Welcome to Maritime Ham! I'm Stuart, also known as VE9CF. I have been an amateur radio operator for over 30 years and have developed a deep passion for the unique experiences ham radio brings. From the thrill of making long-distance contacts to the sense of community that permeates the airwaves, amateur radio has been a constant source of joy and fascination for us.
In recent years, we've witnessed a remarkable resurgence in the hobby, largely thanks to initiatives like Parks on the Air (POTA). This innovative program has breathed new life into amateur radio, making it more accessible, engaging, and fun. With POTA, we've had the opportunity to combine our love for radio communication with our passion for the great outdoors, exploring breathtaking parks and natural wonders while connecting with fellow enthusiasts around the globe.
Hey there! thanks for the great review! Ive definitely looked into using t-mobile but ended up going with homefi and its been great! i have no connectivity issues and high speed internet no matter where I go.
Great video basic Jan-April 1994 all infantry RCR and PPCLI. If i remember correctly we were told last full Basic Reg Force crse to finsh. Then it was mix PRes and Reg but sure how accurate that information is.
Great video basic Jan-April 1994 all infantry RCR and PPCLI. If i remember correctly we were told last full Basic Reg Force crse to finsh. Then it was mix PRes and Reg but sure how accurate that information is.
I agree with what you say about using WWFF. Len Morgan who looks after WWFF in the Atlantic area has encouraged me to join. I just tried to register but gave up after three tries. As someone commented, it’s opaque. VO1OK
I do Pota because the website is simple and easy to use. I agree with you, but web design and ease of use is keeping me out of doing WWFF and SOTA. I looked at their websites and it brings back memories of bad Monty Python skits.
I do have my concerns about the entire WWFF process for logs etc...but I personally don't worry about that too much, I am more in it for the great people at the other end of the radio.
I thing I discovered the other day is in some countries they will not allow activating two programs at the same time! I don"t know why? I still havn't signed up for WWff . If I remember where I had seen the conversation about it I will pass it alone to you.. VE1SK
I need some help anyone. I have tried to register on WWFF, but it will not let me , it states my callsign is already in use. I have had this callsign for about 15 years... maybe someone registered it before me. But I cant access the forums to get help with this issue .... without registering..LOL any suggestions?
I think I still find the WWFF site impenetrably opaque to use by comparison, and have not had the time to figure it out. I'm not saying it's bad advice to do both where you can; I'm saying the WWFF folks have a lot of work to do to make it easy.
I do disagree….Before POTA there was only WWFF, and find the WWFF website easy…mind you I used the VKFF site more. I find the POTA site maddening as it seems to default to North America which is painful as I operate in VKland!.😊
@@sonarmb I agree 100%. I love POTA but hate the constant US bombardment. There is a huge world out there...something I feel WWFF offers more, a global amateur radio approach. Now, some folks at POTA promise less US focus, but seem to need more manpower to undo the US focus of the site.
@@outnaboot for info….on the Facebook group for POTA someone asked the old question about park boundaries, I pointed out the there were kmls for google earth which show the boundaries and a quick search on google I found the USGS had the kmls. For those not sure what I am blithering about….a kml is a file format for use on/in Google earth to display points of interest or in this case an outline of the park in question. A very bloody useful tool for pota/WWFF operators. Some people were/are confused about were you can activate a park from, kmls make it easy to see! Hope this helps 73/44 de VK6MMB aka Michael
As a POTA hunter, I don't necessarily have to have you give your park number because I'm already looking on the POTA spotter website and have that information at hand. Most of the time, I've already got your call looked up on QRZ and I'm ready to log the call when I go to make the contact, so I'm not slowing you down, as I know that I'm not the only one trying to get to the activator. And as already been stated, I try to follow the flow that the activating station is giving. If you're up for a quick conversation, I'm happy to oblige. But if you're running it like a contest, I'll throw out a signal report and move on. Everyone has their own way of doing things! I hope to hear you tonight on the net!
Great tip someone told me about this a few months ago. Since then I've starting getting much more DX, when conditions allow. Ham 2K portable logger will also spot to both WWFF and POTA from the app. It will also pull up all the closest parks in each program using your location.
Hi Stuart, My request for WWFF was approved last week. I was out today and activated a POTA park but failed in making the 44 for WWFF. I will still format the file and send it to Len. At least it's a few contacts towards the WWFF parks activation. I'll get the rest of the contacts soon to make up the difference. In this case, I will take advantage of not being restricted to the UTC clock and date to make the quota. Take care, VE9NHS.
Couple recommendations for fish and chips are at The Fisherman's restaurant in Shediac and Chez Camille in Cap-Pile. Two places I enjoy and are the prices are reasonable. 73 de VE9MAH
Honestly, Americans probably stick to POTA because ARRL didn't endorse WWFF in their first National Parks On The Air Event, and ARRL is gospel to many so WWFF was forgotten here. I've not been licensed very long really, but I never heard of WWFF until you mentioned it a few videos back.
So true...I can't remember how I learned about it, but it wasn't all that long ago either since I have only been activating parks since early January of this year.
Combine this with 20 to 25% tips, it gets too expensive fast...Missy and I normally eat a take outs and food trucks now. But food trucks are getting stupid expensive as well.
The first Station I heard on 14247 after firing up my Radio was Stuart VE9CF working a POTA Station in Serbia. Tnx for all you do for HAM Radio 6 have a nice Weekend. 73 de Uncle Günter from across the Pond 💯👍🙋♂
People tend to forget that you don't have to call CQ POTA or even mention anything about POTA when they are operating in a park. There is no formal exchange for the program. It can be done contest style with callsign and signal report, then moving on to the next contact or it could be done by someone who likes to rag chew. One good thing about being in the Western Hemisphere is that if we are camping at a POTA park we can start our activation some time after dinner before going to bed and then finish the activation after breakfast.
Exactly...people get hung up on calling CQ POTA, and the only thing that matters is making contacts. I join nets, operate a contest from a park, work DX from parks, and sometimes never even mention POTA. There are actually stations out there that won't engage POTA.
@@outnaboot not only are there stations that won't engage POTA, but there are stations that will cause intentional interference during activations. Some of the worst offenders when it comes to interference is the SSTV guys. Instead of politely informing an activator that is operating near 14.230 MHz that it is listed as the SSTV frequency on the ARRL band plan they will start transmitting on top of the activator. I had that happen to me on my second activation because I didn't realize that 14.230 was set aside for SSTV and I on 14.229 MHz as that was a clear frequency without anyone adjacent to it. After no one came back when asking if the frequency was in use I started calling "CQ POTA" and shortly before I got enough contacts to activate the park someone started transmitting SSTV on 14.230 MHz.
My first couple of activations were completed by hunting and working some DX. I have avoided contacting contest stations as I wasn't sure of the contest rules and didn't want to provide wrong information or cause problems for the contester. I believe the most recent contest required an ITU Zone but I didn't realize that until it was too late.
Over all a pretty shitty review. You never even showed us how many pieces of fish you got or what kind of fish it was. How about the menu and prices? I won't waste my time here.
Those pre-determined tip percents are crazy. I refused to put on pre-determine prevents on receipts for a former employer when I ran the POS system. I believe it was some crazy idea from a low-level F&B manager that had the idea. Although, the idea is to make it easier to help the customer with a tip amount without complex math (HA), but I see it as trying to sway a higher tip. Yes, we didn’t put a tip percents on our receipts, at least while I was there. I’ve always tipped based on service #1 & food #2. Thanks for the fish & chips craving! 73!
