My first SOTA Activations

Throughout my life, I have always maintained an interest in camping and backpacking. Not surprisingly, Summits on the Air (SOTA) has always intrigued me. However, until recently, my only participation has been watching others participate via YouTube videos.

Eventually, I decided to commit to completing my first SOTA activation. After a fair amount of research, I discovered that Michigan’s Lower Peninsula has two summits worth six points each, and both offer winter bonus points if activated before March 31st. And that is where my usual methodical and careful planning stopped. From that point forward, the adventure would be filled with minor errors and unexpected circumstances.

I live in the lower portion of the state, and by this point most of the significant snow we had received during the winter had already melted. The weather seemed to be turning, so I decided to attempt activating both Grove Hill (W8M/LP-001) and Briar Hill (W8M/LP-002) on a Saturday. My first mistake, however, was forgetting a simple fact: the farther north you go, the colder it tends to be—and winter tends to hang on a little longer.

When I arrived at the first dirt road turn-off for the Briar Hill summit, I encountered a mound of snow running perpendicular across the road. It had been pushed there by snow plows and had not yet fully melted. Fortunately, it wasn’t too high. I shifted into four-wheel drive and popped over it without much trouble. If I had attempted this trip even a week earlier, I probably would have been forced to turn around and accept a failed and wasted journey.

Initially, the road looked promising. The picture below shows the section I had already driven through before I ultimately decided to stop.

The road soon became completely snow-covered and very icy. I was still making slow but steady progress and probably could have continued, but I was now less than a mile from the summit and decided it was wiser to stop and continue on foot. It seemed like the safer choice.

Below is the view of what likely lay ahead for the remainder of that final mile.

I carefully backed up until I found an open patch along the side of the road where I could park the truck on solid ground.

Fortunately, I had made at least one good decision: I packed a backpack in case I needed to continue on foot. Inside was my Elecraft KH1 and the PackTenna 29' EFRW that I have been using quite a bit lately. But this is also where I made another mistake—I completely forgot to take any pictures from this summit from that point on.

The walk up the road was slippery but manageable. To reach the summit, I had to leave the road and hike up a short, snow-covered trail. I had packed a small backpacking chair, and after stringing my antenna up in a nearby tree, I sat down and got to work. The activation wasn’t exactly rapid-fire, but I managed to make 17 CW contacts—four of them from Europe—before the cold started to creep in and I decided it was time to head back to the truck.

The walk back and the drive out were uneventful, and soon I was on my way to attempt my second summit, where yet another surprise was waiting.

Grove Hill was about a 40-minute drive from Briar Hill and is a small township park that you can normally drive right up to the edge of. Well—unless the road is completely blocked by downed trees from storm damage.

As I pulled onto the dirt drive leading to the park, I could see a very large tree lying across the road, almost directly at the park’s official entrance. I stopped and got out to take a closer look.

Fortunately, it was easy to get around the fallen tree, and it was less than 25 steps from there into the park. It was obvious that at some point during the winter the area had been hit by strong winds.

I took my time and made several trips back and forth, carrying my Yaesu FT-891, tuner, EFRW, and a thermos of coffee to the park’s picnic table. Once everything was set up, I shifted into “activation” mode—and, apparently, my brain immediately shifted into “forget to take pictures” mode.

The activation was the same as my previous activation. The callers weren't rapid-fire or a pile-up by any means, but I did manage to get 16 CW contacts with 3 from Europe this time around.

Once everything was packed up, I took a moment to reflect on my first SOTA experience. The first lesson on my list was obvious—I need to do a better job documenting these trips. Frankly, this blog is mostly for myself, and it’s nice to have something to look back on later. Because of that, I’ve made it a point that from now on I’ll be taking more pictures.

During this trip there were a few moments where things could have taken a turn for the worse. Fortunately, I’m naturally a detailed planner and usually take steps to ensure that any project I attempt has a good chance of success. But the minor mistakes I made on this trip were a good reminder that not only do I need to maintain that mindset, I probably need to take it a couple of steps further.

