Thursday Night is 6m SOTA Night

Activation Reports Pre-Planning
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As most are aware, there has been a hefty shake-up of RSGB UK activity contest rules, scoring and scheduling for 2017. Several of the changes have been controversial, and have proved to be unpopular with a significant cohort within the contesting community.

One such change is the 50MHz UKAC moving from the 4th Tuesday of the month, to the 2nd Thursday, meaning that there were five RSGB contests in five days (Sunday to Thursday) this week! Inevitably, I’ve had to miss some of those, but I will be on this evening for the 6m event.

Obviously, I will be positioned on a SOTA summit under SOTA activation qualifying conditions, so would be nice to work a few chasers in amongst the contesters. I will be on The Cloud G/SP-015 and operating 6m SSB (mainly) and 6m CW.

“Thursday Night is 6m SOTA Night…”

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Will listen for you on SSB I’m in IO72RC. Not working tonight so what time is kick off.

De Don GW0PLP.

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Hi Don,

It is 8pm through until 10.30pm. You will be popular from IO72, so I’m sure you’ll have plenty of stations keen to work you.

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Will listen out for you for the Sota Activation. Thanks for info.

Don.

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I should be on !

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SOTA or non-SOTA Stewart?

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Possibly wishful thinking, but you never know, so I’ll turn the 6m beam in your direction when I see a spot and see if I can here you from down here in JN58.

Ed.

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In the Warm !

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Also in the warm here - no choice as portable operation on 6 metres is not allowed in Germany.

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Strewth! Who thought that was a good idea. (No, don’t bother answering!) :wink:

Hope you don’t freeze solid…

Good luck.

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You probably won’t see a spot, so have a hunt around!

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Hunting … but I can’t even hear the beacons, so not too hopeful.

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Gave up at 21:35 only worked one station in the IOM IO74. Band was very poor here, but worth a go.

Don.

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Still some activity out there !

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Better than roasting. Currently just over 40 degrees celcius at the airport in VK1 at the moment with a maximum of 41C forecast for today and tomorrow. My weather station says 42 degrees outside my shack with a nice balmy 28 in the shack! Total fire bans today and tomorrow, so no VK1 activations in these conditions.

Matt
VK1MA

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16

Same here gave up around 21:35 - nothing at all heard in my case - I hope Tom found some contacts.

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I was keen to do some of these nights from my local SOTA summit, especially 4m.
Unfortunately I have other radio activities on Thursday nights for the majority of the year.
Interested to know what aerial you use for 6m portable. It’s the only band I have nothing for.

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18

It was subzero as I departed from the car on Cloudside at 7.20pm last night. The temperature only dropped from that moment, but thankfully only at a very gradual rate. Finding ground that would take a peg to guy the mast was taxing.

I found my flask of hot coffee most welcome through the evening, and I treated myself to a pint of ale in the Harrington Arms, Gawsworth, on the way home afterwards.

55 QSOs were made. Several stations were called repeatedly, but they couldn’t hear me. That phenomenon is actually quite rare for me, even with my FT-817 and 5 watts. A couple of these were GMs and I missed IO75 and IO85 as a result. That rules me out from any hope of being competitive then, not to mention never finding GI4SNA in IO64. A couple of stations in IO72 were heard, but not worked. Frustrating in that I heard a lengthy KST-scheduled attempt between GW0GEI in IO72 and G8XVJ - not sure if it came off, but not while I was listening. I tried my luck at going back to GEI who I was hearing well when XVJ clearly couldn’t hear him - but to no avail.

I also heard IN99, IO80 and JO01 out there, again with none finding my log. So overall, an underwhelming night - and a cold one! Squares worked: IO73, 81, 82, 83, 84, 86, 91, 92, 93, 94, JO02.

This was my first experience of a /P UKAC in 2017 under the new arrangements. First impressions:

Thursday: bobbins (5th contest in 5 days meant I could only join in with 2 of them).
B2: bobbins (less squares calling CQ than normal, pile-ups on all GM frequencies).
General / Local: bobbins (removal of motivation!)
KST allowed: bobbins (too many desirable stations being “unavailable” for long periods, trying to complete a KST schedule).

In answer to G1ZAR, the antenna is the SOTAbeams SB6.

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19

If they allow KST surely you can self-spot on SOTAWATCH?

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I did ask the CC this over a year ago. I got an answer back saying that self-spotting on SW would not be acceptable.

Reading the guidelines, it looks like self-spotting on KST is not supposed to happen, but that scheduling / setting-up a QSO with another specific station is allowed. However, there’s loads of self-spotting goes on on KST, which I may bring to the attention of the CC and ask again about doing so on SOTAwatch (as these new “allowances” are not specific to the KST website alone).

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