SOTA NEWS - MAY 2013
EDITORIAL - by Roy G4SSH
Welcome to the May 2013 edition of SOTA News. Apologies for the late publication but I have been overseas from the 16th April and only returned home on Sunday the 5th May.
My thanks go to the following contributors who have filled my in-tray whilst I have been away:- Andy MM0FMF, Barry GM4TOE, Skip K6DGW, Allen VK3HRA, Wayne VK3WAM, Rob & Audrey G4RQJ, Kevin G0NUP, Mark G0VOF.
ASSOCIATION UPDATES - from Andy, MM0FMF
-
W7U Utah: 1,453 new summits have been added to the W7U Utah
Association. The original association here was a starter association of
123 peaks. To our knowledge, all the P150 peaks in Utah are now in SOTA. -
HB9 Switzerland: Here there have been a few deactivations and there
is one new summit. There have been many location corrections. HB9
amateurs should not be too upset they have lost some summits as the
possibility that there are HB9 summits still to add the association is
very strong. -
LA Norway: Nothing new but just corrections to summit locations.
Thanks to everyone involved in this never ending task.
Database Update
I’ve fixed a few bugs and features this month.
-
The mode in a CSV file for upload must now match the modes listed in
the dropdown menu on the webpage. i.e. AM, CW, DATA, FM, OTHER or SSB.
Anything else will be rejected. This was how it was meant to be but a
bug allowed some other mode names in. -
Association groups. Some multi association countries have convenience
groups, such as ALL VK, ALL EA etc. These groups now only appear when
they make sense instead of in all association dropdown menus. This stops
a “beaut” of a bug for people registering for the 1st time only to find
they cannot log in ever again! -
Downloaded log files should now enclose any comments in double quotes
if the comment contains one or more commas.
There are a few other minor bug fixes mainly internal to the code.
Expect to see improved CSV uploading soon. This will support S2S uploads
along with plain chasing and activating.
Andy, MM0FMF
Database Manager
SOTA AWARDS FOR APRIL 2013 By Barry GM4TOE - SOTA Awards Manager
April was another bumper month for awards and congratulations go to Daniel WO6M Mountain Goat and GM4WHA and VK3ZPF for achieving Shack Sloth. Much to my surprise Elliott K6ILM achieved 1000 summit to summit points and asked if there was a suitable trophy; the best I could offer was a Shack Sloth trophy engraved for Summit to Summit award and so the first of these goes to North America. I must not ignore OZ4RT, John, who appeared from nowhere and claimed a certificate for 20k Chaser points. Many congratulations to him as well. It is very noticeable how enthusiastic Chasers and Activators are in the relatively new Associations of North America and Australia, this also means that many people are demonstrating how efficient low power can be when a station is placed in an advantageous location and others make a genuine effort to communicate with that weak station.
Trophies
Mountain Goat
WO6M Daniel Ducey
Shack Sloth
GM4WHA Geoff Harper
K6ILM Elliott Pisor S2S (1000 points)
Certificates claimed
Activator
F8FEO Alain Le Drezen 250 points
Activator Unique
VK3WAM Wayne Merry 100 summits
Chaser
OZ4RT John Arnvig 20000 points
G4ISJ Peter Martin 2500 points
W4RK Bill Gerth 2500 points
VK3ZPF Peter Fraser 1000 points
VK3YY Glenn Sneddon 1000 points
M0CGH Colin Evans 500 points
VK1NAM Andrew Moseley 500 points
M6RGF Russ Gott 500 points
SV2OXS Christos Tzioutzias 500 points
VK5PAS Paul Simmonds 500 points
GW4VPX Allan Jones 500 points
VK3WAM Wayne Merry 250 points
2W0JYN Steven Bobby 250 points
KA5WRG Duane Angles 250 points
M3CJC Colin Conway 250 points
VK5PAS Paul Simmonds 250 points
G4DBW Bob Hammond 100 points
Chaser Unique
OZ4RT John Arnvig 2500 summits
K4PIC Larry A. Phillips 250 summits
M6RGF Russ Gott 100 summits
VK3AFW Ron Cook 100 summits
GW4VPX Allan Jones 100 summits
Mountain Explorer
KD5ZZK Andrew Norman Bronze
Mountain Hunter
OZ4RT John Arnvig Platinum
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse Platinum
KD5ZZK Andrew Norman Bronze
Summit to Summit
K6ILM Elliott Pisor Silver
VK1NAM Andrew Moseley Red
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse Red
EC2AG Antonio Garcia Red
10th Anniversary Award
M0HIQ Derek Cotton G Chaser
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse G Chaser
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse G Activator
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse GW Chaser
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse GD Chaser
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse GI Chaser
MW6GWR Ricky Duckhouse GM Chaser
Having goofed last month over the level of the SOTA Complete qualifying scores I can now announce that the certificate will be available through the website from the beginning of May. I am planning a revamp of the site during the next month or so and this should allow me to present better images of the awards and merchandise that are available.
