As I will be at Dayton (Xenia) next year, I was thinking whether I could fit in an activation (as all good SOTA adicts do). As I will be with a group of Hams who are not directly interested in SOTA, the summit needs to be an easy, quick activation. Looking at this summit it appears to be a “drive-up” summit.
My question is - what’s the simplex 2m / 70cm coverage like in this area, being the highest point in Ohio, I’m hoping it’ll be good. My hope would be to activate just on 2m or 70cm simplex with a HT and RH770 whip antenna. Otherwise bringing the full HF kit from Europe would be difficult.
If I had to guess, I would say not so promising since there have been zero VHF QSOs logged for Campbell Hill. But it is a popular activation for Dayton attendees so maybe you can team up with another activator. I hope to attend Dayton next year so consider this an open invitation to join me for an activation of Campbell Hill.
The activation zone for W8O/CT-001 is quite large so there are plenty of options, but I think most activate near the actual high point.
Easiest for HF Ed would be to tag along with another SOTA addict who happens to be attending the rally. That way you have less worries about getting radios and batteries onto planes etc.
Thanks Pat,
That’s a very kind offer. One issue however is timing. I will be with four other (UK based) Hams sharing one van and this activation will be planned into our trip leaving the Dayton area on the Sunday, so timing at Campbell Hill will depend on several things and at the moment I couldn’t tell you exactly when we’ll be at the summit. Any planned time could also change on the day.
With Hamvention there should be a lot more amateurs in the area and some will surely have 2m simplex (even if they’re not SOTA chasers)?
Of course dropping out of the AZ (I presume you made that picture with the “flooding” feature on Google Earth?) from the actual summit to make the needed 4 contacts would involve some driving as the summit is relatively flat. Of course if we didn’t go to the actual summit, rather stopped just inside the AZ a drive out of the AZ by the guys could get the required 4 contacts - but I don’t like this way of getting the contacts - it’s sort of “cheating” even if technically it’s allowed.
We’ll all have dual band HTs with us but bringing HF gear over as well could be an issue - I’ll have to give it some thought.
Yes Andy this is the method I referred to but also said despite being legitimate, I’d prefer not to do it if I can avoid it. Surely there must be 4 “normal” 2m FM stations listening around midday on a Sunday in the area?
You need to check if you can get into AZ on Sunday, You need to make sure it is open when you plan to arrive. It is not open all the time. That has been reported previously by an activator. I live South of Dayton area. Campbell Hill is about an hour North of the Dayton area. Yes a drive up but you need to get into the premises.
I learned during my recent activation that Campbell Hill has restricted access during weekends. The summit is on a campus with a perimiter fence and gates that are locked during off hours. According to the grounds caretaker, they try to enforce weekend hours of the gates open between 7 am to 3 pm Saturdays and closed Sundays. I happened to get in early on a Sunday afternoon because the gates were open for a Sunday morning church service in one of the buildings. The gates were closed and locked when I tried to leave and I had to call the local Bellefountain police department to get out!
The activation may not be lost if you arrive and the gates are locked. The Activation Zone is very broad and appears to extend past the perimiter fence. You may be able to find a suitable place to operate outside of the fence.
