This morning (Sunday 26th June 2016) I headed out to the Ettrick Conservation Park 5CP-267 and VKFF-1029 to take part in the inaugural Freeze Your Butt Off (FYBO) Contest. I had been out to Ettrick once before, back in January 2016 and had qualified the park for the VK5 Parks Award and the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. So this activation was just for some fun for FYBO.
For more info on my previous activation at Ettrick please see…..
https://vk5pas.org/2016/01/16/ettrick-conservation-park-vkff-1029/
It was a very chilly start to the morning and I must admit I rolled over in bed thinking that I wasn’t going to be bothered. I’d been out to tea the night before with John VK5BJE and Ray VK4NH, and our wives, and had consumed a little too much red wine. But I made the effort and jumped out of bed and was on the road a little after 8.30 a.m. South Australian local time. It was only 6 degrees C at that time.
Ettrick Conservation Park is around a one hour drive from home, which takes me along the South Eastern Freeway to Murray Bridge and across the mighty Murray River at the Swanport Bridge. I then travelled north towards Mannum along the Burdett Road.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Ettrick Conservaiton Park in the Murray Mallee region of South Australia. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
I travelled through the little area of Burdett with the Murray River clearly visible at times to my left. About 3 km south of Mannum I reached Glenburr Road and turned right here. There is no park sign and the Glenburr Road sign is very small, so keep your eyes peeled!
It was slow going along Glenburr Road as it was alive with kangaroos. There was even a fox or two.
I soon reached the north western corner of the park which is located at the junction of Glenburr Road and Boundary Road. There is no sign for the park, so just remember that this is where the park starts and it continues on the southern side of Glenburr Road, all the way up to close to the intersection with Jackson Road. I strongly recommend that you check maps prior to leaving home as this park is not signposted and there is a lot of scrub in the area which could easily be mistaken for the park.
I entered the park via a 4WD track which is opposite Native Vegetation Road. There is an open gateway at this location. I drove a few km into the park and found a clearing in the scrub and set up.
Above:- Aerial shot showing my operating spot in the Ettrick Conservation Park. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
Ettrick CP is situated about 112 km east of Adelaide and about 32 km north east of Murray Bridge. It is a newly formed park, and was proclaimed on 31st October 2013. The park is about 484 hectares in size and predominantly comprises open mallee and several species of eucalypt. It also contains some of the few remaining examples of tussock grassland in the Murray Darling Basin. A number of vulnerable South Australian birds call the park home, including the malleefowl, Shy Heathwren, Hooded robin, White winged cough, Jacky Winter, Restless flycatcher, Painted Button quail, and the Regent parrot.
The park is surrounded by a lot of cleared farming land which has been taken up for sheep grazing and cropping.
I was set up in the park by around 10.00 a.m. local time and it was just 8 degrees C. For this activation I set up the deck chair and fold up table, and ran the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts, and the 40m/20m linked dipole supported on the 7m heavy duty squid pole.
I headed for 7.144 and was about to ask if the frequency was in use when I heard Peter VK3ZPF call Les VK5KLV who was portable in the Mount Brown Conservation Park. Peter was nice and strong, but I could not hear a peep from Les. So I headed down the band to 7.095 and I started calling CQ Contest a little after 10.30 a.m. local time (0100 UTC). First in the log was Geoff VK3SQ, followed by Chris VK3PAT, Ian VK5IS, and then Amanda VK3FQSO. Ian VK5IS in Beetaloo Valley was very low down, so this was not a good sign of things to come with regards to working the VK5’s.
I remained on 7.095 working a steady flow of callers from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, and VK7 until about 0319 UTC when things started to really slow down. I worked a number of SOTA activators including Bernard VK2IB/3 on VK3/ VE-241, Andrew VK1MBE on VK1/ AC-040, Andrew VK3JBL/p on VK3/ VC-003, Compton VK2HRX/p on VK2/ CT-003, Tony VK3XV/p on Mount Zero VK3/ VW-020, Gerard VK2IO/p on VK2/ CT-007, and Malcolm VK3MEL/p on VK3/ VC-018. And also a number of park activators including Stef VK5HSX/4 in Camooweal Caves National Park VKFF-0073, Michael VK3FCMC/p in French Island National Park VKFF-0622, Tony VK3XV/p in the Grampians National Park VKFF-0213, Rob VK4AAC/3 in Churchill National Park VKFF-0261, Julie VK3FOWL/p in Churchill National Park VKFF-0261, Les VK5KLVp in Mount Brown Conservation Park VKFF-0914, Peter VK5KPR/p in Mount Brown Conservation Park VKFF-0914, and Joe VK3YSP/p in Churchill National Park VKFF-0261.
