SOTA 2m CW Day

Yes, count me in…

Nice view Richard…is that small parabolic dish in your new estate?

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Now I’m wondering how high a SOTA summit do I need to climb so that my FT817-generated 5W CW output to a repurposed-camera-tripod-mounted 3-el horizontal 2m Yagi can reach at least 4 of these widely spaced 2m CW activators. Or, can I pick a comfortable 1-pointer and hope that some shack-based chasers will come out of the woodwork and dust off their Morse keys for the occasion?

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Hi Richard.
It would fantastic to work on 2m CW, count me in, but from south of Spain I will have very difficult, but everything is possible, never knows.
72. Manu.

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Yes

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…maybe we have sporadic E :wink:

73 Armin

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I was going to ask the Unicorns that are feeding on rainbows in the meadows behind my house to organise some very early SpE.

Then I saw the dates, I’m confusing this event with the SSTV event.

Even so it’s a bit late in the season for 2m SpE so maybe I should ask the Unicorns anyway!

I think we can throw in some vintage 2m gear to the mix aswell so you can get your IC202 and FT290mk1 out etc. And if we have a bit of FM for talkback I can bring my TR2300 and TR720G out to play !

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That would require me to use a straight key, which is something else on my list of things to do on a SOTA summit…

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Armin’s point is a good one. We are about to enter the start of this year’s Sp.E season in this part of the world, so why wait until the end of August? Further to my earlier suggestion of building up interest with weekly sessions, why not start tomorrow morning?

With the current threads on 2m SSTV, 2m AM and 2m CW, I have an idea to widen these Saturday morning sessions to “2m multimode”. After all, with an FT-817 and 2m aerial all set up, it is inevitable that most participants will chase S2S opportunities on FM and SSB as well as working a few chasers.

I’ve amended my alert and will launch a new thread imminently…

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Buy a Ultra PicoKeyer KIT. I have the older PicoKeyer.

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Don’t stir my nostalgia having fun with my secondhand Mk1 '290 and mini straight key on South Lanarkshire hills for a few years both sides of my Morse test. Pity that I was close to dozing off sending my new callsign at 12 wpm: M … M … 0 … [yawn!] before I got to the A … L … C

73 Andy G8CPZ / M0ALC

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Yes, yes!
it’s always nice while a contest is running, but probably u wont get a s2s into your log.
Let’s choose a day without contest? - get mni s2s
Take a contest day - get mni QSO ???
FT-290R 4e4. at least if it isn’t raining.
I’ll climb a hilltop looking forward for some Blighty QSO…

73 Maritn

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Hello

I have not found any 2m contests in Europe on the days I suggested. These are preferably on the first weekend of a month… but there can always be activity days or contests locally. I chose Sundays because many have other things to do on Saturday.
I had chosen July and August because more mountains should be snow-free here. I don’t know how it looks in other places, but in the Black Forest it is still white in many places above 1400m. I also assume that you can travel a bit more then again. Besides, it might give some people time to prepare a bit more…

Tom is right: August is quite late for Es in the EU, but not impossible. But since it is very capricious at 2m, I would not choose a date after that. It precedes it in the late morning or late afternoon until around midnight, in my experience.


found at http://www.dl2lto.de

Nevertheless, you can get very far with 50 watts EIRP on S2S - especially on CW. This would be especially interesting for those who are not yet so experienced in CW, because on 2m (without contest) you normally have less qrm and fading than on HF.

I don’t know if I, as a normal SOTA reflector user, can simply stage dates like that. Maybe one of the SOTA moderators / managers should do it. In any case, I would be happy about such an event.

73 Armin

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Well reasoned. Anyone here can suggest and implement activities!

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Need you ask (me)? :grin:

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Well on SOTA 2m Multimode Super Saturday, all modes bar one have been well supported - even AM and SSTV. But CW has been poor - just one QSO so far!

I’ll give it another go now before I wrap up this activation.

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If someone doesn’t mind me doing it into 12.5khz of bandwidth I’ll try comedy MCW option next Saturday? :stuck_out_tongue:

I just want to try all of the modes, I’ve got a hankering for a Hellschriber event day for a lark…

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What I can’t work out is why I’m not attracting at least a handful of contacts with a self-spot for 2m CW. Over a decade ago, I got quite into 2m CW activating, and would work several stations each time I operated in that band-mode.

These days, it seems a self-spot will attract a few chasers trying to work you regardless of how obscure the band-mode combination is.

Except, it seems, 2m CW. Where is everyone?

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Probably given up with 2m and gone to HF for easier CW pickings. I sympathise, Tom. I use to alert / spot 2m CW and got no replies. I get 2m CW QSOs now only with prior arrangement with locals.

I agree with your idea for pre-2m-CW-Day trials. I don’t trust my 3-el 2m Yagi after getting no SSB / CW contacts with it on Gummer’s How. I’ve subsequently tried it on a local hill and can hear [weakly] the GB3NGI 2m beacon 240km away in N.I. That’s promising but I want a Dx QSO before I believe it. So, I’m gonna try a 2m CW test soon [may have to alert for SSB too].

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Yes, I think a good helping of self-discipline is in order from my part in the next 2m “Super Saturday” session. I need to remember that:

  • There’s no need to rack up huge numbers of SSB & FM QSOs - the point is long-since proven!
  • There is a need to focus on CW, and SSTV, which both require a bit of dedication and determination to get going and build support.
  • There’s no need to stay out all day on a hill - as pleasurable as that is.
  • There is a need to apply factor 50 in this wx - I got sunburnt yesterday, which was a poor show.
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What has happened over the decades is this: First, the number of hams has greatly reduced and second, the number of mods (FT8,…) and bands ( who was able to do 10GHz…) has greatly increased… and then there are many more alternatives (www.).

This reduces the participants per band and mod.

That’s why I think it’s all the more important to have united actions to revive the less frequently used bands and mods…especially when almost everyone has the opportunity.

73 Armin

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