Category Archives: Uncategorized

Thunderstorm Activation at K-1916, Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, St. Petersburg, FL

Skyway Fishing Pier State Park is the remnants of the approach portion of the old Sunshine Skyway Bridge that collapsed on May 9, 1980 after being hit by the 602-foot freighter Summit Venture. 35 people died in the tragedy. Both the northbound and southbound portions of the old bridge were demolished and a new bridgeContinue reading “Thunderstorm Activation at K-1916, Skyway Fishing Pier State Park, St. Petersburg, FL”

Drive-by Activations at K-4646 Withlacoochee State Forest and K-3667 Withlacoochee State Trail

Today I activated two parks. One is an old friend, K-4646 Withlacoochee State Forest. I am chasing a Kilo award at this park and every contact gets me closer. The stats for today’s activation at K-4646 is 46 total contacts, all CW. I worked 10 DX countries: Belgium, Germany, England, Italy, France, Finland, Sweden, Slovenia,Continue reading “Drive-by Activations at K-4646 Withlacoochee State Forest and K-3667 Withlacoochee State Trail”

Parks-on-The-Air. What is it and how to get started.

Parks-on-the-Air (POTA) is an international program within the Amateur Radio community where amateur operators (hams) make contacts with other amateur operators from national and federal/provincial parks. Operators are divided into two categories: activators and hunters. Activators set up portable communication in the aforementioned parks and hunters are stations that make contact with the activators. ThereContinue reading “Parks-on-The-Air. What is it and how to get started.”

K-4646 Withlachoochee State Forest, Richloam Tract, Tarrytown, FL

I am working on my Kilo Award at K-4646. The area where I parked was not conducive to my Chameleon in the vertical configuration, so I decided to activate drive-by style. I did not use my Chameleon today. I used my 213′ telescoping whip with my tri-magnet mount on 20, 17, and 15 meters. TheContinue reading “K-4646 Withlachoochee State Forest, Richloam Tract, Tarrytown, FL”

Portable Activation at K-1848 Colt Creek State Park, Lakeland, FL

This morning I activated K-1848 Colt Creek State Park outside of Lakeland, FL. Colt Creek is actually halfway between Lakeland and Dade City. The park has RV and primitive camp sites, hiking trails, lakes, and equestrian facilities. I earned my Kilo (1000 contacts) at this park earlier this year. I set up operations in aContinue reading “Portable Activation at K-1848 Colt Creek State Park, Lakeland, FL”

Drive-by Activation at K-4646 Withlacoochee State Forest (Richloam Tract), Tarrytown, FL

The Withlacoochee State Forest is large non-contiguous forest in West Central Florida. It’s boundaries are in multiple counties. This morning I operated in the Richloam Tract which is located off or route 471 south of Dade City and northeast of Lakeland. The entrance I used is not marked and can be easily mistaken for aContinue reading “Drive-by Activation at K-4646 Withlacoochee State Forest (Richloam Tract), Tarrytown, FL”

Drive-by Activation at K-6309 Hilochee Wildlife Management Area, Lake Alfred, FL

The Hilochee Wildlife Management Area is a vast tract of undeveloped land in Polk County, FL. Hilochee is not a contiguous park; being made of various parcels of land that are not connected to each other. Many of the entrances to Hilochee WMA are not suitable for activating due to the close proximity of powerContinue reading “Drive-by Activation at K-6309 Hilochee Wildlife Management Area, Lake Alfred, FL”

Kilo Activation at K-3646, Payne’s Creek State Park, Bowling Green, FL

Today’s activation came after a hearty Thanksgiving Day breakfast that my lovely XYL makes every year. How can you pass up bacon and Taylor Ham (the latter is a Jersey thing)? Payne’s Creek State Park is located in Bowling Green, Florida, Hardee County, grid square EL97co. There are two options for activating. The first isContinue reading “Kilo Activation at K-3646, Payne’s Creek State Park, Bowling Green, FL”