As some of you know, I have a few POTA entities near work and have been activating them if and when I find time for a quick activation [See here for my earlier post on this]. I find that I really like starting off the day with POTA: I find it energizes me and starts the day off right. This routine is ingrained in me so much that I am finding to want to start the day off with an activation even on days when I work from home.
Today, was one of the days I planned on working from home. To get an activation in, I headed to the closest POTA entity to my QTH -- Maybury State Park [K-1518]. I reached there at around 6 AM (1200 UTC). I had planned on doing a quick activation, take a quick walk and head back home and log in to work. I noticed I was the lonely warrior; the only one activating any park on SSB or CW in North America. This is not unusual and I have found myself in this scenario before. Undeterred, I started my CQ sequence on 40m [ the longest band I can do with my antenna ].
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Lonely on POTA |
I spotted myself and waited .... and waited... I netted a meagre 3 contacts in 25 minutes. It was now 30 past the hour. My spouse was getting restless. I decided to suspend my activation and head out for a walk. I did manage to complete the activation after the walk about an hour and a half later....
My experience has been that I usually get my activations done before work; but I start those activations closer to 1300 UTC. I will get my required contacts within 15 to 20 mins. This is one of the earliest activations for me. Given that the band was about average and nothing unusual that is going on, I believe that the hunter community starts their day around 1300 UTC. So, does the early bird get the worm? Depends on how early it is!
Hope to catch you in the air soon!
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