Exploring POTA: A Journey from Greenville to Orlando HamCation

With POTA stops on the way…

Gary NG9T and myself decided to go to HamCation in Orlando but also thought we should take the opportunity to stop along the way and do some POTA (Parks On The Air). Gary would do CW and I would attempt FT8 via QRP. Gary was quite successful and quickly made the necessary 10 contacts. I could not get the rig to talk to the computer and it took time. When I finally was ready to transmit, Gary was done with his POTA activation and we needed to go to the next site. I gave up on it and had fun getting the Pactenna into the tree and set up the rig for Gary. To see a portable system for FT8 that works, see this blog.

The equipment for CW was an Elecraft KX2 running on internal batteries QPR to a 20/40m end fed half wave antenna from Pactenna. I would sling a 12 oz throwing weight over a tall limb of a tree, usually catching it on the first or second throw. The FT8 rig was a Yaesu FT891 mounted in the car to a Tarheel model 200 screwdriver antenna. I was trying to interface with a DigiRig. The problem with the FT8 system was the PC we were using had to have multiple MS software updates that I was trying to get via cell phone in the parks. Epic Fail!

Route:

Day #1 2/5/25, Wednesday
Greenville, NC to Rhodes Pond, (Dunn Road, NC), 1st Activation
— Night in a motel in Santee —
Day #2 2/6/25, Thursday
Motel Santee to Santee State Park, (Santee SC), 2nd Activation
Santee to Fort Morris, (Midway, GA), 3rd Activation
Fort Morris to Orlando HamCation, Hamfest
— Night in motel in Orlando —
Day #3 2/7/25, Friday
Orlando HamCation Hamfest
— Night in motel in Orlando —
Day #4 2/8/25, Saturday
Orlando HamCation to Manatee State Park, (Orange City, FL), 4th Activation
Manatee State Park to Jekyll Island State Park, (Jekyll Island, GA), 5th Activation
— Night in Jekyll Island Holiday Inn —
Day #5 2/9/25, Sunday
Jekyll Island to Greenville, NC

Details:

Day #1 2/5/25, Wednesday
Greenville, NC to Rhodes Pond, (Dunn Road, NC), 1st Activation

Had an 8 o’clock CT scan, they wanted me to drink the dye. Did it with coffee and a lot of fluids. The CT scan was incredibly quick and by 9 o’clock I was back home. Trying to pack for going to Orlando and hitting Pota stations on the way. Garry came over at noon and by 1 o’clock we were on the road. Fortunately, I checked the spare tire, it was a little low. Managed to make it into a park in North Carolina, Rhodes Pond, where Gary made 12 contacts.

Another Ham Radio enthusiast came by going to activate the same Park. He went off and got fuel and then came back and by that time we were done and taking our antenna out of the tree. Use the arborist bag and wait to throw the antenna up into the tree. On the second shot, I got the limb. I wanted and hung a nice sloper EFHW antenna. Gary was real happy with it and made a bunch of contacts. The more e played with the KX2, the more he was hooked on it!

In the meantime, I was totally frustrated with the computers not talking to the radio using the Digirig. That about ate my goat, but hey that’s what this is all about. We ate at Cracker Barrel and then in the Motel, updated the software on the computer. Maybe it’ll work tomorrow. A budget like motel has been taken over by Wyndham and they’re upgrading it. They had to call in the utility guy to fix the outlet that was very loose. It was making and breaking contact. I was afraid it was going to spark and cause of fire. They came in and fixed it and we had a very nice night on good beds.

Day #2 2/6/25, Thursday
Motel Santee to Santee State Park, (Santee SC), 2nd Activation
Santee to Fort Morris, (Midway, GA), 3rd Activation
Fort Morris to Orlando HamCation, Hamfest

Got up at eight, had breakfast at the Waffle House and then ran to Santee National Park, where we found a boat ramp, and a very nice lake. Tall trees with Spanish moss hanging all over it. The wind blowing through the trees made a wonderful sound. Once again, I threw my line up into a tall tree and on the first throw, got it over the branch I wanted. Did the sloper antenna again and Garry managed to get 27 contacts. He had a pileup of people calling him so much so that we couldn’t make the calls. He managed to muddle through it quite well. Beautiful park, we wrapped it up and hit the road again.

Wound up in Fort Morris, Georgia, which was a fort in the revolutionary war era. What remains were berms dugout overlooking the river. A lot of saltwater marshes. The wind in the moss here was quite pronounced and beautiful. Had a great time copying CW. The digital modes once again failed to function properly but now the computer was recognizing the radio, and some of the software was controlling the radio after updating the software, so we’re getting closer and closer to getting the digital modes to work. We had packed a sandwich lunch, had it and hit the road again.

