In May 2022, I had a S2S with Matt, @ZL4NVW on 20m SSB. I had a 20m delta loop, dimensions from @DL3TU Roman himself, using a KX3 running just 5w. I don’t see any reason to change that.
Short path and long path are pretty much the same from here 
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With a SFI around 100, 20m or 17m is your best chance of success.
You have to remember where most stations will focus their efforts too.
The more experience you gain, the less you’ll believe the prediction data to be exact. It really isn’t that reliable. Particularly probability of a QSO being made. Predictions tend to be pessimistic.
Unfortunately with low power and wire antennas, it will likely be a challenging experience, moving away from QRM.
Certainly a different world with a Yagi and QRO though. YMMV ofc, you may get lucky on the morning with a clear frequency and an efficient antenna / summit.
GL ! There’s plenty of VKs and ZLs out there to be worked.
Jonathan
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And I managed 12 ZL-EU on 5w in the time it took to heat my dinner. With an EFHW over a low tree branch, from a valley floor hut - POTA activation. Last night (600UTC).
20m greyline is amazing.When it works!
Does the VOCAP model actually predict greyline activity?
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Yes, around the Mediterranean Sea, 17 & 15m are often better than 20m for VK contacts.
73 Ed DD5LP.
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Some aid for publicity If you just want to motivate others to participate:
Just my 2 cent with AI contribution…
73
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I was called and we made easily QSOs with VK4FW yesterday(03.09.2026) at 05:56UTC on 14044 kHz, 559/559, and later, at 06:15UTC at 10118 kHz, 569/539 during my WWFF activation. I suppose he was with good power and antenna, but I was with ALT-512 8/10W and Inv V Linked dipole, 7m high at centre, on the Black sea beach.
Rumen/LZ2AF
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My experience from last time I participated in this from NZ (March equinox a couple of years back). A 20-minute wide window of 20m-band propagation sweeps across Europe, starting in Poland about 1hr before local-darkness here, and ending in Spain (with marginal UK) about an hour later as a torch becomes necessary. The window of propagation to a specific location never lasted more than 20 minutes, but the entire EU opening lasted 1-1.5 hrs.
Then, delayed behind that, a similar window on 40m followed.
I guess you can insert 30m somewhere in between.
==
My experience - and I prepare to hear others found otherwise.
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I wonder if that was Greyline propagation. That seems to happen with ZL but when the line gets over VK, it’s only West Coast UK that can take advantage of it. This all depends upon the angle of the Earth’s axis at the date being tried of course but while I have had many Greyline contacts into ZL over the years from DL, I have managed very few into VK.
73 Ed.
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Oh yes, I’m interested! In PA land we only have 2 SOTA summits, but I’m planning to be on one of them.
I’ve today started building the 50W amp for my QCX mini, as to have some more oomph available. Antenna-wise I think I’ll put up a vertical for 20 with elevated radials.
73 de Frank PA4N
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Hi Frank,
You may want to consider putting a parasitic reflector a quarter wavelength behind that vertical. I have been having some success with such a set up:
73 Ed.
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Hi Ed,
I’ve got a couple of questions about it:
1- Do the two spikes need to be electrically connected with a cable?
2- Does the reflector need to be isolated from earth, with only the radials connected to the spike?
73, Rafa
Hi Rafa,
No connection between the driven and reflector element is needed - hence the reflector is “parasitic”.
There are designs where you use two 1/4 wave verticals and coax of a specific length to “phase” them, so the antenna can be simply switched 180° in direction; this is not that design.
I have been using the reflector whip directly (via some M10 threaded rod) connected to the stake with the radials coming off that junction. I now have an insulator and will be trying with the spike isolated from the whip - the radials connect to the bottom on the vertical whip to be the “other half” of the reflector. (not off the spike). i don’t expect to see any difference.
73 Ed.
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Thanks Ed for your fast answer.
I will try it!
73, Rafa
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Thanks for the idea, Ed. The amp for the QCX-mini has been built and tested. Now, I will first build a single vertical; my other 20m ant is a QRP EFHW - I’m pretty sure the unun won’t like 50W power. Plus, I like the low-angle takeoff for these DX contacts. When that’s done, I might consider building a second one for the parasitic element. But also I’m considering setup time. I think I will have to be on the summit and set up before sunrise, which technically is not allowed, so I’m inclined to make setup time as short as possible.
BTW, I’m planning to operate from PA/PA-003 D’n Observant in the very southeast of the country…
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I presume that is a restriction of the summit - it is certainly not a restriction in SOTA itself. Take care in the dark, but activations around sunrise on 40m, can bring in some good greyline DX and long path on 20m.
So your vertical is not a 1/4 wave vertical then? If you are using an UNUN you must be trying to match a different length vertical.
One action at a time - always - as you say; once you are happy that the amp is helping you, then consider the parasitic element. Set-up time, by the way, is not long, but of course you need more space, so for some summits the 2-element array is not suitable.
73 Ed.
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Hi Ed,
It’s a restriction of the nature area in which the summit lies.
My other 20m antenna is an EFHW which has an unun. This unun is QRP-only. So my options are to make a beefier version of that unun, or to build a different antenna altogether. Because a quarter-wave vertical has much better low-angle takeoff than my EFHW in inverted-see fashion, I want to opt for the quarter-wave vertical. I’m trying to make it so that I can do the setup as easy as possible…
73 de Frank PA4N
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