Revolutionary War POTA Event
Revolutionary War Site POTA Event
By Stan Slachetka WA2JRZ - [email protected]
As you are probably aware, next year is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate the anniversary of our nation’s founding, GCARC is organizing a statewide New Jersey revolutionary war site Park on the Air (POTA) event in 2026. The goal will be to activate state and national parks in New Jersey with a Revolutionary War connection over the course of the year.
Some of the POTA sites in New Jersey that are obvious candidates for a Revolutionary War related POTA activation include :
I am certain that there are others that have some connection to the Revolutionary War. With a bit of research and personal knowledge, we can come up with a comprehensive list. Here is a great website and starting point in doing research on Revolutionary War sites in New Jersey : https://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com - Revolutionary War New Jersey | Guide to New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites| New Jersey Historic Sites
One thing to consider is that not every Revolutionary War site qualifies for POTA. For example, the Red Bank Battlefield Park in National Park, NJ, is a county park and not on the POTA list.
If you are new to Parks on the Air and want to learn more, you can get information about POTA at (https://parksontheair.com) Parks On The Air program for amateur radio. You can also purchase a copy of the ARRL’s excellent book on POTA. Titled appropriately The Parks on the Air Book, you can purchase a copy at the League’s website (https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2013464221) at The Parks on the Air Book or at other online sources or ham radio stores. There are also many interesting YouTube videos online that highlight POTA activations.
Some considerations in how we will be organizing this event :
I recently had the chance to connect with Sarah Cureton, Executive Director of RevolutionNJ (https://www.revnj.org), and Mike Keeler, Communications Manager of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association (https://revolutionarynj.org).
As described on their website, RevolutionNJ is a partnership between the New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC), a division of the New Jersey Department of State, and the nonprofit Crossroads of the American Revolution Association to plan the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in New Jersey.
There is a lot of interesting information about New Jersey's role in the Revolution, historic Revolutionary war sites in New Jersey, and related resources, including books, videos and audio tours and apps, at both websites.
I explained that we were having discussions about organizing a year long POTA event at various state and national parks in New Jersey that have a connection to the American Revolution. I explained a bit about POTA, what we do as hams, and how we would activate a park. I also mentioned that we might be coordinating our efforts with other radio clubs in the state.
They were very excited and intrigued about the opportunity to use our POTA activations to further publicize the role of New Jersey in the Revolution. They were willing to help us with advice and contacts with the various non-profit organizations that run the parks and historic sites. I told them that we had not yet decided if we were moving forward with this idea and which parks were proposing to activate, but that I would reach out to them once I had more information.
This is going to be a fun year-long event for the Club and a great way to get Club Members involved in POTA and learn more about the important role that New Jersey played in the American Revolution. It also will be a high-profile activity that could get GCARC a lot of recognition.
It also will take a reasonable amount of work to plan, organize, and implement. We are particularly looking for members that have experience in POTA activations to serve on our event committee, but everyone is welcome to participate. If you are interested in helping organize the event or are simply interested in participating in any of the POTA activations please contact me at [email protected] or texting or calling at my cell phone number listed in the Club roster. You can also connect with me at an upcoming Club meeting.
By Stan Slachetka WA2JRZ - [email protected]
As you are probably aware, next year is the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. To commemorate the anniversary of our nation’s founding, GCARC is organizing a statewide New Jersey revolutionary war site Park on the Air (POTA) event in 2026. The goal will be to activate state and national parks in New Jersey with a Revolutionary War connection over the course of the year.
Some of the POTA sites in New Jersey that are obvious candidates for a Revolutionary War related POTA activation include :
- Morristown National Park
- Liberty State Park
- Monmouth Battlefield State Park
- Princeton Battlefield State Park
- Washington Crossing State Park
- Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route National Historic Trail
- Palisades Interstate State Park, which includes Fort Lee
I am certain that there are others that have some connection to the Revolutionary War. With a bit of research and personal knowledge, we can come up with a comprehensive list. Here is a great website and starting point in doing research on Revolutionary War sites in New Jersey : https://www.revolutionarywarnewjersey.com - Revolutionary War New Jersey | Guide to New Jersey Revolutionary War Sites| New Jersey Historic Sites
One thing to consider is that not every Revolutionary War site qualifies for POTA. For example, the Red Bank Battlefield Park in National Park, NJ, is a county park and not on the POTA list.
If you are new to Parks on the Air and want to learn more, you can get information about POTA at (https://parksontheair.com) Parks On The Air program for amateur radio. You can also purchase a copy of the ARRL’s excellent book on POTA. Titled appropriately The Parks on the Air Book, you can purchase a copy at the League’s website (https://home.arrl.org/action/Store/Product-Details/productId/2013464221) at The Parks on the Air Book or at other online sources or ham radio stores. There are also many interesting YouTube videos online that highlight POTA activations.
Some considerations in how we will be organizing this event :
- This will be a year long event that will consist of a variety of individual park activations that will take place throughout the year. Once we finalize the list of parks, we will set up and announce the dates and times for the various activations.
- We will be either doing this solely as a GCARC initiative or reaching out to other ham radio clubs in New Jersey and making this an interclub event.
- We will be contacting ARRL and the national POTA organization to let them know what we have planned.
- We will be checking to see if there are any special events planned at these parks and time our POTA activations to either avoid conflicts or garner more publicity.
- This could also be a good STEM event, getting the students to participate in a POTA activation and learn about the Revolutionary War in New Jersey.
- We will be reaching out to the respective parks and possibly link up with a park guide, teacher, author, or a representative from a reenactment group to discuss the importance of the site in the Revolution.
- We are exploring the preparation of a special event QSL card or certificate for the POTA "hunters" who contact us during the activations, with a recognition for hunters that contact all the POTA sites we activate.
I recently had the chance to connect with Sarah Cureton, Executive Director of RevolutionNJ (https://www.revnj.org), and Mike Keeler, Communications Manager of the Crossroads of the American Revolution Association (https://revolutionarynj.org).
As described on their website, RevolutionNJ is a partnership between the New Jersey Historical Commission (NJHC), a division of the New Jersey Department of State, and the nonprofit Crossroads of the American Revolution Association to plan the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution in New Jersey.
There is a lot of interesting information about New Jersey's role in the Revolution, historic Revolutionary war sites in New Jersey, and related resources, including books, videos and audio tours and apps, at both websites.
I explained that we were having discussions about organizing a year long POTA event at various state and national parks in New Jersey that have a connection to the American Revolution. I explained a bit about POTA, what we do as hams, and how we would activate a park. I also mentioned that we might be coordinating our efforts with other radio clubs in the state.
They were very excited and intrigued about the opportunity to use our POTA activations to further publicize the role of New Jersey in the Revolution. They were willing to help us with advice and contacts with the various non-profit organizations that run the parks and historic sites. I told them that we had not yet decided if we were moving forward with this idea and which parks were proposing to activate, but that I would reach out to them once I had more information.
This is going to be a fun year-long event for the Club and a great way to get Club Members involved in POTA and learn more about the important role that New Jersey played in the American Revolution. It also will be a high-profile activity that could get GCARC a lot of recognition.
It also will take a reasonable amount of work to plan, organize, and implement. We are particularly looking for members that have experience in POTA activations to serve on our event committee, but everyone is welcome to participate. If you are interested in helping organize the event or are simply interested in participating in any of the POTA activations please contact me at [email protected] or texting or calling at my cell phone number listed in the Club roster. You can also connect with me at an upcoming Club meeting.