often runs through a national forest, so both can be activated together.) If you are activating more than one POTA park, you will need to create a log file for each park and submit them individually. A SOTA activation can only be from a single summit.

Wrap Up

I treat my SOTA/POTA logs as separate files but I also import them into my master logging program, which is currently Log4OM2. I also upload the file to Logbook of The World (LoTW). It is important to set up a new LoTW location with the grid locator, state and county set correctly. This may create a long list of locations in your LoTW account but provides proper confirmation for stations chasing grids, states, and counties.

These are some things I’ve learned along the way and I hope you find them useful.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Combined Logging for SOTA and POTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

In January 2021, I wrote about the North America Adventure Frequency (NAAF) which originated in the North America SOTA community. About a year later, how is this working out? Is anyone actually using it?

A few key points to remember:

• The NAAF is 146.58 MHz.
• This frequency is in addition to, not a replacement for, the National Simplex Calling Frequency 146.52 MHz.
• Local usage will likely vary depending on needs.
• Program 146.58 MHz as The Other Simplex Frequency in your radio.

I’ve noticed that quite a few SOTA activators are posting Alerts and Spots with 146.58 MHz. For example, K2CZH and KN6OUU posted these SOTA Alerts:

Here N8FN and WJ7WJ are spotted on 146.58:

Of course, the National 2m FM Calling Frequency (146.52 MHz) still gets a lot of use. I tend to use Five Two when I am activating in rural areas, some distance from the major cities. The frequency is usually quiet AND there are a number of folks that tend to monitor it. I use the NAAF when I’m near the big cities (Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, …). Putting out a Spot is usually important, to get the attention of the more dedicated SOTA chasers watching SOTAwatch. That is, I don’t think there are a lot of people monitoring the frequency (compared to 146.52), so a spot on SOTAwatch gets them on frequency.

Some of the Parks On The Air (POTA) activators are also using NAAF. Here’s an activation alert by KD7DTS from the POTA website:

So I think the NAAF is working as intended. It is not a replacement for 146.52 MHz but a standard choice for portable operating when you want to stay off the calling frequency. Thanks to everyone that has given it a try.

73 Bob K0NR

The post How’s That North America Adventure Frequency Working? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

I previously wrote about some of the tools I use for managing SOTA and POTA logs. See Tips and Tools for Managing Logs. I continue to learn about the file formats and various tricks for generating the logs. Some of this is not well-documented…at least I haven’t found it…so I am sharing what I’ve figured out. My apologies in advance if I get any of this wrong. Reader Beware!

Lately, I’ve been trying to figure out how to do one log file for both SOTA and POTA. I am not aware of a logging program that will handle both simultaneously. (Let me know if you do.)  The ADIF file format can handle this and is the way to go for such a log file. Also, an ADIF file can be imported into other logging programs and Logbook of The World. The complete documentation for ADIF can be found here: https://www.adif.org/

SOTA Logs

Our combination SOTA + POTA activations usually start out as a SOTA activation. Then, if the SOTA summit is inside a POTA-designated park, we may try to do both simultaneously.

The SOTA database supports uploading ADIF files, including support for Summit-to-Summit (S2S) contacts. The figure below shows a recent SOTA log, in ADIF format, displayed by ADIFMaster. The 6th column is MY_SOTA_REF, which is the SOTA reference for the summit I was activating. In this case, it was W0C/SP-084 and is the same for all of the QSOs. The 9th column is SOTA_REF, which is the SOTA reference of the other station’s summit, if any. Most of the rows are blank, because the other station was not on a summit. However, N0TZW and N3ALT were on W0C/PR-031 that day resulting in a pair of S2S contacts. If you get these fields set correctly in the ADIF file, the SOTA database will log the activation and the S2S contacts correctly.

POTA Logs

For simple POTA activations, you just need to get the QSO information correct and the file name indicates the park you were operating from. For example, the file name K0NR-K-4404-20211017.adi indicates the station callsign (K0NR), operating from park K-4404 on 17 Oct 2021. The POTA system will try to identify Park-to-Park (P2P) radio contacts in the file, by comparing activator logs. My understanding is that this works only for the simple case of two activators, each operating from only one park.