I’m not sure how much SOTA I’ll continue to pursue. Unfortunately, Michigan isn’t exactly a great SOTA state. I did the math, and even if I activated every summit in the Lower Peninsula—33 in total—every single year (which is technically possible but realistically unlikely), it would still take me a little over 15 years to earn a GOAT award! But since I’ve never really been motivated by awards and tend to prefer the adventure itself, I’m sure I’ll do a few more activations. I just don’t see myself becoming a full-blown SOTA maniac.

Thanks for reading.

 

Summits on the Air (SOTA)

QPRing & CW - My first 5 day POTA streak

With a POTA location right across from my office, I couldn’t ignore the opportunity. I set a challenge for myself—activate the park every day during lunch. Time was tight, so speed mattered. I parked in the same spot each day and deployed the mast the same way, turning the setup into a practiced routine.

This week, I decided to run the MTR-4B V2 “The Mountain Topper” from LNR Precision. For the antenna, I stuck with the 29’ random wire from PackTenna—a setup I’ve used many times before. I wanted to keep everything else consistent with previous outings so I could really focus on how the radio performed. I’ve used the MTR-4B V2 in the past, but operating it for five consecutive days felt like the right way to form a solid, informed opinion.

Overall, the activations went smoothly—until Friday (more on that below). The bands cooperated each day, and the hunters showed up ready to work. The MTR-4B V2 is a quirky little rig. To engage the memory keyer, you have to press two buttons in quick succession. Miss the timing on the second press, and you’ll accidentally toggle from paddle mode to straight key mode—or vice versa. I managed to do that several times, and it got old fast.

Another limitation that stood out is the lack of an XIT feature—it only offers RIT. With my lunch break operating window, I didn’t spend any time hunting this week. But in most activations, I like to split my time between calling CQ and chasing other parks. Having XIT available makes it that much easier and gives you a real edge when you’re hunting. The radio clearly has a strong reputation—and it’s probably well deserved for the advantages it offers. But at the end of the day, it just isn’t my favorite.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Thursday night, my well-laid plan shifted a bit. My wife asked if we could trade vehicles so she could pick up a piece of furniture someone was giving her. No problem. But when I woke up at 5:30 Friday morning, I realized my mast was still sitting in the bed of my truck—and my wife was already gone.

Time for an audible.

I grabbed my KH1 bag, hoping I could somehow keep the five-day activation streak alive. When I got to my usual spot, I quickly realized there wasn’t a good place to mount the AX1. With very little confidence, I set up on the hood of my wife’s Ford Explorer, spotted myself, and called CQ.

Boom. Three contacts in three minutes.

“This is going to be easy,” I thought.

And then… nothing.

Over the next 24 minutes, I logged only two more contacts. Early in that dry spell, I realized I hadn’t attached a counterpoise. “That has to be the problem,” I told myself. I clipped it on, fully expecting things to turn around.

Nope.

The bands can be strange like that. Just when I was about to call it quits after that long stretch of silence, something shifted. In the final 11 minutes, I made 10 more contacts. The day was saved, the streak stayed alive, and it was time to pack up and head to work.

Five consecutive lunch-break activations taught me more than I expected. The routine sharpened my setup, exposed the quirks of the MTR-4B V2, and reminded me how unpredictable the bands can be. Some days felt effortless; others required patience and a little stubbornness. While the radio may not be my personal favorite, it proved capable—and the real lesson wasn’t about gear at all. It was about consistency, adaptability, and showing up, even when the plan falls apart at 5:30 in the morning.

Friday

 

Parks On The Air - A Winter Adventure and Radio

For over 15 years, I've been dispersed camping in the same location. In this area, dispersed camping is allowed only after Labor Day and before Memorial Day. While winter camping isn't my favorite form of camping, dispersed camping is. I've always liked finding my own place in the woods and setting up camp. Unfortunately, in the southern portion of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, there are very few public lands that allow dispersed camping. I loaded my radio gear into my truck and parked where I always do.

