Hi all from a very hot Adelaide Hills,
On Friday 20th Dec I will be heading out to activate Mt Lofty VK5/ SE-005.
I will be trying my luck for Europe/UK/USA contacts on or around 14.320 on 20m from 0800 UTC onwards (approx).
I will probably just be using QRP 5 watts so it may be a struggle depending on conditions.
Best 73,
Paul,
VK5PAS.
p.s. local time is 11.15 p.m. & outside temp is 26 deg C. Tomorrow expecting 43 deg C.
In reply to VK5PAS: Can you try CW?
In reply to VK5PAS:
p.s. local time is 11.15 p.m. & outside temp is 26 deg C. Tomorrow expecting 43 deg C.
Good luck. Hope it’s not too much of a scorcher! – 73 Rick 5Z4/M0LEP
In reply to VK5PAS:
I was looking for you. Alas, no luck… 12m-15m was already closed. 20m just didn’t work. We can’t do CW on 30m (YET), and it was way too early for 40m.
Still, thanks much for trying. It’ll work some day!!!
Vy73 - Mike - KD5KC.
El Paso, Texas - DM61rt.
W5-SOTA Association Manager.
In reply to KD5KC:
Hello Mike i think you are a day early for paul, its only 11am local time Friday morning as i pen this . Its 00.30 UTC Friday here now so 7 and a half hours time may be closer to the mark .
hope thats right. de Ian vk5cz …
In reply to VK5CZ:
For that - yes, that’s today . … but I have been seeing other VKs on 12m and other bands over the last few days, and have been trying hard. Unfortunately, propagation and such has not cooperated.
Freqs like 21.285, 10.130, and of course when I get up really early (not often) I look at the 40m spots just in case.
One day we will get lucky. But at the moment, VK3PF and VK4OZY are not being heard, neither on 24.065 or 14.320. RATZ!
Vy73 - Mike - KD5KC.
In reply to KD5KC:
I think I heard VK3PF down in the noise but not quite clear enough for me to make a call. One of these days though, it’s going to happen!
73,
Linda
AB7YL
Washington State
In reply to AB7YL:
FB Mike not pickin on ya mate.
40m condx been really bad here today I could not hear VK4ONZ or VK1DI when they were out portable and I am not sure about VK3PF I missed him too. I hope to get out after next week I will be snatching a few days from work I might go to a wind farm summit they are easy to get up as long as there is no fire ban. Keep up the good work mri xms
73 de Ian vk5cz …
In reply to AB7YL:
Hi Linda, now we have the luxury of an extra minute daylight at the end of the day we may stand a chance of working West Coast again in a few weeks on 10/12m if the prop holds. At the moment we seem to get as far as Arizona before it drops out.
In reply to G1INK:
At the moment we seem to get as far as Arizona before it drops out.
I never even made it that far yesterday, Steve. My signal ran out of gas at Colarado and Texas. Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow.
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to 2E0YYY and G1INK:
You chaps should try to uncover the secret from DF2GN/P, whom I worked many times from San Francisco and heard many other times.
Elliott, K6EL
Little Radio
Large Ears
In reply to K6ILM:
No secret Elliot, it’s mainly down to having to get off the hill safely, this is easier done in daylight. If Mike & I had a convenient local 10 pointer that you can drive to the activation zone and if I remember correctly dm/bw228 has a shepherd’s hut in case of bad weather, then no doubt you would hear us more often.
I have worked California many times as has Mike, but I don’t recall hearing the clown too many times.
If the SFI stays high, there may be more chance in the coming weeks as the days get longer.
Have a nice day 
In reply to 2E0YYY:
Hi Mike,
Conditions at present are certainly nowhere near as good as they were a few weeks ago. By the time I get home from work pretty much every band above 7MHz is almost flat. I had a day off today, but 10m & 12m were not a patch on what they were a month ago.
I think the station I was most surprised to hear today was Victor GI4ONL on 12m CW who I could hear in the pileup Zoli HA3HK/P had on 24.912MHz. His signal was hovering around the same level as chasers from EU & US & about the same level as Zoli’s. Zoli was struggling to hear any of the chasers that were calling him & I heard him announce a QSY(to 10MHz I thought, but I couldn’t be sure as I was away from the radio at that time). As a couple of stations were still calling Zoli I transmitted that he had announced that he had now QSY’d, which seemed to work so I hope that was helpful to some.
Far from being 599 signals on 10/12 as they were a few weeks ago, signals today were very variable with those I heard on 12m calling Zoli barely raising the needle on my meter ( I dare not say 119, look what happened last time!Hi!)
I did manage one QSO on 50MHz SSB with Italy, but that propagation didn’t last very long 
Thanks & best 73,
Mark G0VOF
In reply to G0VOF:
Hi Mark,
Yeah, conditions are much tougher on the 12m band, but the East coast and middle North America are workable, albiet with the QSB doing its best to foul things up.
Interesting that Zoli was struggling to hear the chasers who were calling him. I’d be interested to know what he was using for an antenna.
Not such a problem for my Chalie Bravo antenna yesterday. 26 North American contacts on the microphone for a mid week activation from G/SP-013 Gun, demonstrates that the key is not always king 
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to K6ILM:
Hello Elliot, yes…Steve is right. no secret ! nothing special ! without these easy access to summits as bw-228,bw-156…bw-057 i never had made so much qso´s on 12m as now done. also most 160m lowband activations (160-80) was never done by me without these summits. easy access, safe walk to the carpark at night and many high trees for antenna support.
the last weeks i slowed down my 12m activity to the reason of easy access to summits here. i stopped now taking part in the challenge by 80 multis and around 2700 qso ! thanks all who called in !! have had much fun on 12m… this has nothing to do with this posts here, more to avoid discussions like years before about dm/bw summits and to keep it fair for all who taking part in the challenge and maybe don´t have the chance to go so often on local summits…if they have.
so all is ok and i´m now often on the lowbands ( also only possible due to summits like bw-228 ) on cw and ssb…and i have not much qso´s on 28mhz,18mhz…also a very interesting band ! and 20m seems to be a very good band for working UK at daytime on my last activations !
hope cuagn on the summits !
Klaus DF2GN/p
In reply to VK5PAS:
Hello Paul,
nice to see good activity from vk sota. i hope to go out for a activation at 2 or 3.january 2014 for a early morning activation to work vk chasers or maybe s2s qso´s ! i will post the alert a few days before. i hope on good wx to try out my 20m moxxon wire beam. if wx bad i use a simple delta loop, but vy high up.
cw and ssb !
vy 73 and cu
Klaus DF2GN/p