The figure below shows a POTA log using ADIFMaster. The 7th column is MY_SIG_INFO, which is the POTA designator (K-8295) for the park I was activating. This is the same for all of the rows. The eleventh column is SIG_INFO, which is the POTA designator for the other station. Most of these are blank because the other station was not in a park. However, there are six QSOs shown that were Park-to-Park. Note that the QSO with N7OOS was entered twice, with two different park numbers. This is because he was doing a double activation that day…putting two parks on the air at the same time. Yes, activating multiple parks at once is possible, even common, in POTA. A good example is when a national scenic trail runs through a national forest. One operating location is in both parks simultaneously.

It might be possible to have two POTA designators tagged to one QSO, I am not sure. But I think it is cleaner to just enter it as two separate QSOs. I know the POTA database will interpret it correctly. When I imported the file into Logbook of The World, it complained there were duplicate QSOs, which were easily ignored.

The 6th column in the figure is MY_SIG, which indicates a special interest activity or event (e.g., POTA). In the general case, the logging program would use this field to interpret the meaning of SIG_INFO and MY_SIG_INFO. It appears that the POTA system does not require MY_SIG to be set to POTA and will just go ahead and interpret SIG_INFO and MY_SIG_INFO for POTA use. Not shown is another field called SIG, which is the special interest activity or event of the other station.

Creating a SOTA/POTA Log

When doing a combination activation, I’ll set up the logging program for SOTA or POTA based on whether I expect to have more S2S or P2P radio contacts. For example, if I just expect to work a few summits and many parks, I’ll use HAMRS with the POTA template. That way, all of the parks get entered correctly from the start. I will note any S2S contacts in the comment field and come back later to fix them.

The easiest way to manage ADIF files is via ADIF Master. You can also edit the files manually using a basic text editor but that can be error-prone. To add a new field in ADIF Master, you insert a new column (right-click on a column, then left-click insert column). Then create a label for the column by right-clicking the top of the column, followed by Custom, entering the name of the new ADIF field.

Here’s the short list of ADIF fields that may need to be used:

MY_SOTA_REF is your SOTA reference, the summit you are activating

SOTA_REF is the SOTA reference for the other station, assuming its an S2S radio contact. If you submitting a Chaser log, this is the SOTA reference for the summit you are chasing. Your MY_SOTA_REF would be left blank.

SIG is the name of the contacted station’s special activity or interest group (e.g., POTA)

MY_SIG is your special interest activity or event (e.g., POTA)

MY_SIG_INFO is your park number that is being activated.

SIG_INFO is the park number for the park you are working (P2P).

By editing my log files using ADIFMaster, I’ve been able to create log files that can be submitted to SOTA, POTA and LoTW without errors. It takes a little bit of work to get the file right. Before you submit a log file, it is always a good idea to view it using ADIFMaster, to try and spot any obvious errors. This is especially useful for POTA logs, when the turnaround time can take up to two weeks.

This is what I’ve learned. How about you?

73 Bob K0NR

The post More Logging Tips for SOTA & POTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

When operating portable, I use Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries from Bioenno. Most of my portable operating is for Summits On The Air (SOTA) and I wrote about it here:

My SOTA Battery Journey

For POTA activations, I purchased a larger, 20 Ah Bioenno battery and use it to power a Yaesu FT-991 (and other radios). This battery has worked out really well. It is a bit large for backpack portable and weighs 5.4 pounds, but I have taken it along on a few SOTA activations.

Powerwerx PWRbox

I decided the battery could use a case to protect it while being tossed around in the back of the Jeep. Powerwerx has a really good battery box that includes a digital voltage readout, automotive (“cigarette lighter”) socket, dual PowerPole plugs and high-current binding posts.

Initially, I did not think I needed the extra gizmos, and I did not want to take up more space with the battery system. Later, I figured that I could always pull the battery out of the box and use it in its original form.

