On Saturday, September 12, 2026, members of ACARA participated in the 19th annual PCARS “Ohio State Parks on the Air” (OSPOTA, https://parksontheair.com/), activating Strouds Run State Park at the Bulldog Shelter and operating under the club’s callsign, W8UKE.
Participants:
Phil Armstrong,
Ben Brewster, KF8DES
Bob Curtis, KD8FRQ
John McCutcheon, N8XWO
Drew McDaniel, W8MHV
Eric McFadden, WD8RIF
Paul Schulz, WD8SCV
Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ
Paul and Ben deployed an 80m end-fed halfwave antenna and the club’s Chameleon EMCOMM IIIP end-fed antenna for the operation. Operations started using the club’s Elecraft K3 transceiver for SSB operations at 100w but Murphy’s Law prevailed and the K3 failed. Operations switched temporarily to an Elecraft KX3 transceiver for CW operations at 15w while Paul left to bring back an ICOM IC-7300 and 100w operations resumed. Power for the stations was provided by a quiet 2kW Honda inverter-generator.
Five members made QSOs. Ben Brewster, KF8DES; John McCutcheon, N8XWO; Paul Schulz, WD8SCV; and Jeff Slattery, N8SUZ, operated SSB using the K3 and the IC-7300. Eric McFadden, WD8RIF, operated CW using the KX3 and the IC-7300.
Operator 80m 40m 20m Total KF8DES 6 6 N8SUZ 15 15 N8XWO 3 2 5 WD8RIF 64 7 71 WD8SCV 81 81 Total 178
While much of central and northern Ohio was under heavy rain and thunderstorms for much of the contest period, this operation in Athens received rain for only a short period in the early afternoon, and Bulldog Shelter kept the operators and equipment dry. The station was on the air the entire eight hours of the contest period except for a short period in the early afternoon when the antennas were disconnected because of local thunder.
Propagation conditions were good for this year’s operation, with 40m being the most productive band. The five operators made a total of 178 QSOs and worked stations located at thirty-five Ohio State Parks, making a calculated score of 6,444 points.
At 5 o’clock, operations slowed for a pot-luck dinner which was attended by five members.
As a bonus, the event log was submitted to Parks on the Air (POTA, https://parksontheair.com/) and the club received credit for all 178 QSOs made under the callsign W8UKE and Ben, Eric, Jeff, and Paul each received credit for QSOs they made.
