Newport County Radio Club as an organization and as individual members have been very active in the Parks on the Air program, within the constraints of gatherings and COVID safety.  So far, in 2021 there have been more than 100 activations by various club members as individuals, but we haven’t had a club POTA event since 2020.  Our first one for 2021 is happening Saturday October 23rd at Colt State Park!

For the uninitiated, you can participate in POTA as an “Activator” which is someone who travels to a park, sets up their station, and gets on the air calling “CQ POTA”.  The other way of participating is mostly at a home station contacting the Activators that you find on the air.  This is called “Hunting”.  There is a real-time spotting network devoted to POTA that can be used to help you find Activations to connect with.

Those interested in POTA should check out the organization’s website. Check their Help/Getting Started tab for many excellent resources.

Nancy KC1NEK, put together some great notes as she started her journey into POTA

Bob WB4SON gave a presentation to the club members in 2020 concerning POTA  It covers the basics of the POTA program and describes several HF radio alternatives, as well as antennas and batteries.