It’s been a bit since I’ve gotten out to do a “real” outdoor POTA activation. The weather in Kansas City was very nice this weekend, with highs in the 50s, so I took my radio out to Hillsdale State Wildlife Area (US-7929). This is an undeveloped wildlife area attached to (but separate from) Hillsdale State Park. There are a few boat ramps along the north side of the lake, that’s where I usually set up.
I spent some time this week working out how to set up FT8 on my FT-891, using my old MacBook to run WSJT-X. There were a bunch of weird issues to work through in order to get WSJT-X working on the Mac, which are probably worth their own post at some point.
Anyways, I got about 40 FT8 contacts, then took a break for a bit, then got out my key and got around 60 CW contacts. Doing FT8 for POTA is definitely a more relaxing experience – you can sit back, admire the scenery, watch the birds, talk to other people, etc. with no issues. Doing CW, on the other hand, requires almost 100% concentration, which is fun in its own way, but can also be exhausting.
Anyways, here’s some photos.
