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Parks on the Air (POTA)

Parks on the Air brings the outdoors and ham radio together. In Hamtrax, you can browse a catalog of 15,000+ parks, see who's activating right now, and log contacts -- all from the Activity tab.

[SCREENSHOT: POTA activity mode showing park pins on the 2D map with an activation detail popup]

Activating vs. Hunting​

If you're new to POTA, here's the key distinction:

  • Activator -- You travel to a qualifying park and operate your radio from there. You need at least 10 QSOs to count as a valid activation.
  • Hunter -- You contact activators from home (or anywhere). Every confirmed contact with an activator earns you hunter credit.

Both sides earn awards and contribute to the program. Hamtrax supports both workflows.

Browsing the Park Catalog​

  1. Open the Activity tab and select Parks on the Air from the activity mode dropdown.
  2. The map populates with park locations shown as pins. Zoom into a region to see individual parks.
  3. Tap any park pin to open the Park Detail popup, which shows the park reference (e.g., K-0001), park name, location, and whether it's currently being activated.
tip

Use the search bar to find a specific park by its reference code or name. Typing K-0001 or Pottawatomie will match the right park.

Finding Live Activations​

Active spots appear as highlighted pins on the map. Each spot shows:

  • Activator callsign and their frequency
  • Band and mode (e.g., 20m, CW)
  • Park reference and park name
  • Time since the spot was posted

Tap a live activation to see full details, including the activator's stats and a button to log a QSO.

Filtering POTA Spots​

Tap the Filter button to narrow the spot feed:

  • Band -- Show only activations on specific bands (e.g., 40m, 20m)
  • Mode -- Filter by CW, SSB, FT8, or other modes
  • State/Region -- Focus on parks in a specific state or region
info

POTA spots refresh every few minutes. If an activator just posted a spot and you don't see it yet, give it a moment.

Logging a POTA Contact​

When you tap an active spot, the detail popup includes a Log QSO button. Tapping it opens the QSO form pre-filled with the activator's callsign, frequency, band, and mode. The park reference is automatically attached to the contact.