Dear SOTA mates:
Logically, the weekdays didn’t let me much time for chasing and from next weel onwards it will be even less, as August is over and the working time from 7AM to 3 PM is finished and we’ll start next week the one from 8AM, pause for lunch and return to the always uncertain end… (usually late and sometimes very late in the evening).
These are the chases I’ve got, all of them QRP 5w, among which you’ll find 2 DX with USA.
I recorded a video of W2CKL calling CQ on 20m that day and you can see it here:
Again I worked on QRp 5w all I could copy. Reception is usually very good at the activators side with very low levels of QRM, so they can copy very well very low QRP signals.
I have experienced this today during my activation of Mount Iguste EA2/NV-127. I noticed that several stations called me on QRP and their signals were perfectly copiable. I’ll write a complete report with more details about this activation.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
You were a good signal today on Meall Greigh CS-026. Conditions were not brilliant with lots of QSB. 30m and 17m were not good. 20m was the only decent band.
Guru EA2IF,
Very nice, thanks for posting, this is the first I’ve heard myself on the receiving end of an activation. Your QRP signal was FB on Balsam Mtn that day. The mountain itself is 3600 feet ASL, located in the northern Catskill Mtns of NY, a very quiet summit with no towers or RF sources. For all but one of my activations, I have used an FT-817 at 2.5 watt setting into a HB Fuchs Tuner with an end fed half wave cut for 40 meters. I run the antenna and tuner as was intended, meaning no ground radials. When I chase from home I will try to work the activator at QRP power, if no luck, I will go up. The vast majority of operating from my QTH is also QRP or QRPP with dipole antennas, it can be very surprising if you put in the time. So far from my QTH my best DX has been NZ with 5 wts SSB, and LZ2RS in Bulgaria with 100mw CW (LZ2RS also at 100mw), both on 20 meters. Thanks again for posting the video, I’ll be listening for your FB QRP signals on my next activation.
73 ES GUD DX
Bob W2CKL
Thanks Andy for the SOTA QSO today. I worked you when I had just entered home from my morning activation. I must admit that I didn’t do what a SOTA chaser is supossed to do, which is listenning before calling.
As soon as I switched my rig on, I heard Manuel working you and I wrongly understood that you were a HB9 station so I turned the antenna to about 40 degrees. After having completed the QSO I remained listenning on the frequency and then I copied your callsign and SOTA reference.
Your signal was a real 599 on my S-meter. Very good! Congrats!
Best 73 and have a nice week.
Guru - EA2IF
Hi Bob,
I’m glad to read that you liked hearing your CQ calls on YouTube.
Amazing that you were only running 2,5 watts. I may try this power instead of 5 w with my FT-817 in my next activation, so my batteries will last longer.
I’ll be looking forward to QSO with you again.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
Yes - that was an interesting evening - but I only logged you the once at 07:20 (your 07:21). It was a great band opening - Noise floor was s0 and every time I called, with everyone answering it went up to S5 - So many calling, that I truly had a hard time pulling anyone out. And I forgot to turn up the KX3 to 10W and was only running 5 W into a dipole for that activation.
Yes, there were a lot of chasers on that activation.
It is not about the power - when there is a good opening, there is a good opening, nothing more!
As an activator, I use 5 or 10W and at the home QTH where a quite day is only S9, It is my ability to RX anything - so most of the time, I only have ~40W from the mobile going to/from a summit or 10W from a summit. Who cares if you decide to go QRP or QRO - just do it and have fun.
Yes, I saw your activation log and deleted the first QSO.
OK. So it was a 2xQRP 5 watts DX QSO. That’s great!
Maybe nobody cares, but this thread has been looked up more than 220 times since it got into the new Reflector and I find interesting sharing this QRP experiences. I see more and more SOTA mates are feeling like giving QRP a try.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
Dear SOTA mates,
This is my chaser log since my last report. I have excluded the S2S contacts made during my 2 activations in this period of time.
All HF chases in this list have been worked from my QTH with an output power of 5 watts. Not those on VHF 2m FM, where I usually run 15 to 30 watts out.
May be I’m wrong, but I’m having the feel that more chasers are using QRP lately.
Is this true or not?
I’d like to know who of you are currently chasing on QRP.
Would you let us know here?
Thank you.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
Guru,
Not counting (non-S2S) activation work, below are my chases since the start of September.
-8 Sept S53XX/P S5/KA-029 14 CW K1 5W Battery PWR testing new Norcal doublet on porch.
-9 Sept KD5KC W5T/GU-001 21 CW K2 5W Dipole Hunter NY QTH
-10 Sept NN5K W7A/SM-063 14 CW FT-817 2.5 W Fuchs EFHW 3492 mi S2S.
-10 Sept N0TA W0C/PR-010 14 CW FT-817 2.5 W Fuchs EFHW 2636 mi S2S.
-10 Sept N1EU W2/GC-014 14 CW K2 5W Dipole Hunter NY QTH (1/4 mi from Summit. HI)
-17 Sept N0EVH W8M/UP-006 14 CW K1 5W Norcal Doublet Albany NY QTH.
I found that the activator could copy, usually on the first call, if I just waited until the Chaser pile up had calmed down a bit. The dipoles and doublet at my QTH are, by far, better than the low hanging EFHW I use on activations. I’m sure this is the same for most activators, my thought is, if I can hear the activator, who most likely is running 5 wts or below, into a less than optimum antenna set up, I can work him QRP.
73 Bob W2CKL
Thanks for sharing this informaton, Bob.
Good QRP chasing!
Thank you also for the SOTA QSO last August 26th on 20m CW. I chased you QRP 5 w.
Yes, you just hitted the point, as long as you can copy the activator, who is probably running QRP in a very quiet summit (in terms of urban or domestic QRM), the activator will be able to copy you in QRP.
However this is not always the case. There may be some activators having QRM when in summits with other telecommunication antennas or wind power generators. But I think these are exceptions and the above rule applies most of the times.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
Next voice: Chasing from home only qrp - for being a bit more of a challenge. During activations power is 15 to 25 Watts to allow more chasers in QRN-haunted locations to hear me which gives also more control over the pileup with more stations copying me good enough to hear to whom I´m coming back and whether THEY were meant with my reply - easier for all (therefore also carrying the bigger 12m-pole with its 2,5kg, which is possible with normally not more than 300m height difference to hike here).
When activators in VK use QRP 5w I am unable to even hear them with the noise floor that I have. Usually s5 to s7 base noise floor. I appreciate all activators that use more power. I guess it depends on where you are and how QRM/QRN affects your QTH. When I activate I will use anything from 10w to 100. If a station is having trouble hearing me I will increase power for them.
Given the size of VK sometimes more power = more contacts.
Dear SOTA mates,
This is my chaser log since my last report. Again the S2S contacts made during my 2 activations in this period of time have been excluded.
All HF chases in this list have been worked from my QTH with an output power of 5 watts. Not those on VHF 2m FM, where I usually run
15 to 30 watts out.
I finally broke my QRP-5w-only rule today 30/09/2014 at 22:00 utc to work a US activator because after having tried several times with 5 watts and unable to make my full callsign copied (he was only copying EA), I decided to increase power up to 100 watts and so we completed the QSO.
Since this just happened at the end of September, I’ve decided to consider my QRP only test finished for the moment and you may hear me working either QRP or QRO from now onwards.
The experience has been very interesting and positive with lots of activators chased including a significant number of DX in VK and North America.
Should you wish to try a similar test yourselves, I’d love to read about your QRP chasing experience, so please share it with us.
Best 73 de Guru - EA2IF