I also spoke with Peter VK3YE/p running just 4 watts from his home brew SSB transceiver (5/7 sent and 5/8 received), and Nick VK3ANL who was portable on Phillip Island OC-136.
Band conditions on 40m were down significantly compared to previous weeks with lots of very noticeable deep QSB. I have found that in the past couple of months that the 40m band tends to open up locally around 10.30 a.m. but that did not happen on this day with very few VK5’s featuring in my log.
When callers dried up I had a look around the band and found Bernard VK2IB/3 on 7.090 on SOTA summit VK3/VE-241. As it had been one hour since I last worked Bernard, contest rules allowed me to call him again. After working Bernard I headed back to 7.095 and called CQ contest again. This was answered by Tom VK3NXT, followed by Amanda VK3FQSO, Mark VK3FOTO mobile, and then Mike VK3FIRM. The band conditions on 40m were average, with lots of very deep QSB, and very litle close in propagation. However it had opened up to Mount Gambier and I logged a few stations from that part of South Australia. I was also hearing the Europeans coming through on 40m with very good signals.
Portable stations worked were Les VK5KLV in the Mount Brown Conservation Park, Compton VK2HRX/p on VK2/ CT-003, and Mike VK6MB in the Sir James Mitchell National Park VKFF-0452 (5/5 both ways).
By about 0330 UTC the weather was moving in very fast from the west. It was extremely black out there and I had real concerns that I would not reach the 0600 UTC finish time for the contest. Rain had been predicted. After working a total of 116 stations on 40m I lowered the squid pole and removed the links in the 40m/20m linked dipole and headed to 14.310 on 20m. I could not get onto that frequency as there was already a North American station there calling CQ Field Day. In fact it was pretty difficult to find a clear spot as other than the Field Day there also appeared to be another Contest which the European stations were taking part in. But I eventually did find a clear spot, and sadly only managed 2 contacts on 20m. They being with Albert S58AL in Slovenia (who is a very dedicated park hunter), and John VK6NU who was on SOTA summit VK6/ SW-039. So it was back to 40m for me.
And it wasn’t long before the rain hit. It was a quick dash back to the 4WD and the bothy bag was deployed. The rain was so heavy that drops of water were seeping through the bothy bag.
Band conditions also changed and I soon started to experience very strong QRM from a Spanish station on 7.095 so I QSYd up the band, only to experience the same. Fortunately this was at the end of the contest and just before 0600 UTC I called it quits with a total of 151 contacts in the log. My last contact was at 0554 UTC with Peter VK3ZPF.
At the end of the activation I went for a drive a little further into the park along the 4WD track. I had seen on the maps that there was a ruin, so I wanted to do a little bit of 4WDing and exploring.
This was a really fun day despite the chilly and wet conditions, and the rather poor band conditions. There were long periods of calling CQ Contest with no takers. I ended up with a total of 151 contacts. 151 X 300 minutes = 451. 451 X 50 dupe QSOs= 22,550 points.
I will definitely be taking part in the Freeze Your Butt Off Contest again next year. Well done to Ian VK5CZ for organising the event.
The Oceania DX Contest is one contest that I generally always enter into. The Oceania DX Contest has been around since the mid 1930s and was known previously as the VK/ZL Contest.
In 2015 I entered the Single Operator Low Power All Band-Phone category and came 7th in Australia in that category with a total of 400 QSOs and a score of 144,333 points.
I am now awaiting the plaque for 2015. The Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society (AHARS) sponsors two plaques for the Top VK5 in SSB and the Top VK5 in CW. Below is what last years plaque looked like
More information on the Oceania DX Contest can be found at…….
