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Hunter Guide |
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Parks on the Air® Hunter Guide
Original author: K8ZRY
Table of Contents
- TOC {:toc}
Disclaimer This document is for amateur radio operators participating in the Parks on the Air® (POTA) program. It is not a complete checklist or procedure.
POTA is about having fun, but there are some rules. Please read the POTA Rules and understand them.
Significant time is spent by POTA volunteers answering questions. Please consult the documents (hunter guides and other resources) and please send an email to the help desk [email protected]. if you need clarification on any item.
If you have topics to discuss or reports to contribute, please engage the other POTA community members. POTA is available on social media at Facebook POTA Facebook and Slack POTA Slack.
Create an account on the https://pota.app website. When signing in, it is best to use one of your existing accounts on Amazon, Facebook, or Yahoo. The POTA system does not store any passwords.
Once your account is established, you can add any callsigns to your account, including those you previously held, 1x1 calls, and callsigns with modifiers. For example, add N3VEM/VE3 for past activations in Canada to be managed by the same N3VEM account.
POTA follows the DX code of conduct. We ask all activators and hunters to adhere to this code.
- I will listen, and listen and then listen again before calling.
- I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
- I will not trust the Cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s callsign before calling.
- I will not interfere with the DX station or anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
- I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before calling.
- I will always send my full callsign.
- I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
- I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another callsign, not mine.
- I will not transmit when the DX Operator queries a call sign, not like mine.
- I will not transmit when the DX operator requests geographic areas other than mine.
- When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my callsign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
- I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
- If you need to transmit to tune your antenna or transmitter, use the minimum power practicable and move to a nearby unused frequency (at least 1 kHz in CW or 4 kHz in phone, or farther if the band is not crowded).
- Parks on the Air® welcomes all ham radio operators to participate. This means we have a wide range of experiences, from Elmers to recently licensed hams. This is how many learn to call CQ, handle pileups, and answer a CQ. Please be patient and considerate with new activators. You are a part of their learning!
POTA does not require a formal exchange.
Typically, activators like the following for their log: Callsign, Signal Report, and State.
- Most often, activators would like to receive actual signal reports.
- Some activators will provide their park reference for your log (i.e., K-1518).
Be sure to use phonetics when first giving your callsign. It is best practice to use the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Some activators sometimes participate in a contest from a POTA park (like a state QSO party). Be sure to listen to any contest exchange!
Sometimes the activator will be quick with the QSO, as they may have a pileup to return to. They may also give you information about their portable setup at the park. This is an open invitation to share your station information with them. Be open that they may want to get back to calling CQ, as most activators are on battery power and have a limited time to operate, and some are exposed to challenging weather conditions.
An example exchange with an activator would be:
Activator: CQ CQ Parks On The Air, this is Kilo 8 Zulu Romeo Yankee at K-1518, Maybury State Park in Michigan. Standing by for a call.
Hunter: Kilo Alpha 0 X-Ray Tango Tango
Activator: Kilo Alpha 0 X-Ray Tango Tango, QSL?
Hunter: Roger Roger, You are 58 into California. Excellent signal over here. Over
Activator: Thanks for the 58 into CA. You are 57 into park # K-1518, QSL?
Hunter: Roger Roger
Activator: Thanks, 73
Hunter: Thanks for K-1518, 73
As a hunter, you do not submit any logs to POTA. However, it would be best if you still kept a log for your station. It is also recommended to upload your log to LoTW, QRZ, ClubLog, eQSL, or any other online confirmation service. In particular, LoTW is used by most award hunters.
The POTA system works based only on the logs submitted by the activators.
Not all the time, you will be operating at your home station. If one of the following operating situations applies to you, then feel free to include them when you contact the activator. This might help you break through a pileup. (i.e., “K8ZRY QRP”) Below are a few examples.
- Mobile
- Portable
- Maritime Mobile
- QRP
- Park to Park (Used when you are activating a POTA park and you are "hunting" another activator)
If you find an activator activating the same park again, don't hesitate to work again. Repeat QSOs still earn you and the activator points towards awards. Activator also needs a minimum of 10 QSOs.
However, if you already work an activator today-UTC, repeat QSOs only when at least one of the following is different from any of the QSOs from today-UTC: the band, mode, park reference, or the park state/province/prefecture (some parks span multiple states). Multiple QSOs with identical arrangements will be rejected as duplicates when the activators submit their logs.
Near the end of a UTC day, hunt all available activators now and wait until 0000Z. Then work all the activators again for additional credits and the extra late shift credits. (There will be a whole new set of activators tomorrow!) There usually are little pileups right after 0000Z for this reason.
