SOTA NEWS - AUGUST 2010
EDITORIAL – by Roy G4SSH
Welcome to the August 2010 edition of SOTA News. My thanks go to the following contributors:- Les G3VQO, Barry GM4TOE, Graham G3OHC, Edwin HB9ZAP, Tom M1EYP, Rob and Audrey G3RQJ, Dominik HB9CZF.
At my QTH on the North Yorkshire coast, conditions on 7 MHz during the mid summer months of June and July were the worst I have experienced since I started SOTA chasing in 2005. On most days the band was one continuous crackle with waves of static washing over signals. The result of such poor propagation was that to all intents and purpose I was unable to hear any activators on 7 MHz from around 0900z-1500z for the past 6 weeks. I was not alone, with local chasers Nick G4OOE and Kevin G0NUP faring little better.
This all changed on the 17th July when it appeared that a curtain had been lifted, the static was much reduced and regular activators were suddenly audible on 7 MHz again. Familiar friends were welcomed back with open arms. There followed a few days of poor propagation again, but the overall trend by the end of the month was a steady improvement on 40m, in spite of mid-summer QRN due to many thunderstorms across Europe.
FROM THE SOTA MANAGEMENT TEAM (1).
Amendment to Rules:-
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Rule 3.2.6 amended to link to SOTAwatch Reflector rather than Yahoo group. This is just a tidying-up change to reflect the over-whelming use of the SOTAwatch Reflector in preference to the old Yahoo group these days.
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Rule 3.6 amended to require supporting documentation for proposed summits when requested. This change is to inform Association Managers that evidence of the validity of any summit may be called for during the creation of, or update to, an Association’s summit list. It is envisaged that this requirement will usually be met simply by the nomination of an independent data source such as peaklist.com or the USGS listing. Other options include the submission of the results of a Landserf (or similar) survey of the area of interest, or a copy of an official government topographical map of at least 1:50000 scale.
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Rule 3.7.1 paragraph 3 amended to stress invalidity of activations in the vicinity of motor vehicles. This is not a change to the actual rule affecting activations, merely a further attempt to ensure that everybody clearly understands the invalidity of operations from, or adjacent to, any motor vehicle.
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Rule 3.7.1 paragraph 14 added to include “the spirit of SOTA” as a factor in the validity of an activation. This is a timely reminder that SOTA is a hobby, rather than a life-or-death activity. The rules are intended as guidance for like-minded enthusiasts, not as a set of laws requiring interpretation by lawyers at the United Nations!
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Rule 3.11.1 Alternative scoring strategy option deleted, and subsequent sub-sections re-numbered. The alternative scoring strategy was a legacy of the very first set of SOTA rules. From its small beginnings in England, there were always aspirations for worldwide participation. At the time it was unclear whether the original six-band scoring structure was robust enough to apply to widely differing topographies elsewhere in the world. Although the six-band system has its limitations, nobody has yet come up with any realistic alternative that is as simple to understand and implement whilst relying on purely objective criteria such as summit height. As SOTA has subsequently reached out into some of the highest mountains of both Europe and North America, the concept of an alternative is now an anachronism, and the option has been removed.
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Rule 3.13.2 renamed “Other SOTA Awards” and re-written to allow award rules to cross Association boundaries. Previously there were “official” SOTA awards managed by the MT, and “other” awards within each Association. It was felt that the wording was unduly restrictive, and that provision should be made to allow Associations, groups or individuals to sponsor awards involving more than one Association. For example, there could be an award for activating/chasing the highest SOTA summit in each of the ten US call areas (when we get there!), or for 100 Alpine SOTA summits spread across France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and, eventually, Italy. Even an award for activating 150 P150 summits would be possible. The only restriction to your imagination is the stipulation that these awards must only include valid SOTA summits.
FROM THE SOTA MANAGEMENT TEAM (2).
Two new Associations join the SOTA family on 1st August.
W7 Arizona is the third part of the massive W7 call area to become a SOTA Association. AM Mark K7MLC has split the state into two Regions, Eastern Arizona with 57 summits, and Western Arizona with 62 summits.
Meanwhile, back in Europe, we have made our long-awaited breakthrough into the Iberian Peninsula. Diego EC1CW has created the EA1 Association, initially with the four provinces comprising Galicia. Just under two hundred summits are in the initial list, but more will be added as the Association spreads into the remaining EA1 provinces.
