Findley State Park
Findley State Park in North Central Ohio, K-1905. I had not heard of this park until Parks On The Air came into being. This is a nice small-ish park with a beach and mountain biking trails. Very scenic!
Made a total of 53 QSO’s of which 16 were CW, 30 were phone, and 7 were FT8.
Malabar Farm
Here is another activation at Malabar Farm State park, K-1974. As I got more experience activating, I decided on running a vertical antenna along with a fold-able 100 watt solar panel. At this time I was using a 12 AH GelCel battery – not a good choice, but it was what I had at the time.
Most of Malabar Farm is in a valley, but there are two good spots. Where I like to set up for POTA is at the Horseman’s area. Its the second highest point, but a lot less crowded. Here is a google maps link for it.
The Mt. Jeez Overlook is the highest point in the park, but limited parking and its crowded! Definitely worth checking out as it has a commanding view of the farm and the valley.
Delaware State Park
At Delaware State park in Ohio, K-1946, I had a special visitor – my grandson! That particular day I was running all CW. He found the “funny beeps” to be quite interesting.
Here I am explaining how the “funny beeps” go out of the radio, up to the antenna and over to the other operator.
I made 28 QSO’s that day.
Mohican Forest
This photo is from a spring time activation at Mohican Memorial State Forest, K-5444. This is right next to Mohican State Park.
A good place for activating this park is at the Mohican Memorial Shrine. It has good elevation and easy access. What I ended up doing is pulling off the edge of the pavement on to the grass just a little bit.
Here is a link to google maps to the Mohican Memorial shrine
I made 35 QSO’s that day. It was a bit rough as we were still at the minimum of the sunspot cycle.
POTA Activation of Malabar Farm State Park, K-1974 near Mansfield, Ohio. This is one of the first activations I made during the Ohio State Parks On The Air contest. This contest is held the first weekend after Labor Day.
Unfortunately the weather wasn’t cooperating, so I ended up operating inside my Jeep with a homemade desk. And of course, just to the left of the laptop computer you can see the coffee pot. As one must always have coffee on a chilly rainy day.
I made 260 QSO’s that day, all on SSB