Hello everyone I have been a bit slack lately since the FYBO contest I have only managed to get 3 summits done for July as the weather has been really wet and cold so access to some of the properties has been impossible.

This is My FYBO set up where I sat for 5 hours making contacts. Set up in the scrub block near home and the path is an old Mountain Bike track we made a few years ago for training and having a bit of fun. Sitting under this shelter for 5 hours is a similar pain as riding my bike around here, just another form of torture.

On with SOTA , my first activation for July was Hill NE-041 up from Mambray Creek on the western side of Mount Remarkable National Park. This is my hardest hike for the season as it goes from 140 m asl in the car park to 810 m asl at the top in about 5 km.

This is guna hurt !!

Setting out from the park it will take me 3 hours to get there .

View of the Summit a way to go yet from Black Hill lookout which is now up to 480m asl after about 1 hour of the hike, I am in need of a water stop and rest.

Buggered would be a way to describe how I feel here after 3 hours I finally made it to the top with a bush bash off the walking trail to get the last bit.

It’s a bit awkward to set up the squidy on this hill this is the only clear area, so this was the best i could do.

Had good contacts on HF with a S2S to VK2AOH on 40m cw and worked most of the band of faithful chasers on 40m ssb and cw with JS1IFK on 15m cw who has chased me a few times now. I took the half wave 2m vertical as well so I was able to get  2m simplex contacts to VK5WG and VK5IS who were hard to hear on 40m ssb.

Just for interest I took my heart rate monitor I use for cycling and I reached 140 bpm at one time during the walk considering my Maximum is around 156 for my age.  Of the 3 hours time to make the top I spent 40 minutes stopped to rest or drink but it is really hard to gauge as the cycling gps has to be moving faster than 3 kph to record the trip. Just a gauge really all I know is it hurt, it’s a hard won 6 points.

The next SOTA weekend was Mount Cone on the Saturday and The Bluff on the Sunday.

Mount Cone is a windy cold exposed summit north of Burra . An easy summit for me to get to in the Colorado with the track up there for other services.

Not much to slow the wind down up here looking north to Mt Bryan and only a short walk up to the smaller hut from the GRN compound. I had to set up behind the hut at the top to keep out of the wind and try to stay warm.

I had very good conditions on 40m both ssb and cw and bagging 2 S2S as well to vk3cat and vk3byd this time.

I also made some good contacts to vk2 and vk6 on 21 mhz cw and 14mhz ssb. I worked every mainland state except vk8.

Thanks to all the chasers.

Sunday I was off to Laura to meet up with Dave vk5dmc who had a trip to RMN and ATV broadcast sites so I hitched a ride to the cross road near Go Cart Track and walked south along the Walking Trail to the summit of the Bluff.

After the big bushfire up there a couple years ago it is not possible to get on top of the ridge any more because the under story is now regrown so much. I used a burnt out post on the side of the road to hold my squidy this time and crouched in the bush as best i could.

This activation went well with qso’s on 40m ssb and cw once again, vk’s on 15m cw and JS1IFK  on cw, more vk’s on 20m cw to vk6 and vk3 . S2S with vk1ma and vk2oah .

This was my operating position at the side of the road I had a nice big rock to set the rig up on and it was a very pleasant day sitting in the sun shine. Dave was still busy at the repeater site so I made the 3 km walk back down to my ute when I was finished.

Thanks to all the chasers thanks for reading.

Ian vk5cz ..

Set out early Saturday morning for Quorn one of my favourite SOTA towns to get 3 summits done for the weekend.

Had a nice drive up with the wind screen wipers going most of the way thinking this will be fun and how am I going to keep my KX3 dry. I did think about it before I left home and I had a large shopping bag with me that all my gear would shelter in if it did rain during the activation. As it turned out it never rained during any of the activating times but it sure rained in between. I went straight out to Richmond hill when I arrived at Quorn and had my Colorado in 4×4 on the wet road more to stop bogging  up the road than the need for 4 wheel drive .

With the SOTA transporter parked and a gloomy looking hill in site it was time to walk into the mist to see what was on the other side.

