Sounds nice - do you have a photo?
That’s the real problem. I’ve just bought a tarp which I’ll field-test on my next activation to see if shielding from the wind helps stop my fingers getting cold so quickly.
One approach I’ve seen people using (and am adopting myself) is to record the audio of the activation, then go back and get the contact details from that later.
1 Like
Ugh. That might be ok if you don’t make a lot of contacts, but it would be very time consuming to have to replay the entire activation at home! Also if something goes wrong with the recording (i.e. phone dies because it’s so cold… seen it happen multiple times) you have no log.
I still think that heated glove liners could work well. You can get some that have integrated lithium batteries and will run for a couple of hours on high. They are meant to go inside of a larger glove, so they are thin and stretchy.
I figure it’s it’s too cold to take my gloves off to record contacts, I won’t be lingering on the summit for very long. This actually happened to me last winter when I was activating SSB in -25c and 20 km/h winds. I wasn’t recording, but a friend of mine was listening to my half of the QSO’s on 20m and then emailed me the list when I was done. Temporarily lost the feeling in two fingertips after that one (it came back.)
Nice! Did your friend type everything in to a .CSV file for you? Can I have your friend’s email address? 
Winter SOTA isn’t for the faint of heart up here in the north. 
2 Likes
Hi all,
An interesting discussion.
I have been using a paddle based on pressure sensors, so it has no moving parts. I have done a brief write up of the paddle with a photo on my blog:
I simply hold the paddle in my hand and brace my hand against my body, or a table if I am sitting at one.
Regards,
Peter VK3PF
1 Like
Difficult for CW QSOs [the thread is about keying in cold weather]
Yeah, after the radio I reckon my paper logbook is the most precious thing I have on the walk back
Table? You carry a table with you? [tee hee]
1 Like
Some summits here have very nice picnic tables inside the AZ… One can strap a squid pole at one end of the table, run out the antenna and feedline, then sit down at the table to operate. Very civilised!
Or on some summits where you can drive into the AZ, I use a folding aluminium table and a camp chair… I simply carry the table and chair away from the vehicle to a suitable spot to set up.
Peter VK3PF
1 Like
Very nice. I’m jealous. Come to think of it, I’ve operated from one in Surrey, England (Leith Hill G/SE-002), but that’s a rarity for most of the UK SOTA summits.
[Now I’ve said that, perversely others will probably post their picnic-table activations - but it will be the exceptions that prove the rule]
1 Like
I remembered that Ron VK3AFW had used a photo of me on VK3/VC-002 from October 2018 on the cover of his first edition of his information booklet “35 Easy day trip SOTA activations around Melbourne”. I trust that Ron does not object to me using the image here…
I was cheeky on the day: Ron had Alerted for around 0000UTC. I arrived earlier and had the summit qualified before UTC rollover. I was working contact #3 IIRC when Ron arrived to start setting up. We chatted briefly whilst I worked a couple more before going QRT. I then moved off the summit to travel around to start the climb to Mt Ritchie.
Andy
Here’s the key:- It is quite robust and has plenty gap, & tension adjustment. There’s absolutely no markings on it. By no means a cheap toy. I made the light plastic base for it so I can send with it on flat rock without it tipping up.
Its 9cm long or 4" if you speak English!! ;p)
I also have been using a tarp (Lots of bushcraft type videos on line for tarp shelters), they work quite well but can be difficult to use on very uneven ground and need some practice to make work well. Then last week I remembered a small one or two person ‘shelter’ bag my wife bought me some years ago, but I never used it - rather small, didn’t have a base and I never sat around on summits to need it!. I’ve used it for my last few activations and its brilliant!! with just one small addition. In windy weather it sometimes rode up over your back, so I got a small bit of cheap lightweight material and we sewed a ‘seat’ (think partial groundsheet) in one end. Sit on that stops it riding up and my feet keep it tension if I need to. Its got no makers name so I can’t find it on line. I’ll post a picture next time I use it. Its also much lighter than a tarp and smaller to pack too!.
David
i use a ‘Key Muff’ made out of an old rug and some duct tape.
It has a log strapped to it too. No gloves required.
i only use a single lever paddle hand held.
Good for pedestrian mobile ops.
Paul w0rw
1 Like
I have made a short video that includes tarps and other quick-shelter options.
2 Likes
Thats a clever idea. I had thought about something along that line but never thought about it much further. Now where’s that bit of carpet we never used. 
Nice video Richard.
I think I’ve all those apart from the fishing shelter!!. But following my original post I re-discovered a small unbranded green ‘lunch/break shelter’ my wife had bought me years ago and I never used it. (If it was cold enough to need it I wasn’t going to have my lunch!!).