I finally found some time today to apply for my VKFF Activator Honour Roll 100 certificate, awarded for activating 100 different VKFF references.
Recently I travelled to Norfolk Island for the Annual General Meeting of the Wireless Institute of Australia. I had planned to undertake some SOTA & WWFF activity whilst on the island so I took with me my Yaesu FT-857d, a linked dipole and a 8400 mAh 13.2 v LiFePo4 battery. I carried the battery in a LIPO bag.
I flew via Qantas from Adelaide to Sydney, and then via Air New Zealand from Sydney to Norfolk Island. Prior to flying, my wife Marija and I made contact with both Qantas and Air New Zealand, just to confirm what I could and not take. Batteries obviously pose a unique hazard during air travel and are capable of causing a fire if not transported correctly. Devices and battery numbers are limited to personnel use amounts.
There have been multiple reports of lithium battery related fires on cargo planes over the years. And one unsubstantiated theory about the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 focusses on the fact that the airliner was carrying a large shipment of lithium ion batteries.
The airlines rate batteries in Watt Hours (Wh). So how do you convert mAh to Wh? The formula is (mAh)*(V)/1000 = (Wh). So my 8400 mAh battery works out to be 110.208 Wh. A good converter on the internet can be found at…….
https://milliamps-watts.appspot.com/
Lithium Ion batteries (rechargeable) under 101Wh
These batteries MUST travel as carry-on baggage only. Airline approval is not required.
Lithium Ion batteries (rechargeble) 101Wh-160Wh
Airline approval is required. For Qantas we contacted….
dg@qantas.com.au
No more than two spare batteries with the terminals protected are permitted in carry-on baggage.
Qantas were fantastic and sent us a letter authorising us to carry the battery (see below)….
Air New Zealand were equally as good and noted the information on our booking information.
Generally we had no problems passing through security at the various airports (Adelaide, Sydney, & Norfolk Island). All the security people (particularly at Sydney Airport) were very friendly and once we explained what gear we were carrying, there were no problems. Sadly, the security people at Adelaide Airport were a little officious.
Last night (Friday 17th June 2016) I delivered a presentation on operating portable, to the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group (AREG) at Fulham.
Topics covered were why to operate portable, WWFF, the VK5 Parks Award, what equipment to use, and some operating tips.
A number of amateurs in the audience were already keen portable operators, but hopefully I may have encouraged others who were present to give it a go.
I also sighted documentation for a number of those present for registering with Logbook of the World as I am an official ARRL DXCC card checker.
Many thanks to Matt VK5ZM and the rest of AREG for giving me the opportunity of speaking.
My final activation for the trip away to the South East was the Grass Tree Conservation Park VKFF-0885 and 5CP-080. This was to be my ninth park activation on the trip. And again this was to be a unique park for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. I had activated this park previously as part of the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award back in June 2014.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Grass Tree Conservation Park in the South East of South Australia. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
Grass Tree Conservation Park is situated about 17 km north of Naracoorte, off the Naracoorte to Keith Road (Riddoch Highway). The park is accessed via Boddingtons West Road. The park which is 15.88 hectares in size, was gazetted in 1972 to protect the grass tree Xanthorrhoea Australis. Since last coming to this park it appears that an access point has been added for people to enter the park.
Other than the grass tree, the park also features brown stringybark, pink gum, South Australian blue gum, and austral bracken. The park also has a substantial number of banksias, many of which were in flower.
I set up just inside the northern perimeter fence, and actually used the fence to secure the squid pole and then strung out the 40m/20m linked dipole and tied off the ends to the fence. I made myself comfortable on the deck chair with the fold up table and commenced calling CQ on 7.090.