Ready to go, this way please Sir. I took to the bush which was quite a nice walk considering I have been doing lots of walking the last couple weeks sighting and marking out a new vineyard at work. Maybe my sore body was imagined because I was half way up near the old fence line before I stopped for a puff. I saw a few goats on the hill and they have a track for me to follow, I did get wet from the bushes and it was a bit slippery in places.

Not many Rocks on the pile at the top of this hill which suggests not many people come here but it has a clear area to run out my link dipole so it’s a nice summit.

I made lots of QSO on 40m as the band was in good shape with a nice pile up on SSB and CW . I had a check for JA’s on 15m but did not hear anyone or see any Spots on my phone so I went to 20m CW to see if VK6NU was there and sure enough he was plus a few other vk’s and  zl1byz gave a report on 20m.

Well with that activation in the water proof bag and nobody else chasing I carefully climbed down through the slippery rocks and headed for Devils Peak which is in the clouds also.

On the walk to Devils peak I met a group of bush walkers who steamed up behind me and I think every one of them beat me to the top.

The low cloud was on every summit I went to and I guess these big bolder’s were once up the top .

Quite slippery on the rock climb up near the top but everyone made it safely and it gave me a chance to tell the bush walkers about SOTA .

Foggy view out to Dutchmans but nice to see the area green, they have had lots of rain so far this year.

Band conditions were still good and I made lots of QSO on 40m ssb and cw  but no QSO on 20m this time.

I could see the rain coming in again so I quickly packed up and headed down but I did not make it I got wet on the walk back. I discovered under my back pack there is a compartment that contains a cover which water proofs my back pack which worked well to keep my gear dry. So no excuses now.

Next morning on the Sunday I headed for Mount Brown, the rain had eased off and apart from one wet patch the road was surprisingly good to drive on. This is a 6 km hike and I recon I did it in a record time of 1 hour 40 minutes and when I got there the summit was completely covered in cloud so I could not see any thing from the viewing platform. Even the pens in the visitors book were not working so I could not enter anything and couldn’t be bothered  pulling my back pack apart to find a pencil to scribe anything so I got on with my activation. It was cold and damp and I was hot and bothered from my trek so I put on some warmer clothes first and then set up the kit.   

Before I go on my camera was playing up again it has a cracked screen from a previous accident and for some reason I only got a few photos before and during the first part off my walk. Leaving the Ute and at 4 km to go is where the pain begins as you leave the creek bed and start on the real accent .  When the camera was in my back pocket it was turned on for quite a while and the battery warning was on next time I tried to get some photo’s, not sure really whats wrong with it.

I digress

The band conditions again were very good on 40m with lots of ssb and cw chasers, a summit 2 summit with vk3mcd and a qso with Les vk5klv and Peter vk5kpr in a conservation park was good too. Thanks to Pat vk5hae and John vk5kjg for the 2m simplex qso with my vx8g into Whyalla. This time I had some chasers on 20m cw several vk’s and zl1byz who worked me on every summit for the weekend .

This is a photo looking north from about half way up Mount Brown of Richmond Hill and Devils Peak in the middle and my next challenge, Dutchmans Stern way off in the clouds.

After I got back to my SOTA transporter I had some spare time to go and visit with some land owners to give wine as an appreciation gesture to say thanks and meet them. I have only ever talked on the phone with them so it was good to have a chat about my quest. I now have 8 summits I go to within the Quorn area and I now have permission for a new one never activated before I hope to do on my next trip. This weekend took me up to 501 activating points.

Give me strength to do this for another 3 years at 3.6 points average per activation and NO winter bonus like some other associations, that’s another 140 summit to climb. I will be a worn out old goat if I make it.

Thanks for reading

cheers Ian

CZ e e

We got to Yunta for lunch about 2pm after a long bush track drive from Pualco then we headed for Waroonee Hill but the station track was getting too wet.  As we unloaded getting ready  to start the hike we noticed a big black rain filled cloud coming across some distance away so we bolted for the property boundary and was chased be a heavy shower of rain which produced about 11 millimetres. This terrain turns to soup very quickly, if we had that much rain in Clare it would hardly make any difference, Mitsi became covered in red mud but we got to the better roads in time. That was all we could do for the day accept maybe some public relations at the pub and settle down for the night .

