Reports: Trans-Atlantic S2S Event 2nd November 2024

[EA2BD]

Hello
Last year this event was great, and this year… amazing!

My stats:
Summit: EA2/VI-044, a modest 40 minutes walk, also POTA ES-1335. There’s a phone relay on top that didn’t cause interference.

WX: when I arrived midday it was mild, 19C, not windy, clear sky.

Gear: KX3 10 watts, 4S LiPo 5000 mAh, tilted vertical EFHW, pointing at 310º

Operating time: 3h 41’ (13:08-16:49 utc)
Band/Mode: only 28 MHz CW & SSB

QSO : 89, Transatlantic = 46

EU: 41, AF: 1 (EA8), AS: 1 (4Z4)
NA (US+VE) : 42
SA: 4 (PY, CE, LU)

S2S: 25 → EU: 13, NA: 11, PY: 1

Many Tnx @ PY2VM, W4GO, VA2NM, WN3F, N0QLR, KZ4DZ, WA7JTM, AA6XA, K1RID, VA2EO, KX0R, and N1ZF

ODX: 10468 km / 6542 mi, LU4HK/H operating also /P 10w EFHW from a POTA,

Comments:
Despite I had planned using 21 + 28 MHz, I stayed on 10 m because conditions were really great.
I had no time to jump from one to the next spot to grab all S2S on display.

I spend many time trying to chase S2S but had to wait at times when the pile up didn’t allowed me to be heard by the activator.

I also tried running CQ every now and then and was glad to get many calls and DX.

I was surprised to hear some EU S2S with decent signals but had no trace at all from some others. I could work Gerald GM4OIG/P very loud and thank him for promoting this nice event since years.

I was delighted to get so many NA’s in my log, wow!
QSB was present and had to repeat with patience to be logged by some DX.
In the other hand the S2S with Carlos PY2VM was easy on SSB as he was really strong.

Working some station was significant, like Colin M1BUU running one of his little pocket rigs, Rich N4EX, one of my first DX when I started SOTA back in 2011, the prolific Geo KX0R, Hector CE3FZL, and Luis LU4HK very patient to help me get his callsign completed in a rare 10to10 watt qso.

I was also very glad looking at all these active EA ops in the event. It wasn’t too long ago when only very few of us joined for such events… I just could log the nearer EA activators despite I tried hard to work’em all.

I enjoyed the event so much that I waited for the fade in propagation to stop and close down.
I started the descent with the last sun rays using my head lamp with the echoes of the stations logged today, what a joy!

Thanks all for an exciting event.
I recall logging just a couple NAs back a few years ago in previous events when propagation was scarce and only 14 MHz was worky.

Isn’t the solar cycle variation so great when we are surprised by such enhanced conditions that provides all those contacts feasible?

Looking forward for the next chance, thanks all, no matter whether DX or not!

73 Ignacio EA2BD

[W4GO]

Not one but two S2S Parties from atop Cellar Mtn, W4V/HB-017 ! Great weather, propagation and participation (and plenty of food packed in) made it easy to stay the six hours.

Preliminary count from my handwritten log (the monks in the monastery may not finish transcribing it until the reign of the next pope, or the one after that):

S2S with Europe, all on 10 m: 26
S2S with North America, all on 10 m: 9
S2S on 2 m in W4V Party: 15

Thanks for the fun.

73,
Matt

Edit to add link to full report:

Three Parties on Cellar Mtn, W4V/HB-017

Not a bad day on the summit of Cellar Mtn, W4V/HB-017, where I got to enjoy not one but three parties on November 2nd: The Trans-Atlantic S2S Party in the morning, followed by a local W4V S2S Party in the afternoon. The latter event, in turn, brought a party of two other activators to my summit. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate my 100th complete summit. Thanks to the organizers and large number of participants for the fun. It was great to work many activators S2S whom I often chase f…

[PY2VM]

Good afternoon friends,

I sent my log for the PY2/SE-026.
I programmed 3 to 4 hours of operation, with 2 Lifepo4 batteries.

There was a forecast of rain. After 2 hours, it rained lightly. I dismantled everything, but the rain stopped.
I reassembled my EFHW and made some more contacts, but I had to stop because the rain came again and came very heavily.

Luckily, I dismantled it and it is still raining now, more than 24 hours after the end of the activation.

There were 50 QSOS and 17 S2S.
I posted a photo with 46, but I had forgotten to write some down in my notebook.

I received a report from HB9HWI/P at 1:03 p.m., but I am not in his log.

I thank everyone who listened to me and apologize for my horrible CW. I did not call CQ on CW because my RX is terrible. I need to study more. hihi

Summit to Summit: @CT2IWW, @CT2HOV, @DF7TR, @DL4FO, @DL6GCA, @EA2WX, @EA2EUS, @EA2BD, @EA3IKB. Thank you friends.
Reflector only accepts 10 mentions. I’ll report the rest in another post.

Thank you all and I hope there will be more events like this. It was great to see so many people active in SOTA.

73
Carlos
PY2VM

[PY2VM]

My thanks to S2S:
@GM4JXP, @M1BUU, @HB9HWI, @HB9HCS, @HB9EAJ, @LB8CG, @SO9TA, @K1RID.

73
Carlos
PY2VM

[PY1KJA]

Congratulations, Armin. I didn’t make it this time, but I’ve been hunting you well. Congratulations on the activations. May there be many more!

[PY2VM]

Friends,

Continuing the operation report, I noticed many stations calling CW at speeds above 25ppm, and they kept calling non-stop, with no space for responses.