Above:- Aerial image of the Grass Tree Conservation Park showing my location in the northern section of the park. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
My first caller was Gerard VK2IO who was portable in Kumbatine National Park VKFF-0271. This was followed by a number of the park regulars including Mick VK3GGG, Geoff VK3SQ, Rick VK4RF, and Les VK5KLV. The 40m band was still behaving itself, with signals very strong from all parts of Australia. About 30 contacts into the activation I was called by Luigi IK1QFN with a good 5/5 signal amongst all the VK’s. Luigi gave me a 5/5 in Italy which I was very surprised with. I then took a break from the Australian callers and called for any stations from outside of VK, but sadly there was no reply. I have since received an email from a friend in Europe, advising that he was calling but couldn’t break the VK pile up. It is a timely reminder to occasionally listen for outside of VK.
A few contacts later I was called by Adam VK2YK who was operating portable from SOTA peak VK2/ HU-080, west of Newcastle. Adam was a nice 5/7 signal to Grass Tree.
After logging a total of 57 stations on 40m I headed over to 20m and commenced calling CQ on 20m, and this was answered by Lee VK2LEE, followed by Peter VE7CV in Canada, Mark VK2UMA, and finally Mike VK6MB. But despite conditions being quite good on the band, a number of CQ calls went unanswered. So I headed down the band to 14.183 and booked in to the ANZA DX Net where I worked 6 stations including VK2, VK4, VK6, VK7, and the USA.
It was getting on time wise and I still had a 3 hour drive to get home, so it was time to pack up with a total of 57 contacts in the log and another park underneath my belt for the WWFF program. It was also the end of a very enjoyable trip to the South East of South Australia.
Thanks to Mike VK6MB and Rick VK4RF for posting me on Facebook, and thanks to Rob VK4AAC, Paul VK2HV, Rick VK4RF, Mark VK4SMA, and Luigi IK1QFN for spotting me on the DX Cluster.
The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-
The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-
My second activation for Monday 13th June 2016 was the Talapar Conservation Park VKFF-1103 and 5CP-222. This was also to be a very first time activation of this park for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. It was also to be the very first time that I had been to this park.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Talapar Conservation Park. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
Talapar Conservation Park is situated about 40 km north west of Naracoorte, and is about 494 hectares in size. The park was gazetted in 1977 and contains mallee honey-myrtle, brown stringybark, pink gum, South Australian blue gum, and South Australian swamp paperbark. The park contains several small interconnected wetlands in the eastern section. The area surrounding Talapar has been cleared for farming and the park preserves a remnant of open forest and heath vegetation which once covered most of the South East region. There are boundary access tracks, but these were locked.
This is truly a very beautiful little park and I suspect does not get a lot of visitors. There are no facilities here and there did not appear to be any dedicated walking tracks in the park itself, other than the boundary vehicular tracks, which as I mentioned you can only access on foot.
I set up near the southern side of the park off Lochaber North Road. I used the fenceline to secure my 7 metre squid pole with the assistance of an octopus strap, and strung out the 40m/20m linked dipole.
Above:- Aerial view of the Talapar Conservation Park showing my operating spot. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
I immediately went to 7.144 and started calling CQ and this was answered by Adrian VK5FANA on the Yorke Peninsula with a 5/9 signal, followed by Geoff VK3SQ also 5/9, and then Mick VK3GGG in western Victoria who was also 5/9. The 40m band was still in great shape, as it had been for my 4 days away. As this was a brand new park for WWFF, it wasn’t surprising that a mini pile up soon ensued with callers from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7. Many of the regular park hunters appeared in the log, but there were a few new calls spread amongst those.
During the activation I made two Park to Park contacts. They were with Nick VK3ANL who was portable on SOTA peak West of England Fire Tower VK3/ VW-016 which is located within the Kara Kara National Park VKFF-0629. And also with Gerard Vk2IO who was operating portable in Kumbatine National Park VKFF-0271.
I also had some great QRP contacts. They included Steve VK3HK running just 1 watt (5/8 sent and 5/9 received). Peter VK3PF also running just 1 watt (5/8 sent and 5/9 received). Damien VK5FDEC running his normal 5 watts (5/8 sent and 5/5 received), and Lloyd VK3FSTA also running 5 watts (5/9 both ways). But the best QRP contact of this activation was with Peter VK3YE who was running just 500 milliwatts with a home brew transceiver (5/7 sent and 5/8 received).
