Welcome to the November 2021 Quarterly News. I am afraid that we have very few contributions to this quarters SOTA news as I almost forgot about it. We have GM4TOE Barry’s awards report (thank-you), and an interesting extract from the PNW newsletter with thanks to Etienne K7ATN for permission to copy and to Troy KF7SEY and Amos KT7WW, who did not anticipate appearing here…
We’ll kick off with the latest awards report from Barry GM4TOE.
SOTA Awards August to October 2021
This report covers award claims for the period August to October 2021
Many claims were received over the last three months, particularly for Chasers. Special note for AC1Z, Bob Daniels, for achieving the Amethyst Summit to Summit Award and to JP3DGT, Katsushige Oiji, reaching the Platinum level. JA1VVH and W4KRN have reached the 30k Chaser point milestone as well. We are seeing claims for Activator and Chaser awards coming in from Brazil, Mexico and South Korea reflecting the growing globalisation of SOTA
Congratulations to all who have reached their own significant milestone this quarter
Trophies Issued
Mountain Goat
K0MOS Matthias Schnizer
DS5SQS Kim Jiho
DF1AKR Andreas Kirchner
EA2WX Marcial Vecilla
VE6AGR Ken Smith
Shack Sloth
G4IPB Paul Hodgkinson
GI4OSF John McNiece
KO4BVB Tony Altman
WB7QDR Brian Vietri
DS5SQS Kim Jiho
K7RMO Rusty O’Shaughnessy
IT9ETC Danilo Contino
Certificates Issued
Activator
ON4TA Filip Rogister 1000 points
M0YDH David Holman 1000 points
EA2WX Marcial Vecilla 1000 points
DD5LP Ed Durrant 1000 points
VE6AGR Ken Smith 1000 points
SQ9JTR Lukasz Macalka 500 points
DL7RAY Bjorn Kagelmacher 500 points
KI7ADV Eric Keefer 250 points
N4DCW Michael Whitman 250 points
PY2TTN Marcio Cabral Barbio 100 points
EA5ITW Jose Antonio Fernandez 100 points
W6RT Noam Shendar 100 points
KN6GOG Miguel Molina 100 points
M7SHZ Sharron Baines 100 points
OM4MX MilanStancel 100 points
PU2OYH Daniel Vianna 100 points
G4TGJ Richard Tomlinson 100 points
MM0IVR Ronan Cantwell 100 points
SQ9JXW Jakub Kasprzycki 100 points
Chaser
JA1VVH Tadayoshi Katano 30000 points
W4KRN Karen Russo 30000 points
KU4R Robert Warden 20000 points
SP9LEE Damian Rawski 2500 points
M0TMD Helen Melhuish 2500 points
DL3NM Hannes Schmidt 2500 points
ZL3QR Geoff Gillman 2500 points
WB5CTS Stephen Hutcherson 1000 points
2E0VRX Craig Bradley 1000 points
G7WKX Simon Davis-Crane 1000 points
DL2RVL Rainer Lotsch 1000 points
M0TYM Alastair Hopkins 1000 points
W5WIL Dennis Walden 1000 points
K7RMO Rusty O’Shaughnessy 1000 points
IT9ETC Danilo Contino 1000 points
G4TPJ Richard Mepham 1000 points
XE1MYO Mayolo Martinez Ruiz 500 points
OE5LXR Alexander Entinger 500 points
IT9ETC Danilo Contino 500 points
SQ9JXW Jakub Kasprzycki 500 points
N6MST Michael Thompson 250 points
YB0GIN Ginanjar Taufiq 250 points
G1ACD Peter Hughes 250 points
OE5LXR Alexander Entinger 250 points
MW7EJH Leigh Batten 250 points
G4TGJ Richard Tomlinson 250 points
G1ACD Peter Hughes 100 points
KJ7AAI Jeffrey Orgill 100 points
M7SHZ Sharron Baines 100 points
OE5LXR Alexander Entinger 100 points
MW7EJH Leigh Batten 100 points
PY2BIL Guillermo Cremerius 100 points
KE0FXN Joe Bertie 100 points
EA4HJG Rodolfo Serrano 100 points
Chaser Unique
W4KRN Karen Russo 2500 summits
KU4R Robert Warden 1000 summits
Summit to Summit
AC1Z Bob Daniels Amethyst
JP3DGT Katsushige Oiji Platinum
WB0USI Rick Loughrey Gold
DF1AKR Andreas Kirchner Gold
VE6VID Malen Vidler Silver
M0JCQ James Stevens Silver
VK1MCW William Kirkwood Silver
DL7RAY Bjorn Kagelmacher Bronze
DC8YZ Michael Stark Bronze
KG7VLX Chris Freund Red
