POTA Day Routine @US 7686 05 30 2026 Using the Monster Spike & CW

Links to specific QSOs below ⬇️

A day in the life of a POTA Activator.

The Alarm clock greets you early and you fight the urge to hit the snooze button. But you've got a long drive today to get to the POTA park; you've got POTA hunters that will be expecting you!

A quick breakfast, prepare a on-the-go snack lunch, and perform you morning hygiene routine. Pack the Subaru POTAmobile with all the gear you'll need today. Afterall, you won't be able to hit the local Ham Radio Outlet or Gigaparts stores for something you left behind. If you might need it, pack it!

Off to the road after a quick gas-up and you make it to the POTA park.

Put the Monster Spike in the ground → extend the whip → layout your radials → setup your gear → Check the band for an open spot → Listen → Call QRL → Call CQ, and hope that propagation is on your side today.

⚡ In This Video
• 21 CW QSOs in 28 minutes
• Continued Hunters calling
• Morning routine
• Fast portable antenna deployment
• Simple Monster Spike setup
• Clean 20m CW operating
• Quick teardown and efficient field ops

📍 POTA Park
US-7686

🧰 Portable Ham Radio Gear
• Yaesu FT-891 + FC-50
• Monster Ground Spike
• 213” telescoping whip
• 66' radials
• 25' coax, shield as additional radial
• WattCycle 12Ah LiFePO4 battery
• Modern Morse v0.h Stormtrooper Paddle
• Ham2K PoLo Logger

⏱ Chapters
20m CW Action
00:35 The Drive and a little banjo and guitar
01:05 Antenna setup and more banjo and guitar
04:05 AK8CW Phil NV
04:50 KO4ZRZ Craig FL
06:15 K9IS Steven WI🏆 Century Club
07:15 K4KFB Bruce AL
08:10 K4ARQ John FL🏆 Century Club
09:20 W4JOD Joe NC
10:50 K9VIC Eric IL
12:50 N2QLV Mike NY
14:05 KA0CSW James MN
15:05 VA3EKR Scott ON
17:40 KO4TFE Jason KY
18:40 K5PCM Cooper GA
19:25 KR4IFY Pat SC
20:20 KQ4NGE David GA
22:15 KG1A Thomas FL
23:05 W9AV Clint WI
23:35 W4DHW Dave VA
24:30 WK4WC Lane NC
26:25 KC3ZSY Levi PA
28:00 KE8QFO David OH
32:30 NU6W Justin CA

34:10 Wrap Up and Station/Antenna Review
38:30 New POTA Music

Portable CW operating is all about experimenting — and sometimes the simplest setup delivers the best results.

Huge thanks to all the hunters for the great QSOs and support during the activation!

👉 Subscribe for more:
✔ CW POTA activations
✔ Portable ham radio setups
✔ Antenna experiments
✔ Morse code operating
✔ Field radio testing

Every POTA Day is a Great Day!

#POTA #HamRadio #CW #MorseCode #ParksOnTheAir #PortableHamRadio #YaesuFT891 #PortableOps #CWops #FieldRadio #QRP #Antenna #FT891 #POTAActivator

Видео POTA Day Routine @US 7686 05 30 2026 Using the Monster Spike & CW канала Every POTA Day is a Great Day! Randy, N5ilq