by Adam (KD9ZAB) Sometimes radio isn’t just about the contacts — it’s about the excuse it gives us to put life on pause, breathe some fresh air, and disappear into nature for a bit. Friday, November 14, 2025, was one of those days. I slipped away from work for about two hours and headed to Fults Hill Prairie State Nature Preserve (US-4124) in the little river town of Fults, Illinois.

On my way back from visiting my father--driving through heavy, unrelenting rain--I decided to stop for a reasonably quick POTA activation at Lake James State Park (US-2739). It was the sort of day where windshield wipers struggle to keep up. I chose Lake James specifically because I knew they had a solid, roomy picnic shelter that would let me escape the weather and still play a little radio.

If you’ve been following my field reports lately, you may have noticed that I’ve been using the Elecraft K2 quite a bit. Part of that is because I took it along on a recent trip where I completed several activations, and I’ve been posting those activations over the past couple of weeks. But the truth is, there’s a little more to it.

by Thomas (K4SWL) On Wednesday, October 22, 2025, we were in Greensboro, North Carolina, on our way back home to the mountains after visiting my daughter at college. We decided to stay overnight in Greensboro mainly because I wanted to fit in a POTA activation the following morning. Usually, when we pass through the area, it’s only for a brief stop—a couple of hours.

Many thanks to Dan (N7CQR) who shares the following guest post: Pacificon QRP by Dan (N7CQR) I had the good fortune to attend the Pacificon hamfest over the weekend of October 10–12, 2025, in San Ramon, CA, in the East Bay Area. What made this special was the outstanding QRP events organized by the CalQRP group, headed up by Doug Hendricks, (KI6DS).

By Steven Krumm (KV4AN) Cumberland Mountain State Park (US-2939) is a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) era Tennessee State Park on the Cumberland Plateau near Crossville, Tennessee.  Interestingly, Sergeant Alvin York (WWI Medal of Honor recipient) was the first Superintendent of the park from 1938-1940.  The park is 1,720 acres and has a small lake, golf course, camping, cabins, and a restaurant (the last two were of particular interest to me).

by Thomas (K4SWL) On Monday, September 22, 2025, I visited my father in Hickory—in the foothills of North Carolina—and on the way home, I found myself with about an hour to spare. Naturally, that meant one thing: Parks On The Air (POTA) time! I first thought about stopping by Tuttle Educational State Forest since I hadn’t been there since June. Unfortunately, this time of the year, they’re closed on Mondays.

by Bob K4RLC & MM/K4RLC But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy. -Robbie Burns, National Bard of Scotland “To a Mousie” 1785 Thanks to my friend Vince, VE6LK, I learned the value of hyperlinks for adding additional content if the reader is interested.

On Monday, November 3, 2025, I had a handful of afternoon errands to run. I’d scheduled them so I could move from one to the next without issue. After leaving the house and finishing my first appointment at 1:00 p.m., I decided to double-check the time for my second. I had it in my head that it was scheduled for 3:00, but when I contacted the person I was meeting, it turned out our appointment wasn’t until 4:00.

On Monday, October 20, 2025, I was still in the Raleigh area of North Carolina. That morning, I dropped by NC State University for a brief visit, and afterward, I had the rest of the morning free to play a little radio. I’d spent my previous few activations at Clemmons Educational State Forest (US-4853), so I decided to change things up this time and head back to William B.

Many thanks to Dave (KO4YLZ) who writes: Hey Thomas, I created some generic mounts for the KX2, TR-35, and QMX that can be 3D printed. They're generic in the sense that I haven't added any specific provision for how the basic mount mates up with another object/surface. I leave it up to the user to use as is or modify in their 3D/CAD package.