YO5OTA Constantin Pascal Red
DC8YZ Michael Stark Red
XE1MYO Mayolo Martinez Ruiz Red
DJ5VY Werner Pohl Red
DC8YZ Michael Stark Red
G4TGJ Richard Tomlinson Red
Mountain Hunter
YC2VOC Galih Suryananto Platinum
M0MZB Matthew Barker Gold
WD5GRW Jim Hart Bronze
DK1TBL Thomas Leiser Bronze
XE1MYO Mayolo Martinez Ruiz Bronze
TI5JON Jonathan Alfaro Bronze
G4TGJ Richard Tomlinson Bronze
I was on vacation throughout September (actually from the last week of August) which meant orders placed after the August deadline were not dealt with until October. I know there are a number of narrowboat enthusiasts out there so they will understand that our vacation was extended due to lack of water stranding the boat in Huddersfield!
Merchandise levels are back to normal and so Sweatshirts, Polo shirts and khaki baseball hats are once more available.
My thanks to the many individuals who support SOTA by means of donations which go a long way to ensure the viability of the programme and continued availability of SOTAwatch and the database (Donations | SOTA Awards). I try to respond to all donations but if I have missed thanking you please accept my apologies.
Christmas is coming and the deadline for posting to some of the remote (and not-so-remote) countries approaches rapidly. I will place a reminder on the reflector but if you can place orders early (especially for trophies which take time to process) then I would be most grateful.
That is it for this quarter – stay safe on the hills and keep away from anybody carrying that infernal virus
73
Barry GM4TOE
SOTA Awards Manager
A couple of interesting articles from the PNW Newsletter.
Southwest Idaho SOTA Party – a Report by Amos-KT7WW
Southwest Idaho is a wonderful place for Summits on the Air. There are so many summits, sometimes the hardest part is deciding which one to activate. For VHF and above, the region is all you could ever ask for- high elevations- 6,000 to 9,000 feet with the valley floors around 3,000 feet elevation. Any summit with a clear line of sight to the Boise area can be activated with a 5-Watt handheld as there is a very large and active group of hams in the area that monitor VHF and UHF simplex. There are many summits in the area where this is possible, and many close enough to other summits to make a multiactivation day easy to accomplish.
Leading up to my planned activation on Saturday July 10, 2021, with the help of K7ATN, I worked to coordinate to have multiple activators on multiple summits in the area. By the morning of the activation, we had K7MK heading to W7I/BC-083, KG7VLX heading to W7I/BC-059 and moving later in the day to do a first activation of W7I/BC-081. I (KT7WW) headed to Sunset Mountain W7I/BC-062 with my twelve year old son KT7WWW, and KG7DO with plans of heading to Pilot Peak later in the day.
The road from Mores Summit on Highway 21 to Sunset Mountain was in good shape, and typical of most of the dirt forest roads in the region. After winding our way from the highway to the parking area just below the summit and fire lookout, KG7DO and I unpacked the gear, and loaded it in a cart. The cart made the trip to the top with equipment very easy, and I may refine this some for future summits that are short walks, or near drive-ups to speed up deployment. After getting the equipment to the top, I started deploying a UHF and VHF station while KG7DO worked on setting up the HF station. KG7DO didn’t activate either this SOTA was all about and to test an HF antenna and a couple of LiFePo4 battery packs he had built.
