Most CW SOTA takes place close to (but preferably not on) the QRP COA for that band. I very rarely do SSB so I can’t answer for that.
SSB is whereever you can find a free frequency and be prepared to move when a QRO station starts calling CQ without checking that the frequency was clear or ignoring you when you say it is in use. There are QRP frequencies for SSB as well, but they are rarely available for use. Often QRO station nets seem to sit on them.
73 Ed.
2 Likes
A few additional points:
- Many CW ops use a mountain topper 2- or 3-band. So they simply have just 40, 30, and 20m at hand.
- A significant group of European SOTA enthusiasts mainly operate from rather “alpine” summits, so weather, waiting companions, etc. create some pressure to limit the duration of the activation.
- Even if the rig supports higher bands, some popular antenna designs are just for three bands (e.g. EFHWs with traps like @HB9BCB ’s popular design). Trying a second antenna is hardly feasible if you go with non-ham comrades.
I am personally eager to bag DX QSOs even when under hard time-constraints, and have tried 20m for DX even in Winter when 15 minutes on the summit feel like an eternity.
As for the time-window: Being QRV by 6:00-8:00 a.m. UTC rules out quite some activations. The lower huts may not serve breakfast early enough to be on the summit by then, and on the very high alpine summits >4000m asl you are typically very much under pressure to keep the activation short. Even in bright sunlight it is often f…… cold on the top of 4000…4500 m summits in the alps.
73 de Martin, DK3IT
6 Likes
This is an important thread as we move to possibly the peak of the Solar Cycle, in summer.
Must say I tend to use 30m a lot. This gives good coverage of Europe and some coverage close in.
17m I have used with good success and this has provided S2S to the States. Some years ago I learned CW talking to Americans on the novice section of 15m.
A good rule of thumb I was told for best DX is to operate on a QRG 10% below the muf.
David
G0EVV
2 Likes
Personally i favour the higher bands, much quiter and you can hear even very weak signals. It is true that the bands are not very often open, anyway i always try to make a few contacts on 17 -10 meters.
I guess there would be more contacts if people would try these bands, most hams stick to 40 - 20 meters.
Cu on the bands.
73 de Bruno HB9CBR
4 Likes
Btw: I think that this thread is useful encouragement to try 17 and 15m.
Personally, I will consider carrying my MTR5B to suitable summits this summer.
The antenna I will most likely use is a hybrid of traps and links (traps for 40/30/20m and links for 15 and 17m).
See here: End Fed 40, 20, 10m resonant antenna - #22 by DK3IT
73 de Martin, DK3IT
3 Likes
An antenna resonant on 40m is going to be close to resonant on 15m, on its third harmonic, end effect causes a 40m antenna to be slightly too short on 15m but its probably close enough for jazz. There is always the trick of fixing a loading loop or short length of wire at a 21 MHz high voltage point to bring the antenna to resonance on 15m without affecting its 40m resonance.
3 Likes
My 40m Inv V dipole used on 15m is best at 21.660MHz and the SWR is really too high on 21.060MHz etc. I have 2x 20cms of wire that I use to lengthen it so it’s a fine match on 21MHz.
1 Like
Cunning plan Brian, and a little bit of broadside gain. I have made a link dipole for 17 and 15m with long cords to peg it out.
Works well and weighs little.
David
GI0EVV
1 Like
If I want to get chased by Europe (Looking at you F4WBN 
or South America, I find that 15m and 10m is where I need to be, so I always try and spend at least 10 minutes on each band after my spots post. But, as Chief Dan George famously said in Little Big Man: “Sometimes the magic works and sometimes it doesn’t.”
You are right 40m and 20m are the bread and butter bands. I always like to warm the clouds on 40m to get my local chasers.
Another country heard from,
73 Eric KG6MZS
3 Likes
Personally I thought the 12 Meter challenge was maybe the most fun event we have ever had on SOTA.
I worked s2s stations all over Europe consistently from many summits, likely due to everyone being on that band at once. So the opposite of “search and pounce”…just lots of pounce, pounce, pounce.
A multi element gain antenna is also easily doable on that band…I had a 2 element wire beam (a dipole and a reflector)…and that worked very well with my barefoot FT817.
DX is best (the longest) as the MUF approaches a band, so 12 meters always opens later in the morning than the lower bands, so I was able to be on the air for the 12M peak on almost every summit.
For Europe and Japan the best window for North America is in the Fall…October, NOVEMBER, and December. So we can expect that activity on those bands will be picking up soon…
I would love to see a 12 Meter or ??? band challenge again…even if only for a few peak months…and working on my SOTA s2s DXCC!!!
Pete
WA7JTM
3 Likes
Ive started to try and use the 17/15/12 and 10 Meter bands now I have a decent HF set up. Ive had some reasonable success when at home too. Usually Starting 0n 20 to get a few VKs (or try to) then going over to 40 for EU after a pile up I forget about the other bands. Maybe I’ll start on 10 and work my way back to 40?
I’ll try to keep an eye on SOTAwatch when Im out portable… that’s if it stops raining!
On Saturday I tried 10m ssb from Chaipaval GM/SI-129 on Harris, but despite a spot and about 10mins of calling CQ I had no takers. I had contacts on 40m,15m,20m,17m and 2m beforehand. It was a lovely sunny day and I had time to try lots of bands. I’m using a linked dipole with links for 6m,10m,12m,17m,20m and 40m. I use the 40m setting for 15m and my FT818 doesn’t complain too much but I think I will try Andy’s trick with the 20cm extensions for 15m next time.
Andy
MM7MOX
2 Likes
Last Sunday I activated HB/FR-014 and was chased by @PY2VM on 15m. Thanks Carlos for the QSO!
1 Like
YESSSS
Your signal was strong.
21 and 28 mhz is good for South América
73.
Carlos
PY2VM
2 Likes
Most of my contacts, both chaser and activator, are at 28 mhz. Some at 21 mhz. I use Linked Dipole antenna, which is working very well. I really liked. In contacts with EFHW I also have good results.
The propagation is bad at 14 mhz. Opens a little for the USA at night. Europe I haven’t heard for a long time. But on the other hand, on all bands FT8 is active and strong. Hihi
It’s unfortunate that Europeans don’t activate at 28mhz SOTA. It would be a chance for me to hunt. If it’s CW, even better.
By the way, I will try to activate PY2/SE-002 on Saturday, July 29th.
73
Carlos
PY2VM
5 Likes
I usually have a listen around and put out a few shouts on 10m CW when I activate. I won’t be out this Saturday, but maybe we could schedule a S2S sometime? I don’t have any S2S to South America
Colm.
2 Likes
On my last two activations I have tried 28MHz CW. On the first the band was closed (FT8 barely audible). On the most recent I had one QSO with France so probably Es.
I have had more success in the past with Argentina twice plus USA. I’m hoping the band will pick up as we move towards autumn.
73 Richard
3 Likes
But this does not hold for an antenna with traps, does it, only for single-band or linked dipoles / EFHWs?
73 de Martin, DK3IT
2 Likes
Correct. If you had a 20/40m dipole with a trap to select 20m then it wouldn’t work on the 3rd harmonic of 40m as the 20m trap would be active. I’ve used it on a 30/40/60m link dipole. So for 15m use I set it as a 40m dipole then add some extensions to the end of the 40m section. It is rigged as an inv-V dipole and the extensions attach at the 40/60m link position.
1 Like