{"id":43987,"date":"2020-06-23T14:02:22","date_gmt":"2020-06-23T18:02:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=43987"},"modified":"2020-06-23T15:26:44","modified_gmt":"2020-06-23T19:26:44","slug":"radio-in-the-field-two-new-pota-activations-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/radio-in-the-field-two-new-pota-activations-this-weekend\/","title":{"rendered":"Radio in the field: Two new POTA activations this weekend!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-POTA-Logsheet-e1592924146227.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43989\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-POTA-Logsheet-e1592924146227.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s day surprise with my daughters.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, I happily obliged. My motto in French: &#8220;<em>Profitez-en bien!<\/em>&#8221; or &#8220;Make the most of it!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Hazel (our dog) made it crystal clear she wanted to join me as well. She&#8217;s a great hiking companion and also watches out for black bears while I operate in the forest!<\/p>\n<h1>DuPont State Game Land (K-6902)<\/h1>\n<p>I decided to activate the DuPont State Game Land which was about a one hour drive from my house. Not only was it a new park for me, but it was also an ATNO (All-Time New One) for the POTA program.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DuPont-State-Forest-GameLand-e1592926647970.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43990\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/DuPont-State-Forest-GameLand-e1592926647970.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I arrived onsite around 10:15 AM local and the parking lot for the forest trail heads was already packed.<\/p>\n<p>It was a gorgeous day and this part of the DuPont Forest is well-known as a great mountain biking spot. I was very lucky to find a place to park.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re still in full social distancing mode in North Carolina due to Covid-19, so I had no desire to be anywhere near other people. Hazel and I went off-trail and hiked in about 1\/4 of a mile to a nice clearing.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Hazel-Elecraft-KX2-POTA-Dupont-e1592926708630.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43991\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Hazel-Elecraft-KX2-POTA-Dupont-e1592926708630.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"1067\" \/><\/a>I set up the EFT Trail-Friendly end-fed antenna and operated with the <a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2016\/12\/a-review-of-the-elecraft-kx2-general-coverage-qrp-transceiver\/\">Elecraft KX2<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>I called for quite some time before I was spotted in the <a href=\"https:\/\/pota.us\/#\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">POTA system<\/a>. After being spotted, I quickly racked up more than the required 10 contacts for the activation to be considered valid.<\/p>\n<p>Although the weather was amazing and my antenna deployment was near-ideal, the bands were rough and unstable, so it was challenging.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/IMG_8909-e1592927734290.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43992\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/IMG_8909-e1592927734290.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"933\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Hazel and I packed up, moved out, and made a detour to visit a waterfall near a site I hope to activate in the near future. Here&#8217;s a short video:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/431853270?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"625\" height=\"352\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Kerr Scott State Game Land (K-6918)<\/h2>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-State-Game-Land-River-e1592927907150.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43993\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-State-Game-Land-River-e1592927907150.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"650\" height=\"867\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Since Sunday, I&#8217;ve been visiting my hometown to help my parents with a few projects.<\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, I had a four hour break in the day and decided to, of course, benefit from the beautiful weather and activate another new-to-me site. (Can you tell I&#8217;m addicted to POTA?)<\/p>\n<p>I picked the Kerr Scott Game Land because it was &#8220;only&#8221; a 50 minute, rather scenic, drive.<\/p>\n<p>It was quite easy finding a spot to park.\u00a0 Like most game lands, though, you must be prepared to go through off-road conditions. Part of the driveway into the site was incredibly muddy and definitely required at least all-wheel drive.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/POTA-Kerr-Scott-Game-Land-Subaru-e1592928181774.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43994\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/POTA-Kerr-Scott-Game-Land-Subaru-e1592928181774.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>I set up my station in the shade and easily deployed the end-fed antenna once again.<\/p>\n<h2>Lesson learned<\/h2>\n<p>This activation of Kerr Scott Game Land taught me an invaluable lesson: if you don&#8217;t have a <a href=\"http:\/\/pota.us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">&#8220;spot&#8221; of your activation on the POTA site<\/a>, it&#8217;s like you don&#8217;t exist.<\/p>\n<p>The POTA spotting network (much like popular DX spotting networks and clusters) is simply amazing. As a POTA hunter, you open <a href=\"http:\/\/pota.us\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the spots page<\/a> and you&#8217;ll see a list of all of the current operators, their park numbers, and frequencies where last heard.