This was in a long time coming for me.
I've been trying to get a legitimate 2 meter QSO for Parks on the Air for what seems like forever. I've made a few 2 meter contacts with other people in the same park as me, usually within eyesight. However up until now, a 2 meter contact outside the park has eluded me.
As I stated in the above video, I'm jealous of others that live or operate in an area where 2 meters is active. In my neck of the woods, 2 meters is pretty quiet. The "active" repeaters are really not that active when compared to other areas, and simplex is pretty much nonexistent.
My strategy has been to grind it out.
Before or after I hop on HF, I will see if I can reach an area repeater. If I can, I will throw my call out and say that I'm looking for anyone willing to try to make a simplex contact. Most of the time I hear nothing. Occasionally I'll get a response, however it will almost always be someone who won't want to try simplex and wants to ragchew instead. I've had to (try) to explain multiple times repeater contacts don't count for POTA.
Pretty sure one of my theories on radio participation was confirmed in the above video.
I think one of the biggest challenge for me to get more people to just get the first person to be willing to try. People have the tendency to not want to be the first one to try something. Pretty sure this video shows a good example of this.
I called out on an area repeater that has a moderate amount of use. The only person to come back to my call was a guy from Michigan in the area visiting family. Maybe not being a local made him more adventurous and willing to try? At any rate, he gave it a shot with his Baofeng with the stock rubber duck antenna and was successful.
Estimating it was close to a 20 mile contact from my location in the Governor Knowles State Forest to his in-laws 3rd story apartment. Not too shabby in my opinion.
Then came the unexpected second contact, that bolsters my theory.
While getting ready to QSY back to the repeater, one of the locals that camps out on that repeater called for me on 146.520. Undoubtedly he was listening in on our conversation and followed us over to simplex. Hearing we were successful, he had to give it a try too.
A random visiting ham monitoring a repeater just may be the spark to get things going for me with 2 meter simplex around here.