EM50/60 Ham Radio POTA Leaderboards
Public Parks on the Air leaderboards for grid squares EM50 and EM60 — no sign-up, no roster, nothing to join. These two grids run along the Gulf Coast of the United States from eastern Louisiana across south Mississippi and Alabama into the Florida panhandle: 22 parks in Florida, 17 in Alabama, 15 in Mississippi and 5 in Louisiana. Those add up to 59, not 57 — two parks sit in two states at once.

The underlying data all comes from POTA’s own public record: each park publishes its grid square, and each uploaded log publishes the call sign that made it. The rankings, the time windows and the totals are worked out here — POTA doesn’t publish a by-grid leaderboard of its own. If you’ve activated a park in these two grids and uploaded your log, you’re already counted, alongside every other operator activating the same parks. These are activator logs only; hunters aren’t counted. The boards show the top ten in each category; the full park list further down covers every park.
If you would rather not appear here at all, mail AE4JC@ae4jc.com and your call sign comes off the boards — no reason needed.
Figures here follow POTA’s, so they move on POTA’s timing. Logs reach POTA at different times — an activator may be on the road for days — and POTA notes that even once a QSO appears it can take up to 48 hours for all statistics to finish updating. A number that looks low is usually just early. Every call sign links to that operator’s own POTA profile.
Data as of Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 2:50 AM CDT (2026-09-22T07:50:48Z) — 57 parks across EM50 and EM60, 10,205 activations by 950 operators.
Page last published Tuesday, 22 September 2026 at 1:55 PM CDT. The figures are pulled from POTA once a day, about 02:50 US Central; the page itself rebuilds every few minutes. So if these two are more than about a day apart, the data pull stalled rather than the page.
POTA counts a log as an activation only at 10 or more QSOs; below that it's an attempt. These boards apply that same rule, so each park's activation count here lines up with the figure POTA publishes for that park — 10,600 outings have been logged across these two grids, 10,205 of which reached the threshold. QSO totals count every contact, attempts included, which is how POTA reports a park's contact total in our checks. POTA does not publish a by-grid leaderboard itself; this page is an aggregate built from their public park and log data.
September 2026 month-to-date
124 activations from 125 logged outings, 3,380 QSOs, 46 operators.
Activations
| # | Call | Activations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | W5DUI | 16 |
| 2 | KF4PGW | 11 |
| 3 | KQ4TPD | 10 |
| 4 | KJ5GKK | 6 |
| 4 | W3LEL | 6 |
| 4 | WS4Y | 6 |
| 7 | KE6MYV | 4 |
| 7 | W4ER | 4 |
| 7 | N5VJX | 4 |
| 7 | WB4FAY | 4 |
36 more operators not shown.
QSOs
| # | Call | QSOs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | W5DUI | 424 |
| 2 | KQ4TPD | 356 |
| 3 | KJ5GKK | 290 |
| 4 | KF4PGW | 219 |
| 5 | KO4GIA | 206 |
| 6 | KE6MYV | 167 |
| 7 | W3LEL | 152 |
| 8 | WS4Y | 144 |
| 9 | KJ5QGS | 140 |
| 10 | W4ER | 119 |
37 more operators not shown.
Different Parks
| # | Call | Different Parks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KQ4TPD | 8 |
| 2 | KJ5GKK | 4 |
| 2 | N5VJX | 4 |
| 2 | W4ER | 4 |
| 2 | WB4FAY | 4 |
| 6 | KE6MYV | 3 |
| 6 | KF0TTM | 3 |
| 6 | KR4KNZ | 3 |
| 9 | W3LEL | 2 |
| 9 | K4MJC | 2 |
| 9 | KO4NDP | 2 |
| 9 | KT4GH | 2 |
| 9 | NR5NN | 2 |
| 9 | W4KMZ | 2 |
| 9 | W9FTR | 2 |
31 more operators not shown.
Most-Activated Parks
| # | Park | Grid | Activations | QSOs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-0661 Gulf Islands National Seashore | EM60 | 29 | 667 |
| 2 | US-13011 Shoal River Headwaters State Park | EM60 | 13 | 242 |
| 3 | US-1042 Gulf State Park | EM60 | 8 | 272 |
| 4 | US-1873 Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park | EM60 | 7 | 161 |
| 5 | US-1837 Big Lagoon State Park | EM60 | 5 | 116 |
| 5 | US-0388 Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge | EM50 | 5 | 100 |
| 7 | US-4494 De Soto National Forest | EM50 | 4 | 228 |
| 7 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park | EM50 | 4 | 209 |
| 7 | US-1047 Meaher State Park | EM60 | 4 | 103 |
| 7 | US-1875 Grayton Beach State Park | EM60 | 4 | 78 |
2026 Year to Date
2,077 activations from 2,147 logged outings, 78,129 QSOs, 323 operators.
Activations
| # | Call | Activations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | W5DUI | 207 |
| 2 | KQ4TPD | 165 of 167 outings |
| 3 | K4BOS | 132 |
| 4 | NL5Y | 73 |
| 5 | WS4Y | 71 |
| 6 | K5DZR | 63 |
| 7 | N5VJX | 54 |
| 8 | W9FTR | 32 |
| 9 | W8WZ | 29 of 30 outings |
| 9 | KF0BWR | 29 |
Where a second figure appears, that operator logged more outings than the count shows: the difference is trips that finished under 10 QSOs. POTA counts those as attempts rather than activations, and this board follows POTA so the numbers match your profile. The trip still happened — it is shown here rather than dropped.