<\/p>\n<p>As an activator, your number one priority when you find an available frequency and start calling CQ is to be spotted on the POTA network.<\/p>\n<p>If I have good mobile phone coverage at my site, I self-spot on the network. Within a few seconds of the spot posting, I&#8217;ll typically have a pile-up of a few operators trying to reach me.<\/p>\n<p>If I have cell phone service, but no data, I&#8217;ll text my good friend Mike (K8RAT) and ask him to spot me on the network.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43997\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-View-624x468.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Kerr Scott, like most game lands, however, had <em>no mobile phone service whatsoever<\/em>, so I had no way to self-spot. In fact, this particular site was a good 15 minute drive from the nearest cell phone signal.<\/p>\n<p>I called CQ for 30 to 40 minutes on my announced frequency, at the announced time, but not one single op come back to me.<\/p>\n<p>Since I had just driven 50 minutes to reach this site, there was no way I was going to give up so easily. I had already set up my station in the trunk\/boot of my car, so I simply secured it, disconnected the antenna and tied it to a tree branch (so it wouldn&#8217;t be in the way), and drove 15 minutes to a spot where I could send a quick message to Mike.<\/p>\n<p>When I got back to the Kerr Scott, I hooked up the antenna, made one call, and had a pile-up of five operators I worked in rapid succession. In fact, I had my required 10 contacts within 8 minutes.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-Log-Sheet-e1592928963376.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43995\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Kerr-Scott-Log-Sheet-e1592928963376.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"625\" height=\"834\" \/><\/a>I do wonder how some of the most adventurous POTA activators manage to post spots while in remote areas. It&#8217;s such a key component of having a successful activation, I wonder if they use a satellite phone or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3duqXpj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">satellite messaging device<\/a> to text a friend for help. (If you&#8217;re a POTA or SOTA activator, I&#8217;d welcome your comments here!)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-43998\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"939\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA-256x300.jpeg 256w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA-768x901.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Elecraft-KX2-and-KXP100-POTA-624x732.jpeg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At any rate, I was very pleased to hammer out an activation so effortlessly once I was spotted on the network.<\/p>\n<h2>The CW secret weapon<\/h2>\n<p>I should add here that CW activators have a secret weapon that&#8217;s incredible effective: the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.reversebeacon.net\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Reverse Beacon Network (RBN)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-22492\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/11\/Elecraft-KX2-KXPD2-Paddles-624x351.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>As a CW operator, the POTA spot system will read your callsign from the RBN as long as you have made an announcement on the POTA website in advance or have already been spotted to the POTA website. All you have to do is set up your station at the site and call CQ: the POTA system will auto-generate an accurate spot for you based on the frequency from the RBN.\u00a0 It&#8217;s incredibly effective and more than enough reason for me to think I should start doing CW activations.<\/p>\n<p>I can operate CW&#8211;in fact, I routinely make CW contacts in POTA and in other contests. However, I&#8217;m not quite brave enough to call CQ from a POTA site and work my way through even a modest pile-up.<\/p>\n<p>I need to practice CW more, and I will!<\/p>\n<p>This week, I also take delivery of my <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wolfrivercoils.com\/TIA.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Wolf River Coils TIA antenna<\/a>. I&#8217;m looking forward to having the TIA as an option when I need a self-supporting antenna that&#8217;s quick to deploy and can handle up to 100 watts when needed.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Post readers:<\/strong> Did you play radio in the field this weekend? I&#8217;d love your comments&#8211;especially if you simply took a receiver outdoors to enjoy some noise-free broadcast listening!<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #339966;\"><strong><em>Do you enjoy the SWLing Post?<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h1>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><em>Please consider supporting us via\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=7466002&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fswling.com%2Fblog%2F&amp;utm_medium=widget\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u%3D7466002%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fswling.com%252Fblog%252F%26utm_medium%3Dwidget&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1534765144986000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEe7C7aRTKqwuFkU5YIo8XEqPqthw\"><span class=\"il\">Patreon<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&amp;hosted_button_id=TGGFP2XVZDPP2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/cgi-bin\/webscr?cmd%3D_s-xclick%26hosted_button_id%3DTGGFP2XVZDPP2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1534765144986000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH45maBgVLGpqLmQQvviVKBNMEGUw\"><span class=\"il\">Coffee<\/span>\u00a0<span class=\"il\">Fund<\/span><\/a>! <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Your support makes articles like this one possible. Thank you!