In reply to MM0FMF:
Few
Scottish summits have trees, just wild moorland, rocks, peat and
heather (and wild WX), so an antenna support has to be carried.
And the higher summits can carry snow from September to well into June - I’ve only been on the summit of Ben Nevis when it was free of snow on one occasion!
73
Brian
PS What is the preferred method of anchoring a mast on hard neve, pegs, stakes or deadman anchors?
In reply to MM0FMF:
Andy,
I agree with you that 24 is a good band for making QRP and DX, (as activator) but it’s not so funny seeing the activator’s signal passing over your head to NA as a chaser (or on 21 or 28 as well) 
By the other hand, 7 is too short (plus QRM bonus) during the day if you are not just in the middle of EU. 14 also would be too long (perhaps the G/GM/GW stations would be on the limit for working Klaus). Until now, I wasn’t able to pick any NA activator on 14 from home, due to bad antenna and “good” QRM.
So, where is the heaven? at 10 mhz! just the right path, faint but clear signals for Central Europe, and almost never QSB. There you can find Klaus easily, consistent signal and sometimes well organized pile-ups.
Of course, with this kind of self-propaganda 10 mhz doesn’t needed any kind of incentives to work on, as the higher bands really need!
Just now (2013-11-27 12:54UT) hearing Klaus on 14.334…
And later making a FB QSO with him on 10.122 after listen Tonnie PA9CW
73 de Mikel EA2CW
In reply to EA2CW:
Thanks Klaus for the new unique one. Again vy nice signal on 30 mtr.
I was only using 5 Watt as an experiment. But it worked well.
73 es good luck. Tonnie, PA9CW
In reply to PA9CW:
Hi tonnie, i was also “only” using 5 watts on cw today. enough power to make a quick run over the bands by -6°C today and log around 100 qso´s. this time there are more eu contacts in the log.
@ MM0FMF: Hi Andy… yes, you are right, i´m really happy with having so many high trees on most of my local summits. most times without points on the same summits, but therefore many nice chaser qso´s, no long drives, nice dx…and fresh air…nice hobby i have ;-). but my antenna test shows that also the simplest antennas are good if high enough and good propagation … nothing new :-).but antennas as a delta loop, wire beam and the 2x5/8wl vertical 30m up i used sometimes produces a lot of more dx. the negative side on many trees and wide forest on the most summits. no free take off. but i think the heights around 15-30m up gives me more db as the forest takes …
today i had great signals all around europe on 40-20m. also ssb on 40m with 10watt worked nice. think the kx3 have now a nice qrp audio punch after some work on the settings ( comp 30db, high boost and low cut per tx eq ).i use a very simple and cheap pc headset and use the vox on the kx3. sometimes in the cold i like ssb more as cw or as a break to warm up fingers. yesterday i walked around my rucksack by doing the qso´s…hope nobody had seen me there
it seems i stay a while longer on 12m band as start band. some na chasers was louder on 12, some louder on 15m. think conditions are not as bad as the sfi/sn shows. worked texas as farest state on 12m with 5watts and also 2way qrp qso´s. so to mix 12/15m is fine for working dx. so only with the bands 12/15m and 30m in cw and 20 and 40m in ssb i can work most chasers out there in a short time. and the operating times comes shorter next weeks…this morning we had -15°C here at the coldest points on the swabian alps…brrr.
antenna today was again the 2x10m inv.V at 15m high at the feedpoint. seems that this antenna works also for dx and is a good compromise for working also lower bands. maybe i go today to bw-228 or bw-42 to stay a bit longer, starting later because propagation to west coast na starts here now after sunset. and then it becomes very much colder quickly on the summits. wait now for better temperatures to start a new 160m/80m activity next time. if it comes colder i stay at the operating like the last days…12-40m cw/ssb around 60-90minutes on air…
if i feel the need tmrw, i shot the antenna wire a bit higher as today with my homemade slingshot. build from garden tools and a sling shot for water bombs…it works fine 
or i take my hf packer amp with me for 40m ssb if i stay longer…but not sure. in moment i like more the very light qrp setup.
