Although it was very chilly, about 47 degrees and overcast, I set up at the eastern end of the Lowry Sports Park in southeast Denver, not far from my condo. My plan was to use a compact ham radio station to work three POTA stations. POTA stands for Parks On The Air, an international Amateur Radio activity involving more than 31,000 parks and public lands in more than 90 countries. The object is to contact a station that is operating from one of these entities by another Amateur Radio operator and get the station callsign in my log.
My station is a small single band CW (Morse Code) transceiver for the 20 meter band – the Small Wonder Labs DSWII/20 designed by Dave Benson K1SWL, a Just OK Mini Whip, a compact antenna built from a kit. A Bioenno lithium-ion battery powers the 5-watt station, which is keyed by a tiny paddle made by American Morse Equipment.
The 20-meter band was wide open during the afternoon of May 19, 2026. Before the cold air drove me back home, I was able to work POTA stations activating public lands in Wisconsin (Nevin Springs State Fish and Wildlife Area), Quebec (Parc Lineaire Le P’tit Train du Nord Recreation Park), and Washington (Stillwater State Wildlife Area) from my perch in Colorado. Why do we do “ham radio” a few people have asked? Because we can.