The power switch is handy for turning on/off the battery power and the digital voltmeter provides a simple view of the battery condition. Most of the time, I use the PowerPole connectors to connect up my radios but occasionally the automotive socket comes in handy.

I used some of the plastic packing material that came with the box to hold the battery in place. A little bit of cutting with a sharp knife produced a good fit. There is enough room above the battery for the Bioenno charger, so it makes for a nice kit. The charger connects to the original charging plug on the battery.

As expected, Powerwerx did a good job of wiring up the various components and included fuses in both the positive and negative cables. The box is big enough to hold a 40 Ah battery and I am tempted to upgrade it for larger capacity, but the 20 Ah battery has been sufficient, so far.

I’ve used this battery box for multiple POTA activations and a few other situations when I just needed to power up a radio at home. It works great. The voltmeter gives me a quick check of the battery status and the PowerPole connectors make for easy hookup.

The PWRbox costs $109.99, battery not included.

73 Bob K0NR

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Lately, Joyce/K0JJW and I have been doing combined Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA) activations. Most of the SOTA summits we activate are inside parks as defined by POTA. Our primary focus is using VHF/UHF from SOTA summits with POTA is being a nice addition. Although the two programs have a lot of similarities, there are some significant differences that need to be understood.

SOTA / POTA Differences

Let’s compare the two programs to understand the differences, so you can have a successful activation with both. We will focus on differences when doing an activation so this is not an exhaustive list.

• Summits Vs Parks. Well, this is the fundamental difference. Summits tend to be small in area, defined by a specific lat/lon coordinate and the surrounding activation zone (AZ). The activation zone is roughly defined as the area surrounding the actual summit, staying within 25 vertical meters. Parks can be almost any size and may cover many square miles. Both SOTA and POTA maintain lists of official summits or parks, so it should be clear whether one of these is valid for an activation.
• Accessibility. While there are drive-up and easy walk-up summits, most SOTA summits require a hike. Many of them are physically challenging. Parks often have easier, park-like access. Or you can always do a 50-mile backpack trip for a POTA activation.
• Equipment restrictions. SOTA allows you to reach the activation zone in a vehicle but you must move away from the vehicle an unspecified distant and operate totally independent of the vehicle. On drive-up mountains, our practical application of this rule is to load up our normal SOTA gear into backpacks, hike away from the vehicle, and set up for the activation. SOTA requires the use of portable power sources but not fossil-fuel generators. This pretty much means battery power, perhaps augmented with solar panels. POTA does not have such restrictions, so if you meet the SOTA requirements you’ll be valid for both.
• Scoring. SOTA emphasizes the accumulation of activator and chaser points, while layering in other challenges such as Summit-to-Summit (S2S) scores. Each summit has a point value assigned to it, based on elevation. In POTA, all parks are created equal and the main focus tends to be on the number of activations and the number of parks hunted (chased).  POTA also has awards for the number QSOs. For example, the Kilo Award is achieved by making 1000 QSOs from a single park (usually over multiple activations). Both programs have quite a bit of variety and flexibility built into their awards and operating objectives, which is one of the reasons people enjoy the programs.
• Successful Activation. SOTA requires only one radio contact for a successful activation. But to receive point credit for the summit, which is what most people are after, you need to make at least 4 contacts. So most SOTA activators define success as getting at least four contacts. The 4 SOTA contacts must be with 4 different stations, with no credit for working the same station on multiple bands. In contrast, POTA requires 10 QSOs for a successful activation.  POTA does count QSOs with the same station on different bands. For example, an activator could obtain the required 10 POTA QSOs by working just two stations on 5 different bands.
• Same Location QSOs. A SOTA activator does not get credit for working another station on the same summit. That is, the other station must be outside of the summit activation zone to be counted. POTA allows an activator to work another activator in the same park for QSO credit. In fact, the activators can receive park-to-park credit for such a radio contact.

VHF SOTA and POTA

Racking up lots of contacts on VHF/UHF from a summit can be a challenge, dependent mostly on the range of your gear and the ham population in the area. Most of the time, we can get four contacts without too much trouble but at times even that can be a challenge. Getting ten contacts for POTA raises the bar higher.

