On Sunday, October 19, 2026 I drove north to Trione-Annadel State Park. This was the 7th park I’ve activated as part of the Parks on the Air (POTA) program.
I had my usual setup of a Yaesu FT-991A and an end fed longwire. One end of the longwire was held up by a pushup pole and the antenna sloped down to about 2 feet off the ground.
The 84 contacts made represents my most for an activation. It bests the 73 made at my previous activation at San Pablo Bay NWR. I worked one SOTA station and at least five other POTA stations (covering 6 parks).
I really should start on the 17M band more often. It is frequently the best band and provided more DX than any other band for the day. The best contact of the day was with T77C in San Marino on 17M. But I also worked stations in Aruba, Belize, England, France, Germany, Hawaii, Monserrat, Spain and Switzerland. When I have some free time I should create a query to see what my DXCC status would be just by operating from parks.
My new bungee straps proved their worth once again as the pushup pole was easily secured to the wooden fencing at the edge of the parking area. My laptop’s internal clock was accurate enough without any need to resetting since I synced the clock on the Internet immediately before leaving the house. It’s the little things that make setup and teardown quick and easy.