Amazingly, I am up to date with issuing awards and sending out merchandise! However there have been problems delivering some email certificates so, if you placed an order for a certificate to be delivered by email and your order is dated on, or before, 27 April could you let me know please and I will try again.
I have been asked about the possibility of a display stand being made available to hold the glass trophies and this is something I will be working on in the next few months. It has to be effective but also affordable and there does not seem to be an off the shelf product to do the job. If you have any ideas please let me know.
More merchandise items are planned for the shop to help with the generation of revenue to run the websites. With the horrendous increases in postal costs (which were very cleverly hidden by Royal Mail but severely impact on our shipping costs) more requests for certificates are being made as emailed versions. It is worth noting that if you do go for a printed version then purchasing more than one at a time does help spread the postal cost. Similarly when ordering merchandise, I can usually fit a few window stickers or bumper stickers into the same envelope as a certificate and this helps relieve a little of the pressure.
When I updated the postal rates the reduced rate for small items shipped within North America was deleted and this meant that a window sticker was going to attract a shipping charge of £3! The good news is that I have managed to reinstate the reduced rate which will cover window stickers, badges and bumper stickers when ordered in small quantities for delivery in the USA or Canada. If there is a demand for a similar service in Australia, and somebody is willing to hold stock and send out the odd package, then I can set-up something similar there – volunteers please!
The supposed weather improvement means that activity is rising (in the northern hemisphere) so now is your chance to make the most of the weather, and the peak of the sunspot cycle, to work around the world.
Take care on the hills
73
Barry GM4TOE
SOTA Awards Manager
SOTA News also congratulates:-
-
M6RGF Russ on passing the 500 chaser milestone, on 13th April.
-
Mike 2E0YYY on gaining 2500 Chaser points for S2S contacts
VK9 JOINS SOTA
Summits on some favourite DX-pedition islands have now joined the SOTA
family. Christmas Island, Norfolk Island, Phillip Island, Lord Howe
Island and Ball’s Pyramid all have at least one summit to activate,
although I would think that it might be a while before the first
activation on Ball’s Pyramid.
The summits are active from the 1st May 2013. Many thanks to the SOTA MT
for the expedited approval.
73 de Wayne VK3WAM
VK Report - by Allen VK3HRA
Autumn is upon us in VK with milder weather. Reports coming for the
activators include ‘It is cold on the hill’ and ‘hiding out of the wind
behind a large rock’. There is also a desire to gain activations before
winter hits.
Congratulations go out to VK3YY Glen and VK3ZPF Peter gaining ‘Shack
Sloth’ status. Was a month of milestones with VK1NAM Andrew and VK3HRA
Allen gained 250 S2S points and VK3KAN Rik, VK1MDC Mark, VK1FBIT Brenden
and VK1HBB Bruce achieved 100 points as Chasers.
We welcome VK3MRG Marshall as new activator and note the return of
VK3FMDV David, VK3UA Mark and VK5AKH Andrew to activating.
SOTA chasers were in prime position to assist with a medical emergency
that unfolded during peak SOTA time. A motorbike rider came off his bike
at Mount Disappointment (VK3-VC014), less than an hour north of
Melbourne. Present was Terry VK3UP who drove 7 km down to the accident
site where he and a mate performed first aid. As there was no mobile
phone coverage at the accident scene, Terry also set up his mobile
transceiver on 40m and contacted VK2UH Andrew an avid SOTA chaser and
Andrew was able to use the phone system to coordinate emergency services
to attend. Patient was taken to hospital where has since recovered.
With SOTA activity dominating the 40m bands during day discussion
indicating a need to formalise a SOTA frequency has resurfaced. I’m sure
there will be more on this topic for a while to come.
Special mention goes to VK3WAM Wayne for 1st place in the 6-hour single
operator all mode VHF section of the recent John Moyle Memorial Field
Day. Whilst not SOTA, was conducted from a SOTA summit and demonstrated
the skills brought to SOTA.
There is increased activity and interest in preparing the paper work for
submission of VK2 summits. This is of great interest due to the highest
mountains on the Australian mainland being in the Snowy Mountains region
in VK2 (New South Wales) and the presence of the Great Dividing Range.
VK9 was been launched. There are a small number of remote summits that
will attract big interest. No activations as of yet but plans are being
formulated.
