Thanks for the encouraging comments. Got a linked dipole for 20 and 40 and a ~7M pole to pop it up as an inverted V.
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Same as I used for my S2S into VK/ZL!
73 Ed.
Fixed. You may need to log out and back in again. Password remains the same. All existing posts are attributed to 2E0HZI but any references to M6HZI that are text remain that way.
Jim
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Hi Andrew, how do chasers fit into the scheme of this.
73 de Geoff vk3sq
Hi Geoff,
Chasers are ALWAYS welcome - any European or South African or Japanese activator would be thrilled to be called by a VK chaser as itās a DX contact. Although S2S between summits is the aim (and the hard part of the action as both ends tend to run low power and limited antennas), chasers are of course also part of the event. We only ask that if you hear a summit calling another summit, you let them in first and if you can hear a summit calling but the other summit doesnāt hear him (or her) you call for your contact and then let the activator know that there is a summit calling, so that it can be given priority.
Some chasers who arenāt able to get to a summit but have high noise level at home are going out portable to a park or to the coast to get them a better chance of hearing the activators.
With over 40 summits currently planned to be activated (some have not yet alerted) and the number growing each day, youāll have a lot of stations to chase whether they are in VK, ZL, G, ZS, JA, EU or even VE - good luck and above all enjoy.
Best 73 Ed DD5LP (VK2JI / G8GLM).
Is there a special call to use (CQ S2S-party) or do we stick with CQ SOTA?
Whatever you are happy with.
Iāll be calling CQ SOTA as normal but then from time to time if I think (or hope) thereās a summit station in the pile-up put out specific calls for āS2S only pleaseā. If I get any response to that, Iāll try to work the other summit(s) then go back to normal chasers.
73 Ed.
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Geoff
Everyone is welcome, how else do you get to chase EU summits and vice versa, EU chasers are trying to work JA ZL and VK summits.
The problem is the volume of spots and the speed at which new spots appear. Good luck keeping up.
Activators have two approaches, post a spot and stay on frequency hoping that other activators/chasers will hear you or spend an hour or so chasing other activators without spotting yourself.
Essentially itās a free for all, grab what you can, assuming LP propagation holds up. There are good days and bad. 
The most important part is to have fun, donāt take it too seriously, after all SOTA is a hobby, a very addictive hobby. 
73 Andrew VK1AD
Iām in. Iāve alerted for VK3/VE-024 at 0630 UTC, 40m/30m/20m CW. If conditions are good Iāll try SSB as well. I will spot myself and will be monitoring SOTA Watch while Iām on the air. For VK S2S/chasers Iāll probably have 80m available if anyone wants to give that a go.
Fingers crossed! Today many EU contest stations were coming in on 40m from around 0630 UTC, not particularly strong but I could copy OK. I didnāt try a QSO with my 5W from my not particularly good QTH.
Hope to make many contacts next weekend.
73
Bernard, VK2IB
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Iāve put in my order for a good one this end - at least the ābig freezeā is ending and with around 12-15 degrees (POSITIVE!!) and sunshine forecast for Saturday, even if the propagation isnāt brilliant I wonāt be āFreezing my you know whats offā again!
As there is involvement from Canada and South Africa, even if the Long Path EU-VK doesnāt deliver, there may be other contacts possible to the Europeans and the ANZ crew, short path!
73 Ed.
To be fair, Mike has never actually stated that he wonāt work me or given a reason, just that he canāt hear me. So Iāll keep on trying for the S2S.
Sorry for those in the UK, but this side of The English Channel - this is what is forecast for my summit next Saturday.
UPDATE 7/3/18: That Sunny weather has now moved to Sunday - grey, cold(ish) and rain for Saturday - Weather forecasters are useless!
I am in! looking forward to trying out the new call (formerly VK1FWBD) and the new band access (20m).
W
VK1MIC.comā¦
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Congrats on your new upgraded licence and nice callsign. Being MIC your suffix now, it seems like you wonāt try CW, will you?
Cheers,
Guru
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Iām not anti cw. Just slowly learning. Whys that??
Hi Wade,
Your nice suffix is usually the abbreviation for microphone in all or most of our rigs front pannel.
I was just kidding and trying to challenge you on trying CW.
Glad to read that you are slowly learning.
We are always delighted to see new CW activators coming in.
Keep working on it and youāll surely be CQing on CW from a summit soon.
Good luck and 73,
HPE CU SN (usual abbreviations in morse for I hope to copy you soon)
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Shall be up at Bonfire Hill VK2/CT-006 for this event and hopeing for good weather as will camp out o/nite.
20M, 30M, 40M and 80M
Vertical aerial and 45W as long as the batteries hold out. Solar panels donāt work at night !
Wal VK2WP
Hi Wal,
What time do you expect to start and will you be operating CW or SSB or both?
If you are camping overnight, you should gets lots of contacts as the Commonwealth Contest starts at 1000 UTC for 24 Hours.
Could you post an alert on SOTAWatch please?
73 Ed.
Hi Ed,
Start 0615 mostly cw but will take a mic just in case. 20m starts to open around 0700.
An alert has been put up on SOTAWATCH.
Hope to hear you, cheers Wal VK2WP
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Thanks Wal,
Due to the distance I have to drive, Iām only going to be on a little later, so I hope to catch the end of the Long Path. Perhaps I can pull my activation forward a little.
Thanks for the extended info - Iāll list you as CW + SSB in my spreadsheet (I hope we can make a contact on SSB as I STILL havenāt managed to learn CW but I realise itās going to be hard work on SSB -but Iāll be trying).
I cant see any VK5 activators posted at the moment which surprises me as there used to be a solid group in VK5 when I livede in VK2 a few years ago.
Paul, Ian - where are you ??
73 Wal Ed DD5LP (VK2JI).