N4BC

Parks on the Air

I was just checking my stats in the POTA program. I have had ~~139~~ 145 confirmations with activators in various parks, 125 of them with unique parks. Some have been worked more than once for various reasons … the activators benefit from the contact to reach their qualifying number, different bands, different modes … all contribute to the “points” total for awards , if you will. None have been to the Western reaches of our country, due to propagation patterns … all were to the Eastern states or to the Midwest. Some have been to our Northern neighbors in the Canadian provinces, which are also included in the program. Some never seem to get confirmed … maybe busted calls or for some reason the activator never submits the logs? Maybe a bear ate the logs … or the activator 🙂 .

I guess I’m what you’d call a casual participant … I get on when I can … I check the spots or tune around the usual frequencies. I catch ’em as I can. Lots of the activations happen when I’m at work, so I miss out on them. Evenings and weekends though … then I’m on the hunt!

73 and Good Hunting de Dick N4BC!

LOTW

I sat down this evening and calculated my percentage of QSOs confirmed in LOTW. It’s surprisingly high … 70.28 percent! That’s a pretty good return on investment 🙂 .

I think a lot of that can be attributed to digital confirmations. The software used for the digital modes will usually interface with logging programs to automatically upload QSOs to LOTW. I use the combo of WSJTX, JTAlert, and DxLab/DXKeeper. All seamless.

I just got in from Choir Practice, and had to drive home through a thunderstorm. So much for getting in some operating before bedtime 🙁 .

73 de Dick N4BC

So True …

Saw a great quote today that I’m sorry to say really applies to me!

Speaking about antennas …” The one that works best is installed, in the air, and connected — always better than the one in the carton in the garage.“

I’ve had an MFJ Cobweb antenna for several years now … still in the box. I always have an excuse for not getting it assembled and in the air … too hot … too cold … too busy … etc. I promise to get it up “real soon now”, but later, OK? It’s too hot right now 😀 .

73 de Dick N4BC

Old and New

Even though the bands were a bit crappy, I worked a new one this evening … S92HP in Sao Tome and Principe, on 60 Meter FT8. Of course, it’s not confirmed yet 😀 .

I tried to find some of the spotted POTA activations, but no joy! Twenty and forty were not cooperative. Once again, I could hear hunters working them, but the activators were down in the hash. Forty had a constant S5 noise level with static crashes over S9. Rough conditions!

73 de Dick N4BC

13 Colonies

Well, I got a clean sweep of all 13 Colonies during the special event. I didn’t get the bonus stations (K2Z and GB13COL), but the pileups were so chaotic I gave up on them by Friday. I did get WM3PEN on both CW and SSB. I’m not blaming the Op at K2Z … the AHs calling him just ignored normal protocols and rules of basic courtesy. I’ll send my log in with my $5.00 for the great-looking certificate … I’m a sucker for wallpaper (although I keep most of my “wallpaper” in a binder with transparent document holders nowadays).

On the other hand, I did work a couple of POTA stations on Sunday (K0BAK and KE8BKP). Forty meters seems to be my “go to” band, but during the day, it’s so noisy it’s almost unusable at my QTH … lots of QRN! Looking forward to the winter months when it’s relatively quiet.

73 de Dick N4BC