VHF/UHF is alive and well

Not at all in good old Austria!

73, Alfred OE5AKM

1 Like

And there lies the problem!

Outside of local ragchewing nets and some contests, it is a rare occurrence that anybody does “give it a shot” over here in Germany. One would think that with HF in the doldrums, VHF would pick up some slack, but it hasn’t.

73, Martin

2 Likes

If several activators in one SOTA region agreed to start doing regular VHF activations, and/or organised VHF SOTA activity weekends, you would soon get people monitoring 2m and working the activators. It’s easy with the internet to promote something and spread awareness, and get more people involved. Just needs someone to say “Hey, let’s do this” - kind of like what a certain G3WGV did in 2002 - and look what happened!

Despite the doom and gloom merchants, there’s still VHF stations to be worked out there. Last Sunday, I knocked off 104 2m fm contacts from a HEMA summit with nothing more than an X-50 colinear.

1 Like

There is not the slightest chance to do so in Austria.

73, Alfred, OE5AKM

1 Like

update May 14th: I worked K9PM at a distance of 242 KM on my rubber duck to southern Arizona on 1296 FM, 1 watt.

OK…he did have a 10 element yagi and was on a peak…but I was on the Alinco duck antenna.

pete
WA7JTM

1 Like

Could have been 106…

5 Likes

I’ve sort of got back into VHF again. May have a crack at my score of 244 contacts working 2m fm from G/SP-004 Shining Tor on 24/07/2011. Quite a day as I recall. Always regretted not staying for 250.

I carried a brand new 20ah SLAB and a newish 12ah SLAB to the summit as well as an X-300 colinear and FT-857. The rucksack was very heavy. Sadly, I hurt the 20Ah SLAB by over discharging it. Still, it was well worth it, a really great day. The hardest part of the activation, was logging it.

4 Likes

it is a rare occurrence that anybody does “give it a shot” over here in Germany.

Martin, it’s the other way round: regular SOTA chasers are rare in an VHF activator’s logbook. The Z say, you’re from Hannover. There are some activators around who mainly or frequently play on VHF. Most of them are out on the first Tuesdays, so please give us a shot! Or even better, go to the Annaturm* DM/NS-122 on a first Tuesday and have fun with a HB9CV and 20 W!

Looking forward to working you on VHF!

Ahoi aus Linden
Pom

*Don’t climb the tower, it’s closed at night. The terrace of the summit café is a decent shack.

There is not the slightest chance to do so in Austria.

Unless you actually try it.:wink:
reitherspitze

Ahoi
Pom

Well, I tried! Maybe you manage to work 6 stations on VHF but not 104!

73, Alfred, OE5AKM

Alfred, the point is to climb a summit and to have fun on VHF. :slightly_smiling_face:
Fast recovery!

Ahoi
Pom

1 Like

You are right; that’s why I do it! :slightly_smiling_face:

73, Alfred, OE5AKM

1 Like

4 QSOs is the target. So 6 is every bit as successful as 104.

2 Likes

Hi Alfred, The summit I was activating on Sunday was just 337m ASL and not SOTA.

If the activation had been on a Saturday and not Sunday, from a summit such as Shining Tor, G/SP-004 at 559m ASL, the number of contacts would have easily exceeded 150. The IO83 square is still a hot spot for VHF.

73 Mike
2E0YYY

But that’s G-land - not Austria. I envy you!

73, Alfred, OE5AKM

1 Like

Apparently the NAC SSB and CW crowd is still around. Good for them! Unfortunately, a lack of functional equipment prevents me from checking in with them, and I find it difficult to stick around for scheduled activities anyway. But it’s not all about SOTA and contests.

In the meantime, I’ve tried FM a number of times and was disappointed with the general lack of responses to (unscheduled) calls, even from elevated points like a high-rise building, the Deister hills, or even the Brocken. The calling frequencies seem mostly dead. I guess people just do not expect anybody to call any more, and consequently don’t call themselves. I kind of have given up, too.

73, Martin

1 Like

I’ve never had problems in Austria. I have always been under the impression that a great deal of activations in OE are on 2m FM. Judging by the amount of traffic around 145.500 I’d say 2m FM is pretty popular. At least more popular than here in Slovakia.

I have never had any problems on 2m in Niederoessterreich/Steiermark region.I wouldn’t say that the numbers are in the hundreds or even twenties, but I have always managed at least 4 mandatory qsos.

But it’s not all about SOTA and contests.

The Tuesday nights are only the most powerful argument and an opportunity to chase more than one summit station. On a Saturday afternoon or a Sunday morning, the QSO figures certainly can’t compare to a Tuesday night and you better use SSB than FM. However, it’s fun, too.

In the meantime, I’ve tried FM a number of times and was disappointed

That’s exactly my experience in DM/NS. SSB is the answer. :wink:
Especially on the Brocken it’s good to have a decent RX to avoid blocking. Most HT fail due to the high overall level of RF. The other day I had to use 50 W on the Seven Summits near Alfeld to be heard by an activator on the Brocken using a HT - that’s 62 km LOS.

Ahoi
Pom

Short training today on Hohe Egge (Süntel, 440 m asl) DM/NS-126 for the coming Tuesday activity night. My 2x5 ele yagis needed some fixing after the fully equipped gf pole collapsed the other day when activating in a freezing rain. I fixed them yesterday and just wanted to check if everything’s working properly again.

The drive was very foggy, but after leaving the car at the Pötzen car park I soon gained enough height to be above the fog. On my ascent, I stopped for a minute to admire the great view: All the valleys were covered by a thick white layer with only the surrounding summits peaking in the somewhat blue skies (app. 4/8 cloudy). The picture was taken during the descend when the fog still hadn’t cleared. In the distance, the steam clouds of Grohnde power plant can clearly be seen.

I cq’ed on 144.300 SSB shortly after 1100 and my local radio mate DO7OZ came back instantly and we qsy’ed. As he is suffering from a cold, the qso didn’t last too long. So I returned to 144.300 and on the second call DH6YHO came back. We had a nice chat on portable and mobile operation as well as the upcoming TRXs IC-705 and Discovery TX500 and after 20ish minutes I aksed: “Anybody else on frequency and wanting to join?” And didn’t believe it, there were three stations coming back at the same time! So we started a net and almost everybody was able to work all the other stations. And every time I asked if someone wanted to join, there was a new station calling in!

And so it went on for almost two hours. After all, 16 QSO’s were made and turned this only-testing-my-gear activation into the most fun activation I’ve ever had on VHF (except contests).
On the picture, it looks a bit windy, but there was not the lightest breeze. My pole fixing was a bit odd, so the antennas were not pointing horizontally.

Who said VHF was dead?

Ahoi
Pom

4 Likes