Why?
If there is one good reason to put down some goals for the coming arbitrary time period, it’s to give a list of things one might do when one has time for the hobby but isn’t really inspired to engage with anything in particular. Sometimes, there’s a radio and some free time but spinning the dial doesn’t seem attractive. Then what? Well, if there’s a nice list of goals or intentions, one could simply grab the first thing off of the menu, so to speak, and go to town. There are worse ways to make a decision! Besides, if the list is one where there is sufficient interest in the different areas, it’s safe to assume one would be ready to jump in and get started any of the items.
Goals
CW Operation – I really enjoy operating CW. It’s my preferred mode for POTA activations now. The band conditions can be almost total garbage and I will still hear someone and be heard. I also really enjoy the meditative nature of calling CQ from the park with the paddles. It’s relaxing.
What I haven’t done is translate that to operating from my home shack. I’m not really sure why, but I’ve only hunted a few activators on CW. I really want to do more. And more than that, I would like to get into an actual conversation. I’m comfortable with an activation at 16-20 wpm but I wonder how I would do in a conversational setting. I’ve never tried it, so I don’t know.
So the goal becomes: Do some conversational CW at a reasonable speed (whatever reasonable is).
Transceiver Build – All of my recent kit building has put me in the mind of homebrewing a transceiver from scratch. I have no experience with designing RF circuits and haven’t done more than build from kits. That said, I’ve been dabbling in electronics since I was a kid. I’m sure it will be a significant challenge, but it would be nice to get on the air with something that I built from components. I don’t know where this will go, but I’m betting I will have a good time with it.
Packet BBS – Recently, a little dabbling with packet radio has rekindled some of the excitement of my BBS days. It struck me that it might be fun to set up a BBS on the air. Pretty sure I have what I need for that. I could probably use my existing setup when it’s idle to act as a node. I have a lot to learn and that’s half the fun.
More POTA – This one probably goes without saying. I really enjoy being outside with my radio and POTA is still my preferred framework for that. So let’s lay out a few POTA goals:
New States: This year, I’m still hoping to activate Pennsylvania and maybe Indiana or West Virginia.
New Parks: I want to grab more Ohio parks. I don’t think I’m going to go for getting them all, but I’d like to see the number of parks I’ve activated go up significantly in 2025.
New Rig: I’ve got my QMX+ now. I’d love to log a few multi-mode activations with it soon.
All Of The Toys: I also want to take the Hardrock-50 out to do some more phone activations. I’d also include more field time for the TR-35, TR-45L, QMX+ as well as my bestest buddy the IC-705. Each one of them is fun for different reasons and I do enjoy mixing it up more than it would appear.
All Of The Modes: By the time spring rolls around, I’d be happy if a good number of my activations include CW, Phone, and Digital contacts. I really do enjoy those activations where I get a little of everything in there. They take longer and require more gear, but it’s so much fun! Besides, it’s fun to push my facility with my different pieces of equipment.
Wow. OK. Plenty of POTA related goals right there. Sometimes it is useful when planning an activation or just grabbing my stuff and doing an impromptu trip to the park to have some kind of objective. Those POTA goals alone could make for a fun year outside.
Final
That looks like a lot, but most of it is continuing things I’m already engaged with and enjoying. They’re relatively nebulous goals which means I can feel good about dabbling in any of those areas at any time. That sounds like a winning strategy to me.
73 and thanks for reading!
