Hi all, I am just packing my stuff ready to activate two summits tomorrow - DM/BW-078 Römerstein and DM/BW-484 Bussen, and what do I see in the SOTAWatch2 spots from today? Gerhard DL4TO activated Bussen today! He only operated CW and I will only be operating SSB so this gives the chasers for those modes both a chance.
What are the chances of two activations so close together? I changed my activation from Friday to Wednesday this morning, it’s a shame I didn’t change my activation to today based on the wonderful weather we had today and the rain forecast for tomorrow, but I had other commitments. I would have been nice to meet up with Gerhard on the summit!
I wonder how many reading this list have stumbled onto other SOTA activators as they approached their planned summit?
If you happen to read this Gerhard, can you tell me if you had any access difficulties getting to the Bussen summit?
I hope you make it to BW-484 (NOT BM) tomorrow when I am at home. I was out working today so I missed Gerhard DL4TO. BW-484 is quite a rare summit, and one of ten I need to chase out of the whole 153 in the DM/BW region.
I’ve met other activators on summits before by accident and not by arrangement - G6MZX Geoff for one on Rombald’s Moor G/NP-028, and Karen 2E0XYL on GW/NW-044 Moel Famau. In addition last June I met quite a few more on our way to Friedrichshafen, including you DD1LD and OE9HRV and OK1CZ on OE/VB-512 Pfander! DF2GN Klaus was met coming off a BW summit and ON6UU and ON6VI were met on BW-161 on the same tour. We also met DL1DVE and three other DL SOTA Op’s on BW-193 the same day!
Yes, SOTA is certainly a great way to make new friends…
Hi Phil, - references corrected - they were only wrong in this reflector entry, no where else.
I’m surprised that DM/BW-484 is a rare summit as it “appears” relatively easy to get to and has had 14 (now 15) activations. Perhaps I’ll find something different tomorrow - I hope not!
It’s the non-pre-arranged meetings on SOTA summits that I was asking about. You, Nick G4OOE and I activating AaCheck or Pfander together isn’t the same. I was surprised by Martin DF3MC on Kirnberg when I activated it for the first time in the middle of last year. I had asked Martin whether he wished to activate with me in the hope of some early morning VK contacts and I received no email reply. He simply turned up. He also did that on one of my Peissenberg activations if I remember correctly. Extra ops are always welcome especially when they come with better equipment!
Tomorrow I’m starting further north at Romerstein and then swinging over Bussen on the way home. They are “relatively” close together when you can combine them in a loop. Unfortunately neither of these summits are high enough to qualify for a winter bonus but at 10 and 8 points, I’m not complaining anyway.
I’m going to concentrate on 10, 15 & 20m on these summits and only revert to 40m if I am having trouble getting contacts. It seems 10m and 15m are quite good at the moment.
I can remember bumping into you on G/LD-008. You were descending at a fair old pace and I was ascending much slower. I bumped in to Robert GM4GUF on GM/SS-064 and Graeme MM0HLQ on Meall Gainmheach GM/SS-134
I will be out (in Ueberlingen) in the morning but look out for you on Bussen.
On Bussen summit is close to the church but access to the church with
your car is not allowed, less than half an hour`s walk is neccessary from the
parking area.
Vy easy access in this area is BW-362 Sipplinger Berg.
I live some 3 km from BW-349 Aacheck, close to BW-348 + 350.
Yes, remember it well now Andy, it was September 2012. How many more encounters slipped my mind? Did I show you your photo…reproduced here for all to see and also the one you took of me…
Oh yes, another encounter, when I was walking with the then unlicenced Geoff 2E0NON we met Derek 2E0MIX when we were coming off Grasmoor in the Lake District in 2011 when heading for two or three more Wainwrights on our way back to the car…
Thanks Mike,
Bussen is planned for the afternoon - around 3:30 / 4pm local time. I’m going to RömersteinTurm first at around midday.
I thought that might be the case for access at Bussen. I have three parking areas shown on Open Maps in the village below Bussen (on Zum Bussen road). Looks like about 15 min walk to the church from the village and at the most 20 minutes to the castle ruins. If I’m early enough, I may park at the cemetry and go to Gasthaus Schönblick to get something to eat and then walk up from there. It appears to be about 250m with a 30m rise - all road/track so very straight forward.
I may try to activate DMs / BW-362, BW-348 & 350 (I have already activated BW-349 Aacheck in 2014) when I’m down at Friedrichshafen again this year.
Dear friends,
yes Ed, that sounds like a good idea to meet you in person and to activate a summit together in the near future!
But weatherforecast predicted a sunny and warm day in Bath-Wuerttemberg on Tuesday, the 13. of January 2015. And I wanted to take a photo from the “Federsee”, an unique European nature preserve, right before the alps panoramic view, which seems near enough to touch in Fön-weather-conditions.
So I decided quickly to activate this summits!
On DM/BW-443 (Augstberg), i found little snow and good conditions for a SOTA-Acitivation. The lookout-tower (28m) invited for an amazing view to the alps and to DM/BW-484. Sun was shining, but the air-temperature wasn´t comfortable as the forecast told….
My FT-817 and the HF-P1 (vertical) with an extended radiator provided 65 QSO´s on 10, 14 (ssb) and 7 MHz(cw), 3 x S2S-QSO included!
DM/BW-484 (Bussen): the panoramic-view to the alps was´nt a quarter as good, as the forecast said. Blue Sky, no Fön-weather conditions and the alps-summits in a little bit of mist. What a shame!
Instead of warm breath of air, a strong and cold wind blew and it was difficult, to handle all my log-paper
The small-vertical was fixed with gummi-clamps and the radials were careless thrown down the hillside. The extended radiator was replaced with the short telescope.
Anyway, I got 35 qso´s in my log, amongst others, 2 US-stations on 21 MHz, 3 QSO´s on 24 MHz, and 5 QSO´s to the US on 28 MHz (all cw) and for my s2s-evaluation 4 S2S-QSO´s!
After one and a half hour, I was chilled to the bones and it wasn´t possible, to make some ssb-qso´s. Please, don´t be cross to me , but Ed will do SSB-Mode this day!
At this moment, when i´m writing this article, heavy stormy rain and snow crackled down here on my QTH (JN48UQ, at the border of the Swabian Alb). I hope, the activation of the “Bussen” in this afternoon will be successful for Ed!
A most common occurrence! Unintended meetings on summits have included Shirley MW0YLS on Cadair Berwyn, Mickey 2E0YYY on The Cloud and even Gerald G4OIG up there one morning too. There’s no doubt many more that Jimmy will remind me of I’m sure.
Talking of whom, every time I do a new unique, M0HGY seems to be there…
What happens most often is that an inactive licensed amateur comes up and introduces themselves.
Thanks for the pictures. Bussen didn’t look that nice today! I’ll post my report and pics on my blog site in the next few days.
Great to work you today from Römerstein shame we didn’t make it from Bussen as well. Bussen was a difficult activation with the wind and ice-rain and at the time when I decided I would pack up my equipment, the antenna came down on it’s own, tangling the dipole wires in the tree branches, so it took a while to get everything packed up. The drive home in the wind, rain, dark, spray from the road and glare from headlights, was not a pleasant experience either. That’s the trouble with a late afternoon activation some distance from home at this time of year I guess. The reason for the late afternoon activation was that I had arranged a sked for an S2S contact into the US but unfortuantely it didn’t happen.