The MT extends its thanks to the respective Association Managers for the work in creating these new Associations.
Les G3VQO
OBO SOTA Management Team
SOTA AWARDS FOR JULY 2010 By Barry GM4TOE - SOTA Awards Manager
Quite a lot happening this month with two new Mountain Goats claiming awards.
Miloš, S53X has the honour of being the first S5 Goat and he did it all on CW while Gerald, G4OIG, achieved Goatdom activating ONLY Uniques. Mountain Goat is hard enough to reach without introducing other limitations to achieve your target. Well done to both. Equally of note is the quite outstanding achievement of Roy, G4SSH, who is now our highest scoring Chaser by a wide margin – 35000 Chaser points and again All CW; an incredible achievement Roy, well done.
I must not ignore the other award claimants whose achievements are equally impressive, two YL chasers rapidly moving up the ranking, a number of regular claimants moving their scores higher and also our first Canadian award claimant Mike, VA6FUN. Mads, LA1TPA has been taking advantage of CEPT operating during his vacations to be able to claim his Mountain Explorer Bronze award (5 different Associations activated). The Mountain Explorer and Mountain Hunter Awards are quite different to our other certificates and would look really good on your shack wall – you know you want one!
Trophies
Mountain Goat
S53X Miloš Stankovič
G4OIG Gerald Peck
Certificates claimed
Activator
S53X Miloš Stankovič 1000 points
G4OIG Gerald Peck 1000 points
DF3MC Martin Rothe 250 points
Chaser
G4SSH Roy Clayton 35000 points
M6MIJ Jennifer Nuttall 500 points
M0BQD Lesa Lee 250 points
DF3MC Martin Rothe 250 points
M0OYG Brian Nuttall 250 points
G1UGH Terry Chaplin 250 points
DC0NA Alfred Roder 100 points
G4OOE Nick Langmead 100 points
M6NJB Nick Bennett 100 points
SM5MEK Jan-Eric Ostlund 100 points
VA6FUN Mike Tate 100 points
Mountain Explorer
LA1TPA Mads Nygaard Bronze
Once again my thanks to those of you who add a little extra to the amount paid for awards as a donation, it really does help with the inevitable expenses. Summer is now in full swing and, looking at the daily alerts and spots, there is considerable activity. Can I encourage you to help finance the running of the database and spotting facilities by applying for awards? Awards, along with the sale of promotional shirts, are the way we finance these facilities and without this income the costs cannot be met.
Meanwhile, be safe on the hills and enjoy your activating and chasing.
73
Barry Horning GM4TOE
Awards Manager
Congratulations also this month to:-
OE8SPW Paul, on becoming Austria’s first Super Sloth.
HB9AGH Ambrosi for reaching 30,000 chaser points, only the 3rd person to achieve this total.
G4OBK Phil, on passing the 20, 000 chaser points milestone on CW
G1KLZ Doug, who reached 3000 chaser points and 200 unique summits
2E0XSD Colin, who passed the 500 Chaser Points milestone by working 2W0TDX and 2W0XYL on GW/NW-002 on the 23rd July.
N6VDR Adrian, on being the first person in W6 to achieve 100 activator points.
2W0CSS Karl, on passing the 100 chaser points barrier.
VP8DMM/P (G0PEB) Robert and DL/G6WRW/P Carolyn, on the first Summit to Summit contact with the Falkland Islands. The QSO took place on 18.153MHz at 1835z on 1st July, with both stations using 50-100w. Helen DL/M0YHB/P also worked Robert for the 2nd S2S contact with the Falklands.
QTH QSY By Graham G3OHC
I would like to thank all the SOTA Activators, who have given me many Chaser Points and SOTA friends made over the past couple of years and because I am moving QTH again, to explain to those who might wonder, why I am missing from the bands.
I am moving to Surrey to be near to my son and family and have bought a flat near Guildford. I do not know how long it will take to get re-organised or what antennas I will be able to erect, but I intend to be back on the air as soon as possible.
I was hoping to achieve 20,000 Chaser Points before I left Yorkshire, but will be a few hundred points short, due mainly to the poor band conditions lately, especially on 40 metres, coupled with the time spent sorting / packing etc.
