Well it all stared on the 24th of July 2003 when my old man called me into the shack to work a man on a hill as he needed 4 QSOs! My M3XTL call at the time was well appreciated!
Well that man was M1EYP and I worked him twice that day and did not think about it for another 6.5 years.
Then in 2010 got a 2m Dipole and an SSB rig and worked some SOTA activators and realized that this was quite addictive!
Since then I have been concentrating more on the activating side of things but at last after 9 years of trying (with a 6.5 year gap) I managed to get my Shack Sloth today. What is more pleasing is that all the points have come from VHF and UHF (50, 70, 144, 430 and 1296 MHz)! A trophy must be ordered, however i note that they only have ‘VHF only’ not a ‘VHF and UHF only’ Could an exception be made??
So I want to say thanks to all that have activated and to Karen 2E0XYL for allowing me to get the 6 points today on 2m FM from Fan Fawr (SW-005)!
So for the future, more of the same I suppose. My approach to chasing is somewhat relaxed, but lets hope the next 1000 is in 8 years at least, rather than the 9!!!
Thinking of the space available (and the price) how about VHF / UHF. Have a think and whatever you want I will put into the available options.
This applies to anyone who would like extra engraving on a trophy, ask beforehand and I will put the option onto the shopping site. If you want the information on a certificate just ask in the comment field when ordering the certificate
In reply to G8XYJ:
Well done Matt, I know I achieved Shack Sloth purely on 2m But if I had achieved it using VHF & above I would like to recognize that fact.
I prefer to Chase on 70cmFM myself (unfortunately no 23cm equipment here) followed by 2mSSB (a bit restricted by only having Vertical polarization). Hoping to get fully operational on 4m soon. Unfortunately I haven’t managed any SOTA contacts on 6m yet.
As a last resort I will chase on HF but having started out on 2m it does seem like cheating, HiHi. I do however have a liking for 10 & 12m, so I will always give that a try (mostly without success regarding SOTA).
I’m sure you will find the next 1000points come a lot quicker.
In reply to G8XYJ:
Well done Matt on reaching Slothdom! There’s no rush. It’s important to help any activator by being a chaser.
Mountain faun/satyr [half human - half goat e.g. sort of Mr Tumnus in Paramo!] and then Goatdom are the things that interest me or at least the adventurous days out with different radio experiences that then incidentally amount towards those points. I guess you’re the same? More joint trips to brecon beacons please where as B3BGR I’ll have to buy food at Storey Arms again!
73
David M0YDH [on wireless internet in the shack for the first time - end of asking sons to quit Minecraft for a glance at SOTAWATCH!]
Many congrats on the Shack Sloth - always a pleasure to work you from the hills, sometimes when you are on another hill. I see Barry responded quickly to your comment about inscribing the trophy. If you feel you need more than “VHF - UHF”, then additional detail can put on the certificate. That’s how I did it for my Goat trophy.
(I hope I haven’t offended too many HF ops out there:S)
Mine has “HF SSB”, and the next is still barely off the starting blocks. At present there’s not much between “VHF FM” and “HF CW”. Could be either, or something else I’ve not thought of yet…
Mine has “HF SSB”, and the next is still barely off the starting
blocks. At present there’s not much between “VHF FM” and “HF CW”.
Could be either, or something else I’ve not thought of yet…
How about PSK for a real challenge?
73
Brian G8ADD
PS Wa-hey, an SSB post has just come up after a solid phalanx of boring CW - perhaps the real challenge now would be to do it again with SSB!
Sure would be. I think I’ve seen three or four spots for PSK that weren’t test spots in the last two (and a bit?) years…
perhaps the real challenge now would be to do it again with SSB!
Heh! It’s entirely possible I’ll hit 2000 points on HF SSB before I get anywhere close to 1000 on VHF or CW. An alternative would be to go somewhere remote, and try to get to Sloth from there; say “From 5Z4”…
I picked 5Z as being a good long way from any SOTA associations; it’d make the chasing quite a bit more of a challenge. I suspect setting up an association would be even more of a challenge, and activations would probably be quite unusual, what with the shortage of local amateurs…
…but it would be fun to get a 5Z call into a few activators’ logs.
TF would have some interesting possibilities, and I expect some of the summits there might be quite… exciting to activate, what with the occasional volcanic eruptions…
PS, never thought to look before, I have 2226 points on 2 metres - wow!
I guess, after a point, the points don’t matter so much…
Well Rick, you can put an initial association together with about 10 summits. Select a few that cover a variety of skills, document them, lat long & height etc. then knock up an ARM and you’re just about done. You need to have a local to be AM, so a permanent resident of 5Z4 land is needed. Job done ready for when you next go out there. I’m sure you’d work some better equipped chasers if you just had an 817 but I’d feel happier if I was there if I had something that could push a bit harder into the old antenna!
I guess, after a point, the points don’t matter so much…
Many a true word spoken in jest!
I set myself two goals, 1,000 uniques and 10,000 points. I achieved both within a few weeks of each other and then, for a while, I was lost. I chased in a desultory manner for a while with little enthusiasm but then gradually worked up my enthusiasm again with the new goal of chasing to complete Associations. Its all in the head - good job I have plenty of room!
I see Barry responded quickly to your comment about inscribing the trophy. If you feel you need more than “VHF - UHF”, then additional detail can put on the certificate. That’s how I did it for my Goat trophy.