Good morning, POTA people! 🦅🌲
Your Nosey News Hawk has been busy this week, circling low over the global POTA canopy and swooping down on stories from frozen fingers, heroic roves, first-ever CW jitters, international mega-activations, and the eternal struggle between antennas and weather.
This week’s edition is a reminder that Parks on the Air is very much a worldwide, boots-on-the-ground (sometimes snowshoes-on-the-ground) affair — from South Korea stair-climbs to Dominican Republic park marathons, from milestone kilos to brand-new operators discovering that Morse code does, in fact, talk back.
As always, these stories are lovingly curated from the community, lightly seasoned with editorial snark, and preserved here so they don’t vanish into the social-media ether. Grab a warm beverage, spin the dial, and enjoy This Week in POTA. 📡☕
Brazil check-in: Cocó + Bisão parks lit up in Fortaleza 🇧🇷📡
Leandro Soares Indrusiak (G5LSI / PY3ZSI) popped up from northeastern Brazil with activations at Parque Estadual do Cocó (BR-0838) and Parque Bisão (BR-0583) in Fortaleza — because apparently “beach city” and “radio in the trees” can happily coexist. 🌴⚡
Corey (KF0U) completes a Rhino Rove 🦏😮💨
Corey (KF0U) tried something new: a Rhino Rove with 11 parks + 2 trails in one day, mostly on 20m FT4 with a little FT8 seasoning. Final tally: 227 contacts.
Big lesson learned (delivered with weary wisdom): don’t rely on your phone for time sync when you’re out in the cellular void — he ended up burning time driving back into coverage and missed a park he wanted. Still, lots of gratitude for the hunters who chased him all day… and a gentle reminder that “people who do this all the time” are probably part caffeine, part granite. ☕🪨
Seoul is a stairmaster (confirmed): HL1/AI5SM grinds out two parks 🇰🇷🧗
Kevin Hoerburger (operating as HL1/AI5SM) reports that Seoul is “basically a stairmaster disguised as a city.” Relatable. He hiked his way to KR-0361 (0400–0600 local) and then snagged an ATNO at KR-0318 (1330–1530 local).
Gear notes for the nerds: ReZ Scout + Z-17 reached 10 DXCC (including being heard in the US). He’s aiming for better timing to reach across the pond over the next few days. 🕰️🌏
New radials field test: Jeff Fuller (KE2ELI) freezes for science 🥶🔬
Jeff Fuller (KE2ELI) braved 14°F to test his new POTA Performer radials and set up at US-6532. Result: one of his most epic activations — 7 bands, 220 QSOs, working everything from 2m through 40m (only 6m didn’t play nice).
Also: the Jeftenna in “POTA Performer configuration” is apparently holding its own from California to Spain. Not bad for a day that was cold enough to make you forget to take antenna pics. 😅📸
Seven-park slog in North Carolina: NX9T plays weather bingo 🌧️❄️🚗
Jeff (NX9T) posted a very real-world rove report: a 15-hour day, about 475 miles, and 7 parks across northeastern North Carolina. Conditions? Cold, windy, rain… and yes, some sleet. (Mother Nature understood the assignment.)
Station: Icom IC-7100. Antennas: a 17′ stainless whip on 20m and an Outbacker OB8 for 40m. He describes the day as “tiring but fun,” which is also how I describe most POTA-related decisions. 😈
Dominican Republic mega-day: HI3POTA / HI5POTA roll four references 🇩🇴🔥
Arys Rodriguez reports a “super activation” in the Dominican Republic with a multi-park run:
DO-0165 (Prof. Eugenio de Jesus Marcano Botanical Gardens),
DO-0072 (Saltos de La Tinaja Natural Monument),
DO-0052 (La Ceiba Natural Monument),
DO-0098 (Humedales de Laguna Prieta Wildlife Refuge).
They used special callsigns HI3POTA (HI3ARY) and HI5POTA (HI5ATA), with participation from SDRA and HI8POTA. That’s a lot of acronyms… and I mean that as a compliment. 🫡
First-time CW joy: TA1MAZ gets on the key 🎶🗝️
Mehmet Ali Zongür (TA1MAZ) shared a first-time CW experience for POTA / WWFF — and the energy is pure “new skill unlocked.” He thanked TA2FE (Emin Bora Demirel) and team for helping him learn Morse, and he thanked hunters for their patience with a slow TX.
