SOTA News November 2016

SOTA NEWS NOVEMBER 2016 - Part 1 of 2

Editorial - by Mark G0VOF

Welcome to the November 2016 edition of SOTA News. My thanks go to the following contributors:- Barry GM4TOE, Skip K6DGW, Roy G4SSH, Kevin G0NUP, Rob and Audrey G4RQJ, Allen VK3ARH, Warren ZL2AJ, Toru JH0CJH, Geert PA7ZEE, Bob F5HTR, Paulo CT2IWW, Egill TF3EO.

Following on from the success of the VK/ZL<>EU S2S QSO party a NA<>EU S2S QSO party is planned for the 19th November, see the NA SOTA report for more details.

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SOTA AWARDS September 2016 from Barry GM4TOE - SOTA Awards Manager.

October was another busy month for awards but, very noticeably, most applications were made mid-month rather than last minute and that means that the majority of orders will be shipped before the end of the month.

The North American activators have resurrected their tradition of the last Mountain Goat purchasing the trophy for the latest claimant. This caught me unaware and I ran out of trophy blanks; more are on order but the delivery timescale is about four weeks so these may be delayed into December for delivery (see below).

Congratulations to new Mountain Goats NM5SW, OK1NF and OE5YYN (the others claimed are for some time ago). GW4VPX has now reached 5000 Chaser points (and Platinum Mountain Hunter). Two other claims of note are VK3PF Platinum Summit to Summit and VK3ARR Mountain Explorer -they take real effort to achieve especially when you are activating so far away from the main areas of activity.

Finally, another claim for a Microwave Award, this time GM4WHA for 100km on 23cm.

Trophies Issued

Mountain Goat
OK1NF Jan Kraus
KD5KC Michael Olbrisch
NM5SW Scotty Wright
N4EX Rich Homolya

Shack Sloth
KD8DEU Allan J. Van Brocklin
W0QFW Robert A Carter

Certificates Issued

Activator
OK1NF Jan Kraus 1000 points
OE5YYN Sylvia Auer-Specht 1000 points
N2GBR Richard Jones 500 points
WB0USI Rick Loughrey 500 points
KK6YYD Phil Mosbacher 250 points

Chaser
GW4VPX Allan Jones 5000 points
K9OSC Robert Brock 1500 points
KD8DEU Allan J. Van Brocklin 1000 points
W0QFW Robert A Carter 1000 points
W0QFW Robert A Carter 1000 points
GI0AZB Ian Evans 1000 points
K7VK Vick Applegate 1000 points
AB4WL Ken Moore 500 points
AB4WL Ken Moore 250 points
AB4WL Ken Moore 100 points
YO8SSH Sebastian Hojbota 100 points
WG3K Eric Christensen 100 points
SP9ART Lukasz Gagulski 100 points

Activator Unique
G0HIO Michael Warrington 250 summits

Chaser Unique
SQ9APD Bartosz Kuzma 100 summits

Summit to Summit
VK3PF Peter Freeman Platinum
VK1MBE Andrew Belton Gold
WB0USI Rick Loughrey Silver
OK1NF Jan Kraus Bronze

SOTA Complete
GW4VPX Allan Jones 100 summits

Mountain Explorer
VK3ARR Andrew Ryan Platinum
GI0AZB Ian Evans Bronze
WB0USI Rick Loughrey Bronze

Mountain Hunter
GW4VPX Allan Jones Platinum
GI0AZB Ian Evans Gold
K7VK Vick Applegate Gold
WB0USI Rick Loughrey Gold
WG3K Eric Christensen Bronze

Microwave Award
GM4WHA Geoff Harper 100Km 23cm

This has been a busy period for issuing awards and merchandise and, interestingly, the majority of certificates requested were for printed versions rather than downloads. That will keep my local post office happy but does mean I spend a considerable amount of my time in the little cupboard (closet) that I use for an office!

I am going on vacation later in November (and into December) with my xyl to CT3 where, if the wind is in the right direction, I plan to activate a couple of summits. This does mean that I will produce my monthly report much earlier than usual and orders that arrive much later than 14 November will have to wait until I return.

Finally I did manage an activation this month on a hill that is not that far from my new qth; finger trouble on my part meant that at least one contact was deleted and I had to add it in from memory (which is starting to suffer from the effects of age!). I will correct my log if the M0 call I put in my log is wrong – please let me know.

Stay safe on the hills

73

Barry GM4TOE
SOTA Awards Manager

NORTH AMERICAN REPORT from Skip K6DGW

ERIC, KU6J (SK): Thanks to the efforts of many friends, W6/NS-204 is now officially in the SOTA vocabulary as “KU6J Memorial Peak.” Elliott, K6EL, who is also one of the NA representatives on the SOTA Management Team sums it up perfectly:

“KU6J’s background is mostly unknown to SOTA folks, other than the little I said about him at the recent SOTA lunch. Here’s the rest…”

“Eric was raised in a very small town about 100 miles north of San Francisco, where his family owned timber land and an apple growing operation. He was a hunter and fisherman, and, later in life, a gun collector and very outspoken supporter of the National Rifle Association. He was a licensed pilot (gliders) and motorsports enthusiast. He was known as a good skier, and especially, at all levels of his education, an unusually bright student and mathematician.”

“He graduated from a well-respected engineering school, Cal Poly, following in the footsteps of our reporter dude, K6DGW, and he went on to obtain an MBA. After graduation, he worked as a software engineer for a small Silicon Valley company for a couple of years before co-founding Assurx, developing regulatory compliance programs in the mid-1990’s. Sixteen years ago, he married his marketing director, Tamar, who also holds an MBA degree. She is the new CEO of that company, which is on its way to dominating their niche in the software world.”

KU6J was a ham radio operator most of his life, and SOTA was a perfect fit for an outdoorsman like Eric. He and Tamar lived on a hill between Truckee and Lake Tahoe, and he quickly became an expert on SOTA qualified summits in the Sierras of Northern California. At the time, there were only 208 peaks in the summit list for the entire state. He fixed that problem, organizing a small team of revisionists that included K6WRU, N7UN, K6DGW and a few others. The tedious work was all done by KU6J, and the result was 3,500 added summits for W6 in 2012. In 2015, he did much work on another W6 summit list revision, which the team finished for him, adding another 600 peaks after his death on January 8, 2016."

“While he is best known for the RBNGate software he invented for CW Sota operators four years ago, KU6J came up with a half dozen pieces of lesser coding for us, including devices to assist summit list revisions. He generously shared hardware tips, including a slick strain relief method for the center of portable doublet antennas. He founded the Northern Sierra Award and arranged for an array of over a dozen types of plaques, coffee cups, and stickers for those who reached one of three levels of achievement chasing climbers in his part of the state.”

“He recorded in detail everything that happened in his life either by typing or by dictated audio, like a diary on steroids. He struggled with bi-polar disorder all of his adult life, and it progressively worsened. He switched to a new medication very shortly before his death. In the SOTA world, he will be especially missed by his close collaborators K6DGW and MMØFMF. RIP old friend.”

The full story of the Memorial Activation, with more photos, is on the W6 Association website:

w6-sota.org/2016/10/21/eric-june-ku6j-memorial-activation

KU6J Medalion: KU6J Memorial placed atop W6/NS-204 near Eric’s home in Truckee CA.

KU6J Activation Crew: L-R Rick, WB0USI; Woody, K1LB; Paul, W6PNG; Jordan, WC6J, and Kipper, WOOF.