Next morning we headed out to vk5/ne-095 a summit the locals call The Bluff and took a well made road this time to avoid the mud.

This one is going to hurt as we work our way up the water way then climb even higher to reach the rock pile on top. The goats like this hill so we had a well worn track some of the way and made to top in about 40 minutes .

Hugh is a good hiker and I just puff along behind once he has found the best line, this must be about half way up the water way.

This is a view out to the north across the salt bush country, me having a rest.

Working the pile up on 40m as there was a cw contest raging on 20m . I did have a listen for a couple JA activators but could not hear them on 15m and the contest was quite strong there as well.

Hugh on ssb working plenty of Chasers,  I worked some CW to cater for all the chasers .

Farewell to the bluff for another season and back to Mitsi way down below.

Thanks to the chasers

On to Oulnina Park to go to Oulnina Hill vk5/ne-071

This summit is about 5 km south of the homestead which is located in a really nice wooded valley which is unlike the saltbush country around Yunta . We need the 4×4 to get along the ridge for this summit and Mitsi did it easy really although we shifted a few large rocks that would have damaged under the vehicle if we tried to drive over them.

This is a very nice summit and this ledge is very near where the track goes along the top so we activated near by with this great view . Lots of contacts again on 40m with really strong signals,I set the KX3 on 5 watts and got s9 reports all over .

Once again Hugh handled the ssb chasers and I did some cw and ssb this time, Nev got home from work in time to catch us on this summit.

Hugh working the pile up. This is the first time we have been able to activate and enjoy the view from this side of the summit the last two times we have been here the wind from the north west was very strong so we had to go down a bit on the eastern side in a more scrubby area out of the wind.

WX was nice just a bit chilly and the flags were filled out nicely.

Can’t get much better than this thanks to all the chasers.

Gently down into the valley we go, no problems for Mitsi just some rolly rocks under foot, but generally plenty of traction.

Sunday Nackara Hill vk5/ne-081

After a nice breakfast and refuel we headed south on the Barrier Highway for about 30 km to the small extinct rail siding of Nackara where we turn west to head for the summit. This is a big lump of dirt which is mostly tree less with rocky outcrops on the eastern edge so we need to work our way around the side then weave up the south side to the top. It is probably only a kilometre to walk but took a while with sore legs from yesterday. Great view in all directions and we could see all the summits we intended or did actually activated over the previous days.

That’s it’s prominence right there.

Mitsi way down there after about 40 minutes of ankle burn I made the top .

Looking South West from out shack, VK5RMN is out there somewhere.

WIA Broadcast was full scale from VK5RMN easily 120 km away not sure how far really but I was able to get a signal back into the call back to VK5MCB net controller.

Once again band conditions were great to the eastern states on 40m but the locals had trouble hearing Hugh when we first started. We could just hear VK5MCB when he came on to talk on 40m and he made no response to Hugh’s answer. So we gave up thinking vk5’s were out for the activation, Hugh had enough qso’s to qualify , then 10 minutes later I worked VK5BJE WG NTT MCB IS all at 5/9 plus signals on ssb . The interstate stations were still strong as well so I made some cw qso’s as well once the ssb chasers died down.

Great spot to activate from out of the wind behind the rock ledge, we both got plenty of qso’s for the 3 days so thanks everyone.

Nice to have a mix of ssb and cw qso with a special mention to VK6NU on 40m cw and pleasant surprise call from VK5PF John on two occasions this trip.

Great weekend away activating we did watch out for some of the VK9 portable stations but often we were travelling when they were on or we had our phones on flight mode to save out battery in the marginal phone coverage area. So we often got back to the network to see a txt msg of an activity we missed.

Now we have to work out when we can go back to catch up the rainy day summits we missed.

Cheers all thanks for reading

Ian

CZ e e

Today started quite early leaving Farrell Flat by 6am to get on the road heading for Pualco Range VK5/NE-107.

Hugh had a different way of getting there this time with less bush track and better roads considering the rain we have had this week. We still had some bush tracks and gates to deal with but it was a very pleasant trip this time with lots of wild life along the way.

