SOTA NEWS APRIL 2018 - Part 1 of 2
Editorial - by Mark G0VOF
Welcome to the April 2018 edition of SOTA News.
My thanks go to the following contributors:- Barry GM4TOE, Skip K6DGW, Roy G4SSH, Kevin G0NUP, Warren ZL2AJ, Paulo CT2IWW, John G4YSS, Luc ON7DQ.
73, Mark G0VOF
========================================================
The March 2018 edition of SOTA News was viewed more than 980 times.
========================================================
SOTA AWARDS MARCH 2017 from Barry GM4TOE - SOTA Awards Manager.
March has been a busy month for awards; because I am on vacation in the last week of March these results are up to 25 March, any later applications for Awards will be included in my April report.
Congratulations to KI4TN, EA1AER and G4YSS on achieving Mountain Goat. John, G4YSS has achieved his MG entirely on 160m. M6BWA has achieved her 2500 points entirely at VHF/UHF, again a magnificent achievement.
The higher realms of Slothdom are represented this month by M0BKF, KB7HH and GM4WHA well done to these Chasers.
K7MAS has claimed the first “Tourist” Mountain Explorer award. These new additions to the Mountain Explorer programme have been introduced for those many Activators who take their gear, and operate, when on foreign vacations (or employer funded work trips, no doubt). Do you qualify, check your “My Awards” entry on the database.
Trophies Issued
Mountain Goat
KI4TN Ron Burns
Certificates Issued
Activator
M6BWA Vicki Archard 2500 points
KI4TN Ron Burns 1000 points
EA1AER Juan llamazares 1000 points
G4YSS John Earnshaw 1000 points
YO8AZQ Adrian Done 500 points
DK6HS Sven Hammer 250 points
M0WBG Neil Challis 100 points
Chaser
M0BKV Damian Kamm 40000 points
KB7HH Jack Garner 20000 points
GM4WHA Geoff Harper 20000 points
GM4WHA Geoff Harper 15000 points
YO6CFB Laszlo Bako-Szabo 5000 points
EA1AER Juan llamazares 2500 points
K1LIZ Elizabeth Burns 2500 points
ZL3CC Andrew White 1000 points
KC2FNE Robert L. Krenzer 500 points
JF8LPB Keiichi Kondo 500 points
KU4R Robert Warden 500 points
ZL3JD Phil van Kuilenburg 250 points
SV2HSY Efthymios Nikolaou 250 points
KI7LLD Doug Countryman 100 points
KI7OFL Bud Countryman 100 points
HB9EKO Jens Nolte 100 points
N3NNU Joseph Ladd 100 points
Activator Unique
EA1AER Juan llamazares 100 summits
Chaser Unique
M0BKV Damian Kamm 5000 summits
KB7HH Jack Garner 2000 summits
Summit to Summit
EA1AER Juan llamazares Silver
Mountain Explorer
K7MAS Mark Sandler Tourist
K7MAS Mark Sandler Bronze
Mountain Hunter
DL4TO Gerhard Sedlak Platinum
KC2FNE Robert L. Krenzer Gold
EA5IJG Angel Garcia Gold
LZ1GJ Jany Ganchev Gold
VK4JAZ Grant McDuling Bronze
HB9EKO Jens Nolte Bronze
Microwave Award
VK1AD Andrew Moseley Summit to Summit 50 Km 13 cm
I know this is a regular occurrence in my monthly reports but PLEASE check your database entry before making a claim, then double check that what you claim on the order is actually what you are qualified for. This will save me a lot of double checking and email correspondence.
If you place an order, whether for Awards or merchandise, the shopping site will email you a confirmation. If you do not receive a confirmation of your order, with an order number, your order has NOT been placed or you have put an incorrect email address on your order. If in doubt contact me please.
There will be a limited range of SOTA merchandise available at the Norbreck Rally in Blackpool. Please visit the SOTA stand and, if possible, prise open your wallet and help our funds!
With luck, I might actually manage to get up a hill and activate; starting small to get my fitness back then I need to play catch-up with all these super fit Activators who have been comparing ages on the reflector – I am definitely a sloth!
Please take care and be safe on the hills
73
Barry GM4TOE
SOTA Awards Manager
========================================================
NORTH AMERICAN REPORT from Skip K6DGW
Greetings from North America
This will be a somewhat shorter report, I hope to recover to the usual expansive one for April, life has just overwhelmed ham radio and SOTA in March. The statistics look fairly constant and it does not look like Spring has arrived in much of the New World.