[Ed note: I miss Eric a great deal, we had become close friends with a shared history and bantered regularly on 80 and 40 CW. My profound thanks to Rick, Woody, Paul, Ron, and Jordan (+Kipper) for a fitting tribute to our friend]

STATISTICS: NORTH AMERICA TOTALS [as of 28 Oct 2100 UTC]
Total Activations: 588 [542]
Nr Unique Activators: 167 [174]
Total Chaser QSOs: 6165 [1397]
Nr Unique Chasers: 263 [136]
Unique Summits: 588 [692]

2m: 127 (2%) [35]
6m: 0 (0%) [0]
10m: 0 (0%) [0]
12m: 1 (0%) [0]
15m: 64 (1%) [1]
17m: 194 (3%) [27]
20m: 3731 (60%) [988]
30m: 581 (9%) [124]
40m: 1458 (23%) [222]
60m: 1 (0%) [0]
80m: 0 (0%) [0]
160m: 0 (0%) [0]
Unk: 8

CW: 4378 (71%) [915]
SSB: 1653 (26%) [445]
FM: 133 (2%) [35]
AM: 0 (0%) [0]
Data: 1 (0%) [0]
Other: 0 (0%) [1]
Unk: 8

Activations stayed fairly steady but the chasers really put on a show in October! Given the state of the Sun, and a number of geomagnetic storms during the month, it’s not surprising that activity was concentrated in the lower frequencies.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS: Lots to report this month:

Scotty, KG3W, has passed 40,000 chaser points. George, KX0R put him over with their 396th QSO. Scotty is working towards 50K as you read this. Congratulations!

The trek up Mt. Davidson is becoming a mandatory activation for hams visiting Northern California. Manuel, HB9DQM, made it with Elliott, K6EL, during a recent visit. Elliott writes: “Surprise… another traveler did the pilgrimage up Mt Davidson, this time Manuel, HB9DQM. His KX3 is using the internal batteries, so power is QRP. Doesn’t seem to matter, as he worked just about everyone, even with the null in his Alexloop oriented to the east. In this picture with me, he looks 19 years old… but he’s older and a very good operator. This was climb number 115 for him.”

At some point, Elliott should just leave the antenna up there.

Manuel, HB9DQM, and Elliott, K6EL, on Mt. Davidson.

Randy, ND0C, pointed me to the cover of the 2017 ARRL Handbook where Lynn, KC0YQF, and Frank, K0JQZ, are seen activating a summit. It’s always great when the local folk do good!

Fred, KT5X and also WS0TA, reported New Mexico’s 9th Mountain Goat, Scottie, NM5SW. Scottie is now North America’s 41st MG and the 40th in the US. Congratulations Scottie!

From John, K1JD: “Triple mountain goat achieved in Oct 2016, a personal goal for this calendar year slowed down by some knee issues. Happy to say they’re mostly resolved.”

“Also, planned SOTA activations in VK2 NSW and VK7 Tasmania between 14 Nov and 5 Dec using the KX3 setup.”

Etienne, K7ATN, notes that the latest Pacific Northwest SOTA News is at
www.pnwsota.org/sites/pnwsota.org/files/downloads/K7ATN/PNW%20Newsletter%20Nov-Dec%202016_0.pdf

NEWS:

Yet again at Pacificon, Elliott, K6EL, hosted a SOTA Luncheon and provided a photo of the group. The group continues to expand each year.

SOTA Luncheon at 2016 Pacificon. Kneeling, L to R: W1EJ, WBØUSI, KK6ZLY, WA9STI, W6PNG, K6EL & KJ6WEG. Standing, L to R: W6PZA, K6JEL, WC6J, N7UN, N6IZ, N6NKT, K6KNS, W6SAE, NK6A, KH2TJ, K7SO, AK6Q & N6KR (holding KX2 he designed)

Mark your calendars: Gerald, G4OIG, is organizing a North America <>Europe SOTA S2S Party: “I have proposed an event on Saturday 19th November 2016 between 1400 and 1700UTC. I appreciated that time is short to make arrangements, but hopefully this will suit a good number of activators before the worst of the weather takes hold. A follow up event could be on the QRPTTF event in March 2017.”

From both Elliott, K6EL, and Guy, N7UN, on behalf of the SOTA Management team, comes a reminder:

"The SOTA MT want to remind Activators of an important responsibility for a SOTA summit activation to be valid. The SOTA General Rules state this requirement clearly:

3.7 Rules for Activators: All Expeditions must use legitimate access routes and comply with any local rules regarding use of the land. In particular, Activators must ensure that they have any necessary permission to operate from their chosen Summit, or that access is customary.

In particular, Activators should be satisfied that there is no indication that access to the summit is forbidden, as access is subject to change. Here checking access rights means checking websites, maps, notices in the nearest village or tourist centre as well as onsite footpath notices. Activating a summit where permission has not been given or implied by ‘open access’ will invalidate the activation.

The SOTA MT recently deleted a North America W7A Activation where there was clear violation of this summit access rule. Violations of this type have a negative impact on the SOTA program and we will not hesitate to protect the SOTA program in the future."

REPORTS: I’ve got room for one report-of-the-month, we’ll head to the W3 Association and Richard, N2GBR:

"Nice day out yesterday in W3 land along with Chris, W3CDW. We completed four summits two of which were first activations.

Starting with W3/PD-001 a simple drive up summit where we ran 10w and the kx3 rig into dipole quite a few in the log including G0RQL, always nice to get DX when out QRP for SOTA.

We then moved to W3/SV-029 for a longer walk ~3.5m RT, and a first activation. We ran an FT857 (20W) and Chris carried the 18Ahr lead acid battery!

Off then to find access to W3/SV-039 Tuscarora Mtn. We found a wicked overgrown knife-edge Ridge. Chris has some injuries and decided to wait it out after a half mile. I pushed on to the activation zone mostly on the ridge line as it was quite exciting at times and brought back memories of my climbing days. It had been very windy all day and it was crazy windy on a very narrow ridge. I deployed an EFHW and made contacts only on 7mhz. Another first activation completed.

As we were in the “neighborhood” I dropped off Chris at SV-029 fisher mtn to activate.

Great day out. Thanks to Chris for joining me and all the chasers."

That’s it from the New World for Oct,

73,

Skip K6DGW
North American SOTA Reporter Dude
Sparks, NV

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SOTA Iceland on Facebook

SOTA TF now has its own Facebook group which can be found here: Redirecting...

We have been using it to discuss various matters regarding SOTA TF and if there are foreign visitors operating on VHF they will have a chance to ask for further advice and announce their local VHF activation’s.

We are encouraging our people to use SOTAWATCH of course but we are also building up a local discussion on FB.

73,

Egill Ibsen TF3EO

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SOTA FRANCE EDITION No 3 - September & October 2016 – Bob F5HTR

Hi to all ! Autumn has arrived so activation numbers are falling slowly.
In september, there were about 54 sota activations and in October that fell to only 30 sota activations.
FRENCH SOTA is wearing is winter coat !

There exists many reasons for this reduction of activity. The first one is that all the activators are busy verifying french summits in order to be on time for the next update planned at the beginning of 2017.This is a big job to do, and all the folks from france are realy involved in the job !
Thanks to them, it takes so much time, and by the way it is not so pleasant as walking up there !