One of the gates we go through

Old Man Emu running along side at about 50 km per hour.

Working my way across this stony saddle .

Hugh is of picking a line to the summit.

Amazing old Yacka grass trees here they must be very old these are about 2m tall.

We did not find many chasers today Hugh could only find 5 contacts on ssb and I found 6 on cw.

We stayed on 40m and did not stay on the summit long because it started to rain. Sorry to those who may have been listening on other bands but I am a bit fussy about getting water in my KX3 .

We had to travel about 50 km of station tracks to get to Yunta so we could head out to the next summit for the afternoon activation. Once again the rain stopped us activating the second summit as the tracks were getting very wet and slippery and the land holders don’t like their tracks cut up with 4×4 vehicles so we  got off the sticky roads as quick as we could.

Thanks for all the qso’s when on Pualco Range a great summit to visit.

Well I am finally back into some regular SOTA activating most weekends.

The first activation was Brown Hill Range VK5/SE-004 and I had the pleasure of some company with Halima this time. She had to keep the hounds under control as Rocky found a rabbit under the stone wall and that kept him entertained for most of our visit. The old rabbit just stayed put in his possy out of harms way and there was no need to restrain an attack from Rocky who is fond of chasing Rabbits, but its mostly exercise he rarely catches them.

Halima has her hiking shoes on and a substantial lead on the dogs, the white and black spotty dog is Jack and Rocky is the other Tenterfield Terrorist looking content to be out and about.

Band conditions were really quite good and because it was ANZAC day I used the AX prefix as did many others when we remembered to say it instead of the call sign you are used to using.

Several Summit 2 Summit QSO’s were achieved on this occasion as many other activators were out taking part in ANZAC Day Holiday. Probably the best contact was VK6NU on 40m CW, I usually need to work him on 20m so it tells how conditions were that day. S2S with Brian VK3MCD on VK3/VE-019 Hugh VK5NHG on VK5/SE-010 Peter VK3PF on VK3/VT-046.

Not mentioned in my Title for this blog is another summit I went to a week later which was South Hummocks  which was my first attempt at a movie with my new GoPro camera . Boys and Toys you know the drill.

South Hummocks VK5/SE-017

This summit has had some work done with the removal on the shot up trig point and the usual blue poles have replaced it so no a nice area to put up the Squiddy. With the excitement I forgot to take my trusty old camera so I have no photos of the activation. Once again I had a great mix of QSO’s with many vk’s on 7 mhz ssb and another great S2S on 14 mhz ssb with ZL3CC on his first activation and his first S2S with VK . While I had the link dipole on 14 MHZ I worked some more vk zl then some eu and ja staions on cw before returning to 7 mhz cw to find even more chasers, then finally using the same antenna on 21 mhz I worked N7 Ja and vk6nu on cw just to fill up my note book nicely. One thing I also noticed on this summit the, small ants were not active this time they chased my around to a couple spots last time I was there biting and getting in my clothes.

Now back on track.

Hallett Hill VK5/SE-003

No sooner set up I found the couple of parks activators had gone clear so I was able to use 7.090 they were chatting when I was driving up the summit track. This track is a very nice drive and you travel several kilometres along the top of the range.

Most of the turbines were working as the wind was quite steady but not too strong.

I was able to activate without my wind jacket and woolly hat so WX was really nice. A really good pile ups on 7 mhz ssb and cw with a S2S with Tony VK3CAT on VK3/VT-040 on cw and I had the pleasure of a call from some new activators this time. VK5PCM running 2 watts on ssb, his antenna was in the roof of his house but I was able to hear him quite clearly with no noise at my end. VK5BUG came up and we had a QSO using his bug key and it just sounds so good on cw to listen to. I made the joke with him I thought is was a bird singing in the bush when I first heard it.

This poor old land scape is a bit eaten out and dry and could do with some rain .

I had a good time working 40m ssb and cw with vk’s then on 20m I got some more vk’s and dx to Europe with a S2S with 2E0YYY on 20m ssb. Tony VK3CAT was also trying to bust the EU pile up for a S2S so I hope he was successful.