Regional Round up,
VK1
The Canberra lads have maintained the activation rate. The proximity of
Canberra to summits has encouraged S2S activations with 2m and 40m
providing contacts.
VK2
Increased activity in the planning stages so stay tuned.
VK3
The weather has allowed activations to continue. Increased chaser and
activator activity. Increased 2m use with VK3WAM Wayne conducting 2m
based multi summit activations.
VK5
The milder weather again is allowing activations in VK5 to pick up with
VK5PAS, VK5AKH and VK5CZ returning to the hills with multi summit
activations.
VK9
Launched and activators are planning SOTA expeditions.
73 for now,
Allen VK3HRA
U.S.A / CANADA REPORT - from Skip K6DGW
Hi All,
Thanks in part to QRP To-The-Field on 27 Apr, NA SOTA activity for the
month of April 2013 skyrocketed! Despite what universally seemed like
fairly poor propagation conditions, there were plenty of stations to
work in QRP TTF.
STATISTICS [1 Apr-27 Apr inclusive]
As usual, the numbers in square brackets are March statistics for
comparison. W4T [Tennesee] hasn’t been incorporated into the database
statistics yet.
NORTH AMERICA TOTALS
Total Activations: 303 [152]
Nr Unique Activators: 83 [60]
Total Chaser QSOs: 4327 [2734]
Nr Unique Chasers: 161 [133]
Total Summits Activated: 296 [151]
Unique Summits: 204 [111]
2m: 44 (1%) [36]
6m: 0 (0%) [0]
10m: 8 (0%) [13]
12m: 2 (0%) [11]
15m: 259 (5%) [107]
17m: 135 (3%) [125]
20m: 2693 (62%) [1719]
30m: 357 (8%) [290]
40m: 816 (18%) [422]
60m: 4 (0%) [9]
80m: 0 (0%) [0]
160m: 0 (0%) [1]
Unk: 9
CW: 3212 (74%) [2043]
SSB: 1058 (24%) [654]
FM: 50 (1%) [36]
AM: 1 (0%) [0]
Data: 0 (0%) [0]
Other: 1 (0%) [0]
Unk: 9
The 9 “Unk” are summits that have multiple commas in their names.
Hopefully I’ll eventually get my statistics program to deal with them.
AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Bill, W4RK [W0M Association Manager] passed 2,500 chaser points in
April. Congratulations Bill!
S2S: I made a quick pass through the S2S tallies just to see how my 9
were stacking up. I might have missed one, I thought I saw a 95, but
couldn’t find it again, but the top 3 in North America appear to be:
CALL QSO’s POINTS
K6ILM 216 1,081
K7ATN 87 323
W5ZV 71 281
QRP TTF undoubtedly boosted many S2S scores.
NEWS
In case you run into NM6MG and wonder if it’s a new SOTA recruit, it’s
not. Dan WO6M can now officially use the phonetics “North America’s
Six[th] Mountain Goat.” Dan is actually North America’s Fifth Mountain
Goat, and NA5MG was available, but since he’s a Californian, he opted
for the 6…
New W7U-Utah Association: The original W7U Association had only a few
of the many available summits. Guy, N7UN
“The W7U-Utah update will ‘launch’ 1 May 2013! The Excel spreadsheets
and the ARM document were submitted mid-March to the SOTA MT team for
review and processing. A total of 1,453 new Summits will be added to
the existing 123 Summits for Utah which should make it much easier for
folks to activate a local peak without significant driving. The points
banding will remain the same as it is now. The existing Regions (North
and South) comprising 123 Peaks will remain intact as ‘overlay’ Regions.
I have added 29 new Regions based on the existing Counties in Utah.
The database will update on the 1st but it may be a few days before the
ARM document gets posted to the SOTA website (
Summits on the Air ).”
“This will complete all the states in the W7 callsign region with over
17,500 SOTA-Qualified Summits after the W7U-Utah update! And by my
calculations, North America will have 27 Associations with 30,383
qualified Peaks when W7U-Utah comes on line! Wow!”
“I’m confident as SOTA in Utah grows, a number of locals will get much
more involved in SOTA activities. Utah is SOTA-beautiful, from the
spectacular Rocky Mountain peaks in the north to the high-desert country
in the south. And some of the most amazing National Parks (Zion, Bryce,
Canyonlands, Arches, the Moab area, north Grand Canyon National Parks).
Since Las Vegas, NV is a great vacation destination by itself with air
flights and hotels inexpensive, plan a vacation and visit southern Utah.
A great state for a SOTA-vacation!”
