Today with a beautiful sunny spring day I decided to go out Sota with my twelve-year-old son Emilio. We chose Monte Malaina I/LZ-320, a peak of the Monte Lepini group, about an hour and a half drive from the center of Rome. The mountain is 1480 meters high. and can be reached after about an hour’s walk from a beautiful spring with very fresh water (Fonte Santa Serena) where you can park your car. Reaching the top of the mountain I assembled my usual station with a fiberglass fishing rod to support a longwire antenna connected to a 9: 1 Balun and a Zm1 Tuner. The radio is a Chinese clone of the Sdr MCHF project powered by a power pack.
While I was starting to call on USB 20 meters I see a familiar face coming … yelling at me “but this is a Qrp radio !!” …the voice was Francesco IK0FVC the manager of the HV0A station in the Vatican and very well know Dxer. Francesco IK0FVC was with his family on a trip to the mountains and incredibly we met by chance on the top of the mountain.
After several chats with Francesco I continued my activation for a total of 25 QSOs and two S2S with HB9AFI and CT2GSN. It is the first time that I meet another radio amateur by chance during a Sota activation, it was a pleasure to find someone who did not make the usual jokes on my fishing rod !! Hi Hi