The second reason is the weather which is getting colder in this period !
The third reason is also the end of holidays !

FRENCH OM who participate those last two months were :
F6HBI, F5LKW, F4ESK, F5UKL, F5PLR, F8FEO, F5UBH, F4EGG, F4CMC, F8BBL, F6CEL, F6EAH, F8AAB, F4GLD, F6IPR, F6HHK, F8CZI, F6ENO, (about 18)

FOREIGN OM who were actives from french summits :
ON6ZQ, HB9AFI, PB2T, ON7DQ, HB9AMO, HB9BQB, DL3TU, DD6DO, IU1AUG, G4VFL, ON4BWT, DF6XP (about 12)

Best regards to all and have fun with SOTA activation !

Bob
F5HTR

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SOTA NEWS FROM JAPAN by Toru JH0CJH

Hi Mark and all

Please find the following SOTA News from Japan.

In October, weather in Japan still got affected by typhoon but fairly good
conditions. So the number of activation is the biggest record in October
after the commencement of Japan SOTA associations. Also on 22 October,
VK/ZL - EU SOTA party pushed up the number of activations. The party is
maily planned between Oceanea and Europe but many W and JA SOTA lovers
joined to get and enjoy tine shares.

Another big news in Japan SOTA is new entries of SOTA summits in the JA5,
JA6 and JA8 associations. The number of additional summits are 608. (JA5:
197, JA6: 336 and JA8: 75) For JA region we are now making the list and
planned to be launched in December 2016.

SOTA operation October 2016 in Japan as of 31 Oct 2016.

Activation

Total 153 Activations with 1163 QSO have been made and reported.

JA: 146 expeditions with 1111 QSO from Summits
JA5: 2 expeditions with 39 QSO from Summits
JA6: 3 expeditions with ? QSO from Summits
JA8: 2 expeditions with 13 QSO from Summits

Chasing

Total 225 Chasing QSO have been made and reported.

JA: 202 chasing QSO
JA5: 1 chasing QSO
JA6: 22 chasing QSO
JA8: 0

S2S

Total 136 S2S QSO have been made and reported.

JA: 130 S2S QSO
JA5: 2 S2S QSO
JA6: 2 S2S QSO
JA8: 2 S2S QSO

The reason of this big number of S2S QSO is come from the said VK/ZL - EU
SOTA party. I really wish to have the similar Trans-continet SOTA party in
other region also between JA.

Toru Kawauchi
toru@kawauchi.homeip.mydns.jp
http://www.kawauchi.homeip.mydns.jp/jh0cjh/blog/

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THE VIEW FROM THE NORTH - 106 By Rob and Audrey G4RQJ

Straight in this month with a trip up Longridge Fell, a nice straightforward little hill on the outskirts of Preston but it did not turn out to be straightforward for us on this occasion! Our satnav decided that Jeffery Hill car park was in the middle of a field on the wrong side of the lower reservoir, fortunately Audrey knew better and took us where we needed to be. The track up was hideously wet and muddy which must be in part due to the very heavy short downpours that we have been suffering lately, what happened to good old fashioned rain?

Eventually we arrive at the summit and put out the hf antenna set for 5Mhz, turn on the rig and there is G7OEM/P Tony calling from Easington Fell just round the corner from us. I give him a quick call and a report, he replies and suggests that we move off the calling frequency? I look at the rig, the swr looks ok but I realize it’s on 2m oops! Still at least the SWR of the inverted V is tolerable on 2m. The rest of the visit goes very well with lots of interested visitors but you have to smile when faced with all the technical wonders we have on show one lady is most impressed that we use small inflatable head cushions as sit mats (usually quite cheap light and durable and they insulate you from ground chill).

On the way down the muddy, slippery track I am surprised to receive a strong knock on the bridge of my nose followed quickly by signals from the rest of my body that indicate we are flat on the floor, nose first in a shallow ditch along the side of the path. What fun, Audrey puts a plaster on the cut which stops the blood flow and we continue our walk down westwards towards a strong setting sun. Later when the plaster is removed I have a nice white plaster shaped patch where the sun has missed me. Joking apart it does show the possibilities of a simple slip.

Next activation for us is Watch Hill in the north west of Cumbria close to Cockermouth and in spite of the extra miles we elect to go via the M6 rather than struggle through the central Lake District and its welcome blanket of tourists. Turns out the times for the routes are virtually identical despite the extra miles.

The start point if you are climbing via the longer shallower route starts at a Y junction just east of Cockermouth on Castlegate Drive where there is a lay by with room for a good dozen cars today it is occupied by two 4x4s complete with horse boxes, ramps down into the road and tack spread about with no sign of owners. we manage to squeeze in between them. The walk is a nice upland stroll on grass following the line of the woodland east once it is reached, basically don’t climb anything you don’t have to. Activation is best close to the corner where the east bound fence turns sharply down hill.

All bands work well but 10Mhz is blessed with stations who don’t understand the use of QRL so we don’t stay long. 2mfm brings up quite a few friends in the local area who we don’t meet often on the air although we live in the same county, because someone put a lot of mountains in the way.

On now to our trip up Wards Stone which basically fell just short of a disaster. hihi. We estimated two hours up and about the same down, how wrong we were. Conditions underfoot were very poor. The section from the Jubilee Tower to Shooters Pile is very wet and boggy resulting in numerous changes of track and no defined path but endless small ones that petered out. In the past this section has been a benign walk but not today. The high ladder stile at the top corner of the area is seriously in need of repair and is missing one of the high steps altogether which would make it difficult for short folk. The section from here to the cross track is reasonable and the final part from this track, over the moor to the summit has developed a path that is good in parts which is about the best that can be said of it. A lot more avoiding tactics and a steady cold blast of wind into our faces resulted in us being over an hour later than planned and totally cream crackered into the bargain. For me this is not too unusual but for Audrey it is to say the least rare. I was relying on bursts of energy from repeated bites of soft nougat that I find good for the job. We realised that this was not a desirable situation so ate our sandwiches and carried out a quick 2m fm only activation which did need quite a lot of cq calls before qualifying the summit, then off for another three hour flog back to the car, so apologise to any HF chasers looking for us. It was essentially a safety decision to get off the hill before dark.

Looking back on this we realised that our last trip up Wards Stone was nine years ago and I was not nearly 76, previous visits had been either in summer when the ground was harder or winter when it was frozen solid, the wicked head wind on the ascent did not help either! Remember the words of The Gambler (Kenny Rogers) “Know when to hold them, know when to fold them. Know when to walk away, know when to run” a good maxim for walking and indeed life in general. Sorry again to the HF chasers.

Regarding the much discussed state of beer in Britain, Audrey’s Mum, a lady of Welsh origin used to say “Goes in one end, comes out the other and doesn’t do much good in between”. Personally I think it’s all falling down water just buy a bottle of rum.

That pearl of wisdom brings us to the end of this months effort, remember here in UK it is the end of summertime and our clocks go back one hour tonight (Oct29th) so don’t get caught on the hills without a torch later on Sunday, local mountain rescue reckon on about six callouts

Meanwhile

Take care out there.

73
Rob and Audrey
G4RQJ

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*********** SOTA NEWS PART 2 FOLLOWS BELOW ********

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SOTA NEWS NOVEMBER 2016 - Part 2

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VK News – Allen VK3ARH

Snowy Mountains SOTA Weekend 1st October

Snowy Mountains SOTA weekend was a event planned to present the opportunity for new and experienced activators to activate summits in the Snowy mountain area.

