In this short episode, I’m bringing you behind the scenes and sharing two ideas that have been on my mind for Cliff’s Notes on Amateur Radio. I’m genuinely looking for your feedback to decide which of these ideas (maybe both!) I should move forward with.

The first idea is something I’m calling “POTA Hunters.”

As you probably know, I’ve been incredibly active with Parks on the Air (POTA). Over time, I’ve noticed that I regularly hear from the same voices, fellow operators who “hunt” me nearly every time I activate a park. Some of them have contacted me dozens of times. For instance, I’ve had 94 contacts with Jack Prindle (AB4WS) and 68 with Tom Francis (NV4H). I can recognize many of these voices instantly, and I’d love to learn more about the people behind the call signs.

So here’s the concept: I’d invite these frequent POTA hunters, folks who have worked me 20 times or more, to join me for short, conversational interviews. We’d talk about their amateur radio journey, how they got into the hobby, what they enjoy most about POTA, and maybe even their favorite activation stories or mishaps along the way.

If you’re an activator, you’ve probably worked some of these same people too, so I think this could be a really fun way for all of us to get to know the voices we hear so often on the air.

The second idea is an educational one: revisiting the Technician and General license material that I studied when I first got licensed.

When I first earned my licenses, I scored 100% on both exams. At the time, I memorized the answer to every question in the entire question pool for both the Technician and General exams. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean I understood every concept at the time. It’s been over a year since then, and I’ve been wondering: how much of that knowledge has really stuck?

I thought it might be interesting to go back through the entire question pool, section by section, right here on the podcast. I’d read each question aloud, share what I think the answer is, and then talk through whether that information has actually been useful or relevant in real-world operating. Basically, I’d be learning , or re-learning, out loud with you. Only this time, there’s no anxiety about making sure that I get the answer right on an upcoming test.

Both of these ideas could add something special to this show, but I don’t want to move forward without hearing from you first.

Would you be more interested in the “POTA Hunters” interviews, the “Re-Taking the Test” series, or both?

Send me your thoughts!

👉 Email me at [email protected] and let me know what you think.

Your feedback will directly shape the direction of this podcast.

Until next time, 73!