{"id":43869,"date":"2020-06-16T08:10:54","date_gmt":"2020-06-16T12:10:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=43869"},"modified":"2020-06-16T08:10:54","modified_gmt":"2020-06-16T12:10:54","slug":"snagging-two-state-game-lands-in-three-days-for-parks-on-the-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/snagging-two-state-game-lands-in-three-days-for-parks-on-the-air\/","title":{"rendered":"Snagging two state game lands in three days for Parks On The Air"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

View from Waterrock Knob on the Blue Ridge Parkway (June 13, 2020).<\/p><\/div>\n

You might have noticed from recent posts<\/a>, I’ve been on a bit of a POTA (Parks On The Air) kick lately.<\/p>\n

I’ve been enjoying taking the Xiegu G90<\/strong> to the field and seeing just how well it performs under intensive use on battery power. So far, it has certainly proven itself to be a capable field rig.<\/p>\n

Still, on two recent activations I also brought my trusty Elecraft KX2<\/strong> along as well.\u00a0 Without a doubt, it’s still my number one field rig. It will be difficult for another field transceiver to displace it.<\/p>\n

With that said, the G90 is less than half the price of the KX2 (when the KX2 is configured with the optional ATU). The G90 can also pump out a full 20 watts of power–nearly double that of the KX2. I also love the G90’s spectrum display which makes it so easy to find free frequencies and hunt other parks. Its internal antenna tuner–like the KX2’s–can match almost anything very quickly.<\/p>\n

Here are a couple of quick reports from my recent activations:<\/p>\n

William H Silver State Game Land (K-6967)<\/h1>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Saturday, my family had planned a trip to visit my father-in-law. My wife encouraged me to find a nearby park to activate as there are so many between our house and his. I made it slightly more challenging by deciding to find a park or POTA entity I’d never visited.<\/p>\n

Turns out the William H Silver State Game Land was only a 30 minute detour. I had never visited it and, in fact, it was even an ATNO (All Time New One) for Parks On The Air, meaning no one had yet activated it.<\/p>\n

I had initially planned 1.5 to 2 hours for the activation, but we were running behind Saturday morning so I had to cut my time at the park to a total of about one hour–which included set-up, operation, and take-down.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We arrived at the site and I immediately deployed my EFT Trail-Friendly end-fed antenna.<\/p>\n

My 12 year old daughter (who is studying for her ham radio license and is a great at digging callsigns out of the noise) helped me log contacts. I stuck with very brief exchanges so that I could work as many stations as possible. When activating an ATNO, I always want to give as many POTA “hunters” as possible the best opportunity to put the site in their log books.<\/p>\n

I started on the 40 meter band and worked 20 stations in 25 minutes with the Xiegu G90.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I then moved up to the 20 meter band and switched over to the Elecraft KX2.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Turns out, 20 meters was pretty unstable, so I worked very few stations. I did work a station in California with 10 watts and a wire, though, so I’ll still call that a success.<\/p>\n

I plan to visit this same site again later this year–it’s very accessible.<\/p>\n

Buffalo Cove State Game Land (K-6886)<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Monday morning, even though the weather outlook was dodgy, I scheduled another park activation which, like Saturday’s, was at a state game land which was another ATNO.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I like game lands. Unlike state parks, I don’t have to worry about crowds and I also usually get to take my Subaru or truck off-road. Access roads here in the mountains are typically steep, curvy, and washed-out in places. Finding the site can be very challenging, too. Still, I love<\/em> adding a little off-road fun to a park activation!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Buffalo Cove State Game Land is much larger than park K-6967 (above). I drove deep into the lands and found a large parking and camping area for hunters. I had the whole place to myself, so I found the best tree to support my end-fed antenna.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I operated the KX2 exclusively on this activation because I wanted to use its voice keyer and my Heil headset for hands-free VOX operation.<\/p>\n

In the course of 90 minutes, I worked 51 stations from the trunk\/boot of my car.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Many thanks to my good friend Mike (K8RAT) who made the whole process much smoother by spotting me on the POTA site.<\/p>\n

Band conditions were actually pretty rough today, so I was very<\/em> pleased with the results and intend to return here for a weekend activation later this year as well. This would actually be an ideal<\/em> location for making low-noise portable SDR recordings<\/a> while camping overnight.<\/p>\n

This weekend, I decided I want to increase my portable field antenna arsenal. More about that in a future post!<\/p>\n

