I made an early morning visit to a nearby state park for a Parks on the Air (POTA) activation. Although Fort Washington State Park (K-1352) is only 30 or 40 minutes away, this was my first time there. I obviously need to get out more.
I did some online reconnaissance before leaving and headed for the Militia Hill Day Use Area in the park. After all, any location with “hill” in its name has to be good for radio, right?
I arrived at the park around 9:30am (local). As it turns out, the elevation is great from this location. Although it was busy for a Sunday morning, I found a parking spot away from the rest of the visitors. I set up my usual 19-ft vertical and operated my KX3 from inside the truck. The cell coverage was excellent, so I could spot myself easily. Initially, I fat-fingered the park designator and my frequency, but I quickly corrected that.
Almost immediately, I began receiving calls on 40M. I made my required ten contacts in the first eight minutes. I worked eighteen stations before things slowed down.
I moved up to 20M and had mixed results there. Right off the bat, I got a call from G0DJF in England. HB9BQB in Switzerland followed him and gave my 5-watt signal a 559. I worked one local station after that, then the band dried up for me.
Down on 30M, I worked 7 more chasers. I went back to 40M before closing down and logged 8 more stations there, including two park-to-park QSOs.
I ended up with 35 stations in my log. For a Sunday morning, the number of chasers on the air was amazing. The Parks on the Air program sure has gotten popular.
73, Craig WB3GCK
WB3GCK QRP Amateur Radio 