313 more operators not shown.
QSOs
| # | Call | QSOs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KQ4TPD | 8,316 |
| 2 | K5DZR | 5,847 |
| 3 | W5DUI | 5,049 |
| 4 | K4BOS | 3,609 |
| 5 | NL5Y | 2,896 |
| 6 | N5VJX | 2,811 |
| 7 | N0BPM | 2,442 |
| 8 | WS4Y | 2,405 |
| 9 | NE4MW | 1,880 |
| 10 | W9FTR | 1,494 |
325 more operators not shown.
Different Parks
| # | Call | Different Parks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4BOS | 26 |
| 2 | W8WZ | 24 |
| 3 | KC1YL | 22 |
| 4 | W4ER | 21 |
| 5 | KC9RF | 19 |
| 6 | KQ4TPD | 17 |
| 6 | NJ9L | 17 |
| 8 | WY7BW | 16 |
| 9 | N5VJX | 15 |
| 10 | KG5LRB | 12 |
313 more operators not shown.
Most-Activated Parks
| # | Park | Grid | Activations | QSOs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-0661 Gulf Islands National Seashore | EM60 | 398 | 10,698 |
| 2 | US-1042 Gulf State Park | EM60 | 162 | 9,841 |
| 3 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park | EM50 | 131 | 9,462 |
| 4 | US-1873 Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park | EM60 | 112 | 4,786 |
| 5 | US-1047 Meaher State Park | EM60 | 76 | 2,912 |
| 6 | US-11292 Historic Blakeley State Park Historic Site | EM60 | 68 | 2,366 |
| 7 | US-12996 Fowl River Access Site BLM Recreation Management Area | EM50 | 56 | 2,441 |
| 8 | US-2532 Buccaneer State Park | EM50 | 50 | 1,906 |
| 8 | US-1837 Big Lagoon State Park | EM60 | 50 | 1,214 |
| 10 | US-4614 Blackwater River State Forest | EM60 | 47 | 2,134 |
All Time
10,205 activations from 10,600 logged outings, 425,962 QSOs, 950 operators.
Activations
| # | Call | Activations |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4AA | 713 |
| 2 | WS4Y | 603 |
| 3 | W5DUI | 520 |
| 4 | KQ4TPD | 332 of 334 outings |
| 5 | N4SAX | 295 of 296 outings |
| 6 | N5BO | 207 of 212 outings |
| 7 | N5VJX | 176 of 179 outings |
| 8 | K4BOS | 172 |
| 9 | N5PWD | 137 |
| 10 | AE4JC | 131 of 133 outings |
Where a second figure appears, that operator logged more outings than the count shows: the difference is trips that finished under 10 QSOs. POTA counts those as attempts rather than activations, and this board follows POTA so the numbers match your profile. The trip still happened — it is shown here rather than dropped.
940 more operators not shown.
QSOs
| # | Call | QSOs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4AA | 27,721 |
| 2 | WS4Y | 22,548 |
| 3 | N5BO | 21,991 |
| 4 | KQ4TPD | 19,310 |
| 5 | N4SAX | 17,947 |
| 6 | W5DUI | 13,588 |
| 7 | N4LEQ | 10,717 |
| 8 | N5VJX | 8,325 |
| 9 | N5PWD | 7,809 |
| 10 | KI5HBS | 6,946 |
981 more operators not shown.
Different Parks
| # | Call | Different Parks |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4LLL | 57 |
| 2 | W6ZD | 51 |
| 3 | KE8SZL | 50 |
| 4 | KG5YMI | 48 |
| 5 | N4MTE | 47 |
| 6 | W8WZ | 46 |
| 7 | WS4Y | 39 |
| 8 | N5BO | 38 |
| 9 | K4AA | 37 |
| 10 | W5DUI | 36 |
940 more operators not shown.
Most-Activated Parks
| # | Park | Grid | Activations | QSOs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-0661 Gulf Islands National Seashore | EM60 | 1,287 | 46,121 |
| 2 | US-1873 Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park | EM60 | 1,046 | 48,801 |
| 3 | US-1042 Gulf State Park | EM60 | 641 | 33,823 |
| 4 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park | EM50 | 393 | 25,790 |
| 5 | US-1047 Meaher State Park | EM60 | 354 | 17,636 |
| 6 | US-4614 Blackwater River State Forest | EM60 | 310 | 13,937 |
| 7 | US-8327 Blackwater River State Conservation Area | EM60 | 287 | 12,332 |
| 8 | US-0300 Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge | EM50 | 281 | 12,773 |
| 9 | US-2532 Buccaneer State Park | EM50 | 263 | 11,565 |
| 10 | US-1876 Henderson Beach State Park | EM60 | 221 | 9,444 |
Big Movers
Who grew the most inside EM50 and EM60 from July 2026 to August 2026 — ranked by percent increase, not raw count. This is a grid-scoped figure, not your POTA-wide total: an operator active outside these two grids will see a smaller number here than on their own POTA profile. Percent means a small operator doubling from one activation to two can outrank someone going from 50 to 90 — that's the board doing what it's for, not a bug. Brand-new operators aren't ranked here at all; see "New in August 2026" below for them. Only increases are shown — if a callsign isn't listed below, it likely held steady, dropped, had no activity in either month, or asked to be left off these boards.
