Encouraging 1st NA SOTA chase on 40m with a dipole

If I’m not wrong, I have just chased my 1st Northamerican SOTA on 40m ever and it’s been with an inverted V home made bazooka dipole up about 14m above the ground.

Some time ago I unsuccessfully tried to hear Northamerican SOTA activators on 40m and after several trials with the same null result, I decided to give up and concentrate my copying efforts on 15 and 20m, not even looking on the frequency when a spot was raised for a Northamerican activator on 40m.

I have a 5 elements tribander yagi (10-15-20m) and the Northamerican SOTA activators I use to copy with my yagi are never copied with my inverted V broad band folded dipole up 14m agl, so I quickly assumed I would never be able to copy any NA SOTA activator with any of my 40m dipoles.
To my surprise my assumption has proven wrong today, as I copied and successfully worked Dean K2JB a few minutes ago while he was activating W4T/SU-114.

I wanted to let you all know as this may open new possibilities to Europe <> Northamerica SOTA QSOs on 40m with simple dipole antennas.

I must say that I was running QRO (nearly 1Kw) and Dean gave me a 579.
@K2JB - I wonder how much power and what type of antenna Dean was using. I gave him a much weaker report, but this 100% valid QSO sounds very encouraging to me for Northamerican SOTA chasing, as we slide down into the darkest part of the Sun activity cycle.

Best 73,

Guru

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Well done Guru,
I sometimes listen in the evening for East Coast 40m SSB SOTA activators - the problem is that they’re nearly always out-of-band as far as IARU Region 1 is concerned (i.e. between 7.2 and 7.3MHz), so the one I once heard, I couldn’t call.

Ed.

Today’s chase was on CW on 7.032.
I very much doubt this chase would have been possible on SSB.
You should try to learn CW as it will open up a whole new field of possibilities, Ed.
Wouldn’t it be a good new target for 2017?
Cheers,

3 Likes

It’s more of a challenge on SSB than CW or data. As I said, I have heard one SOTA activator once on 40m from the US. I’ve also heard many SSB home stations from the US on 40 metres - but they are running more power and have better antennas of course.

Ed.

Hi Guru,

I was quite amazed to hear you so well on 40 meters. As we say here, ‘You must have paid your preacher well.’ I was running a KX3 with 10 watts into an LNR EFHW ( EndFedZ® Overview – LNR Precision Inc ) up as high as I could get it in a tree which was more of a sloper arrangement than anything else. There was nothing unusual about my situation compared to other SOTA activations so the propagation gods were smiling that day.

Thanks for the many chases and the new band.
HNY es Beat 73’s

Dean ~ K2JB

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:scream: some please help me calculate the S levels with 10w? :stuck_out_tongue:
Joking! Ill probably wont reach Leeds!

539 to 559

Guru, you’re talking me into going QRO for the 2016/2017 roll-over activation tomorrow. I’ll be on 40m with a vertical and four counterpoise wires. EU folks, give me a listen. Subject to the usual weather caveates, the forecast is quite poor.

Kevin AC2KL

Hi Kevin,
I won’t be home tomorrow at 2016-2017 roll-over time, so I’m afraid I won’t be able to try to chase you.
Hopefully, there will be some other chances…
I wish you GL and DX.
73,

Guru

The caveates clause is in effect, activation cancelled. Or postponed until next year.

Kevin

Last night I chased my 2nd SOTA ever on 40m CW. And it was again Dean K2JB.
See the precious asterisc :v:


Thanks, Dean, for the QSO!
It’s usually said: “there’s not a second without a third” so I’m looking forward to logging my third Northamerican SOTA chase on 40m CW. Maybe with you again, Dean.
73,

Guru

Guru,

You are usually the only EU station I hear on 20M late in our day (your night). I will give a try for more 40M attempts and try some evening summits. I can run 100W as needed.

Kent K9EZ

Hi Kent,

After having missed all the EU SOTA day traffic due to being stuck in the office and other family related tasks, I really enjoy chasing you guys across the Pond at the end of the (my) day.

Eastern coast summits use to be readable on 20m with my TH5-DX.
On 40m, with my inverted vee bazooka, that’s more of a challenge. Last night, Dean was very hard to copy with very low signals and QSB. But we made it!

Western coast summits on 20m are always a real challenge and let me tell you that it’s been totally impossible over the last days with the poor sunspots scenario we are facing.

Even George KX0R, who, from the high peaks in Colorado and his master activator skills, usually puts one of the best signals coming from a Northamerican QRP activator, has not been readable here over some of the last activations he’s carried out.

The W6 and W7 ones of today were null, NADA. It’s been a long time since I last copied and managed to work some Western coast activator.

If you are going to activate soon and you want me to try to chase you, don’t rely on 40m only and give 20m a try or two. I may miss you in the first try due to poor conditions or not being available, but things might change on a second later trial.

My advise is don’t try it too early, as I may not be home yet and conditions won’t be the best. I think it’s better around our sunset (18h44 utc) tomorrow. The grey line power!
I hope to be already home by that time, although I have some doubts about being available to chase tomorrow (thursday).
I won’t be able to chase on Friday.

Well, thanks for your feedback. I’ll be looking forward to chasing you again soon. Maybe on 40m,

73,

Guru

Heck, even here on the east coast I heard just one summit today and that was on 18MHz. I have not heard one EU summit in weeks. ugh

Kent

My third NA SOTA chase on 40m CW finally arrived a few minutes ago, thanks to Emily KB3VVE activating W3/PD-004.

Many thanks, Emily!

73,

Guru

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Hi Guru,

The propagation gods have been very good at times. I had heard you down in the noise between the clutter earlier without realizing it was you but after all the ‘local’ 599 stations were cleared out coupled with your persistence, I pulled you out very well. That was a 1st time activation for W4C/CM-121 also. Thanks for the chase and I hope to work you many, many more times down the log as I feed my SOTA addiction.

73’s
Dean ~ K2JB

I heard you pretty weak down in the noise too but it’s something a chaser can most of the times expect on 40m from a SOTA activator from the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. You heard me down in the noise and I was running 1Kw on an inverted vee bazooka dipole. I wonder how much power and which antenna were you running, Dean.
73,

Guru