I am planning to activate one of the G/WB or GW/MW summits near Shropshire tomorrow morning and will post an alert later today when I have decided which one. I will likely operate for a while on 144mhz ssb possibly followed by fm.
But the main plan is to try out the Telford and District Amateur Radio Societies recently aquired Elecraft KX3 on HF. I have a couple of resonant dipoles or doublet available and was hoping to try 7mhz and 14mhz.
My question is this, are there any particular popular frequencies I should try or should I use the GQRP centres of activity, for example 7.090 and 14.285?
Of course I realise it is time I learnt CW, but that is going to take time! Any thoughts would be very much appreciated!
In reply to 2E0CHV:
Simon,
As its is a weekend I think you will need to go for any frequency which is at least vaguely quiet. 7.118/7.115 seem to be the most used SOTA choices. I hardly ever use 14 but notice that a lot of my chasing is at 14.285 and perhaps should not be as I am not QRP at home.
As soon as a spot goes up you will be deluged!
Good luck & 73,
Rod
Good to hear from you, trust you are well. I am looking forward to trying the KX3 for the first time, apparently it has a great receiver! I have a date this evening with the operating manaul, then hopefully I will not appear too much of a chump tomorrow not knowing how to use it.
Regarding spotting, I have no idea how you self spot… any thoughts anyone.
7.118 is the qrg for 40m but with weekend traffic being very heavy it would be worth your while trying to find a clearish qrg.
QRM on a weekend generally runs about S7 which makes qrp ssb a bit of a challenge.
14.285 is the 20m qrg and you should do quite well there.
Look forward to working you again on 2m as you will most likely be skip to me on HF.
Look forward to working you tomorrow morning. Most likely to be Corndon Hill, but may end up being one of the Clee Hills, depending on how lazy I feel. Will post full details in an alert this evening.
Looking forward to trying 14.285
What would you suggest is a good time of day to give it a go?
pretty much any time for 20m during daylight hours, there is a good chance that you will get some of the regular stateside chasers calling you.
Not being an activator I don’t know the latest details about spotting from a mobile phone but I am sure some one will come back with the info for you.
I am sure one of your chasers on VHF will put a spot up for you when you are ready.
I look forward to working you both tomorrow with any luck. HF on 14mhz around 1200z it is then, so long as I have worked out how to switch on the KX3!
Winter woolies at the ready and hopefully another day on from the darn chest infection I have been suffering with will enable me to have an enjoyable activation!
I look forward to working you both tomorrow with any luck. HF on 14mhz
around 1200z it is then, so long as I have worked out how to switch on
the KX3!
Simon, a little tip. At weekends, the 20m pile-ups can become quite manic, so after about ten or 15 contacts ask Europe to Standby and then ask for any calls outside Europe.
However, if you work the 40m band first, the 20m pile-up is not usually quite so bad.
Winter woolies at the ready and hopefully another day on from the darn
chest infection I have been suffering with will enable me to have an
enjoyable activation!
Make sure you take a sharp pencil with you
Look forward to working you tomorrow.
It’s usually worth taking a look at the contest calendar to make sure you’ve not chosen an occasion when the bands are going to be particularly crowded. If there’s something big running, consider 17 metres (or 30 metres if you’re a narrow-band modes op, or 60 metres if you’ve a full licence and can get the appropriate NoV)…
If I were to add two I would say take more than one pencil and absolutely check that you have everything you need to be warm, safe and be able to operate.
I will not be able to hear you on 20M as I use a vertical on that band and you will be too near but if you go on 40 I hope to speak with you unless you (or me) get buried in QRM!
Have fun tomorrow. Light snow falling here in East Sussex so hope the wx is good for you tomorrow.
If I were to add two I would say take more than one pencil and absolutely check that you have everything you need to be warm,
safe and be able to operate.
Excellent points Mike. There have been a few sickening stories of Activators arriving at summits minus mics, power leads, connectors and all manner of things.
Activators arriving at summits minus mics, power leads, connectors and
all manner of things.
Tell me about it. Hundreds of years ago I went up a summit (pre SOTA) for WAB.
Two hours and half hours up. Started to set up - hmmm - coax left in the vehicle! My then girlfriend who carried the car battery and antenna did not talk to me for days. I only made this mistake once… She took a picture of me as we were descending as I was so unhappy!
Mike,
I think the worst I had was on Cefn yr Ystrad SW-008, after a long walk-in through thick damp cloud and all set up: no notebook or pencil:-~
That dreadful sinking feeling, followed by much scrabbling through pockets, trouser, jackets & rucksack which yielded one second-hand bridge scorecard and a biro that didn’t really write.
Fortunately only 6 contacts (2m FM) and, even so reading the log was a cryptographic triumph.
I now weigh myself down with at least two notepads and, in theory, several pencils but they keep escaping.
That activation was exactly a year ago; maybe a repeat tomorrow.
Speak soon, 73,
Rod
"Excellent points Mike. There have been a few sickening stories of Activators arriving at summits minus mics, power leads, connectors and all manner of things. "
I remember one dynamic activator arriving at the summit & connecting reverse polarity to his battery & blowing up his ft857 :-))
Simon - stay clear of 7.117 because if your not from Portsmouth & running less than 2Kw - you wont be welcome.
Last October, Matt G8XYJ and myself activated G/SP-001 Kinder Scout. Matt is strictly VHF/UHF and I’m more than happy on HF. I set up the HF antenna rummaged inside the rucksack for the balun but it wasn’t there. I then frantically tipped the entire contents of the rucksack out and it still wasn`t there
Some hasty chopping of wires and messing about and I was QRV.
Two days later, I received a phone call from Matt, who was at the summit of G/SP-004 Shining Tor, telling me he’d found my balun on the dry stone wall by the two seats! It had been there for four days and no-one had touched it.
In reply to G6TUH:
.
There’s an exhaustive checklist in the files section of NaSota, Mike. Cut it down to personal size and use it at home and again at the trailhead. Voila, no more need to expose your girlfriend to the impressive collection of curse words you picked-up whilst serving in the Queen’s Navy…unless that turns her on, of course.
. http://www.sotawatch.org/reflector.php?topic=6744#55780
.
Elliott, K6ILM
Chaser Clown
She took a picture of me as we were descending as I was so unhappy!