{"id":18895,"date":"2016-05-19T12:13:29","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T16:13:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=18895"},"modified":"2016-05-19T23:04:08","modified_gmt":"2016-05-20T03:04:08","slug":"national-parks-on-the-air-npota-activations-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/national-parks-on-the-air-npota-activations-today\/","title":{"rendered":"National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) activations today"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_105823050_HDR.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-18898\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_105823050_HDR.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_20160519_105823050_HDR\" width=\"450\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_105823050_HDR.jpg 450w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_105823050_HDR-169x300.jpg 169w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a>En route to the 2016 Dayton Hamvention, I&#8217;m doing a few <a href=\"https:\/\/npota.arrl.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Parks On The Air (NPOTA)<\/a> activations with my my buddy, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.qrz.com\/db\/wd8rif\" target=\"_blank\">Eric (WD8RIF)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Eric is currently the <em>number one<\/em> activator in the state of Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>NPOTA is a great excuse to get outdoors and play radio.<\/p>\n<p>For me, it&#8217;s a great excuse to test the <a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/the-new-lnr-precision-ld-11-transceiver-is-essentially-general-coverage\/\">LNR Precision LD-11<\/a> and my new <a href=\"http:\/\/www.portableuniversalpower.com\/our-products\/qrp-ranger\/\" target=\"_blank\">QRP Ranger<\/a> portable power pack.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_18897\" style=\"width: 810px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-18897\" class=\"size-full wp-image-18897\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg\" alt=\"The QRP Ranger (left) and LNR Precision LD-11 transceiver (right)\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179.jpg 800w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_101759179-500x281.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-18897\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The QRP Ranger (left) and LNR Precision LD-11 transceiver (right)<\/p><\/div>\n<p>I am loving the new QRP Ranger power pack&#8211;it is the solution I decided on <a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/04\/off-grid-radio-portable-power-recommendations\/\">after publishing this post a few weeks ago<\/a>. It&#8217;s a little pricey, but it&#8217;s built like a tank, very lightweight, includes a charge controller made specifically for the LiFePo cells, and made here in the USA. It also had a very readable LED display that my buddy Eric says is, &#8220;reminiscent of the displays on the Apollo 11 module.&#8221; He&#8217;s kind of right!<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s so nice to have both a volmeter and ammeter on the front panel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-18896\" src=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495.jpg\" alt=\"IMG_20160519_111039495\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495.jpg 800w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/IMG_20160519_111039495-500x281.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We <em>just<\/em> finished activating the Hopewell Culture National Historical Park (I&#8217;m writing this post while Eric drives us to our next activation). I made 12 contacts running SSB at 8 watts. Eric made 16 contacts via CW at 5 watts.<\/p>\n<p>We have planned two more activations this afternoon:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument at 16:30 UTC<\/li>\n<li>Dayton Aviation Herital National Historical Park at 21:00 UTC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;ll be calling CQ on 14.290 MHz and 7.290 MHz +\/-.<\/p>\n<p>Please hop on the air listen and\/or answer my call if you&#8217;re a ham!<\/p>\n<p>Of course, tomorrow through Sunday, you can find us <a href=\"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/stop-by-our-new-booth-sa0359-at-the-dayton-hamvention-next-week\/\">at the Dayton Hamvention in booth SA0359 in the Silver Arena.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Hope to see you there!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>En route to the 2016 Dayton Hamvention, I&#8217;m doing a few National Parks On The Air (NPOTA) activations with my my buddy, Eric (WD8RIF). Eric is currently the number one activator in the state of Ohio. NPOTA is a great excuse to get outdoors and play radio. For me, it&#8217;s a great excuse to test [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[545,3,3196],"tags":[1142,2887,4102,5089,5088,1303,2888],"class_list":["post-18895","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-portable-radio","tag-dayton-hamvention","tag-eric-mcfadden","tag-ham-radio","tag-national-parks-on-the-air","tag-npota","tag-qrp","tag-wd8rif"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-4UL","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19178,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/05\/one-week-of-hamvention-air-force-museum-wright-brothers-and-national-parks-on-the-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":0},"title":"One week of Hamvention, Air Force Museum, Wright Brothers and National Parks On The Air","author":"Thomas","date":"May 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I returned home last night\u00a0from my week-log\u00a0Dayton Hamvention\u00a0trip around 8:30 PM. The Hamvention actually ended at 1:00 PM on Sunday, May 22, but my buddy Eric McFadden (WD8RIF), his son Miles (KD8KNC) and I stayed Sunday night in Dayton, and Monday night at Eric's home in Athens, Ohio. After packing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Antennas&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Antennas","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/antennas\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"DSC_4449","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_4449.