This is a popular area due to the abundance of high scoring summits with good access. Rob VK2QR was key to this event as he lives and works in the area.so did the ground work and arranged for accommodation at the Snowy Mountains Resort and Function Centre in Adaminaby as well as recommending summits to consider.

8 Activators present for the weekend. Warren VK3BYD,Allen VK3ARH, Ken VK3KIM, Rod VK2TWR ,Peter VK3PF,Ron VK3AFW, Crompton VK2HRX & Phil VK3BHR. Rod VK2TWR & Peter VK3PF worked together whilst VK2HRX Crompton, VK3BYD Warren and Allen VK3ARH went off in Compton’s Troop carrier and Ken VK3KIM, Ron VK3AFW and Phil VK3BHR went in in Kens Land Rover.

Band conditions made it difficult and slow to qualify on HF so thanks to all chasers but in particular to two regular chasers who helped us qualify – Rick VK4RF and John ZL1BYZ. We picked up 6 Alpine summits in the bonus period over the weekend. With an additional summit for those with the time on Monday.

Worth the effort.

Details:
https://vk3hra.wordpress.com/2016/10/25/01102016-snowy-mountains-sota-weekend/

VK4 Activation News October from Rob VK4FFAB;

The month of October has produced a good number of activations coming out of VK4. With 18 WWFF references being activated and 3 SOTA references. Fred VK4FE has been very busy in the far north activating a number of new references as well as revisiting some previously activated ones, mostly on 20m.Neil VK4HNS has also been active with a swag of parks including some of the cluster of parks around Crows Nest, Geham, Hampton, Crows Nest, Esk, Ravensborne is a great weekend of activating if anyone is interested HIHI. Sota activity has been rather slow, with only 3 references being activated between our South African visitors Sid and Adelle and Gareth VK4MOB.

A big thanks to everyone who has gone out and activated this month.

VK4 WWFF
Fred VK4FE: Mount Lewis NP, Eubenangee Swamp NP, Russell River NP, Mowbray NP, Barron
Gorge NP, Keatings Lagoon CP, Speewah CP.
Neil VK4HNS: Moggill CP, Ravensbourne NP, Geham NP, Crows Nest NP, Mount Perry CP, Lake
Broadwater CP.
Bill VK4FW: Tarong NP, Cherbourg CP, Ban Ban NP.
Rob VK4FFAB: Samford CP, Deception Bay CP.
Lawrie: VK4SQ Deception Bay CP.

VK4 SOTA
Sid and Adelle ZS4AYC: Mt Mary Smokes.
Gareth VK4MOB: Mount Cotton, Kluvers Lookout.

Rob VK4FFAB

VK <> G <> ZL S2S QSO Party 22nd October

Mike 2E0YYY and Andrew VK1AD have been discussing opportunities for a VK <> G <> ZL S2S QSO Party in a window of 0630 UTC to 0830 UTC.

Promoted using SOTA website and Facebook (Redirecting...) page the idea took off with international commitment to chase. Before the evening there was54 summits across Australia, New Zealand, Japan, England, Scotland, Wales, Germany, France, Finland, Bulgaria, Portugal, Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Greece and Switzerland alerted for activations.

This is not a new event as synchronised SOTA activations known as the VK Spring SOTA QSO and VK Autum SOTA QSO were well attended locally and also by a number of G, GM, GW and DL activators but has to be the largest so far.

There were several cancellations and a couple changes due to weather on both sides but this did not curb the enthusiasm making for a successful evening. Ed - DD5LP reports that there were 73 spots on the evening. VK/ZL <> Europe SOTA S2S Party - 22 Oct 16 0630 - 0830 UTC - #174 by DD5LP.

The success of this event is down to the contribution made by everyone to ignore weather and persist with contacts.

Personally Looking forward to the next one.

SOTA QSO Party Links

http://vk1da.net/blog/2016/10/24/sota-qso-party-22nd-october-2016-at-bobbara-hill/
https://vk1nam.wordpress.com/2016/10/14/vkzl-and-eu-sota-s2s-qso-party-22-october-2016/
https://vk3hra.wordpress.com/2016/10/26/22012016-vkzl-europe-sota-s2s-party/
Allen
VK3ARH

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SOTA NEW ZEALAND REPORT from Warren ZL2AJ

SOTA Activity Report for September / October 2016

List Summits activated
03-Sep-16 ZL1/BP-237 Mount Maunganui ZL1BYZ
04-Sep-16 ZL1/BP-237 Mount Maunganui ZL1BYZ
11-Sep-16 ZL1/AK-011 Moir Hill ZL2AJ
11-Sep-16 ZL1/AK-013 Atuanui / Mount Auckland ZL2AJ
11-Sep-16 ZL1/WK-157 Hakarimata ZL1BYZ
17-Sep-16 ZL1/HB-128 Kauahei ZL2AJ
24-Sep-16 ZL1/AK-013 Atuanui / Mount Auckland ZL1BYZ
25-Sep-16 ZL1/AK-013 Atuanui / Mount Auckland ZL1BYZ
08-Oct-16 ZL1/WK-158 Puketutu ZL1BYZ
10-Oct-16 ZL1/WL-033 Climie ZL2ATH
10-Oct-16 ZL1/WL-033 Climie ZL2CHV
11-Oct-16 ZL1/AK-023 Maungawhau / Mount Eden ZL/ZS5APT
11-Oct-16 ZL1/AK-023 Maungawhau / Mount Eden ZL/ZS5AYC
11-Oct-16 ZL1/AK-023 Maungawhau / Mount Eden ZL1BBO
14-Oct-16 ZL3/CB-806 Coopers Knob ZL/ZS5APT
14-Oct-16 ZL3/CB-806 Coopers Knob ZL/ZS5AYC
16-Oct-16 ZL1/WL-101 Hawkins Hill ZL2ATH
19-Oct-16 ZL3/CB-822 Tauhinukorokio/Mount Pleasant ZL/ZS5APT
19-Oct-16 ZL3/CB-822 Tauhinukorokio/Mount Pleasant ZL/ZS5AYC
22-Oct-16 ZL1/WK-031 Ranginui ZL2AJ
22-Oct-16 ZL1/WK-039 Rangitoto ZL2AJ
23-Oct-16 ZL1/WK-153 Pukemako ZL4TE
23-Oct-16 ZL1/WK-153 Pukemako ZL4TM
24-Oct-16 ZL3/SL-307 The Bluff/Motupōhue ZL4TZ

Report for September October 2016

Looking at www.sotadata.org.uk I can see we currently have 23 active chasers and 14 active activators in New Zealand. If you are able and the outdoors is your thing, I recommend taking part in SOTA as a great combination of getting out and seeing the best of New Zealand, a bit of light exercise and mixing it up with playing radio. The views are often spectacular and the walks are as varied as simple to experienced tracks with everything in between. If your partner roles his or her eyes at another radio thing, this is the perfect opportunity to involve them in the hobby as a non-transmitting helper or companion. Emma (my YL) enjoys photography and getting out of the house so we both make the most of our trips around different summits.

ZL4TM Kieran Leng operating from ZL1/WK-153 Pukemako (Sanatorium Hill)

If activating isn’t for you, for whatever reason – become a chaser. Most activators are also chasers and without chasers activating is a pointless exercise. Keep in touch with your local activators, with the facebook group or with www.sotawatch.org and join in the fun collecting chased summits to your log.

