Thank you for your participation in the Virginia POTA Net experiment. We have decided to put the weekly on-air/AllStarLink net on hold for now. Participation was never high, and has been generally declining. It seems that most of us would rather be activating and hunting than talking about activating and hunting! No surprise. That said, if someone (or someones) want to volunteer to take over as Net Manager and keep it going, we'll welcome them with enthusiasm. We feel that the groups.io group has some real potential, though, so we plan to devote our energy to nurturing that group to see if it can find its niche. We'll keep the Web site, as well. See you on the air! 73, Jim KQ4AVP and Mike KQ9P

Please reply to this topic and introduce yourself. -- 73, Mike KQ9P

Hi folks I'm going to shut down the Web site (potava.net, *not* this groups.io group). The Web site was created to support the on-air net, so it is really serving no purpose that I know of. I'm responsible for a number of other Web sites, so I'll be happy to have one less. If you feel strongly that Virginia needs its own POTA Web site and want to volunteer to take over hosting and management, let me know. -- 73, Mike KQ9P

I'm getting my POTA go-bag and technique streamlined, so I decided to try for three parks in one day. First up was the James River Wildlife Management Area, US-3991. This turned out to be my favorite of the three. There is a dirt boat ramp on the James at the end of the access road, with lots of people kayaking and tubing on this beautiful, warm morning. There are no facilities - typical of WMAs - but there is a nice, big shady spot at one end of the parking area. I set up the Wolf River TIA without the radials; there really wasn't room to spread them out with all the cars and people carrying kayaks. Being next to the James, the water table isn't far beneath the surface and the TIA did fine without radials. With all the car doors open there was a nice breeze. I spent a pleasant hour getting my 10 FT8 contacts. (When you are operating QRP with a compromise antenna, it can take a while.) As an aside, I've developed a love-hate relationship with the Wolf River Take-It-Along vertical. It is fast and easy to set up, and without the radials takes up very little space. The low take-off angle results in more DX, which is interesting for POTA. With more and more international POTA activators there are more chances for DX Park-to-Park contacts. On the other hand, it's a stinker from an efficiency standpoint. The best SWR I've ever managed so far is 2.0, but it's usually more like 2.5-3.0, and base-loaded verticals start off inefficient. The Chameleon end-fed (CHA LEFS 8010) is a dream for operating, but needs space and takes time to set up. Having both in the go-bag provides options, but I definitely prefer the EFHW. Next up was James River State Park, US-1304, which I'm sure most of you have activated. It is a beautiful park with fantastic views of the river. I had a nice chat with the ranger at the gatehouse, who knew all about POTA and was very welcoming. The hillside they call the "Amphitheater" and the adjacent picnic shelter were unoccupied, so I set up there. It had gotten quite a lot hotter by then, but at least there was a shady picnic bench. The TIA needed radials this time, but I made 15 contacts, many of them DX. By then I really wanted some A/C and a comfy chair, but Lake Nelson State Fishing Lake, US-3780, was on the way home. It's a really nice lake, with lots of families out fishing from the shore. By then it was really hot, though, and there was no shady place where I wouldn't be in the way. I sat in the oven of a car, got my 10 contacts in fairly short order, and got out of there. Having tried this, I've decided that three parks in one day is too much like work, especially on a hot day. I much prefer to find a shady spot, set up the good antenna, and spend a few hours on the air. Much more relaxing. -- 73, Mike KQ9P

The weather is supposed to beautiful tomorrow, so I'm headed out to the parks G5 or no G5! -- 73, Mike KQ9P

Hi everyone (and welcome to the new members!) Over the ACPS spring break we took a long-planned road trip to Michigan with our three local granddaughters and their mom. We have some avid rock and fossil hunters in our group, and Michigan turns out to be pretty exciting rock-wise. All those years I lived in Michigan; who knew? Of course, I threw my POTA gear in the already jam-packed car and hoped to squeeze in some parks. (I'm almost all digital, so we're talking IC-705, ToughBook, and my new Wolf River Take-It-Along.) First up was Kelleys Island State Park US-1965 in Ohio. Kelleys Island is the quietest of the Bass Islands in Lake Erie, the one where people go to hike, bird watch, band monarch butterflies, etc. The whole island is one big limestone outcropping full of fossils. It is also home to the longest glacial grooves in North America. The glaciers picked up huge boulders and dragged them along the ground, gouging out the rock and leaving amazing, deep grooves, like a giant ran its fingers along the ground. The activation was short and sweet, though. It was still late winter in Ohio and Michigan. The temperature was right around freezing, and the wind was howling out of the north at 25-30 kt. It was cold! Next was Hoeft State Park US-1506 in Michigan, one of the many state parks along the shores of the Great Lakes. (Did you know that Michigan has the longest fresh-water coastline in the US?) I set up on a picnic table in a heavily wooded area near a trailhead. It was still cold, but at least there wasn't much wind. Hammond Bay State Harbor US-6813 in Michigan is one of the "harbors of refuge", a relatively small space behind an artificial breakwater where small pleasure and fishing boats can take refuge if a surprise storm comes up, which happens a lot on the Lakes. You've all heard "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" and possibly "White Squall". The bottoms of the Lakes are littered with shipwrecks both old and new. It was a gorgeous clear day, but oh, that wind! I sat in the car and knocked out 10 contacts. Finally, I activated Onaway State Park US-1529 on Black Lake in Michigan. Michigan may not have as many inland lakes as Minnesota, but there are thousands of them. I was really surprised to see that the park had not been activated in 18 months! Judging from the history of the parks I activated, Michigan POTA-ists seem to be somewhat less active than we are here in Virginia. I monitored both .520 and .580 in the car and never heard anyone, POTA or SOTA. I called CQ on both frequencies from each park and never got a response. Michigan has a fantastic state park system, and I was surprised there wasn't more activity. We pulled off in east-central Ohio on the way home for the eclipse. There was a nice park in this little town with about a hundred locals gathered for the event. I pulled out my HF gear one more time to participate in the Solar Eclipse QSO Party run by the HamSci organization. I wasn't worried about making contacts since this was my first total eclipse, but I contributed to the din on 20m that the scientists will use to study propagation during the eclipse. Mostly, though, I just enjoyed the almost 4 minutes of totality. Amazing! Great trip, all around. The family had fun and I activated my first two states besides Virginia. Yippee! -- 73, Mike KQ9P

