Tag: POTA
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A springlike afternoon at Wildcat Mountain
Even though it was late in the day, it was just too nice a day to let the opportunity to play radio slip away! I thought a lot about where to go: new park? different park? but in the end, I went with nearby and familiar. Other than that, everything went well! The X6100 was…
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Spring(ish) at Buckhorn State Park
I don’t suppose that it’s surprising that Wisconsin should have a couple of weeks of deep-freeze weather in the middle of February; just inconvenient. Yesterday was warmish, the forecast predicted more and better for today; it might be Radio Weather! A few minutes before 7 I was at the local Kwik Trip filling up multiple…
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Winter Field Day, 2025
– a retrospective When I was mostly awake in the dark on Saturday morning, I felt for my watch and found the lower-left button and pressed it once, to shift from local time to what I still often think of as Greenwich Mean Time. Next, the upper-right button to illuminate the face. Eleven-hundred something. Five…
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Dell Creek SWA; US-4281
Dell Creek State Wildlife Area, US-4281, occupies several unconnected tracts of land, mostly in Sauk County, west of the Wisconsin Dells and Mirror Lake State Park. There are 13 parking areas scattered among them to provide access. Early Sunday morning I started at the northernmost ones along Dore Road, which all lacked shade, had lots…
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A new park: Willow Creek SFA, US-10646
Today when I left the house I had a list of parks in my head; some new, a few that I just haven’t visited lately. Necedah, Buckhorn, Rocky Arbor, Dell Creek, Mirror Lake, Natural Bridge, Devil’s Lake, … As I drove away from the KwikTrip with a fresh breakfast sandwich and a big cup of…
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Back on the air at Wildcat Mountain
It was cool and damp, and the sun was not yet up, when I headed off along the back roads toward my favorite activation spot, hot coffee in hand. Last year on June 25th I activated Wildcat Mountain State Park, US-1480, and started an unbroken string of activating only that park; not by planning or…
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Staying in that rut
After the last post I resolved to go to a different park next time; alas, that resolution evaporated last Saturday morning just after I got my coffee (big cup and full vacuum bottle) at the local Kwik Trip! Onward to Wildcat Mountain! The moon was setting, near the horizon, as I drove westward, and soon…
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In a rut
A few days ago I noticed (looking at my POTA stats) that since last June the only park I have activated has been good old K-1480, Wildcat Mountain! Not sure just how that came about; I started 2023 with a string of new (to me) parks. I think I need to get back into that…
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Back in the field (at last!) – Wildcat Mountain, K-1480
It was 7:44when I pulled into the only partly-shaded space in the upper lot at Wildcat Mountain State Park; I shut off the engine and thought “let’s see if I can be set up and on the air by 8:00!”. By 7:55 the 17′ whip was up on the Buddipole and I was turning on…
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Field Day, Day 2
The rain did quit sometime overnight, so I got up a bit before 4:00, made plenty of coffee, and got on the road back to Wildcat Mountain State Park, K-1480. Though I drove slowly and watchfully to avoid deer, I was at the park a few minutes before it opened at 6:00. (Deer are termed…
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If it’s mid-June, then Field Day is right around the corner
is the thought that occurred to me this morning. Fourth weekend in June, yup, 24th and 25th, okay; I think I’m going to try for something a bit more organized than last year. But what, exactly? Well … weather permitting, definitely QRP, definitely carried in the pack (see the upcoming post about my current station-in-a-bag),…
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Off to Oak Island!
Up early, final packing (and unpacking!) almost finished. This is just a quick post before I turn this off and pack it up. This Lenovo Chromebook running Linux Mint is the only device that I have no means of charging for the next couple of days, so battery conservation will be crucial (assuming that I…