Thanks for reading

CZ ee

My nephew Dale and his new bride Amanda decided to get married so not to miss an opportunity to get a summit in the log Halima and I went down south for the wedding and got an activation on the way to the wedding. Well it all went to plan accept for the rain that fell while I was activating. The rain seemed to come from nowhere across Backstairs Passage the sea between the mainland and Kangaroo Island. I tried as best I could to keep the water out of my gear but this rain was totally unexpected and I was totally unprepared  for it so a supermarket bag I had in the back of my ute went someway to protect my gear. I made lots of 40m qsos on cw this time and then another pile up on ssb which was great.  The rain got me soaking wet  and I tried to push through the contacts as quick as I could before the bag filled with water and got my rig wet. So a short and sharp activation and wet clothes and gear to add to the 1 point for the activation.

 What can I say SOTA fever makes you do silly things, lucky that extra post is on the outside as this is an electric fence along here. Its cow country down south.

 Using my phone to log was tricky, too wet for my paper log but I hope I got them all in ok. I used the FT 857 and bigger 8400 LiFe for this activation and hopefully the rig is a bit more splash proof than the KX3 . Halima can I borrow you hair dryer please.

cheers thanks for reading my blog.

Ian vk5cz ..

With Grape Harvest 2016 finished and some nice weather for this week it was a good opportunity to get a few summits in my legs and log. I decided to activate 5 summits over 3 days and made Orroroo my overnight destination as it has a nice caravan park with great cabins and a friendly pub for PR work and night meals. I left Clare quite early on Monday morning and drove for a couple hours to Wilmington where the turn off is for The Battery summit in the National Park there. I parked the SOTA transporter at the start of the hike and after a coffee and feed I hit the trail for a round hike of 11km.

This parking area is near the Rangers house which is now a B and B, a park pass is required to visit here and I have a full year subscription type pass as you need to pay on line these days if you want to day visit any parks. Probably explains why they are mostly unvisited or people don’t pay they just turn up.

This entrance is across the road and heads in to the northwest direction along the top of the saddle so it is an easy walk for the distance. The 4.5km sign is the distance to the turn off to the Battery lookout and the summit is another 1km from there once you cross over the valley head which is a puff to get up but not as bad as some walks I do.

This is a shot of the other range across the valley with Mt Cavern  in the distance it is the hardest summit I do so maybe later in the season I will tackle it again if I get desperate for 4 points.

This is my shack set up by the box section in a fence on the summit the 2m vertical has become standard equipment to take these days and I can usually round up enough locals on 2m and in this case I made 4 qso’s on 2m.

It’s a great location to set up out in the clear on he fire trail and I made several qso on 40m ssb 40m cw and 20m cw with a S2S with VK5BJE/3 on 40m ssb. The walk back to the Colorado was a bit tiring as it was my first long hike for the season, but a good base training walk with nothing too difficult.  For the last few weeks I have been walking in a vineyard with some gear in my back pack with the two dogs, so I was glad I did some training before hitting the trail.

Thanks to my band of chasers for helping me qualify, I set off for Orroroo via Gummy’s place to shore up some permission for the next day and of course leave some bootleg for him and family.

Next morning after a restless night I was on the road by 5 am heading back out to find Coomooroo Hill in the dark which proved a bit hard. I had never been to this summit from Orroroo side before and there was a very thick fog and I could not make out exactly where I was in the dark. After a rest on the side of the road waiting for picininni daylight to arrive I was able to see an outline up ahead and I found the gate to enter the paddock. This summit is quite easy as I can get half way up in the ute then walk the rest.

The Fog was lifting down here but still some on the summit  made it  very pleasant for walking and I decided to have jeans on for this one because  the low bush will scratch your legs . After making the top I had my wind jacket on to keep out the cool breeze, I got set up and using the 2m vertical into the top of my VX8 handheld I was able to make contacts into Whyalla at good signal levels and worked several of the Crystal Brook gang as well on simplex. I saw some spots from US stations and tried to make a couple S2S contacts, one station sent a ..–.. but then said sri no cpi. There went my chance for a USA S2S something I am yet to achieve. I did however get a call from KD8WTI who gave me a good report for my 8 watts and dipole on 20m. Then KT5X called me and was pleased to have worked his first vk on a summit so that made his day. I worked a few vk’s on 40m ssb to start then saw Mot my JA mate spot on 15m so I worked him S2S on 15m cw just using my 40m dipole tuned with the KX3, VK4RF came through on 15m too but then the contacts dried up so I packed up to head to the next summit.

