Welcome back to This Week in POTA, your slightly nosy, somewhat over-caffeinated tour through the latest roves, gear experiments, and park gossip from around the POTAverse. ☕🌲
Ostrich on the Loose in Washington State 🐦
Kaleb Allen N7CRD and partner-in-rove Matt KI7NOO just bagged the POTA “Ostrich” award in Washington State — proof submitted and accepted. That’s 20 POTA entities in a single UTC day, all in one mad dash of logging, driving, and probably questionable snack choices.
Kaleb reports that “Our wives love us!” and thanks all the hunters who chased them through the day. With Ostrich now in the bag, the duo is already eyeing Leopard (25 parks) and Lion (30 parks) next. 🦁
👉 Source: Ostrich certificate & post on Facebook
Black Friday? More Like RF Friday
Over on the POTA Facebook group, John Myers WG8X has the right idea: instead of wrestling shopping carts and doorbusters, he’s heading out for a Black Friday rove.
His annual tradition is to dodge the crowds and take radios instead of credit cards, and this year he’s targeting the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia and southwest Pennsylvania. Expect a little RF weather front to move through that region the day after Thanksgiving. 😄
👉 Source: POTA group post by John Myers WG8X (via Parks on the Air Facebook Group)
PN&R Awards Program Heats Up 🔥
Over on the PN&R Community Forums at forums.pota.news, operators are deep into a lively debate about the upcoming PN&R Awards Program (tip via Perry W1GRD).
The big question on everyone’s mind:
Should PN&R adopt a SOTA-style “once per year per summit” rule, or stick closer to POTA’s “every activation counts” philosophy?
Each model has its fans — SOTA purists argue for prestige and difficulty, while daily-credit advocates want to reward ongoing effort and keep the leaderboard dynamic and fun.
It’s one of the hottest threads of the week, and if you’ve got opinions (and of course you do…), flap over to the forum and weigh in. 🗳️📡
👉 Join the discussion: https://forums.pota.news
Alcatraz Island: Fifth Annual Special Event Is a Go
Big news from the Bay: N6LY and team have received their fifth annual Alcatraz Island Special Event permit for December 5, 2025.
The announcement dropped in the POTA group with a double-down “IT’S OFFICIAL!” — so mark your calendars if you want to work Alcatraz Island from the comfort of your shack instead of a cold, windy rock in the middle of San Francisco Bay.
👉 Source: Alcatraz update from N6LY (via Parks on the Air Facebook Group)
PN&R Has Moved to pota.news 🚀
A quick heads-up from the PN&R staff:
POTA News & Reviews has officially moved from pota.review to pota.news.
Everything redirects smoothly, and the transition has been seamless for most readers. The only tiny bump you may notice is that POTAmap will ask you to reload your activation file once — that’s expected, and after the first reload you’re good to go.
Full announcement here:
👉 http://forums.pota.news/t/direction-of-pota-news-reviews/45/11
POTA Goes to Gran Canaria 🇪🇸
One of our UK operators is about to trade drizzle for sunshine: they’re visiting Gran Canaria and bringing along a Xiegu G90 and antenna. Vick Packman will be signing EA8/G4VYC and asked the POTA group for advice on good operating spots and how best to get on the air from the island.
If you’ve activated from the Canary Islands or hunted EA8 parks before, keep an ear out — and maybe drop your best tips in the thread so this trip turns into a proper volcanic-island radio adventure.
👉 Source: Gran Canaria planning post (via Parks on the Air Facebook Group – chronological view)
WC1N Completes All Cape Cod POTA References 🎉
Remember last week when we were wondering what Bob WC1N was doing roaming around Cape Cod, MA? Mystery solved! Bob was quietly (and efficiently!) working his way through every single POTA reference on the Cape — and he has now finished the whole set. An impressive bit of roaming but Bob, maybe warmer weather next time? BTW that’s his truck mid-rove leading this week’s edition.
Here’s the map he used for his run, a green dot means activated:
Cape lovers, consider the gauntlet officially thrown. 😉
From the QRPer Desk: Tiny Power, Big Smiles
Our friends over at QRPer.com have been busy this week with a run of POTA-flavored stories. Here are the highlights:
One Day, Two Radios, Three Antennas
In “One day, two radios and three antennas,” an operator spends a full day rotating through two rigs and three different antennas, experimenting with what combination delivers the best fun-to-complexity ratio.
If you’ve ever loaded half your shack into the car “just in case,” this one will feel uncomfortably familiar. 😅
👉 Read it: “One day, two radios and three antennas” – QRPer
100 Milliwatts and a Wire at Fort Dobbs
In “100 Milliwatts and a Wire: QRPp POTA at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site!”, Thomas K4SWL swings by Fort Dobbs State Historic Site (US-6839) with just 100 milliwatts.
With conditions cooperating, even the Reverse Beacon Network spots look ridiculous for that power level — a nice reminder that sometimes the ionosphere is more important than the size of your amplifier.