As soon as I had the VHF station up and running, I made several S2S contacts, as did my son KT7WWW. First KG7VLX on W7I/BC059, then K7TPH on W7I/SR-042, then K7MK on W7I/BC-083. Then, one of the locals from Caldwell – KJ7BJS put out his call at the top of Thorn Creek Butte- W7I/BC-066. He didn’t know much about SOTA, but KG7VLX was able to find his summit reference, and we were able to turn his nice motorcycle ride into a SOTA activation for him. As the contacts came in, we would ask if they had worked the other activations, and then hand them off to the other activators.
KT7WWW was happy to make the minimum number of contacts, and then ventured off to read a book, eat some snacks, and chase butterflies and grasshoppers around the mountain. I continued to make contacts on VHF, UHF, 20-meter SSB, 40-meter SSB, and then one contact on 15-meter SSB for a total of 56 contacts including five S2S contacts.
We then packed up the station, hauled everything to the car, headed down to Mores Summit, crossed the road, and headed up to Pilot Peak. By this time it was early afternoon, and starting to get a bit warm. With the amount of motorcycle and OHV traffic, we decided to go just below the summit in a clump of trees for shade, and to be a little more out of the way. Once the VHF station was operational, I made contact with KG7VLX on his second summit for the day; W7I/BC-081. KT7WWW made 5 contacts on VHF, then went back to his book. I made nine contacts on VHF, 15 contacts on 20-meter SSB with an S2S contact with AG7GP on W7O/CS-012 Pelican Butte, and even one contact on 10-meters SSB. By then the heat, dust, and biting flies won out, and we decided to pack up and head back to home.
It was a great day on the mountain. The fun factor was multiplied greatly by having several simultaneous activations. I hope that in the future this becomes an annual or semi-annual event for SOTA in Idaho
SOTA, A Family Affair – by Troy KF7SEY
When I started SOTA nearly ten years ago, most of my trips revolved around taking the family with me. During this time I have learned on what I can and cannot get away with. Now, if your family enjoys using the radio maybe some of them have their license… then it may be different on how you handle your trips. My family does not want to be on the radio, they just want to be outdoors and spend-time together. So first one, and maybe the most important one, is they are generally not as eager as I am to get summits. Which is why I try to find summits that are easier so we can do it together. Compromises are regularly made.
And yes, sometimes there is bribing that occurs. One and two-point summits are generally what we do as they are more easily accessible for everyone. Not that we have not done others, just not the norm. I generally gauge this by how difficult the summit is. If it is a long hike, then there has to be some encouragement to keep it fun, and if that doesn’t work then the bribes come out [Hi Hi]. Sometimes it takes a lot longer than it would be if I was by myself, so I give extra time on the alerts just to be safe. When we are on the summit, I try to keep it short so they don’t lose interest but allows enough time for chasers, usually about an hour. I enjoy CW but they do not enjoy it like I do. So running phone can help as they can hear the other stations and be a part of the action.
Having my family help me with setup and tear down is one thing we regularly do together. We sometimes leave markers like spelling out SOTA with pine cones or rocks and the XYL and daughters paint rocks to leave. Maybe you have come across some of them. We would love
to hear from you if you have.
Getting a souvenir like a rock from a summit to take home and add to a collection. In the end family first, points second, has been my philosophy. Sometimes you may have to just turn around and try another day.
You can read more of the PNW Newsletter at http://www.pnwsota.org/sites/pnwsota.org/files/downloads/K7ATN/PNW%20SOTA%20Newsletter%20Jul-Aug-Sep%202021.pdf
Final Comment.
Well that is it for this quarter. Not a lot. This news depends on contributions so why don’t you submit something for the next edition to be posted in February 2022. I will try not to forget about it until too late. If you have an association newletter in your part of the world why not let me have a copy so that I can share articles of general interest with the broader community. It doesn’t matter what language as conputer softrware can do a reasonable translation job for readers.
Till next quarter stay safe on the hills especially as winter kicks in.
73 Jim G0CQK