Blog Archive — Page 2

Hitting a Thousand

Written on Thursday 30 Apr 2026

It’s hard to say for sure when this website started. My reckoning puts it sometime in 1998, so it is fast approaching 30 years on the web, though no evidence has survived of that very early form. What’s more certain though, is that at one point in 2001 I first...

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POTA Activation Report: Wareham Forest

Written on Thursday 30 Apr 2026

Yesterday after work, I happened to pass by a recent addition to the POTA system, GB-6728 Wareham Forest. I carry my QMX and 40m dipole antenna in the car for just such an occasion, so I decided I’d head into the park and have a go. It turns out, yesterday...

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Activation Report: Afton Marsh and the Needles

Written on Sunday 26 Apr 2026

Since the last time I hiked the western Isle of Wight circuit, three new parks have popped up in the area: GB-5384 Afton Marsh, GB-5386 Isle of Wight Coast Path and GB-5390 Headon Warren & West High Down SSSI. Of course I’d have to complete the route again, and on...

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POTA Activation Report: The Harbour View Rove

Written on Thursday 23 Apr 2026

With one last day of holiday remaining, sunshine and warm temperatures forecast, and four new parks in the local area not yet activated, it was time to get out there! All four parks had views over parts of Poole Harbour, so I decided to group them all together in a...

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Activation Report: The Road to Hurst Castle

Written on Monday 13 Apr 2026

A couple of months ago, I mopped up five parks from Christchurch to Milford-on-Sea in the Coast Road Rove. Today I followed much the same route, extending the start into Bournemouth and the end all the way, at last, to Hurst Castle. It’s been a long time coming. GB-1725 Hurst...

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RaDAR Rally Report, Spring 2026

Written on Sunday 5 Apr 2026

Last year was my RaDAR Rally debut, with eight pre-planned spots and tight timing down to a couple of minutes across the four-hour run. If anything it was a little too well-planned. So this year I decided to head to a new park I’d never been to before, hike around,...

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POTA/WWFF Activation Report: Prescombe Down

Written on Sunday 29 Mar 2026

The organisers of the big amateur radio stations can offer a lot of useful advice about contesting. It’s important to have a comfortable chair, they say, as well as good headphones and a quiet environment. A steady supply of tea and suitable facilities are essential too of course. So with...

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POTA Activation Report: Troublefield and Ramsdown Forest

Written on Sunday 15 Mar 2026

I took a last drag from my cheap cigarette, and sighed. I shoulda’ known that dame was trouble, from the moment the marker appeared on the POTA map. Trouble Field by name, Trouble Field by nature, as my pa used to say. With hindsight, that was weirdly specific. The main...

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POTA Activation Report: Tadnoll & Winfrith Heath

Written on Monday 2 Mar 2026

A number of my upcoming activations, like the obligatory trip to Afton Marsh to complete the local parks, or the extremely ill-advised attempt to summit El Teide, are going to involve getting on the radio with equipment limited in size and weight. To that end, my friend F4LUB sent me...

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POTA Activation Report: The Coast Road Rove

Written on Thursday 19 Feb 2026

One last day of being home alone with nothing to do. I could have spent the day relaxing, maybe making progress on projects or doing housework. But there’s always that other project; the “let’s do all the POTA parks within 20 miles of home” project that I foolishly set myself....

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