I’ve used it a few times since re-discovering it and its a brilliant shelter. I guess its like your orange bothy bag but mines green. It didn’t have a base but I cut a bit off an army parachute which is really thin & strong, and Mrs P sewed a floor in the end I sit at )
I’ve used tarps a few times, but on rough ground or rocky ground I’ve found them difficult to get put up properly.
My little green shelter is perfect - so far. We’ll see how it copes in Scotland in a week’s time!
Dave
1 Like
And no doubt they could probably wear big gloves if not mittens.
Forgetting to take my gloves with me one cold day recently I bought a pair of Bentu Premium Neoprene gloves with ‘slitted’ fold-back thumb and forefinger from an outdoorsy shop.
I’ve tried wearing them whilst keying with my Palm Pico paddles and my straight key (Palm Portable Key, PPK). I can work the paddles with gloved hand but it’s a bit uncomfortable and an effort to maintain error-free sending. On the other hand, I could operate the SK as well as when ungloved.
I’ve thought about why that is. When using the SK, my thumb, index finger and middle finger form a clamp around the SK knob - those digits don’t move relative to each other - and the keying motion is from the wrist. In fact, I don’t even need to use the fold-backs, so probably any pair of thin gloves would work [except in my case my LH is also my writing hand and I need the fold-backs to write with a pencil]
With the paddles however, although the fold-backs on the glove allow the thumb and index finger joints nearest the nails to be naked and flex in an unimpeded way, the main (knuckle) joints are still in the glove. The resistance to flexing that joint causes a slight discomfort (enough to cramp my style) so, on the last two activations, I pulled off that glove after my initial CQs and just suffered the cold [which wasn’t as bad as on some other winter days].
Conclusion: the method of gripping and keying a SK is more tolerant to wearing gloves than the more delicate finger / thumb movements needed for [non slapping] gentle paddling.
I solve the problem of picking up a pencil by taping it to my middle finger.
That leaves my thumb and forefinger free to work the paddles, but I can still write nearly as well as I can with the pen in the normal position, and the pen doesn’t get dropped on the ground.
Haven’t tried it with gloves on, though. A rubber band, velcro, or a sleeve sewn onto the glove might work better in that case, rather than tape.
1 Like
I mainly use a GM0EUL paddle and I have no problem using it with gloves on. Or writing in my log book. I prefer to use a thin glove on my right hand for both, but it’s also not a problem with my thicker gloves.
I haven’t used a straight key in years and I can’t imagine being able to send decent morse. Most straight key operators I hear on the air sending pretty ropey morse. Of course there could be some that are so good I think they are using a paddle, but I doubt it!
I would like to see that working with gloves on - does it look like a young child’s writing?
As a left-hander I solved the pencil / key swap-over problem ~25 years ago by deliberately learning to paddle with my otherwise redundant right hand, leaving my left hand free to hold the pencil throughout the QSO / activation. I originally learnt [~35 years ago] to straight-key with my left hand so - on the rare occasions I take the SK for a change - I still have the pen / key problem [I warn chasers I’m using a SK in my self spots]
Looking online at a photo the paddle size and spacing look larger than with the Palm Nano.
Huge KX2 paddles vs. tiny Palm Nano (the latter are lovely to use)
I have no trouble paddling with the KX2 bolt-on paddles (KXPD2) wearing a glove but in general don’t like them (especially the travel distance needed to close the paddle switch). The paddle size and separation are big enough for a troll’s hand.
That’s a somewhat controversial statement Richard. I’ve heard plenty of absolutely dire morse obviously sent using paddles… multiple dots or dashes, etc. Don’t blame the method, blame the operator.
I can use a paddle, but much prefer a straight key, in the shack and certainly on the hills. Morse with rhythm was the way I was taught and I’m much more proficient on a straight key.
Like many, when activating there are times that I send rubbish morse, mainly on account of the weather. When I am not able to concentrate 100%, then standards may slip, but I would never apologise for it. I’m the one under duress.
I use my mental buffer to get over that issue Andy. It helps to have some flexibility as to when the information is written down and storing it in my mind until it is convenient to pick up the pencil and get it down on paper is my method. I’ve tried logging on my phone, but for me it doesn’t work that well. Maybe for me having to deal with a logging system, even a simple one, is just one step too far.
As for gloves / no gloves, my fingers are cold for most of the time anyway, even in summer, so it doesn’t make too much difference. In sub-zero temperatures, thin gloves prevent the cold going too far.
73, Gerald
1 Like