Category: FT-818
-
Crossing State Lines
The outdoor amateur radio adventures documented in this blog so far have taken place entirely within my home state of California. Recently, I took off by car to visit family in Washington state. This wasn’t really a POTA oriented vacation trip but if I played my cards right there might…
-
Warm Winter POTA at K-7889
It is not uncommon for California to experience a spell of warm weather in late January or February with temperatures rising into the mid-60s °F. This typically occurs when high barometric pressure builds over the eastern Pacific and into the Pacific Northwest, causing an offshore wind flow over California. With…
-
Rainy Day Activation
It’s late December and one of a series of winter storms is driving into northern and central California. The previous day, my plans for a combined Summits On The Air and Parks On The Air activation fell apart due to weather. Today most of the UTC day had passed with…
-
POTA “Kilo” Note
The weather in San Francisco on Christmas Day 2023 was partly cloudy and dry, with mild temperatures in the upper 50s. Additionally, the space “weather” numbers did not contraindicate the likelihood of success for a low power radio activation. Rather than being a full field report, this post simply notes…
-
Two State Beach POTAs
California’s coast features many dozens of POTA references that are easily accessed right off U.S. Highway 1. The centerpiece of today’s POTA plan was activation of Pigeon Point Lighthouse State Historic Park, additionally there are several nearby State Beaches that could make for a nice coastal rove. Driving southbound and…
-
Petaluma Adobe SHP
This activation took my XYL and myself on a Saturday drive from chilly San Francisco to the lazy autumn warmth of Sonoma county and Petaluma Adobe State Historic Park (K-3531). Our visit started with a little reconnaissance of the site’s historic adobe building and grounds across Adobe Creek and up…
-
SYP Autumn 2023
The weekend of October 21-22, is the autumn Support Your Parks Weekend for Parks On The Air (POTA) and I fully intended to participate. The plan was to go up on Mt. Tamalpais (K-1178) and activate from one of the picnic tables near the East peak parking lot. Early Saturday…
-
Unfinished Business
Back in July of 2022 I got skunked attempting a POTA activation of the Point Reyes National Seashore netting only four QSOs from the Bear Valley picnic area. Like MacArthur, I vowed to return and finish the job of completing an activation from this national park. The plan for today…
-
Fox Den Activation
The rig of choice for this evening’s POTA activation attempt was the trusty Yaesu FT-818, powered from a external 6ah lithium ion battery pack. Originally, my plan was to try picking up some QSOs on the higher bands from 17 meters to 10 meters and the Yaesu is the only…
-
Summer Vacation Mountain POTA
Our family regularly enjoys a summer vacation in the mountains. There is no shortage of mountains along the Pacific Coast, but if you refer to “The Mountains” around our house everybody knows you are talking about 5500 feet up the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada along Highway 4 near…
w6csn’s outdoor amateur radio 