The walk to "my" spot is a short trek along a small river winding through the State Game Area. I always pause at the one opening that offers a clear view of the water; everywhere else, the sightline is choked by thick brush and timber. Though most of the river remained locked in ice, a group of swans had found a patch of open water to claim as their own.

I arrived to find my spot as undisturbed as it has been for the past fifteen years. Some leftover firewood from my last visit was still there, processed and ready to go. I hung up my pack and started the familiar routine of setting up to activate the park.

Sending CW (Morse code) in sub-freezing temperatures is no easy feat, and my shivering hands needed all the help they could get. Naturally, the first order of business was to get a fire going.

For this activation, my antenna of choice was a 29' EFRW with a custom 17' counterpoise I’d built myself. The rest of the kit consisted of 25' of RG316 coax, a Ham Radio Supply QRP RFI Choke, my Elecraft KH1, and a CW Morse SP-4 paddle. After checking the bands, both 20 and 30 meters looked promising, so I opted to start on 30. US-6615 Allegan State Game Land was officially about to go on the air.

Once the 30-meter band eventually ran dry, I hopped over to 20 meters to round out the session. After logging thirty-three contacts, I was thrilled with the results, but could feel the cold finally starting to settle in. It was time to pull the plug on the radio gear and move on to the next part of the day.

I managed to get a better shot of the swans on my way back out—a peaceful end to a productive adventure. Despite the freezing temperatures, it was worth the trek to get US-6615 on the air. Thanks for following along on this winter adventure, and I hope your own radio and CW goals for the season are going well!

 

Parks On The Air - The Adventure Begins Again And Continues

Recently, I took a break from playing radio, but now that the weather might finally be breaking here in Michigan, I have the itch again. Additionally, I thought I would start blogging about my activities. For now, I'm mainly blogging for myself, but I will share it with anyone in the radio community who might be interested. It has been since May of 2025 since I last touched a radio, so I decided to restart the adventure in a safe place.

I really enjoy POTA, and I feel comfortable activating parks, but to be safe, I activated a park (US-1511 Kal-Haven Trail State Park) that I know well. In addition, I knew it would provide an easy setup and take-down.

To further boost my confidence, I ran with my trusty Yaesu FT-891 and the Chameleon Antennas CHA LEFS 40 - 10 meter. I decided to run CW only and never went above 30 watts (so QRP+). I learned that my CW sending was atrocious after such a long break, but the hunters were great, and I'm confident I got all the calls correctly logged. I activated the park three (3) times in six days for a total of 129 contacts. I picked up the Dominican Republic on one of the days, and that was a nice highlight.

And after that, I was ready for some real radio.😀 In my career, my typical daily routine has recently changed, and I find myself in my office almost every weekday now. And what happens to be across the street from the office? Yup, a POTA park - US-6688  Gourdneck State Game Land. I decided that activating a park while on my lunch break sounded like a great idea. 

I really do enjoy QRP, and for a quick, easy setup, you can't beat the Elecraft KH1. I picked my PackTenna 29' 9:1 EFRW (no counterpoise) as the antenna to see what I could accomplish. I hooked the EFRW to the tip section of the mast and raised the mast until the unun was hanging straight down. In addition, I used a KF8ASE Ham Radio Supply choke between the feedline and the radio. I had to reach over my head to attach the cable to the feedpoint, so I'd guess the mast was ~ 37' up. Twenty-five minutes later, I had 17 contacts across two bands (30 and 40 meters) and back to work I went.

,

My next plan for an adventure is to do some dispersed winter camping this upcoming weekend. The KH1 can run 40/30/20/17/15, so I decided to purchase a K6ARK 49:1 EFWH kit and build a linked EFHW (K8MRD style) that would be resonant on all of the bands of the KH1. The kit is assembled, but now I need to add the wire and balance each band. More to come . . .