We noted that most of the hams we work on 2m FM are also workable on 70 cm FM. So an easy thing to do is to ask 2m chasers (hunters) to switch over to 70 cm and work us there, doubling the number of POTA-valid QSOs. Interestingly, the SOTA QSO count recorded in the database includes these QSOs. (But you must have contacted at least four unique stations to get the summit points.)

Because Joyce and I usually activate together, we can also work each other for POTA credit. I have discovered that many POTA activator teams make it a standard practice to pull out a couple of handheld radios and work each other on 2m FM when they first set up. OK, maybe that’s not the most exciting QSO of the day, but it is allowed.  With a dual-band HT, you can make two QSOs this way. And it is a good idea to put out a call on 2m FM to work any locals that might be hunting parks. On a summit, these QSOs would not be valid for SOTA, unless one of the operators leaves the activation zone. Yes, we’ve done that, too, taking turns hiking down out of the AZ to make a quick contact.

Summary

This covers some of the things we’ve learned about doing combined SOTA and POTA activations. Again, this is with an emphasis on VHF/UHF operating. You should study the SOTA and POTA rules carefully because this article does not cover everything. However, some of the issues I’ve outlined here are not obvious from the SOTA and POTA rules, so I hope you find this article helpful.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Combined SOTA / POTA Activations appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Adam/K6ARK recently posted this video of his 2m SOTA activation in California. Adam does a really nice job with his videos and this one is no exception. During this activation, he worked KE9AJ in Arizona at 256 miles. This was an FM QSO, with KE9AJ running 6 watts and K6ARK running over 120 watts.

In the video, he shows the 8-element 2m Yagi antenna, which has a clever folding boom design (homebrew, I assume). You’ll notice that he is carrying quite a bit of gear in his pack, including a 160w amplifier, a Yaesu FT-857, several batteries, the Yagi antenna, and antenna masts. Adam has posted other videos of VHF SOTA activity, so check out his YouTube channel for them.

Note that at 256 miles, this is definitely propagation beyond line of sight. We’ve talked about this before: The Myth of VHF Line-Of-Sight.

This has me thinking about some of my best VHF SOTA activations, which I will list here.

Sneffels to Pikes

In 2012, for the Colorado 14er Event, Joyce/K0JJW and I climbed Mt Sneffels (W0C/UR-001) at 14,150 feet in elevation. I worked Stu/W0STU on Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004). We both were running 5 watts on 2m FM, with 3-element Arrow II antennas. I had an FT-817, while Stu used an HT. We made the QSO without too much difficulty, at a distance of 160 miles. Stu put together this video that shows the action on both summits.

Capulin Mountain

Capulin Mountain (W5N/SG-009) is out in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, a long distance from populated areas. My goal was to activate it (and get the points) on VHF, but I knew it would be a challenge. I put the word out to the weak-signal VHF community and used my FT-817 (5 watts) and 3-element Yagi to make contacts. My best DX was with Arne/N7KA at 184 miles. I could hear him fine on SSB but he could not copy me, so we switched to CW to complete the QSO. Arne used a 2M12 Yagi antenna with 700 watts of power vs my 5 watts.

This turned out to be a good lesson in what happens when the two stations are imbalanced with respect to RF power. My 5 watts vs his 700 watts is a difference of 21 dB. No wonder I could hear him just fine but he was struggling to copy me. Flipping over to CW narrows the receiver bandwidth, improving the signal-to-noise ratio, and was enough improvement to make the QSO.

Capulin Mountain (W5N/SG-009) VHF SOTA

Mount Scott

Mount Scott (W5O/WI-002) is a drive-up summit (elevation 2464 feet) in the Witchita Mountains of Oklahoma. It sticks up high enough to have a good radio horizon in all directions. We stopped there to do an activation in March 2018, using the Yaesu FT-90 (set for 30 to 50 watts) and the 3-element Yagi antenna.

