Cheyenne Mountain State Park could have been an impossible POTA activation. A wall of granite with huge antennas on top blocking the entire western sky, NORAD inside the mountain, Fort Carson across the highway, And an S9 noise floor screaming across the band before I even called CQ. Here's what happened when I tried to activate it anyway.
What you'll see: why the location should have ruined the activation, the clock-sync mistake that nearly ended it before it started, and the contact map that proves exactly what the mountain did to my signal.
Gear mentioned in this video:
Yaesu FT-710 HF transceiver
Bioenno battery
Buddistick Pro antenna
Timestamps:
0:50 – About the park
1:28 – Radio interference?
1:50 – Equipment setup
2:17 – S9 noise floor — before I even call CQ
2:38 – Actual POTA activation (abbreviated)
4:48 – Park activated — ten contacts
5:07 – Takeaway from the activation
5:37 – Did the mountain win? The map proves it
7:01 – The mistake that nearly killed the activation
7:50 – Parks on the Road — what's next
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