Nevertheless, I will be back chasing as soon as I can and may even be able to do more Activating because there are quite a few SE summits near where I am going, in fact Leith Hill SE-002 will be only 5 miles away !
Again many thanks to all
73 ES BCNU
Graham G3OHC
EXPERIENCES OF A SOTA ACTIVATOR by Edwin HB9ZAP
You asked about experience and practice with SOTA-operation:
More than 30 OM’s are regular Chasers, which is very much appreciated, besides the great service your group is providing for us.
My set-up as an activator is an IC-703, powered by a Li-ion-battery / 71 AH ,
Output 10 W - SSB, to an inverted Dipole antenna, resonant for the 20 m-band.
The dipole is supported by a 6 m telescopic mast (folds to 45 cm). About 2.50 m below the top I have attached two horizontal spreaders of 5.0 m each ( very expensive). The antenna-wire is attached to the tip of those spreaders. Thus I don’t have to anchor the wires to the ground, with the risk of annoying other mountaineers with strings and the like. My antenna stands independent on just one mast, the spreaders are about 3 m above ground.
What is my worst experience ?
A broken or torn BNC-plug, therefore it pays to carry a spare coax and some small tools (Swiss Army Knife, hi)
Never forget to fully charge your battery; recently I boasted to a friend that my battery provides power for three activations, but just one day later, whilst I was on my third activation, I reached the summit, set up my equipment, turned on the power and I was punished, for the battery failed after 5 minutes.
Otherwise my set up is just doing fine, my contacts include all Europe, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and North Africa. But, as I said above, your British OM’s are on the top of my list.
I am 78 years, my dog, a Rauhaar-Dackel is 12 and accompanying me on every activation, except HB-AI-002, the Altmann.
I hope be ON-the-Summit for many years to come, and expect you all will be ready to chase.
Many thanks and VY 73
de Edwin HB9ZAP
Note from Editor:-
It would appear that many SOTA activators are regularly accompanied on expeditions by their faithful canine companions. I know of a few other dogs who have probably qualified as Mountain Goat (or Mountain Mutt) many times over. As an example, Lutz DJ3AX is always accompanied by Benny. I find that it is much appreciated by activators if the chaser knows the dog by name.
Drop me an e-mail if you take a dog on your SOTA tours and I will compile a list. Not as a table, I hasten to add, no “top dog” award, but just as a point of interest to see how many dogs are actively involved in SOTA. The name of your dog and breed please, to g4ssh@tiscali.co.uk
RECENT ACTIVATIONS - from Dominik HB9CZF
For the August SOTA News report:
http://www.swiss-artg.ch/hb9czf/sota/sota.html
Click on HB/ZH10 at the end of the list for July report, route and photo’s.
73 de Dominik, HB9CZF
WHAT DOES YOUR SUMMIT BEGIN WITH (and why)? by Tom M1EYP
As of 1st July 2010, there are 27,758 summits in the SOTA
database. If we were to look at the heights of them all in
metres, how many would begin with ‘1’? Or 2, 3, 4… for
that matter? With such a large population, you could be
forgiven for assuming that 27,758 summits would be distributed
fairly evenly into nine similar groups. But you would be
wrong.
Note I say ‘nine’ groups. This is because when we consider
the first digit of a number, we are of course thinking of
the first NON-ZERO digit. Leading and trailing zeros
continue infinitely in both directions in column number
representation, but we generally ignore them! I’m certainly
not one for making an entry in my logbook like
“000000000000007.0320000000000000” … you get the idea!
So, below, is how many of the heights (in metres) of each of
our 27758 summits begin with each nonzero digit. The
results may surprise you:
LD(m) ---- # ----- % ----- B%
1 ------- 7791 – 28.1 – 30.1
2 ------- 5316 – 19.2 – 17.6
3 ------- 2773 – 10.0 – 12.5
4 ------- 2524 — 9.1 — 9.7
5 ------- 2600 — 9.4 — 7.9
6 ------- 2212 — 8.0 — 6.7
7 ------- 1850 — 6.7 — 5.8
8 ------- 1496 — 5.4 — 5.1
9 ------- 1196 — 4.3 — 4.6
‘LD’ = ‘leading digit’]
So, it may seem unlikely, but the fact is that over a
quarter of all the summits in the Database have a ‘1’ as the
leading digit of the height in metres. And just over 4%
begin with a ‘9’. Furthermore, the distribution of heights
with leading digits 2 to 8 form a smoothly dropping curve
in-between (save for a slight ‘spur’ at 5).