We easily worked a bunch of stations on 146.52 MHz FM, including K5RTN in Brownfield, TX. Later, I checked the distance to Brownfield and found that it was 245 miles, which is still my best SOTA DX on 2m FM. There was probably some favorable propagation that morning, perhaps some ducting, for this to occur. K5RTN was operating from home and I am not sure about his power and antenna.

Threemile Mountain

During the 2021 January VHF Contest, we decided to activate Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107), which is usually accessible, even in the winter months. Because it is in the Pike National Forest (K-4404), I did a combo operation of SOTA, POTA, and VHF contest. At 10,020 feet in elevation, it is not the highest summit in the region but it has a good radio horizon in all directions.

Also, the hike is relatively short, so I packed the Yaesu FT-991 and a 20 Ah battery, which gave me more power (50 watts) on 2m and 70 cm. Not only that, I actually fired it up below 50 MHz and made some HF contacts, using single-band end-fed halfwave antennas.

I was working a few stations in Denver on 2m SSB when I heard Larry/N0LL calling me from Smith Center, KS. Larry is a well-known Big Gun on VHF with excellent antennas. I’ve worked him in past contests on various bands and modes but I was surprised how strong he was coming in at Threemile Mountain. We probably had favorable conditions on 2 meters that day but nothing exotic, to make a 372 mile QSO. I’ve worked longer distances on 2 meters but this is my best DX for SOTA.

Radio Fun on Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107)

Power and Antenna

Most ham transceivers have decent receivers, so the choice of radio on the receive side is not that critical. (OK, you can add a preamp in front of the receiver to improve it.) The big difference for making QSOs (or not) on 2 meters is antenna and power level.

Improving your antenna is normally the first step in improving your VHF SOTA station, because it helps on both transmit and receive. Joyce/K0JJW and I almost always use the 3-element handheld Yagi from Arrow Antenna. Arrow does not specify the gain, but various sources have measured it at 6 dBd. We have made many QSOs over the years where the extra 6 dB made the difference. An omnidirectional antenna would have come up short. I’ve been looking for a higher gain antenna to use for SOTA but have not found one that I like. Adam’s 8-element antenna is tempting but longer antennas pretty much require a mast, which adds weight to the pack. One of the benefits of the 3-element Arrow is that it is handheld, so we don’t carry a mast. Of course, having two of us activating together really helps…one person can hold the antenna while the other operates and logs. A handheld antenna with a single operator can be a challenge.

Concerning power level, the Capulin QSO with N7KA illustrates what happens when two stations are imbalanced with respect to RF power. After this experience, I did purchase a small 2m amplifier that boosts the 5 watts from the FT-817 to 35 watts. It is compact and not too much of a DC power hog.  I think we also heard an imbalance with the QSO between K6ARK and KE9AJ. KE9AJ’s signal was a bit noisy at K6ARK while K6ARK’s signal was full quieting 59 at the other end. This is not a surprise with K6ARK at around 120 watts and K6ARK at 6 watts (13 dB difference).

For higher power on 2 meters, you generally need to bring a bigger radio or an amplifier. The popular HT is generally limited to about 5 watts. For 2m FM, we’ve been carrying the Yaesu FT-90, which is a pretty compact radio and can put out 50 watts of RF power (FM only). On the Threemile Mountain activation mentioned above, we took the FT-991, which is not very SOTA friendly, but it also does 50 watts on 2 meters…and all modes.

Battery capacity also comes into play as higher power requires more DC current. The FT-90 manual says it draws 9.5 amps at full 50 watts of power on 2 meters. (We usually run it at lower power but will punch it up to 50 watts when required.) The FT-991 manual says it draws 15 amps when transmitting at full power on 2m or 70cm. My 160 watt 2m (Mirage) amplifier can draw up to 30 amps on transmit. Wowzy, that’s some real current! The point is that as you increase power, you need to look at your battery situation more carefully.