Guy Hamblen/N7UN
W7 Oregon, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, Utah
SOTA Association Manager
ACTIVATION REPORTS
VA6MCB [VE6/HC-031]: “The 900 m ascent took 5 hours today, most of it
in deep snow. The crux required crampons today but I managed to clean
the route sufficiently for following groups including a dog which was
apparently hand carried. Its kind of deflating to the ego to summit
after breaking trail on 45 - 60 degree slopes in knee deep powder, doing
mixed ice/rock in crampons… only to be followed to the summit by
some college students and a dog… They were kind enough to thank me
for my efforts of trail breaking and sheepishly admitted to being
totally unprepared for the technical challenges of this route.”
“Yamnuska is positioned at the entrance to the Bow Valley and it has a
dramatic McConnel Thrust of vertical limestone on one side rising to
2240 m. The route today does a complete traverse of the mountain from
East to West including the peak.”
“I experienced considerable QRN & QSB on 20m. My previous activations
have been quite clean of external interference. I was unable to rustle
up any activity on 40 m [maybe my lateness, but there was noticeable
QRN]. I am wondering if I should try a significantly lower frequency in
future, in case I am too close to MUF?”
K4KPK [W4G/NG-001]: “I set off for Brasstown Bald with my 9 year-old
son. I’d been looking for an easy summit to bring him along for his
first SOTA experience, and Brasstown Bald has a paved trail from the
parking lot to the summit. (He’s a talker – not a hiker.)”
“We scouted access to the Poplar Stump Gap Rd trailhead for Horsetrough
Mountain along the way. There are some significant challenges to
reaching that trailhead. That trip will be near the limit of what I can
accomplish in a single day, so we took advantage of today’s easy trip to
discover some closed gates.”
“Once we reached the parking lot for Brasstown Bald, we learned that
they’re now charging $5 per adult admission and shuttle fee, even if
you’re walking up to the summit! We walked up. (What is it about a
child which compels him to sit on every bench along a trail?)”
“I set up near the building, on the highest ground I could find. I
managed to self-spot via SMS by running around to the observation deck,
and then running back to my rig to call CQ. I was operating on 17
meters due to the CQ WPX contest. I heard from 3 SOTA chasers pretty
quickly, then nothing. So I moved to another free spot on the band,
thinking that maybe there was someone else on ‘my’ frequency who I
couldn’t hear. After another sprint, spot, sprint, I got back to my rig
to hear S9+ noise. Something in the museum cranked musta started up.
Maybe someone turned on a bad fluorescent light. The noise didn’t go
away, so we relocated to a small clearing near the end of the trail to
the summit.”
“I spotted again (complete with a sprint back to the observation deck),
and called and called, but no joy. I suspect that the clearing, on a
slope off the side of the summit, was steering my signal to the south.
(I was getting great reception of a multi-lingual operator in St.
Martin.) I was acutely aware that my kid was getting bored, and I was
concerned that I would fail to get my points. We had planned to try for
an S2S with wGOAT, but with the noise and some delays on Steve’s end,
and the limited attention span of a 9 year-old, that was clearly falling
apart.”
At this point, my son said to me, “Dad, do you actually think this is
fun?” I’m thinking that not only have I missed my points, I’ve spoiled
a perfectly good afternoon with my boy. Finally, I switched over to 20
meters, made a QSO with a contester to snag my points, and we headed
down the hill for cheeseburgers and ice cream."
“In the end, it turned out to be a successful trip. Later, when we were
home, my son said he was happy to have had a good day. I asked him
about his, “Do you actually think this is fun?” remark, and he explained
that he was fine with the afternoon, and that he had been expressing
concern about me because I was clearly stressed.”
Looking back on some of the activation reports from the early days of NA
SOTA, many were either solo or a couple of hams together. More and more
now include family members, and especially kids. That’s a good sign!
That’s all for this month,
73,
Skip K6DGW
Canada/US SOTA Reporter Dude
CHING BOHNG NGOR (Can you help me, please) - by Roy G4SSH
Whilst on my travels last month I passed through six international airports and it was very noticeable that in every one I was either asked in person, or read a notice, that informed me that I must not have loose batteries in my hold luggage and I must declare any spare batteries in my cabin luggage. Li-po batteries were especially mentioned. When I said I had spare camera batteries they asked to see them and were happy so long as they were in my cabin bag and were in their original packing.
I did not take any radio equipment with me, but I did manage to get on the air on VHF, albeit on the wrong bands. The saga went as follows:-
On the way home from Australia the aircraft stopped to refuel at Hong Kong and I took the opportunity to spend a couple of nights there. One of the top visitor attractions is to cross over to Hong Kong Island on the Star Ferry and take the Peak Tram to the summit of Mount Austin (known locally as The Peak) which, at 522m, is the tallest summit on the Island.