But it isn’t unlikely at all. It is normal. The
percentages on the right marked ‘B%’ are what they
theoretically SHOULD be, according to a chap named Benford.
A astronomer called Simon Newcomb noticed, in 1881, that his
book of log tables was more ‘thumbed through’ for the '1’s,
and successively less so through the book. In 1938, a
physicist called Frank Benford rediscovered the phenomenon
and investigated with large data sets of “naturally occuring
numbers” - lengths of rivers, heights of trees, atomic
masses etc - and stated “Benford’s Law”:
The probability of a naturally occurring number having
leading digit x =
log(1 + 1/x)
(log to the base 10 to reflect our base ten number system)
Thos preferring to work with natural logarithms may of
course use:
ln(1 + 1/x) / ln10
But the SOTA Database also lists the heights of all these
summits in feet. Let’s see what happens when we consider
the leading digits of the heights in feet:
LD(ft) – # ---- % ------ B%
1 ------ 7935 – 28.6 – 30.1
2 ------ 5514 – 19.9 – 17.6
3 ------ 3069 – 11.1 – 12.5
4 ------ 2226 — 8.0 — 9.7
5 ------ 2341 — 8.4 — 7.9
6 ------ 2016 — 7.3 — 6.7
7 ------ 1787 — 6.4 — 5.8
8 ------ 1527 — 5.5 — 5.1
9 ------ 1343 — 4.8 — 4.6
So it actually doesn’t matter what unit we use to measure
the height, the distribution of the leading digits remains
essentially the same! This is a characteristic of Benford’s
Law called “scale invariance”.
It should be that as more associations and more summits
enter the SOTA programme, the closer our actual proportions
of leading digit incidence will get to the theoretical
values according to Benford’s Law. Having said that, it
perhaps shouldn’t be as close a match as it already is, as
Benford’s Law is only normally accepted for data sets
spanning at least three orders of magnitude. Our heights in
metres only cover two, while the heights in feet cover, but
do not span three.
Analysis of all the current chaser point totals in the world
would probably give a good approximation to Benford’s Law
also.
One current practical application of Benford’s Law is in the
analysis of tax returns. Those with fabricated figures tend
to a uniform distribution of the leading digits, so can
easily be identified when modelled against a Benford
distribution. In the USA, this is considered as legally
admissible evidence. Benford’s Law was invoked as evidence
of fraud in the 2009 Iranian elections.
For further reading, Wikipedia is your friend!
73
Tom M1EYP
THE VIEW FROM THE NORTH 19 - by Rob and Audrey
This month is set to be the news from the far North West as we’re in the Isle of Man for the first fortnight. The Island is a great place for walking and for SOTA; it must be doing something right as this is our 26th consecutive yearly trip. The weather can be a problem as poor Tony (2E0LAE) and others have found but there are one or two tips that may help. Don’t plan in advance to do a summit on a particular day. The weather can vary wildly and rapidly across the island. The central hills screen areas from the incoming weather so listen to a local forecast and hide behind them; Ramsey and the northern plain often bask in sunshine while the rest of the island is wet, spend some time there and you can keep an eye on Snaefell and Slieau Freoaghane and when the cloud clears go for it. The south is more problematic and often suffers from mist even in summer but Mull Hill is virtually always do able and from the Castletown area the three southern SOTA’s are visible so spend some time there and watch for openings. All this is no great help if you’re pushed for time of course but the whole lot can be done in a day if you’re lucky with the weather. We did this a few years ago but not nowadays! We’ll put a copy of “GD in a Day” which has routes for all five summits and the in between bits in the tips for Snaefell.
Tuesday 29th June, Mull Hill.
Tired after the overnight boat trip (recommended it saves a fortune) we decided Mull would blow away the cobwebs. 7 MHz was the only HF band that played, but 2m made up for it. The best route up this one is to ignore the big car park (unless it’s very wet). Drive just through Cregneash towards the Sound and turn sharp right towards Port Erin. On your right about 20yds in is a vehicle track that leads to the summit with room for a few cars on the verges. The pillboxes on the top are still useable but mind your head. Spectacular views on a good day.
