How Not To POTA In The Desert 

This room is right up my alley….

Wow you and Ryan were really lucky to find that resort hotel

Hah the Snatch reference - love it

Nice quote from Snatch

Mike I run two rigs at one time, on two different bands, on FT8/FT4. The key is having them transmit at the same time (tx even or odd). Works like a champ. Robert KD4YDC

Sounds like the Ranger was bored. It looked like that area was “so” busy.

That's my favorite park. It's an amazing place. So glad you were able to see it. Next time I will take you to some nearby sites too. Great video!

Best Part of the Video I find is the Breakfast Time. You Guys did a fantastic Job, everyone of you. 💯👍🙋‍♂

Big Bend National Park is such an awesome place

Hydrinate!! A term coined by Trek of MDFI. Hydrate and Urinate. If you're not urinating, then you're not drinking enough.

POTA with a Buc-ee's hat equipped is peak operator.

🤣🤣🤣The things folks will do to talk on a freakin' radio!! Good on you guys!!! Keep up to good work!! Make them memories!!

Thumbs up for your tent. Make sure you leave a review wherever you booked the hotel. 73!

Also, make sure to go to the west side of the Rio Grande, and look through the canyon where the Rio Grande enters the canyon. It’s one of the most beautiful sites at big Bend.

We just sort of hijacked one of the primitive/tent campsites for a little while. Technically could have been kicked out, but it was so remote, the chances were slim. Jason wants to organize a bigger trip for this fall and stay in the park.

"DEM CHEAP CHINESE BAND PASS FILTERS!!!!" Great job Mike!!!

You know setting up right on the highway is asking for it.

Great vid - sunshine, warmth and amateur radio - what a cocktail of delight. Jealous YES!. I don’t use antennas with radials any more for the same reason. 73 Mike

when we went and camped at big Bend, they made us register for every place we were allowed to stop at, and we had to be there only the day that we are said that we could be there, they are very picky about where you can be. I hope you’ve gotten a chance to see the Hot Springs on that same end of the park where you were near the Rio Grande.

That is a monster master suite! And those comforters haven't been washed since they came out of the factory. Wow a Zenith CRT TV!

In the seventies I had a job where I traveled all over the country, I've seen worse hotel rooms.

Be curious to know the mast set up on the truck hitch..

7300 is a no-go in a multi station environment, as they have no front ends. Thus, you will have much better performance with a better rig.

Do you get airline miles from the hotel?

Quirky QRP needs to do a VE-land version of that reference mat. 🇨🇦

Love the Buc-ees hat.

All that Hotel room is missing is Anton Chigurh blowing out the lock and storming in with his suppressed Remington. I would not be getting much sleep in there that is for certain. And I love your CHiPS Raybans! Respect mah authoritah!

Hotel…a little humor makes anything okay! 😮

OMG, that hotel room. 13:00 This is why I have an RV because cool places like Big Bend National Park have no decent accomodations - too remote. You also can't find much to eat and I like to spend my days exploring not wasting the whole day searching for food and shelter and restrooms.

I'll be sleeping in the truck 🤣

OMG.. LOL, that room condition (cracked tiles, black bottomed tub, dubious stains) is about the same as the one that I spent a night in at the Airport Quality Inn in Tucson, AZ while en-route to TX... at least you didn't have to endure an early morning wake up call from Arizona Air National Guard F-16's taking off and "Buzzing" the Hotel as they passed low overhead. A certain cure any constipation issues. Cool POTA adventure video! Steaks looked good!!

Down in that area Airbnb is your friend. Can find some nice places to stay.

Nice to see some of your beautiful country! Great video. G'day from VK2VRJ.

I’ve stayed in some funky motel rooms… but damn dude… did you fumigate..? Obviously I can only make an assessment based upon your video but I’m giving it a solid 8 hairballs out of 10. Well done. 😂

Recently got my Technician license and would love to learn how to do all the stuff you're doing in the video. I need guys like you in my area. :P Looks like a lot of fun, but just don't even know where to start

The very first POTA I did was at K-1213. I was set up at a picnic area near the reservoir when a group of bird watchers rolled up into the parking lot and got out of their cars to observe the wildlife. The group kept migrating towards where I was setup and got dangerously close to my Buddistick Pro. Meanwhile, I thought it was all pretty obvious that they should maybe avoid that area.

You were right: You set up an antenna in the desert and was found, albeit by a park ranger. HAHA! And no Hampton Inns out there, huh? 😅

Really funny !

Next time, you need to bring JJ along with his de-luxe trailer! Funny trip log, though, Miguel!

Looks like a fun road trip pota-style! Dont forget to give us the link for that cool mouse pad. Cheers and 73!

Is there a band pass filter you do recommend? I've been looking and really only find broad coverage from 3 to 30 mhz. Or some that look super sketchy.

That hotel room would cause me to bring in a container of disinfection wipes and wipe everything.

