The alarm went off at 05.30 local time, and after some breakfast with the necessary coffee, I left home at 06.15. Off to my radio-friend Kees-PA3EEQ who is my company today on the first PA-SOTA activation. We left Egmond aan Zee (QTH PA3EEQ) at 07.00 local time and after a 2 hour drive arrived at the carpark of a glider airfield called Terlet, close to the summit.
While the summit is on the grounds of this airfield we had to ask permission to go up…This took about half a hour in making phone calls etc. etc. but in the end it was agreed that we could go on and have some fun on the hill.
It was almost 09.00 UTC, so we set-up the station very quick and the first QSO was at 09.07 UTC in a S2S with Milos - S53X/P on BR-005.
Then I went QSY and the pile-up started, this went on for 45 minutes before I had a coffee break.
In the meantime Hans - PA3FYG arrived and he took over in SSB, also on 40 meters.
I made 42 QSO’s on 40 CW, and while PA3FYG was still working stations I took my antenne (1/2 wave lenght of wire on 40; TRX - IC-706) down, all back to the car and on the road to the next summit, Torenberg - PA/PA-004.
This summit is located in a park, and at a gate into the park, we where told the park is a wild-live park and therefore there was no access to the hill…
A big disappointment. So sorry for all you who waited for our call! We have to do some recsearche where we can ask for the permission to get this summit activated.
After a while we took the road again, back home where I arrived at 16.30 local time, and having a nice cold beer.
It was a sunny day in this part of Holland, and it was nice to be on the other side of the pile-up.
Thank You for the QSO and see You from the next summit!
73, Age - pa0xaw