A Personal Journey Into Parks on the Air

Last night, I got to experience Parks on the Air from the other side of the pileup.

I was sitting at Columbus Lake, operating US-7129, with a radio, antenna, battery, and enough equipment scattered around me to make anyone walking by wonder exactly what I was building.

I wasn’t looking for a POTA activator.

I was the POTA activator.

By the time I packed everything up, I had made more than a hundred contacts with operators all over the country and beyond.

And while I was sitting there working stations, I started thinking about what it must look like from the other side.

You find a POTA spot.

You tune to the frequency.

You hear a bunch of people calling.

Now what?

That’s what this article is about.

Last Night, I Was the Guy You Were Looking For

This is where my Columbus Lake activation gave me a completely different perspective.

Once I started calling CQ, the spots started doing their job.

Operators began finding me.

Some stations were incredibly strong.

Some were weak.

Some came through clearly.

Others were buried underneath the noise.

And sometimes several stations were calling at once.

From my side of the radio, I could tell pretty quickly which operators had a good handle on the situation.

The ones who waited for an opening, gave their callsign clearly, and followed the flow of the activation generally made things much easier.

And that doesn’t mean you need to sit there for five minutes studying the frequency before making a call.

Sometimes you hear the activator, hear an opening, give your callsign, and boom—you’re in the log.

That’s the goal.

Being on the activator side also made something else very clear:

The people trying to contact you don’t know what is happening at your end of the radio.

They don’t know if you’re hearing them.

They don’t know if you just worked somebody else.

They don’t know if you changed frequencies.

They only know what they can hear.

So understanding how a POTA activation works from the activator’s side can make you a much better hunter.

And that’s where we start.

Finding a POTA Activation

The easiest place to start is POTA.app.

POTA.app is where you’ll find current POTA spots and information about activations.

A typical spot will give you the activator’s callsign, park reference and name, frequency, operating mode, and when the station was spotted.

Think of it as someone saying:

“Hey, I hear this POTA station over here!”

For example:

KF5WZD — US-7129 — 14.285 MHz — SSB

That tells you someone has heard KF5WZD operating from Columbus Lake on or around 14.285 MHz using single sideband.

Pretty simple.

Just remember that a spot is a snapshot in time, not a live tracking device.

The activator may have moved frequencies, changed bands, taken a break, or even finished the activation.

So if the spot says 14.285 MHz, don’t assume the activator is still sitting there waiting for you.

Use the spot to get you in the neighborhood.

Then see what’s happening on the frequency.

The Spot Says 14.285 MHz. Now What?

Tune to the frequency and see what’s happening.

Maybe you’ll hear the activator calling CQ.

Maybe you’ll hear a pileup.

Maybe you’ll hear the activator working stations one at a time.

Maybe you’ll hear absolutely nothing.

That last one happens too.

The spot might be a few minutes old, or the operator may have already moved.

If you hear the activator, take a moment to figure out how they’re handling contacts.

If they’re working stations one at a time, you’ll know what to expect when it’s your turn.

If they’re asking for specific areas or states, pay attention to that, too.

You’re not trying to memorize a complicated procedure.

You’re simply figuring out how this particular operator is running the activation.

What If Everyone Is Calling at Once?

Welcome to the POTA pileup.

One minute the activator is calling CQ and the next minute it sounds like somebody dropped a box of radios down the stairs.

Everyone wants the contact.

And honestly, that’s part of the fun.

The trick is not to become the Loudest Human Being on the Frequency™.

If several stations are calling at once, don’t try to transmit over everyone else.

Look for an opening.

Sometimes the activator will pick out a callsign.

Sometimes they’ll ask for a state, region, or prefix.

Sometimes the pileup will suddenly quiet down for half a second.

That’s your opportunity.

And if they don’t hear you the first time?

No big deal.

Try again when there’s another opening.

POTA isn’t a competition to see who can yell the loudest into a microphone.

Although, judging by some pileups, there are definitely people willing to compete.

What Do I Say When They Call Me?