Foggy morning with the sun out on the Flinders to the west.

My antenna is there somewhere I need a better camera.

Hogs Head summit was my next destination so it gave me a good opportunity to explore more back roads in the area for future trips. There are lots of roads going everywhere out there I could see Mt Robert up ahead so I just kept heading for it knowing the bitumen road was there somewhere.

It was about smoko when I arrived at Hogs Head so another coffee and snack this time before heading off up the side of the hill. It is quite steep and I had lots of spells to try to relieve my burning legs and ankles which seem to affect me mostly when walking up these hills.

As you can see its a ankle burner .

This was my shack for Hogs Head a very nice view to the south with a steady flow of chasers on 40m ssb my highlight for this summit was a call from VK6NU using 1 watt on 20m cw . No locals on 2m this time as they were all busy doing stuff but I made plenty of hf qsos then headed down to the ute for lunch and get ready for Maurice Hill.

Nice stone Cairn on this hill, there are lots of them on various summits we visit .

Great view out to Black Rock and Depot Hill a couple summits we should visit later on, the poor old land could do with some rain it is very dry .

Off to Maurice Hill across the Valley.

Maurice Hill is a good summit to do as it is a nice steady 4×4 climb to the top from the western side. I noticed a new track up the eastern side but it might be a bit too steep for an inexperienced off roader like me. No doubt the Colorado would handle it just not sure about the driver.

Nice area to park and walk the last 50 metres or so and great views from here this hill is right out on its own and slightly higher than the previous summits although still a 4 pointer.

Great view to the south with nothing in the way for a long way that is the Bluff way off to the south . I started on 40m with a good amount of chasers on cw and ssb and some dx on 20m cw long path to Europe which I was expecting at this time of the day. Once again another nice surprise to see HB9AFI on the spot on a summit and better still we made a S2S qso again as I have worked him before. A nice mixture of dx and vk stations on 20m cw this time so I was happy with my day.

Better show the flags flying it was a very pleasant day, so thanks to all the chasers who followed my progress.

Time to hit low range first and trickle down this hill.

I went back to Orroroo for another night of PR at the pub and a nice meal then off to bed early to recover for the next days activation.

I called by the Laura Hospital for a couple hours visit with my mother then I went to Bundaleer Forest to climb New Mount Campbell my last summit for the trip. I thought a shorter walk would be better than a longer walk to Mount Remarkable that I had planned to do.

Its about 3 km to the top and the first half is a nice stroll along a well made road and then you end up in the hard wood section before the forest of old pines start on the slopes.

Its about to start hurting, this is where it kicks up in altitude along the forest track through these pines behind me.

Those trees are about 20m tall and the gain off that track is cruel and I am only half way to the ridge yet so keep hurting.

Others have suffered more than me on this hill building miles of these stone walls .

Miles of stone wall and farmers preparing for next year grain crops.

My shack for the afternoon

I had some good contacts on 40m ssb this time with my highlight for today being a S2S with ZL2AJ on a summit in ZL on 40m ssb. I was surprised at how clear his signal was it was mid afternoon here but probably later over there.

I tried 20m cw but only managed a few vk stations on there with no dx at all even though my spots were out and I did lots of calling. That was the end of my time away gaining an extra 18 activating points for my trouble.

Thanks to all the chasers and thanks for reading.

cu next time

CZ ee

Grape harvest is coming to a close with only 3 more jobs to do to be finished, I decided to get out on a SOTA summit on Sunday. Tothill Range is only about 40 minutes drive from home and access is good with just a phone call to Peter for permission. The walk up is not too hard if you follow the sheep pad which goes up at an angle along the side of the hill then a short scramble to the top at the end of the path.

 This is the new Grape Harvester I have been driving this season, nice machine I always feel safe in the hills in this rig.