It might sound like I am suggesting that we should maintain a power balance between the two stations. That’s not the case and is often not even practical. When one station is much stronger than the other, it can be used to advantage. The stronger station is easily heard and the weaker station can point the antenna in the right direction to peak up the signal. The weaker station consistently hears the stronger station, so now the challenge becomes to just get a few seconds of successful transmission in the opposite direction. You keep trying until the weaker station manages to get through. Compare this to having two lower power stations trying to make a contact. They may not even hear each other at all because the antennas are not pointed optimally. When they do hear each other, they are both struggling to hear the other station and complete the QSO. This lowers the probability of completing the contact.

So how much power should you run on 2 meters for SOTA? Of course, More Is Better, except for the extra weight in your backpack. The difficulty of the hike comes into play…on shorter hikes, weight does not matter so much. I am finding that 5 watts is on the skimpy side. On the other hand, going much above 50 watts requires larger batteries, so I am thinking the sweet spot is around 30 to 50 watts. If I do happen to work a base station running 1kW, my signal will be 13 dB lower with 50 watts (worst-case scenario). This is just my opinion, your mileage may vary.

Summary

So can we all agree then that VHF signals can go beyond line-of-sight? These examples are basic tropospheric paths and do not include the exotic propagation modes such as meteor scatter, sporadic-e, aurora, EME, etc. I’ve used most of those modes to work longer distances but not during a SOTA activation. Most hams know that SSB and CW are more effective than FM when signals are weak. In fact, FM weak-signal performance is lousy. Still, we see multiple examples of making some long-distance contacts with FM.

73 Bob K0NR

The post How Far on VHF SOTA? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The history of the early 1800s in the United States’ development holds meaning for today. More than we tend to realize. Back before Mississippi was a state, the Federal Government called it “I.T.,” short for Indian Territory. Territories were not “settled” from a Federal viewpoint. During those times, many footpaths established by Native American Tribes—for instance, the Choctaws—became passable roads for travel by foot, horses, carriages and stage coaches. The opportunity for interim settlers, mostly whites but not always, became obvious: Where are the Holiday Inns of the day? There were some, of course, but they were rudimentary places along the paths from here to there, offering a break in the daily travels, food, drink, and overnight accommodations. They were typically called “Stands,” and most often had enslaved peoples working there.

Inns, or stands, provided occasional shelter for travelers along the Natchez Trace from the 1790s to the 1840s. These stands offered food to eat and food for thought: local news, information, and ideas. The ever-changing mix of diverse people – whites, American Indians, African Americans – interacted at the stands on a regular basis.

National Park Service

My portable operations team, consisting of Mike N5DU, Thomas N5WDG, Mike K5XU and myself, availed ourselves of such a break in the daily tasks on Saturday, October 9, 2021 to activate the historic site of Brashear’s Stand on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Ridgeland, MS. It’s just a mile or two from my house. Here’s what it was like back more than a century ago:

Brashears Stand

Brashears Stand is named after Turner Brashears, who moved to the area in the late 1700s. He became a trader with the Choctaw and learned their language.

“In 1806 Turner Brashears placed an advertisement in the Natchez newspaper about his stand labeling it “A house of Entertainment on the road leading from Natchez to Nashville.” Travelers on the Natchez Trace generally seemed to be pleased with their treatment and accommodations at Brashears Stand. In 1807 Reverend Jacob Young, a Methodist preacher, wrote “Near the line that divided the Choctaw Nation from the Mississippi Territory stood a fine public house kept by a man by the name of Brashears…He treated us very well but knew how to make a high bill.” In addition to earning money from his stand operation, Brashears prospered by selling land and enslaved people.” (National Park Service)

The Stand no longer exists but it’s a testament to what we hams sometime take for granted when we get outdoors to enjoy our hobby. One inspiration of mine to better understand these environs is the well-known POTA and SOTA activator and blogger, Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL (see QRPer.com). He is always appreciative in his blog posts about the park or summit he’s activating. This area was the location my team chose for our very first POTA activation. Here’s the setup, two permanent picnic tables with 100+ foot pines. That and perfect weather make for an enjoyable time whether the band conditions follow suit or not.

