Author: Jim, WY4O

DDXG POTA Event a Success

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Parks on the Air (POTA) Event Brings Ham Radio Enthusiasts Together

Parks on the Air (POTA), an amateur radio activity launched in 2010, encourages ham radio operators to set up stations in national and state parks worldwide. The simplicity of its rules has contributed to its popularity. In 2016, the ARRL sponsored NPOTA to commemorate the National Parks System’s 100th anniversary. Since then, POTA has become a staple in the amateur radio community, with a non-profit organization established in 2018.

The Dominion DX Group, K4VAC, recognized POTA’s potential and organized an event at Pocohontas State Park (US-1312) in Chesterfield County, Virginia. As Virginia’s largest state park, with 7,919 acres, it offers various activities, including swimming, fishing, camping, and mountain biking. The park’s ham radio-friendly environment made it an ideal location.

A Successful Club Activation

On October 19, 2024, the club held its first POTA activation, coinciding with “Support Your Parks Weekend.” Ten members and 10 guests attended, enjoying food, drinks, and camaraderie. The event boasted five stations operating on 40M, 20M, 15M, and 10M bands. Throughout the day, operators logged 178 QSOs, including 14 DX stations and 46 Park-2-Park contacts.

Notable achievements
Will Jackson, KR4CE, with 85 QSOs.
Adam Humphrey, KQ4OTH, with six DX QSOs.
Gene Damon, K4GNE, completed his first successful activation.

A Trial Run for Future Events

This POTA event marked the club’s first run with POTA. With its success, the club plans to expand invitations to other local clubs and promote DX chasing. The next “Support Your Parks Weekend” is approaching, offering another opportunity for ham radio enthusiasts to connect.

Key Takeaways
POTA encourages amateur radio operations in national and state parks.
The Dominion DX Group successfully activated Pocohontas State Park.
The event fostered camaraderie and achieved notable QSOs.
Future events will aim to involve more clubs and promote DX chasing.

Special thanks to Adam Humphrey, KQ4OTH, for contributing this recap of a great day for the club!

DDXG POTA is this weekend!

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This is it. DDXG members and guests will be heading to Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield, Virginia, this Saturday, October 19, 2024, for a Parks on the Air (POTA) event. Beginning at 10 AM EST multiple stations will be operating allowing licensed hams to get on the air and participate. Guests are welcome. And DDXG members will be available to chat about our hobby and our club. More information about POTA is available here.

If you’d like to join us, the address for Pocahontas State Park is 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield, VA 23832-6355. Parking is $10.00 (weekend rate). Once you enter the park follow signs to Picnic Shelter 2 and look for the club banner. We hope to see you there!

DDXG to host POTA event

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Parks on the Air (POTA) is about amateur radio operators visiting parks and making contacts from within the parks with other amateur radio operators at any location. DDXG will host a POTA event on Saturday, October 19th, at Pocahontas State Park in Chesterfield County. Beginning at 10 AM EST multiple stations will be operating allowing licensed hams to get on the air and participate. Guests are welcome. And DDXG members will be available to chat about our hobby and our club.

If you’d like to join us, the address for Pocahontas State Park is 10301 State Park Road, Chesterfield, VA 23832-6355. Parking is $10.00 (weekend rate). Once you enter the park follow signs to Picnic Shelter 2 and look for the club banner. There are two to three parking spots adjacent to the shelter including one handicap parking spot; the rest of the parking is about 200 feet away. Bathrooms are within 100 feet.

More information about Parks on the Air can be found at the POTA website. A presentation from our September club meeting is available to review here.

It’s Time for Field Day!

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Logo for ARRL 2024 Field Day

On the weekend of June 22-23, 2024, in locations across the country, amateur radio operators and clubs will participate in ARRL Field Day. So what exactly is Field Day? According to ARRL Radiosport and Regulatory Manager Bart Jahnke, W9JJ, “It is part emergency communications exercise, part social gathering, part open house for ham radio – it is what the local club makes of it. No matter what goal your activation has, ARRL hopes it is a safe, fun, and rewarding event for each club.”

Here in the metro-Richmond area the primary field day operations is facilitated by our friends at the Richmond Area Telecommunications Society (RATS). And, as in pervious years, the event will take place at the Laurel Recreation Area, 10301 Hungary Spring Rd., in northern Henrico County. Information can be found at the RATS Summer Field Day information page. Many of our DDXG members will join in the activities.