<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/bePatron?u=7466002&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fswling.com%2Fblog%2F&amp;utm_medium=widget\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-33932 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/become_a_patreon-patron_button@2x.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"434\" height=\"102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/become_a_patreon-patron_button@2x.png 434w, https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/become_a_patreon-patron_button@2x-300x71.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 434px) 100vw, 434px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>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&#8217;s day surprise with my daughters. Of course, I happily obliged. My motto in French: &#8220;Profitez-en bien!&#8221; or &#8220;Make the most of [&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":[545,3,3196,5099],"tags":[389,2034,5083,4102,5084,3422,7787,7786,8613,8614],"class_list":["post-43987","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ham-radio","category-news","category-portable-radio","category-qrp","tag-amateur-radio","tag-elecraft","tag-elecraft-kx2","tag-ham-radio","tag-kx2","tag-mike-k8rat","tag-parks-on-the-air","tag-pota","tag-wolf-river-coils","tag-wolf-river-coils-tia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-brt","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44495,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/parks-on-the-air-finally-biting-the-cw-bullet\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":0},"title":"Parks On The Air: Finally biting the CW bullet!","author":"Thomas","date":"July 26, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I mentioned in a previous post that one of my Social DX goals was to activate a Parks On The Air (POTA) site in CW (Morse Code). Mission accomplished! Yesterday, I mustered up the nerve and drove to the Blue Ridge Parkway (site K-3378 in POTA). My wife and kids\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;HD Radio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"HD Radio","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/hd-radio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_9510.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_9510.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_9510.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_9510.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/IMG_9510.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":44066,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/a-field-day-weekend-of-rain-shine-battery-power-power-pile-ups-and-radio-improvisation\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":1},"title":"A Field Day weekend of rain, shine, battery power, pile-ups, and radio improvisation","author":"Thomas","date":"June 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've been reading the SWLing Post for long, you'll know that I'm a big fan of portable radio gear. Whether it's a portable receiver, an SDR, or a ham radio, I believe radios are made to be taken outside\u2013\u2013rain or shine; hence I love programs like Parks On The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","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\/KX2-KXPA100-Field-Day-Craggy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KX2-KXPA100-Field-Day-Craggy.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KX2-KXPA100-Field-Day-Craggy.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/KX2-KXPA100-Field-Day-Craggy.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":43869,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/snagging-two-state-game-lands-in-three-days-for-parks-on-the-air\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":2},"title":"Snagging two state game lands in three days for Parks On The Air","author":"Thomas","date":"June 16, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"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\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","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\/Buffalo-Cove-Game-Land-Sign.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Buffalo-Cove-Game-Land-Sign.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Buffalo-Cove-Game-Land-Sign.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Buffalo-Cove-Game-Land-Sign.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":43987,"position":3},"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 &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","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":43713,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2020\/06\/taking-the-xiegu-g90-qrp-transceiver-to-the-field\/","url_meta":{"origin":43987,"position":4},"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 &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","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":43987,"position":5},"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 &quot;Ham Radio&quot;","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":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43987","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=43987"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43987\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43987"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43987"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43987"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}