All About POTA: Parks On The Air

[@petersichel9934]

If you want to bring your POTA gear on a plane, FAA rules say your battery cannot exceed 100 watt hours and cannot be checked. You can bring more than one battery if you don't mind the added bulk and weight.

[@loudounfisher9135]

Another thing with adding a scheduled activation ahead of time, when everything is working properly, the RBN will automatically spot you once you are heard transmitting on FT8 within the time window you put in the activation. QRPer has a article about this. Something else I may do occasionally in FT8 is create a custom message in the TX5 slot, "K-####" and send that after completing a contact or after CQ if no one has responded. Add a custom message in the TX macros tab of the settings.-stupid YT keeps deleting my comment.

[@randygc3704]

Good video, thanks for the info. Haven't done an activation yet but I'm sure the HAMRS info will come in handy. For FT8, if a Hunter is using Gridtracker, it will display locations of registered activations on the map , as well as displaying the Park Number in the Call Roster when the station calls CQ POTA. Of course, if an operator does not register on the POTA site, they won't be displayed, but you're no worse off than before. 73

[@don_n5skt]

Thanks Mike. You sent me down the rabbit hole of my hunter log.

[@AlvinMcManus]

It was interesting the POTA segment.

[@kennethblackwell1137]

Kool.....I do variarions on much of this...

[@ScottWalton]

Thanks for answering my battery question Mike! That Bioenno has been working great and has lasted easily for every activation I’ve done. I also use it here at home, playing radio off and on all day and have never exhausted it. I did try setting the 891’s meter to PO and it shows 100w no problem. I’m not sure if that is as accurate as an external power meter but anyway, everything seems to work fine and thanks for confirming that there is plenty of amperage for the full 100w power!

[@andrewfiertek5937]

Great video. You answered my question about HAMRS and 2Fers.

[@Toner-N1SWT]

Great video Mike. Hamrs is the way to go!

[@lounickles4744]

Mike, so how do you log FT-8 when using HAMRS? Since HAMRS does not have rig control, you have to manually enter contacts and signal reports into HAMRS, right? I still have not been convinced to give up on ACLog.

[@hamradiotube]

I don’t use HAMRS when doing FT8. I just export the .adif from wsjt-x.

[@Bigskyxj]

Mike​@hamradiotube how does the adif from wsjtx transfer the correct signature info and pertinent park info for the pota website? I am all set to do a ft8 pota activation but the idea of editing a adif before uploading to the pota site has me confused. A video on this subject would be amazing. Thanks, KK7LRD

[@FryFlier]

Thanks, Mike always a new tidbit of info

[@Davidjb37721]

I like your shirt

[@ksink74]

The hunter finds the park number post facto (or is that park facto?) once the activation has uploaded his or her log. Also, can you not just include multiple parks in your My Park section separated by commas? Never tried it since the only twofers I've worked were on the Lewis and Clark Trail which I didn't know at the time.

[@denelson83]

I have a 50Ah 12V battery, and that is what my power source will be for any portable operations. And since FT8 has a 13-character limit, how are you sending two callsigns and a signal report? That requires up to 17 or 18 characters, and that limit is a big turn-off for me.

[@FrankTheTank]

Why do you need to update the Grid Squares in WSJTX, i think mine is forever TNK-0117.

[@hamradiotube]

Wow...just wow.

[@phillipzx3754]

Can I assume that's an SM58 under that windscreen?

[@hamradiotube]

Close. Beta58

[@phillipzx3754]

@@hamradiotube Great mics. I use a 58 with my FT991. I run line out from a Behringer X18 into the audio line in on the 991. I can still used the hand mic as my "PTT" but the audio comes in through back. But to be a "real" KZbin pro, you need a $400 SM7. 🙂

[@MikeN2MAK]

Hunting Canadians 🤣🍁🤘

[@KeepEvery1Guessing]

The cat is, apparently, not interested in FT-8. You started talking about it and the cat left the room.

[@hamradiohef]

Maybe it will come back when he talks about APRS. :😂

[@hamradiotube]

Satan has no interest in APRS, I can assure you.

[@ThinkPadModsandRebuilds-W4VHZ]

"Murder Mode Activated Enjoy that +6dB gain" What is THAT?

[@hamradiotube]

It's a little easter egg the developer put in the code.

[@ThinkPadModsandRebuilds-W4VHZ]

@@hamradiotube Ah, I see...does it do anything? BTW- Thanks for being my first contact for the first of 2 activations (day plus night shift) at K-4567 yesterday! I had just spotted myself on the POTA page about 3 minutes before our QSO. You got me off to a good start, that's for sure- about 35 contacts for the first day, 65 for the second. de W4VHZ "Doc" sends...

[@hamradiotube]

Oh very cool. Glad you had a successful couple of activations. And no, the Murder Mode doesn't do anything. It's just the developer saying hi.

[@hugorietveld9257]

A great tip is to add your park# to your 73 line! 73 de BE-0411

[@vidcreator5276]

Mike, will HAMRS app integrate with WSJTX/FT8 log? KG0VA-Gerald

[@hamradiotube]

no

[@vidcreator5276]

@@hamradiotube Do you know if the developer is working on getting HAMRS to work with WSJTX?