Having negotiated the ferry from Kowloon to Hong Kong Island without too much trouble, I was confused by the advice given in various guide books, where some said the lower Peak Tram terminus was within walking distance of the harbour, and others advised travellers to take a bus. I therefore jumped into one of the numerous taxis and asked to be taken to the Peak Tram lower terminus. What could go wrong?
What did go wrong is that out of the many hundreds of red taxis in H.K. I managed to pick the one with a driver who did not speak a word of English and all attempts by me to point upwards, make a triangle with my hands, or walk my fingers up my arm proved fruitless. In desperation I noticed that he had a radio and gesticulated that I would speak to his base. It worked! He passed over the Microphone and I explained to a polite YL that I was a passenger in cab 375 (callsign on the windscreen) and would she please explain to the driver that I wanted taking to the lower Peak Tram terminus. This she did, so I thanked her (daw jeh) and gave her a 5 by 9 report as a bonus.
The tram is really a funicular car on wheels holding 120 passengers and pulled by a steel cable, which takes you up to a shopping arcade at 396m ASL from where you use escalators and finally many steps up to the Sky Terrace viewing area at 428m where you look down over all the skyscrapers in the city. Must check the SOTA rules about final ascents.
73
Roy G4SSH
P.S. I am still wondering why a 54 foot high inflatable yellow rubber duck sailed into the harbour on the 2nd May and tied up at the jetty under my hotel.
(Google: Giant Rubber Duck Hong Kong)
THE VIEW FROM THE NORTH - 52
A quiet period SOTA wise for us, starting with an activation on the last day of the previous month. Whitbarrow is always a pleasant hill and today was no exception. The hill is very prominent from the A590, about 5 miles after leaving the M6 at J36, a rugged outcrop of scree and wooded vertical cliff to the north that looks at first sight only accessible to rock climbers. The west side however is slightly less formidable and there are a couple of routes up to the large summit plateau. The best parking spot is in a short unsurfaced lane on the south side of Witherslack Hall, now a school. There is a small car park with room for about six cars plus the side of the lane which can be used. Both routes can be accessed from here, the more direct is from the far end of the school football pitch, up through the woods and with some exposure along the last hundred yards before the security of the wall that borders the plateau is reached. The exposure is less obvious in the summer when the trees are in leaf but it’s still there! The exposed roots are also worth watching out for, particularly in the wet. Once inside the plateau wall it is a nice steady walk to the summit known as Lords Seat. The alternative route is longer but with none of the vices of the former. Take the track from the near corner of the football pitch heading north through the woods. This track can be very muddy in parts but the woods are very pretty, daffodils and bluebells at the right time of year and lots of bird life for “twitchers†who seem to carry more kit than us!
After about a mile and a half a sign points you up hill to Bell Rake. This is not rake in the style of Jacks Rake and the like in the higher fells, rather a steepish stone strewn path with no exposure. At the top of the rake there is a mineshaft tunnel on your right and a path leads from here up the eastward side of the tunnel mound that leads eventually to the summit. There is little shelter on the top unless the wind is in the east when a limestone edge gives a little cover but there are great views all round with the expanse of Morecombe Bay to the south. Lots of room for antennas but the ground is difficult for pegs. The area is a bird reserve and has lots of visitors, many of them twitchers. We met a chap on one occasion carrying a 1metre dish. We thought he was a microwaver but he turned out to be recording bird song and asked if he could record a bit of our activation. Often wonder what we are filed under.
Next on the menu was the Norbreck Rally, as usual so well attended with about a hundred visitors to the stall signing the visitors’ book and many more besides. Great to meet everyone and put faces to voices and to chat about radio and the hills. Trouble is it all becomes a bit of a blur when trying to remember details later. A great day out as always though and didn’t get out of the hall ‘till five o’clock. From out here in the wilds we don’t get to meet amateurs from outside our area often so it is a real pleasure to catch up with everyone.
