Almost a POTA Two-fer

This past Wednesday I went hiking at Pokagon State Park, K-2264 over by Angola. I brought my equipment so I could do POTA after the group hike I went on. Across the road from Pokagon State Park is the Trine State Recreation, K-4182. I figured as long as the two were across the street from each other why not do both. That is what I did. I first activated Pokagon and once I was sure I had enough contacts at Pokagon and hit a lull. I quickly packed up and moved over to Trine and setup again. Once I setup I started making contacts and was able to have a successful second activation at Trine.

While this is not a real Two-fer (a two-fer is when you activate two locations at once because of an overlap) it was almost as easy.

I had limited time so I couldn't do a third activation. But if one was so inclined it is possible. If you take the toll road over Pokagon, Pipewort Pond State Nature Preserve, K-4220, is on the way at Bristol. If you take US 20 over Pigeon River State Fish and Wildlife Area, K-4218, is on the way on SR 3. If you did a circle the over achiever could do four activations.

If you wanted to do an overnight POTA excursion, Pokagon would be perfect. Pokagon has a campground, cabins, and an inn along with a myriad of activities to do. The state website is https://www.in.gov/dnr/state-parks/parks-lakes/pokagon-state-parktrine-state-recreation-area/

Zettelkasten ID almostatwofer-2023-05-20-1040

New RF Exposure Evaluation Rules

On May 3, 2021, new FCC rules went into effect that dealt with RF exposure evaluations.

Here are some links that may help you understand and comply with the new rules.

ARRL Helps Radio Amateurs Comply with New RF Exposure Evaluation Rules

May 2023 QST article by Greg Lapin, N9GL

ARRL RF Exposure landing page

RF Exposure Calculator

Ask Michael, KB9VBR: FCC now REQUIRES amateurs to perform antenna RF exposure calculations

Zettelkasten ID rfexposureevaluationrules-2023-05-07-2230

POTA Self Spotting with Winlink

I found the following forum post about POTA self spotting with Winlink. I have not tried it yet but I plan to soon.


VA3BLV Jun '22

Self-Spotting using email/Winlink…

POTA spotting actions can be submitted by sending an email (Winlink/other) to POTAGW@outlook.com with all commands being sent in the subject line only. The body of emails will be ignored.

The following commands are currently supported:

  • Self-Spot

SPOT [ActivatorCall] [ParkReference] [FreqInKhz] [Mode] [Comment]

Example: SPOT W4PI K-TEST 14321 SSB This is a comment

  • View Active Spots

VIEWSPOTS #An email reply will be sent with a list of active spots.

73, Marc - VA3BLV

"VA3-Believe"


Taken from: https://community.hamrs.app/t/spotting-myself-or-others/2095/3

Zettelkasten ID potaspottingwinlink-2023-05-04-1540

Parking Lot POTA

Today after the LaPorte Hamfest I stopped by Chamberlain Lake Nature Preserve, K-4189. It is a 82.7 acre preserve with 1.5 miles of trails. Today, I didn't hit the trails I hit the air waves. After seeing Barry, WD4MSM, doing Winter Field Day in the back of his SUV, I had the idea of doing parking lot POTA. I ordered a Tram Tri-Magnet Antenna Mount and tried it out today. I used the mount with my Wolf River Coil. In twenty minutes I had thirteen contacts, all within the comfort of my car.

While I wouldn't want to do all my POTAs from the inside of my car, it is nice to have the option to do POTA from inside the car if the weather doesn't cooperate.

Zettelkasten ID parkinglotpota-2023-02-25-1559

G90 Resources

The G90 is a great radio with good documentation.

Documentation

If you are new to the G90 and especially if you are new to HF Radio I would recommend downloading the following documents:

  • G90 Manual

  • CAT control your Xiegu G90 with your PC and start operating in digital modes

Both documents can be downloaded from:

Radioddity Resources for the G90

You can also download firmware updates for the G90 from the above sites.

My prefered method of updating the firmware on the G90

Videos that will help you setup the G90

I highly recommend watching the videos below to learn how to use the G90.

Techstuff & More

Xiegu G90 - Super quiet CW (and SSB) rig

QRP HF radio

XieGu G90 SSB adjustable filters..

ErnieTech

The Xiegu G90 Callsign Editor

Setting the Bandwidth on the Xiegu G90

Xiegu G90 Antenna Tuning

Mic Gain and Compression on the G90

G90 Handheld Mic

Easy Xiegu G90 Firmware Update

How to use the Xiegu G90 CW Decoder

Xiegu G90 Random Memory Assignment

Xiegu G90 Memory Management

Zettelkasten ID g90resources-2023-02-16-1323