Tips on Activating during Contesting weekends

This post has been an idea I have had bouncing around in my head for a while now. I, as a rule of thumb, try not to activate during a contest weekend.

Before you start rolling your eyes or finger point, I know that, in general terms, it’s not the toughest thing to accomplish.

However, for a relatively new ham working, an “everyday” activation has its challenges. Adding in crowded bands, propagation issues, and technical challenges, elevates the bar quite high.

So I took this time to give it a try during CQ QPX Weekend. I posted the video of the activation below.

But here are my takeaways that hopefully can help you when you should run into this scenario.

When activating during a contest weekend, you should….

• Be patient - Know that going in the bands will be VERY crowded. Trying to find an activation spot will be flanked with contester one and two kilohertz above your frequency, running some power. Knowing this will keep you level-headed and help you decide on a location. Remember, you can use all the bands -even the WARC ones.

• Hunt! - Yes, you can hunt. Most of the contester’s won’t need your park number. You need to know the exchange and work those stations as if they were in your log.

• Be Creative - understand that you may have to use other modes or bands to activate the park. I came up short in activating K-4950, but instead of packing it in, I used 2m FM simplex and called out on 146.52 to get the 2 or 3 contacts I needed. The motto is “Use what you brought” and “Use all the bands you can!”

• FILTERS, FILTERS, FILTERS! - If your radio has filtering ex. DNR, Noise Reduction, Shift and width you, and you can find a relative open frequency. Then use them to filter out the louder stations above or below you and just work stations you can hear clearly. Learning to pull out the “5-watt QRP” station isn’t the time or place. Treat your activation like a contest and work as many “Qs” in the time you’re allotted.

There are many others, but these four are the best suggestions I can offer and helped me get Reed’s Ferry Activated that day.

Remember, POTA is a process, and every activation is a place to learn your equipment and communication skills for the future.

If there are any other tips I may have missed, I’d love to hear them. Please post them in the comments below.

My POTA Kit

So I’ve been doing POTA for over two years now with over 5000 contacts and over 156 parks activated under my belt. I have been able to work out my “go bag,” so I can easily setup in under 5 minutes - including the antenna.

So now that I have this blog to chronicle my radio adventures, I decided I might be able to share some of my experience and get you out and activate a park.

Now let me frame this topic a bit…

The goal of my setup is to get an activation setup within 5 minutes or less. I drive a lot for work, so the opportunity to activate a park between client visits sometimes is live a RADAR for me.

A setup that quickly maintains the line of efficiency makes things very easy to get up and running.

This is the difference between a successful activation and a failed attempt, as the airwaves can be challenging no matter how good your setup is.

I am fortunate to get the opportunity to activate new parks. This, for me, requires some quick scoping out and locating a spot.

My Setup

So with my setup, I have the non-negotiables.

Black mesh zipper bags - This stores all cables, flexible ties, connectors, antennas, interfacing coax, and radios. These are the ones ladies use for makeup items. You can find them on Amazon.

Radio Bag- I have an Oakley Mail Currier bag - which is no longer made) that houses my radio, logging tablet, battery, power cords, and watt meter. The fold-over zipper case has additional zippered storage where my zipper pouches are all organized. I also have a Rig Expert Stick 230 and Powerwerks in-line watt meter to round out the bag.

I carry a pen and yellow stick-its, a 2-way mike splitter - for dual activations, a Digi Rig, and charging cables for the smartphone.

Everything in the bag is power poles and provides easy use when I need to cable power together.

The Logging Computer - I have two devices. I use an iPad with a Bluetooth keyboard for regular logging - an on/off switch is a must! If you can afford it, I would get the iPad with cell, as it makes it easy to do callsign lookups and synch the log.

I am in the process of building a computer for digital modes. But for this post, I saved that for another post as a video would help explain the process.

I use HAMRS for logging and Dropbox to sync my logs. My process is simple: setting up the log file in HAMRs and exporting the ADI file to Dropbox. When I get home, I open up the log file with ADIF Master, confirm all fields, park, and other items are in check, and then upload the file to the POTA.APP website for processing. Then, to give proper credit to the hunters, I created a profile on Ham Radio Deluxe for the park, ensuring the Grid Square is correct for the location profile of the park and imported the log file. HRD then does the heavy lifting for QRZ and LOTW.

Antennas

I can go into greater detail on these antennas - and will at a later date, but I’ll list them here to explain my kit. I do have many so let me explain

Spring/Summer/Fall Activations -

I use a combination of two antennas. My first go-to antenna is the Wolf River Coil TIA 1000, with the center-loaded section. I use the 24” base and have the dual collar option.

I use a combination of two antennas. My first go-to antenna is the Wolf River Coil TIA 1000, with the center-loaded section. I use the 24” base and have the dual collar option.

I also have a Buddiepole Pro, and this antenna doesn’t get a lot of use as sometimes the counterpoise can be finicky and need more attention to get set up. I do have to give this antenna more field time in the spring.

Winter/Cold Activations -

I do most, if not 90%, of my activations in the winter from my truck. I purchased in the spring of 2022 a Yaesu ATAS 120a and mounted this to my back rack.

I run a few wire antennas, with the Chameleon EFLFS 80-10 Lightweight Sloper being the one I use mostly. I plan to do some additional reviews on these at a later date. But I have used this once at a POTA Meetup with success and on several Field Day events.

Batteries

I haven’t tried the gamut of batteries out on the market, but my stable includes a 15-ah and 20-ah Bioenno battery. Both of these are charged using the Bioenno charging plugs, and I have never run out of power. I have a solar charge controller from Buddipole (Powermini 2) and a 60-watt panel. Still, I haven’t taken the time to assemble this kit with a 60-watt solar panel, but it will be forthcoming.

I know I can go further into the rabbit hole, but this is an excellent place to ask… What do you want to know about my setup?

I plan on posting more videos on YouTube and social media, and you can always come back to my site for the latest updates.

My question to my visitors is, what you’d like to know more about? My antennas? Setup? The tech? Let me know in the comments.

Building the ultimate “no kit”

So this topic has been kicked around so much that I've tried to avoid it entirely.

Not because it's a taboo topic or the grand old debate about whether it is radio or not, but instead, it’s the “pink elephant” in the room. The Go-boxes I’ve seen make me think that the builder “threw the kitchen sink at it.” Trying to consider how to cram it into a pelican box—making it too complex and unwieldy in the field. I love a well-laid-out configuration, but do you need to pack four different antennas for the activation?

So, let us take a different slant, shall we?

Instead of setting out the goal to build an “ultimate go-box,” consider making for a purpose. Design modular “puzzle” components that are the “must haves” into small clear mesh bags. Build “home base” stations for charging and storage for your grab bags and use Lists.

Have laminated lists of what constitutes an HF activation, a VHF/Satellite outing, SOTA, or a drive-up POTA.

Then use a color-coded system to grab the necessary items quickly, throw them into a pack, and off you go.

Take this card system and test it out, see what is missing from each of these “trial runs” and revise and update.

I encourage you to give this a try and report back on your experience. As Ted Lasso always says “stay curious…”