Often a couple of hams will jointly activate a park. In these situations, you may be able to work multiple activators. Listen for the callsign given over the air. Once one activator starts running on a frequency, the microphone may be passed to another. Please take the time to note the callsigns. The callsign you are given may not match what is listed on the spots.
Also, please be aware that an activator may be new to the hobby and is being elmered. Please be patient and don't overwhelm them!
POTA seeks to be inclusive and encourages the hunters to help make these hams' activations successful.
The station callsign given out over the air may belong to a ham with special needs; the person on the microphone may be making the contact on behalf of the control operator. (Each operator must observe the laws and regulations regarding license privilege, control operators, and third-party traffic.)
Sometimes activators have to cut short conversations or activations for various reasons. The common ones could be weather, antenna/radio/power problems, or visitors (Park’s staff or others).
Without these reasons, activators usually make a "last call" (often "LAST CL" in CW) or wait until multiple CQs without a taker before QRT or QSY.
Many activators will put a park on the air with digital modes.
Due to limitations in some modes, specifically FT8 and FT4, there might not be enough room in a transmitted message to put a park reference. Check the spots page to see if the activator self-spotted with the park information.
Go ahead and work someone calling "CQ POTA," even if you don't know what park they are at.
A few hints can help speed up working a park activator.
A brief look at what an activator sees when calling CQ POTA:
Don't transmit on the same frequency as the activator! WSJT-X was designed to be used in split mode. Select the option "Hold Tx Freq" and select an open portion of your waterfall before calling an activator. {: .pota-yellow-warning}
Tail-end an existing QSO. Anticipate when the current station being worked will send 73 and send your exchange in the same transmit window. {: .pota-info}
Tip: Skip sending your grid square when hunting an activator when using FT8/FT4. {: .pota-info}
Once you send 73 to an activator, you might not receive a 73 in return if the activator is working a pileup. If you received a signal report, you should log the contact. {: .pota-info}
Use the official POTA spotting website to search for active parks. This is the official spotting website for POTA. You can see current activations. On the Activations page, you can see the registered activations.
There are a few different views for pota.app. If you click the three bars in the upper left corner, check out “Late Shift Mode” and “Prefer Table View.”
This is where all active stations will be shown for 30 minutes. You can see their callsign, frequency, park information, & comments.
When you made a contact with an activator, or if you can reliably hear an activator even though you did not contact, spotting or re-spotting the activator is a great way to lend them a hand. This lets other hunters know that the activator is still activating the park, encouraging other hunters to call. You can also leave brief remarks like: “57 in Michigan” or “Stated going QRT in 10 minutes.” (Anyone can browse or search the spot history on POTA Slack's #potaspots channel, and in fact, many activators check this while processing their logs.)
If you can only hear other hunters but not the activator, "spotting" would not be very useful.
All you need to do is click on re-spot, update it with information and click “Spot.”
You are also welcome to spot the activator on other spotting sites, such as DXWATCH.com, although POTA does not support other spot services.
If an activator is participating in a contest from a park, and you make contact with them. Ask if you can spot them. Some contests prohibit self-spotting or any spotting.
If you click on the Activations tab, you'll see registered (tentative) activation schedules. This is so hunters can keep an eye out for them on the bands, work, and spot them.
Many activators will also post on the POTA Facebook group. Some even post pictures and maps of their QSOs after the activation. Join us!
Slack is available as a desktop, mobile, and web app and is an excellent tool for staying in touch with the POTA community.
POTA Slack features many discussion channels and #potaspots reporting-only channel, which archives the past and current spots from pota.app. (It is probably best not to turn on notification on the #potaspots channel; search instead.) You can browse or search for comments you left or activators you are following.
The activators are responsible for uploading their logs for hunters like you to receive credits.
You'll see your QSO on your dashboard and hunter log with varying delays, depending on when and how the activator submits their log. Keep in mind that the activator may be on the road for many days or have other obligations that could cause a delay in their log submission. Please be patient with the activator. After a month, if you don’t see a QSO with an activator, please send an email to [email protected].
Once you see the QSO in the dashboard or the hunter log, it will still take up to 48 hours before all the statistics are updated. Some awards are routinely processed, but others are manually processed and take time. No action is necessary; check back a day or two later. Please be patient about the awards.
Send any suggestions you may have about this document to [email protected].
Thanks to all the activators and hunters that participate in the program. Thanks to the POTA call area manager volunteers who have helped mentor activators with proper logging!