I tried the APRS phone app APRStrack , this time for a short part of the walk, it works well but I had to save my phone battery for spots on SOTA watch as well.

 Legs were a bit sore from the morning 60km bike ride. Good view of Porters Lagoon behind .

 This time I took my Alinco 2m radio and a half wave vertical to make sure I could make contact with  my local friends as 40m is no good for short range contacts now days. I made good signal strength into vk5nwe/m vk5is and vk5wg with 5 watts. Future activations I think I will just use my VX8G with this same antenna because it puts out 5 watts also and is easier to carry .

 40/20 m link dipole set up  the small she oak tree is recovering nicely to provide some shade, it was burn badly in a fire up here a few years ago.

 My view out to the east, this old land could do with some rain to freshen things up after a very hot dry summer.

 The view south is Lagoon Hill another summit I visit every year and Little Lake below very dry and empty.

  My shack for the day, this time I used the KX3 and link dipoles . I made 3 qso on 2m fm then 4 qso on 40m ssb and 2 on cw , 1 qso on 20m cw and 1 qso on 15m cw .

Worked vk2twr S2S on 40m ssb and js1ueh S2S on 15m cw but signals were quite low down . I later found I had a fault with my antenna system either the coax or the dipole it’s self, but I have not tested it at home yet to find out what is wrong. My kx3 would not load that well on 15m and once I by passed the tuner it showed a really bad SWR on the rig meter so I have to investigate further . The SWR meter was flickering a higher than normal reading for a cut resonate dipole and I am wondering if the rg 174 is faulty.

 Hard at work, great afternoon out in the hills and its good make a start activating for another season ahead. Looking forward to my trip to Orroroo in a few weeks time for more hiking and activating.

Just a short inclusion of another activation I done over Easter.

I went out to Mt Nadjuri vk5/ne-058 and had a great time working stations on 2m fm 40m ssb and cw and a pile up of dx on 20m cw for a change . It was my best activation as far as all round band conditions and would you believe I forgot to take some photos , my busiest activation in a while and I even heard from some of my regular EU chasers again. Ian vk5is  Nev vk5wg and Dale vk5ld talked my through setting up SOTA csv editor to make up loading SOTA logs easier so I am excited to learn something new that makes life easier. When I go on my SOTA week away I can now take the laptop and blog and upload  my activations at the end of every day.

Thanks for reading

Ian vk5cz ..

It’s now well over 3 years since SOTA has been going in South Australia and I would like to talk about what equipment I have got to use for activating summits. As followers of my blogs some would have read before about me raving of this or that antenna which seemed to work at the time, well some of them are now stored away in my cupboard of experiences. I am now convinced that a  link dipole is probably my final choice cut for the bands I would be most likely use to make enough QSO’s to qualify a summit. Of course filling up my log with as many contacts as possible is a priority to keep my band of willing chasers happy as well. But there is something still in the back of my mind to live the dream by activating and making contacts using an end fed wire via a small qrp tuner into my QRP cw rig. It has taken a while for cw only activations to take place in Australia with Wayne VK3WAM and Warren VK3BYD mainly pioneering the way and encouraging chasers to get on cw and give it a go. I personally have only done two cw  activations, because  early in my time of activating I wanted to be sure I would find enough qso’s to qualify the summits after all the effort I put in getting there.

So this is the equipment I use.

SOTA Beams link dipoles one cut for 30/15 metres the other cut for 40/20 meters with rg 174 coax.

53 foot EFRW and 31 foot EFRW antennas I use with a 9 foot counterpoise wire .

HB-1B 5 band CW rig with 2200 mA battery + MT 1 tuner + EFRW + CP.

KX3 tunes both EFR Wires nicely once I worked out how long to cut them .

My best system for SOTA

KX3 and link dipoles cut to resonance with 4 possible bands .

Logging kit for either CW or SSB .

Accessories for windy summits,  voltage dropping diodes and flags to fly.

Batteries to run KX3 and  HB-1B with charging system.

Higher voltage batteries require bigger charging systems.

I use a 8m squid pole to support my antennas when on a summit.

Fully kitted SOTA transporter.

Thanks for reading .

Ian vk5cz ..