Category: POTA

The TSA & POTA Batteries

On a recent trip to Montana, I decided to take my portable POTA activation backpack. This kit has everything I need to do an activation.

One of the biggest equipment challenges was the battery. When at home, I use a 20 or 30Ah lithium iron (LiFePO4) battery in my battery boxes. I also have a non-boxed 10Ah LiFePO4 battery I use when I go super lightweight.

I have avoided using the popular Bioenno batteries because of their high cost (a 12Ah battery costs $157).

Instead, I use the Eco-Worthy LiFePO4 line of batteries. They are rugged, reliable, small, amazingly lightweight, and affordable. I have been using them for years without a single problem.

When planning my trip, I discovered the TSA has changed the rules on the lithium batteries you can carry onboard an aircraft. Passengers are now limited to a maximum of 100Wh per battery.

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Parks on the Air (POTA) Brochure

I spend a lot of time in parks. Some of them are very crowded.

It is very hard for the public to resist asking, “What is that very long wire hanging from that very long pole attached to your truck?”

As often as I can, I pause my POTA activation long enough to answer their questions and tell them about Ham radio and POTA. Quite often, I give out a QSL card with my name and phone number in case they have follow-up questions.

I finally got around to writing a POTA brochure to hand out in the field. It is a tri-fold that is easy to transport and store in my power box.

You can download a copy here if you want to explore the layout.

Leave a comment if you would like me to Email you the document template so you can create your own.

POTA On!

73,
N1SPW

The Seven Virtues of Parks on the Air (POTA)

A while ago I submitted an article idea to the QST Magazine editors at the ARRL. It described the seven virtues of the POTA program.

A short time later I received an Email from them advising me they did not think my submission was worthy of publication in their magazine.

Of course, I was disappointed, but not surprised. Rejection is a common theme among writers.

Instead of abandoning the piece on my archive server, I share it with you here.

I am very passionate about the POTA program. It has brought me great joy and many fun challenges. I wrote the piece to thank all of the folks that saved the program and continue to run it today.

73
N1SPW

My Favorite Antenna

Talking about antenna’s is always risky. This is one aspect of the Ham radio community where passions run high. Ham’s have strong opinions about antenna’s; most are biased towards antenna’s that meet their specific needs.

My POTA antenna needs are simple. I want an antenna that is easy to deploy, does not require a tuner, and does not cost a lot. It also must be a good performer.

Without a doubt, my favorite POTA antenna is the TennTennas made by NE4TN (Walt). The TennTenna is an EF 1/2 wave with a 49:1 transformer using a quality FT-240-43 toroid. You can find them on eBay. Walt hand makes each antenna, and they are of superb quality.

I prefer 20M when doing POTA activations, so I grabbed @33′ length of 14 gauge yellow  antenna wire (DXEngineering) from my parts box, and cut it to resonance using an antenna analyzer.

I get the wire in the air using a TN07 fiberglass mast supported by my custom flag-pole trailer hitch mount. I mount the TennTenna to the base of the pole using a velcro strap, run coax to my radio, and I am on the air.

To give you an idea of what the TennTenna can do, check out the below map of contacts I made during a recent POTA activation (US-3559).

I made 101 contacts, including two in Alaska, and two in Canada. You must admit, this is very impressive!

Walt charges $45 for his antenna + shipping.  This is the best 50 bucks I ever spent. Thank you Walt!

73,
N1SPW

Open Field Antenna Mast Mount

In two previous blog posts (Drive-on,  Trailer-Hitch), I shared my heavy duty drive-on, and trailer-hitch antenna mast mount creations. In this post, I want to share a third option, my “Open-Field” mast mount.

There are times when you need to put up a tall antenna mast away from a vehicle. This may be in a park for a POTA activation, or in a remote field as an EMCOMM operator.

Many Hams will stand up a tall antenna mast using long guy wires, connected about 1/2 way up the mast. This setup usually requires two people to put in place. Deploying high/long guy wires is cumbersome, and takes up a lot of space. In most cases, it is not necessary.

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Custom Built Drive-On Mast Support

I am a big fan of vertical antennas – especially for POTA activations. Recently, I decided to deploy “Tennessee Walt’s” world-famous EFHW TennTenna (Search Ebay for ‘TennTenna’) on 20M.

The antenna driven element for 20M is about 33′, trimmed to the lowest SWR. This requires a 10M mast to get the wire fully extended.

I own two 10M fiberglass telescoping antenna masts. One from TN07 , and the other from DX Commander in the UK. The TN07 is super heavy-duty and virtually indestructable. The DX Commander is lighter, thinner, but also quite rugged.

One drawback of the TN07 is its use of large rubber caps on each end. The diameter of the caps are 5.5cm (2.2″). This means when the bottom cap is in place, the mast will not fit into a 2″ pipe. The DX Commander uses a threaded cap on the bottom, which does not increase the overall diameter of the mast. It fits into a 2″ pipe.

When I went looking for a “drive-on” flagpole mount to hold my masts, I was surprised at how flimsy most of them are. They were also too short (length-wise), most being about 15″.  This puts the mast dangerously close to the vehicle, which can cause problems in high-wind conditions.

So, I set out to build my own.

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