Figures for August 2026 can still be settling: POTA logs sometimes arrive late and can take up to 48 hours to finish updating once they do, so the first few days after a month closes are the ones most likely to move.
Activations — Big Movers
| # | Call | Change | July 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4BOS | +1160% | 5 | 63 |
| 2 | KQ4TPD | +1066.7% | 6 | 70 |
| 3 | K5MSY | +400% | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | N5VJX | +200% | 5 | 15 |
| 5 | WS4Y | +100% | 4 | 8 |
| 5 | K4LLL | +100% | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | KC3SEG | +66.7% | 3 | 5 |
| 8 | W5DUI | +62.5% | 16 | 26 |
| 9 | K4AA | +50% | 2 | 3 |
New in August 2026: AB5GC, AG7EX, AG7FU, AI5BL, K4EES, KC5RFU, KD7DPS, KE6MYV, KF4JK, KF4PGW, KN4VTX, KO4CHB, KQ4HBQ, KQ4KZM, KQ4LQO, KR4DSL, KR4FWK, KR4IXT, KR4MMC, N5HLM, N5SEB, N9WF, NE4MW, W3LEL, W3ZZT, W5LFL, W9FTR, WD5CFM and WD8CYU — first activity in these grids, so there is no prior month to compare against.
QSOs — Big Movers
| # | Call | Change | July 2026 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KQ4TPD | +1338.5% | 182 | 2,618 |
| 2 | K5MSY | +558.3% | 48 | 316 |
| 3 | K4BOS | +492.5% | 173 | 1,025 |
| 4 | N5VJX | +303.9% | 206 | 832 |
| 5 | WS4Y | +145.5% | 77 | 189 |
| 6 | N1BX | +100% | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | W5DUI | +88.9% | 334 | 631 |
| 8 | K4AA | +50% | 26 | 39 |
| 9 | ND9G | +34.2% | 114 | 153 |
| 10 | N4RAI | +17.6% | 17 | 20 |
2 more operators not shown.
New in August 2026: AB5GC, AG7EX, AG7FU, AI5BL, K4EES, KC5RFU, KD7DPS, KE6MYV, KF4JK, KF4PGW, KN4VTX, KO4CHB, KQ4HBQ, KQ4KZM, KQ4LQO, KR4DSL, KR4FWK, KR4IXT, KR4MMC, N5HLM, N5SEB, N9WF, NE4MW, W3LEL, W3ZZT, W5LFL, W9FTR, WD5CFM and WD8CYU — first activity in these grids, so there is no prior month to compare against.
Park to Park
Park-to-park contacts involving an EM50 or EM60 park, excluding same-park contacts. 2305 visible so far — 22 with a park at both ends. These are floors, not totals.
POTA's public API returns each operator's 25 most recent hunter QSOs, so this list is built from that rolling window and grows from 2026-08-07. Operators can see their own full history on POTA; there is no public API to aggregate park-to-park by grid, which is why these counts start here rather than reaching back.
Park to park inside the grids
A park at both ends, both of them here. Three ways that can happen, and two of them have not happened yet:
| Pairing | Recorded |
|---|---|
| EM50 to EM60 (across the bay) | 16 |
| EM50 to EM50 | 5 |
| EM60 to EM60 | 1 |
| When | Pairing | Operator | Their park | Worked | At | Band | Mode |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-12 | EM50-EM60 | KF4PGW | US-13011 | KJ5GKK | US-0025 | 40M | PHONE |
| 2026-09-07 | EM50-EM60 | W5DUI | US-0661 | W3LEL | US-0388 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-09-07 | EM50-EM60 | W3LEL | US-0388 | W5DUI | US-0661 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-30 | EM50-EM50 | KQ4TPD | US-0042 | K4BOS | US-12996 | 2M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-30 | EM50-EM50 | KQ4TPD | US-0042 | K4BOS | US-12996 | 70CM | PHONE |
| 2026-08-29 | EM50-EM60 | KD7DPS | US-11376 | KQ4TPD | US-1042 | 20M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-22 | EM50-EM50 | K4BOS | US-12996 | NE4MW | US-11376 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-22 | EM50-EM50 | K4BOS | US-12996 | NE4MW | US-11376 | 20M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-21 | EM50-EM50 | N5VJX | US-12996 | KQ4TPD | US-11376 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-21 | EM50-EM60 | KQ4TPD | US-3699 | N5VJX | US-12996 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-16 | EM50-EM60 | W5DUI | US-0661 | W3LEL | US-0388 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-16 | EM50-EM60 | K4BOS | US-0042 | AI5BL | US-1042 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-16 | EM50-EM60 | KQ4TPD | US-0136 | K4BOS | US-12996 | 20M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-16 | EM50-EM60 | K4BOS | US-0042 | KQ4TPD | US-1047 | 20M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-16 | EM50-EM60 | W3LEL | US-0388 | WF5W | US-0661 | 2M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-12 | EM50-EM60 | KQ4TPD | US-11292 | K4BOS | US-3692 | 40M | DATA |
| 2026-08-09 | EM50-EM60 | K4BOS | US-12996 | KQ4TPD | US-3699 | 70CM | PHONE |
| 2026-08-09 | EM50-EM60 | K4BOS | US-12996 | KQ4TPD | US-3699 | 2M | PHONE |
| 2026-08-09 | EM50-EM60 | N5VJX | US-12996 | W3LEL | US-0661 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-09 | EM50-EM60 | N5VJX | US-12996 | K4BOS | US-11292 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-08-09 | EM50-EM60 | N5VJX | US-12996 | K4BOS | US-11292 | 20M | DATA |
| 2026-06-03 | EM60-EM60 | AE4JC | US-3711 | KQ4TPD | US-3699 | 6M | PHONE |
Most park-to-park contacts
| # | Call | P2P |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | W5DUI | 509 |
| 2 | KQ4TPD | 341 |
| 3 | KF4PGW | 168 |
| 4 | N5VJX | 133 |
| 5 | K4BOS | 119 |
| 6 | KO4GIA | 110 |
| 7 | W3ZZT | 64 |
| 8 | KE6MYV | 59 |
| 9 | ND9G | 55 |
| 10 | K5MSY | 53 |
| 10 | KJ5GKK | 53 |
| 10 | NE4MW | 53 |
Working another park inside these grids takes an antenna aimed at the next county rather than across the country: 40m NVIS, a 6m Moxon, a 2m Yagi, or CW/digital. Most park-to-park happens on 20M, whose skip zone lands hundreds of miles away.
