Getting Started with Parks On The Air
Parks On The Air is a blast. You can either 'hunt' parks that are already on the air, or you can get off the sofa and go and 'activate' one yourself.
Best of all, the rules are really simple and common sense... but I've had several frustrating conversations over the last year or so with one or two MSARS members regarding the fact that whilst the Americans have been having a ball activating public parks across the pond (as opposed to having to clamber up a mountain or swim out to an island to use their radio) it's all seemed very US-centric. But not any more.
Whilst our US friends have some epic state parks, vast landscapes to disappear in and monumental landscapes to explore in general, why shouldn't we just be able to chuck some kit in a bag and go and have fun with POTA? For me and many others, getting out in the fresh air and playing radio at the same time has always been one of the great attractions of amateur radio.
You might argue that you've always been able to 'go portable', and you'd be right of course, but how many of us do, and how often? Having a like-minded community around which to rally is a huge encouragement and motivation, and POTA is the biggest of them all in my experience. Several club members are already active 'Hunters', 'Activators' or both.
My claim that 'many others' feel the same way about outdoor radio is borne-out by the recent huge spike in interest in Parks On The Air here in the UK, as documented on the POTA map and website. Just look at how many parks have now been registered in Sussex alone! The old excuse of there being few parks easily accessible to local amateurs has well and truly been blown away.
Until fairly recently, it didn't seem very easy or inviting to get new UK parks registered on the POTA website either. It still requires some digging to find out how to achieve this, but something has shifted, and I think it's two-fold: the publicity that Parks On The Air has been generating, and the UK POTA volunteers working frantically to enable our parks on the system.
This process is actually really easy now - you just email those good people with the details, and often just hours later (if accepted) they become active parks! I'd like to recognise the hard work and dedication of the three UK-based POTA Mapping Reps who have selflessly offered to do all the admin for us, validating and mapping sites suggested by UK amateurs. I've personally dealt with Paul M7CUW, who has been super-responsive, and who I've subsequently worked from several local parks on 40m this year. Thanks Paul.
Find details of the UK reps here: https://docs.pota.app/docs/volunteers/continents/europe.html. Each country has a slightly different 'take' on what constitutes an eligible park, but the UK folks take a sensible and pragmatic approach to this.
Hands Up
For the purposes of transparency, yes, I have registered a fair few parks myself, but they are a minority of those registered in Mid Sussex. I don't claim to know who else is busy registering local parks, but they seem to pop up regularly - at which point I'll jump in the car and race off to activate them!
POTA is a win-win as far as I can see. I've discovered at least a dozen 'new' parks, brushed up on my portable antenna-building skills, and most importantly have got a lot more use out of my radios. The spin-off is that I've taken radio out into the public domain 40 times this year to date. That's 40 times the public have wondered just what on Earth I'm up to, and on several occasions people have enquired what I'm doing. I don't think I've triggered any ARV call-outs yet, but I do tend to get in, get activated and get gone again, just in case!
So why not give it a go?
To keep it simple, there are some great 'getting started' videos by the official POTA team. There are plenty of other nuances and guidelines in the documentation, but all you need are the basics to get going. Personally, I just watched the videos and then went out and got stuck in. As it turned out, I didn't break any rules, and it was actually a piece of cake. I subsequently went back and read all the detailed explainers, and it all made more sense.
I'll be activating some local parks on Friday evenings during the spring/summer (when there's not a club night on) so come and join me in St. Johns Park, or wherever else I might be. I'll also be activating Jack & Jill again on 12th May (Mills weekend) as well as doing MOTA.
Click the logo at the top of this article, or go here to see what all the fuss is about:
Berni M0XYF