This month the first update for ZL1 was presented to SOTA. Several summit names have been updated, 2 new summits have been added, and one summit has been moved (yes we can move mountains). I am also pleased to announce that Wynne ZL2ATH will be taking up the role as regional manager for Wellington area, and Kyle ZL2KGF will be picking up the role for regional manager for Taranaki area. Regional managers are local contacts that are there to promote SOTA locally. Wynne and Kyle have already been doing this so it is pleasing that they are able to support the area (and help me out) by becoming regional managers.

It is pleasing to see locals acting as agents for ZL by taking touring hams to nearby SOTA summits. ZL1BBO and ZL3CC have hosted Syd ZS5AYC and Adele ZS5APT to local summits. This will add to their mountain explorer award, where by activating summits in different associations it increases the award category. From www.sota.org.uk

Mountain Explorer
The essence of the award is to recognise the activation and qualification of Summits, in accordance with SOTA General Rules and the local association’s rules, in a number of different associations.

  • Bronze Award - confirmed activation of at least one summit in each of 5 Associations
  • Silver Award - confirmed activation of at least one summit in each of 10 Associations
  • Gold Award - confirmed activation of at least one summit in each of 15 Associations
  • Platinum Award - confirmed activation of at least one summit in each of 20 Associations
  • Globetrotter Award - confirmed activation of at least one summit in every participating association

During this reporting period, Andrew ZL3CC whilst on holiday has activated KH6/KU-011 Nonou Mountain in Hawaii. Well done Andrew. You have proven that the SOTA bug can come on holiday too.

On Saturday the 22nd, Andrew VK1AD and Mike 2E0YYY had organized a VK/ZL<>EU SOTA S2S QSO Party. What this was in effect was an organized time for activators to find a summit and activate at the same time as others, to maximize the odds of summit to summit (S2S) contacts. In the 2 weeks leading up to this event, 51 activators posted alerts up on www.sotawatch.org. It was becoming the largest organized event in the history of SOTA. It turns out on the day there were 73 activators on the air during the 2-hour event. I was activating Ranginui ZL1/WK-031 but due to site noise and a few technical issues I was unable to make any S2S contacts (although I had reports of being heard from summits in VK). Tim ZL4TZ attempted to activate ZL3/FL-819 but failed to activate the summit due to a fault in his radio. Many other activators were on from around the world including England, Wales, Germany, France, Japan, Poland, Austria, Australia, Portugal, Spain, Belgium and Czech Republic. Results of the party have been included in the AR newsline broadcast. Another similar event is being considered to time with North America in the near future.

I have available for those that want it, KML files (for google earth) for SOTA summits for ZL and VK, as well as DOC tracks in ZL. Email me warren@zl2aj.com for a copy.

Total Summits Activated for Period – 24
Total number of ZL summits - 5172
Total number of ZL summits activated – 71
Percentage of ZL summits activated – 1.37%
Total ZL Chaser contacts logged for period 262

Warren ZL2AJ
warren@zl2aj.com

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A.R.V.M Radio Exhibition Portugal November 27th 2016

The A.R.V.M. is organizing an Exposition for Radio Amateurs in Lisbon, which promises to be one of the biggest events of Ham radio in Portugal. It is intended that in addition to good shopping and amateur material exchanges will be a day of conviviality with all OM’s welcome. (YL’s & XYL’s too I hope. Ed)

For more info visit A.R.V.M.
email: f.radio@arvm.org
A.R.V.M.

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It’s Raining Again
or
How to stay dry during an activation by Geert PA7ZEE

It was at the beginning of October that my friend Frank PC7C and I went to Luxembourg to activate some summits there. This trip was planned earlier but due to persistent rain postponed. That morning when we left very early my home near Amsterdam, it was not completely dry but the weather forecast was promising for Luxembourg.

When we approached Diekirch where our first summit was, it was almost dry but becoming higher it was wet because we were in the clouds. On the summit LX/LX-003 KiirchbĂŤsch, it was very wet and we had only one big umbrella. I decided that Frank could take the umbrella since the FT-817 he used, is very vulnerable for water with the speaker on top. I found within the Activation Zone a trailer that belongs to a farmer. The Rules exclude making use of a car but this was in my opinion acceptable without violating the Rules.

Geert PA7ZEE on LX/LX-003 KiirchbĂŤsch

I had a folding chair in the car and after throwing my W3EDP wire in a tree, I fitted just under the trailer. A plastic bag over my knees kept my knees and the KX1 dry. With one hand manipulating the paddle and holding a pencil and the other hand holding the plastic bag at its place, it was working. I even had a S2S with Kurt F/HB9AFI/P !
When I went QRT my cap and my shoulders were covered with dirt and rust but my KX1 was dry.
On the other summits it was dry but Frank did not trust the weather and used all the times the big umbrella.

Frank PC7C on DM/RP-003 Schwarzer Mann

On DM/RP-003 Schwarzer Mann, he even had the luxury of a real operating table.

73, Geert PA7ZEE

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SOTA Portugal at A.R.A.M´s hamfest in Viana do Castelo

Portugal´s SOTA program was one of the highlights of this years hamfest organized by A.R.A.M., in northern city of Viana do Castelo.

On October 8th, many amateur radio and communications enthusiasts stopped by the Summits on the Air Portugal exhibition manned by Emmanuel Lomba, CT7AFR, and JoĂŁo Cunha, CT2GSN.

Emmanuel Lomba, CT7AFR, and João Cunha, CT2GSN, manning the SOTA Portugal booth at ARAM´s Ham Fest

On display where two complete SOTA stations and multimedia presentations highlighting SOTA activity in Portugal; which has experienced an increase in recent months. João and Emmanuel were very busy describing the activities of both chasers and activators, distributing SOTA “swag” to visitors from Portugal, Spain and even Venezuela.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers throughout the country, and the cooperation of amateur clubs, the Summits on the Air Portugal program have made its existence known in gatherings and hamfests throughout the country.

Next November 27th, SOTA Portugal will have a booth in ARVM´s Amateur Radio Exhibit, the largest amateur radio event in the country. Like in previous editions, many communications and electronics enthusiasts are expected to attend the one day ham fest in the Portuguese capital.

Paulo Teixeira, CT2IWW

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SOTA ON TOP BAND - Mark G0VOF

Hello everyone & welcome to this month’s edition of SOTA on Top Band.

October was very quiet on Top band with no activations or chases logged in the database. As we move into winter in the Northern hemisphere conditions on the band tend to improve so that situation may well change over the next few months.

As always, If you do have any suggestions on things that you think should be included, or if you wish to contribute tips, ideas or anything else that you think may help others on the band please email them to me at mark@brownhill.demon.co.uk

Until next month,

Best 73,

Mark G0VOF

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CW REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 - Roy G4SSH

This will be a shortened report due to the fact that I was away from home during the first half of the month, with limited access to SOTA Watch.

Propagation varied widely during October, with the higher bands being almost dead at times, and this, combined with the sudden end of the favourable summer weather throughout Europe, resulted in a rapid reduction in the number of CW activations posted. In effect SOTA went into Autumn mode (weekends excepted) with limited EU activations and regular cancellations of expeditions due to bad weather. The weather does not affect chasers so any activation produced a heavy pile-up of chaser stations desperate for a few points.