The Biggest Single Activations
The biggest single activation on record here is 685 contacts, by W3UR at US-0661 Gulf Islands National Seashore on 2022-02-19.
One activation means one log — one call sign, one park, one UTC day. Note call sign, not operator: club stations are one log and many operators, and these tables don't mark which rows are which — read any entry as possibly a club. A log needs 10 contacts to count as an activation at all, so everything below cleared that bar; shorter outings are covered under What the Hunters Did.
Two things this cannot see. A session that runs past 0000Z — 6 PM here in winter, 7 PM in summer — becomes two logs, and if the later one falls under 10 contacts it is filed as an attempt rather than as part of the same sitting, so some evening totals are split. And an n-fer, where one sitting sits inside two parks at once, files one log per park with the same contacts in both, so it can appear here twice.
All time
| # | Contacts | Call | Date | Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 685 | W3UR | 2022-02-19 | US-0661 Gulf Islands National Seashore |
| 2 | 663 | NE4MW | 2024-06-01 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 3 | 650 | KQ4TPD | 2026-08-22 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 4 | 520 | N5BO | 2022-03-12 | US-6300 Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area |
| 5 | 507 | N5BO | 2022-04-17 | US-1040 Lake Jackson RV Park at Florala State Park |
| 6 | 451 | N4MZ | 2023-01-29 | US-1047 Meaher State Park |
| 7 | 436 | NE4MW | 2026-06-06 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 8 | 430 | NE4MW | 2025-06-07 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 9 | 427 | K4AA | 2023-10-05 | US-8332 Escambia River State Conservation Area |
| 10 | 420 | N5BO | 2025-04-20 | US-8335 Yellow River Water Management Area |
The top of 10,205 activations, all time.
September 2026 month-to-date
| # | Contacts | Call | Date | Park |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 155 | KO4GIA | 2026-09-05 | US-8332 Escambia River State Conservation Area |
| 2 | 136 | KJ5GKK | 2026-09-11 | US-1910 Perdido Key State Park |
| 3 | 130 | KJ5QGS | 2026-09-20 | US-4494 De Soto National Forest |
| 4 | 76 | KE6MYV | 2026-09-15 | US-1042 Gulf State Park |
| 5 | 75 | KQ4TPD | 2026-09-01 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 6 | 72 | KQ4TPD | 2026-09-18 | US-11376 USS Alabama Battleship Park |
| 7 | 62 | KJ5GKK | 2026-09-13 | US-1042 Gulf State Park |
| 8 | 54 | KD9ZNA | 2026-09-20 | US-3664 Topsail Hill Preserve State Park |
| 9 | 51 | KO4GIA | 2026-09-07 | US-8332 Escambia River State Conservation Area |
| 9 | 51 | NR5NN | 2026-09-18 | US-4494 De Soto National Forest |
The top of 124 activations this month.
What actually tops this board is usually a station set up to work a pile-up: a club or multi-operator setup, often on an organised event weekend. Three of the all-time ten are the same club call at the same park on the first Saturday in June, three years running. Conditions, time on site and a park near a population centre do the rest. None of that makes a quiet activation a lesser one — the park table is the better place to look for what is genuinely under-activated.
What the Hunters Did
Every activation on this page needed somebody on the other end. POTA counts a log as an activation at 10 contacts and not one below it, so on a leaderboard like this the hunters are not the audience — they are the measurement.
| In EM50 and EM60, all time | |
|---|---|
| Contacts made inside the 10,205 activations | 424,434 |
| Activations that finished on exactly 10 | 394 |
| Logs that stopped short of 10 | 395 |
| Contacts inside those shorter logs | 1,528 |
394 of those activations finished on exactly 10 contacts. Some operators stopped once they had the minimum; others only just reached it. A log does not record which, and either way the tenth contact is the one that made it an activation.
