The Pinecone Amateur Radio Club’s inaugural year was a memorable one. Carl, John, and I successfully put the club on the air and on the map through a number of different operating events. The highlight of the year was Field Day which, while fun, was secondary to the consistent, year-long theme of fun & fellowship. And if Carl is around, good food and drink. Not every club is lucky enough to count a sommelier from New Orleans among their ranks!
Some friends of mine recently move to Washington, D.C. and invited me to visit them just before Christmas. Knowing that a visit to the nation’s capital is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy POTA due to the high density of national parks and monuments, I added a day to my visit dedicated totally to doing POTA. On 22 December 2025, the shortest day of the year, I spent 5 hours completing 15 activations using an Elecraft KX2 transceiver and two different telescopic whip antennas. Below is the plan I used. It is hoped that this article will help others interested in planning their own POTA rove to DC.
Carl, John, and I really, REALLY enjoy Field Day. It’s a great opportunity to showcase ham radio and to pull out “all the toys.” It’s a highly-anticipated weekend with hopes of good propagation and confidence in a memorable menu. Contest-wise, it’s as serious as you want it to be. I categorize the three of us as low-key competitive. We don’t expect to win our category, we don’t get bent out of shape when things go wrong, but we are earnest in making the most out of our station, our circumstances, and ourselves as operators.
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