With the Labor Day Holiday behind us marking the unofficial end of summer, Texas is officially giving us its grand finale. If you’ve ever spent a summer in the Lone Star State, you know that operating outdoors requires a strategic blend of hydration, shade hunting, and operating fast before your equipment—or your body—overheats!
Despite the hot temperatures, it’s been an incredible late summer season here at The Ham Radio Lab. Between squeezing in Parks on the Air (POTA) activations and heading out every Saturday morning for fox hunts with the local club, I’ve been making the most of every free weekend moment.
Here is a quick update on what’s been happening around the shack, out in the field, and what’s on the horizon as we head into fall.
1. POTA Activations: Beating the Heat with Portable Ops
Getting out into state parks and local recreation areas for POTA (Parks on the Air) is always a highlight of my radio time. Over the past few weeks, the key to successful Texas activations has been timing and portability.
- Early Morning Setups: Rolling into the park right as the gates open around 7:30 AM allows me to catch cooler ambient temperatures and great morning propagation on 20m and 40m.
- Keep It Lightweight: I’ve streamlined my field kit to minimize setup time—a portable LiFePO4 battery pack, a simple vertical antenna and my portable rig.
- Shade is Priority #1: If a park picnic table isn’t situated under a dense canopy of shade trees, I operate straight out of the back tailgate under a pop-up canopy.
There’s nothing quite like calling CQ POTA from a shaded Texas park, hearing a pileup respond, and logging 20 to 30 clean contacts in under an hour. To all the hunters who picked out my signal through the summer noise floor—thank you! Your spots and contacts make portable operating immensely rewarding.
NOTE: I’ve also been able to sneak out after work in the late afternoons and get an activation in here and there just before 24:00UTC on occasion and not sweat too much as well
2. Saturday Fox Hunting with the Local Ham Club
One of the highlights of my week has been Saturday morning Fox Hunts (transmitter hunting / T-hunting) with fellow members of our local ham radio club.
If you haven’t tried fox hunting yet, you are missing out on one of the most entertaining and practical skill-building activities in amateur radio:
- Directional Antennas & Attenuators: Armed with handheld 2m transceivers, homebuilt tape-measure Yagi antennas, and offset attenuators, we set off to track down a hidden low-power transmitter (the “fox”) tucked away somewhere in a local park or community area.
- Tactical Problem Solving: Finding the hidden fox isn’t just about walking toward the strongest signal. Signal reflections off metal buildings, water towers, and dense foliage mean you have to triangulate, cross-bear readings, and trust your antenna techniques.
- Camaraderie & Friendly Competition: Walking the trails with fellow club members, comparing signal bearings, and celebrating when someone finds the hidden ammo-can transmitter is a fantastic way to spend a Saturday morning.
Beyond the sheer fun, fox hunting sharpens your signal-finding skills, which are directly applicable to emergency communications,search and rescue support, and identifying local RF interference sources.
3. Shifting Gears: Ramping Up for Fall Work Commitments
As summer comes to a close and September rolls along, life outside of the radio shack is starting to pick up pace. My professional work duties in the technology sector are scheduled to increase significantly over the next few months.
Because work responsibilities will demand extra focus and time for a while, my field activations and blog updates might slow down slightly during this upcoming stretch. However, the radio is never completely off:
- I’ll still be monitoring our local club repeaters during commutes.
- I plan to keep my home shack active for quick HF digital mode ops (FT8/JS8Call) during evenings.
- I’ll continue hopping into Saturday morning fox hunts whenever time permits!
What’s Next for The Ham Radio Lab?
The beauty of ham radio is that it seamlessly adapts to your schedule. Whether you have 15 minutes to make an HF contact between work calls or a full Saturday morning to hunt hidden foxes with friends, there’s always a way to stay connected to the hobby.
Join the Conversation!
- How did your summer operating go? Did you complete any POTA or SOTA activations?
- Does your local club host fox hunts or directional finding events?
- What are your go-to ham radio goals for the upcoming fall season?
73,
Chris - K5CTW The Ham Radio Lab