From 27. April up to 10. May 2026 Juerg, CU2/HB9BIN/p try to activate IOTA EU-003, all 9 SOTAs and several CUFF and POTA Parks on the Azorean Island San Miguel. The Rig is a KX2 with 10 Watts and the antenna is an EFHF or a J-Pole for 20 M.
I hope to work you! Tks es 73 de CU2/HB9BIN/p
Hi Juerg @HB9BIN.
Hope everything goes according to plan, and maybe we’ll catch each other on the air! Have a safe trip and enjoy your stay.
73 Marcel DM3FAM
Hope you enjoy S.Miguel. Try to visit CU-SM-005 Pico das eguas. Nice views and soft walk from the parking of Lagoa do Canario to the top. Marked as PRC-05 in the park info.
Easy and not so windy as Pico da Barrosa CU/SM-002 (choose a nice weather day for CU/SM-002 because wind in that place its very very strong usually…)
Visit the tea production camps in Gorriana. Buy some local produced tea to get warm after the SOTA. Vintage fabric with machines of year 1900 still working nowadays…
Any aditional info you need you can e-mail me, I can give you some contacts with local hams in CU2 (S.Miguel) or CU3 (Terceira island).
73 Jorge.
Hi JĂĽrg,
I would use the CT8 prefix instead of CU2 (CEPT regulation) if I were in your place 
Have a nice trip and hope to catch you on the bands.
73, Mario DJ2MX
This means that there is no choice at all (prefix CU2 is only for licensees of Portuguese call signs).
Dear Mario and Heinz,
(Der deutsche Text befindet sich am Schluss.)
Thank you for your helpful tip regarding CEPT: At home, the AI gave me the call sign CU2/HB9BIN. Here at the hotel on San Miguel, it’s CT8/HB9BIN. An old truism: with AI’s answers, it always depends on how you ask the questions. Nevertheless, I prepared the whole trip with AI and checked it with Garmin and Google Street Map. In doing so, I’ve received some amusing but also valuable answers.
Dear Jorge, CT2IQK
Tks for your advice: Today, despite the rain, I’ll try to work Pico das Eguas (CU/SM-005, CUFF-0109). Yesterday, I didn’t manage one single QSO on 40 and 30 metres with an EFHW antenna. Afterwards, I needed a J-pole for 20 metres to cover the 20 to 15 metre bands.
73 de CT8/HB9BIN, JĂĽrg
Danke fĂĽr deinen wertvollen Hinweis bezĂĽglich CEPT: Zu Hause hat mir KI als Rufzeichen CU2/HB9BIN angegeben. Hier im Hotel auf San Miguel CT8/HB9BIN. Eine alte Binsenweisheit: Bei den Antworten von KI kommt es immer darauf an, wie man die Fragen stellt. Gleichwohl habe ich die die ganze Reise auch mit KI vorbereitet. Dabei habe ich lustige aber auch wertvolle Antworten erhalten.
Heute werde ich trotz Regen versuchen, Pico das Eguas (CU/SM-005, CUFF-0109) aktivieren. Gestern habe ich mit einer EFHW Antenne kein einziges QSO auf 40 und 30 Meter zu Stande gebracht. Anschliessend brauchte ich einen J-Pole für 20 Meter für die Bänder 20 bis 15 Meter.
Hi JĂĽrg,
good luck in the Azores. I’ll definitely try to get in touch.
I know the 20m EFHW also works superbly on the 20m band when rigged in an inverted V configuration.
73 Chris
Chris,
If your statement is to be understood as follows, I can fully confirm and highly recommend it (provided its apex height is at least 8 m):
A 40 m EFHW antenna also works excellently on the 20 m band (as an EFFullWave) when used in an inverted-V configuration.
BTW, I found an EZNEC wire configuration from June 2022 for your 40m EFHW (suspended as an inverted-V at about 10m height hanging from a tree with the ends about 3m above the ground), presumably it was about the radiation characteristics on the 10m band, hi.
Below is a rough comparison of the above-mentioned 1wl long, end-fed inv-V antenna at 14 MHz with a 14 MHz “Vertical Zepp” antenna (J-Pole).
As can be seen from the EZNEC plots, the two antennas do not differ significantly in terms of vertical radiation angle and gain. The major advantage of the vertical end-fed half-wave antennas is their omnidirectional radiation and very small footprint.
Dear Chris,
It’s lovely to hear from you. The island of São Miguel in the Azores has a lot to offer:
• Beautiful natural scenery
• Lots of refs (IOTA, SOTA, WWFF and POTA)
• And easy walks for my wife
As always on SOTA trips, the three of us are travelling together: Franziska, Murphy and I:
• The hired car has no cigarette lighter socket to power my personal Garmin navy
• Thanks to AI, I used the wrong prefix (CU2 instead of CT8) on the first day
• Problems with a KX2 due to high humidity: it wouldn’t switch off anymore
• Frequent changes in the weather
I’m now working almost exclusively in CW with a J-Pol for 20 meters band on the 20 to 15 meter bands. On the first day on 40 and 30 meters, I was unable to make a QSO using an EFHW from HB9BCB, approximately 20 meters in length, mounted on a 10-metre GFK pole.
I very much hope that we can make a QSO.
Tks to all the casers for the 166 QSOs within 3 day. We stay until the 10th of May. If the wx will allow it, I have planed to work all 9 summits and a lot of CUFFs and POTA refs.
73/44 de CT8/HB9BIN, JĂĽrg
JĂĽrg HB9BIN apparently forgot to delete his alert today after the SOTA activation of CU/SM-009. As a result, all QSOs from later CUFF/POTA activations were logged as SOTA chaser QSOs. I have already deleted my QSO at 13:11z from the SOTA chaser log.
73, Mario DJ2MX
Looks like I was the last worked from CU/SM-009 which is very nice. I managed JA, CU (CT8), & W4 on 15m today. 
Good luck! Been there last year on May. Every activation at 16-18º among fog and light rain, although at the coast the sky was clear and temp abt 20-22º… SOTA magic, I guess
When the propagation condx were bad, it was hard to make any contact below 20m band.
Ham radio association headquarters are open on thursdays afternoon at Ponta Delgada, try to pay them a visit, nice people!
73, Mikel
Hello
Jurgn
I you need something give me a call
I and another ham we plan to do some sota this weekweend.
Best 73
Pedro Cruz cu2jx
00351 916510493
Hi all, very interesting activations by Juerg,
Mario if all QSO after 11:41 are not SOTA, please who can put this QSO’s on POTA
73, Éric F5JKK
Don’t worry, POTA Chasers will automatically receive QSO confirmation when the POTA Activator uploads the Activator Log (in this case, the Activator really is the “king”, hi).
You are the King of the good response 
First, you need to know why I’m asking Mario the question.
Heinz I’ll give you a hint
It was nice to meet you while at Ponta Delgada, Pedro Cruz! (except I already remember your photos of summits without clouds)
Regards, Mikel
Hello Pedro
TKS for the invitation. I lock forward meeting you and your friend today after lunchtime on Pico Bartolomeu (CU/SM-004).
73 de CT8/HB9BIN, JĂĽrg
CU2,CU3,CU4…. Etc etc are the old prefixes with one number for each island. Only old licenced Hams use those calls. Actually new operators are all CT8. Continental portuguese stations use only their call/P. Like in Madeira.
Foreign operators use CT8/their call/P. Use always /P unless you have a special FIXED licence from ANACOM. 73 Jorge.
