Hi Everybody,
If any for you today have worked N2YTF and W2VV today they were both activating W2/GC-020 not W2/GC-021, so if you have loged it as W2/GC-021 you need to correct your log to W2/GC-020, I know that DL3JPN has logged as W2/GC-021, so please could you correct your log.
Jimmy M3EYP
In reply to M3EYP:
Sadly a no from me however we could hear Tom on both SSB and CW, maybe next time? Sean M0GIA
Well, it was worth a go, and at least being able to hear a US SOTA activation was a step in the right direction.
Recently, I have enjoyed QSOs with booming signals both ways between The Cloud and the East Coast of the USA about this time of day, but it was not to be today. We heard Tom N2YTF on both SSB and CW, but only at signals of 31 / 319. I was quite jealous to hear EU stations sending him reports of 579!
Tom did improve to about a 449 as we got towards 5pm, but he still couldn’t hear my calls in reply to his CQs, so we called it a day.
We will try again another time. I am sure we can make it.
Thanks to Sean M0GIA for the company on the summit, and to G0RXA, G6WRW and G0SLR for calling in on 20m SSB before the intercontinental S2S attempt.
Tom M1EYP
Thanks for your activation in any case Tom. It was certainly attracting big interest over here in Europe, and I hope you both went on to make lots of contacts, and enjoyed your activation.
Hope you do lots more - I look forward to the next one.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
I wonder who could hear Tom and who worked him, i also wonder what set up they had and where they were? Sean M0GIA
In reply to M0GIA:
On DM/RP-366 (in the west of Germany) Tom was not to hear. Some few US stations were around, and a non US QSO with strong signals on 14.293. As antenna I had used a G5RV Inverted Vee.
I think to have heard G6WRW, very quietly, recognized Carolyn at the voice, not by callsign.
Joerg DL5KD
In reply to M0GIA:
Hi Sean,
I could hear Tom in Cheltenham on CW. He was very weak in QSB and I did not work him. East coast USA was weak, but West coast was very good. Next time maybe!
73,
Frank
In reply to M0GIA:
Hi Sean
I was parked on Clee Hill (not Titterstone); Yaesu-FT-857, 100 watt, home built 1/4 wave vertical.
Heard loads of US stations, but not the one I wanted. Had a quick chat to Tom then wandered off to work a little DX before going home.
Carolyn (G6WRW)
In reply to M3EYP:
Sorry for the confusion folks…I think we got a bit confused as well.
I want to thank everyone for being so patient with my marginal CW skills.
Oddly I found pileups on CW that vanished when I tried to call them by the numbers and did not return…perhaps signals were up and down?
Also I want to mention that again we had several park visitors drop by to say hello and ask about what we were doing, and many were amazed. Most exciting was making a random contact with a ham using an HT with a Jpole while hiking…I am going to try to infect him with SOTA fever…
Dave and I really enjoyed our time on the hill today. We found a nice sunny spot and the nearby antenna farm did not bother us at all really on HF, but 70cm was a mess, making satellite work impossible.
This was my first time using the K3 portable, and its CW decoder is what allowed me to work any CW at all. Next time I will have its CW memories properly programmed to really crank out the CW contacts. I tried the built in PSK31 to no avail.
I would like to add that CW keyers are read by my decoder much better then a straight key…and without my K3’s decoder I am really hard pressed to decode anything but the slowest code. Hopefully this will improve some day, but in the meantime I will always hear the keyers better then the straight keys.
73 to all and thanks again for your patience,
Tom-N2YTF
In reply to M0GIA:
Hi Sean.I put a carolina windom up yesterday in an attempt to work Tom.I could here him occasionaly but very weak.I called him several times between 1600 and 1630 but it was no go .I will keep trying if Tom is prepared to give it another go.ATB Geoff
In reply to M3EYP:
Hi Jimmy,
thanks for your info. I was a bit confused because Tom mentioned in QSO GC-21? and his APRS-Info was also GC-021. Now I checked in the database and corrected my log.
Toms signal was about S5 to S6 in the peaks but with deep QSP and with very much QRM from an other QSO on the same frequency. I got my 57 rapport and after the QSO his signal completely disappeared in QSB and I could´nt hear him in CW either.
@Tom, thanks for your activation.
CUL, 73 and GL
Steffen, DL3JPN
In reply to M3EYP:
Hi!
Iam sorry indeed , my mistake . . I was spotted N2YTF as GC021 - wrong . .
corrected last eve’- Why? Now I know . .I was on aprs.fi N2YTF-3, GC021
was there - but 698m ASL (that’s GC020 , and GC021 “only” 507m. .
Well, heard Tom on 14290 at first, but too many qrm around, missed him.
Find his CQ a bit later on 14011 ,as turn around 14013 . .Yeah, Tom answered
to my call / nice pleasure, thanks a lot! Pretty nice sigs here -still QSB,
but S-meter up to s4 sometimes! “Big” sigs in the headphones , isn’t it? Also heard the QSO with OK2QA (both sides) + some DL takers , but not a beep from
SP015-M1EYP/P . . Tom-N2YTF may had some troubles with FR/F5UOW when he started to work really closed + his takers around . .
Thanks again, GL+73 de Laci -ha7ug-
Ps: Setup here: old FT920 + kW PA (1st time to use for SOTA) 4L SteppIR 24mh
In reply to HA7UG:
Yes…sorry about that guys, we had the beacon status wrong. As a matter of fact I think we may have even given the wrong number as well on the air, and for that I am very sorry.
One day soon I hope to activate 021, and I have the maps for it but yesterday I felt I had not yet recovered enough from my last hike to activate 021 which is much more of a hike then 020.
020 was very pleasent yesterday, and we had a nice and sunny spot. Also it was nice to get my feet wet with CW.
73,
Tom
In reply to N2YTF:
I’m surprised Carolyn didn’t hear Tom? Carolyn you was using the same aerial as Tom (M1EYP) so it must have been down to the heavey QRM that wiped out the weaker stations? I think we heard Tom when we QSYed to 14.285 i think? Bad QRM on 14.290 but that’s 20m SSB!
Interesting on those who could hear Tom on what aerials they were using, Windom has a vertical component i think? Inverted “V” has some vertical characteristics as well as horizontal to it.
Well done to HA7UG and as i thought a little more than 100w and a dipole! All the same the contact was established so that must be a first in SOTA? Sean M0GIA
In reply to M0GIA :
Hi Sean
I was listening to this net on 14.292
Carolyn
In reply to thread:
I “copied” Tom for about 10 minutes on CW - well, he was too fast for me but I got the callsign - and then QSB set in and took him down to the noise. Initially I’d have put him at 539. Antenna a G5RV at 6 metres, received on an FT857D.
73
Brian G8ADD