In Parks on the Air News: With 2021 now in the books, Parks on the Air would like to thank the nearly 4,000 activators, and 122,000 hunters who combined forces to make over 2.6 million contacts from over 10,000 parks in 45 different DXCC entities. Of particular note, we would like to congratulate Bill, K4NYM who completed 1,260 Activations for the year and David, NG5E who activated 421 different parks. Congratulations are also due to Gene, NT2A who hunted 5,458 Parks, and Joe, N3XLS who made 11,467 hunter QSOs in 2021. We also want to give special acknowledgment to two hunters, N5HA, Kenneth Bailey, and W9AV, Clint Sprott, who managed to hunt at least one park every day in 2021. There are several folx including myself who are going to attempt the same feat in 2022, so stay tuned to the monthly POTA updates to see how the 2022 Bailey-Sprott Park-a-Day challenge is progressing, or follow along on twitter on instagram using the hashtags #baileysprott and #parkaday From the Admin team at parks on the air, thank you for making 2021 a blowout year for the parks on the air program, and we look forward to having just as much fun in 2022! And now for the monthly stats update: There was plenty of activity in the month of December to help end the year strong. The month was one of the busiest of the year, with nearly 350,000 contacts made by about 1,400 operators! These individuals put approximately 3,000 parks on the Air, from 23 different DX entities. The top activators for the month were K7CAR with 9,808 QSO and POTA’s own WT8J who activated 69 different parks The top hunters for the month were KB3WAV with 2,305 QSOs, and K9ICP who hunted 918 different parks. In our POTA DX corner, England was our Region 1 leader 641 QSOs , Canada was our Region 2 leader with approximately 16,000 QSOs, and Japan was our Region 3 leader with a little over 5,000 QSOs. The top DX activator for the month was VE7NB with 2,128 QSOs, from 54 different parks Outside of North America the top activator was JF7RJM with 1,092 QSOs from 26 different parks
and I'd like to thank everyone who spent the time and effort to activate all those parks-btw, several of Kerri's 2305 qsos were with me.
Hi Shane, IMHO, I think POTA is an extraordinary inclusive ham radio activity that gather all hams around the world.... for beginners or experienced operators, for people with disabilities, for younger or older hams.... everyone can easily participate... using many available mode : cw, digital, voice; even QRP and QRO stations. This is a real success, and I would like to warmly thank all people involved in POTA organisation. Best regards and 73 de Jeff | VA2SS
Hi Jeff, I completely agree! I live in an apartment and the first time I went to a park with an zero noise floor I was blown away at what I could hear. Pota was my inspiration to get my General. 73 Shane
Well done! POTA has brought fresh energy to the hobby and brightened many a dreary day in this part of the sun cycle. We hunters really appreciate all the activators! 73, Jerry KG8ZQ
With the Pandemic, POTA was the perfect cure. People got outside, with their gear, and enjoyed being out and while at the same time talking with others. Therapeutic for sure.
NO 'BOUT-A-DOUBT-IT! I gotta find me a PARK to activate here in Central Florida! Hmmmmm....! Maybe the Magic Kingdom or EPCOT?
POTA is an extraordinary influence on ham radio. Thanks for providing these stats. And for all the work the POTA coordinators do! I actually am surprised at the 30:1 hunter:activator ratio. I would have thought it much closer. Finally 122,000 hunters mostly US and Canadian. Let's assume 100,000 US hams. This means ~15% of US hams participated in POTA!! Clearly this domestic/local dx game has tremendous appeal to both the stationary hunters, the portable activator, and the switch activator/hunters. It is obvious to me that promoting radio and the outdoors is a significant key to promoting radio to the public at large. And as an avid POTA (and even more so SOTA) activator, I am really grateful for this program! Mindy
POTA was also my wife's inspiration to get her General, too. We did an activation together when she was a Technician. I set her up on 10 meters - hoping against hope that we'd get some kind of Sporadic E propagation for her. She got setup, spotted her, and she started calling CQ - nothing. She called CQ probably for about 15 minutes with no answer. I then got on, setup for 20 meters, and made about 15 contacts in 20-25 minutes. When we were done, she asked why no one answered her. I gave her the shortened story on the Sun Spot Cycle, and her privileges not allowing her to do much else. She then told me 'Well, maybe I'LL get my General...' And, she did! The next activation we went on together, she racked up 20 contacts in about 20 minutes!
Great anecdote! Likewise, my husband AA1F got into radio because he got tired of standing around while I activated SOTA. After accidentally activating out of band once, he went on to get his extra so he wouldn't have to worry about it. Portable radio is a fabulous couples activity! (And a great way to get your wives involved gentleman...) Mindy
While I have worked a few, generally I don't. The absolute worst step you took was to "number" every park. Consequently, I have absolutely no idea where a specific park identified only by the number is located. This is garbage!! At least require that the park location be given WITH the number, PLEASE. P L E A S E.......... Dave - WØLEV
I just got my toes wet with POTA in 2021. I'll be spending much more time this year in the State Park of my choice!
It's easy to ask the park name or where a park is on SSB, my wife and I always give people the location if they ask. But on CW most people don't, and if in a pileup mode on CW it would be tough to ask or reply. When things are slower on CW I have given out the park name at times. My routine on CW is to send the park number as part of every CQ, and give a signal report and the State as the QSO exchange. There is no POTA "rule" of how you have to make QSOs but this seems to be common on CW. If a lot of stations are calling then I just send "TU AE0Q" at the end of a contact instead of a whole CQ. When it slows down I send a CQ with the park number again. Everyone has their own way of doing it. Glenn AE0Q
A reasonable request on the surface...but if using the POTA app all you need is the park #. The park ID is a snap after that. If you are going to get involved I strongly recommend getting the POTA app. I believe they numbered the parks to make on air change as simple as possible. I have found many park activators who only identify park numbers sporadically. Even on some YouTube videos supposedly showing how it's done. Somehow just exchanging call signs, State and signal reports seems a little less than the founders may have intended. I could be wrong...because I see abbreviated QSOs quite often. I forgot to mention the spotting that the POTA app does. Sure helps you find activators and adjust your beam antennas if employed! Not that I have ever employed a beam!
