That is an excellent achievement, well done!
I only managed one. ![]()
I was curious to work with so many active SOTA station around at the same time. From Wednesday to Friday the forecast was a little bit better each day. My plan was to reach DM/TH-012 around 13 z. For some reason I was there short before 14 z and QRV 14:15 z, started with my vertical EFHW for 20 m.
Until 15 z 27 contacts came in the log, all Europe, 8 S2S to 6 different references. Then I switched to my 6 m vertical for different bands. 5 more contacts on 15 m in 26 Minutes, 2 S2S and 1 DX (K8, not S2S). Calling 10 Minutes on 10 m brought nothing. I heard some station, but the most with weak signals. Changing to 20 m again brought me 5 QSO , 3 S2S from Europe.
For the last hour my body was shaking despite my winter clothing. Sorry for some special CW. So I packed up 16:15 z, ¾ hour after sunset. Maybe I missed the best period for DX?
50 Minutes after sunset
I needed my head torch to find all my bits and pieces and to pass a small wood on the first part of the way. Some minutes after 18 z I was back in my home town.
All in all 37 contacts (13 with G, GI, GM, GW), 1 DX, 13 S2S - not half bad. Thanks to all the activators and chasers!
73, Ludwig
It was the same for me Ludwig… and my keying was a bit rough at times! I finished at 1640z which is earlier than I usually do. I also wondered whether I was going to miss some DX, but I needed to get moving to warm up. On my descent I could feel the cold through my three layers of clothing which is something that happens more in winter, so I think I made the right decision, The bonus was that I got home earlier and had time for a lovely hot shower before going to bed.
Many thanks for your report. It sounds like you enjoyed the activation. Hopefully you will give it another go next April when at least we will have daylight. ![]()
73, Gerald
Well, typical for me these days, I forgot to take any photos of my activation, with a simple small vertical (HF-Pro-2-Plus-T)and a Xiegu G90 with 20w. I had intended to also put up a 5-band linked dipole, but suffering from a bad back I decided minimal movement and exertion was best. WX on my local SOTA 1-pointer was light rain as I arrived, and then no more rain until late in the evening.
I spent maybe 2 hours on the summit, and got 16 QSOs altogether, with 5 S2S with European stations, but no S2S with North America. One US station in the log however - the ubiquitous KI6EAB/W4 on 10m. All in all, an enjoyable exercise despite the cold and damp. OK, a nip or two of medicinal brandy also helped 
Hopefully, next year will bring better conditions, both weather- and propagation-wise.
I was going to Google the Wank webcam and then decided it probably wasn’t a good idea, especially on my work computer.
Yes that summit has an “unfortunate” name…
73 Ed.
Activated CT/MN-033 for the party, which is not the best place, since it´s quite urban and with a lot of nearby transmiters and power transformeres. Had high hopes for 10m but a bad BNC connector made me pack away the PAC12 vertical and deploy the ol´trusty EHFW with a 20m wire. Noise floor was quite high on 40 and 20m, more manageble on 10, 12 and 15m. Made about 10S2S, with US, Canada and Europe, mostly on 10 and 12. A well spent afternoon, despite the challenges.
Looking forward to the next one.
Paulo, CT2IWW
After having reached Mt Tesoro I/LO-222, I fixed the 9.5mt wire with 64:1 transformer on a 9.5mt telescopic pole in vertical configuration. I started to call with kx3 qrp in 20 cw and 10 cw. I managed one dx station on ten meter band AB4PP. in the middle of activation I passed in QRO with ft857d, atu yt-100 and 30watt but I realized that I had forgotten the cat cable. I had mini VNA with me, after some attempts of cutting and misuring swr, I was able to realize a resonant Efhw for 15mt. In this way I worked with my ft857 and 30watt, the supply was provide by 12V 5Ah AGM Pb cell and after lipo 3s 5,5Ah. with this set up I managed all dx qso in 15mt: 4 chasers K8LJG, KK4DF, W4JKC,K2JB and 3 s2s: AC1Z W1/NL-014, N2AIA W1/AM-300, WB2FUV W2/GC-020. I continued to call on 21Mhz until the darkness arrived, when my dx spots on rbn client ended I passed in QRT.
Thanks to All!!
73!!
Roberto iw2obx
Construction in the field! Now that is dedication. ![]()
Following the event I have been giving a lot of thought to my antenna. Ever since the inception of the event in 2016, I have been using a dual band 20 / 17m vertical with 4 resonant (linked) radials, fed at around 2m above ground. Now the higher bands have come into play, I am thinking of constructing an antenna covering 20m through to 10m, preferably resonant on each band for maximum efficiency. I could add wires for the higher frequencies, but this adds a significant measure of complexity both in use and to the set up of the antenna on the pole.
I must admit that I am erring more towards a loaded design, something along the lines of the design of the Slidewinder antenna. Alternatively I could use a non-resonant antenna and rely on an ATU to do the matching. Either way, I am just wondering whether I will notice any difference. Some experimenting before next April seems to be on the cards. ![]()
Hola,
Mr. Murphy visited me, the paddles key did not work properly and finally the wind forced me to abandon.
148 qso, 15 dx, 10 S2S, and 3 s2s dx @WB2FUV , @AC1Z & @K6ARK
A short video
73 José