👉 Read it: “100 Milliwatts and a Wire: QRPp POTA at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site!” – QRPer
Fall Afternoons at Wilder Ranch (US-1207)
In “KK6IK: Fall Afternoons at Wilder Ranch State Park (US-1207),” Scott KK6IK enjoys warm coastal weather and DX to Japan from Wilder Ranch near Santa Cruz.
👉 Read it: “KK6IK: Fall Afternoons at Wilder Ranch State Park (US-1207)” – QRPer
A Quick QRP Escape to Fults Hill Prairie (US-4124)
Adam KD9ZAB squeezes a scenic two-hour activation into a busy day in Fults Hill Prairie State Nature Preserve in Illinois.
👉 Read it: “KD9ZAB’s Quick QRP Escape: POTA at Fults Hill Prairie State Nature Preserve (US-4124)” – QRPer
Roaring Out of India: VU2UUU Activates Leopard Trail (IN-0181) 🇮🇳🐆
VU2UUU lit up the airwaves this week from the ancient Aravalli Hills in Gurugram, Haryana, activating POTA IN-0181—Leopard Trail.
This wasn’t just another park—it’s part of a critical wildlife corridor for the region’s remaining leopards, and the activation ran 10 hours straight (04:30–14:30 UTC), covering HF, VHF, UHF, and even LEO satellites.
If you worked the activation, you snagged one of India’s most fascinating POTA references. If you missed it… well, there are plenty of cliffs to howl from.
👉 Full details:
https://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/pota-in-0181-leopard-trail-activation-in-the-ancient-aravalli-hills.972938/
POTA_YOTA: Can You Activate a Park on 160 Meters? 🚛🦌
NØLUV is on the road in his newly christened truck, the POTA_YOTA, and he’s got questions.
Specifically:
“Could I actually activate a park on 160 meters?”
His antenna tunes up, but real contacts remain elusive.
Only one way to find out:
Give it the ol’ college try at the next stop.
New Activator Alert: W4MAC Logs 53 QSOs in 55 Minutes! 🎉
Everyone remembers their first activation — but W4MAC may remember his forever.
He went out nervous, unsure about logging, and walked away with:
- 53 contacts
- in 55 minutes
- flawless upload
- and an instant POTA addiction
Welcome aboard, W4MAC. Bring snacks.
Chile’s New Park: CL-0331 Goes Live 🇨🇱
CA5EHC in Chile activated the brand-new CL-0331, and the photos are stunning.
Huge thanks from him to all the hunters who joined the inaugural activation — this one’s going to be a regular!
Jesse KA1VRY Bags Worked All Rhode Island 🏆🦑
From the PN&R Discord: KA1VRY has completed the mighty task of Worked All RI — every POTA entity in the Ocean State.
Back From Hawaii: NØHR’s #50 and the All-States Goal 🤙🌺
Pat NØHR returned home sunburned, jet-lagged, and triumphant:
He knocked out his 50th state (HI!) and wrapped up all states activated + hunted.
A multi-year goal achieved — and a video series is coming.
KC0ZPS Hits 400 Activations 🎯
Ron KC0ZPS quietly crossed the 400-activation mark — with photos to prove it and a grin only CW ops fully understand.
WN1C: Sweeps + POTA = Profit 💰
Over on QRZ, WN1C combined ARRL Sweeps Phone with a POTA activation at US-1452.
Cold weather? More layers.
Time management? Optional.
Fun? Guaranteed.
Antarctica Watch: WE9G/KC4 ❄️🐧
QRZ is buzzing with news that WE9G is heading to Antarctica and may activate AQ-0020.
The PN&R editor has reached out to confirm. Stay tuned.
Matthew Vardjan Snags the Warthog 🐗
A solid day of activating paid off: Matthew Vardjan earned his Warthog by hitting five parks in one day.
He even pulled off a 2m QSO using Meshtastic.
That’s dedication and improvisation.
Bosnia Activations: BA-0018 & BA-0172 🇧🇦
E71AGA shared breathtaking photos from his tandem activation of:
- BA-0018 Konjuh Protected Area
- BA-0172 Djevojacka Pecina (Girls Cave)
Snowy cliffs, deep woods, and excellent signal reports.
Fults Hill Prairie (US-4124): A QRP Escape Redux 🌾
More pictures emerged from KD9ZAB’s lovely quick-escape activation in Illinois.
This park has become the Midwest’s unofficial “QRP spa getaway.”
Until Next Week… 🪶
Got a hot tip, strange encounter, or wild rove?
Send it to tips@pota.news — the News Hawk is always circling for the next story.
Want to talk awards, roves, gear, or gossip?
Join the community at https://forums.pota.news.
And don’t forget:
Send photos and short notes from your activations — we’ll publish them in the Field Notes section of the forum.
See you on the bands! 🌲📡
