Blunders at the POTA Park! 😂 CW Activation @ US-7689 | Arcadia Conservation Reserve

Gaffes at the POTA Park! 😂

Links to specific QSOs are below ⬇️

A full-on comedy of errors on my part — but thanks to some outstanding CW hunters, the activation still came through!

During this hour-long Parks on the Air activation, I managed to record my antenna setup in timelapse mode and forgot to switch back to video… which meant no audio for the first half of the activation 🤦‍♂️.
Then I forgot to turn on one of the mics, leaving me with only partial audio — and after boosting it in post-processing, the Oklahoma wind made itself heard too!

Oh well… the activation was a success thanks to the fantastic CW operators out there. We call that a Great Day — because Every POTA Day is a Great Day! 🌲⚡

📍 Activation Details

Parks Activated (NW Oklahoma):
• US-7689 — Arcadia Conservation Reserve

Band / Mode:
• 20m — CW

Conditions:
• Bands wide open

📡 Antenna Setup
• KJ6ER POTA Performer — 180° configuration

🧰 Gear Used
• Rig: Yaesu FT-891 + FC-50 Matching Unit
• Battery: Wattcycle 12Ah LifePo4
• Key: Modern Morse Nameless v0.h paddle
• Logger: Ham2k Portable Logger (PoLo)

⏱️ Timeline & QSOs

00:00 — Introduction
00:35 — Antenna Setup

📻 20m CW — Activation Begins
01:20 — No Audio!
02:10 — NT4T Bill (NC)
03:00 — WA3N Christian (TN)
03:45 — W8NWG Tom (IL) 🏆
04:30 — W2GR Michael (NY)

🔁 QSY to 15m CW
06:25 — W3TRO Timothy (FL)
07:20 — K7SPS Stephen (ID)
08:00 — KC5F Steve (NC)
08:40 — W2DWL Dennis (NJ)
09:25 — N9EDL Ed (IN) 🏆
10:30 — WB8DTT Mike (MI)
12:20 — K9PMM Mark (FL)

🔁 Back to 20m CW
14:00 — VE7KIN Bill (BC)
14:45 — KA3IHC Peter (NY)
16:25 — N5IM Bill (TX)
17:10 — K9IS Steven (WI) 🏆
17:55 — K4KFB Bruce (AL)
18:50 — W9DP Danny (IL) 🏆
19:35 — ND9M James (FL)
20:20 — WA7LNW Jack (UT)
21:10 — AC5K Wes (MO)
21:50 — N9EYO Greg (IN)
22:45 — KK7HI Frank (LA)
23:40 — W3TRO Timothy (FL)

25:00 — Wrap-up

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📌 Hashtags

#POTA #ParksOnTheAir #HamRadio #CW #MorseCode
#PortableHamRadio #YaesuFT891 #POTAActivation
#AmateurRadio #OklahomaHamRadio #US7689
#ArcadiaConservationReserve