I’ll be on a business trip in Portugal on Monday, April 20th.
It’s not 100% sure but I’ll try to activate an 8 pointer CT/BL-004 and the 4 pointer new unique CT/BL-017 on Monday 20/04/2015 afternoon-evening.
Both seem to have quite an easy access and they are more or less in my way back from Agueda to Porto after my work meeting.
It will be my first activation in CT and should I be able to finish not too late my business meeting and go to the not too far mountains to activate, I hope you’ll be there to chase me and let me qualify the summits.
To avoid any issues at the airport controls or in the mountains, I’ll carry a copy of my CEPT license.
As for antenna, I’m in doubt on whether taking the 20m band mobile GP antenna I’ve been using lately with success or just a piece of wire to be connected to the long wire connector of my MFJ antenna tunner.
The wire inside my rucksack should be easier to pass through the airport controls and inside the cabin with my hand luggage, rather than a 1.3m stiff plastic tube and about that same length of the GP antenna.
Problem is that I’m not sure whether I’ll find some trees in those 2 summits where the wire can be hang from.
The battery will be a SLAB, so I don’t think there will be any issue with it being with me in the passengers compartment. What do you think?
Antenna: a linked dipole to get rid of the tuner would be perfect but then you’d need a pole… The random wire + tuner is just fine, but the lack of trees could make it difficult. Could you have some trouble with the whip maybe? I think you should be allowed to carry an umbrella wich is about the same…
If you want I can borrow you one of my small poles (~60 cm).
Stay tuned for your latest news… Take care VY 73
Ignacio
Hi Ignacio,
The SLAB’s I have are 2 x 6V 4.5Ah connected in series and they are Sealed Lead Acid Batteries. The are made of Pb, so neither NiMH nor NiCd nor LiPo.
Thanks for offering one of your poles, because that reminded me that I have a couple of 3m telescopic fiber glass fishing rods, which are just about 1/2m when collapsed, so I’ll take one with me.
I’m also planning to make a worst scenario trial with the long wire just laid on the ground and see what happens.
I may do it soon in the garden.
Will let you know.
Best 73 de Guru.
I’ve tested this evening in my garden the set-up I’ll take with me to Portugal Monday. The end of the about 21m long wire attached to the top of the 3m telescopic fishing rod kept in vertical position and the whole wire sloping down without touching the grass at any time until it ended into my antenna tuner.
It was pretty easy to tune on 20, 30 and 40m and I had a nice QSO with a Welsh station (Justin - GW0FZY) who gave me 559 on 30m.
I also tried QSO with EA2OX on 40m and I was copying him perfectly but he barely could copy me from time to time when QRM/N permitted.
I think I will probably activate on 30m CW and depending on time left, WX, battery, and band conditions I might work 20m SSB as well.
I have already got GPS coordinates of the 2 summits and the key points on the access roads, so hopefully there won’t be any problem to find them.
Well, this is one of those very rare occasions when being in the middle of the weekend, I can’t wait for Monday to come
I hope everything will work fine as planned as it looks like WX will be OK.
Best 73 de Guru.
I’ve looked at the panoramic views around the summits I’m targetting for Monday and I fear the second, at least, might be too full of bushes and trees, making a bit difficult to deploy a 21m long wire in the rush, so I’ve decided that, along with the long wire, I’ll take with me the 20m monoband mobile antenna with the blue PVC tube, so I will only work 20m CW+SSB and no 30m in case I find it difficult to deploy the long wire and I decide in favor of the 20m GP.
Best 73 de Guru.
CT/BL-004 Serra do Pico has a enormous geodetic landmark where you can fix the antenna, but are building a wind farm have a foundation of a wind turbine at about 50 meters and will find much movement in the area and some limitations for security reasons.
CT/BL-017 to remember you don’t have trees on site, don’t step on site at any time, but is very easy to access.
Tomorrow I’ll be ±for that zone in works and must be active in CT/BA-012 (Candal) at the end of the day.
If there is trouble at the airport, tell me what you need in terms of antennas and will lend you what you need for your Sota activations while you’re here and hope a S2S
Thank you very much, Nuno, for your very useful info.
I had seen on a satelite view that CT/BL-004 was surrounded by wind power generators and there was a track to almost the very summit, but your photos are very explanatory. I see I won’t have any trouble neither to find the summit with such huge landmark on it nor to set the GP antenna up attached to the trig point. I only hope there won’t be anybody forbidding me to access to the AZ for a quick SOTA activation.
I had also seen on satelite images that BL-017 had a very easy access as there seems to be a road passing not further than 50-100 meters from the very summit. I don’t know but it seems the road might even cross the AZ.
I hope we’ll have a chance to S2S QSO, Nuno.
Best 73 de Guru.
Hello,
this morning Guru reported that he wasn’t allowed to bring his 20m whip into the plane.
But In the other hand, he was allowed to carry his batteries and the Long wire with which he will try activating.
Hopefully we will see his spot in the afternoon. Good luck!
VY 73
Ignacio
Many thanks to all my chasers and spotters in these 2 activations.
It was great fun and definitely worthwhile!
I’ll post an activation report with photos as soon as I can.
Now I’m too tired for that after 4 flights, some kilometers driven meeting, flight connection waits, meeting report and what it’s the worse of all that: more than 100 e-mail in my work e-mail in-box to process
I hope to write to you soon.
Best 73 de Guru
while you’re here and hope a S2S