by the way…my lifepo4 shows no problems with the cold by -6°C. no big voltage drop after 90mins. think these lifepo4 accus are very good in winter activations and much lighter as the “normal” pb acuus. i use a 7Ah with 800gramms, i also own a 17Ah with around 1600gramm. both are lighter as my old slabs with around 7ah and problems in the cold. but i will look how it works if it becomes colder.
and again…sorry, my english is not the best
greetings and hope to work you on the summits,
klaus df2gn/p
hi all,
today i´m on dm/bw-228 to set up a inv.L. antenna, because i can´t do that in dark. planned was a quick activation this evening around 1900-2100utc on 160 and 80m cw. after the finish of the setup i will do a quick activation on 30 and 40m at noon/afternoon. i will set an alert before. and because i don´t like to set down the antenna in dark i repeat a quick activation tmrw morning around 0600-0900utc. maybe i try also higher bands, but with this antenna it works not as good as with my other antennas. the vertical part of the inv.L. is around 30m high at a tree. so much too long for higher bands…operating time tonight is only up to 60mins due to the cold. ssb is not sure on low bands but i will call around 16wpm at the end and listen out for qrs down to lower speed. can reduce to 12wpm, then i have problems myself to send cw 
please contest style qso´s again, will stay not to long at night. my operating position is not far from the carpark, only about 500m to be in the az…
offizielle Rottweiler Webcam : rwcam.de …the hummelsberg dm/bw-228 is known here as the “klippeneck”. think not many locals knows the right name of this summit…
hope cu, klaus DF2GN/p
it would be nice to get a second call from you on 160m tonight also you worked me before on my first activation…
In reply to G8ADD:
What is the preferred method of anchoring a mast on hard neve, pegs, stakes or deadman anchors?
I would have thought that, under reasonable conditions, the regular pegs would be sufficient. If peat will hold a mast even in a high wind then neve should offer a similar purchase - maybe!
Under really adverse conditions I prefer my alternative operating position - in front of a fire with a glass of the amber nectar!
Sorry for the off topic response
73
Barry GM4TOE
In reply to GM4TOE:
In reply to G8ADD:
What is the preferred method of anchoring a mast on hard neve, pegs,
stakes or deadman anchors?I would have thought that, under reasonable conditions, the regular
pegs would be sufficient. If peat will hold a mast even in a high wind
then neve should offer a similar purchase - maybe!
Running the risk of being accused of advertising can I add that SOTAbeams Wire Winders are great as anchors in snow (or on rocky ground). It’s for exactly that reason that they are firmly tied to the ends of most of our antenna systems.
73 Richard G3CWI
Hi all,
had a nice activation on dm/bw-228 today. i stayed longer because today nice comfortable 0°C and dry. sorry for the ssb request on 12m, it was much too late to work on 12m. band closed to na. all in all i was only a short time on higher bands to say hello to na chasers. its a big effort to set up this antenna and i prefer then the lower bands. i´m sure very often on dx at higher bands, but then with better antennas…todays antenna was a bit different to the past try out`s on top band. the antenna wire was 40m long with a vertical part from about 30m. i shot the wire over a high tree and it looks more as a inv.J. after finish ;-). the different today was that i set the feedpoint at about 2,5 meters over ground and also the 4 radials ( 2x40m +20m and 10m ) from tree to tree at about 2-3m high. so no radials on ground today. from the feedpoint i had 10m of 300ohm feeder to my k1 tuner. the 10m of 300 ohm helps to match the high z of the antenna on 80m.
after the first calls on 30 and 40m the antenna shows that it don´t like eu sigs and also the propagation into eu was not the best…too late for closer stations. so 12,15,20,30 and 40m produces only a slow qso rate. 40m was the best…
after the first calls on 80m my world was ok again nice sigs all over europe in cw and ssb.
then the top band…first thanks all who called in and wait for me on 160m… after the first calls…WOW !
Really big signals and also my incomming reports are ok !
