SM028 – OK Parks On The Air (OKPOTA) 2022

Put August 20th and August 21st, 2022, on your calendar for the Oklahoma Parks On The Air (OKPOTA) day. The POTA concept has taken the country by storm, and hams of all types are getting interested in the program. While every day can be a POTA day, we’re going to try to get Oklahoma on the map by activating as many of the 164 parks in Oklahoma over the weekend. And by getting as many Oklahoma POTA Hunters on the bands as possible. Activations will run from 0000Z on August 20th through 2359Z on August 21st. (7:00 PM CDT Friday night through 6:59 PM CDT Sunday night.) Please submit all log entries to the pota.app website by September 4th, 2022.

So, if you want to stay home and be a ‘hunter’ of POTA activations, get your home station antennas and radios tuned up and plan to make some great contacts across the country throughout the day. Check for POTA activations on the pota.app website. The good folks at POTA will be creating a special page to highlight our activations on that weekend.

If you want to go mobile and activate a park, start working on your portable radio/antenna combinations, create an activation on the pota.app website RIGHT NOW to schedule the activation of your favorite park, and make plans to ‘hit the road.’ Take a look at the other scheduled activations at your same park to make sure you don’t over a given park. Create a POTA account and schedule your activation at the pota.app website.

Park activations typically happen during daylight hours, so plan accordingly. More details will be available here as they develop and the current information will be available at ok.arrl.org/okpota/.

See you ‘on the air.’

If you need help with radios, antennas, connections, operation rules, creating a POTA account, or anything else, find an Elmer, work with your club, or send me a note to n5hzr@arrl.org.

Clubs

Amateur radio clubs are the backbone of the hobby. The tremendous local hams have good information, and as Elmers or mentors they love to share it. Send something that your club is doing well to me n5hzr@arrl.org, and I’ll feature your club in this newsletter, and on the ARRL club newsletter. Most clubs are seeing an increase in new member activity recently. Our Oklahoma Affiliated Club Coordinator, Jim Shideler W5JCS, can help you find a club or help your club become affiliated. We currently have 41 clubs listed at https://ok.arrl.org/clubs/. Look for a club near you, or verify that your club is on the list. Send Jim an email at W5JCS@arrl.net if you need club assistance.

ARRL Oklahoma is On The Web

JOIN/RENEW ARRL NOW —  http://arrl.org/join/

73, de N5HZR — Stand by, more follows…

SM027 – Hamfests, Hamfests, Hamfests

Ham Holiday 2022 is in the Books

Thanks to all of you that attended and stopped by the ARRL booth and said HI. ARRL West Gulf Director John Stratton N5AUS and ARRL West Gulf Vice Director Lee Cooper W5LHC joined the rest of the Oklahoma ARRL contingent during the two-day event. If you have some pictures from this event, please send them to N5HZR@arrl.org. The numbers were similar to the 2019 event, so we still all showed up after two years without a hamfest.

This year the group added a high-end raffle of a $2,200 Icom 705 package that was a big hit. Congratulations to Steve Dusking NE5SD, who walked away with that prize. In addition, the grand prize of a Yaesu FTDX10 went to Coy Day N5OK.

Clear your calendar. Ham Holiday 2023 will be July 28/29, 2023.

Ponca City 22 is Coming

The Kay County Amateur Radio Club Trunk-N-Tailgate will be in Ponca City, OK, on September 17, 2022, at the VFW, from 8 AM to 2 PM. All of the details are available at  https://ok.arrl.org/ponca/ – See you there!

Hamarama 22 is Coming

The Ardmore hamfest, Hamarama, will be held at the Ardmore Convention Center on October 21/22, 2022. This two-day event runs from 5 PM to 8 PM on Friday and from 8 AM to 1 PM on Saturday, and it pulls in lots of folks from the North Texas area. All of the details are available at  http://hamarama.org/ – See you there!

Enid 22 is Coming

The Enid hamfest will be at the Stride Bank Center on November 5, 2022. This location is a new location for them, and it has lots more space available. This one-day event runs from 8 AM to 5 PM and brings in a lot of folks from Kansas. All of the details are available at  https://enidarc.squarespace.com/enidhamfest – See you there!

Clubs

Amateur radio clubs are the backbone of the hobby. The tremendous local hams have good information, and as Elmers or mentors they love to share it. Send something that your club is doing well to me n5hzr@arrl.org, and I’ll feature your club in this newsletter, and on the ARRL club newsletter. Most clubs are seeing an increase in new member activity recently. Our Oklahoma Affiliated Club Coordinator, Jim Shideler W5JCS, can help you find a club or help your club become affiliated. We currently have 41 clubs listed at https://ok.arrl.org/clubs/. Look for a club near you, or verify that your club is on the list. Send Jim an email at W5JCS@arrl.net if you need club assistance.

ARRL Oklahoma is On The Web

JOIN/RENEW ARRL NOW —  http://arrl.org/join/

73, de N5HZR — Stand by, more follows…