Has POTA Peaked?
I’ve been thinking about this one for a while.
Has POTA peaked?
Before everyone starts typing angry comments, hear me out.
I’m not asking if POTA is dead. It’s clearly not.
Parks are being activated every day. Pileups are still happening. New operators are discovering portable radio. And judging by the amount of POTA gear that keeps showing up in my garage… somebody is definitely still buying this stuff.
But I do think POTA is changing.
And maybe the better question isn’t whether POTA has peaked.
Maybe it’s whether we’ve started to forget why so many of us got hooked on it in the first place.
Remember When It Was Just a Radio and a Park?
For a lot of us, the original attraction to Parks on the Air was pretty simple.
Grab a radio.
Find a park.
Throw a wire in a tree.
Make some contacts.
That was it.
You didn’t need the perfect station. You didn’t need a tactical battery box with six USB ports and Bluetooth monitoring. You didn’t need four antennas mounted to a carbon fiber mast.
Half the time, you weren’t even sure the antenna was going to work until you called CQ.
And that was part of the fun.
POTA gave us an excuse to take the radio somewhere other than the shack.
More importantly, it gave us permission to experiment.
Then We Got Good at It
Here’s where things started to change.
We figured POTA out.
We learned which antennas deploy quickly.
We figured out how much battery we actually need.
Logging apps got better. Spotting got easier. Radios got smaller. Portable antennas became an entire product category.
A complete portable station can now fit into a backpack.
And somehow… we still manage to bring 70 pounds of gear.
Want More Portable Radio Content?
Practical portable operating, POTA discussions, gear reviews, Brew & Activate livestreams, and real-world ham radio content.
I’m guilty of it too.
You start with an FT-891 and a wire antenna.
Then you add a better battery.
Then a logging tablet.
Then a different antenna.
Then another antenna because the first antenna doesn’t cover 80 meters.
Then a tripod.
Then a mast.
Then a coax bag.
And suddenly you’re planning an activation like you’re deploying communications for a small country.
We took something simple and got really, really good at making it complicated.
Are We Activating Parks… or Completing Checklists?
This is probably the uncomfortable part of the conversation.
For some operators, POTA has become a numbers game.
Get the contacts.
Log the park.
Pack the station.
Next park.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with chasing awards. POTA has created an incredible award system that gives operators goals and keeps people active.
But I think there is a difference between using awards as motivation and letting the checklist become the entire experience.
I’ve done short activations.
I’ve done lunchtime activations where the goal was simply to get on the air, make the contacts, and get back to work.
Those activations have a place.
But some of my favorite days in radio had absolutely nothing to do with the number in my log.
They were the days someone stopped and asked what I was doing.
The activation where a new ham sat down and made a contact.
The park meetup where someone showed up with an antenna we’d never seen before.
The day the band conditions were terrible and we spent more time talking than transmitting.
Those are the activations I remember.
Keep the Conversation Going
What’s one thing you stopped bringing to activations because you realized you never actually needed it? Drop into the Discord and tell the Brew Crew.
Join the N1JUR DiscordSo… Has POTA Peaked?
Maybe.
At least in the way we currently think about it.
There was always going to be a point where the explosive growth slowed down.
Eventually, most active hams have heard of POTA.
Eventually, the YouTube algorithm stops treating “I Activated a Park With This Radio” like a brand-new concept.
Eventually, another shiny part of the hobby gets everyone’s attention.
That’s normal.
But I don’t think the spirit behind POTA is going anywhere.
Because POTA tapped into something much bigger than an awards program.
It reminded us that ham radio doesn’t have to happen in a room filled with equipment.
The Real Secret of POTA Was Never the Parks
The park is just the excuse.
The real attraction is getting outside.
It’s setting up a station somewhere different.
It’s figuring out how to make an antenna work with the trees, terrain, weather, and whatever you forgot to pack.
It’s making a contact from a picnic table and realizing the person on the other end has absolutely no idea you’re sitting next to a cooler eating a sandwich.
Portable radio makes the hobby feel like an adventure again.
And I think that’s why we’re seeing so much growth around SOTA, satellites, Tiles on the Air, portable VHF, and other outdoor operating activities.
Operators aren’t necessarily leaving POTA.
They’re expanding the adventure.
Maybe the Next Phase of POTA Is Community
This is where I think we have an opportunity.
We’ve spent years teaching people how to activate parks.
Maybe now we start showing people how to experience them.
Invite another operator.
Host a POTA meetup.
Bring a new ham who has never operated HF.
Let someone use your station.
Try an antenna you’ve never used.
Work a different mode.
Stay at the park after you get your ten contacts.
I saw this firsthand during our Support Your Parks meetup.
Operators showed up with completely different levels of experience.
Some had activated dozens of parks.
Others were doing their first activation.
Radios were everywhere.
Antennas were everywhere.
Like What’s Happening Here?
N1JUR is built around helping more people get active in ham radio through videos, Field Notes, POTA content, live streams, gear reviews, and community.
If you already watch the channel and want to support more of the work behind it, memberships are one way to help keep the signal going.
Videos. Field Notes. Live Streams. Community.
Membership support helps keep the N1JUR ecosystem moving without turning every page into a pledge drive wearing a callsign hat.
Learn About the Community →And yes… there was probably enough coax on the ground to create a minor trip hazard.
But nobody was worried about who had the most activations.
We were just playing radio.
That’s the part I think we need to protect.
Stop Trying to Win POTA
There is no finish line.
You don’t have to activate every park.
You don’t need the lightest station.
You don’t need the fastest deployment.
You don’t need to make 200 contacts every time you sit down.
If chasing those goals makes the hobby fun for you, chase them.
But don’t let someone else’s activation become the standard for yours.
Sometimes a successful activation is 100 contacts.
Sometimes it’s ten.
Sometimes it’s setting up a new antenna, making three contacts, realizing something is broken, and going home with a list of things to fix.
That’s still radio.
The Spirit of POTA Isn’t Going Anywhere
So has POTA peaked?
Maybe the hype eventually will.
Maybe the growth curve slows down.
Maybe the next big thing in amateur radio pulls some attention away.
But I don’t think getting outside with a radio is a trend.
I think POTA reminded a generation of operators that ham radio can leave the shack.
That’s bigger than an award.
That’s bigger than a leaderboard.
And that’s bigger than POTA itself.
So grab the radio.
Pack an antenna.
Call a friend.
Find a park.
And go play radio.
Because whether POTA has peaked or not…
the outdoors is still waiting.