I love ARRL Field Day. But I’m also primarily a portable operator who loves going in the woods with my ham radio. So I often wonder to myself, with the popularity of POTA & SOTA, and so many ham radio operators already operating portable, why do we still make such a big deal out of Field Day? Sure it’s a way to introduce ham radio to the public, meet people, have those eyeball QSO’s, get together with like minded individuals, learn, share, experiment…But honestly, doing field day from inside an air conditioned building, while very comfortable, kinda defeats the entire purpose of it. Why do so many operators wait for the 2 days a year (winter and summer field days) to go outside and play radio? You don’t even have to be doing an OTA. You can just setup in your back yard with a couple cold pops. Go down the street to a local park (which I have done many times before POTA entered my life). Just be outside. Be portable. Practice your skills. What do you need? What do you NOT need? How can you streamline your portable gear to maximize efficiency and minimize bulk and weight? We can only do that by practicing our skillset. We get better and we learn something each time we do it. For me, POTA IS the "practicing our emergency communication skills under adverse conditions". Battery power, often times QRP radios, antennas set up in less than ideal conditions, being out in the elements, going off the beaten path, trying to not get bitten by all the venomous things in Texas that want to kill you, etc. Being off grid. I had no cell signal on this activation either so I got to spot myself via satellite with the iOS app Offline Spotter which was pretty cool. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/offline-spotter-for-pota-sota/id6740120163
Just food for thought. What say you?
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