I have done several SOTA activations using kite antennas. They can be a lot of fun and add a new dimension to an activation. They are not very reliable though (the wind is seldom quite right) so “point-driven” activators are probably best to give them a miss.
It was quite windy here this morning so I decided to give Gun a shot with a kite. The wind up there is slightly fickle with a lot of turbulence. Once on the summit I soon had the kite in the air. It was pulling very strongly - in fact so strongly that it broke the aerial wire in one gust. I flew an 80m 5/8 wave which was fed against a single radial. Results were good; 16 contacts in a little under 30 minutes which I felt was fair using 5W of ssb on a crowded band. I could have stopped longer except my daughter was getting bored so I packed up after a couple of unanswered CQs.
Thanks to all the callers. I enjoyed shooting the breeze.
73
Richard
G3CWI