A reminder that this weekend, 27-28th November is the CQ World-Wide CW DX contest, when the CW parts of the HF bands will be swamped with hundreds of high power contest stations from midnight Friday until midnight Sunday.
Anyone planning a SOTA activation this weekend should consider alternate modes or use of the WARC bands.
Roy G4SSH
In reply to G4SSH:
Thanks Roy for the reminder - I’ll try 80m anyway during the daytime and for the evening activation I guess I’ll have to pack my PSK modem 
Marek OK9HAG
In reply to G4SSH:
Thanks Roy.
I shall be operating at G6PZ this weekend - all SOTA family requested to give us a few points, 160m ‘going great guns’ - will try to ‘keep the power down!’
73 de Peter G(W)3TJE+
In reply to G4SSH:
Wish I’d seen this earlier! Was on Pen y Fan last night, couldn’t find a clear frequency anywhere between 7 and 7.070. Eventually decided that if you can’t beat them, join them, but it’s the second activation now where to my knowledge not one QSO has been with a SOTA chaser.
Will take the 2m MFD next time!
Ioan 2W0NNN
Nowt wrong with that. When the big HF contests are on, you have two choices: (1) Use the WARC bands, or (2) Play S+P and give the contesters the exchange they need. It is definitely more enjoyable operation though, to have regular SOTA chasers answering your calls.
In the Tuesday night VHF activity contests, I typically have no chasers in the log at all, or occasionally just one, out of 50+ QSOs. In contrast, an alerted/spotted 40m CW activation usually features 40+ QSOs, virtually all of whom are known chasers.
Variety is the spice of life!
Tom M1EYP
In reply to G4SSH:
when the CW parts of the HF bands will be swamped with hundreds of high
power contest stations from midnight Friday until midnight Sunday.
It wasn’t just the CW parts of the bands either. On 40 metres yesterday evening there was CW (and lots of it) just about everywhere, and the few SSB stations managing to hold frequencies were in serious pile-up territory. It was… educational… I think… 
In reply to M6LEP:
Technically, there is no such thing as CW part of 40 meters band (or most of the other bands as well). IARU bandplan defines 7000 - 7038 kHz as CW subbband, 7038-7040 as CW + DIGI and 7040 - 7200 kHz as “all modes”. That means CW is OK in the upper part of the band, while SSB should not go under 7040. What happens under 7040 during the SSB part of CQ WW contest is another story, as everybody knows.
73 Ruda OK2QA
In reply to OK2QA:
Aye, I understand that. 
I was just a little surprised by exactly how much morse there was on the band last night…
In reply to M6LEP:
Aye, I understand that.
how much morse there was on the band last night…
Thanks to anyone who called G6PZ, I remember working HA2VR/P (not sure if he was SOTA at the time?).You might be interested in a contest station like G6PZ, here are some stats for CQWW CW Multi/Single All Bands 160 -10m
Total QSO: 5708 DXCC: 700
Average Rate: 120 qso’s per hour or 2 per minute over 48 hours!
73 de Peter G(W)3TJE+
In reply to G3TJE:
700 DXCCs ???
In reply to M1EYP:
Band slots I think.
In reply to G3WPF:
or CQ just added about another 360 “countries” like Shetlands - well, it is Shetland’s oil as they used to say! ;>)
In reply to M1EYP:
700 DXCCs ???
Yes, Tom, total for all bands, breakdown here:
In reply to G3TJE:
Great, Peter!
Called G6PZ several times, but not successful. What is your setup?
I’m worked QRP - 5W + simple dipole, 40 m only, but not a whole contest.
Total: 231 QSO, 57 countries, 9 zones.
73! Alex UT4FJ
In reply to UT4FJ:
Thanks Alex.
Sorry that we did not QSO on 40m but congrats on your QRP score.
For info/photos have a look at www.g6pz.com
On 40m we were using a Monster SteppIR beam and IC7700 + amp
73 de Peter TJE+