Thanks for the QSOs yesterday on my first SOTA activation. It’s something I’ve been meaning to do for a while even to the extent that I treated myself to ordering a new radio Friday “in the sales”. But yesterday was too much of a temptation to get out with the sun shining and I packed up the base station ts2000 in my backpack with a 7A/H SLA and went up Turin Hill GM/SS-271. Even the 14Kg+ pack didnt put me off. I knew the current draw of the rig would be a very limitting factor but possibly not as much as the howling gale and temperature up there…
Going to have to think a bit more on aerials. I had a vertical for 40m and counterpoise but I didnt seem to be getting out too well.
Anyway, thanks anyone reading this who i worked for the QSOs, I will go up there again, its not too far from here and an easy top to get to to get on the air quickly.
Congratulations on your very first SOTA activation, especially with such a big rig; I looked at your log and you didn’t seem to do too badly for a first attempt.
I frequent 40m on quite a lot of my activations and use it to guarantee intra-UK contacts at this time of the year and sunspot cycle. Saying that 40m can have its doldrums where the band appears as if the receiver has gone deaf and at other times so much splatter and noise making contacts are nearly impossible.
My antenna of choice foe 40m is a vertical 1/4 wave (which I load for other bands), what is the configuration of yours and your power out-put?
Thanks for the QSO yesterday during your first SOTA activation. I was lucky enough to be your first contact but the QSB on 40m was a problem for me and not just from your station.
I’ve just looked at your log and I’ve being entered as M0MAA. Quite a few activators have also entered my call as MAA instead of MDA.
I hope to catch you on your next activation and I hope you will be carrying a little less weight than the TS-2000.
It was a sort of 1/4 wave arc rather than vertical due to the strength of the wind on my pole! It’s a fine match on 40m but I had trouble getting it to tune with my pi network atu on 20m, not helped by me forgetting a connector and having to rely on the swr meter on the ts2000, If I remember right a 1/2 wave presents a challenge… thinking of taking a multiband dipole in the future.
output power was 5w with the ts2000 turned down to minimum, but even then its a heck of a current draw, not designed as a battery rig. I have an ft817 on the way which should be more useful.
cheers Andy
Doh, sorry for misentering your call, a transcription error from the paper log where my writing was a little challenged (I attempted initially to keep my gloves on, doesnt work!).
Is there a way I can correct the log I entered?
cheers
Andy
oh gawd, I’ve not done a great job of entering these calls have I. My writing was not great, I did wonder why I;d written the middle letter of G0RQL with a line through it like a zero, Can I fix the log I entered? They were correct on the paper, just a bit of a mess. I must find a better way of logging in a wind in the cold!
Andy
PS. All fixed, I worked out how to download it, delete the old one and reimport.
I WILL ENTER THE LOG MORE CAREFULLY IN FUTURE
I WILL ENTER THE LOG MORE CAREFULLY IN FUTURE
I WILL ENTER THE LOG MORE CAREFULLY IN FUTURE
…
Thanks, I’ve found my way round it, pretty easy and intuitive to use so if I make a hash of it again (surely not!) I know what to do! Still just finding my way around the site!
I meant to say, Karl, having since browsed the reflector, my activation is also good for the trig point which was within the distance. I believe people are also collecting those? I think there are quite a few trig points within easy strike from here, which aren’t SOTA, would there be interest in me going there? Heck, there’s even one I can walk to without the car!
Your right,Trig points all over the place even under buildings have got note of yours from a list when one get.s around to Kitt hill there,s actually Two with in 20 m of each other ones a pillar and the other is a bloody great tower even your WAB square is new one to ones self.
End of day with sota only the Trig points are of value to me actually with in the sota operator other trig points will no doubt be caught by other operators setting up by them.
One can see the trig point becoming popular, and wonder what people thought when Sota started out firstly a few years ago and look at it now was probably the same reactions, why , whats the point etc.
But anyways thanks again for the summit.
Pleasure working your station.
Its all a learning curve.
As for logging mistakes hell one has made many all you do is delete the mistaken one and put it in again correctly. Cause one started on here one struggled a little but getting just to it now and still well enjoying too.
If it is a full 1/4 wave (around 9.5m long) just use 3 full sized radials along the ground. I then use a length of 450 ohm ribbon to turn it into a j-pole for 20m (with the radials disconnected) and a co-axial trap to use it as a 5/8 on 17m. No tuner required.
I have used dipoles but for the bands above 40m they don’t seen to be quite as efficient due to the insufficient height above ground that can easily achieved while portable*.
Once you are happy with the antenna try somewhere between 25-50W out-put power especially on 40m.
Carolyn
*ALL antenna systems are compromised portable and signals are subject to the physics of propagation.
Once you are happy with the antenna try somewhere between 25-50W out-put power especially on 40m.
Wow - I’d love to have that much power available! On 40m I’ve found SSB contacts come flooding in using 5-10w. Yesterday I had several SSB contacts back to the UK & US from EA8 on 100-400mW… but the physics of propagation do of course come into play… Yesterday was a good day on 10m
