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Parks on the Air (POTA) is an amateur radio award program that encourages amateur radio operators to visit, enjoy and operate
portable equipment in parks and public lands. Such "activations" can take place at the discretion of an individual
operator, or as part of organized events such as Field Days. Park locations in POTA range from large national parks to small urban locations and islands and each is given a code number. Equipment used is typically small, battery operated,
or constructed by the operator. The radio may be
hand-held, carried in a backpack or "go box," or be mounted in a vehicle, as permitted by the park operator.
Antennas may be small enough to form part of a hand-held unit for VHF and UHF operations, or be ground-spike or tripod-mounted
temporary whips or loops for longer radio wavelengths.
Amateur radio operators who set up such station at a park are known as activators, and other amateur radio operators who complete contacts with them are called hunters. POTA issues awards to both activators and hunters based on a wide range of criteria including the total number of contacts, contacts made on each amateur radio band, and for different modes of communication. The BCARC has a club POTA account into which members may sign in at this link. To sign into the club's account, (1) Click the 
button. (2) On the next page, click the 
button.(3) Enter the club's Gmail address and password (e-mail the Webmaster for login info). You're encouraged to set up your own POTA account, but you can use the club's account as a "hunter" to find POTA activations around the country and the world. Your Friendly Webmaster has no experience with POTA, but get with Phillip White (KQ4ETC) or Zachary Skaggs (KO4ORI) for more information. More contacts will be added here once they volunteer. You can get all sorts of information about Parks on the Air on this web site (no account or registration required). There is also a POTA Facebook page you can join. |