These bands add up rather than divide up — each row includes the rows above it, so the shares are not meant to be summed.
| Activations finishing on | Count | Share of all 10,205 |
|---|---|---|
| exactly 10 contacts | 394 | 3.9% |
| 10 to 11 contacts | 873 | 8.6% |
| 10 to 12 contacts | 1,462 | 14.3% |
| 10 to 14 contacts | 2,305 | 22.6% |
The 395 logs that stopped short are the part worth reading twice, because the hunters in them were credited anyway. Credit flows from the log, not from the activation succeeding — POTA's rules say, “Hunters do not submit logs to the program… Hunters earn credit through the activator’s logs,” and describe submitting a short log as the courteous thing to do: “Courteous activators will still submit logs for unsuccessful activations to ensure their hunters get credit for the QSOs.” So those 1,528 contacts counted for the people on the other end even though the day did not count for the operator. Why each log was filed is not something a log records, and this page does not guess at it — but whatever the reason, calling these failures describes only one end of the contact.
The two contact totals on this page are both right and count different things: the boards above report 425,962 QSOs, every contact logged in these grids, while 424,434 is the part made inside activations that reached 10. The difference is exactly the 1,528 in the shorter logs. Counted from POTA's own public activation records for all 57 parks, the same records every board on this page is built from. Log submission has no deadline, so a log that reads short today can be completed later; these figures are recomputed nightly rather than frozen.
Top Local Hunters
Operators based in EM50 or EM60 who worked an activator at a park in these grids — from home, from the car, or from a park themselves. Home grid comes from each operator's own POTA profile.
September 2026
| # | Call | Home grid | Parks hunted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4LLL | EM60 | 3 |
| 1 | KF4PGW | EM60 | 3 |
| 3 | W3LEL | EM50 | 1 |
| 3 | W9FTR | EM60 | 1 |
All time
| # | Call | Home grid | Parks hunted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KQ4TPD | EM60 | 11 |
| 2 | K4BOS | EM50 | 10 |
| 3 | N5VJX | EM50 | 9 |
| 4 | K4LLL | EM60 | 4 |
| 5 | K4AA | EM60 | 3 |
| 5 | KF4PGW | EM60 | 3 |
| 7 | KT4GH | EM60 | 1 |
| 7 | NE4MW | EM50 | 1 |
| 7 | W3LEL | EM50 | 1 |
| 7 | W9FTR | EM60 | 1 |
Counts start 2026-08-07 and grow — POTA's public feed shows each operator's 25 most recent hunter contacts, so this reaches back only as far as tracking has been running. Nobody is added by hand: the operators checked are those POTA shows activating in these grids, which means a local who only hunts and never activates will not appear here yet. That is a gap in the data, not a judgement about anyone.
Top Spotters
The other way people help an activator: putting them on the POTA spotting page so everyone else can find them. A spot is a small act of work — you stop what you are doing, type somebody else's call sign and frequency, and hand them a pileup. Nothing in POTA's own record keeps score of it.
This board counts spots, not contacts. POTA's rules say so plainly: “anyone (including hunters) can also spot/respot you, regardless of whether they are working that activator.” Plenty of the people below did work the operator they spotted. The public record cannot show which, so this page does not guess — it credits the spot, which is a real thing somebody did.
September 2026
| # | Call | Spots | Parks | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KC7UXM | 25 | 15 | 17 |
| 2 | W4BIA | 11 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | KE2DC | 9 | 10 | 10 |
| 4 | N5VJX | 8 | 6 | 3 |
| 4 | VA3YTM | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| 6 | K0BHB | 7 | 10 | 9 |
| 7 | K3VAT | 6 | 6 | 7 |
| 7 | KE2IFC | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| 7 | N1ECT | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | N8OFP | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| 7 | N9UVS | 6 | 6 | 8 |
All time
| # | Call | Spots | Parks | Operators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KC7UXM | 32 | 15 | 17 |
| 2 | KQ4TPD | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | KE2DC | 16 | 10 | 10 |
| 3 | N5VJX | 16 | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | K3VAT | 14 | 6 | 7 |
| 6 | N3FMC | 13 | 11 | 10 |
| 6 | W0KEG | 13 | 8 | 5 |
| 8 | K0BHB | 12 | 10 | 9 |
| 9 | N8UW | 11 | 11 | 9 |
| 9 | N9UVS | 11 | 6 | 8 |
| 9 | VA3YTM | 11 | 8 | 9 |
| 9 | W4BIA | 11 | 1 | 1 |
What this board leaves out
Two kinds of spot are left out. Automated skimmer spots — the Reverse Beacon Network hears a CW or digital signal and posts it with nobody choosing to — and operators spotting themselves, which logging software often does for them. Neither is a person deciding to help somebody else.
Measured on every spot this has actually looked at, not on a sample:
| Kind of spot | Seen | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Automated skimmer spots (RBN and similar) | 5,872 | 70.4% |
| Counted on the board below | 1,575 | 18.9% |
| Operators spotting themselves | 889 | 10.7% |
The skimmer share is normally the large one, and on a live sample it was most of the traffic. That is the RBN doing its job, not a flaw in the feed.
Counts start 2026-08-14 and grow. POTA keeps no history of spots — they leave the spotting page about 30 minutes after the last one, or sooner if a comment marks QRT — so this is built by watching every five minutes and can only ever reach back to the day it started. Unlike the board above, this one has no home-grid requirement: spot an activator in EM50 or EM60 from anywhere in the world and you are on it.
The All Parks Award
Activating every park in EM50 and EM60 is the hardest thing these two grids have to offer, and for years nobody had done it. The operators below have. Being first is the one thing here that can only happen once.
| # | Call | Completed | Parks | Sheet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4LLL | 2026-08-13 | 57 |
Each row shows the number of parks in these grids on the day that operator finished. POTA adds parks, so a later row can need a larger set — which is why the figure is fixed at the date earned rather than recounted. An award already earned is not taken back when a new park appears.
