CQ 270 CW SSB Gang! - Cool Kids Sip from the Hour Glass? (Part 3)

[M0KOV]

@DM7KN

interesting wording

A friend and I used to take part in VHF contests and it was him who coined the term professional-amateur to describe the big European stations, which he wasn’t that keen on. I took a different view, it’s nice for the smaller stations to get DX and some points, and I can appreciate the effort, achievement and pride people get from building these stations. After dropping out of VHF contesting through lack of support, I wish my club would have put in a little more effort.

73

[G4TGJ]

@DM7KN

he very obviously had done the heavy lifting with 400 W and his 14el Yagi.

I’m not sure how the 400W helped him hear your signal. Obviously the Yagi helped.

@M0KOV

French station to be F8KGU

Indeed. Those antennas might have helped a little.

@M0KOV

I can appreciate the effort, achievement and pride people get from building these stations.

Many hate contests but they are a brilliant way to work some DX whether HF or VHF. While the contesters have put in the money and effort to build their stations they really want to work you as it all counts.

[DM7KN]

@G4TGJ

I’m not sure how the 400W helped him hear your signal.

Surely helped me to hear his signal.

[ON7DQ]

I was going through the logs from my recent trip to FN, to find the best DX with my 10W and HG antenna (it was Mario @DJ2MX at 368 km).
But then I noticed something strange … I had two QSO’s with Herbert @OE9HRV:
09:10 OE9HRV 144MHz SSB 8675 s55 r55
12:37 OE9HRV 144MHz SSB 8679 s59 r55
Now that would be some DX !
But clearly it’s an error, only I can’t find where the error is.
Is it my error ? Herberts’ error? Database error ? Ham2k Polo error ?
Any specialist can shed a light on this ?
73,
Luc ON7DQ

[DM7KN]

Hi Luc,

as far as i know, the distances are calculated on the basis of locators or lat/long entries in logs or databases. Often I see in a map that the position of a station is completely wrong, because of a simple exchange of lat/long while entering the data. That would be my first check.

73, Peter

[G4TGJ]

If you click on the map button for the activation you will see that @OE9HRV is off the Pacific coast of Washington State! As Peter says he has probably got lat and long back to front.

[DM7KN]

Unfortunately, not all databases work the same. Some require E/W and N/S while others prefer just digits with + and - in front of them. Plenty of opportunities for accidents.

[VK3ZPF]

The distance calculation is based on the data supplied by the activator.
The other station’s SOTA ref, Gridsquare, Lat/Lon, POTA ref, WWFF ref, in that order.

Edit: The order is SOTA ref, Lat/Lon, Gridsquare, POTA ref, WWFF ref

The error will be in the data that you have uploaded in your log or in your manual log entry. If you would like to share your log, then I may be able to assist further.

[VK3ZPF]

@EI3LH

Keep the hourglass posts coming!

Another Saturday, another trip into a eucalyptus forest. Saturday 11 July 2026 was forecast to have afternoon storms, so I had planned a summit activation at Mt Disappointment, VK3/VC-014. Other SOTA activations planned for the morning were Ron @VK3AFW and Stephen @VK3SPM at Mt Mitchell VK3/VN-012 and Compton @VK2HRX at Mt Donna Buang VK3/VC-002 so I was hoping for some S2S QSOs on 2m SSB.
I arrived at the trailhead, Blair’s Hut, about 8:20 and started walking up the track at about 8:40 AM.

About 50 metres along the track there are two options, turn left, or turn right. The left-hand track is my preference as it is shorter. I have read elsewhere that the right-hand track has better views, maybe I’ll take it next time. The left-hand track I took winds through the trees, occasionally over logs, and up some large rocks.

The access is not steep and rises from 700m ASL to 796m ASL at the summit. The walk to the top is about 1.2 km. I had initially planned to walk past the summit and set up in the National Park, but I was unable to get reliable GPS coverage on my phone, so I was unable to navigate to the National Park boundary with any degree of accuracy. After faffing about for 15 minutes off track I returned to the relative comfort of the picnic table at the summit.
I started on 2m SSB using FT817ND, DSE 100 Watt amplifier and hourglass antenna. For DC power I use a 7 AH LiFePO4 battery for the radio and an 8.4 Ah LiFePO4 battery for the amplifier. The antenna mast was strapped to a sign detailing the 1820s expedition of Hume and Hovell and how the summit was named.

After posting a spot to SOTAwatch I logged 15 QSOs on 2m SSB in just over one hour. Taking a break from 2m SSB, I set up my HF Inverted L antenna using a long stick for support, so I could quickly switch back to 2m SSB if the other summits came up. I logged 11 QSOs on 40m then moved back to 2m SSB. After logging three more QSOS, including one aircraft assisted QSO to VK7, I exchanged SMS with @VK2HRX who was activating Mt Donna Buang VK3/VC-002. Compton had misplaced his hourglass antenna and feedline and was left to just a handheld on FM. Moving to 2m FM we logged S2S QSO. Having been on the summit for just over two hours, with 19 2m SSB QSOs between 22 and 474 km, I decided I’d pack up and head back to the car.
Back at the car I did some mental arithmetic and figured I had enough time to revisit Mt Piper, VK3/VN-028, located about 45 minutes away.
At Mt Piper I had some unfinished business for the VKFF award scheme and needed to make 6 more 2m QSOs from the WWFF reference which the summit is in.
The second summit activation for the day would need to be quick as the forecast rain was not far away. Ascending Mt Piper in 20 minutes I set up with the hourglass and mast wedged into a rock crevice, assisted by a couple of well-placed rocks.

With my station set up under a tarpaulin, I was on air just in time to catch Stephen @VK3SPM and Ron, @VK3AFW at Mt Gordon, VK3/VN-027. Ron and Stephen were unable to access Mt Mitchel due to fallen trees and had detoured to Mt Gordon. After logging S2S with Stephan and Ron I logged four more QSOs on 2m SSB. The last QSO with Geoff @VK3SQ, was just as the heavens opened and I packed up the station in the rain. The six QSOs on 2m SSB ranged between 71 and 176 km. Despite the rain it was worth the effort to reactivate Mt Piper as I logged four new call signs for the 2026 challenge adding more than 16,000 to my points score.
Hiking back to the trailhead the rain had stopped so I set up my HF antenna and made a further made 22 QSOs adding only to my WWFF activation for the day.

[DM7KN]

@VK3ZPF

Compton had misplaced his hourglass antenna and feedline and was left to just a handheld on FM. Moving to 2m FM we logged S2S QSO.

Hi Peter

interesting and well written report, as always! Just for clarification: Did you work him in FM with your SHA or also with a HT?

73 Peter

[VK3ZPF]

@DM7KN

Did you work him in FM with your SHA or also with a HT?

I worked him with the hourglass antenna and FT817. Apart from the surrounding trees at my end, it’s an unobstructed 57 km path between the two summits.