The next two weekends were a disaster. The first one and the weather forecast was dreadful so we stayed at home, then the car decided that it was going on strike about climbing hills which came down to a new clutch which wiped out the next weekend so it was with relief that the forecast was only mildly bad for Sunday 28th and we decided on a trip up Holme Fell. We arrived beside Yew Tree Tarn where there is space for about six cars but is popular with passing motorists for a quick look at the view. The NT car park closer to the Yew Tree farm shop and café is the usual arm and leg job pricewise. Today the cloud was down on the smallest hills and rain was being driven across the tarn from the west. We waited for some time in hopes of an improvement but eventually decided to set off. The path to the north east of the tarn is on stepping stones but pretty good, the fun starts in the woods where the ever present cows have improved the quagmire no end, now it’s quite deep! Most of the ascent is in a gully which also houses a stream which is the best route in several spots where the cows’ efforts and tree roots conspire to make the going difficult. Today however the gully provides shelter from the weather from the west, the fun starts when we pop our heads over the parapet. There are two rocky ridges on the top. The true summit is on the more northerly one with a pile of stones. There are several rocky outcrops to provide a little cover for the operator. The summit is very popular with walking parties avoiding bad weather on the high tops and today is no exception. A couple of chaps sit and chat to us for some time and are fascinated with the radio etc having never seen anything like it in many years of walking and are impressed by the possible safety benefits. One is a photographer and takes several photos of the setup in action. The key amazes him and when the first cw contact is Belgium he is overwhelmed and they depart shaking their heads in wonder. Holme Fell would be a fine activation for an active family, a miniature mountain with a café close by and Coniston a 5 minute drive away.
Not sure about the statistics but SOTA activity up here in the Lake District seems to have dropped off quite a bit of late. Guess the price of getting here from the more populated areas and the weather is having an effect. If you are thinking of a visit do drop us an Email if you need any guaranteed safe route advice etc. Also you would be very welcome to the Furness Amateur Radio Society meetings, usually every Monday at The Farmers Arms in Newton- in-Furness just out side Barrow. Best try a quick ring before travelling as sometimes we’re out fox hunting (radio type) or similar.
During the coming month we are likely to be disrupted in our regular Sota activities with family events but have patience, soon be the Isle of Man time!
Take care out there
73
Rob and Audrey
G4RQJ
SOTA ON TOP BAND - Mark G0VOF
Hello everyone & welcome to this month’s edition of SOTA on Top Band.
Longer daylight hours generally bring fewer opportunities for Top Band activating, however during April four activators had successful QSO’s using the band.
First this month on Monday 1st April was Ricky MW6GWR/P activating GW/NW-063 Ffridd Cocyn when he made 1 QSO using SSB. Ricky also tried the band on two more occasions this month, more on that later.
Next, on Saturday 6th April was Klaus DF2GN/P who was testing his antenna during an activation of DM/BW-228 Hummelsberg. Klaus made a fine total of 16 contacts around the time of sunset using CW. I would say that the test was very successful!
On Thursday 11th April Ricky MW6GWR/P was again active on 160m, this time from GW/NW-074 Craig y Castell, again making one contact using SSB, however this was a little unusual, as the contact was with Aled MW0UPH who was operating /M. Although 160m was much used for mobile working many years ago, these days VHF/UHF has taken over for that purpose, so very well done to both Ricky & Aled for this slightly unusual QSO.
After his successful antenna test earlier in the month, Klaus DF2GN/P again called on 160m during an early evening activation of DM/BW-156 Lindenberg on Sunday 14th April. This time Klaus used both SSB & CW & made QSO’s on each mode with DJ5AV & PA0SKP.
Active on Top Band for the third time this month was Ricky MW6GWR/P on Saturday 20th April when he made one contact on 160m from GW/NW-057 Foel Cae’rberllan using SSB.
The final Top Band activation of the month took place on Monday 29th April when Dan OK1DIG/P & Miro OK1DVM/P called on 160m during a night time activation of OK/US-018 Jedlová. Dan was first to call on the band, making four contacts using CW. Miro returned to the band later in the activation making one contact, also using CW.
Thanks to all activators who used Top Band this month!
At the time of writing, those were the only Top band activations during April that I am aware of, if I have missed any others please let me know.
On the 1st April, Ricky MW6GWR/P activated GW/NW-063 Ffridd Cocyn & made 1 QSO using SSB.
On the 6th April, Klaus DF2GN/P activated DM/BW-228 Hummelsberg & made 16 QSO’s using CW.
On the 11th April, Ricky MW6GWR/P activated GW/NW-074 Craig y Castell & made 1 QSO using SSB.
On the 14th April, Klaus DF2GN/P activated DM/BW-156 Lindenberg & made 4 QSO’s (2 CW & 2 SSB).
On the 20th April, Ricky MW6GWR/P activated GW/NW-057 Foel Cae’rberllan & made 1 QSO using SSB.
On the 29th April, Dan OK1DIG/P activated OK/US-018 Jedlová & made 4 QSO’s using CW.
On the 29th April, Miro OK1DVM/P activated OK/US-018 Jedlová & made 1 QSO using CW.
