Mt. Txanburu EA2/NV-071 by EA2IF/P on 10/08/2019

[EA2IF]

It has taken me a number of days to recover after my 3rd chemotherapy session, but I finally felt like going out to activate SOTA again today.
Despite having suffered, as a chaser, some extremely poor propagation conditions over the last days, I decided for an afternoon activation, although I knew it would be quite a struggle to get the QSOs in the log.
I chose this drive-up summit because I had not yet activated it this year and it was a perfect chance to collect 4 activator points.
>Me ha llevado unos días recuperarme tras mi tercera sesión de quimioterapia, pero, finalmente, hoy me sentí con ganas de salir a activar otra vez.
A pesar de haber sufrido como cazador unas condiciones de propagación extremadamente pobres en los últimos días, decidí una activación de tarde, aunque sabía que sería un tanto difícil conseguir QSOs en el log.
Elegí esta cima de las que se pueden subir en coche porque no la había activado todavía este año y era la ocasión perfecta para recolectar 4 puntos de activador.

I setup like this in a clear area slightly below the very summit, which is quite full of boxwood.
>Instalé de esta manera en un claro ligeramente más abajo de la cima, que está bastante llena de boj.

The antena was a 21m long endfed wire as an inverted vee and a 6m long counterpoise wire laid on the ground.
The rig FT-817ND at 5 W.
>La antena fue un cable de 21m de largo alimentado en el extremo como una V invertida y un cable contraantena de 6m de largo descansando sobre el suelo.

I started CQing on 20m CW and logged 9 QSOs in 17 minutes.
After a number of unresponded CQ calls, I QSYed to SSB. On 14.305 I logged 5 QSOs in 9 minutes. 3 with Belgium and 2 with Germany. When nobody answered after a number of CQ calls, I decided to QSY to 30m. I got spotted on SOTAwatch but several CQ calls couldn’t bring a single chaser, so I got a null on 30m. Then I QSYed to 40m CW but I found contest activity there and I QSYed to SSB, although I confess that 40m SSB is not my favorite place to be when activating SOTA. There is just too much QRM and splatters from QRO stations for a tiny QRP signal like mine… I logged 3 QSOs here. First, I chased José EA7YT, who was CQing offering a municipality for the DME award. Then I moved to a clear frequency and called CQ SOTA, which brought 2 chasers, one EA7 and one OE.
I called CQ some more times with no answers and I decided to QRT because the Sun was quite low and the temperature had dropped with an increase of the wind and I had started experiencing one of the side effects of my chemotherapy under the cold, which produced pain in my fingers and hands like several thin needles were sticking into my fingers and hands skin.
>Empecé llamando CQ en 20m CW y anoté 9 QSOs en 17 minutos.
Tras algunas llamadas CQ sin respuesta, hice QSY a SSB. En 14.305 anoté 5 QSOs en 9 minutos. 3 con Bélgica y 2 con Alemania. Cuando nadie respondía tras algunas llamadas CQ, decidí hacer QSY a 30m. Fui anunciado en SOTAwatch pero muchas llamadas CQ no consiguieron traer un solo cazador, así que tuve un cero 30m. Entonces hice QSY a 40m CW, pero encontré actividad de concurso allí e hice QSY a SSB, aunque confieso que 40m SSB no es mi lugar favorito para estar cuando activo SOTA. Símplemente hay demasiado QRM y splatter de estaciones QRO para una pequeña señal QRP como la mía… Anoté 3 QSOs aquí. Primero cacé a José EA7YT, quien estaba llamando CQ ofreciendo un municipio para el diploma DME. Entonces me desplacé a una frecuencia limpia y llamé CQ SOTA, lo que trajo a 2 cazadores, un EA7 y un OE.
Llame CQ algunas veces más sin respuestas y decidí quedar QRT porque el Sol estaba bastante bajo y la temperatura había caído con un aumento del viento y había empezado a experimentar uno de los efectos secundarios de la quimioterapia ante el frio, que produce dolor en mis dedos y manos como si tuviera muchas finas agujas clavándose en la piel de mis dedos y manos.