On the 25th at 1000z SOTA Watch showed that there had been just 3 spots in the last 12 hours, after which the weather returned to summer-like temperatures for the last few days with many cross-border expeditions.

Stations heard active from multi-summits were Dan FHB9IIO, Reinhard EA5/DK1IO, Chris LX/ON6UU, DL/ON6UU, Andre EA5/F5UKL, Hans DL/HB9AGO, Hugo EA/HB9AFH, Frans MM/PA0INA, Hugo EA5/HB9AFH, Bob HB9/F5HTR, Andy M0FMF operating from DL/ OK/ and SP/.

Ferec was active as /OK/SP9MA,

Juerg HB9BIN and Kurt HB9AFI were active almost daily from summits in Germany and Antonio CT1MH was heard from a Scout Jamboree in Portugal.

A trio of French stations:-

F6HBI Gerald
F8FEO Alain, and
F5LKW Roger

were very active on the 19th, whilst Gavin CT7/GM0GAV was in the Algarve, Paul MD/HB9DST was heard from the summit of Snaefell, the highest summit on the Isle of Man and Rob GM3YTS was active from the SS region of Scotland.

On the 20th of the month Hans was activating summits in France as F/PB2T, whilst Tonnie was operating from summits in Germany as DL/PA9CW, Marko was active as OK/OH9XX and Paul was heard activating from Ireland as EI/HB9DST.

The VK/ZL-EU s2s party on the 22nd was well represented, with dozens of SOTA stations from VK, ZL, JA and EU active, especially on 20 metres, in spite of poor weather in many of the participating countries and less than ideal propagation.

S5100SF operated by Jurij S57X, and S09TA - operator Sergiy, were active on the 23rd, and Sergiy crossed the border into Romania, to operate as YO/HS8LLH. Vlad was making one of his rare but welcome appearances as Z53M. Fred was active as OK/DL8DXL from Czechia.

During the last week of the month Markus DL/HB9BRJ was active from Germany, Hans I/OE7PHI was heard active from Italy, Geert was activating summits from Belgium as ON/PA7ZEE, Guido was active from Germany as DL/HB9BQB Sorin was operating from Bulgaria as LZ/YO2MSB, Andy was in Austria, signing OE/DK7MG and Pedro CU3HF was active from the Azores. Ferec was active as /OK/SP9MA, Sorin was active from Bulgaria as LZ/YO2MSB, Jarek was operating as OK/SP9MA from Czechia.

73 Roy G4SSH

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SOTA ACTIVITY REPORT FOR OCTOBER 2016 by Kevin G0NUP

Mode: CW on 3.5MHz: activity for October

K7VK, OK8WW/P, VK3BYD/2, VK3PF/2, VK3PF/P

Mode: CW on 7MHz: activity for October

AA6FD, AC0PR, AC1Z, AD5A, AE5KA, AE7AP, AE9Q,
AI0Q, CT7AGR/P, CT7AGT/P, DF3MC/P, DF7FX/P, DJ2MX/P, DJ3AX/P,
DJ9MH/P, DK1WI/P, DK2JK/P, DK7MG/P, DL/HB9AGO/P, DL/HB9BHW/P, DL/HB9BIN/P,
DL/HB9BQB/P, DL/PA0HRM/P, DL/PA0SKP/P, DL/PA7ZEE/P, DL/PA9CW/P, DL/PB2T/P, DL1DXA/P,
DL2FAZ/P, DL2HWI/P, DL3TU/P, DL4MHA/P, DL4ROB, DL5FAB/P, DL6AP/P,
DL6FBK/P, DL6WT/P, DL8DZL/P, DL8JJ/P, DL9TX/P, EA1/HB9AFH/P, EA1/HB9IIO/P,
EA1AER/P, EA2WX/P, EA5FV/P, EI/HB9DST/P, EI5CA/P, F/HB9AFI/P, F/HB9IIO/P,
F5LKW/P, F5UBH/P, F6HBI/P, F8BBL/P, F8FEO/P, G0EVV/P, G0HIO/P,
G0MFR/P, G3TJE/P, G4CFS/P, G4RQJ/P, G4ZAO/P, GM0GAV/P, GM3YTS/P,
GW4TJC/P, HA5CLF/P, HA5LV/P, HA5MA/P, HB0/HB9IAB/P, HB9/DJ5AV/P, HB9/F5HTR/P,
HB9/PB2T/P, HB9AFI/P, HB9AGO/P, HB9AXL/P, HB9BAB/P, HB9BCB/P, HB9BHW/P,
HB9BIN, HB9BIN/P, HB9BQU/P, HB9BSH/P, HB9CBR/P, HB9CGA/P, HB9CLN/P,
HB9DAX/P, HB9DGV/P, HB9DPR/P, HB9DQM/P, HB9DST/P, HB9EWO/P, HB9FVF/P,
HL2OLP/P, IX1IHR/P, JA1KHZ/1, JG5JXW/5, JO3ALU/3, JP3DGT/3, JS1UEH/1,
JS1UEH/7, K1LB, K2JB, K3JZD, K4QS, K6HPX/P, K7JFD,
K7MK, K7ODX, K7PX, K7WYV, K9IR, K9ZMD, KB9ILT,
KC1APK, KD5KC, KE5AKL, KE7BGM, KH7AL, KI4SVM, KK1W,
KR7RK, KW4JM, KX0R, LA1ENA/P, LA1KHA/P, LA3BO/P, LX/ON6UU/P,
LX/PA7ZEE/P, LZ1GJ/P, M/HB9DST/P, M/OK1CZ/P, M0OAT/P, M0VFC/P, MD/HB9DST/P,
MI/HB9DST/P, MM/HB9DST/P, MM/PA0INA/P, MM0FMF/P, MM0OAT/P, MW/HB9DST/P, MW/OK1CZ/P,
N0DET, N0PCL, N0TA, N1FJ, N1GVT, N1ZF, N4DA,
N4SFR, N6JZT, N7CW, NA6MG, NJ7V, NM5S, NM5SW,
NO6E, NS0TA, NS7P, OE/DK7MG/P, OE/HB9AGO/P, OE/HB9FVF/P, OE/HB9IAB/P,
OE/PA0SKP/P, OE5EEP/P, OE5EIN/P, OE6KYG/P, OK/DF3MC/P, OK/DL8DXL/P, OK/OM4DW/P,
OK/OM6TC/P, OK/SP9MA/P, OK1AYU/P, OK1CF/P, OK1DDQ/P, OK1DVM/P, OK1FRT/P,
OK1KT/P, OK1MLP/P, OK1TGI/P, OK1XGL/P, OK2BDF/P, OK2BTK/P, OK2HIJ/P,
OK2PDT, OK2PDT/P, OK2PIM/P, OK2PXJ/P, OK2PYA/P, OK2VWB/P, OK3EQ/P,
OK8WW/P, OM/OK2VWB/P, OM/SP9MA/P, OM3CUG/P, OM4AA/P, OM6AN/P, OM6TC/P,
ON/PA0HRM/P, ON/PA7ZEE/P, ON/PA9CW/P, ON/PB2T/P, PA0SKP/P, PA7ZEE/P, S5100SF,
S51RU/P, S51WX/P, S52CU/P, S52FT/P, S53OM/P, S58R/P, SO9TA/P,
SP9AMH/P, SP9MA/P, VA2VL/W2, VE2DDZ, VK1DA, VK2AOH, VK2IO/P,
VK3AFW/P, VK3ARH, VK3ARR, VK3BYD/2, VK3BYD/P, VK3KAI/2, VK3PF/2,
VK3ZLP/P, VK7CW/1, W1/DF8KY/P, W1EJ, W3/DF8KY/P, W4/DF8KY/P, W4AMW,
W4EON, W4KRN, W5ODS, W6/HB9DQM, W7/HB9DQM, W7USA, WA2USA/P,
WA6ARA, WA6MM, WA7JTM, WB0USI, WB5USB, WB8OGK, WC0Y,
WG0AT, WG3K, WH6LE, WS0TA, YO/HA8BJ/P, YO/HA8LLH, YO/HA8QW,
YO2BP/P

