Now champions eight years in a row operating in with multiple simultaneous transmitters
in the park category under the call sign W9AV are Quent Cassen W6RI and Clint Sprott W9AV.

We did our usual 2-operator, 3-transmitter operation from a tent on the bank of the Lower Wisconsin
River near Muscoda. The temperature was pleasant with occasion light showers and precipitation static
that made 40 meters noisy. Propagation was good with most of our Q’s on 20. We worked all the 18 WI
park multipliers that were spotted on 40. The third radio was dedicated to FT8/4 on 15 meters. We missed
many multipliers from WI parks that were never spotted on 40 and could not be heard on 20.
Congratulations to all the activators and hunters, and thanks to the organizers for another successful event!
Clint W9AV & Quent W6RI

This is the W9P multi-op multi-transmitter team at Lake Wissota State Park with Michael Martens KB9VBR (left) and Dave White KZ9V.

After several years of fun in the “single operator in a park” category, we stepped up to the “multiple
operator multiple transmitter” category with the combined efforts of Dave White (KZ9V) and Michael
Martens (KB9VBR) at a Lake Wissota State Park campsite as W9P. We had fun and hopefully our score is competitive.

20-meters is always the money band, but it was packed with lots of QRM. 40-meters was plagued
by static noise from the nearby thunderstorms, so it’s uncertain if we have enough multipliers to be competitive
with Clint’s W9AV team.

Our game plan was to use primarily SSB mode and a little CW, but when band noise became an issue
we wound up diverting a significant amount of time to running the slower FT8 and FT4 modes on both
40 and 15-meters. That probably kept our QSO rate down, but we still had a ton of fun. The biggest surprise
of the day was logging 12 DX entities. We certainly weren’t expecting that.
Michael KB9VBR & Dave KZ9V

Burned out a component of my setup when I attempted AM and had to stop after only three hours.
Thomas AC9BJ

Started late due to my personal schedule, but still made a first QSO by 1627Z to start this year’s WI POTA.
Early in-state QSOs on 40m were pretty key as both absorption and storms increased through the afternoon making
picking up more multipliers difficult. Fortunately, the storms were
weaker where I was activating and were moderate justification for changing park entities.

I went straight from home to a different picnic table location is US-4250 this year to avoid crowding and
noisy utilities. No treats for lunch when you’re running behind, alas. For simplicity and with my lack of preparation,
I was back with the 41′ EFRW from the picnic table to a tree. When I discovered that 15m was good DX again
this year, I deployed my 15m 1/4l vertical with elevated radials to help pick up a few more chasers compared to the random wire.

Watching the radar the whole time kept me informed that the cloudy sky above wasn’t that bad, providing only a few
drops over most of the afternoon. Once a more motivating blob for not sitting under a small tree showed up on the
NWS returns, I packed up for a move EN53HA to EN53LC for over 15 miles direct to US-4289. There I set up in the variable
light sprinkles in the back of my car with the 41′ EFRW again, this time running between my wheel, the top of my 26′ HD
fiberglass pole, and lead off to to the ground for an inverted, sloped L. And thus, I provided an additional multiplier in-state,
then got some 15m action to the west, and wrapped up with a nice run on 20m past the end of the contest.

Not attending to VHF at all this contest was probably a reasonable play. Less gear on hand kept me moving on my limited
timeline. Part of getting out late was that I didn’t actually plan for improved antennas. Maybe I’ll actually do that in
preparation for WQP in the spring. With solar conditions still decently up, optimizing for 40m is still a good plan
for in-state needs.

Finally, here’s to QRP! Still makes staking out 20m difficult and can’t overcome the noise as well on 40m, but still works great.
Thomas WN1C

Another great experience, and I did much better at avoiding thunderstorms this year.
Brian KB9TBB

FT-891, 100W, WRC 17′ whip w/ Sporty Forty. Nice time at Hartman Creek State Park in Waupaca.
Pat KD9YWG

I tried the WIPOTA contest last year (2024) and it was a utter failure but a learning experience. This year was a complete 180.
I wish I had more QSOs with WI parks but I had a fun time. Mother Nature cooperated for at least 3hrs before she got cranky near me.
Brian N9BAM

Conditions were challenging as usual for this time of year on 40 meters. We were locked in to a 40 meter dipole in an inverted vee
configuration as a NVIS antenna. Things really got slow after 3 p.m. and an impending storm made us pack up early. We look forward
to next year and we have learned a lot from our experiences. 73’s
Chuck KE9SA & Stacey N9JXV

QRN from passing storms limited my activation and “the big one” chased me out of the park. But a fun day with KD9HTQ who made
his first CW QSO ever!
Dick N9EEE

Back at the WIPOTA event after a 2 year absence. Good band conditions on 10m and 15m, but not many hunters there. Everyone’s
radio must be stuck on 20m. Great to work other WI activators on 40m. Last half of the event got rained out big time at Richard Bong
SRA and had to end early. See everyone next year.
Scott W9AFB

Annonunce a time to try FT8 on 6M 3 times during the day like 11:45, 1:45, 3:45 on 50.313. I noticed the 40 meter frequencies and hourly
meet up times after the event. I would prefer 3 focused bigger times than 7 spread out. Hopely more likely you can hear a few Wi other parks.
Alan ND9D

My first go at WIPOTA. Had fun between thunderstorms. Had an issue, when I set to automatically send out the custom line, it worked
but did not log my sig reports. Switched back and manually sent out the 73 US4261 KA9WYK after I ok the log. I was on the latest WSJTX
custom software and setup. I was on a tablet running win 11 home. Any suggestions would be great. See you next year at WIPOTA, 73’s
Carl KA9WYK

Overall, another successful WIPOTA! Lots of contacts even with 5 watts; turns out that it was worth it to bring the 31′ Jackite pole out to the
field. I had to take the antenna down twice due to rumbles of thunder, but otherwise the weather was pretty good. Didn’t get many WI parks
this year, but there’s always next year!
Neil K9CUF

While activating US-4998 for the NJ QSO Party, I worked several stations in Wisconsin parks. I learned of this event from one of the stations
I contacted. Thanks for organizing this event! I’ll have to look for it next year.
Christopher WX2C

Overall a beautiful day with a great view at US-1472
Tim KC9FSH & Andy KC9IZF