The four of us paired up at each of the two permanently mounted picnic tables. We placed old sheets on top of the tables. You may guess why since there are lots of birds in the area! We used N5DU’s Xiegu G90 (the one Rob Sherwood tested for his website) for FT8, K5XU’s Kenwood 590s for CW, and my new Icom IC-705 on it’s maiden voyage. Mike K5XU has been blind since birth and is a 50 year amateur licensee and career broadcaster. (Learn more about Mike’s amazing life and career on the ICQ Podast episode 299 here.) He is the CW op for our team. Thomas N5WDG is a wide area network engineer covering several states for AT&T and is one of my engineering Elmers. Mike N5DU has become our FT8 leader. I can neither deny or confirm that he uses the G90 bedside at night to work other countries via FT8. Mike is the State of MS RACES Officer for the Emergency Management Agency and practicing attorney in Jackson MS.

Given the tall pines in this small park area, we used three EFHW antennas I had built in the past month. I ran across an eBay vendor, John KG6ZBN (seller name eddieson), who was selling both 1:9 and 1:49 UnUns for $10-$12. I could not source the parts for that! Since George at Packtenna was out of stock on his EFHW antennas, I just bought several of John KG6ZBN’s EFHW UnUns as shown below for the 1:49 model. I did follow George’s build specs using the #26 Silky Wire from The Wireman. This wire for low power is a wonder. One of the EFHW’s is shown below with inexpensive plastic kite winders to manage the wire. I use S-hooks to link the kite winder in the air to very small paracord once I have the latter over a tree branch or something. A sweep of one of the 1:49 EFHW is shown using a RigExpert Stick analyzer and Antscope illustrates the resulting SWR dips in the HF bands. The bluetooth-connected “blue stick” was connected at the SO-239 connector of the EFHW before hoisting up in the air so the coax is not in the system on these measurements. I was very pleased with these results.

So how did our first POTA activation go in an otherwise ideal Saturday for doing some amateur radio? Not bad. Not bad at all. I posted our activation on both the POTA.app and on the Parks on the Air Slack Channel. Some tweeted that they tried to reach me on SSB while I was using the IC-705 at 10 watts. Most were a no-go except the one SSB contact from Arizona giving us a “true” 599 report. We had 59 contacts in all, but dropped one due to a busted call sign. The map below shows the range by mode. SSB is green, CW is red, and FT8 is yellow.

Mike K5XU’s 30 watts on CW worked very well as he is a master operator in that mode. Catching Alaska and Puerto Rico on 30 watts was not surprising. Mike N5DU’s FT8 power was 10 watts (5 watts for the first two). Working Guatamala and Sardinia on 10 watts using an EFHW was nice. N5DU added his DX Engineering Bandpass Filter box which significantly reduced interference between his FT8 rig and my SSB rig sitting just a few feet apart. My poor SSB showing, except for the one QRP contact out to AZ in their State QSO Party, was not to be unexpected. Nonetheless, as my friends Scott K0MD and Thomas K4SWL told me, my first deployment of the IC-705 was better than imagined in terms of how the rig operates and the features it contains. I did connect it the day before to my amateur radio laptop (Thinkpad 420s) on my patio via USB and tested a 1:9 EFHW strung head-high between two bushes in my garden. This is the very first rig that has connected immediately to WSJTX after two settings: rig selection of the 705 in the software and pressing the on-screen menu button for FT8 Preset on the 705. I immediately began receiving and decoding FT8 signals! One contact convinced me that I had that mode in the bag on the 705. Well done, Icom!

Lunch was served at my house a couple of miles away after our noon shutdown. Fried catfish from nearby Cock of the Walk restaurant, hush puppies, corn bread, fried onion rings and pickles were the main course. To finish off our meal, apple pie or brownie a la mode with chocolate peanut clusters were served. We dined on our screened porch with a breeze off of the Barnett Reservoir flowing through the solar shades. While not the healthiest diet, and one we do not eat often, a good time practicing this aspect of our hobby was had by all. We plan to continue POTA activation’s, and perhaps the one SOTA entity in the State, in the future. Having a group of ham radio friends like this makes the hobby most pleasurable. Now, I need to get that log submitted to my POTA manager!