Please note that the following field report was originally published on the SOTA Reflector: by George (M1GEO) On the weekend of September 13 and 14, 2025, Dan M0WUT and I took an impromptu trip to activate all of the G/TW summits as part of my casual quest to complete England. I managed to talk Dan into coming with me. Dan had recently purchased an Elecraft KX3 on eBay and was keen to try it out since he hadn’t had it on air in the month or so since purchasing it.

by Thomas (K4SWL) As many of you know, I’m a certified pack geek. I love exploring different packs, pouches, and bags--whether for organizing radio gear in the field or everyday carry. I’m always on the lookout for high-quality designs that fit my needs and might work well for other operators too. Back in September, I received a newsletter from Blue Ridge Overland Gear (BROG), a Virginia-based company you’ve seen mentioned here…

by Steve (VA3FLF/NC4SR) Vertical antennas are now extremely popular for portable operations. The market has exploded with assorted brands and variations of antenna models. There are diverse types of radials, whips, ground planes, resonators, and configurations. I would not even begin to convince someone which model is better than any other. This comes down to personal preference, time to set up, the amount of space one has to activate, and other variables.

by Thomas (K4SWL) After my last activation at Clemmons Educational State Forest, I was eager to get back there. As I mentioned in my previous video, it’s an absolutely superb park for Parks on the Air activators. Being in the general Raleigh area—a fairly populated region—I’ve found that educational state forests tend to have less activity throughout the week and even on weekends compared to other state and national parks.

by James (KI5OEB)  Today I went to my favorite park bench again! The activation had a little prep and desired tests included: the Just Okay Mini antenna and then a transition to a Coffee and Ham Radio Artemis EFHW made for 40m–10m to see the relative difference. As per usual for me, this activation wasn’t planned like most people’s. Yes, I brought the IC-705 and all kinds of other ham things—three or four antennas and three different coax runs.

As I’ve spent more time in the field over the years, like most of us, I’ve developed favorite spots: those familiar parks (POTA/WWFF) and sometimes summits (SOTA) that have become my home bases in the field. I know the staff, I support the sites, and I know exactly where to set up my gear without any hassles — and often in the most radio-friendly spots.

Many thanks to Dan (NM3A) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Dan writes: QMX Backpack Go Kit by Dan (NM3A) This is my most-used Field Go Kit. It is rather heavy but extremely flexible and versatile.

On Wednesday, October 15, 2025, I was in Raleigh, North Carolina, spending the rest of the week with my wife and daughters during my daughter’s fall break from university. Even though I’ve lived in North Carolina all my life, I’ve never actually spent much time in the Raleigh area--just a few days here and there over the years. I’ve logged plenty of time in Durham and Chapel Hill, but rarely in Raleigh itself.

Many thanks to Mike (VE3MKX) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Mike writes: My $5 flea market find POTA Camera case! by Mike (VE3MKX) Hi Everyone, I thought I'd show off one of my hamfest finds.

Many thanks to Adam (KD9ZAB) for sharing the following field report, originally posted on our discussion board, QRPer.net. First POTA Activation with the Elecraft KX2 — Fort de Chartres, Illinois by Adam (KD9ZAB) ON Tuesday, October 14, 2025, I finally checked a big one off the list — my first Parks on the Air (POTA) activation using the Elecraft KX2.

On Monday, October 13, 2025, my family took a trip we hadn’t been able to take in over a full year. Finally, the Blue Ridge Parkway had been repaired enough (post-Hurricane Helene) that the entire route to Mount Mitchell State Park (US-2747) was open again. It’s actually been open for a few weeks, but we've been so busy, I hadn’t yet made the trek.

Many thanks to Dan (NM3A) who shares the following article about his portable field radio kit which will be featured on our Field Kit Gallery page. If you would like to share your field kit with the QRPer community, read this post. Dan writes:  Elecraft KX2 Go Kit by Dan (NM3A) We have two vehicles. The one my wife drives most has its own special Go Kit just in case I find a park or summit too irresistible to pass up!

Many thanks to Paul (WA1VEI) who writes: I wanted to share this very cool tool I found that has been developed by Tim (K5OHY). I am always interested in how my signal is getting out on any given activation. I subscribe to QSOMap.com, so I can plot my contacts. I find the RBN an extremely useful tool to judge antenna effectiveness and band conditions.

By Chuck (K8MDB) What a great idea to explore field kits for fall! The October prompt had me digging through bins and drawers to locate all my small CW field radios and to weigh them for the first time. I was surprised by the results. My original 2012 two-band Mountain Topper from KD1JV came in as the lightest radio in my collection by almost half of the runners-up.