With 10W SSB/CW output and home made 6 element yagi I am working QRB over 400 to 500km+ on regular basis.
73, Milos S57D
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I’m glad our proposal has sparked an extensive discussion, and I can certainly appreciate the many arguments raised. I’m going to change the thread title right away.
73 Chris
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I used to consider myself a 99.9% CW operator until the “10 Meters Challenge” came along and I told myself, “Why not give the SSB folks a chance?”
So I did, for almost half a year.
Then in June I wondered, “Why not give FT8 a chance too?”
And that’s how, starting in June, I began operating in all three modes — often in situations where CW was nowhere to be found and SSB was almost impossible. Many activations were saved by the FT8 crowd; without them, it’s very likely I would have returned home without the points for the Challenge.
That’s why the fairest scoring factor should be:
-
One mode = 1 point
-
Two modes = 2 points
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Three modes = 3 points
This way, each mode gets the same importance.
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70cm on any mode would be a challenge for most operators 
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That seems counterintuitive, given that there are more 2m SSB operators around this year.
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Given the number of cheap and cheerful two band handies floating around, I cannot agree with you. If we only had added a bonus for 70cm this year activity on the band would have rocketed!
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I find 70cm an excellent but totally underused band.
Agreed, but most are used solely for 2m. Perhaps in hindsight this years challenge should have been 2m only, leaving 70cm for a later challenge.
As I’ve never activated on 70cm, it appears to be also a challenge for me.
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70cm CW-now that would be a challenge!
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Not when it is a full day out on a Munro to get high enough to reach anyone.
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The activity is lower, but when tropo conditions appear, as a rule 70 opens before 2m, to similar ranges.
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Shoul’nt SOTA be something you do with joy and pleasure?
This proposal sounds mor like maximizing frust and pain! Have you ever been on a real mountain, steep and high? Ever tried to figure out to to erreect a HF antenna there?
OE1IAH
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Probably off topic but… when my interest in radio was rekindled (2016) generally tuning around on 80 or 60 during the day there was some activity. Now I have to check the antenna is connected….. I know we are in a different point in the solar cycle but it would bring a bit of life back to the band. ( The propagation is OK as I can hear myself on a couple of web SDRs…)
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Well why not try the 433Alive activity day on the 21st of November. Ideal time since there will be people listening out. I normally get around 20qsos on 70cm on the day from Billinge Hill. Would be great to see more SOTA taking part. Having said that the weather in November will probably decide if its a sota activation or a car activation since I dont fancy sitting in the rain for several hours.
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The challenge with tropospheric ducting for SOTA on 2m or 70cm is being in the right place at the right time, which is easier said than done. The duct acts like a pipe or waveguide with the activator and chaser(s) at either end of it. The opening and closing times of a particular duct are usually unpredictable. You might be lucky on very stable high-pressure weather days to check the tropo ducting prediction in the morning, drive to the area, walk up to the summit and operate before the ducting closes. But in my experience, it’s happened to me by chance rather than by planning.
The SOTA paradox: VHF operators in valleys or on coastal hummocks can experience strong ducting openings, whilst activators on 6- to 10-pointer summits may only hear normal line-of-sight chasers (because the activators are above the ducting layer).
Of course, if you want a reliable but more difficult 24/7 VHF propagation mode [high path loss], you could try tropospheric scatter … but that’s another story.
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I wonder if a QMX+ for 2200 / 630 / 160 / 80m would be of interest? QMX+ QMX+ 160-6m multi-mode transceiver currently covers 160 to 6m, SSB, CW and Data (built in USB sound card and Virtual COM Serial for CAT), providing 3-6W (can be doubled with a 4:4 transistor mod). The PIN diode band switching will NOT work below 160m.
Single-band 630m and 2200m versions of QDX-M are already available see QDX-M 5W Digital Transceiver . It would not be a large enough market to justify a dedicated QMX+. Though the firmware already almost supports it. But I could imagine a small add-on PCB containing relay switched low pass filters for 2200, 630, 160 and 80m, that would sit on the main board and replace the current array of LPFs for 160-6m.
Any interest?
73 Hans G0UPL
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A QMX which could do 160m would be attractive to me. I already have a 60m to 15m but one which covered 80m and 160m would be useful. I’m not sure antenna for anything beyond 160m is practical for SOTA activations. I know the QMX+ covers up to 160m but the QMX form factor is perfect for packing into a small rucksack.
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I already have a QCX Mini for 160m.
A transceiver for 630m and 2200m supporting SSB and CW would likely be unique in the world!
I would order one immediately.
73 Armin
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Yes! I have a QDX-M 2200m and 630m kit currently en route to Australia. I like the look of the loop antennas the cave rescue group used on 2200m. Looks like there’s a few Aussies on the low bands. I’ll build them, put them on WSPR and wait! Maybe SOTA one day.
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Getting quite enthused by all this - hope it does happen 2030 …
‘Non-standard’ bands: the issue of band availability can be resolved through the use of a wavelength-based scoring and rules. E.g. ‘all bands longer wavelength than 40m’ (or 80m and longer if you want to exclude 60m), and bonuses calculated from the band’s nominal (or mid-point) wavelength. Rather than specifying bands and shutting out certain countries. Surely most countries allow some band use below 40m?
Band specific antenna thoughts:
80m: I’ve had plenty of 80m activations with an EFHW. My first 2-3 years of portable operation were with an 80m EFHW - right through the last solar minimum. New hams in ZL start with access to just 80m and VHF+ until they get their minimum QSOs logged, so we have a bonus in that regard in that most have 80m gear! Good coverage the length of NZ (~1000km) and night times into VK (2-3000km). The bonus of breaking into 80m nets for that last contact when desperate as darkness arrived! The ZL GoQRP contests and more recent ZL-sprints run on on this band and have good followings (even now at the solar maximum) and regularly achieve reasonable numbers to VK. So a proven practical band for portable operation. International / interstate should not be impossible for most users? Certainly more options than for those of us who live surrounded by a wall of mountains in a VHF/UHF challenge year!
160m: Back when I ran a 80m EFHW and FT818, the z817 tuner was quite happy to match up this band, for the few contacts I made on it. And 45m seems to be the minimum ‘random wire’ length for the band, so that’s do-able too portable. And plenty of 1-30MHz manual tuner kits / designs on that old interweb thingy.
Cave-radio style antennas was my thinking too for a compact MF/LF solution - will have to read-up on what the VKs have achieved with those for above-ground use.
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The cave rescue community often uses a type of antenna they call “Earth current injection”. It is a dipole, perhaps 20 m per side, that is grounded at each end. The wire lies on the ground. Similar antennas are used on the surface and underground. In general it has been used in preference to the loop antennas as it gives greater range. I am not aware of tests measuring the range over the surface. The recent use of loop antennas in Canada for cave rescue work was because the loops are faster to deploy and give mobility to the underground operator. In addition the use of digital modes such as THOR, along with the QDX-M transceivers give similar range with the loop antennas.
For people interested in the use of LF radios in caving, there is a marvellous archive of articles available in the Cave Radio and Electronic Group Journal.
Ian
VE6IXD
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