As a kid, even before I was a licensed ham, I remember my Dad (WA3JTU, SK) making the trek to the field day location of the local central Pennsylvania club. Later, because we had a military surplus 10KW generator (before home generators were cool), Dad would participate from the home station. And every year non-hams, or hams who had not been active for a while, would find their way for the social gathering, the learning available, to get on the air, or just for the hot dogs and hamburgers. There will even be testing available if you are becoming a ham or upgrading your license.

2023 DDXG DX Ladder Results

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During the January 2024 meeting Tom, N3GTG, DDXG President and Ladder Chair presented the results of the TWO 2023 DX Ladder competitions. Beginning in 2023 a second ladder competition was added allowing those members with significant DX history to compete with a chance to earn recognition for activity within a calendar year. We are calling the new ladder competition the SUPER LADDER.

Original Ladder

Lauren, W4LEW, was presented with the plaque for her winning performance in the original ladder. While only active in chasing DX for about the last three years, she has consistently brought a strong game to the competitions. Congratulations Lauren!

Super Ladder

And our esteemed member, and recipient of the very first DeSoto Cup, W4DR, Bob, proved that he continues to be a force when it comes to DX activity. Bob was awared the plaque as winner of the new Super Ladder. Congratulations Bob!

2024 DDXG Board of Directors

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The Dominion DX Group installed the 2024 Board of Directors at the January meeting. Returning for another year in service to club are Tom (N3GTG), President, Sheila (K4WNW), Vice-President, and Lauren (W4LEW). John (KX4QC) will serve as Secretary for 2024. And Jim (WY4O) remains on the board as a Director. We appreciate the dedication of these club members and their support for the club.

L-R: Tom, N3GTG, President; Lauren, W4LEW, Treasurer; Sheila, K4WNW, Vice-President; John, KX4QC, Secretary; and, Jim, WY4O, Director

Club Call Earns DXCC Challenge Award

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Members of DDXG, with the consent of the trustee, may operate under the DDXG club call, K4VAC. Logs are maintained and uploaded to ARRL’s Logbook of the World (LOTW). During the October meeting Bruce, WD4LBR, who is the trustee, showed off the DXCC Challenge plaque recognizing that the club call had met the requirements of the DXCC Challenge,. According to the ARRL website, “The DXCC Challenge Award is earned by working and confirming at least 1,000 DXCC band-points on any Amateur bands, 160 through 6 meters (except 60 meters).” Thank you to Bruce and all club members who take the time to work new DX for yourself and for the club.

Sheila, K4WNW, Achieves DXCC Honor Roll

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At our June meeting we celebrated our long time member, and current Vice-President, Sheila, K4WNW, on achieving ARRL DXCC Honor Roll. The DXCC Honor Roll is earned by amateurs who submit confirmation for contacts reached within the numerical top 10 of the overall number of entities on the DXCC List. As of 25 Jun 2023, there were 340 current entities on the list, with 331 being required for the Honor Roll.

Sheila keeps her eyes open for new opportunities to add to her DXCC numbers by monitoring the DX news for upcoming DXpeditions. And she shares this information each month through her Upcoming DX presentation. This presentation is distributed to club members, and is also made available to all interested amateurs via the DDXG website. You can find the Upcoming DX from the current meeting in the right column of the home page of this website.

Sheila and husband Bruce, WD4LBR, also an Honor Roll member, are models of amateurs who give back to the community by sharing knowledge, “elmering” new and aspiring ham operators, and supporting our club community. Congratulations Sheila!!!

ARRL Field Day is June 24th

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Each year amateurs around the country gather to participate in ARRL’s annual Field Day. According to the ARRL’s field day page, ‘The object of Field Day is to work as many stations as possible on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 Meter HF bands, as well as all bands 50 MHz and above, and in doing so to learn to operate in abnormal situations in less than optimal conditions. A premium is placed on developing skills to meet the challenges of emergency preparedness as well as to acquaint the general public with the capabilities of Amateur Radio.”

DDXG does not have an event for Field Day; however, we do hold our June meeting one week early to allow our members to participate in their choice of Field Day activities. Most will join with our friends and fellow amateurs from the Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society (RATS) at their Field Day event. RATS will operate at the usual spot: Laurel Recreation Area, 10301 Hungary Spring Rd in northern Henrico County.  They will gathering at 10 AM local time Saturday, June 24 to begin setup, and will go on the air at 2 PM, operating from generator power as a class 2A station. More information is available at the RATS website.