As always, If you do have any suggestions on things that you think should be included, or if you wish to contribute tips, ideas or anything else that you think may help others on the band please email them to me at mark@brownhill.demon.co.uk
Until next month,
Best 73,
Mark G0VOF
CW REPORT FOR APRIL 2013 - by Roy G4SSH
A very short CW report this month as I was overseas from the 16th April, so can only comment on activity during the first two weeks.
It was a real pleasure to copy Jurg HB9BIN operating in the SC and DC areas of the U.K. from the 4th to 9th April. Jurg made 507 contacts from 13 different summits.
Klaus DF2GN expanded his activations to include CW SSB and PSK on his activations There was a big pile up on 10119 KHz, from DM/BW-156 on 4th, so Klaus was working split, QSX 1 up.
On the 6th April Klaus did a night expedition from 1920 to 2358z on BW-228 using the lower bands, and I was delighted to work him on top band. Then on the 9th April he did an expedition to BW-057 from 2200 to 2345 UTC when he operated on the higher bands of 10, 14 and 18 MHz, which delighted the USA chasers. Klaus repeated these night time antenna experiments on the 10th.
DL/OK1DIG and DL/OK1DVM activated several summits in Thueringen DM/TH. Starting on 12th April at DM/TH-004 and then continuing on the 13th and 14th.
Daniel and Miro operated simultaneously on 2 HF frequencies, then QSY’d to other bands to give chasers as many chances to contact them as possible.
Extracts from the Data Base compiled by Kevin G0NUP
SOTA CW ACTIVATORS SUBMITTING ENTRIES TO THE DATA BASE ABOVE 7 MHZ DURING APRIL 2013.This file produced on 26/Apr/2013
Mode: CW on 10MHz:
AA4GA, AK4JA, DF2GN/P, DF3MC/P, DJ2FR, DJ9MH/P, DL/HB9AFI/P, DL/HB9AGO/P,
DL/HB9CZF/P, DL/OK1DIG/P, DL/OK1DVM/P, DL1DVE/P, DL4FDM/P, DL4MHA/P,
DL6UHA/P,
DL8DXL/P, DL8JJ/P, EA2BDS/P, EA4CWN/P, EI/G4AZS/P, EI7KH/P, EO5JFF,
F/ON6ZQ/P,
F5LKW/P, F5UKL/P, F5VGL/P, F6FTB/P, F6HBI/P, F8AAB/P, G3RDQ/P, G3VQO/P,
G4ASA/P, G4ISJ/P, G4WTF/P, GW4ISJ/P, HA2VR/P, HA3HK/P, HA5LV/P, HA5MA/P,
HA7UL/P, HB9AFH/P, HB9AFI/P, HB9AGO/P, HB9BAB/P, HB9BCB/P, HB9BIN/P,
HB9BQU/P,
HB9DGV/P, HB9DST/P, HB9EBZ/P, HB9IIO/P, HB9SVT/P, HB9TVK/P, I/HB9DST/P,
I/PB2T/P, IV3/S53X/P, K0JQZ, K1JD, K6ILM, K7ATN, K7NEW, K7SO, KA6AIL,
KD9KC,
KE5AKL, KH2TJ, KR7W, LA1ENA/P, M/HB9BIN/P, M0CGH/P, M0GIA/P, M1EYP/P,
MM0ROV/P,
MW0IDX/P, N1EU, N4EX/P, N5XL, N6JZT, NA6MG, NM5TW, NS7P, OE1MVA/P,
OE5EEP/P,
OE9AMJ/P, OK/DL8DXL/P, OK1DDQ/P, OK1DIG/P, OK1DVM/P, OK1MLP/P, OK2BDF/P,
OK2BMA/P,
OK2PYA/P, OK2VWB/P, OK3EQ/P, OM3CUG/P, ON6ZQ/P, PB2T/P, S57X/P, S57XX/P,
SP8RHP/P,
W4TZM, W4ZV, W6AH, W6UB, W7TAO, WA2USA/P, WG0AT, WO6M, WS0TA
Mode: CW on 14MHz:
AA4GA, CT1BWW/P, CT7AEZ/P, DF2GN/P, DF3MC/P, DJ2FR, DK6YM/P,
DL/HB9AFI/P, DL/HB9AGO/P,
