My Parks on the Air Activities - NOT about "The Numbers"

-

 

My Parks on the Air Activities - NOT about "The Numbers"




Parks on the Air has never been about numbers for me. I became aware of Parks on the Air (POTA) in June 2021. This was during the height of the COVID pandemic. At that time I was recovering from surgery and treatment for liver failure and treatment for Bladder cancer.  My body's ability to fight any type of infection was basically non-existent, so social distancing was a MUST for me. I was not going to totally isolate myself from the world by staying indoors, knowing how vital exercise, fresh air and mental stimulus was vital to my recovery. Parks on the Air has been the BEST medicine for me over the last 3 years. I've been able to combine bicycling with my Ham Radio activities as part of my health treatment plan. What a great combination.


Lewis & Clark National Historical Trail
Along the banks of the Ohio River
at Waterfront Park
Louisville, KY. USA


POTA is not about the numbers for me.  Oh, I've had a few failed POTA activations over the years; but it is no big deal. WHY? Because I've been able to meet so many people; in part due to my ham radio POTA activities.  I've met current and former teachers, current and retired nurses, doctors and other medical professionals, current and former military personnel, a retired Federal Judge, Boy and Girl Scout leaders along with kids from Scout Troops, inquisitive children, Nature and Wildlife conservationists and park staff, countless animals, dogs, cats, minks, river otters, deer, snakes, frogs, coyotes, giraffes, hawks, ducks, turtles, wild turkeys, aircraft pilots, other hams who've been inactive, numerous sunrises and sunsets, operating at night, and more than anything; thousands of other hams who've I been able to contact and some who've visited; like Ed / W4EMB, Marcos / K8ARE and Doug / N6UA.

Recently, I had one of several QSOs with a man I like to call "The POTA LEGEND", Bob Voss / N4CD.  



During Hamvention 2022, Charlie "Red" / NJ7V got a chance to talk with Bob who at that time was one of the activation leaders for Parks on the Air (2022)  Below is a link to that interview;



https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxHLxrtnfmb8L8jN2apWDOHOkze_Kdkgjy?si=ExcnnWVtW3oQCkv-

When I have contacts like those with Bob and other operators who I regularly communicate with and those operators who are NEW to CW pedaling along at 10 WPM, I get excited as that little kid who was introduced to the hobby in the mid 50's.  

One of my other cherished Parks on the Air activations came about amazingly unexpected when I was calling CQ and got HUGE greeting from an associate of a park visitor. 




I've come to understand that with my Parks on the Air activities in an urban setting, I never know what to expect.

Here's a short slideshow of some of the things I've experienced during my Parks on the Air activities. After watching; you may have a better understanding why for me, "Its NOT about the NUMBERS"




Location: Louisville, KY, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

What Everyone Else is Reading

This 'Old Timer' asks: Why THE HATE for "FT8?"

-
Image
"You have to grow with the times or the times will outgrow you."  That is how my Music Director would sign off from his afternoon radio show back in the early 70's when I was Program Director at an AM radio station. I never would have imagined in 1956 when I was introduced to Amateur Radio that one day as I left a doctor's appointment in 2024, I could carry a Ham Radio station in a small backpack and ride my bicycle less than a mile to a Parks on the Air site and communicate to other operators around the world. The only way I would have believed that back in 1956; is if I were sitting with Marty McFly in a Delorean and a plutonium-powered nuclear fission reactor with a Flex Capacitor traveling ay 88 MPH and set the date for March 14, 2024.  March 14, 2024 You might wonder as why I mentioned my introduction to Ham Radio in 1956 and FT8 today. Well, in the early 1950's I remember Ice Boxes, not refrigerators. Ice Boxes. Several times a week The Ice Man riding in his
Read more

The Sun Shines Bright in My Old Kentucky Home

-
Image
  (Disclaimer) I do not claim to be knowledgeable in Space Weather (forecasting).  I consider myself a Space Weather enthusiast. The sun shines bright in my old Kentucky home as it does over most of the earth during Solar Cycle 25.  For several weeks now it seems no matter what region of the Sun is facing Earth, the Sun is having a hissy fit with solar flares, solar storms, CMEs and radio blackouts.  How has Solar Cycle 25 affected, if any your Amateur Radio operating? In anticipation of Solar Cycle25, during the Pandemic shutdown I delved  into areas of Amateur Radio that I was familiar with but wanted to expand my knowledge.  One area is Space Weather and the effects the sun has on Amateur Radio operating.    During the shutdown, I  probed the far reaches of the internet searching for any content, instructions, courses, papers, blogs, social media posts and videos for information on space weather.  I knew a little about how the sun effects radio propagation from my Amateur Radio exam
Read more

Amateur Radio - From The Back Rooms to the Open Air

-
Image
Amateur Radio - From The Back Rooms to the Open Air W3HCW 1957 Photo: Courtesy https://www.twocommunications.com/ For most of my early years of my Amateur Radio existence, operators' stations locations were known for their simple, modest and sometimes enormous antenna towers. This was and is basically a good indication that a "Ham Radio" operator resides somewhere near those structures.  And if you had the opportunity to visit the radio rooms (Ham Shack) of those operators, some of them may have been in a corner of a room, in a closet, a spandrel, a garage, a shed or look similar to the photo above In today's world, that is far from the case.  Due to HOAs (Home Owner's Associations) and other covenant restrictions, ham operators in their infinite ingenuity, come up of many types of inconspicuous means of assembling antennas to enjoy their hobby. The minimization of electronics have given Ham Radio operators the ability to communicate "To infinity and Beyond&q
Read more