All in all, these 17 QSOs in the log:
>En total 17 QSOs en el log:

You can see it on the map:
>Pueden verlo en el mapa:

Before dismantling the setup, I took this picture for you to see how the light had dimished by that time.
>Antes de desmontar la instalación, tomé esta foto para que puedan ver cómo había disminuido la luz para esa hora.

Thanks dear chasers for your calls and QSOs.
I’ll be looking forward to copying you all again soon from another summit.
>Gracias estimados cazadores por sus llamadas y QSOs.
Estaré deseando copiarles pronto a todos ustedes de nuevo desde otra cima.

73,

Guru

[HB9DIZ]

Good to know you back, Guru, and do what is good for you or makes you happy. SOTA with its variety is a good playground for this purpose, so enjoy.

I had to smile when you mentioned “struggle”, 'cause I can see a solid log with around 20 contacts. Remembering my struggles to get 4 stations into my log here or there over more than 30-60 minutes, but on SSB, and no worth to try 2 m FM, hi. So you CW activators can fill your logbooks always quite easy!

Each activation has its own rules, so I’ll see what surprise will offer this afternoon, since HB/LU-027 (Ruswilerberg) is planned for an hour of afternoon happiness, one of our nice hills out on the countryside of Lucerne.

Cu next time and vy 73 de Markus, HB9DIZ

[EA2IF]

@HB9DIZ

I had to smile when you mentioned “struggle”, 'cause I can see a solid log with around 20 contacts.

Hi Markus,
Thanks for your kind words.
Well, everything is relative and so it was the meanning of struggle in this context. Having just 17 QSOs in the log of an HF activation is very little compared to other HF activations where I’ve got nearly 80, 90 or 100 QSOs and I consider a bit of a struggle when having to call several times in order to get a few chasers on the log, instead of calling CQ just once after a selfspot on SW and having a delighful pileup with dozens of stations calling for about 20 minutes with no stop, as it has happened so many times to me. But you are right and what I had in this activation was not exactly a struggle to get the QSOs. It’s true that using CW almost guarantees qualification, at least within the EU area.
In my activating history or trajectory, I only remember one failure to qualify when I activated on 2m FM with a HH on an evening and I only got 1 QSO. Then I decided that I would never again rely on a 2m FM HH only for a SOTA activation. Having HF in a tiny rig like the FT-817 is just great and taking it to the summits with a piece of wire for antenna is easy and almost guarantees success. However, to be fair, I must say that 2m FM has also rescued me and let me qualify in 2 occasions when my HF station couldn’t be installed or operated. Once with the FT-817 and the rubber antenna due to not having the time and the space to install the HF station and the other with a HH due to having an Open Circuit problem in my HF antenna line.
Well, I wish you good luck in your activation today and I hope to be able to chase you, although propagation conditions are putting things very tough for me to chase many of the current activations going on within the EU territory.
73 and I hope to copy you soon,

Guru

[HB9DIZ]

Hi Guru

Yep, I can see that we have different SOTA lifes with regard to the number of QSOs per activation.

• HB9DIZ:

• EA2IF:

Seen in SOTLAS on SOTLAS resp. SOTLAS.

But up and away now, for HB/LU-027 , hi . . .

Vy 73 de Markus, HB9DIZ

[RX9WT]

Thank you, Guru!
I read your report with interest. I will be glad to meet on HF.

I wish you well!!
73
Vlad
RX9WT

[EA2IF]

Pleased to read that you liked the report, dear Vlad.
Thanks for your good wishes.
Have you read my comment above in the answer to Markus HB9DIZ about an activation where I could not use HF due to an OC problem and 2m FM saved me the activation and gave me the necessary 4 QSOs to qualify that 10 pointer?
Well, let me show you this picture of that activation carried out back in September 2015 because I was very nicely accompanied by my nephew Alex, who is originally from UA9. He was adopted in the city of Barnaul by my brother and his wife at the age of 3 years.

DSW & 73,

Guru

[RX9WT]

Dear Guru, of course i read your comment about 2m. I also prefer CW and HF, but I think it’s completely normal to use VHF as a fallback.
Often you have to spend a lot of time and effort tracking and climbing, in which case the decision to use VHF will be correct.
In our conditions, in the Urals this is especially true, but VHF capabilities are often not enough due to the large distances and the small number of active VHF stations.
Very happy for Alex, I hope he will also activate SOTA someday)
73!