Mike remember I should not shake your hand at Hamcation again...

what did you use for a trailer hitch mount for the pole, home made or where can you get them KD9JRU

I think you guys had fun, despite the 5-star accomodations.

Good to see how you guys do it and give us new guys some ideas. The topper of the video was the so-called accommodations. I'm still chuckling and cringing at the filth.

Hi Mike hope your well! 73s Don

Bitva really nice view!

Two words: Bed Bugs.

Great video Mike! Thanks for the shoutout. 👍🏽

Been there.

Need to stay at the Gage hotel in marathon next time

Wonder if you could add some ferrite to help your band pass filters???

super rad! jelly!

Amazing

does the solar panel and charge controller cause RFI? I tried to have mine hooked up to the battery (all bioenno stuff) and run 10m and had severe RFI from the charge controller.

Sweet motel man, how'd you score that luxurious room?

I thought surely there would be a fireworks stand selling sparklers and snakes

Got any discount codes for that Hilton you're in and how much was the room? Thanks, ...N3JLR

Wasn't that hotel in Breaking Bad?

Yes, that hotel was pretty janky. I trust that it was cheap. Greetings from KE8YAI in SW MI where it's a balmy 53-degrees.

Great video Mike! Enjoyed it!

Been there

I had A friend back in the late 90s who worked for AT&T and he was a field repairman he actually still fix payphones ended up getting phone herpes and went from his ear to his brain from contraction to death was three months! This is why I never use public phones or let people borrow my cell phone

Well that’s a bummer you got kicked out of your spot. This is one of my biggest concerns about starting POTA honestly, running afoul of the rangers. Feels like maybe another video coming from this location? Were you able to find another place to set up and try some more?

I need that mouse pad. Where can i get one?

Why does this trip make me feel it could rival Clark’s trip through the Grand Canyon (Vacation)?!!

Parker Rangers 🤦‍♂️ Tyrants at play... It was his discretion as to whether you need a subjective "use permit" or not. There is no rule in his little "Break Rules Go to Jail" book that specifies the size of a sun awning or two. He just was feeling turned on that he got to tell someone what to do. What a sickness.

8:00 I'm a "born again" ham. Got my ticket in '93, Was out of the hobby for a while, just getting back into it the past couple of years, only just 2 months ago got an HF rig. So, that disclaimer made, I may not know what I'm talking about. I certainly am not out there setting up canopies on roadsides with emergency power like you (though I'm game), and you definitely have experience on me. BUT... Seeing as a filter is an attenuator, not an impervious gate through which the unwashed cycles shall not pass, and seeing how close the two stations are, I'd expect there to be some bleed over with or without filters. I saw a decibel rating on those... does Google Translate handle the Chinese characters well enough to understand them? That said, though, yes: cheap crap is crap and good luck finding anything affordable AND worth having. But I'm curious... I would be interested to see a side-by-side comparison with and without the filter (or have both 7300s identically configured and sharing an antenna -- receive only, of course -- and have the filter on one radio to compare the signals in realtime). Also, a comparison without the filter, with the filter, and then maybe a fellow local-to-you ham has a higher-quality filter you could borrow would be interesting to show how higher quality is (or isn't?) worth the price. Ah, but what do I know. As I said, I'm only just getting back into all this. Thanks for the video... gonna go see what else you've made -- I see you have quite a bit...

Buc-ee's hats are good for an extra 3 dB!

I have to ask, were you two renting that room by the hour? That is BAD. Interesting trip to set up remote POTA.

Your band pass filters may or may not be as bad as you think. Suppose you have common mode current on your feedline. (And you almost certainly will have some of it if you use an EFHW antenna, or even a dipole if you just connect coax feedline at the dipole's midpoint without using a balun there, or if your feedline is not perpendiculat to your antenna and to your buddy's antenna.) Interference from the other station coming in via common mode is not going to be attenuated by the band pass filter, so you have to kill it off before it gets to the filter.Try inserting a common mode choke on the antenna side of the band pass filter. It may help to earth ground the coax shield at the junction between the common mode choke and the band pass filter. Do all this for both rigs. If you try this, let us know whether my suspicions are correct. David VE7EZM and AF7BZ

Might cringe but reminds me of Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

How much was the room?

Ahhhh A No tell Motel, KF0HRF

Link for the mouse pad?

I loved these traveling videos! Looks like it was a great time. Beautiful area. :) W1RCY

How are you getting around the no youtubing in a national park rule that I have seen other channels complaining about.

“Border Patrol! Show me your hands!”

Did you have to pay to stay at the Casa de Cucuracha, or did they pay you? 😎

Well now you know why the guys go in RV/ campers, think if there was a rain storm maybe you would be dry think you had it better tan the old Cow boy,,s !!! driven

Dude you should have just slept on the ground

bruh, take 2 showers when you get home, to get that hotel room off of you.

Views for days

hotel or methlab ?

Gross

I will bet money the place you guys stayed had an hourly rate. 🤮