22 Chasers comming back to my calls in cw and ssb. nice to work some of them the first time on the top band.Also TF4M answered my CQ´s with both sides 599/599…nice new DXCC for me as a newcomer on 160m. All in all 111 logged QSO´s on this a bit different activation…
And i let the antenna wire in the tree. i set down only the radials. so i will go back to the summit at 0600utc tmrw morning. maybe my first 80m sota qso with a NA Chaser ? i hope … or better 160m ok, i look for many countries,also eu, lot of new ones for me i will work from 160 to 40m. think no higher bands tmrw morning. only if time and its not to cold after 40m…time is plus/minus 30min. i took and extra 40m long radial with me
hope cu tmrw … klaus DF2GN/p
hi all
today i was out on early morning to do my first 80m dx to NA. And it works…Worked AA4AI on CW with 579/349…yep, its done.Thanks you very much to listen out for me, you made my day now only 160m is to do…i think much harder. this morning i do only a few qso´s on 160 and 80m but get very much rbn spots from stateside. maybe not early enough out on bw-228 and for most chasers in Na it was bedtime think also most eu chasers not qrv at this time. but signals on 160 and 80 was ok ! will do it again today i add 1 Radial extra to the inv.L. …maybe thats the why the antenna worked so fine on 20m ;-)…great condx to VK and very nice chasers worked out there.also made two ufb s2s contacts with 16471,16479km distance with vk1nam/p and vk1da/p. most qso´s are made inn ssb,and it worked fine ! get also a really nice pile up on 40m ssb due to my WFF reference i think. not easy to handle with my 5watts later. get a call from ko1u on 40m cw,nice one !..all in all another 117 qso´s added to the database. next week i´m more on dx on higher bands with my vertical dipole ( 2x7m ) but will also try to use this antenna on 30 and 40m. not the best antenna to work eu, but…
next 4 days i have to work…maybe later the day i have time to call cq sota…maybe
greetings to all
klaus DF2GN/p
Hi All,
just an INFO abt. my EQSL account !!!
since a long time i logged in at my old account with call DF2GN.
There are over 600 unanswered EQSL´s in there. i don´t reply, sorry too much work ! i have deleted now my old eqsl account DF2GN !
Since the beginning of this year i have the account DF2GN/P, because i´m only qrv under /portable and that 100%. So if you miss my confirmation or the reply of an eqsl…PSE try again to DF2GN/P ! Much easier for me, because i make an log upload every month and so i have not much work with eqsl…
vy 73 Klaus DF2GN/p
In reply to DF2GN:
Tnx 12 M QSO Klaus. I was running 2 W this morning.
73, Bud N7CW
In reply to N7CW:
Hi Bud, wow ! 2 watts…really nice sig from you today on bw-228 on a after work activation !
vy 72 Klaus DF2GN/P
Hi all, had a nice activity today on bw-228 after work. played a bit with a reflector on a fishing rod around my 12m vertical j-pole. worked NA6MG s2s on w6/ct-244…nice. then i tried a simple dipole as inverted v to work europe on 40m with a nice pile up on ssb. wonder how good it works and what a interesting band 40m can be, if the dipole is much high enough over earth !
vy 73 es hpe cugan
klaus DF2GN/p
In reply to DF2GN:
Hi Klaus
I hope that, along these days, you were taking some photos of your antenna experiments, and that you will publish someday here to give us the chance to learn about them… perhaps could you also send us some trees for our summits?
Congrats for the QSOs and the fun!
73 de Mikel
In reply to EA2CW:
Hi Mikel,
i had made so many photos for my flickr site this summer. not many views on them.
in winter i don´t take a cam with me. and on the photos there is mostly not much to see, only a tree and the wires 20…30m up are mostly not visible.maybe i can post next days photos from my homemade slingshot ( antennawire gun ) with the telescopic extension now. so i can shoot by stand up to 30m or more with the pilot line over the trees. and my antennas are not something special and i´m all, but not a antenna specialist. i only have specialized me to get antennas as much high as possible. i only build antenna from antenna books and google search.
so everybody can build the antennas i build. nothing special ! but its nice to see how simple vertical dipoles or loops work if high enough ! fantastic !