I noticed about 4 stations in this situation, unable to send my S2S.

The event is not a competition, like CQWW. HIHI. It is a CELEBRATION event, but…

73
Carlos

PY2VM

[MM7MOX]

Hi Carlos,
Although I could hear you about 4/4 on 10m yesterday, unfortunately my SSB signal wasn’t getting back to you from GM/SS-176. I must learn morse for the future.
Andy
MM7MOX

[G8CPZ]

@W4GO

handwritten log

I wish my paper logs were as neatly written. Mine are worse than a doctor’s prescription note. I often can’t read my own writing. BTW: We’ve worked many time on 10m but I believe this is our first S2S. Thanks.

[G4TGJ]

This is my entry into the SOTA handwritten log competition:

How did I do?

As you can see I got off to a good start when I arrived on the summit with Matt @W4GO in the log first.

[G8CPZ]

@G4TGJ

How did I do?

It looks great to me. I’m too embarrassed to share my P&P log publicly. I ought to train myself to write better whilst listening (passively) to a CW contest or to a Morse app. Part of my problem is not being able to head-copying fast enough to determine in real time what needs to be written (for the log) or what doesn’t.

[M1BUU]

My logs always look scruffy, I think it’s just the way it is.

[G8CPZ]

@M1BUU

My logs always look scruffy

Nah! You’re too modest. It’s not a handwriting competition. Your example is perfectly legible. Don’t forget that activators are usually logging.in non-ideal environment.

[G4TGJ]

@M1BUU

My logs always look scruffy

Clearly your definition of scruffy is not the same as mine!

@G8CPZ

It looks great to me.

I should be honest and say these are neater than normal. These were all QSOs where I called another station. I’d seen their spot on Sotawatch and tuned to their frequency. Once I was happy I could hear them I copied their details down from my phone screen. Only once I had worked them did I write in the time and signal reports. Where I’ve been called there are often crossed out callsigns or references where I have failed to copy it right first time.

[G8CPZ]

@G4TGJ

These were all QSOs where I called another station. I’d seen their spot on Sotawatch and tuned to their frequency

Good of you to fess up. That’s a good point. The first part of my log was messy whilst chasers were coming to my spotted frequency and neater when I went into hunt-and-pounce mode using activators’ spots.

[HB9EAJ]

I spent about 5 hours on my local summit HB/SO-015, which resulted in total 34 S2S contacts, including 6 S2S Transatlantic DX contacts. Special thanks goes to @PY2VM, @KJ7OGF, @KD8EQA, @KF7NP, @WN1C, @VA2EO and @WA7JTM!

I also made about a hundred DX contacts and logged a total of 185 contacts (all SSB). All in all, this activation resulted in 98 new and unique calls on 10m, my personal record!

I used two transceivers and two antennas:

• A TX-500 (10W) using the compact 12m long EFHW in inverted-L configuration (for 10m, 20m and 40m).
• An FT-891 (80W) using a ground mounted quarter wave monopole antenna with 16 ground radials (tuned for 10m only).

Both radios were powered by a 18Ah LiFePO4 battery, which at the end had about 30% capacity.

The weather was foggy, damp and cold with some gusty winds. Visibility was poor, so I didn’t take any photos.

To get an idea of the contacts, see the map below (only about 30% of the contacts are shown):

In the beginning I concentrated only on S2S contacts, either by spotting or chasing on 10m, 20m and 40m.

Around 16 UTC, when I hadn’t heard any SOTA chasers for some time, I put down my EFHW and stowed away my TX-500 in preparation for the approaching dusk.

Then on 10m I spotted POTA CH-0108, where the party started:
A steady stream of US, Canadian and some Brazilian and Argentine stations were calling me. I also had some local and European contacts, either by ground wave or (probably) backscatter.

The most memorable contact was with Rob VA7VOC from the west coast of Canada, my first contact with British Columbia.

Another interesting contact was with KC1CAB from Connecticut, where we were able to chat for some minutes with a steady 9+10dB signal in both ways.

I tried to stay above 28.6 MHz as the QRM below was much higher.

It was definitely a lot of fun to be part of this event and I would like to thank all the participants!

73 Stephan

[VA2NM]

This TA S2S was a blast! I was short on time, had to quit early but got 71 QSOs in 117mins, including 21 Trans-Atlantic S2S. Among notable ones, Greece, Austria, Poland. @SV2NCH, OE/@DJ2MX, @SP9BIJ The only non TA S2S was 75 km away with my buddy @VA2EO .

I had never seen such a charged-up f0f2 map before, indicating a high potential for DX.

Rig KX2, Ant efhw tuned for 40m on a 10m glass fiber pole. Both ends of the wire were about 3m high, carefully routed away from tree trunks and branches. All contacts were on 28MHz.

This is what the f0f2 map was looking like when I got back home. The gray areas indicating strong propagation were right over the atlantic at sunrise, exactly what we needed

[VK3SQ]

Great report and photos Éric, thanks.

Geoff vk3sq

[GM4JXP]

@GM4JXP

missing something?

Of course I was missing something, doh! I looked under Settings rather than seeing the little white filter icon.

[M1EYP]

@G4TGJ

This is my entry into the SOTA handwritten log competition:

[PY2VM]

I have the same problem, it takes a long time to decode… Meanwhile, my colleagues keep repeating it, while I write. hihi
This next january, a new CW training class opens at CW Academy – CWops.

I posted SSB contacts on VK Port a Log.

Here is a photo of part of my draft
73
Carlos
PY2VM