Heavy 40 Meter Morning Pileups from a Quiet North Carolina State Forest by Thomas (K4SWL) On Wednesday morning, January 14, I decided to squeeze in another Parks on the Air activation...
Pairing the KX2 & AX1 for a Quickie Activation at Falls Lake State Recreational Area by Thomas (K4SWL) On Tuesday, January 13, 2026, I was in Raleigh, North Carolina for the week, trying to...
Hidden Woodsmen M55 Haversack & FT-818 Field Kit Test: POTA at William B. Umstead State Park by Thomas (K4SWL) Earlier this month, my wife and I dropped our daughters off at their universities to start...
A Coastal Finale: Pedestrian Mobile POTA at Fort Fisher State Historic Site! by Thomas (K4SWL) You might recall that during my recent field reports, I was on the coast of North...
Two Wires, Five Watts, and a Cold Afternoon at Carolina Beach State Park by Thomas (K4SWL) On December 15, during our family’s weeklong vacation together at Carolina Beach, North Carolina, we set...
A Window of Fine Weather: Early Morning Pedestrian Mobile on the Beach at Fort Fisher SRA by Thomas (K4SWL) As I mentioned in recent field reports, my family and I took a weeklong, off-season vacation...
Vacation POTA: Pedestrian Portable at Carolina Beach State Park by Thomas (K4SWL) On Saturday morning, December 13, 2025, we had just begun a week-long vacation in Carolina Beach,...
A Coastal Break and Field Kit Reality Check at Carolina Beach State Park by Thomas (K4SWL) After my daughters finished their fall term at university, my wife and I picked them up...
Impromptu POTA: A Cold, Windy Activation on the Blue Ridge Parkway with the KH1 by Thomas (K4SWL) Yesterday–December 29, 2025–I had a few errands to run in town. The plan was simple: make...
Quickie Activation: Nine Minutes of Radio Therapy at the NC Transportation Museum by Thomas (K4SWL) On Monday, December 1, 2025, I managed to squeeze in a last-minute, impromptu–and very speedy–activation of...
Ending Our POTA Rove on the Right Foot: South Mountain State Park with Scott VA3EKR While Scott (VA3EKR) was visiting western North Carolina, we decided that Monday, November 17, 2025, would be devoted entirely...
Still Roving: Our Second POTA Activation at Table Rock Fish Hatchery On Monday, November 17, 2025, Scott (VA3EKR) and I decided to do a small POTA rove in western North...
Starting a Multi-Park Day Right: Lake James State Park (US-2739) with VA3EKR On Monday, November 17, 2025, my buddy Scott (VA3EKR) was still visiting us here in Western North Carolina. You...
SOTA with Friends and First Activation for Scott on Dogback Mountain! On Friday, November 14, 2025, my friend Scott, VA3EKR (a.k.a. KK7TMS State side), was visiting western North Carolina during...
New Antenna, New Key, and New Friend: QRP POTA at William B. Umstead State Park by Thomas (K4SWL) On Saturday, November 8, 2025, we had an afternoon planned with the family in the Raleigh...
Final Bug-Out Month Activation: Rain, Wind, and Five Watts of Morse Code Fun! Wednesday, October 29, 2025, was a gusty, cold, rainy day. Not exactly the kind of weather that puts me...
Pedestrian Mobile at Carl Sandburg: A Mini Field Report That Almost Wasn’t by Thomas (K4SWL) Two days ago, I received this message from my friend Eric (WD8RIF): Are you planning to...
100 Milliwatts and a Wire: QRPp POTA at Fort Dobbs State Historic Site! On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, my wife and I were driving back from visiting our daughter in Greensboro, North...
Rain, Tea, and Morse Code: A Relaxing QRP Activation Under Shelter at Lake James On my way back from visiting my father–driving through heavy, unrelenting rain–I decided to stop for a reasonably quick...
Five Watts and a Bit of History: Activating Guilford Courthouse National Military Park by Thomas (K4SWL) On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, we were in Greensboro, North Carolina, on our way back home...
One Watt POTA Fun: Let’s compromise a compromised antenna! by Thomas (K4SWL) On Monday, September 22, 2025, I visited my father in Hickory—in the foothills of North Carolina—and...
Catching Up with a Friend and Logging 9,150 Miles per Watt from William B. Umstead State Park! On Monday, October 20, 2025, I was still in the Raleigh area of North Carolina. That morning, I dropped...
Bug-Out Month: Peaceful Morning Activation And Coffee at Clemmons Educational State Forest by Thomas (K4SWL) After my last activation at Clemmons Educational State Forest, I was eager to get back there....