Wednesday 30th June, Slieau Freoaghane.
Our little shelter for this one, 5MHz dead,7MHz short skip 10MHz nothing 2m fine.
Joined by the local Ranger checking on the paths, totally happy with SOTA and a pleasant fifteen minutes chat.
The hills were badly cloud infested for the next couple of days but we had a none SOTA walk DOWN Dhoon Glen. This is like a 1 pointer in reverse with over 600ft of steep decent beside a wooded waterfall to a secluded cove that you often get to yourself. Today was like that and we sat in the sun for the best part of 3 hours. The rest of the Island was misty which shows it pays to hide behind the hills.
Saturday 3rd July, South Barrule.
From the summit of this one the legendary Manannin Mac Lir ruled. He had the power to bring down the mist to cloak the island from its enemies. Certainly there was an Iron Age settlement here and the hill was used as a fortified lookout for many generations. Today it was clear but quite windy and putting up the shelter was like hang gliding practice. All bands worked well but I (Rob) managed to kneel on the vhf feeder whilst standing up and pulled the BNC connector off the end. Fortunately we always carry a spare length of coax with a BNC on one end and crocodile clips on the other for just such a disaster but being without a soldering iron we had to use the double length for the rest of our stay. Mental note Buy a miniature butane iron.
Sunday 4th July, Mull Hill
A quick evening activation VHF only, at the end of a warm windy day.
Monday 5th July Tynwald Day, Bradda Hill
A few years ago this little hill suffered a very serious fire which even threatened homes at the edge of Port Erin. The damage was very serious and for a couple of years it was a desert of blowing black ash and grey dust. This year all traces are gone and it is restored to being a beautiful little hill The two approaches are either by the cliff path from the tower that overlooks Port Erin (thought by many to be the summit but in reality far below the true top) or from Fleshwick to the north. The former has serious exposure along the cliff path, the latter a nearly vertical climb through almost head high fern. We use the latter! After the wall is reached there is a short stretch of limited exposure that I (Rob) can just manage on a calm day. If troubled follow the wall to its high point then cross a short stretch of moorland to rejoin the path after the bad bit. All bands fine, Beautiful double rainbow over Castletown on our decent
Tuesday 6th July, Snaefell.
Straight walk up from the Bungalow car park. Manx kissing gates tend to be difficult to rucksack carriers. The cure is to climb up two rungs of the fence allowing the gate to operate beneath the bag and bumps etc. Ironically if you walk 10yds to the right of the first one you can walk round the end of the fence. We only noticed this after struggling! Lots of room on the summit, we usually hide from the crowds at the northwest end of the NATS building where there is shelter on two sides. HF hard work for a few contacts but vhf good.
Wednesday 7th July, Slieau Freoaghane.
Shelter again this time, windy. The key decides that it only wants to do dots so have to strap the thing to the side of the leg instead of on top and use that side of the paddle as a conventional pump action key. The failure is yet again in the lead at the rear of the jack plug at the back of the FT817. Think I will make a short lead using a right angled plug to an inline socket which should get rid of the problem.
Thursday 8th July, South Barrule.
Manannin is said to have a sense of fun and control of the weather. As we approached his lair this time the wind rose and cloud covered the top 20feet of the summit. We countered with our shelter. 5MHz ok this time but 7 and 10MHz were in a sulk, only a few on vhf today. Met a chap on the way down on his 600th ascent of the hill. As we reached the car the summit cleared!
Friday 9th July. Mull Hill.
This activation was to link up with the school groups on Kirby Moor and the Cloud and was meant to be Snaefell. We headed to the Douglas area but the weather on Snaefell was bad and after a quick phone check that all was going ahead over the water we decided to use Mull Hill instead. As a result we were adrift on time but did manage a QSO with Tom EYP, just missing his student group. As luck would have it Jordan M3TMZs group on LD-049 had been delayed by transport problems but we found a lonely Nick G0HIK 2M fm perched on the wet summit awaiting their arrival. We occupied the time till the groups arrival with a few chaser contacts and Bill G4USW eventually rounded us all up and several nice contacts with members of the group using the club call GX4ARF/P ensued. A pleasant way to spend an afternoon in spite of the mist that set in and reportedly the groups’ technology teacher was sufficiently impressed to be thinking of more similar events. Thanks go to all involved.