\n

Do you enjoy the SWLing Post?<\/span><\/h1>\n

Please consider supporting us via\u00a0Patreon<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or our\u00a0Coffee<\/span>\u00a0Fund<\/span><\/a>! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You might have noticed from recent posts, I’ve been on a bit of a POTA (Parks On The Air) kick lately. I’ve been enjoying taking the Xiegu G90 to the field and seeing just how well it performs under intensive use on battery power. So far, it has certainly proven itself to be a capable […]<\/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],"tags":[8601,4102,7787,7786,1303,8602],"class_list":["post-43869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","tag-buffalo-cove-state-game-land","tag-ham-radio","tag-parks-on-the-air","tag-pota","tag-qrp","tag-william-h-silver-state-game-land"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-bpz","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":43713,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/taking-the-xiegu-g90-qrp-transceiver-to-the-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":0},"title":"Taking the Xiegu G90 QRP transceiver to the field!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this week, I took delivery of a new Xiegu G90 general coverage QRP transceiver. I'm reviewing this portable rig for The Spectrum Monitor magazine.\u00a0Although this Chinese manufacturer has been around for a few years, this was my first purchase of a Xiegu product. I've had the G90 on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Field-POTA.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Field-POTA.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Field-POTA.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Field-POTA.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Field-POTA.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43786,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/taking-the-xiegu-g90-on-an-impromptu-parks-on-the-air-pota-activation\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":1},"title":"Taking the Xiegu G90 on an impromptu Parks On The Air (POTA) activation","author":"Thomas","date":"June 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I was in my hometown helping my parents with a few projects. Around noon, I realized that I had a good four hour window of free time--a true rarity these days! I had two fully-packed go bags in the car: one with my trusty Elecraft KX2, and one with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Angle-e1591708176191.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Angle-e1591708176191.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Angle-e1591708176191.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Xiegu-G90-Angle-e1591708176191.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43915,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/proper-radio-prepping-keep-a-kit-that-is-always-ready-to-hit-the-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":2},"title":"Proper Radio Prepping: Keep a kit that is always ready to hit the field!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, my family packed a picnic lunch and took a drive through Madison County, North Carolina. It was an impromptu trip. Weather was forecast to be pretty miserable that afternoon, but we took the risk because we all wanted to get out of the house for a bit. Although that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager-Heil-Pro-Set-e1592575735834.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager-Heil-Pro-Set-e1592575735834.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager-Heil-Pro-Set-e1592575735834.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Red-Oxx-Micro-Manager-Heil-Pro-Set-e1592575735834.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":37918,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2019\/05\/taking-the-new-mission-rgo-one-transceiver-to-the-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":3},"title":"Taking the new Mission RGO One transceiver to the field!","author":"Thomas","date":"May 24, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"SWLing Post readers might recall that last year at the 2018 Hamvention, I met with radio engineer, Boris Sapundzhiev (LZ2JR), who was debuting the prototype of his 50 watt transceiver kit: the Mission RGO One (click here to read that post). Since last year, I've been in touch with Boris,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mission-RGO-One-Bail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mission-RGO-One-Bail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mission-RGO-One-Bail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Mission-RGO-One-Bail.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43987,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/radio-in-the-field-two-new-pota-activations-this-weekend\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":4},"title":"Radio in the field: Two new POTA activations this weekend!","author":"Thomas","date":"June 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This past weekend my wife suggested that I do a Parks On The Air (POTA) activation. I think she wanted me out of the house so that she could prepare a birthday and Father's day surprise with my daughters. Of course, I happily obliged. My motto in French: \"Profitez-en bien!\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44960,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/lab599-discovery-tx-500-hiking-into-pisgah-national-forest-for-a-little-field-radio-fun\/","url_meta":{"origin":43869,"position":5},"title":"lab599 Discovery TX-500: Hiking into Pisgah National Forest for a little field radio fun","author":"Thomas","date":"August 21, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday, I hit the field again with the lab599 TX-500 Discovery. This time, I wanted to give the radio a proper shake-out by hiking to my location with the entire station in my pack. This TX-500 transceiver is on loan, so I haven't built a custom field kit for it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Ham Radio"","block_context":{"text":"Ham Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/ham-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lab599-TX-500-Discovery-1-16.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lab599-TX-500-Discovery-1-16.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lab599-TX-500-Discovery-1-16.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lab599-TX-500-Discovery-1-16.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/lab599-TX-500-Discovery-1-16.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43869","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=43869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43869\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}