Mode: CW on 10MHz: activity for October

9H4RH/P, AA6FD, AC1Z, AD5A, AE7AP, AI0Q, CT1DBS/P,
CT7ABE/P, CT7AGR/P, DF3MC/P, DJ2FR, DJ9MH/P, DK1WI/P, DK3RED,
DK7MG/P, DL/HB9BIN/P, DL/HB9BRJ/P, DL/M0FMF/P, DL/ON6UU/P, DL/PA7ZEE/P, DL/PA9CW/P,
DL2HWI/P, DL3TU/P, DL4MHA/P, DL4ROB, DL5FAB/P, DL6FBK/P, DL8DZL/P,
DL9NBC/P, DL9TX/P, EA/F5UKL/P, EA1/HB9IIO/P, EA2WX/P, EA5FV/P, EI/HB9DST/P,
F/HB9AFI/P, F/HB9IIO/P, F/PB2T/P, F5LKW/P, F5PLR/QRP/P, F6HBI/P, F8FEO/P,
G0HIO/P, G0MFR/P, G4RQJ/P, G4ZAO/P, GM0GAV/P, GW4TJC/P, HA5BV/P,
HA5CQZ/P, HA5LV/P, HA5MA/P, HA7HF/P, HB9/F5HTR/P, HB9AFI/P, HB9AGO/P,
HB9BCB/P, HB9BHW/P, HB9BIN/P, HB9BQU/P, HB9BSH/P, HB9CBR/P, HB9CGA/P,
HB9DAX/P, HB9DGV/P, HB9DPR/P, HB9DST/P, HB9EWO/P, HB9IIO/P, HB9JOE/P,
IX1IHR/P, JA1KHZ/1, JA4RQO/4, JO4GMS/4, JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7, K1JD,
K1LB, K2JB, K4KPK, K4QS, K6HPX/P, K7ATN, K7JFD,
K7ODX, K7VK, K9ZMD, KB1KXL, KB9ILT, KD5KC, KE5AKL,
KH7AL, KR7RK, KT0A, KX0R, LA1ENA/P, LA1KHA/P, LA3BO/P,
LX/ON6UU/P, LX/PA7ZEE/P, LZ/YO2BP/P, MD/HB9DST/P, MM/HB9DST/P, MM0FMF/P, MW/HB9DST/P,
N0DET, N0TA, N1GVT, N1ZF, N6JZT, N7CW, NA6MG,
NG7A, NK6A, NM5S, NO6E, NS1TA, NS7P, OE/DK7MG/P,
OE/HB9FVF/P, OE1MVA/P, OE5AUL/P, OE5EEP/P, OH2NOS/P, OK/DL8DXL/P, OK/M0FMF/P,
OK/OM6TC/P, OK/SP9MA/P, OK1DVM/P, OK1MLP/P, OK2BDF/P, OK2BTK/P, OK2PVX/P,
OK2PXJ/P, OK2PYA/P, OK8WW/P, OM/OK2VWB/P, OM/SP9MA/P, OM3CUG/P, OM4AA/P,
OM6TC/P, ON/PA9CW/P, PA7N/P, PA7ZEE/P, S5100SF, S51RU/P, S52CU/P,
S52FT/P, SO9TA/P, SP9AMH/P, SP9MA/P, SP9PND/P, SQ8JMZ/P, VA2VL/W2,
VE2DDZ, VK2AOH, W0CP, W4EON, W4KRN, W5ODS, WA2USA/P,
WA6MM, WA7JTM, WB0USI, WB5USB, WC0Y, WG0AT, YO/HA8BJ/P,
YO/HA8LLH, YO/HG8PQ, YO2BP/P, YO9CB/P, YU1WC/P

Mode: CW on 14MHz: activity for October

AA6FD, AC0PR, AC0SR, AC1Z, AC7MA, AD5A, AE5KA,
AE7AP, CT1BWW/P, CT1DBS/P, CT7/GM0GAV, CT7ABE/P, CT7AGR/P, CT7AGT/P,
CU3HF/P, DF3MC/P, DJ2FR, DJ2MX/P, DK1WI/P, DK7MG/P, DL/HB9AGO/P,
DL/HB9BIN/P, DL/HB9BRJ/P, DL/M0FMF/P, DL/PA7ZEE/P, DL/PB2T/P, DL3TU/P, DL4ROB,
DL5FAB/P, DL6AP/P, DL6FBK/P, EA/F5UKL/P, EA1/HB9AFH/P, EA1/HB9IIO/P, EA1AER/P,
EA2IF/P, EA2WX/P, EA4/DK1IO/P, EA5/DK1IO/P, EA5FV/P, EA7/OK1CZ/P, EA8AA/P,
EI/HB9DST/P, EI5CA/P, F/HB9AFI/P, F/HB9IIO/P, F/ON7DQ/P, F/PB2T/P, F5LKW/P,
F5PLR/QRP/P, F6ENO/P, F6HBI/P, F8FEO/P, G0MFR/P, G0POT/P, G4RQJ/P,
G4ZAO/P, GM0GAV/P, GM3YTS/P, GS3PYU/P, HA5LV/P, HA5MA/P, HB9/F5HTR/P,
HB9/PB2T/P, HB9AFI/P, HB9AGO/P, HB9AXL/P, HB9BCB/P, HB9BIN, HB9BIN/P,
HB9BQU/P, HB9BSH/P, HB9CBR/P, HB9CGA/P, HB9DAX/P, HB9DGV/P, HB9DPR/P,
HB9DQM/P, HB9DST/P, HB9EWO/P, HB9FVF/P, HB9IIO/P, HB9JOE/P, IK5QPS/P,
IX1IHR/P, JA4RQO/4, JF1NDT/1, JG1GPY/1, JH0CJH/1, JH0CJH/3, JL1NIE/1,
JP1QEC/1, JP3DGT/3, JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7, K0JQZ, K1JD, K2JB,
K3JZD, K4KPK, K4QS, K4SV, K6CMG, K6HPX/P, K7ATN,
K7JFD, K7MK, K7ODX, K7PX, K7VK, K7WYV, K9IR,
K9ZMD, KB1KXL, KB9ILT, KC1APK, KD5KC, KD7WPJ, KE5AKL,
KK1W, KQ6UP, KR7RK, KT0A, KW4JM, KX0R, LA1ENA/P,
LA3BO/P, LX/ON6UU/P, LZ1GJ/P, LZ1WF/P, M/OK1CZ/P, M0SET/P, MD/HB9DST/P,
MM0FMF/P, N0DET, N0PCL, N0TA, N1FJ, N1GVT, N1ZF,
N3SW, N4DA, N4SFR, N4WDC, N6IZ, N6JZT, N7CW,
NA6MG, ND7PA, NJ7V, NK6A, NM5S, NM5SW, NO6E,
NS0TA, NS1TA, NS7P, OE/DK7MG/P, OE/HB9AGO/P, OE/HB9FVF/P, OE/HB9IAB/P,
OE/PA0SKP/P, OE1MVA/P, OE5EEP/P, OE5EIN/P, OE6FEG/P, OE7PHI/P, OH2NOS/P,
OH3KRH/P, OK/DL8DXL/P, OK/M0FMF/P, OK/OM6TC/P, OK1DVM/P, OK1MLP/P, OK2PDT/P,
OK2PXJ/P, OK2PYA/P, OK8WW/P, OM3CUG/P, OM4AA/P, OM6AN/P, OM6TC/P,
PA0SKP/P, S5100SF, S51RU/P, S52AU/P, S52CU/P, S52FT/P, S53OM/P,
S58R/P, SO9TA/P, SP/M0FMF/P, SP9AMH/P, SQ8JMZ/P, SV1RHL/P, SV2OXS/P,
VA2VL/W2, VE2DDZ, VK1DA, VK2AOH, VK2IO/P, VK3ARH, VK3ARR,
VK3BYD/2, VK3BYD/P, VK3JBL/P, VK6NU, W0CP, W1/DF8KY/P, W1DAN,
W1EJ, W3/DF8KY/P, W4/DF8KY/P, W4AMW, W4EON, W4KRN, W5ODS,
W6/HB9DQM, W6STR, W7/HB9DQM, W7USA, WA2USA/P, WA6ARA, WA6KYR,
WA7JTM, WA7NCL, WA9STI, WB0USI, WB5USB, WB8OGK, WC0Y,
WG0AT, WG3K, WH6LE, WS0TA, WX4TW, YO/HA8BJ/P, YO/HG8PQ,
YO2BP/P, YO8AZQ/P, YO9CB/P, YU1WC/P, Z35M/P, ZL1BYZ

