How POTA works — operators activate parks, hunters work them. Park reference numbers, the live spot stream from pota.app, and how the BloomWX panel surfaces it.
POTA is a fast-growing ham radio activity where operators set up portable stations in designated parks ("activators") and contacting operators ("hunters") work them.
1. Activator picks a POTA-listed park, sets up portable station 2. Spots themselves on the POTA list with callsign, park reference (K-1234), frequency 3. Hunters tune in and work them 4. 10 valid contacts = successful activation
The Ham Shack POTA panel pulls live spots from pota.app.
Part of the BloomWX learn library — beginner-friendly explainers covering every surface of the BloomWX weather dashboard. Open BloomWX to see live data for any U.S. county.