Sunday 11th July. Snaefell.
HF rubbish, just one contact in an hours calling but plenty on 2m and a couple on 4m.
Tried the new 2element yagi on 4m with good reports from Mike G4BLH, tried to photograph the beam for him but being so spindly it’s difficult to see.
Monday 12th July. Bradda Hill.
Since its recovery this has become quite a favourite in spite of the steep climb.
Called on 4m 70.450 but now answers, however when we put the beam to the west we could here two GI stations in qso. Unfortunately they could not hear us but were completely inaudible with our beam to the east so it does seem to work. Those who have seen our 2m beam know that we use stainless steel welding rods as the elements and these are stored for transit in the boom. The 4m system requires just one extra length of rod the same length as the 2m reflector. For 4m replace the 2m radiator elements (quarter wave) with the 2m reflector element and the extra rod giving a half wave dipole for 4m. A direction for 4m can be made up from the two 2m directors joined by a short (about 5 inches) extension piece. And hey presto a 2el 4m beam. Not pretty and no good in wind but it does seem to work. More reports will follow.
Monday12th July. Mull Hill
A short final fling for the year from this one.
On Tuesday we did manage to work Tony 2D0LAE/P on his activation of Mull Hill while static mobile near Port Soderick. Sorry to hear of your struggles Tony, you really hit a bad patch of weather.
The number of qualifiers for the GD4RQJ/P all summits award is up to ten this year from just one two years ago and sees out first mainland Europe station.
Qualifiers are
DF5WA Berthold
G0HIK Nick
2E0XFD Colin
G4USW Bill
G6ODU Bob
G0RQL Don
GW7AAV Steve
G1OHH Sue
G1KLZ Doug
G1LAT Steph
Their certificates are in the post, many thanks to all those who tried and there should be another chance next year as we are already booked for visit 27.
After all the activity during the last fortnight (we do lots of walking beside SOTA) and with bad weather yet again we decided to have an admin day of logs etc on Sunday so an unusual sota-less weekend. The lower HF bands are dire here at the moment so little chaser activity either.
Sunday 25th July. Birks Fell.
Back to business and over to the east to avoid the forecast rain. This hill was much nicer as Horse head Moor but I guess we are the only people to think so. Radio wise a struggle on hf yet again and we are reluctantly thinking of resorting to self spotting. On 7MHz there were two other activations already running and with our qrp setup we were unable to break the pileups or to attract much interest. 2m ssb was again the best option. On 4 FM two callsignless stations were in QSO on 70.450 the calling channel and when called a voice said “Can you hear me mother “followed by silence! The 2ele beam seems to be working well however, at least on receive.
An odd happening this week as Audrey entered up the logs for the Isle of Man. She always checks the log against the call book so as to get names etc correct and she noticed that we had logged a CW QSO with a station local to us who has been silent key for some time! The explanations:-
- The most likely, my lousy CW but the entry on my original pad is quite clear and genuine 599 reports both ways.
- A pirate.
- ???
So if you’re a G station who had a contact with us on 5July, 40m CW at 16:26Z when we were on GD-004 and your call looks something like G4ZEG please let us know so that we can put things to rights and get you your star.
Visited the Poundland store in Preston and they have a couple of items that might be of interest. First, an MP3/Mobile Battery backup. This is basically an empty box with holder for 4AAA batteries and a power jack with a lead to USB supplied. This is handy as backup if your phone is USB powered and also to carry the spare AAA’s that kick about in the bag, which other bits of kit may need. Second, an emergency shelter for runners or hikers, an 8ft by 5ft tube of the sort of silver plastic that survival bags are made of and a 20ft length of nylon cord to make it into a crude endless ridge tent. Whilst this is not the best option on Scafell Pike in a winter blizzard it is light enough to be used as a temporary summer shelter/survival bag. The finance department say that the cord on its own is worth the pound! We will report any progress.
So many SOTA achievements this month, so hearty congratulations to everyone.
Take care and catch you soon.
