We’re excited about the event coming up in a few months. Here are the highlights of the changes. Enjoy!
Bonus Theme for 2024
“North Carolina Outdoors”
We are encouraging hams to go outdoors
portable or expedition style and get on the air! POTA is really
getting big in NC and we want to challenge our in state activators to
do their thing on Sunday, February 25, 2024. We see this as a way to
get rarely activated counties on the air. Go to the website under
the “County Activity” tab to view a great list of POTA parks by
NC County. Spend the day at your POTA honey-spot no matter where you
might live! That said, this is not a POTA event. Therefore, the
“Outdoors” spot you pick does not have to be a POTA sanctioned
place. A city park, private park, etc. is OK for NCQP. There’s no
reason, though, a POTA activator can’t go to a recognized park and
make their operation a “two-fer” a POTA and NCQP!
Work the bonus stations that will be on
the air operating Phone and CW modes from a North Carolina (POTA)
park as follows:
N4AMW – Carl Sandburg Home, National
Historic Site, Flat Rock, NC, N4AMW Op.
N4W – Wright Brothers National
Memorial, Kitty Hawk, NC, W4MPS Op.
N4A – Alamance Battleground, Alamance
County, N4MIO Op.
NI4BK – USS North Carolina
Battleship Memorial, Wilmington, NC ACARC, W4MY Ops.
NC4QP – Goose Creek State Park,,
Beaufort County, W4TTX/K4RLC Ops.
N4RAL – QTH TBD, Raleigh Amateur
Radio Society, Raleigh, NC*
*Will be updated when known
Expedition and Portable Categories
Please take the opportunity to read the
new descriptions of these categories if they apply to you. There
have been some small, but significant, changes. First thing you will
notice is the name change. We brought back the name “Expedition”
to describe the classic scenario of going out and setting up your
station outside “Field Day” style. There are some new
restrictions (no mobile equipment) to better level the playing field.
Maximum simultaneous transmitters was reduced to one.
The name “Portable” is now reserved
for a kind of new operation style that we see the need to
accommodate. Many POTA activators who (for example) travel to a park
expeditiously deploy their radio equipment using a combination of
mobile radios and quick setup antennas. After making the desired
QSO’s, they pack up quickly and travel to a new QTH doing it again.
Its sort of a “no restriction” category where you get on the air
with just about anything, move quickly and tak advantage of working
everyone again in a new county. One transmitter only here also, and
no QSO’s are to be made while in motion.
100 NC Counties on the Air
Our desire is always to light up North
Carolina with as many of our friendly hams as possible for a day.
It’s never been a disappointment! I am frequently amazed and humbled
by our level of participation. That said, we always are trying to
think of new ways to get all of out 100 counties represented.
NC Weather
With all the emphasis this year on the
“outdoors” the issue of weather is always in the front of our
minds. February is in the middle of winter and that’s always a
concern. Over the years we’ve had snow, rain, fog, freezing temps,
warm temps, clear skies… no telling what’s in store. But whatever
it turns out to be, we NC hams are a hearty bunch! Minnesota, with
their QSO party in the dead of winter (Feb 3), has nothing on us! At
least they can depend on ice, snow, and sub-zero temps, we never know
what we are going to get!
Make your plans!
Think about what you want to do this
year and gather up your plans. Please announce your activation, on
the website (/map/create.php)
whether operating at home as a single/multi-op, or outside with the
new Portable or classic Expedition categories. Of course, we always
want our Mobiles out there also!
See you in the pile-ups
