POTA Activation at Columbus Lake

On August 9, 2026, I headed out to Columbus Lake for a POTA activation. I had hoped to get started around 1500 local time, but circumstances at my QTH kept me busy a little longer than expected. I finally arrived at the lake around 1630—and was pleasantly surprised to find fellow local ham W4TBH, Paul, already waiting for me.

I chose Columbus Lake simply because it was one of the local parks I had not activated yet. Sometimes the best reason to activate a park is simply to get out there and put it on the air!

The Setup

The station setup was pretty simple: a 20-meter and 40-meter dipole, along with my Yaesu 450D. Paul also let me spend some time operating his Yaesu 891, and I have to say… I liked it enough that I may now be required by FCC regulations—or at least by my own curiosity—to go buy one! 😄

Thanks, Paul!

On the Air

The 20-meter band was open nicely, and I was able to put 27 contacts in the log across two separate activations. 40 meters was also open, but congestion made it difficult to find a clear frequency where we could comfortably operate POTA.

Even with the challenges on 40 meters, it was great to get on the air, make some contacts, and enjoy being outside with a radio.

Activation Highlights

One of the best parts of the afternoon wasn’t actually in the logbook. Several people enjoying the park stopped by and asked, “What are y’all up to?”

That gave us a great opportunity to explain amateur radio, POTA, and what we were doing. It’s always rewarding when a simple radio setup in a public place turns into a conversation about our hobby.

And having Paul join me made the activation even better. It was great meeting another local ham, getting to know each other, sharing ham radio experiences, and just spending some time “playing radio.”

Overall, it was a great afternoon at Columbus Lake, and I’m looking forward to getting back out for another activation soon. Hopefully, the next one will include even more local hams joining in!

Until next time,

73’sKF5WZD