Mode: CW on 18MHz: activity for October

9H4RH/P, AD5A, CT1DBS/P, CT7AGR/P, DL4ROB, DL5FAB/P, EA/F5UKL/P,
EA2WX/P, F/HB9IIO/P, F5PLR/QRP/P, F6HBI/P, HB9AGO/P, HB9BQU/P, HB9CBR/P,
HB9CGA/P, HB9DQM/P, HB9FVF/P, HB9IIO/P, JA4RQO/4, JF1NDT/1, JG1GPY/1,
JG5JXW/5, JH0CJH/1, JH0CJH/3, JL1NIE/1, JO3ALU/3, JP1QEC/0, JP1QEC/1,
JP1QEC/2, JP3DGT/3, JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7, K1JD, KT0A, KX0R,
LA3BO/P, M0VFC/P, N0TA, N1ZF, N7LKL, NS7P, OE/HB9AGO/P,
OE1MVA/P, OE5EEP/P, OK/OM6TC/P, OK1MLP/P, OK2PXJ/P, OM3CUG/P, OM4AA/P,
OM6TC/P, S52FT/P, SO9TA/P, W0CP, WA7JTM, WG0AT, WH6LE,
WS0TA, WX4TW, YO/HA8LLH, YO9CB/P, ZL1BYZ

Mode: CW on 21MHz: activity for October

AC0PR, AE5KA, F6HBI/P, GW4TJC/P, HB9CBR/P, JA4RQO/4, JF1NDT/1,
JG5JXW/5, JH0CJH/1, JL1NIE/1, JO3ALU/3, JP1QEC/0, JP1QEC/1, JP3DGT/3,
JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7, K0JQZ, K1JD, K7JFD, KB9ILT, KT0A,
KX0R, OK8WW/P, OM4AA/P, OM6TC/P, SO9TA/P, VK1DA, VK5CZ,
W0CP, WA7JTM, WG0AT

Mode: CW on 24MHz: activity for October

F6HBI/P, HB9CGA/P, JF1NDT/1, JH0CJH/1

Mode: CW on 28MHz: activity for October

DL5FAB/P, DL6FBK/P, F6HBI/P, HB9CBR/P, JF1NDT/1, KR7RK

Mode: CW on 50MHz: activity for October

JH0CJH/1, JH0CJH/3, JR1NNL/1, JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7

Mode: FM on 28MHz: activity for October

JR0GFM/0

Mode: FM on 1240MHz: activity for October

DL1DSR/P, JA1KHZ/1, JN3PDF, JN3PDF/3, JR0GFM/0, JS1GRO/1, K7ATN/R,
M0HCU/P, SQ9KCP, SV2CLJ/P, VK2HRX, VK3HRA, VK3KAI/2, VK3PF/2

Mode: SSB on 28MHz: activity for October

DL6FBK/P, KK6ZLY, KR7RK, MW0IBF/P, OE5EEP/P, OE9TKH/P, S56LXN/P,
SV2CLJ/P, SV2OXS/P, SV3IEG/P

Mode: SSB on 50MHz: activity for October

9A/S57MS/P, I1WKN/1, JA1KHZ/1, JG1GPY/1, JH0CJH/1, JH0CJH/3, JH1EWV/1,
JI1IKC/1, JI1TLL/1, JI1TLL/2, JK1NRL/1, JL1BWG/1, JP3DGT/3, JR1NNL/1,
JS1UEH/1, JS1UEH/7, S56LXN/P, S57MS/P, SV2CLJ/P, SV3IEG/P, VK1DA

Mode: SSB on 1240MHz: activity for October

ON4TA/P, SV2CLJ/P

Regards
Kevin J Prince G0NUP

SOTA News is normally published on the last day of each month, but there will be occasions when the Editor is not available at this time, in which case it will be published as soon as possible afterwards. It can only be as interesting as the items submitted, so if you think your particular field of interest is not being covered then please submit an article by the 25th of the month.
Have you a favourite SOTA? favourite mode? favourite rig, antenna, or favourite band? How did you find your first day / month / year as an activator or chaser? Your comments and experiences will be read by enthusiasts all across Europe, the USA, Australia and beyond, in a total of 114 different SOTA associations worldwide. Your input will be most welcome.
We receive many e-mails during the month containing details of activations, milestones reached and general SOTA news. Unless advised otherwise we will use this information in the next edition of SOTA News. It is important therefore that you advise us if any information is not intended for publication.
For ease of processing, please submit your input by e-mail direct to the addresses below and not via the Reflector.

==================================================

Mark G0VOF
SOTA News Editor
mark@brownhill.demon.co.uk

U.S. and Canadian reports to:-
Fred K6DGW/7 [aka “Skip” on the radio]
Canada/US SOTA Reporter Dude
Sparks NV
k6dgw@foothill.net

Australian input to:-
Allen VK3ARH
VK Reporter
VK3ARH@wia.org.au (note the recent change)

New Zealand input to:-
Warren ZL2AJ
warren@zl2aj.com

Japanese reports to
Toru JH0CJH
jh0cjh@jarl.com

South African input to:-
Dennis ZS4BS
zs4bs@netactive.co.za

4 Likes

Thanks to everyone for the news this month. I’d like to say it’s nice to see reports from both activators/chasers but also reports from associations themselves.

1 Like

ZL Report for September / October now added.

Thanks & 73,

Mark G0VOF

Thanks for this nice News. I enjoyed it.
73 Gerald F6HBI