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_4449.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/DSC_4449.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21537,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/npota-activations-this-morning\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":1},"title":"NPOTA Activations this morning!","author":"Thomas","date":"September 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"If you're around the radio this morning (Sunday, Sep 25), and you'd like to make some NPOTA contacts, note that I plan activate: Great Smoky Mountains\u00a0(NP26) &\u00a0Appalachian National Scenic Trail\u00a0(TR01) starting around 13:30 UTC (9:30 EDT), Great Smoky Mountains\u00a0(NP26) &\u00a0Blue Ridge Parkway\u00a0(PK01) starting around 15:00 UTC (11:00 EDT) and hopefully\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"elecraft-kx2-appalachaintrail-npota-tr01","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Elecraft-KX2-AppalachainTrail-NPOTA-TR01.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21515,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/great-smoky-mountains-national-park-four-npota-activations-planned-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":2},"title":"Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Four NPOTA activations planned today","author":"Thomas","date":"September 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Around noon (EDT) today, I'll start my short journey to the\u00a0W4DXCC conference in Sevierville, TN. En route, I'll pass\u00a0through three National Parks: the\u00a0Blue Ridge Parkway, The\u00a0Appalachian National Scenic Trail\u00a0and the\u00a0Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It's a beautiful drive and the weather appears to be near-ideal--clear skies. This also affords me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"npota-tr10-pk01-qrp-elecraft-kx2-clipboard","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-Elecraft-KX2-Clipboard.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-Elecraft-KX2-Clipboard.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-Elecraft-KX2-Clipboard.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-Elecraft-KX2-Clipboard.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":20935,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/sundays-npota-activation-on-the-blue-ridge-parkway\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":3},"title":"NPOTA activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway","author":"Thomas","date":"September 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm not sure what I'm going to do after the National Parks On The Air\u00a0event is over at the end of this year.\u00a0I hope the ARRL organizes something equally as fun\u00a0for 2017. Truth is, I love playing radio outdoors and I love National Parks. The two\u00a0are a perfect combo. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A crowd gathers as Vlado (N3CZ) works station after station in CW!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Vlado-CW-Crowd.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Vlado-CW-Crowd.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Vlado-CW-Crowd.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Vlado-CW-Crowd.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21416,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/09\/npota-photos-from-weekend-two-fer-activation\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":4},"title":"NPOTA: Photos from weekend &#8220;two-fer&#8221; activation","author":"Thomas","date":"September 19, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"As I mentioned in a previous post, what I love about the National Parks On The Air program is that it combines two of my favorite things: national parks and ham radio. My family visits national parks regularly, so it's easy\u00a0for me to pack a small radio, do a quick\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"npota-tr10-pk01-qrp-encampmentview","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-EncampmentView.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-EncampmentView.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-EncampmentView.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/NPOTA-TR10-PK01-QRP-EncampmentView.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":28483,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/09\/a-review-of-the-w4op-portable-magnetic-loop-antenna\/","url_meta":{"origin":18895,"position":5},"title":"A review of the W4OP portable magnetic loop antenna","author":"Thomas","date":"September 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The following review first appeared in the August 2017 issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine. What can one say about portable antennas? They\u2019re up, they\u2019re down, they\u2019re basic in design: \u00a0they either work for an intended purpose or they don\u2019t. \u00a0But, I wondered, could they provide their service easily and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Accessories&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Accessories","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/accessories\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Gauley-River-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Gauley-River-001.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Gauley-River-001.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Gauley-River-001.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18895","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18895"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18895\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18895"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18895"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18895"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}