Activation Report: Philippe Park — June 9, 2026
- 6 min reading time
Non-POTA · Philippe Park, Safety Harbor, FL · 20M FT8 · 6 QSOs · Xiegu X6200 · QRP
There's a certain kind of morning that reminds you why you drag the radio out of the closet. Philippe Park was that morning.
The park
Philippe Park sits on the eastern shore of Old Tampa Bay in Safety Harbor, and it's home to the largest remaining Tocobaga temple mound in the Tampa Bay region. The Tocobaga people built this mound from alternating layers of shell and sand — archaeologists believe it was topped with a structure used for ceremonial purposes or as the chief's dwelling, with a ramp leading down to a town plaza below. The village once stretched out in an L-shape around the base and was home to somewhere between 400 and 2,500 people. Spanish conquistadors arrived in the 1500s. By the late 1600s the Tocobaga were gone.
This isn't a POTA reference. I wasn't here for a qualifier. I was here because standing on a thousand-year-old shell mound with a radio and a wire antenna and six watts felt like the right thing to do on a Tuesday morning.
The setup
I set up on a bench at the top of the mound overlooking Old Tampa Bay. The X6200 came out of the bag, the Radioddity HF-010 went vertical, and I was on 20M FT8 within a few minutes. 5 watts. Overcast sky, 76°F, light 6mph breeze. Noseums everywhere — bring bug spray if you visit.
The mound itself is a popular exercise spot. People were walking up and down the ramp the whole time I was there, a few curious glances at the antenna, nobody asking questions. Just a peaceful morning with birds, water, and the occasional FT8 decode.
On the air
First contact at 08:05 local. Propagation was running northeast-heavy — KG4OJT, W8JDP, W2LJR, KF9UG, TI5RR out of Costa Rica, and AD9DU. Six contacts total. Not a pile-up, not a qualifier — just a handful of stations that heard a 5-watt signal off the top of a Native American mound and answered back.
TI5RR out of Costa Rica was the highlight, logging +03 sent which is practically a booming signal at QRP on 20M.
The ranger
I was just about ready to pack up when a park ranger walked up the mound and came over to me. Apparently someone had spotted me up there and reported to him that a person was building an electronic device on the hill.
To his credit, the ranger had noticed me earlier and thought it looked like a radio situation, so instead of just calling the sheriff's office he decided to come talk to me first and find out what was actually going on. I cannot overstate how much I appreciate that call. We're talking about the difference between a friendly conversation about ham radio and FT8 versus showing up to find deputies — or worse — waiting at the bottom of the mound.
I explained what I was doing, showed him the radio, and that was the end of it. He was completely cool about it. We had a good laugh. He went on with his morning, I finished packing up.
The frustrating part? I wasn't recording. I wasn't live on TikTok. The one time something genuinely interesting happens in the field and the camera is in the bag. If you're a ham who does any kind of field operating in public spaces, the lesson is simple: people see an antenna and a box full of wires and their brain goes somewhere it shouldn't. A friendly explanation goes a long way — and it helps a lot when the ranger decides to talk before he dials.
Would I activate here again?
Yes. It's not a POTA park, so there's no logbook requirement and no spot needed. But the history here is worth the trip and the view from the top of the mound is genuinely beautiful. If you're in the Safety Harbor area and you want a quiet morning with a radio and a reason to think about the people who were here a thousand years before you, Philippe Park delivers.
Just bring bug spray. And maybe keep TikTok open.
73 de W4GGJ
| Date | June 9, 2026 |
| Location | Philippe Park, Safety Harbor, FL |
| Reference | Non-POTA |
| Band | 20M |
| Mode | FT8 |
| Power | 5W QRP |
| Radio | Xiegu X6200 |
| Antenna | Radioddity HF-010 |
| Total QSOs | 6 |
| DX highlight | TI5RR — Costa Rica |
Gear used in this post: Radioddity HF-010 · Xiegu X6200 · 50L MOLLE backpack · LiFePO4 battery · 4-in-1 solar panel