Chasing the Sweep
There are 57 parks in EM50 and EM60, and every one has at least one uploaded activation — no untouched parks left in either grid. So the scarce thing here isn't a new park to find, it's a complete set. This is how far along each operator is. Anyone showing 57 here has finished, and is named under the award above.
| # | Call | Parks | Left | What's left |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | K4LLL | 57 / 57 | 0 | — |
| 2 | W6ZD | 51 / 57 | 6 | — |
| 3 | KE8SZL | 50 / 57 | 7 | — |
| 4 | KG5YMI | 48 / 57 | 9 | — |
| 5 | N4MTE | 47 / 57 | 10 | — |
| 6 | W8WZ | 46 / 57 | 11 | — |
| 7 | WS4Y | 39 / 57 | 18 | — |
| 8 | N5BO | 38 / 57 | 19 | — |
Parks are named once an operator is within five of the finish; above that it's a list, not a plan.
The Hard Ones
The least-activated parks in both grids. For scale, the busiest park here has more activations than all eight of these combined.
| Park | Name | Grid | State | Activations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US-9849 | Deer Island Coastal Park | EM50nj | US-MS | 14 |
| US-7109 | Old River Wildlife Management Area | EM50cs | US-MS | 18 |
| US-7111 | Red Creek Wildlife Management Area | EM50nq | US-MS | 25 |
| US-9916 | Blackwater River State Nature Preserve | EM60gl | US-AL | 26 |
| US-7108 | Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area | EM50rp | US-MS | 28 |
| US-7107 | Theodore Mars Wildlife Management Area | EM50gs | US-MS | 28 |
| US-8517 | Flint Creek State Recreation Area | EM50ku | US-MS | 30 |
| US-7112 | Ward Bayou Wildlife Management Area | EM50qn | US-MS | 31 |
Every Park in EM50 and EM60
All 57 of them, ranked by activations. Park references link to POTA's own page for that park; the map link opens its location. Grid squares are POTA's own — this page asks POTA which parks are in each grid rather than working it out from coordinates.
| # | Park | Name | Grid | State | Activations | Outings | QSOs | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-0661 | Gulf Islands National Seashore | EM60ki | US-FL,US-MS | 1,287 | 1,343 | 46,121 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W5DUI, KO4TXK, N5BO, WF5W, ND9G | ||||||||
| 2 | US-1873 | Fred Gannon Rocky Bayou State Park | EM60sl | US-FL | 1,046 | 1,062 | 48,801 | map |
| Top 5 activators: WS4Y, N4SAX, KZ4XO, N2PDK, KN4UDT | ||||||||
| 3 | US-1042 | Gulf State Park | EM60eg | US-AL | 641 | 677 | 33,823 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KJ6NA, K8NWN, K5DZR, K4EES, N0BPM | ||||||||
| 4 | US-11376 | USS Alabama Battleship Park | EM50xq | US-AL | 393 | 411 | 25,790 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KQ4TPD, N5VJX, NE4MW, AE4JC, KQ4PLS | ||||||||
| 5 | US-1047 | Meaher State Park | EM60aq | US-AL | 354 | 362 | 17,636 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KQ4TPD, N4NR, KQ4PLS, N4LEQ, AE4JC | ||||||||
| 6 | US-4614 | Blackwater River State Forest | EM60nq | US-FL | 310 | 323 | 13,937 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, KK4WDR, W9FTR, KF4RAF, N5BO | ||||||||
| 7 | US-8327 | Blackwater River State Conservation Area | EM60lp | US-FL | 287 | 293 | 12,332 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, K9JHR, W9FTR, W4KMZ, N4LEQ | ||||||||
| 8 | US-0300 | Big Branch Marsh National Wildlife Refuge | EM50ah | US-LA | 281 | 286 | 12,773 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KD5PCK, N5PWD, AA5UZ, AA5UY, KI5UTS | ||||||||
| 9 | US-2532 | Buccaneer State Park | EM50hg | US-MS | 263 | 268 | 11,565 | map |
| Top 5 activators: AI5BE, W9WGN, W8WZ, W1ND, KI5OLV | ||||||||
| 10 | US-1876 | Henderson Beach State Park | EM60sj | US-FL | 221 | 231 | 9,444 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4SAX, N5BO, KQ4IPM, K9TQ, N4YLA | ||||||||
| 11 | US-0388 | Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge | EM50qk | US-MS | 220 | 226 | 6,543 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W5DUI, KK4DOD, N1DUC, W5HI, AI5BE | ||||||||
| 12 | US-3664 | Topsail Hill Preserve State Park | EM60ui | US-FL | 219 | 231 | 10,020 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KK4EB, N4NR, W9FTR, KC3SEG, N5BO | ||||||||
| 13 | US-1841 | Blackwater River State Park | EM60nq | US-FL | 213 | 218 | 9,928 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, N5BO, KK4WDR, KI5HBS, K9JHR | ||||||||
| 14 | US-0042 | Fort Gaines National Historic Site | EM50xf | US-AL | 200 | 214 | 6,920 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N9UQ, N5VJX, KD9UEQ, W4ER, K4BOS | ||||||||