We love this. Everyone starts somewhere, and every “dit” counts. 💛
Holiday roving in South Korea: HL1/AI5SM on the air through Jan 1 🇰🇷🎄
Kevin Hoerburger announced he’ll be operating in South Korea as HL1/AI5SM from 15 Dec (1100 UTC) through 1 Jan 2026, with SSB, CW, FT8, and FT4 all on the menu.
He also teased a visit to KR-0163 (Gyeongbokgung Palace National Historic Site). If you bag that one, you’re legally required to brag a little. 🏯✨
Milestone alert: US-0702 delivers 10th kilo + 200th activation 🎯🏆
Christopher Kfouracj hit a double milestone at his home park US-0702: his 10th kilo and 200th activation. He thanked the hunters who stuck with him along the way and noted that 99% of his activations were done solo.
That is… a lot of setup/teardown and a lot of “yes, I really am doing this again.” Respect. 🙇♂️
Frozen Ohio fun: US-1998 Van Buren State Park activation report 🧊📋
Brad (WB8RG / K8BSR-14) logged an activation at US-1998 (Van Buren State Park, Ohio) on 12/14/25. Temperature: 12°F. Contacts: 85. (If you can feel your fingers, you’re doing it wrong.)
Shout-outs included Jon Kels (VE3YOA), Rodger Jennings (N4RDJ), and Brian Thompson (NA1RB), plus a nod to the Black Swamp Amateur Radio Club giveaway. 🎁
New kilo in Alabama: K4RGB nails it at US-4450 🏅🌲
Robert Bryant (K4RGB) reports he just earned his Kilo at US-4450 (Talladega National Forest). Short post, big milestone. We love an efficient brag. 😄
First-ever CW contacts: Josh DeBell fumbles through… triumphantly 🗝️💪
Josh DeBell finally “mustered the courage” and made his first-ever CW contacts this week. He thanks the four patient souls who worked him while he found his footing — and posted proof that he at least got his callsign right.
Special thanks went to WW9R for a kind follow-up email, and he shared recent hunter QSOs including activators AE6Z and KQ4FBF. Welcome to the CW club, W0RTA! 🎉
Darkness season operating: OH2CGU activates FI-0327 after sunset 🇫🇮🌌
Jarmo Järvinen (OH2CGU) activated FI-0327 (Metsakulma) on Dec 18 after driving ~100 km — and because it’s Finland in December, that meant starting just after sunset (aka “when it’s basically night”).
He began on 10m while there was still some propagation, then worked downward through the bands, finishing with a tidy report of 18 DXCC entities. Bonus seasonal snark: “Santa comes from Korvatunturi in Finland. All others are his deputies.” 🎅😆
Heads up: first-ever POTA activation from Shahdagh National Park (AZ-0006) 🇦🇿🚨
Farid Huseynov announced what’s billed as the first-ever POTA activation from Shahdagh National Park (AZ-0006, grid LN41CH) in Azerbaijan.
Planned details: 29–31 December 2025, 17m, SSB, callsign 4K0T. If you need a year-end objective, this is a spicy one. 🌶️📡
W1GRD goes long-form on N1JUR’s Brew & Activate 🎥☕
Your humble Publisher (W1GRD) was a guest on N1JUR’s Brew & Activate live video podcast this past Friday — and yes, it turned into an almost 90-minute deep dive. (Apparently, if you ask about infrastructure, you get infrastructure.)
Topics ranged far and wide: the evolution of POTAmap, recent and upcoming changes to POTA News & Reviews, the brand-new Pack Mule Award, and a behind-the-scenes look at building out the PN&R ecosystem — including the new Calendar, Forum, and how This Week in POTA actually gets made. There was even some honest talk about what it takes to keep all of these plates spinning without setting anything on fire. 🔥😅
If you enjoy shop talk, origin stories, or watching a ham editor willingly pull back the curtain on his own workflow, this one’s for you.
That’s it for this week, POTA people. Thanks to everyone who dragged antennas into the cold, drove ridiculous distances for RF, tried something new, or just showed up on the waterfall to make it all work. Your Nosey News Hawk sees you — even when you’re operating from a picnic table at 12°F. 🦅🥶
If you’ve got a story, milestone, experiment, or glorious field fail you think should be on the Hawk’s radar, send it along to tips@pota.news. Until next week: stay warm, mind your coax, and thank your hunters!.
— Ada, the Nosey News Hawk 📡🌲
Sources: Facebok POTA group, QRZ, QRPer, Discord, emailed tips.
