My last portable CW QSO was more than 10 years ago so it is very likely that, regardless of the keying method, it will be close to unreadable morse.
That said each unique call sign QSO counts for the 2m/70cm SSB/CW challenge, so I’ll pack my Palm Radio pico single paddle for the next SOTA expedition.
I think many VK’s are in that boat at this time of year. My shack is in an uninsulated, unheated shed where it is currently 5 C, so to send CW, I have to sit on my sending hand for a while, send quickly, then go back to gloves - not pretty!
Looxury…
Actually I suggest you look at fingerless gloves like those that the cyclists wear. While protecting the palm of your hand, they expose most of your fingers and you retain the ability to key, turn knobs and press buttons accurately. One of the sports shops at Toowoomba might have them. I’m surprised your temps are going so low at this time of year.
Cu next time
Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
Hi SOTAfolk,
I visited two summits yesterday with my brother Paul, VK3HN. The first was Sugarloaf Peak, VK3/VN-011, a short but enervating climb to its summit at 950m. I took my FT-290r and lightweight HF CW gear, Paul took his homebrew CW singlebanders. I was set up by 9.35am local time, but unfortunately just missed a S2S with Glenn, VK3YY.
I only managed four contacts with VK3s in around 30 minutes of calling - we were pressed for time as Paul needed to activate too and we were interfering with each other.
The Hourglass Antenna proved itself very suitable for the limited size and tree cluttered summit due to it’s small turning radius. I have had a 2m Yagi up there on past activations and it’s hard to find a suitable spot to mount it.
There was low cloud hanging around, blocking the views, but presenting a beauty of their own.
Finally, my FT-290r worked fine on Sugarloaf…
… but must have suffered from the bumpy descent in my backpack. When I set it up on the next summit it had developed a fault. A squealing noise and the S meter pinning the needle on receive and no output on transmit indicating a serious fault, I’ll add it to the workbench queue!
73
David VK3KR
David,
I think I worked you on one of the summits and Paul on the other.
Re the fault in the 290, it reminds me that some of the icom radios have a negative voltage line derived from an inverter chip and when that fails, the AGC and S meter functions become inoperative but the S meter is pinnned against the stop. The same -9v may well be part of the tx ALC system, so its absence faults the tx function too.
I don’t know what the equivalent circuit is in the 290 but in case it helps, that could be something to look at when you get it on the bench.
73
Andrew VK1DA/VK2DA
Earlier today, very early, I activated Mt McDonald VK1/AC-048. Left home at 06:15 am at which time the ambient temperature was -2.5°. Sunrise is at 07:08 local.
Arrived at the trail head at 06:40 (still dark) and set off for a 3.2 km walk to the summit in very chilly weather.
At the summit at 07:20 and set up at a very convenient and well place sturdy picnic table.
I sat with my back to the sun absorbing every precious ounce of warmth, however I faced into a freezing stiff westerly breeze, boy was it cold 
15 QSOs in the log ranging from 12 km to 308 km via aircraft scatter.
Edit: Geoff VK3SQ (below) and I completed three separate aircraft scatter QSOs (each 270km) hourglass to hourglass where the third contact was 5-2 each way 
Andrew VK1AD
…hi Andrew, great to work you this morning; terriffic contact on 2m ssb. 
Geoff vk3sq
Hi Geoff, I’m confident we have proven the reliability of aircraft scatter propagation involving commercial size aircraft aka 737s. Thanks for the three unique 2m DX QSOs earlier today and hourglass to hourglass antenna contacts. Of course only om e of the QSOs counts for the 2m Challenge from Mt McDonald.
I see you are leading the 2m Challenge All VK chaser category. Fantastic achievement with the hourglass antenna.
Andrew VK1AD
…was a new summit for me, thanks.
Geoff vk3sq
Yes indeed, you worked Paul on Sugarloaf (30m CW) and myself on Mitchell (40m CW). Thanks for the contacts.
OK on the possible transceiver fault that could affect the receiver and transmitter, that’s a good suggestion. I’m left with the IC-706 for 2m SSB now, so won’t be hauling that up any long, steep summits!
Cheers
David VK3KR
There is a -6.8V rail in the FT-290R. It supplies power to several subsystems, though I haven’t yet managed to work out exactly which ones.
The negative voltage is generated by an ICL7660. I’ve already had to replace this component twice in my Ten-Tec Omni VI because it was faulty. I’d check, just to be on the safe side, whether the -6.8V is still there. In case not, it might be a good idea to swap nearby electrolytic capacitors as well.
73, Roman
With some valuable construction input from Arthur, @HB9CEV, I also built an hourglass antenna for 2 m.
I tested it twice on summits in my local area, both times using my FT-818 with 6 W SSB:
On HB/SO-009, where the ODX was over 413 km. I had worked the same station a few weeks earlier from a higher summit in central Switzerland, with an ODX of more than 450 km. But back then, I used only my attached RH770!
On HB/SO-008, where the ODX was over 402 km across numerous Austrian mountains! This was my furthest 2 m S2S QSO so far! On the same day, I made another 2 m SSB S2S contact over 190 km, with signal reports of 59 and 58, not too shabby.
I really like the antenna because of its gain and easy setup, but nothing beats the RH770 in terms of low weight and instant deployment!
73 Stephan
Welcome aboard Stephan, we look forward to reading about your adventures with the hourglass antenna .
