What is Parks on the Air® (POTA)?

Parks on the Air® (or POTA) is an amateur radio program intended to promote preparedness for emergency situations by encouraging portable operation from National and State parks. POTA is an international program.

A beneficial side effect of POTA is that it motivates hams to step away from the confines of their shacks for a while and enjoy the healthy benefits of outdoor exercise and fresh air.

See our Park Activations page for reports on POTA activity: Park Activations

Simplified explanation of POTA operation

There are two classes of POTA participants: activators and hunters. Activators are those hams who set up a portable station in a previously registered park and attempt to make contacts with other hams, typically by calling CQ POTA. Hunters are those hams who monitor the bands and listen for CQ POTA calls.

When a contact is made, the two parties exchange basic data and log the contact. The POTA website maintains a record of parks activated and contacts made. At present, over half-a-million hams participate in the POTA program.

While all hams are welcome to respond to CQ POTA calls, you must be registered in the POTA program to have your QSOs recorded in the POTA log. To serve as a POTA activator, you must be registered with the POTA program.

Learn more about POTA

Everything you need to know to enjoy the Parks on the Air® program is explained on the POTA website: https://parksontheair.com/index.html.

A YouTube video is also available that explains the program: https://youtu.be/odegfaGczAc.

Park Activations

Keep watching this page. In coming weeks we intend to highlight POTA activation experiences by local Treasure Coast hams.

If you participate in a POTA activity as either activator or hunter please send us a report describing your experience and we will feature it on this website. Be sure to include the activation date, park name, rig and antenna used, number of contacts made, etc. Be sure to include a couple of photos in .jpg format. Send to [email protected].