16 August, 2026

When you love radio and want to do more hiking: POTA

I love amateur radio and I would like to do more hiking - so what's more natural than to take part in the Parks On the Air (POTA) program. I've only recently discovered POTA and that it combines the two: amateur radio and hiking.

Today I went to a park not too far from home. In addition to a short drive it took about a one hour walk in the terrain each way to NO-0497, Furuåsen og Hagahogget. There is a magnificent view over the Oslo fjord from a trekking cabin there: Hovdehytta. It has a history going back to 1922.

I used my QMX+ and a 20 000 mAh power bank with a 12 V Power Delivery cable. The battery has enough power for many activations, and the QMX+ gave out 6-7 Watts CW on 20 m. With such a location and view, and it being a Sunday with many active stations, it took about an hour for 27 contacts.

The antenna is the AliExpress 5.6 m telescopic whip antenna with a red base tuned to resonance by varying the length of the whip using the incredible QMX SWR tool for Android of Francesco IU2UEQ.

Spectacular view of the Oslo fjord

The trekking cabin with a nice outdoor table

The QMX+ with power bank and single-paddle key
Resonance in the antenna




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