I thought about possibly activating in the morning, but the temperature was a bit low and I decided to postpone it until the afternoon, when the temperatures would be warmer. With all the chemo treatments I’m having, I don’t yet feel strong enough to tackle a mountain hike, so I chose another drive-up summit.
The only problem is that it’s 70 Km far from my QTH.
While driving, the outside temperature was 26º C. Amazingly warm!
Here you can see the targetted SOTA:
Once at the summit, the temperature was not that warm and there was a constant wind from the South, but it was not cold at all.
I found a slot between 2 heavy rocks of a cairn and I decided to insert the base of my fishing rod in it. The fishing rod didn’t stand vertical, but leanning towards the North, which I found acceptable because I wanted my endfed sloping towards the North.
This was my setup today:
A sloper 14m long endfed wire hung from the top of an inclined 7m long fishing rod to a 9:1 unun with a 6m long counterpoise wire extended on the grass and rocks down the cliff.
My rig was FT-817ND at 5W with a MFJ-941B antenna tuner.
Battery was LiFePo4 4S2P.
The activation went like this:
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20m CW: 13 QSOs, one of which DX USA, after about 25 minutes QRV and CQing.
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30m CW: 16 QSOs in about 15 minutes.
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40m CW: 27 QSOs in about 25 minutes.
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60m CW: 6 QSOs after about 10 minutes QRV and CQing.
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20m CW: 5 QSOs, one of which DX USA, after 10 minutes QRV and CQing.
After a bit less than 2 hours on the air, this is the log with 67 QSOs, 2 of which were DX with the USA:
You can see it on the map:
The wind got stronger during the time spent at the summit and I struggled to hold my paper log, but the temperature wasn’t cold and after pack up, I took a few pictures before leaving.
Vultures were gliding in the wind.
During descend, I enjoyed the views of the beautiful valleys.
Thanks dear chasers for tyour calls and QSOs. I’ll be looking forward to copying you all again soon from a SOTA.
73,
Guru
