Improvised antenna mast on EA2/NV-132

Activation Reports
1

Hello,

the subject has been covered before: what to do when you arrive in the summit and discover you’ve left the fish pole at home?
Well, I noticed it about 15 minutes after I started my hike towards EA2/NV-132.
I decided to get on and look for an alternative antenna support up the summit.

It’s been rainy and I was very busy in the last weeks so I couldn’t do any activation since April, therefore I decided I would got on and find a solution…

As others have proposed before, once in the summit I took what I had: my walking poles.
Thanks God I had a pair of velcro straps and my scarf. I extended the poles and tied them together:

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Then I put them up in a small tree and extended the EFHW wire antenna. Appex was about 3,5 m up, not much but I tried to activate this way.

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I was happy to log 92 QSO, including 24 S2S this way! Some lightning and static crash noise plagued the band in the end.

Band condition was not the best, with deep QSB on 30 & 20 meter bands, and I struggled a bit in some of the contacts and my SWR was about 2,1:1 but it was again a nice day. Not any breeze and sunny until I stopped the radio.

I was glad I had my umbrella to have some shade.

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Lesson learnt, never forget to add some velcro bands in the rucksack:

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Weather was changing when I left the summit midday, and since midway dark clouds and thunders joined me all the way down to the car.

The trek had worth even if I had not succeeded the activation, as the country os plenty of wild flowers now

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Thanks all chasers and activators for the QSO.
73 Ignacio

24 Likes
2

Excellent work! In English, this is called a bodge. Quite often a bodge can become a permanent or long lasting solution. :grinning:

6 Likes
3

Well known in software circles as “Nothing is more permanent that a temporary fix to get around some bugs.”

5 Likes
4

Hi Ignacio,

It was nice to be one of them :smiley:
Many thanks, you were loud and clear :exclamation:
Antenna worked perfectly.

73, Jarek

1 Like
5

Hi Jarek,
I was keeping an eye to check when your activation started, and was very glad when you gave me a call for the S2S!
Thanks again for the special activity you and your friends are doing, chapeau!

See you for a dinner soon!
73 Ignacio

2 Likes
6

Hi Ignacio

Congratulations on the fix and thanks for the S2S.

73 Richard

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7

Thanks a lot Richard for the nice S2S
73

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8

Hello Ignacio

Thank you for the S2S yesterday. It was a nice surprise!

I have deliberately given up my pole for some activations and used the walking sticks exactly as you did… also when I was on the summits in the Pamplona area.

I look forward to seeing you (and Jorge) again on ham Radio!

73 Armin

2 Likes
9

Hi Ignacio,

fine report and well done with the “pole”.
Sometimes, depending on the ground, you could use your antenne with 0 m elevation :wink:.

73, Ludwig

1 Like
10

Good idea Ignacio, little things for big solutions.Nice vegetation on the way.73´s

1 Like
11

Haven’t heard “bodge,” but across the pond it would be “jury-rigged” or a “cludge.” Anyway, nice trick and a good reason to carry hiking poles!

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12

As long as it’s not a cludgie.

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13

I always thought that was a Scottish word. Seemingly it’s not. :poop:

14

I thought it was too. All the top Google hits suggest it is Scottish.

15

Perhaps because I’m not Scottish you assumed that if I knew the word it couldn’t be Scottish. I have Scottish in-laws so am regularly introduced to strange new words. My father-in-law always looks for the cludgies when we visit an old house.

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16

Just goes to show there is no problem that the middle of Aldi or Lidl can’t solve!

1 Like