Let The Lion Roar! The Parks-On-The-Air Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio (POTA RaDAR) Challenge

Most hams have heard of Parks-On-The-Air. They know that they need to make a certain number of contacts (10) in a zulu day in order to successfully activate a park. Not quite as many realize that there is another contest within the POTA umbrella, the Rapid Deployment Amateur Radio (RaDAR) challenge. Born out of an idea from South Africa, the original RaDAR coaxes portable operators to try to make five contacts at a given location and then hustle off to another one to make five more. In the POTA version, a ham that activates two entities within a 24-hour period gets a Warthog award. Yup, a warthog. If you progress to three parks, you earn a Rhino. Five, a cheetah. Seven, an ostrich. Ten, a leopard. And finally, if you activate 12 entities in a day, you are the King of POTA, i.e., the Lion!

And here’s the kicker… I didn’t really want to do it. My gig is not POTA, though I do enjoy it, and think it is an amazing program for amateur radio operators… It is SOTA. I want my 1000 points so that I can get my Summits-On-The-Air Mountain Goat award — the only ham award I am interested in. AA1F, however was all over the POTA Lion idea. And since I love putting up and taking down antennas, I happily volunteered to be his pit crew.

The route is shown in the maps above. Just follow the numbers and they correspond with the numbers for the order of activation below. In total, we traveled 122 miles in about 3 1/2 hours, not counting the actual time spent operating. We started at our South Boston QTH and ended back up in Southie at Castle Island State Park. In order for a RaDAR deployment to count when using a vehicle, travel distance between parks needs to be greater than 6 km. The day’s summary is shown in the chart below.

1. WHITEHALL STATE PARK (K-2464)

When AA1F and I get an idea in our heads, well, we often just need to do it. I suggested the RaDAR challenge earlier in the week. By Friday, AA1F had mapped out a route. We knew it would rain on Saturday, but we did not care. In fact, we figured the rain would keep people out of the parks. We left the qth around 8:30am.

The plan was that I was on antenna duty, while AA1F made the contacts. Whitehall State Park was the first entity. The antenna, AA1F’s trusty Radiowavz 20M EFHW is in the tree line next to the road. We used this antenna for nearly the entire activation and stayed on 20M until the sun went down.

2. HOPKINTON (K-2440)

Hopkinton State Park was next. We parked in a wet, empty lot. I had the antenna up in a couple of minutes by the tree line on the passenger side of the van.

AA1F was on and off the air in minutes. He is using the Yaesu FT-891A, an LDG Z-100 tuner, and a 15AH Bioenno LiFePO4⁺ battery.

3. ASHLAND STATE PARK (K-2417)

Ashland State Park was a little bit trickier…

The tree line next to the parking area runs alongside power lines. A bit too close for me to feel comfortable. So instead, I tossed the arborist throw with its attached paracord over a tree limb and hoisted up the balun. The endfed’s free end was attached to the playground structure.

If you look closely above the van, you can see the antenna now at right angles to the tree line. This very fast activation ended in 6 minutes.

4. COCHITUATE STATE PARK (K-2427)

I can get an antenna up quickly. I do not think it took me longer than 10 minutes to set up or take down any configuration of the EFHW through this entire challenge. The beauty of using a 20M EFHW antenna is that it only has two points of attachment. In fact, you can use it as a sloper with one end on the ground. It is fast, effective, and can be used on multiple bands with a tuner. We use an LDG Z100 Plus that is capable of putting this antenna on 40M and 80M (as well, of course, as 20M). Yup, a 20M EFHW antenna can be effective on 80M!

So, with AA1F taking less than 10 minutes to get over ten contacts in the first 3 parks, why would we expect Cochituate to be any different?! I was able to string the antenna up high in the trees. Even though the quarters were a bit tight, I thought we fit right in with the fishermen and volunteers setting up the community sailboats for the new season. I managed to toss the arborist bag without hitting any cars, a major plus! With the nearby reflecting pool of water, we thought this activation would be easy breezy…

And forty minutes later we were still there. AA1F struck out on 20M. Tried 80M, no luck. Don’t laugh! 80M can be very effective for local daytime communications. But just not today. 40M was no good either. Heck, he even went to 15M. Each contact was pulling teeth, and our confidence was diminishing. AA1F finally got the last qso…but we knew we would not complete the 12 parks if this pattern continued. We feared our luck had ran out…

5. ELM BANK STATE RESERVATION (K-8408)

Turns out the fears were unfounded. By Elm Bank, we were back on track.

The rainy, gray drizzly day was keeping people out of the parks, making the activation much easier.

This is just a cool picture of Elm Bank. We were back in the running, and closing in on the halfway point!

6. CUTLER STATE RESERVATION (K-8407)

We came. We activated. We left. My camera on my phone died. I took pictures but I no longer can prove it to you…

7. CHESTNUT HILL STATE RESERVATION (K-8406)

AA1F had warned me that this was a tiny parking area. We were at the “Gate A” area of Chestnut Hill Reservation. There was some sort of arena (?hockey) next door and people were flooding out of it. Not a single spot was available for my van (“Limey”). Luckily, we noticed some people going to their car, and we were able to secure a spot.

