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DC POTA QSO Map from Freedom Plaza

 

Almost a year ago, I made a POTA activation from DC in Freedom Plaza. I'm discussing antennas and buildings today with Bill Meara of the soldersmoke blob and published this map to carry along the conversation. I alternately convince my myself that buildings do not matter, and then a few weeks later, that they do.




QSO Map



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  1. Bill MearaAugust 9, 2025 at 8:58 AM

    Hamilton: I thik they do matter. Proof of this is what happens when you try to use an HF transceiver from inside a building with a metal or re-bar structure. It is as if you are trying to work from inside a Faraday cage. It doesn't work very well. The same principal applies if you have a building next to your antenna. I have a clear shot at the horizon to the east, northeast and south. To the northwest I have the seventh floor of my apartment building. With a lot of re-bar to ground. This indeed, matters!
    73 Bill

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  2. antigrav_kids KD0FNRAugust 9, 2025 at 11:46 AM

    Hi Bill! I believe you. It makes sense. I'm digging through my data. Unfortunately everywhere I've been in a city that I've found so far, there have been buildings in the way of paths to very small numbers of people, or in some cases, no one. The map here is a good example. Yes, all the QSOs are over the park, but also, the bulk of the entire United States is west over that park :)
    I'll let you know when I find definitive evidence of what I agree must be true.

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