| 15 | US-11292 | Historic Blakeley State Park Historic Site | EM60br | US-AL | 194 | 204 | 8,589 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KQ4TPD, AJ4RM, N5VJX, AE4JC, K4BOS | ||||||||
| 16 | US-0025 | Fort Morgan National Historic Site | EM50xf | US-AL | 190 | 202 | 6,298 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KJ6NA, K4EES, KQ4TPD, W5OTO, KN4WGE | ||||||||
| 17 | US-1837 | Big Lagoon State Park | EM60hh | US-FL | 185 | 205 | 6,354 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KN4VTX, KR4MMC, KI5HBS, K4AA, KE6MYV | ||||||||
| 18 | US-8332 | Escambia River State Conservation Area | EM60is | US-FL | 181 | 187 | 8,664 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, KO4GIA, N4LEQ, K9JHR, N4VGY | ||||||||
| 19 | US-1910 | Perdido Key State Park | EM60gh | US-FL | 171 | 177 | 4,948 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K5DZR, KQ4TPD, N4MRC, K4LLL, AD9BL | ||||||||
| 20 | US-3711 | Weeks Bay Reserve National Conservation Area | EM60ck | US-AL | 170 | 174 | 6,303 | map |
| Top 5 activators: AE4JC, KQ4TPD, K4LLL, W4ER, KQ4VVQ | ||||||||
| 21 | US-1875 | Grayton Beach State Park | EM60wi | US-FL | 160 | 171 | 6,151 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KC3SEG, N5BO, WS4Y, W4LPH, W0SK | ||||||||
| 22 | US-3670 | Yellow River Marsh Preserve State Park | EM60ll | US-FL | 156 | 160 | 7,466 | map |
| Top 5 activators: NL5Y, K4AA, N5BO, N4LEQ, NA4RR | ||||||||
| 23 | US-3608 | Blackwater Heritage State Trail | EM60lp | US-FL | 154 | 160 | 5,321 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, N4LEQ, W9FTR, N5BO, KR4LW | ||||||||
| 24 | US-8333 | Garcon Point State Conservation Area | EM60kl | US-FL | 148 | 151 | 5,150 | map |
| Top 5 activators: NL5Y, K4AA, N4LEQ, KO4TXK, N5BO | ||||||||
| 25 | US-4071 | Pearl River Wildlife Management Area | EM50dh | US-LA | 147 | 151 | 5,053 | map |
| Top 5 activators: AA5UZ, AA5UY, KD5PCK, KI5UTS, AI5BE | ||||||||
| 26 | US-2551 | Shepard State Park | EM50qi | US-MS | 145 | 152 | 5,039 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5BLM, AG5WY, WF5W, KA5ZHG, KA4PJZ | ||||||||
| 27 | US-3691 | Grand Bay Savanna Complex Wildlife Management Area | EM50uj | US-AL | 141 | 147 | 5,120 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4BOS, KB4JHU, KD4NGA, W4ER, N5BO | ||||||||
| 28 | US-8335 | Yellow River Water Management Area | EM60np | US-FL | 134 | 137 | 4,733 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, N5BO, KG5LRB, KK4WDR, KZ4YP | ||||||||
| 29 | US-4636 | Point Washington State Forest | EM60wi | US-FL | 129 | 135 | 4,486 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5BO, KC3SEG, WT0N, W4CJB, W4RTR | ||||||||
| 30 | US-0136 | Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge | EM60cf | US-AL | 125 | 133 | 3,205 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KQ4TPD, KY4LV, KJ6NA, K4EES, AK0M | ||||||||
| 31 | US-4494 | De Soto National Forest | EM50jw | US-MS | 115 | 116 | 6,102 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5VJX, KG5DKG, N4UPX/SK, W5HI, W4ER | ||||||||
| 32 | US-3699 | Mobile-Tensaw Delta Wildlife Management Area | EM60at | US-AL | 110 | 113 | 6,125 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KQ4TPD, W4ER, N4LEQ, K4LLL, N4KGL | ||||||||
| 33 | US-0384 | Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge | EM50sk | US-AL,US-MS | 108 | 112 | 5,088 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KD4NGA, K4BOS, KB4JHU, NG5E, N5VJX | ||||||||
| 33 | US-1861 | Eden Gardens State Park | EM60wi | US-FL | 108 | 114 | 2,905 | map |
| Top 5 activators: WS4Y, KC3SEG, N5BO, N4SAX, KE8YVH | ||||||||
| 35 | US-3662 | Tarkiln Bayou Preserve State Park | EM60hi | US-FL | 107 | 125 | 3,252 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KN4VTX, W4JY, KQ4TPD, KR4LW, N5BO | ||||||||
| 36 | US-3692 | Heron Bay and Portersville Bay State Fish and Wildlife Area | EM50wi | US-AL | 103 | 104 | 3,957 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4BOS, N5VJX, KD4NGA, W4ER, KQ4TPD | ||||||||
| 37 | US-1854 | Deer Lake State Park | EM60xh | US-FL | 102 | 109 | 3,202 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KC3SEG, W0SK, KD5ZZU, WS4Y, KC8LUB | ||||||||
| 38 | US-0298 | Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge | EM50bc | US-LA | 96 | 99 | 3,793 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W8WZ, K4GDJ, KD5PCK, N5PWD, AE0YK | ||||||||
| 39 | US-8334 | Perdido River State Conservation Area | EM60gn | US-FL | 94 | 97 | 2,671 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KT4GH, KO4TXK, K9JHR, N4VGY, N9MM | ||||||||