NA Statistics for Mar
Produced: 03/31/2018 at: 02:17:12 UTC
Total Activations: 494 [556]
Total Activators: 167 [176]
Total Chaser QSO's: 7913 [7749]
Total Chasers: 286 [313]
Unique Summits: 355 [371]
BAND # LAST MONTH
3.5MHz: 75 ( 0.9%) [ 53 ( 0.6%)]
5MHz: 333 ( 4.2%) [ 111 ( 1.4%)]
7MHz: 2309 ( 29.5%) [ 2030 ( 26.4%)]
10MHz: 1362 ( 17.4%) [ 1104 ( 14.3%)]
14MHz: 3204 ( 41.0%) [ 3570 ( 46.5%)]
18MHz: 214 ( 2.7%) [ 204 ( 2.6%)]
21MHz: 14 ( 0.1%) [ 24 ( 0.3%)]
28MHz: 16 ( 0.2%) [ 26 ( 0.3%)]
50MHz: 1 ( 0.0%) [ 17 ( 0.2%)]
70MHz: 2 ( 0.0%) [ 0 ( 0%)]
144MHz: 265 ( 3.3%) [ 487 ( 6.3%)]
433MHz: 5 ( 0.0%) [ 34 ( 0.4%)]
900MHz: 1 ( 0.0%) [ 0 ( 0%)]
1240MHz: 2 ( 0.0%) [ 2 ( 0.0%)]
MODE # LAST MONTH:
AM: 2 ( 0.0%) [ 4 ( 0.0%)]
CW: 6215 ( 79.6%) [ 5433 ( 70.7%)]
Data: 2 ( 0.0%) [ 1 ( 0.0%)]
FM: 271 ( 3.4%) [ 505 ( 6.5%)]
SSB: 1313 ( 16.8%) [ 1738 ( 22.6%)]
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:
Fred, KT5X, reports: “First two Chasers to achieve The NM Century Award are NS7P and K6EL. They have each submitted a list of (over) 100 chases with NM activators. I will also honor 200 QSO’s, a Double Century, 500, a Half Millenium, and 1,000 (Millenium) awards UNTIL I run out of medallions. In state Activators to achieve The Iconic Peaks of NM Award are KE5AKL, NM5S, and KT5X. Complete rules for these awards can be found on the QRZ page of WS0TA.I am hoping that these awards may inspire other Associations to sponsor SOTA awards.”
[K6DGW note]: It should be noted that the award for this achievement is a hand-made ceramic medallion crafted by a noted artist in New Mexico. Fred also points out: “These awards are offered until I run out of medallions. I have over 30. (I ‘challenge’ other Associations to offer SOTA operating awards ;-)”
Bruce, W2SE, reports on his behalf: “On 25-Mar-2018, I achieved Super Sloth, 10,000 Chaser points while chasing Steve WI2W who was on W2/NJ-009 Palisades HP on 40m CW.
I did order a certificate from Barry. A trophy order will occur soon once I hear from Barry on whether 10K is different from 1K so I can decide on an engraving.”
TRAVELERS:
Always great to welcome traveling hams from other parts of the world, from Paul, HB9DST/AA1MI: “In a few weeks, I will be departing for a trip to the US, and it will include several weeks in the great Southwest where I hope to activate a number of SOTA Associations. (Interesting aside: it seems that almost everyone I’ve met here in Switzerland has seen the Grand Canyon. Me? Grew up in PA, went to school in IN, moved to MA and NH – and never visited the Grand Canyon! Now that I’m retired, it’s about time…)”
“Anyway, below is a rough schedule. I post it here in case any of you would care to get together for a beer or a joint activation or whatever. I’ve established contact with some SOTA ops already, but in other areas it seems there aren’t too many around. And even if we can’t meet in person, please listen for AA1MI/P and give me a chaser point or two. Thanks!”
"22 April: arrive Palm Springs (where my sister-in-law lives)
23 - 24 April: Palm Springs region activation(s) – contacted Paul W6PNG, but no definite plans for a meetup yet.
26 - 27 April: Grand Canyon South Rim, including activation of W7A/CN-013 – no plans for a meetup.
30 April - 1 May: Sante Fe – in contact with Fred KT5X
3 - 4 May: Colorado Springs – in contact with Steve WG0AT
5 May: Scotts Bluff W0N/PH-005 – a quickie activation, no overnight there
6 May: Stop off at Jelm Mountain W7Y/EW-006 en route to Aspen
8 - 9 May: Moab/Arches National Park – no plans yet for a meetup
11 - 12 May: Las Vegas – no plans yet for a meetup
13 - 14 May: Back to Palm Springs
15 May: Back to Zurich via Chicago
If anyone has any tips for this trip, I’m all ears! I’ve tried to do some research, but more info is always good!"
Paul is good on QRZ, give him a shout if you might be able to meet him. I too have seen the Grand Canyon, 4 or 5 dozen times, always from 38,000 feet. A few years ago, we actually went there. Truly incredible!
APOLOGY:
I failed to include an item from Pete, WA7JTM, the W7A Association Manager last month, and my only reason for where it went is, “I don’t know.” He points out a really great way to merge different ham activities, in this case the W7A January VHF Contest/SOTA Mega-Activation Day:
“We had 14 stations on 13 summits simultaneously on Sunday morning. Over 100 S2S contacts were made (I made 31 myself) and over 600 QSO’ overall on mostly VHF (and some HF also). I have checked the logs submitted to ARRL for QRP portable and Arizona had 13 entrants (all SOTA ops), and the next highest state had three.”
