Parks on the Air (POTA) with AmRRon and VFW
Wichita AmRRon members joined the WØVFW Radio Club on 4/24/21 to “activate” Cheney State Park (K-2331) for a Parks on the Air ® (POTA) event.
POTA is a popular outdoor activity for HAM operators across the country to practice their skills and promote emergency awareness and communications from national/federal and state/provincial level parks.
Visit https://parksontheair.com/ for more information.
We had 17 Hams in attendance and made 19 reported contacts.
We began gathering about 8 a.m. near the Cheney Marina with chilly morning temps in the high 40s to mid 50s, although the stiff wind made it feel a lot colder. Not to be deterred we erected a couple wind breaks around the gazebo where we were to set up our stations and proceeded on. Electrical power was available so we made good use of that. We had come prepared to use solar and battery power if necessary. Bill (KEØVIL) and Ron (KFØAMJ) both had their portable battery packs and I had a supply of 12V batteries.
Michael (KFØBFU) and his son Brent (KFØBZK) along with a few helpers braved the winds and erected a 43′ mast made of schedule 80 PVC electrical conduit to hang his end-fed antenna from. He had constructed an interesting portable system rigged from an old 1954 winch truck onto a trailer that made raising a mast with antenna and stabilizing it a cinch… well, sorta.
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BuddiPole Antenna
Ken (WØKRD) also dazzled us with the ease of erecting a BuddiPole antenna. I was especially interested in seeing this antenna because it is so compact and lightweight and I’m convinced it would make a great addition to my portable emergency comms. The BuddiPole is really flexible and configurable for many different bands either as a dipole or vertical. Ken configured this installation as a dipole and tuned for 20 meters.
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I had read much about this antenna and really welcomed the parks on the air opportunity to see it deployed in the field. I was anxious to see how well it performed later with my Icom 7300.
Working Parks on the Air
I think Michael was first on the air from his Kenwood 940S calling CQ off the end-fed antenna.
He worked both 20 and 40 meters with his furthest contact in California. He was able to hear stations in Spain and Italy but unable to work them.
Congratulations go out to our newest General class operator and AmRRon Corps member, Ron (KFØAMJ), for making his first HF contact with KK4TT in Orange Florida using Michael’s Kenwood 940S. I think HF will settle in well with Ron in the future.
Patricia (KEØTGA) struggled with her Icom IC-756ProIII on the home built slinky antenna belonging to Bill (KEØVIL) and getting interference from another station on the same band. This was a good example of why we should have installed pass-band filters to eliminate the interference.
I set up my Icom 7300 as an alternative station but it was thrown into primary usage as Patricia abandoned her failing station.
I was really impressed with the performance of the Buddipole antenna on my IC-7300. Between Pat and myself, we made 10 contacts that officially activated the park. Woo-Hoo!
Fun, Food and Fellowship
Meanwhile, the food crew led by Meg (KWØMEG) set up a bountiful array of goodies for us to munch on, highlighted by hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. I don’t think anybody went away hungry.
Those not operating a station or logging gathered outside the gazebo on a picnic table to exchange HAM tales. Temperatures eventually reached into the high 60s later in the afternoon making it a very pleasurable afternoon.
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Shawn (KN6ALY) showed up later in the afternoon with his Commander 857 go box from Hardened Power Systems. Packed nicely in a fat 50 ammo can is a Yeasu 857, 20 AH lifepo4 battery bank, real-time power usage meter on the front panel that shows & records voltage and min/max amps & watts of power draw. While we got the radio on the air with Bills slinky antenna, the SWR was too high for his internal tuner and he did not transmit.
Besides the awesome camaraderie with other like-minded people, I found it very informative and helpful sharing amateur radio tips and some hands-on experiences with portable field communications gear. I think everyone participating in this parks on the air event had a great time getting on the air and sharing their HAM expertise.
The only mishap of the day occurred at the end when Michael was lowering his 42′ antenna mast… it snapped toward the lower third of the mast and came crashing down. Fortunately, everyone was practicing good safety precautions and there were no injuries.
May 4, 2021 @ 10:26 pm
Very nicely done, we thank you from the 520 club for taking the time to photo and build the website.
Ps the Kenwood actually belongs to my son Brent. I had a IC 706 to bring but I did not have a working microphone. Thanks goes out to Brent for bring the Kenwood.
KF0BFU Michael 73’s and God Bless.