73
Rob and Audrey
G4RQJ
CW REPORT FOR JULY 2010 - by Roy G4SSH
The recent dire conditions on 7 MHz persuaded many activators to again try the higher bands during the month. Heard active above 40m were:-
28 MHz: TK/HG4UK, F5UKL, DK1BN,
24 MHz G3NYY, F5UKL,
21 MHz: TK/HG4UK, F5UKL
18 MHz: DK1BN, F5UKL, M1EYP, OE/DL4CW, OE5EEP, TK/HG4UK, F5VGL,
14 MHz:
DFL4CW, DL2DVE.
F6ENO, F5HBI, F5UKL, F5AKL, F5VGL,
G0AZS, M1EYP, G3RDQ,
LA1ENA, LA5SAA,
N1FJ, KI6J, N6VDR, K6DGW,
OE/DL4CW, OE5EEP,
S57X, S57XX,
W2VV, VE2PID,
9H4RH,
10 MHz:
DJ2AX, DL/HB9AGO, DL2AJB, DL/LX1NO, DK2BN, DL/OK1CZ, DF5WA, DK4TN, DC7CCC, DL4CW, DL2XL, DL2DVE,
F6HBI, F6ENO, F6AVE, F5HTR, F5LKW, F5PLC, F5AKL, F/DL2XL,
GD4RQJ, M1EYP, GX0OOO, G3RDQ, G0AZS, MM0ROV, GW0DSP,
HA6QR,
HB9BHW, HB9AFI, HB9AGO, HG4UK, HB9CZF, HB9DGV,
LA1KHA, LA1ENA, LA5SSA, LA8BCA,
OE/DL4CW, OE5EEP, OE/OK1DXK, OE/DK4TN, OE6RDD, OE6WIG, OE8SPK,
OK1DDQ, OK2QA, OK2SAM,
ON/LX1NO, OZ/LX1NO,
S53X, S57X, S57XX,
SM0HPL, SM6EQO,
TK/HG4UK,
W2VV,
9H4RH
Also thanks to the stalwarts who enthusiastically continue to activate on 80 and 160m:-
3.5 MHz MM0ROV, GX0OOO, MM0ROV, OK9HAG,
1.8 MHz GX0OOO,
A warm welcome is extended to the following newcomers, heard activating SOTA’s for the first time on CW during July:-
Michael OK2SAM, Petr OK1DPX, Didier F5PLR, Jean TM0TF, Larry OE/W8VKO, Garhard OE6RDD, Marek OK9HAG, Peder SM0GNS, Jan SM5MEK, Hans SM9BQU, OL8CX.
Mid-summer is the time for expeditions outside your own country. Heard active during July, and qualifying towards the Mountain Hunter and Mountain Explorer certificates were:- OE/DL4CW, TK/HG4UK, OE/OK1DXK, DL/HB9AGO, DL/LX1NO, OE/DK4TN, DL/OK1CZ, DL/HA9MCQ, ON/LX1NO, TK10B (F8BBL) 9H3RV (HB9DGV), OK/DL6UNF, OE/W8VKO, OZ/LX1NO, OE/HG4UK, DL/HB9BAB, F/DL2XL, MM/OK1DHU, DL/PA1AT.
73
Roy G4SSH
CONTESTS DURING AUGUST 2010
The following scheduled contests are expected to cause severe QRM to SOTA activity, especially on the 40m band. Activators should plan accordingly with alternate spots/bands. This is not a complete list of contests.
7th 1200-2359 EU HF Championship CW & SSB
14th -15th 0001-2359 Worked all EU CW DX Contest
22nd 0800-1600 SARG RTTY Contest
29th 1200-1200 YO DX Contest
28th-29th 1200-1200 SCC RTTY Contest
SOTA News is normally published around noon UTC on the last day of each month and can only be as interesting as the items submitted. If you think your particular field of interest is not being covered then please submit an article by the 25th of the month. Have you a favourite SOTA? favourite mode? favourite rig, antenna, or favourite band? How did you find your first day / month / year as an activator or chaser? Your comments and experiences will be read by SOTA enthusiasts all across Europe and beyond, in a total of 24 different countries. Your input will be most welcome.
73
Roy G4SSH
SOTA News Editor
g4ssh@tiscali.co.uk
