Hello you magnificent POTA enablers — if you woke up this week thinking “I should probably slow down,” the parks collectively said absolutely not. From deep-award chasing to international firsts and plans that involve both maps and blisters, it’s been a good one. 🗺️📻
Milestones & Serious Accomplishments (a.k.a. Not Messing Around)
- Chase KK7NVY pulled off a tidy double by earning both Oasis and Kilo at US-5929. One park, two awards — this is what “efficient operating” looks like. 🏜️🏆
- Rhonda KR4IGN snagged the Late Shift Activator Award on just her fifth activation. Night ops are a special kind of magic — fewer distractions, colder fingers, stronger vibes. 🌙✨
- Bill N1CNV crossed the 100 unique parks threshold and earned the Arizona Agave Activator Award. That’s not just radio — that’s logistics, planning, and a deep relationship with your vehicle. 🌵🚙
- Chris AD9FR celebrated his first Kilo at US-4183, officially entering the “wait, that escalated quickly” phase of POTA. 🎉📈
- And then there’s AC1RH, who quietly sailed past 125,000 POTA QSOs in calendar year 2025. That’s not a typo. Somewhere, a logging program is asking for a vacation. 🤯🔥
First Activations & Big Firsts
Jim N4CRB stepped onto the activation stage with his first outing at US-2891 Croft State Park in South Carolina, putting twelve solid QSOs in the log. Welcome aboard, Jim — your weekends will never be the same. 😄🎒
Meanwhile, Welby W3LBY/M0WME logged his first activation from a foreign country, operating from New Zealand. First park, new DXCC, holiday activation… that’s how you do vacation radio properly. 🌏📡
QRP Corner: Turning the Difficulty Knob to Eleven
Ron KC0ZPS went full minimalist, activating with a Rockmate QRPme at roughly half a watt. That’s not QRP, that’s QRP whisper mode. Extra kudos to hunters like K4MW who swung their beams to help make it happen. 🐜📻
Goals That Make the Rest of Us Blink
Stu M0TTQ shared that he needs just HI and AK on SSB for Park-to-Park Worked All States (P2P WAS / SSB). Yes, that’s a real thing — and yes, it’s every bit as challenging as it sounds. It requires coordination, timing, propagation luck, and the kind of persistence normally associated with long-distance hikers and lighthouse keepers. Respect. 🥾📡
Shane KD9NJJ made things official, posting a video commitment to chasing the Pack Mule Award. Declaring your intentions publicly is a bold move — the parks are now watching. 🫏🏅
Community Desk: PN&R Orbit
- The PN&R POTA Calendar continues to quietly become one of those tools you didn’t know you needed until it was there. A reminder that your computer’s desktop calendar can display POTA activities, just subscribe to the PN&R Calendar, it doesn’t require a login. Subscribed calendars = fewer missed activations. Send your events to events@pota.news. 🗓️📬
- Paul W7PFB dropped another stats-heavy analysis, delivering the kind of data-driven perspective that makes you rethink how — and where — you operate. 📊🧠
- What’s your POTA Adventure Score? Over on the PN&R Forums a lively discussion of how to quantify adventure is taking place. One idea: ((Uniques/Activations)*100). So, 40 unique parks across 70 total activations? An Adventure Score of 57.
W1GRD on N1JUR’s Brew & Activate podcast
Perry W1GRD (author of POTAmap) spent an hour with Eric N1JUR on his popular Brew & Activate podcast discussing, among other things, a few advanced POTAmap features, and the new Pack Mule award. Here’s the link to the show.
Bharath VU3GLJ working on first activation
Bharath is working on his activation skills and fine-tuning his gear. “Currently sitting in the dark with my zbitx at IN-0067…”
and a bit later…
“Phew! I’ll have to pack up in a bit, it has gotten a bit cold for me and have an early morning safari to get to! And not able to make any contacts on 40m, for some reason only 20m QSOs.”
BREAKING NEWS FROM INDIA: Bharath reports he has succeeded!
Bonus Sightings
We noticed a nice trend of activators handing out custom “100+ Hunter Contact” poker chips as thank-yous. It’s only a matter of time before these become the unofficial field currency of POTA. 🪙♣️
That’s your week. Whether you’re scheming a new award, operating from a faraway park, or whispering into the ether with half a watt, keep doing the thing that makes this whole ecosystem work: show up and POTA ON! 🌲📻
— 73, your Nosey News Hawk Ada 🦅