This is one of the questions that comes up pretty quickly when you’re new to POTA.

You finally get through the pileup.

The activator comes back with your callsign.

And suddenly your brain decides that every word you’ve ever learned has left the building.

Relax.

It’s usually pretty simple.

Something like:

“KF5WZD, you’re five-nine.”

The activator may come back with their own callsign or simply acknowledge you.

You might respond:

“Five-nine, thanks!”

And you’re done.

You don’t need to give the activator your complete station description.

You don’t need to explain your antenna.

You probably don’t need to tell them that you’ve owned your radio for three years but only figured out how to turn it on last Tuesday.

Keep it simple.

Make the contact and let the activator move on to the next station.

We’ll go into this much deeper in the next article, including signal reports, callsigns, mistakes, and what happens when the activator doesn’t quite copy you correctly.

There’s More Than One Way to Find an Activation

Active spots aren’t the only way to find POTA activity.

POTA also allows operators to schedule activations.

A scheduled activation is essentially an operator saying:

“I’m planning to be at this park around this time.”

And that word planning is important.

Weather happens.

Batteries happen.

Antennas happen.

Cars develop opinions.

And sometimes life simply gets in the way.

That means a scheduled activation isn’t a guarantee that someone will actually be on the air.

But it does give hunters another way to find parks and operators that might otherwise never cross their radar.

If there’s a particular park you’ve been wanting to work, scheduled activations can be a great place to start.

Once You Make the Contact, You’re Done… Right?

Technically?

Yes.

You made the contact.

Log it.

Smile.

Find another park.

But there’s another useful thing you can do.

If you’re hearing an activator clearly and you’re confident the frequency and mode are correct, you can spot—or re-spot—the station.

That helps other hunters find the activator.

You’re essentially telling everyone else:

“Hey, this station is still here.”

Just make sure the information you’re posting is accurate.

Otherwise, you may send a bunch of hunters marching toward an empty frequency.

And now you’ve just created a convoy heading toward an empty parking lot.

Don’t Become Completely Dependent on the Spotting Website

POTA.app is an excellent tool, especially when you’re getting started.

But POTA stations can also turn up when you’re not looking for them.

You might be tuning across a band and hear:

“CQ POTA…”

You might hear someone mention a park on a local repeater.

Or you might stumble across a strong signal and suddenly realize:

“Wait a minute… Is that a POTA station?”

That’s part of the fun.

The spotting system makes finding activations much easier.

It doesn’t mean you have to stare at a website waiting for the next little green dot to appear.

Sometimes the best contacts are the ones you weren’t expecting.

Your First POTA Hunt

If you’re sitting at your radio wondering where to start, here’s the basic process:

1. Find an active POTA spot.

Open POTA.app and find a station that interests you.

2. Tune to the reported frequency.

Get close to where the activator is supposed to be.

3. Figure out what’s happening.

Is the station calling CQ?

Is there a pileup?

Is the operator working one station at a time?

4. Join in.

When there’s an opening, give your callsign clearly.

5. Make the contact.

Exchange whatever information the activator needs.

6. Log it.

Record the contact so you can keep track of your POTA hunting adventures.

7. Move on to the next one.

There are plenty of parks out there.

And once you get the hang of it, you’ll probably find yourself saying:

“I wonder what else I can hear?”

That’s when POTA starts getting addictive.

In a good way, of course.

In the Next Article

So now you’ve found the activation.

You’ve found the frequency.

You’ve figured out what’s happening.

And eventually, the activator says:

“KF5WZD, go ahead.”

What do you say?

What signal report should you give?

What happens if they don’t hear your callsign correctly?

What if there’s a pileup?

And what do you do when your brain suddenly forgets every word you’ve ever learned?

We’ll tackle all of that in the next article, “Making Your First POTA Contact.”

Because finding the POTA station is only the beginning.

Get Outside. Get On the Air. Get in the Park.

But most importantly…

HAVE FUN and Keep it Simple!!

73 KF5WZD – Chris