VK/ZL <-> UK/EU S2S Event from EA3.

[EA3CVY]

I spent several days looking for a peak that was open for both LP and SP.
In the end, I chose EA3/GI-035, which was one of the few that met the criteria and wasn’t too far away, given the uncertain weather conditions forecast for the weekend.

My son, @EA3JHJ, signed up, so we decided to set off the day before, work a peak in the area and spend the night at the summit: a large rucksack, food, a camping stove, sleeping mats and sleeping bags were set. By dusk, we were checking out the summit.

Roses Bay, looking south:

And the village of Port de la Selva, to the north, lay at our feet (Apologies for the quality of the photos – mobile phones do their best in low light).

At 05:30 local time (03:30 UTC) we were up and running. Albert, as always, opted for his homemade dipole, whilst I went for the quarter-wave vertical with four ground radials.
The conditions were as follows:
Albert, EA3JHJ: Dipole, 6 metres above ground level, G90 with 20W, SSB.
Rafa, EA3CVY: Quarter-wave vertical at ground level, FTX1 with 10W, SSB and CW (Still very poor on TX, sorry!).

Dawn gradually broke:

We decided to alternate the transmissions, first one and then the other, to give both antennas and both sets of equipment a chance.
The first surprise was hearing @VK1AD, and even more so that he replied straight away – I couldn’t believe it!
Then more stations from VK and ZL came on the air, and it was a real treat.

Some photos of the antennas and the site:

At last, the sun came out instead of the rain, and we were able to enjoy the views and the place.

We had a brilliant time with the activity and we’re really pleased to have taken part!

Thank you, @DL3TU, for the suggestion at the end of August.

73
Rafa

[M0WIV]

Very well done and congratulations to both of you.

[IW2OBX]

Great experience, and congratulations on the result!

Great photos!

73

[EA2BD]

Well done Rafa & Albert, an unforgettable experience there!

I was glad to hear some VK/ZL working EA3 despite I couldn’t hear you due to the skip.

Good luck and looking forward to read you again.

73 Ignacio

[EA3CVY]

Thanks, Ignacio – see you at the next one!

[G7WKX]

Hi Rafa,

You picked a great summit. Nic and I both worked ZL1TM from there using our KX-2 and a dipole. I think it’s the first time I’d spoken to ZL on SSB before (and definitely was for Nic).

Well done

73, Simon

[EA3CVY]

Hi Simon,
I worked ZL on CW, but EA3JHJ worked it on SSB also with a dipole and 20W.
Thank you for your comment!

73, Rafa

[HB9EBE]

Congratulations, great summit & great team!

What was your impression on the comparative performance between the two station setups? Next time, would you pick the vertical or the dipole?

73 Peter

[VK1AD]

@EA3CVY

The first surprise was hearing @VK1AD,

Hi Rafa

Beautiful photos of an amazing location. I was so surprised to hear you so early in the LP window and pleased we exchanged S2S contacts.

Which antenna were you using when I called you? My antenna is an inverted V linked dipole at 7 metres above ground.

Andrew VK1AD

[EA3CVY]

Hi Peter,
Although the vertical antenna was operating at 10 W and the dipole at 20 W, I don’t see any significant difference in the reports received. The dipole does seem to have better reception, though.
I’d go for the vertical again as you don’t need to orientate it, it doesn’t need to be raised off the ground, it’s very quick to set up, and the ground at the summit was completely rocky – yet even so, with the four radials, it did the job well.
In any case, I’m sending you an Excel summary of the stations worked and the reports sent and received (thanks @EA3JHJ). Only the stations we received with both antennas are useful for comparison, but it’s still good enough to draw some conclusions.
Changes in propagation over time also play a part.

Please let me know your conclusions based on the data.

73, Rafa

[EA3CVY]

Hi Andrew

Thank you for your comments!
I used a quarter-wave vertical with four ground radials. The ground at the summit was very rocky and I was at an altitude of nearly 700 metres above sea level on a completely unobstructed summit, with the sea to the short path direction and a plain stretching over 40 km to the long path direction.

73, Rafa