so maybe i will take some photos next time again ! on the old photos on flickr the antennas are all low over ground compared to now…
vy 73 Klaus DF2GN/p
Hi all,
thanks or calling in today on dm/bw-195. a real nice activation with a simple vertical dipole 2x7m up abt. 25m high tree supported nice qso´s on 12m and a really nice pile up on 40m in ssb again. think the ssb part produces much more qso´s in moment on 40m band. signals where outstanding on this simple antenna and after the ssb pile up ZL1PB Steve called in for a nice ragchew with nice reports and more…my first ZL on 40m in a sota activation so far. 59/59
but my sota activity changes now a bit. this was the last longer activation for the next weeks. it was only -4°C and light wind by the activation in the snow and it was soooo cold at the end, i prefered SSB. so not much activations who ends after sunset next time ( if, then only on dm/bw-228 for low band calls ).
shorter opeartion times…so i qsy or qrt often after 3…5 CQ´s without takers.
many 2 band activations, short qrpp cw only activitys with small and simple antennas…
i set the focus again to work dx on higher bands, so sometimes i don´t call on low bands and go only out with high band antennas. i will enjoy the good propagation to work dx due to the difficult opeartion at home with no shack and who know how long these good condx to NA stays ?.. in 30-45mins i can work a lot of dx on at example 12m. a very good band in moment to work NA. no other band produces so much qsos to na.
but for sure, also low band only activations for eu and dx ! are in plannig with a lot of wire in the air. i will ever start on 12m, but signals are not so good with these antennas and abt. 15min time is enough to work then 12m.
a 40m only activation with a good antenna can do much qso´s in cw and ssb with real nice pile ups !
at this part…big thank you to ssb chasers today on 40m ssb. very quick work trough the calls and so its no problem to do ssb in most activations. real great chasers…fb to work !
planned for december on lowbands, but not sure if i have time as…
-again a 160m/80m activation, but at morning hours ( hello NA !!! )
with a quick qsy later for VK on 20m…
-yes, and going out at mornings for VK chasers, but not often time due to work
-a delta loop for 80m fullsize tree supported
but very often now again on higher bands with shorter activation time. but quick calls on 30/40m at the end are often possible…
its geting colder now and after i looked over my logbook in the time from 3.november to now the 3.december i see the need to split activation now sometimes. i logged this month 2244 QSOs with a good split dx/eu. there are so many chasers out there to work…alone after the last 7 activations i added 754 qso´s to the database…hope the winter ends fast and the days become longer again to stay longer and work all and much more chasers again !!!
vy 73 and cuagn…klaus DF2GN/p
ok ok, my english is not the best, i hope all is understood
In reply to DF2GN:
Hi
Today i´m on the last longer activation this year for 2-3hours on DM/BW-228. Will look first for EU on 40m and 20m in cw/ssb. Start time is around 13-14utc.Not sure about other bands with todays antenna. But a lot of wire and high up.Then i switch antennas and i´m operate then on 12m only with a high up quad loop. same antenna as yesterday on bw-038. on 40 and 20m i´m qrv with kx3 10watts … on 12m i´m on with about 40w out…( starting with 5w qrp ).
if time and its not so cold i go back to 40m after 12m, but more for working dx !
The wx forecast reports a gale warning with heavy snowfalls for also DM/BW. So i will do today a last one EU/DX multiband activation this year with bigger antennas…think the winter arrives now ;-)…take a small sota break then. have limited time the next 2 weeks. maybe next tuesday is time again if wx allows…
vy 73 Klaus DF2GN/p
In reply to DF2GN:
Good luck, Klaus
I will try to reach my 1K Shack Sloth award with your summit today, as to finish with 18!!! summits activated by you in my log.
Vy 73 de Mikel
In reply to DF2GN:
Good luck, Klaus
I will try to reach my 1K Shack Sloth award with your summit today, as to finish with 18!!! summits activated by you in my log.
Vy 73 de Mikel
Later:
I did!!! Thank you Klaus! on SSB was impossible to talk clearly, 'cause strong QRM and QSB, buy anyway, thank you again!
In reply to EA2CW:
Hi Mikel, congrats for the shack sloth now !!! thanks you for the nice qso´s till now…hope on more !!
vy 73 Klaus DF2GN/p