With my working conditions (CW; low power; attic antenna), the apparent non-contest reduced CW activity and the waning sunspot cycle a hard choice is here.
- FT-8 is an unbelievable mode and I from time to time look for DX with the mode. However, there is no joy in contacting a station four states away on FT-8.
- At first WWFF then POTA were fun. But how many times can you work the same park? Not fun anymore.
- QRT? Ham radio has been such a part of my life for so many years. I hate to hang up may keys.
The following is being done to delay the shutdown (Looking for the spark – not spark gap)
- An FTx-1F was purchased to kindle the fire. It is a fun little radio, but it does not change the stations I can work with my working conditions.
- Operate from our back deck with a portable antenna – WX permitting.
- Operating the activities run by SKCC and next in line are those run by NAQCC.
- Work a few state QSO Parties.
The little radio works on SSB also. Yes not a rock solid signal around the world, but it does get heard. Once again Parks are a good way to test. Since I do not operate phone often the parks worked were new ones. Not like on CW where the same parks are heard over and over again.
So far so good. POTA is helpful as a test vehicle for new radios, morse key settings, etc.
To this point only one glitch. The disappearing CW indicator after operating split. I put a message out to Yaesu but nothing heard. The September 2025 software update (202511) should take care of this issue.
CW is my main operating mode so my comments result from operating CW. However, I did work a park on SSB with the FTX-1F and all went well (I think).
In the shack:
The transceiver does run hot as reported by many users. I purchased the fan and it appears to cool things down a bit (on a DC supply).
I have used the radio connected to my Mac via a USB-C cable. I am waiting for the Bluetooth unit to arrive. I hope Bluetooth can be used to replace the cable to talk to the computer. Report back when the module is received and installed.
Away from the shack:
The FTX-1F performed well using the battery on the back deck feeding a Wolf River vertical. Hopefully soon it will go on the road for more tests in the wild.
Why do I still hunt POTA stations? After all, nine out of ten calls/parks I hear have been worked multiple times. There are four reasons as follows:
- Test and find tune my Morse keys. Especially bug keys.
- Use of my lower power radios (HW-8, TR-25 and NorCal 40B).
- To not only see hits on the Reverse Beacon but contact someone.
- Work the occasional new park.
To say I messed up when downsizing would be an understatement. I am seeing this sunspot cycle slip away ( I am 80 do the math). If you like to work DX and do not want to settle for:
- Being heard fairy well 600 mies away
- Receive marginal reports up to 2,000 miles away
- Work the occasional station beyond that point who works at pulling your signal out of the noise because there is no one else for them to work.
- See your signal on the RBN just above the noise level.
- Work the same park with the same operator for the 25th time.
Do not downsize before really thinking it through!
Note: Yes FT8 is ham radio and I do work the mode from time to time. It has no personality to me. Also, they say it is like shooting fish in a barrel. Well my barrel is very large the fish appear to be very small.
Disclaimer: I believe if you don’t like what a group is doing, either get involved or take it for what it is. Said another way, use it as is or move on. After all it is not yours to change and most likely as for a ham radio the group is run by unpaid individuals who truly believe it what they are doing.
As for POTA and me. I am only a hunter, but often thought it would be fun to activate a park. My activity, thoughts and goals (if I truly had goals) for POTA are forever changing as the following list shows:
- My first step was to work 1,000 parks. Once that level was reached the number of parks logged slipped to the background. I hear the same park and often activated by the same operator. It appears pointless to get in a pileup to work the same op/park for the fifteenth time. Unless it is with one of my one and a half to five watt radios
- Working a park in all states was the next logical milestone. As of this post I am missing a park in Hawaii. I was surprised when after working a park in Alaska (at that point one of the two states I needed for Parks WAS) a WAS certificate was issued. An e-mail exchange told me that Washington DC is a wild card so therefore I received the WAS certificate. YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING! How does that make any sense?
- Currently I mostly work parks with low power. That is 1.5 to 5 watts. (Unless I hear a park in Hawaii and then I go QRO – 25 watts).
Final note: I cannot understand why the group went from identifying parks using DXCC Entities to the use of country names. Again, it is none of my business what they do as it is not my organization. It does affect how I view and patriciate in the program. But I am sure that my opinion means nothing to the POTA team.
Once I reached 1,000 parks hunted the activity started to take on new meaning to me. Running a compromise station getting others to hear me can be a challenge. I noticed many of the same parks were being activated by the same station over and over again. I get it, an activation is an activation so go where it is easiest. But why get in a pileup to work the same station in the same park for the twentieth time? So now I view my POTA hunting as follows:
- If I have a park in the POTA site’s log I will not get in a pileup to work it again.
- If the activator appears not to be getting calls, I will call no matter how many times he is in the log. My contact may be needed for the ten (probably not).
- I like using my one to five watt radios to call parks so I will call any park at all with those radios even if I worked it 100 times.
Some other POTA related items.
- At the time of this posting the POTA site’s log shows that I have 1,236 parks hunted.
- I would like to activate a park at some point.
- I watch too many Ham Radio YouTube videos. At times they add to the activity’s appeal, but at times I think they detract from it. (Just my opinion.)