Activation Report: Sawgrass Lake Park (US-6700) — May 6, 2026
- 5 min reading time
Mode: FT8 (Digital) + SSB (Phone) · Band: 20m · Radio: Xiegu X6200 · Contacts: 21 · Park: US-6700
Sawgrass Lake Park, POTA reference US-6700. 21 QSOs in the log including one SSB phone contact — and this one was all about the Radioddity HF-010 getting its first real field test.
The park
Sawgrass Lake Park is the home park at this point — one of the largest maple swamps on the Gulf Coast, over 400 acres of Florida wilderness tucked behind the neighborhoods of St. Petersburg. Free admission, easy access, shaded picnic tables, and a reliable operating environment. It's the right park for a first field test of new gear.
The setup
This morning started with the HF-010 unboxing video right at the park, followed by the antenna assembly video on-site before the station ever went on the air. Once assembled I used the Nano VNA to tune the antenna — dialed it into 1.23 SWR on 20m which was the lowest I could achieve. The antenna was positioned approximately 15 feet from the picnic table where I was operating, then moved further away later in the session.
Full station: Xiegu X6200 at 5 watts, Raspberry Pi 4 running DigiPi, Android tablet for spotting and control, and the DIY LiFePO4 battery box handling power.
One notable difference from my normal setup — the HF-010 ships with RG-58AU coax running straight from the antenna to the radio with no ferrite beads. I normally run RG-8X with a one foot jumper and six ferrite beads on each end. I also only had three radials deployed with the HF-010 versus my usual eight. Worth noting for the full review.
The unexpected SSB contact
Before switching to digital I tested SSB on 20 meters and made a phone contact into Texas on 5 watts — a 5-7 signal report. That caught my attention immediately. I've run SSB on this radio before with my previous antenna setup and never made voice contacts at that kind of distance on 5 watts. That one contact told me something was different about this antenna.
The technical issues
After one FT8 contact the session hit a wall. Several hours of troubleshooting followed — swapping between DigiPi and laptop, back and forth trying to isolate the issue. Eventually tracked it down to the mobile hotspot. T-Mobile was blocking the ports that WSJT-X needs to report back to the home shack — locking everything up. Switched to the AT&T hotspot and everything came back online immediately.
Lesson learned — carrier matters for field digital operation. File that one away.
Back on the air
Once the hotspot issue was resolved the session took off. PSK Reporter opened up significantly — more spots showing where my signal was being heard than I normally see. The WSJT-X waterfall was busier than usual. Whether that was the antenna, better band conditions for the day, or some combination of both — I don't know yet. But the difference was immediately noticeable.
Four contacts in the first 15 minutes back on the air. The antenna with only three radials and straight RG-58AU coax was outperforming my expectations given the simplified setup.
Band conditions fluctuated throughout the session — strong in the morning including a solid PSK Reporter spread during a Whisper mode test, fading through midday, almost completely dead at 11:36 AM with noise and interference on the waterfall, then picking back up. By 1:10 PM I was at 14 contacts. Shut down at 2:00 PM, packed up by 2:10 PM.
Final count
21 total QSOs including one SSB phone contact into Texas. Park qualified comfortably.
First impressions of the HF-010
Early impressions are positive. The antenna quality is solid, assembly is straightforward, the carrying case is compact and well designed, and the combination ground spike and tripod mount system is a genuine improvement over a standalone tripod — it keeps the antenna steadier in the field. The coil numbering system makes tuning methodical rather than guesswork.
A full review covering two field activations will be published separately. Tomorrow's activation will run the same setup again for back-to-back comparison data.
Full log uploaded to pota.app. 73 de W4GGJ
New to FT8 or POTA? My book FT8 for the First Time covers everything from your first digital contact to your first park activation — available now on Amazon Kindle and paperback.
Come talk ham radio on the Tava One Discord.