Andrew VK1AD
Hi Roman,
Thanks for recounting your experience and for providing the clipping from the FT-290r circuit diagram. My Googling so far has confirmed that the symptoms I’m seeing are consistent with the negative supply rail missing, so I’ll start my troubleshooting there.
This list is a great resource, my brief note on the radio failing has already brought forth a lead on how to fix it.
73
David VK3KR
Hello Stephan,
thank you for your report, very interesting.
Well, there are always pros and cons. The RH770 can be connected directly to the FT-818 via the front BNC while the SHA requires a cable and a pole. For the RH770 I find 3 dBi gain vs. 7 dBi for the SHA. A HQ cable of reasonable length should not absorb the difference of 4 dB and you should earn the benefit of the additional hight of the SHA on the pole as long as you are fine with the additional weight.
Anyhow, it is always good to have a plan B and fallback position. I remenber a S2S QSO with Michael, @DB7MM. He was on a summit with an IC-705 and his SW antenna, whereas I had only my 2-m-DHA with me. I texted him and asked if he could also work 2 m SSB, knowing that he always carries a 5/8 RH-205 as a backup. Michael connected the RH-205 directly to the BNC socket of the IC-705, so that the antenna was in a horizontal position and we successfully ran the 2 m SSB QSO.
Lesson learnt: The best antenna is the one you have with you and that works under the given conditions! As you said, a telescopic whip is a valuable companion which should always find a place in your backpack.
73 Peter
@DM7KN Peter, I totally agree with you! My feeder cable is about 5 m of RG-58 coax, which has about 1.2 dB of loss, including the two BNC connectors. This, together with the higher antenna position, is definitely better than a directly attached telescopic whip.
Today, I gave the hourglass antenna another try on two summits.
Thomas @DF7TR encouraged me to try CW for the roughly 350 km path to his QTH in Regensburg, Germany. Thank you, Thomas, it was worth leaving my comfort zone!
I passed my Morse exam 38 years ago, but I had never made a CW QSO until today! Of course, I didn’t start learning from scratch yesterday, but I never had the courage to try it on a summit.
At first, I wanted to go somewhere high in the Black Forest, which is not far from where I live. However, after seeing today’s weather forecast (rain, strong winds, and a wind-chill temperature below zero), I decided to go to a nearby 1-point summit that I had already activated several times this year. It seemed to have a good take-off towards Thomas’s direction.
Below: 2 m hourglass and compact EFHW at HB/BL-014
Right at the beginning, when it started to rain, I made two CW contacts with Thomas and his club call, both at a distance of 356 km. Afterwards, I gave CW another try and worked another German station near the Czech border at a distance of 413 km. Not too shabby, especially from such a low summit!
Apart from the many typical CW beginner mistakes, I made a rather funny one on 2 m SSB. When I changed frequency to the SSB portion of the band, I forgot to switch the mode from CW to USB. By default, the FT-818 uses the same filter width for both modes, so they sound exactly the same. Only when you transmit does no power go out, but since I always have the TX meter set to SWR, and because the SWR with this antenna is perfect, I didn’t notice the mistake. At least one station was calling me with a pretty good signal, but I couldn’t work him…
On the second summit, which was very close by and surrounded by a wet forest, I was able to contact Thomas again at a distance of 361 km. Wow!
Below: 2 m hourglass at HB/BL-015 (the compact EFHW is not in the picture)
It was fun and definitely a challenge for me, doing CW for the first time. Meanwhile, the hourglass antenna quietly kept doing its magic.
73 Stephan
Interesting report, Stephan and congrats to your successful CW QSOs. 
Thank you, Stephan, for sharing the amazing story of today in such detail. I am honored to have been your very first CW contact. The 356 km 2 m DX QSO was definitely a worthy first contact, and your new antenna performed brilliantly. Congratulations on finally giving CW a try! 
Nice to hear that you also broke the 400 km mark with DK7RC. I actually told him on .300 SSB that he should check your CW frequency. While he is not focused on SOTA chasing, he seems to be an experienced 2m DXer and has a great takeoff in your direction!
I’m looking forward to many more QSOs in the future. Over the last few months, I have chased Arthur @HB9CEV on 30 different summits already. Twenty-nine of those QSOs were into HB9 
, and one was to HB0 
. He was one of the first activators this year to use a homebrew Yagi and now often operates with an hourglass antenna as well. Every single one of those QSOs has been a pleasure, and I am delighted to see that there are now two active 2 m CW activators in HB9 with antennas well suited for DX!
I wish you many more enjoyable activations and look forward to working you again soon. You should also try CW contacts on HF. A whole new world in the hobby will open up to you
Best 73s
Thomas DF7TR
Great job, Stephan!
It’s fantastic to see yet another successful hourglass antenna on the summits. I’m really pleased that it’s working so well for you. Your results speak for themselves: impressive DX distances and some excellent signal reports!
What impressed me even more, though, is that you decided to give CW a try on the air. Congratulations on taking that step and well done @DF7TR for providing that little extra encouragement
I hope you continue to enjoy CW and discover just how much fun it can add to SOTA activations. May many more CW QSOs follow in the future — and hopefully a few CW S2S contacts between us as well, just like the enjoyable SSB S2S QSOs we’ve shared in the past.
Looking forward to hearing you again from a summit!
73, Roman