DL/HB9BQU/P, DL/HB9CZF/P, DL/OK1DIG/P, DL/OK1DVM/P, DL1DVE/P, DL2ZBO/P,
DL8JJ/P,
DM/HB9AFH/P, EA1AER/P, EA1XN/P, EA2BDS/P, EA5/DK1IO/P, EO5JFF,
F/ON4BEM/P, F5UKL/P,
F5VGL/P, F6FTB/P, F6HBI/P, F8AAB/P, F8FEO/P, G3NYY/P, G4ASA/P, G4COX,
G4ISJ/P, G4WTF/P,
GW4ISJ/P, HA/ON6UU/P, HA2VR/P, HA3HK/P, HA5LV/P, HA5MA/P, HB9AFI/P,
HB9AGO/P, HB9BAB/P,
HB9BCB/P, HB9BIN/P, HB9BQU/P, HB9BRJ/P, HB9DGV/P, HB9SVT/P, I1URL/1,
IV3/S53X/P, K0JQZ,
K1JD, K2ZC, K4URE, K6ILM, K7ATN, K7SO, KA6AIL, KD7WPJ, KE5AKL, KH2TJ,
KK4RR, KR7W,
LA1ENA/P, M/HB9BIN/P, M0CGH/P, M1EYP/P, MM0FMF/P, MM0GYX/P, MM0ROV/P,
MM3BRR/P, N0SA,
N1EU, N4EX/P, N5XL, N6JZT, NA6MG, NE1SJ, NM5S, NM5TW, NS7P, OE/DL9MDI/P,
OE1HFC/P,
OE5EEP/P, OE6KYG/P, OE7PHI/P, OK1DIG/P, OK1DVM/P, OK1MLP/P, OK2BWB/P,
OK2PYA/P,
OM3CUG/P, OM6TC/P, S57X/P, S57XX/P, SP8RHP/P, VA2VL/P, VA2VL/W2, W0MNA,
W4RK,
W4TJE, W4TZM, W4ZV, W6AH, W6UB, W7TAO, WA2USA/P, WA7JTM, WG0AT, WH6LE,
WK5T, WO6M,
WS0TA, WT5RZ, Z35M/P
Mode: CW on 18MHz:
DF2GN/P, DL/OK1DIG/P, EA2BDS/P, F5UKL/P, F5VGL/P, F6HBI/P, G4ISJ/P,
GW4ISJ/P, HA2VR/P,
HB9BCB/P, HB9BQU/P, HB9SVT/P, K7ATN, M1EYP/P, N1EU, N4EX/P, N5XL,
OE/DL9MDI/P,
OE3CHC/P, OE5EEP/P, OK1MLP/P, OM3CUG/P, S57X/P, S57XX/P, SP8RHP/P, W4ZV,
W6UB,
WA2USA/P, WG0AT, WH6LE, WO6M
Mode: CW on 21MHz:
DF2GN/P, DL/OK1DVM/P, DM/HB9AFH/P, DO1UZ/P, EA2BDS/P, F6HBI/P, G4ISJ/P,
GW4ISJ/P,
HA2VR/P, HA5LV/P, HB9BCB/P, K0JQZ, K1JD, K2ZC, K4URE, K6ILM, K7NEW,
KD7WPJ, MM0FMF/P,
N1EU, N5XL, N6JZT, NA6MG, NE1SJ, NM5S, OE3CHC/P, OK1MLP/P, VK5CZ, W4RK,
W4TZM, W4ZV,
W6AH, WA7JTM, WG0AT, WK5T, WO6M
Mode: CW on 24MHz:
DF2GN/P, DL/OK1DIG/P, F5UKL/P, F6HBI/P, HB9BCB/P, HB9SVT/P, OK1MLP/P,
W6UB, WG0AT
Mode: CW on 28MHz:
DF2GN/P, HB9BQU/P, K7NEW, KD7WPJ, N5XL, OK1MLP/P
73 de Kevin G0NUP
CONTESTS DURING MAY 2013
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.
1st only 1300-1900 AGCW QRP Party. CW
4th-5th 1200-1200 ARI International DX contest
11th only1000-1200 EUCW CW QSO Party
11-12th 1200-1200 Volta RTTY Contest
11-12th 1200-1200CQ-M International DX Contest SSB & CW
18-19th 1200-1200 King of Spain CW contest. (Moderate disruption)
25th 26th 0001-2359 CQ World-Wide CW WPX contest. (Major disruption)
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.
I receive many e-mails during the month containing details of activations, milestones reached and general SOTA news. Unless advised otherwise I will use this information in the next edition of SOTA News. It is important therefore that you advise me if any information is not intended for publication
73
Roy G4SSH
SOTA News Editor
g4ssh@tiscali.co.uk
U.S. and Canadian reports to:-
Fred K6DGW [aka “Skip” on the radio]
Canada/US SOTA Reporter Dude
Auburn CA
k6dgw@foothill.net
Australian input to:-
Allen VK3HRA
VK Reporter
arharvie@gmail