pota_pr.txrt

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 1, 2021

Parks on the Air announces the new Facebook mode

McMurdo Station, Antarctica: Parks on the Air will now be accepting QSOs conducted entirely on Facebook. Special awards will be issued for QSOs at 25, 50, and 75 likes, and a monthly for the QSO with the most comments complaining about how bad operators are ruining the airwaves.

Jason Johnston (W3AAX), administrator of the Facebook POTA group and owner of the program says it was inevitable.

"People were doing traditional QSOs on the air and then coming to Facebook to correct their logs so we kinda wondered what the point of using our radios was. Now more people can get out to their local park, open the Facebook app, and make some QSOs" Johnston said.

In Parks on the Air, amateur radio operators go to parks and try to make as many contacts as possible in order to "activate" a park. Other people "hunt" these activators and try to earn awards.

Top activator Thomas Rupp (KU8T) agrees.

"I've been busting my hump dragging my IC 706, my amp, and a ton of other junk out to a park only to work my fingers to the bone managing CW pileups. I'm looking forward to being able to kick back with a beer and my cell phone and activate even more parks." said Rupp enthusiastically.

Asked what's next for POTA, Johnston had a few thoughts.

"People never seem to read the FAQ and want to activate anything with a tree, so I think we'll just call everything a park. With as little as a potted plant, people will be able to designate their ham shack a park and start racking up activations without getting out of their jammies." opines Johnston.

POTA activators and hunters have collectively made almost 2.5 million contacts since its inception in 2017.

For more information about Parks on the Air, or to join, visit https://parksontheair.com/