This was the site of one of the first Masonic gatherings and the start of the organization in the United States.

We were a little behind schedule, but we managed to make it to Orlando and the hotel by 7:30. went out to dinner at One Stop Dumpling. This is Chinatown part of Orlando and this was one of the more original Chinese style restaurants that I’ve been to in a long time. Excellent food. We wrapped it up and hit the sack.

Day #3 2/7/25, Friday
Orlando HamCation Hamfest

Purchased tickets and went into the Hamfest. Immediately saw lots of things that were interesting. Spent all day running around, looking at tables, new and old equipment and talking to lots of people. 

Eventually went to Texas roadhouse and had a margarita and a steak. 

Day #4 2/8/25, Saturday
Orlando HamCation to Manatee State Park, (Orange City, FL), 4th Activation
Manatee State Park to Jekyll Island State Park, (Jekyll Island, GA), 5th Activation

Got up, went to IHOP for breakfast. Then had to run back to the Hamvention to pick up the 440 antennas. In the process we found “cans“ for the repeater. Now all we need is feed lines and a place to install all this mess. This looks fantastic. Ran into a bunch of people that knew a lot about repeaters in the emergency management. Talked a long time with everybody glean information. 

Finally we busted loose and head up the road to the Manatee springs that have the manatees hiding in them just north of Orlando. The manatees were not there when we arrived, but the walk up and down the spring was interesting. The blue springs were very clear and you could see 10 feet into the water without a problem. Activated the area and made a bunch of contacts. Then we turned north and ran all the way up to Jekyll Island. Took a tour of the place and found the state park, however, no real responses except for one or two on trying to activate it on 20 m. Will try again in the morning, but then we need to run home. stopped off at the Holiday Inn, rather expensive because this is “Jekyll Island“. It cost $10 just to get on the causeway. The hotel is wonderful, they have placed grill stations on the sand dunes for picnics. The beaches were fantastic. I had a wonderful dinner and had after dinner drinks around a little fire pit. Talk to some of the locals that told me that marina rates are $2.50 a foot for overnight parking. A tad expensive but what can I tell you is: this is Jekyll Island. Finally headed back to the hotel, got ready for bed and watched a little bit of “Dune“. Interesting to see how old that movie appears and how melodramatic the acting is. It’s definitely a sci-fi cult film.

Day #5 2/9/25, Sunday
Jekyll Island to Greenville, NC

We finally got up and started rolling, had our showers and had a nice breakfast on the beach. Overcast but warm. Jekyll Island is a wonderful place. Very resort like but clean, tidy and fairly busy. In some ways it reminds me of Beaufort, but possibly a little more upscale. Cross the bridge and went into Savannah and then hit I-95 to make it all the way north. Gary tried driving for the first hour and a half but started dozing off so we stopped for a bathroom break and I took over.

On a Sunday, not that much traffic so it flowed well. It’s amazing to see how much of I-95 is being rebuilt in North Carolina. Georgia had mostly good roads with occasional areas of excessive wear on the asphalt but pretty well maintained. South Carolina did fairly well, but was a little rougher. North Carolina had large stretches that are being torn up and redone. Florida roads were pretty good on I 95. We skipped lunch and had some granola bars and iced tea. Made it home in time to watch the Super Bowl. Enjoyed the Super Bowl and unpacked and clean up. A bit quiet at the house, but it was nice to be home. Once again slept really well.

Crossing the border, we saw a familiar sight!

This was a wonderful experience, some challenges for the FTA mode includes testing everything before you go, not trying to do it on the fly. The CW worked flawlessly and the Elecraft KX2 using the Pactenna EFHW or the Tarheel antenna stole Gary’s heart. Some of the motels were a little bit of a challenge and we finally decided to splurge at Jekyll Island. You really didn’t have a choice there as they’re all high end hotels. The Orlando Hamfest was spread out over a large area, so it was a little bit difficult to see the displays and attend the lectures as they were at the other end of the campus. Orlando is basically spread out over a massive area and unless you’re going to something like the hamfest or Disney World, I wasn’t terribly impressed. It seems to be suburbia forever. It could be that where we were stationed gave me that impression. Convention centers are usually not in the best places. Met a lot of interesting Ham Radio enthusiast that knew an awful lot about repeaters, trailers, antennas, and Ham Radio in general. By the second day, however we were tired of walking around and decided to takeoff to go see the manatees. Unfortunately, they had flown the coop and were in another location. A great trip, saw a lot of things and learned quite a few things. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. (Peter)

73 form Gary NG9T and Peter N4PVH.

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