| 40 | US-6445 | St. Tammany Wildlife Refuge | EM50ag | US-LA | 84 | 85 | 4,236 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5PWD, KD5PCK, KI5UTS, KD2HTG, N5BO | ||||||||
| 41 | US-0302 | Bogue Chitto National Wildlife Refuge | EM50ck | US-LA | 81 | 86 | 3,660 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5PWD, AA5UZ, AA5UY, AI5RV, KI5UTS | ||||||||
| 42 | US-1040 | Lake Jackson RV Park at Florala State Park | EM60ux | US-AL | 68 | 69 | 2,755 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N5BO, KZ4YP, KQ4WJN, KB4XT, K4AA | ||||||||
| 42 | US-3696 | Lillian Swamp Complex Preserve State Conservation Area | EM60hk | US-AL | 68 | 75 | 2,163 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4VGY, K4AA, W4BIA, N5BO, K9JHR | ||||||||
| 44 | US-6300 | Escribano Point Wildlife Management Area | EM60mm | US-FL | 62 | 67 | 2,367 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, N5BO, K8SNH, K9JHR, KK4JOE | ||||||||
| 45 | US-12996 | Fowl River Access Site BLM Recreation Management Area | EM50wj | US-AL | 56 | 56 | 2,441 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4BOS, N5VJX, KQ4TPD, W4ER, K4LLL | ||||||||
| 46 | US-7110 | Little Biloxi Wildlife Management Area | EM50jp | US-MS | 49 | 51 | 2,185 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4UPX/SK, AE5MU, W5HI, KC9RF, K4LLL | ||||||||
| 47 | US-13011 | Shoal River Headwaters State Park | EM60vs | US-FL | 44 | 44 | 1,018 | map |
| Top 5 activators: KF4PGW, AD4TM, N2PDK, KR4IXT, W4DEG | ||||||||
| 48 | US-7635 | Airey Lake State Recreation Area | EM50lq | US-MS | 43 | 43 | 1,545 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4UPX/SK, W5HI, AF5KM, W8WZ, N1DUC | ||||||||
| 49 | US-3700 | Perdido River Wildlife Management Area | EM60gq | US-AL | 42 | 42 | 1,469 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K9JHR, N4VGY, K4AA, N9MM, KE0VIM | ||||||||
| 50 | US-7112 | Ward Bayou Wildlife Management Area | EM50qn | US-MS | 31 | 31 | 1,286 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W4ER, KA5ZHG, W8WZ, NG5E, W5CSR | ||||||||
| 51 | US-8517 | Flint Creek State Recreation Area | EM50ku | US-MS | 30 | 30 | 735 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W5MDW, KN4OPA, WJ5ES, W5HI, W4ER | ||||||||
| 52 | US-7107 | Theodore Mars Wildlife Management Area | EM50gs | US-MS | 28 | 29 | 744 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4UPX/SK, W5CSR, AI5RV, K4LLL, KN4PHS | ||||||||
| 52 | US-7108 | Pascagoula River Wildlife Management Area | EM50rp | US-MS | 28 | 28 | 967 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W4ER, W8WZ, W5HI, NG5E, N4UPX/SK | ||||||||
| 54 | US-9916 | Blackwater River State Nature Preserve | EM60gl | US-AL | 26 | 26 | 785 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4AA, N4VGY, W4ER, K4LLL, WC9B | ||||||||
| 55 | US-7111 | Red Creek Wildlife Management Area | EM50nq | US-MS | 25 | 25 | 745 | map |
| Top 5 activators: W5HI, KE4ID, W4ER, KC9RF, KI5YOO | ||||||||
| 56 | US-7109 | Old River Wildlife Management Area | EM50cs | US-MS | 18 | 19 | 552 | map |
| Top 5 activators: N4UPX/SK, N4UPX, W5CSR, K4LLL, WB5WAJ | ||||||||
| 57 | US-9849 | Deer Island Coastal Park | EM50nj | US-MS | 14 | 14 | 701 | map |
| Top 5 activators: K4LLL, KI5UTS, N3AIR, AE4JC, W8WZ | ||||||||
How the Two Grids Split
The line between EM50 and EM60 runs down longitude 88° W — straight through Mobile Bay. That puts parks a few miles apart on opposite boards, so this page ranks both grids together rather than splitting them.
| Grid | Parks | Activations | Outings |
|---|---|---|---|
| EM50 | 25 | 2,889 | 2,985 |
| EM60 | 32 | 7,316 | 7,615 |
Note: 1 logged activation(s) carry an impossible date — an operator typo in the original log. They are left out of the boards rather than guessed at.
Get On the Board
Nothing to sign up for, and nothing to send us. We never see your log — these boards are built from POTA's own public data, so everything here follows from what you file with POTA.
Pick a park from the list above, work ten contacts, and upload your log to POTA whenever it suits you: the My Log Uploads page on pota.app takes the ADIF file directly, and POTA's Submitting Logs guide covers the file format and the help-desk email route if the uploader will not work for you. The next refresh here picks you up on its own. Already been out? It'll turn up once POTA has your log. Check your own totals on your POTA profile.
Stats via POTA.app, refreshed daily. See also Live Spots and the South Alabama POTA Posse on ae4jc.com.