New Activator

People Introduce yourself
1

Hi Y’all.
Well I’m all just about ready to climb a few hills, got my LiFePo battery (7AH) and my FT-857 ready to go, and have taken a week off work for me and my dog to explore the Northern Pennines and visit a few friends. (The most northerly ones, up to level 4 summits only, not that fit any more as yet).
25W CW mostly I imagine.
I plan to use my trusty 1.8M center loaded mobile whip (40M to 10M) to start. I use that on my camper along with a coil of wire which I unroll to 1/4 wave counterpoise/radial. (The camper has no metal to use as a groundplane, but that way it matches and I get out with no RFI)
A few questions.

  1. Am I mental?
  2. Should I take some more wire and have 4 radials? Its a lot of extra hassle and one has sufficed up til now.
  3. What is the best band to get guaranteed qso’s? (with average propgation and bearing in mind my antenna)
  4. Do I have to have those walking sticks? I have always taken the mickey out of them but they may be usefull for inverted V supports!

Does anyone have any advice for sota newbie?

73 Iain G4SGX

2

In reply to G4SGX:

Some thoughts:

What will you use to keep the mobile whip vertical?

Have you tried it out portable in this fashion?

I cant quite see why more than one radial is a lot of hassle but if one works you can start like that

The FT857 will flatten the battery fairly fast - it will be very inefficient at 25 Watts

You don’t have an inverted V so you don’t need walking poles.

You will figure out what works and what doesn’t as you progress.

http://www.sota.org.uk/JoiningIn

73 Richard G3CWI

3

In reply to G4SGX:

Hi Iain,

Depending on how long you plan to stay on the summit with your 857, the 7Ah LiFePo battery is something you’ll need to keep an eye on.

73 Mike
2E0YYY

4

In reply to G4SGX:

Hi Iain,

  1. We’ve never met, but you seem a little mental, perfect for SOTA :slight_smile:
  2. Can’t help on radials, I’m a dipole kind of guy. I do keep meaning to try a vertical type arrangement, as others have claimed great success and it’s all about learning new things after all, just been a little lazy.
  3. I’ve never really had any problems getting qsos on 40m or 30m. Not had problems anywhere, but those 2 always seem busy.
  4. I don’t use sticks, my inv vee has 5 metres of cord at the end of each conductor to keep it about 1 metre off the deck.

Advice: Good, efficient antenna, low current consumption rig, keep it simple. There’s people here that have made impressive dx on much less than 1 watt. I should add, the chasers take most of the credit for making those qsos work.

Have a good week.

73,

Ian mm0gyx

5

In reply to G4SGX:

  1. Try around 7.032MHz and 10.118MHz. If you announce your activation on SOTA Watch Alerts you will get spotted by the RBN (Reverse Beacon Network) or any other chaser.

You will be successfull in CW with much less than 25W. I run typically 5 - 8W depending on battery.

LiFePo battery is a good investment!

Have fun, 73, Heinz, OE5EEP

6

In reply to G4SGX:

SOTA is such a wide interest that there is a little niche for everyone. You’ll have to figure out what ticks your boxes as you progress, and that’s a large part of the fun!

I started with a 2m handheld and rubber duck antenna at first before progressing to a beam antenna supported by a fishing pole. After quite a number of years, I became interested in a challenge put forward by a Norwegian ham to see how many contacts could be made using a station entirely powered by a single alkaline 9v battery (answer - many!).

The challenge pushed me towards trying to home brew equipment and also to use CW. I have an FT817 (still the best all-rounder for SOTA), so at first I did some 5w HF CW activations to get used to operating on the key, it was a great thrill to be at the receiving end of a big pile up! Later I used a 150mW 10MHz home brew rig for the challenge and got my Morse to a level that it became a pleasure rather than a daunting task.

I now mainly activate with low powered CW rigs to an inverted vee, usually with around 3W or less. I’ve worked across to the States many times with this set up on 20m.

Moving on to voice, it’s a little bit more tricky with QRP SSB, but with patience a small amount of power can yield good contacts. With 5w SSB on 20m from a summit I’ve worked both across to the States and also had a contact to VK.

Bottom line - use what you have, have fun and develop your system as you go. QRP CW is entirely adequate for SOTA activations. With CW you’ve already got the right took for the job! :wink:

To give you an idea of one of my QRPp activations, take a look at my video -

73,
Colin,
M1BUU

7

In reply to G4SGX:

Just a few comments on your musings…

Some larger summits are easier to get to than some “smaller” 1 point summits. Check maps and read up on the summits for parking, routes and elevation change. The summit pages on sotawatch are a good place to start.

Depending on your antenna, 5 W should be more than sufficient when running CW; this will extend your battery life :o) For SSB on HF having 25 W would be useful to get above the receiving stations’ noise; you will probably hear them easily but they may struggle with you.

A reduced quarter-wave, ground-mounted antenna with a single radial is extremely inefficient. I have used an antenna which is similar (Super Antennas MP-1) for a short while which was OK on 20 metre and above but I added three radials that were cut to resonant lengths. I very quickly moved on to resonant quarter waves made from wire supported by fishing poles.

Three ground-mounted radials, in my experience, are fine with the inefficient electrical ground on the top of hills and there will be very little interaction with the ground; the textbooks say there should be but I have not had any problems.