So far, I've used an end-fed half-wave for POTA activations. It's easy to put up and requires no action for band changes. I have a hitch-mounted mast for one end and put a small wire stake in the ground for the other. Sometimes I tied the other end to a fence or tree. But after the recent discussion of POTA activators tangling with park rangers over ropes in trees and stakes in the ground, I decided to try an antenna that was self-supporting. After some research, I decided to try the Wolf River Coils Take It Along. I bought the Mega Mini version with the Silver Bullet Mini coil, the 213" telescoping whip, and the bigger tripod. My first impression on unboxing was that this thing is built like a tank. I have no worries about damaging it during setup or teardown. The tuning collar took a little getting used to, but now I find I can move it with some precision and it stays where you set it. It is quite easy to tune using my RigExpert Stick Pro analyzer, which has a handy "Single" feature that continuously displays the SWR on a frequency of your choice. You set it for 14074 kHz, for example, then tinker with the antenna coil tuning collar until you are satisfied. I found it easy to get under 2:1, and other people claim 1.4:1 with some trial and error. All-in-all, it is pretty easy to set up and tune, 5-10 minutes to on-the-air. Teardown is quicker, of course. As for performance, after a half-dozen outings I would say it works pretty well, but not as well as the EFHW. My instinct is that people aren't hearing me as well with the vertical, which is no surprise. Base-loaded verticals are inefficient, so you're definitely trading off effectiveness to get the other qualities you want. I'm looking forward to the opportunity to do an A/B test and get some real data from PSKREPORTER about how well the Wolf River is working. Bottom line, I'm happy I bought it. It addressed the need for easy setup with no ropes or stakes, and it works well enough on the air. I don't think a contester would be happy, but for POTA it is good enough. I'm a big believer in good enough! -- 73, Mike KQ9P

Hi all, I'm sure you all have noticed that ticks are out and about for the 2024 season. On Pi Day my friends and I POTA activated Powhatan State Park to test gear for SOTA. That evening the first tick of the season attached itself to me. Ticks carry several diseases one of which is Alpha Galactose Syndrome: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha-gal_syndrome Trust me, you do not want this. Several in my rural neighborhood have contracted this and it is lifestyle changing, if not life threatening. Symptoms can be mild to anaphylactic shock. Once you have been infected, eating mammalian meat triggers the reaction. The infection is long term, years in fact. I want to share with you what I use to keep the ticks off of me and kill them. You may also have heard of this and maybe use this product. Sawyer Permethrin Insect Repellent. It is NOT sprayed on skin but on clothing, footwear, tents, groundcloths, cushions, backpacks, etc. Yesterday, I sprayed my boots, gaitors and SOTA gear in preparation for the SOTA season. This product can be found on your favorite online store. I encourage you to read the reviews. Take care! 73 Paula KQ4AWF

Hi everyone My wife and I are taking the granddaughters on a road trip to Michigan (our old stomping grounds) the first week of April. Of course, the POTA kit is going in the car. Does anyone have favorite parks in Michigan? We will be staying at two rentals on the Huron shore between Mackinaw City and Alpena. I'll post my activations when I have more detailed plans. -- 73, Mike KQ9P

I'm into my 4th year using LifePo4 batteries. My oldest battery is a 15 Ah Bioenno battery which I'm happy to report is maintaining really close to the fully charged capacity when I began keeping record 2 years ago (14.5v). My Chinese batteries have diminished some over that period and are newer batteries. One of the Chinese batteries can be fully charged and will many times shut down and come back to life with a very brief charge. Obviously, that's my last "go to". Just wanted to give an update as I'm only as good as my batteries and paying a little more seems to be prudent... at least for me.

Hi All, Hope you are having a great Monday although the weather has been a bit gray here in central Virginia. I wanted to just share a few things with you: Hope you can join us for the VA POTA NET on Tuesday evening. The topic will be about transceivers. What do you use? What do you like and dislike about your rig? Have you done any modifications to it to make it more POTA friendly? Looking forward to a great net so come with your thoughts. Page Valley Amateur Radio Club PVARC will be hosting its third annual Hamfest on Saturday Feb 17with the doors opening at 7.00 AM. Web site: https://sites.google.com/view/pvarc/event I came across the following blog post which I thought would be great to share. Its all about being a good POTA operator in parks and has some great points...well worth the time to read: https://qrper.com/2024/02/building-positive-park-relations-elevating-our-role-as-pota-activators/ Hope you all had a great weekend and look forward to your comments! 73 Jim Loder KQ4AVP