Special event station today and all over the HF CW bands suggesting (by RBN) that the station is on a summit.
Operator was not giving out the SOTA reference when working on 7024.4 MHz at 1315 onwards. The RBN says op was on FL/VO-002. I am unsure about it… Can anyone shed light on this please? I’d like the summit to be FL/VO-170, which is a new unactivated summit…
Also worked this morning TM84WARD on 7.024 MHz and then believed to be on FL/VO-080.
73 de Phil
Worked this special call station again 7016 KHz at 14:57z. Not identifying the location again sadly…a very vague operation if you ask me… I don’t believe we can rely on the RBN for the summit reference by picking it off the alerts list - so until confirmed I am not claiming these last two as SOTA QSOs…
73 Phil
I just activated DM/BW-801 in an after work Mountainbike Tour. My first contact was TM94WARD, who had no /p in his call… He gave me the SOTA Ref FL/VO-080… SA4BLM got the same Ref…
In the spots were shown different summits
I found infos about a apecial call TM94WARD In the www… not quite sure if it’s valid for SOTA…
But i got a s2s to HB9BIN/P, who came to my frequency. Juerg is a reliable 
TM94WARD is not complex enough… I worked 5P0WARD/70 which didn’t half confuse some people.
It’s not confusion in reading the callsign Andy, its the fact that RBN thinks that every instance of the callsign places it on a summit, which I do not think is the case this afternoon. This morning was different and the Ref FL/VO-080 was being sent as witnessed by DL6GCA, me, Juerg and others!
Missed you today - skip was too long on 60m and too long on 20m, 40m who knows?
I wondered which town or village you were staying in? Can this be divulged publicly? (Off topic I know sri)
73 Phil
Hi Phil
You have to wait F5HTR Bob explaination, yesterday rxed one mail from SOTA-France-new about FL/VO-080 and FL/VO-170 activations today.
73 Eric F5JKK
Thanks for tip off Eric - we await further news from Bob. I have been looking at th eplacement of FL/VO-170 in the SMP. I think this summit is a recent addition to the list and I expect to activate it when I stay in Munster, Alsace in July.
73 Phil
If the street is open - I will activate it tomorrrow
HI to everyone !
I am now confortably seat in my sofa, i can take few minuts to explain what is happened today!
As you know, this is the World Amateur Radio Day today ! For this event, we were allowed to use TM94WARD during those last days.
As i belong to the TM94WAR’s team, i decide to make 3 summits today with this special callsign… (FL/VO-080, FL/VO-170 and FL/VO-002)
In order to do well, i also put some alarms the day before …
and and and… began the problems…
First of all, i plan to park my car close to Rothenbachkopf, but the road was still closed ! Due to the snow! So i had to park to another place.
At that moment, i met OE5RTP and his wife OE5ORI who wanted to go also at that park place !
I suggest them to go to Hohneck FL/VO-002, much much easier.
So i decide to go to FL/VO-080 first but i made a mistake of navigation ans i walk and walk 5 km to understand that i was close to Hohneck !! As a beginner…
Anyway, i began with FL/VO-002 and not FL/VO-080 ! So the alarms sent wrong references !
Then, my colleagues of TM94WARD’s TEAM began to run on air ! As soon as they were cqing, the RBN detect them and put them as an activation on the SOTAWATCH!!!
I did not think about that before…
then i walk to FL/VO-170 and I decide to finish my tour with FL/VO-080 ! So the RBN was completely lost and my colleagues were CQing, and and and… big confusion for everybody…
In france, it is possible to transmit with special event callsign on each band in different mode all togheter !! We have a special website to coordinate who is transmitting or not.
So that is explaining that the guy on 7.024 was not a SOTA fan ! I was may be few minutes ago on 7.034. as a SOTA activation…
Anyway, it was a big confusion and i did QSO with many people who asked me if i was or not on summit !
Also, In France an event callsign cannot have an /p extension. One more reason to confuse…
By the way, i will not do anymore this kind of special event from summit, it creates more confusion for the chaser ! At the end i have done very few qso.
So. let me emtry my 3 log on the database, and everyone could see if they contact the good TM94WARD !
Sorry again for this big confusion ! Thanks to all the s2s, specially with Switzerland !
my best regards to all
best 73
Bob de F5HTR
HI Phil !
I did today this new summit, very easy.
best 73
Bob
the street will not be opened before 1st of may ! I came back from my tour walking on the road, it is 50 cm snow on about 5 km on the main road.
best 73
Bob
Thanks for clarification, Bob. I worked twice TM94WARD, but it wasn’t you. I’m sorry, anyway.
Happy Easter!
Best 73’s
Fabio IK2LEY
Tnx, also, Bob for clearing things up. I was lucky enough to have an S2S with you from both your summits!
73
Paul HB9DST
Thanks Bob for the clarification - what a day you had!
I was also not one of the lucky ones and worked three of the none-SOTA T M 94 W A R D stations! NO worries I look forward to chasing VO-170 soon, maybe when the roads reopen and the ski-ing is finished…
I think a good guide was was the frequencies on 40m used by the none SOTA stations, in my case 7024 and 7016, the unfamilar fist (certainly not the HTR Bob fist and style!), and the lack of response to PSE REF IMI?
Thanks again Bob,
73 Phil
Hi Phil, Yes it was not the best day !
I have just put my 3 log onto the database. No g4obk in log. We will get plenty of other occasion to do it.
nice day
73
F5HTR
Ciao Fabio,
Ci sara tante occazione di contattarsi !
ciao ciao
Bob
Bob,
I am pleased to confirm that your operating was absolutely impeccable in all our s2s QSO.
On the other hand, overzealous calling of some activators (particularly noticeable e.g. from HB9) and chasers (particularly noticeable e.g. EA2DT) was (once more) less exemplary…
73 tks, Heinz
Hi Heinz,
I guess you mean “of some chasers”, don’t you?
Cheers,
Guru
Guru,
It’s like you say (have edited the text in my posting above).
73, Heinz
I think conditions are contributing even more than usual to difficulties when making ionospheric contacts. The station transmitting while others are sending reports etc is often unaware of the other station. This leads to confusion, frustration and even anger, but perhaps it is due mainly to odd conditions which make it even harder than usual to hear every station on the frequency. It makes a good case for offsetting slightly our frequency from the activator so that s/he can more readily hear all stations calling and more likely they will be able to separate concurrent callers. I experienced such problems on 10 mhz yesterday, with several callers all very close to the same frequency. A little more offset would have made a big difference.
Andrew VK1DA/VK2UH