  1. Only time will tell :o)

  2. On your campervan you have probably got the antenna quite high relative to the ground which will not be the case on the hill. See the comment above and below.

  3. From my experience 20 metres is best if you can either put a spot on yourself or contact someone to put one on for you. An alert can help here. A 40 metre vertical will make it harder to get intra-G contacts and you will be competing with big stations on a noisy band.

  4. I have used an inverted-V a lot of times for 80-60-40 metres. The only times I used walking poles to support the ends was on the 80 metre dipole. They could be useful in any case if the ground is slippery.

My top tip: before using any portable equipment out on a hill, set it up either in your garden or local field where you have access to tools, test equipment and replacement parts (and cups of tea). This will teach you about what you can achieve, give you time for improvements (cutting resonant radials for example) and reduce disappointment when you activate a summit. Keep your system as simple as possible as the more complex it is, the more things there are to go wrong and less easy to repair on site.

Enjoy your trip and hope to hear on the summits in the future,

Carolyn

8

In reply to G4SGX:

  1. Do I have to have those walking sticks?

I generally carry one stick, cut from a tree. Especially if you are out of practice carrying a rucksack, a stick will help you keep your balance over rough ground, and be good for prodding boggy bits before stepping in! As you say, it also helps with antenna rigging options. Some find a pair of sticks helpful on steep bits, I have yet to succumb :o)

I picked up a lot of good advice from this Reflector too, it has a good search facility if you are looking for a particular topic…

73
Adrian
G4AZS

9

Thanks for all the replies, all good info.

Interesting about the 857’s low efficiency at low power, I hadn’t noticed.
Ive now decided to get a sota pole and use an inverted V @ 10W, should more than make up for the power reduction in terms of ERP. (compared to a loaded whip and radials)

I shall stick to 40M and 30M for now,see how it goes. I shall do some tests first but I should manage at least an hour on cw from a 7ah lipo I estimate.

Hope to see y’all on the air between 23-30th June from the North Pennines, I am currently checking possible summits for initial ease of access, as I’m not sure aboutt my fitness anymore, too much time spent in the shack of late! (Part of the reason SOTA appeals)

73 de Iain G4SGX

10

In reply to G4AZS:

I started using walking poles several years ago. I had previously scoffed at them, but after trying them I had to eat my words! They make quite a difference going uphill but their assistance in going downhill is little short of phenomenal. You lengthen them out and and you come down steep grass with a real feeling of security! On the other hand, I rarely need them for prodding boggy bits - its much better to learn to spot the type of vegetation that indicates secure ground! Where they become a real nuisance is mixed scrambly terrain: if you’ve got to put hand to rock they either dangle in the way and try and trip you up, or you have to halt, fold them down and push them between your back and the rucksack…still, it gives you a brief breather! On easy ground, though, I tend to use my roach pole as a walking pole.

73

Brian G8ADD

11

In reply to G8ADD:

Hi Brian

I had previously scoffed at them…

Me too!

but after trying them I had to eat my words…

Preparing to do that, Iv’e just bought a pair of Cotswold badged Fizans, hoping to try them out next week. I promise never to mention cissy poles again ;0

They make quite a difference going uphill but their assistance in going
downhill is little short of phenomenal.

Yes, Mynydd Mawr a couple of weeks ago made me think. It was too steep for me to get into a walking stride, but not steep enough to treat as a staircase!

I rarely need them for prodding boggy bits - its much
better to learn to spot the type of vegetation that indicates secure
ground!

Agreed, and I am getting better at that, but Iain was asking for tips for a newby!

On easy ground, though, I tend to use my roach pole as a
walking pole.

Yes, I usually take a 5m pole which collapses to around 600mm and fits on my rucksack. When I do take a longer one, I carry it like a walking pole and use it as such, too. That comes with an increased risk of pole surge, though, followed by a quick round of Hunt the Bung :o)

I don’t think I’ll abandon my wooden stick completely, as it has some advantages - I can push it into the ground, or between rocks, and bungy the roach pole to it in a way that I wouldn’t do with a nice shiny aluminium telescopic jobby. Also, it has green credentials, feels nice, and has accompanied me over many miles, SOTA related and otherwise…

73
Adrian
G4AZS

12

In reply to G4SGX:

I shall stick to 40M and 30M for now,see how it goes.

I would personally choose 20M as a sure fire band.
There are times (although rare) when I would not qualify the summit on 40/30 alone.
20 is by far the most consistent and highest scoring (QSOs) band for me!
If I was single banding it would be 20, in fact that’s why I built my Rockmite for 20 metres :slight_smile:

73
Pete

13

In reply to G4AZS:

In reply to G8ADD:

Hi Brian

I had previously scoffed at them…

Me too!

And me!
I never imagined I’d take to them, but now I feel naked if I don’t have them with me.
They make a huge difference on both ascent and descent and of course help support the ends of the antenna. I use them on their own to hold my 5Mhz EF off the ground. Three feet seems just about optimum :slight_smile:
73
Pete

14

In reply to G4ISJ:

And me!
I never imagined I’d take to them, but now I feel naked if I don’t
have them with me.
They make a huge difference on both ascent and descent and of course
help support the ends of the antenna.

They also make a big difference if you have to traverse on steep ground (such as suddenly realising that you’ve gone off the track, mistaking a runnel of scree for the path!) if you lengthen the downhill pole and shorten the uphill pole you feel more secure.

73

Brian G8ADD