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The Explosive Growth of Parks On The Air: Meet the Founder W3AAX

Discussion in 'Amateur Radio News' started by W1DED, Jan 22, 2023.

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  1. KD1JT

    KD1JT Ham Member QRZ Page

    I’m a dual activator …. SInce mid-2020 I’ve made somewhere around 12000 POTA/WWFF contacts, 9500 as activator. 100% CW. I’m not as active in the colder months. I enjoy both programs, for the most part. I can always tell when W6LEN posts me on the WWFF cluster … the European DX rolls in … hot and fast … love it!

    All levels of experience and interests are embraced. New hams should take advantage of the experience of the seasoned operators and experienced ops should see an opportunity to lead by example.

    FWIW, my enjoyment of POTA in inversely proportionate to my participation on certain social media platforms …
     
    AB1WX, K1CWB, W9EBE and 3 others like this.
  2. W6LEN

    W6LEN Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Always a pleasure to get you in my log. However the biggest kick that I get when I pour myself a fresh cup of hot coffee, sit back and listen to the European WWFF park hunters come a'callin. Gotta love it
     
    W9EBE and ON3UA like this.
  3. KD1JT

    KD1JT Ham Member QRZ Page

    Same here …. On one good morning I worked France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Ukraine, Poland, Norway, Spain, Portugal … on 50W CW to ham sticks. BEFORE the bands came alive in the past few weeks. For you POTA peeps, if you aren’t participating in WWFF you are missing out on meeting some great CW ops, and putting some countries in your logs.
     
    W9EBE, ON3UA, AE0Q and 1 other person like this.
  4. KD1JT

    KD1JT Ham Member QRZ Page

    I think that’s a can of worms W3AAX would rather not open in a forum that is not censored. ;)
     
    N1RBD, KL7KN, OZ7CCC and 5 others like this.
  5. AA8YC

    AA8YC Ham Member QRZ Page

    Love the POTA program! At the very essence of Amateur Radio is emergency preparedness and public service and while we all recognize the importance and function of Field Day (that happens only once a year), the POTA Activators are out there EVERY DAY, setting it all up and tearing it all down, sometimes over a lunch hour. There is no other group or organization as prepared as these folks to step up to the plate in case of National Disaster or Global Crisis. Thank you! The French Resistance had nothing on you guys!
    That said, there are a handful of Activators who really do need to read their Part 97! They all say they have, but they are obviously going on what someone else TOLD them it says. You need to ID your station at the end of EVERY contact in plain English (Phonetics encouraged), AND at intervals of no longer than 10 Minutes IF the contact should last that long. Face it, putting your call sign out there more often will only speed the communication process over all and in the end, get you MORE contacts.
    Whether you realize it or not, you are preparing to be on the front lines of communication in a disaster. Let's do it right so that when (not if) we need you, you will be effective!
    (Just ID...)
     
    K1CWB, W9EBE and W1DED like this.
  6. KB7GL

    KB7GL Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Really enjoy my periodic sojourns on POTA. My first park activation was the first activation of Posey Island in the Washington San Juan Islands....just a couple of acres in size. Several more yet to be activated up there. Great fun when out on the boat! Much appreciation for getting this off the ground!
     
    W7WGC, W9EBE and W1DED like this.
  7. KY1K

    KY1K Ham Member QRZ Page

    I didn't know about the other park program. But I did wonder about some of the wording in the Code of Conduct:

    Registered Parks on the Air participants will not:
    1. Exhibit behavior that discredits the integrity of the Parks on the Program or themselves.
    2. Threaten or abuse members of the administration team, volunteers, or other participants in any manner.
    3. Make posts or comments on any POTA site, forum, or social media account that are:
      • Discourteous
      • Offensive
      • Arguing in bad faith
      • Infringing others’ copyright
      • Containing advertisements of products or services not under license with Parks on the Air
      • Containing information about other portable park operation programs
     
    AE0Q, W7USD, N7BWB and 1 other person like this.
  8. K1CWB

    K1CWB Ham Member QRZ Page

    I realized that once I signed up and had all kinds of contacts in WWFF already. The same happens with some SOTA folks too. I worked a few operators on a summit that mentioned they were also in a park, so you get double the fun for your effort. Often, they're spotted in one program and not the other, so I'll go ahead spot them in the other if they want me to.
     
    W9EBE, W1DED, AE0Q and 1 other person like this.
  9. K1CWB

    K1CWB Ham Member QRZ Page

    Though I have a few POTA parks nearby, nearly all of my portable and mobile activity is outside of POTA parks. I usually chase POTA, SOTA etc. from any location I choose instead as part of my portable activity. I still get credit as hunter/chaser instead and I operate where I want.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2023
    WN1C, W7WGC, W9EBE and 3 others like this.
  10. W7DGJ

    W7DGJ Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    Thanks Claude - good point. I enjoy hunting, and have at times set up portable operations in my backyard (the desert). Fun! I love to activate, and we have so few parks in this area that are certified POTA. Incidentally, I went to your QRZ profile to send you a web log message and your web log is not set up. I sometimes find that feature interesting. Regards, Dave
     
    W1DED and K1CWB like this.
  11. N3KAE

    N3KAE Ham Member QRZ Page

    Kevin,

    Did you know that every one of your POTA .adif logs that cross-reference a WWFF-KFF or WWFF-VEFF location could be submitted for upload? There are over 144 in Maine - So I'm guessing you've activated a few. Just make that
    each log adheres to a classic filename syntax like [CALL@K-####-yyyymmdd] and send me an email for more information - n3kae@arrl.net. You could even download and install mParks Converter to convert the files to WWFF format before they are emailed.

    This way you too could begin to support two outstanding park programs and start another wallpaper collection should you decide to create an account with WWFF.CO.



    Yours in Dual-Activating,

    Al Zelna, N3KAE
     
    W6LEN, AE0Q and W1DED like this.
  12. K1CWB

    K1CWB Ham Member QRZ Page

    Thanks Dave, well I don't know much about the web log function, but maybe I should have a look into it. Enjoy your portable activity!
     
    W1DED likes this.
  13. W6LEN

    W6LEN Platinum Subscriber Platinum Subscriber QRZ Page

    We have no such restrictions within the WWFF / KFF activity. In fact you will often find a reference to the POTA activity within posts on the KFF FB page.
     
    W9EBE, KD1JT and AE0Q like this.
  14. ON4VT

    ON4VT XML Subscriber QRZ Page

    The reason me and multiple other EU's were kicked out from POTA ...
     
    OZ7CCC and ON3UA like this.
  15. ON3UA

    ON3UA Ham Member QRZ Page

    That’s a fact!
    So many good op’s have been kicked out POTA for mentioning the WWFF reference when activating.
     
    AE0Q, OZ7CCC and W6LEN like this.

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