“Anyhow, it was fun, increased SOTA activity, and I expect (make that hope) to see some good press in the QST write up for SOTA. We will be doing it again next January…if not sooner in another QRP contest.”
VE3 ASSOCIATION:
We’re approaching the end of new associations for the northern part of North America [well, except for Greenland [
], Michael, VE3WMB/VA2NB reports:
“The visible part of the iceberg is the new VE3 - Canada - Ontario Association starting on April 1st, with 1.000 new SOTA references you can already discover on the SOTA Mapping Project14 .”
Many thanks to Bill (VE3FI), Martin (VA3SIE) and others who helped to make this into a reality. I have created a group called VE3SOTA here on Groups.IO for VE3 SOTA related discussions that may not be of interest to a wider audience (ie. NA SOTA).
Please join us if you are in, or near Ontario, or plan on visiting and doing some activations in the future."
Thanks Michael, and I will be getting you on the Greater NA SOTA mailing lists. Congratulations and thanks to all who made this happen! And thanks to CCO for all the support for CQP.
SO. COOK IS.: Oleh, KD7WPJ, will be active as E51BCP, possibly in mid-April, QRP of course.
Apologies to all for the shortness of this, life has been very full of late, more than I expected at 77 years of age. I think things will settle down in a month or two, especially the repetitive physical therapy for a shoulder injury from my adventures in my 20’s. We’ll end with Brad, WA6MM:
“Once in a while something makes an impression on you on a climb to activate a peak. I’m not talking about the absolute breath-taking beauty of the mountains or meeting the fantastic people enjoying the outdoors. Sometimes it’s coming across something that makes you think a bit deeper – perhaps some internal prospective on things.”
“On one my recent off-trail activations, I came across a grave marker. It was located in an area where nobody would stumble upon it and I’m sure only family members and friends would know anything about it. It won’t describe what climb and where it’s located as I believe the family might want to keep it private”
"The marker only had a name, quote, and eagle engraved on it. No birth or death date. The marker was not old – maybe 5-10 years. I read the engraved quote and just stood there for many minutes thinking about how it relates to my life and my adventures.
Here’s the quote:
‘Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go’."
73,
Skip, K6DGW
NA SOTA Reporter Dude
Sparks NV DM09dn
============================================================
Gran Canaria EA8/GC April / May activations – Luc ON7DQ
Look out for Luc, EA8/ON7DQ who will activate from Gran Canaria EA8/GC, from April 19- May 8.
Summits to be determined, they will be announced in time on the Alert page.
73, Luc ON7DQ
============================================================
SOTA Portugal – Paulo CT2IWW
SOTA – Portugal Day on April 21st
On Saturday, the 21st of April, dozens of activators are expected to participate in SOTA - Portugal´s Day. As off the end of February, close to 70 Portuguese amateur radio operators have shown interest in both activating and chasing SOTA summits.
As per past events, this is not a contest but rather a way to promote the participation in the SOTA program in Portugal.
The event will take place between 09h00 and 18h30 UTC, on the 21st.
An electronic diploma will be provided to those who participate. It can be request to the above emails by sending their activation and/or chase logs, as well as images or videos of their activity.
For further details and more information, the organizers can be reached, via email, at diasotaCT@gmail.com or ctsotaday@gmail.com
Bad Weather hits Portugal well into Spring
Like most of Europe, Portugal´s traditional “sunny spring” has taken second place to a stubborn Winter that won´t go away.
A constant stream of low pressure fronts blowing in from the Atlantic have spread dozens of storms, mostly towards the north of the country, dumping record amounts of snow on hills starting as low as 800m ASL.
That´s something that Pedro, CT1DBS, and Joaquim, CT7AHW, have found this past March 25th, while trying to activate CT/BA-001, Montemuro.
From the parking spot, they immediately figured out that it wouldn’t be a “walk in the park”, when the vehicle thermometer indicated 0º C outside.
Up on top, the vegetation was frozen solid, and snow was spread all over the summit. To add “insult to injury”, a freezing fast wind wouldn’t let up. This is, after all, one of the many wind farms in this part of the country.
There is a silver lining, however. The stormfronts dumped enough water into the ground, putting and end to the drought that has affect Portugal in the last couple of years.
Besides being a boon for agriculture, it is also good news for the forest, since a prolonged wet season means lesser chances of dried out vegetation and ensuing forest fires. And that makes for a safer summertime SOTA activities. Fingers crossed!
Paulo Teixeira, CT2IWW
Image legend:
Pedro CT1DBS and Joaquim CT7AHW upon arrival on CT/BA-001 Montemuro (CT1DBS and CT7AHW.jpg)
Paulo Teixeira, CT2IWW
========================================================
*********** SOTA NEWS PART 2 FOLLOWS BELOW ********
