Laurent (F8CZI) has been staying in Graz for the past week and recently got in touch with regard to doing a joint activation in the area. We went up the Schöckl yesterday, which I usually activate on the first of January each year. Laurent had some very nice contacts and easily got the 6 points for the summit. For today, we initially planned to go to the Rappoldkogel (OE/ST-129) in the Lavanttaler Alpen. However, an area of low pressure had brought fresh north westerlies and low cloud (on the higher summits) for a few days, so we opted for the Kreuzberg (OE/ST-382) in the south of Styria. One of the main reasons for this is the large tower at the summit:
The photo is from S57NADs excellent summit resource page.
The tower not only has a large roof, protecting the operator from the elements, it also provides an ideal opportunity to try out full size sloping antennas. The area would easily accommodate a full size half wave on 160m, although it might be a good idea to ask at the guest house first. Below is my End Connected Windom for 40m:
Laurent opted to work SSB, whilst I went for CW. That was probably for the best, as I have never activated SSB, although I hope to give it a try soon. To my great relief, I found out that the hand mic I bought from Ham Goodies for the KX3 works just as well with the KX2, here is Laurent using it for the first time:
The view from the top of the tower is just as good as from any mountain:
As can be seen above, the cloud was well down on the tops of the big 2000ers, so we were very pleased with our decision to head south, where the weather was warm and sunny for the most part. When Laurent was finished on SSB, I had a go on CW:
There is a table at the top of the tower, but it is screwed down, so we had to sit on the floor. I will remember to take a few extra metres of coax next time. Anyway, both activators got their points and had a very enjoyable day out. Laurent will go back to France on Friday, but will probably try to activate a few more local hills on his own before then, so keep a eye out for OE/F4CZI/P (sorry, that should be OE/F8CZI/P) on the spot page. The Rappoldkogel, as Laurent so rightly said, will keep for another day.
73 de OE6FEG / M0FEU
Matt