New Associations and Updates 1st November 2015

Hi Andrew,
Campbell Island needs a permit, expensive chartered transport, plus Antartic clothing and training. All equipment has to go through Quarentine. Most of the Island is off-limits as it’s a rare bird breeding ground. It’s not an easy activation and that for just 1 and 2 point summits. It’s also so far away from other mainland, that QRP probably isn’t an option (even on CW). My guess would be that a SOTA activation could perhaps occur as an “add-on” to a DX-Pedition to the Island and given that one just happened in 2012, I suspect it’ll be a few years before another one is warrented. The other possibility would be if one of the wardens who regularaly check the Island’s bird population got an amateur radio licence, it may get a SOTA activation.

Here’s the reports and detais of the HARAOA expedition there in 2012:
http://www.campbell2012.com/

73 Ed. VK2JI / DD5LP (ex HARAOA publicity officer for Campell Island DXpedition 2012).

I was looking at this and thinking “boy them ZL/VK boys must be a bit soft if they need arctic clothing when these islands are only 50deg South”. The English Riviera is the same latitude North and gets (even for the UK) rather splendid weather, not Mediterranean hot of course, but consistently warm and sunny. It just didn’t make sense.

Then I remembered that 50deg North over in Canada is Labrador where the WX is a little chilly in the Winter. It was then I realised there’s no Gulf Stream flowing in ZL7/8/9 as there is to the UK.

D’Oh!

0h look at those virgin summits in 9A.
All with in my reach yesssss

karl

Last I heard, a couple of months back, they were hoping to have it up and running later this year… Please tell me it’ll be done by February next year… Pretty please :slight_smile:

Just one or two easy one pointers would do :slight_smile:

Failing that, I’ll have to resurrect my plans of a short trip Melbourne-Sydney way!

Oh, and well done to everyone who’s worked so hard to get all these other associations, and changes, sorted out too!

Don
m0hcu

Don,

You can always plan a stop by Anchorage. The KL7 Associations will be live for sure! But Feb. weather might be a little harsh… :grinning:!!

Thanks for the offer, but unfortunately I feel I must decline at this time :slight_smile: At least a little sunshine (hopefully) and warmth, will be the order of the day!

Don
m0hcu

I’ve actually played radio on one of the 9A summits a few years ago - 9A/DH-157 Sušac Island peak - when our local club signing 9A0CI stayed a week on the island activating it as an IOTA and also the lighthouse there. Our QSL card from the time:

Nice place! Shame it wasn’t a SOTA peak back then…

That’s when the blood sucking insects are about!

Don,

If you are looking for quick and easy 1 point summits, come to Canberra. Mt Ainslie VK1/AC-040 is between the airport and the city centre, which is only a 5-6km trip. Black Mountain AC042 also a driveup is a few km (2 or 3) on the other side of the city centre. While you are there, take a look at the city, Mt Ainslie gives the best viewpoint from the tourist lookout.

QRM avoidance advice available locally.

Andrew
vk1da/vk2uh

Feel for me, I have a business trip to NZ in December. I also had a business trip to Japan planned a month or so prior to those summits going live.

In fact, in the past 2 years, I’ve helped to various degrees in bringing onboard 9 new associations (with the two NZ main islands still to come) and fate has decreed I have activated none of them yet. The SOTA Gods Must Be Crazy. :smile:

On that, as new associations have been added, the Globetrotter award for the Mountain Explorer has become almost impossible to achieve - can I suggest a mid tier award between Platinum (20 associations) and Globetrotter (100+)? Perhaps rebadge Globetrotter as 50 associations across 5 or 6 continents and have a Globetrotter Diamond level which is Activated All Associations?

Cheers,
Andrew
(lowly Silver level)

I did notice that… plus it would be a complete for me :slight_smile: Someone was kind enough to send me a list of several fairly easy summits between Melbourne and Sydney last year, when I was planning to visit earlier this year… I seen to have mislaid it…

Tell me about it, I’m a high profile target for midges and horse flies, apparently… I’ll have to dig out my bottle of DEET that melts clothes and watch straps, and probably causes all sorts of diseases in later life :frowning:

Don

m0hcu

I’m still only Bronze so stop bragging with the Silver level. Actually I just checked and I’m Silver too, so much going on I’d forgotten I got there this summer. I’d forget my own name if it wasn’t on a name tag sewn into my clothes.

Yes, probably they need a little bit of adjustment. It’s a known issue with something as simple as Shack Sloth. When SOTA started getting to 1000 points was a real task as there were few activations. Now it’s relatively speaking, significantly easier as there are more activations taking place and probably something running 24/7. Do we make Shack Sloth require 10000 points to bring it back to the difficultly factor of 10 years back? Does changing it devalue existing or future awards?

However, in the case of the Mountain Explorer, my initial thinking is it does need some extra levels above Platinum. Probably the final level being “Unobtanium” for someone who has the time (and money) to visit every association and put on an activation.

I spent far too much time last night watching the ZL9CI DX video on Youtube. And FT5XO and VK0IR and several others. I had to pinch myself when I saw VK0IR was from 1997… 18 years ago? Never, I remember we had an evening at the radio club watching the video. Then I remember the VHS player wouldn’t work at first till it warmed up and got all the condensation dried out after being in the boot (trunk) of a car on a cold evening.

Hurry up please someone :smile:

Might be getting another trip to Argentina, Chile and Peru in a couple of years. I’ve done one summit in Argentina that I think would qualify.
Cerro Dedal - West of Esquel, Argentina.
Imgur

Patience, grasshopper! There are several SA Associations in preparation, including CU and LU, its just a matter of time.

Brian

1 Like

Never easy to work KL7 from Europe during a SOTA activation, Guy. A summit to summit contact with Alaska would be quite a catch…

73 Mike
2E0YYY

1 Like

Now now now /jumps up and down and has tantrum/ LOL

I’m taking lessons from my grandchildren…

Seriously, that’s great news! Thanks to the Associations team and the local amateurs who are taking on these enormous tasks.

9A OFFICIALLY AIRED

Mike beat me too it. Looks like being first SSB op to clock an 9A sota from 9A/ZH-002. on 20m :scream:

Yes mike short skip 5/5 from u heard here in SW UK from SE UK :open_mouth:

Mind you got in after him and I hope the DL8DBW/p be came his first SSB op S2S after I informed him Mirco was on air. He disappeared off freq few minutes and came back to carry on his own sota DM/BW-114 :grinning:

Big thanks to S52CU/p for making this possible

Karl

Just got back from shopping and too late - he’s gone off onto 17m CW.

Grrr Chores!

1 Like

I presume you got him on 40m :smile:
Karl