Even better, the parking spot was next to a large possibly oak tree on a small island separating the asphalt from the sidewalk. In a very busy area of Boston. This was going to be the trickiest antenna set up yet!

I opted for a sloper. I put the free end of the end fed over the tree branch. I used a pintle tow mount (that I use for my trailer hitch mast holder) as an anchor for the balun. Thank goodness we were using a 100 foot length of RG8X coaxial cable for this event! I don’t quite think I captured how busy this little corner of Boston is in these photos.

Despite the highly compromised antenna configuration, AA1F made 19 contacts in 8 minutes! Thank goodness, because I wanted to get out of there!

Nellie kept a watchful eye on the antenna.

That is until she decided she was bored out of her gourd…

8. HEMLOCK GORGE STATE RESERVATION (K-8411)

Just another parking lot in a tiny park.

The antenna went from the white birch in the foreground down the hill toward the water.

Can you make out the balun, radiator wire, and coax? Another one on the books, and off we went with only 1/3 of the challenge left!

9. BLUE HILLS STATE RESERVATION (K-8402)

So, the first 8 parks were part of the Metrowest aspect of greater Boston. It was now time to swing over to the South Shore via the Blue Hills. We chose the Ponkapoag trailhead due to its very close proximity to the highway.

If you look carefully in the background, you can see we are essentially adjacent to the onramp of the Expressway. And if you look even more carefully, you can see me in the corner setting up the antenna yet again. Another quick activation, and we were on our way…

10. STODDER’S NECK RESERVATION (K-8393)

AA1F never met a gate he liked. To him, gates represent loss of freedom, loss of control, and captivity. So, we knew as the sun began to set on that Stodder’s Neck was a make-it-or-break it activation. It was a small, gated park. And it closed at 7pm. We didn’t have time to take more pictures. The other vehicles and their occupants high-tailed it out of there when the clock struck seven. AA1F struggled to get his last qso. With 20M dying out, and 40M a bit sluggish, he jumped on 80M and asked if the frequency was in use. “Not anymore! You can have it!” A random voice boomed back. Bingo! The tenth contact! A quick exchange (plea!) was made, and off we went yet again.

11. QUINCY SHORES STATE RESERVATION (K-8425)

We were in the home stretch now. AA1F had carefully picked the route so that the last two parks had no gates. Parking in the Quincy Shores area known as Wollaston Beach was allowed until 11pm.

We pulled in next to the only tree on the strip and I configured a sloper along the sea wall. If you look carefully below, you can see me. Twenty-two qsos were made in 22 minutes. And half of these were before 8pm, i.e. counting for a daytime activation. The other half counted for a separate late-shift (i.e., after 8pm) activation on a different day. Booyah! A twofer!

12, CASTLE ISLAND STATE PARK (K-6876)

Our anxiety, now that we realized we were indeed going to secure the POTA RaDAR Lion award, switched to parking. It was the night before the South Boston Evacuation Day Parade. Much better known as the St. Patrick’s Day parade. And in the Irish neighborhood of Southie, it was a big deal. But mostly a big deal to every college kid in Boston looking for an excuse to drink especially after being locked inside for two years. This all translated to the most likely scenario of not having a single parking spot available for a giant green cargo, well, anywhere. AA1F and I discussed parking strategies on the way to the final activation: Castle Island, a park that is literally in our backyard.

Low and behold, for the first time I can remember, Castle Island was open overnight to resident parking! Hooray! And…THERE WAS A SPOT AVAILABLE!! Hip Hip Hooray!!!!! And near trees we could use to activate to boot! AA1F’s antenna, as it often does, broke. I went to grab it and realized it was in two pieces. The radiator wire does not have any strain relief and it frequently ruptures at the area where the ring connector is crimped on to the wire. But let me tell you, not even the newly discovered broken antenna could crush the thrill of finding a lone parking spot on Parade Eve in Southie! I set up the backup 40M EFHW antenna instead and AA1F got on the air. Nine minutes and 13 contacts later, we were done and on our way home.

AA1F is now a POTA Lion! Way to go AA1F!

I often ask myself, what is the point of radio? Why am I doing this? What does it matter if I hike up hills and talk to a few people for an imaginary point or two? Who cares if AA1F and I drive around all day going from park to park making contacts? Sometimes, I do not have a good answer.

But other times, I know it is a skill. One that less and less people possess because they believe in the infrastructure of the cell phone and internet. But with a 5 pound metal box and a 30 foot piece of wire and some coax, AA1F talked from Alaska to Spain and everywhere in between. One hundred and sixty-two contacts. I set up an antenna in twelve different situations, and every single time it worked.

So when I think back to my first days, not all that many years ago, with a radio on the kitchen counter bleating out static, not sure how to go about hearing anyone, let alone actually talking to them, I am able to figure out why we do this. We do it because we are getting damn good at it, that’s why…

Congratulations Marc! You Rock!

As always,

KM1NDY

(That first pic? Say Anything)