POTA 3fer in the January 2024 VHF Contest

On January 20, 2024, I did a Parks on the Air (POTA) 3fer activation at Lock 32 Canal State Park (K-2097, K-8098 & K-6532) in WNY. This was during the January VHF Contest, which I did a Single Operator, Portable (QRP). I used the ICOM 705 (10W) with a speaker wire dipole for 6m and the Elk Dual Band Log Periodic for 2m/70cm, for both SSB and FT8. I also use the Ed Fong roll-up J-pole for 2m/70cm FM with the Yaesu FT-4XR HT (5W). For 1.25m FM, I used a roll-up J-pole with the Alinco DJ-296T HT (5W).

[@timg5tm941]

Great going Mike!

[@MikeN2MAK]

Thanks, Tim!

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

Nice work Mike! You got our snow that we had a day or so earlier. I'm working on the video from this day for next week. 73!

[@MikeN2MAK]

Thanks for watching! The snow is all gone and it hit 60° this past week. The weather is nuts up here but I’ll play radio is just about any weather.

[@k6usy]

I live in central CA and have made it down to Mexico on 2m FT8, 100w from my 9700, and a HO loop on my roof. It's amazing what you can get with digital.

[@MikeN2MAK]

Yeah, I did mostly digital back in the September VHF contest and was surprised by what I could do with just 10W and a good antenna. Thanks for watching!

[@kennethblackwell1137]

Brrrrr....that would be too cold for me. Nice assortment of radio and bands.

[@MikeN2MAK]

Warm socks and boots are key for me, even when staying in the car. Setting up and taking down are no fun in the cold though, LOL.

[@N1JUR]

50 contacts on vhf/uhf that’s great. Need to think about a portable setup for ft8 vhf/uhf just one more kit in the stable!

[@MikeN2MAK]

There’s VHF contests in January, June and September. June should be a great time for 6m.