A total of 49 contacts were made on 40m in around 45 minutes. I then moved to 20m and made just 2 contacts into Western Australia with Mike VK6MB and then Greg VK8KMD in Alice Springs. Albert S58AL in Slovenia tried calling me. Albert was quite readable, although very weak, but just couldn’t quite get my signal report, so it was an unsucessful contact. And to finish off the activation I spoke with Rick VK4RF/VK4HA and Mark VK4SMA on 21.244 on 15m.
So after around one hour and 20 minutes in the park, I had a total of 54 contacts in the log, and had well and truly qualified the park for WWFF. It was off to Grass Tree Conservation Park for me. And I am very pleased to say that the Toyota Hi Lux started first time, which I was very very pleased with.
Thanks to Rick VK4RF and Mike VK6MB for posting me on Facebook. And thanks to Adrian VK5FANA and Robert VK2XXM for spotting me on the DX Cluster.
The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-
The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-
The following stations were worked on 15m SSB:-
References.
National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1992, Small Parks of the Upper South East Management Plans.
I had three planned park activations for Monday 13th June 2016. The first being the Fairview Conservation Park VKFF-0879 and 5CP-065. This was again another park that had been previously activated for the VK5 Parks Award but not the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.
I last activated this park back in June 2015, when I was last in the South East for the SERG Convention.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Fairview Conservation Park in south eastern South Australia. Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
I had a bright and early start from Mount Gambier. And it was a freezing cold morning with overnight temperatures below zero. I checked out of the motel and headed for the ‘Golden Arches’ (McDonalds) for some breakfast. I then headed out of Mount Gambier along the Riddoch Highway, enjoying an amazing sunrise.
I travelled out through Narracoorte until I reached Lochaber Lane. There is a large sign indicating the park at this location. I drove out along Lochaber Lane until I reached Woolumbool Road, and it wasn’t long before I reached the park.
A few km along Woolumbool Road there is an open gate which allows access to the park. A large rainwater tank can be located here. This is the start of the 4WD tracks that traverse through the park. This is where I set up my station.
Above:- Aerial shot showing my operating spot within the Fairview Conservation Park. Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.
Fairview CP is situated about 17 km north of Lucindale and about 345 km south east of Adelaide. The park was constituted in 1960 and covers an area of around 1,398 hectares (3,440 acres) so it is quite a large park. The park contains two semi permanent lagoons which I did not visit. According to the park Management Plan there is a picnic area situated between the lagoons which can be reached by a track leading from the north west corner of the park. But due to the date of this publication, I’m not sure if that still exists.
The park also has extensive areas of seasonally inundated flats, sandy flats and ridges, and limestone ridges. The park contains large gums, Stringy Barks, various native grasses, and Banksias. Other than the native wildlife, deer can also be found in the park. The rare Red Tailed Black Cockatoo can be found in the park.
Although the sun had come out and the sky was a beautiful blue, it was still absolutely freezing. At the time of setting up in Fairview it was 2 degrees C. Prior to calling CQ I had a look around the 40m band and worked Gerard VK2IO who was activating the Crowdy Bay National Park VKFF-0120 (5/9 both ways). I then spoke with Al VK1RX/2 who was activating SOTA peak Mount Gillamatong VK2/ ST-034 (5/9 both ways). And then Nick VK3ANL who was activating Paddys Range State Park VKFF-0772 (5/9 both ways). The 40m band was in excellent shape.
I then moved to 7.144 and commenced calling CQ and this was answered by Dennis VK2HHA in Albury, followed by Mike VK6MB who was 5/9, and then Steve VK7CW. I worked a total of 56 stations on 40m from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7.
I then moved to 20m where I worked just 5 stations from VK2, VK4, and VK6. All had excellent signals and despite being placed on parksnpeaks by Rick VK4RF, I had no further takers. To finish off the activation I made a single 15m contact with Mike VK6MB (5/7 sent and 5/9 received). Unfortunately I could not self spot from the park as I had very limited mobile phone coverage.
So off to the next park it was for me. Well, not quite. I got in the Toyota Hi Lux and it wouldn’t start. The battery appeared flat. Fortunately for me I was able to get a jump start from one of the local farmers, for which I am extremely grateful.
Thanks to Les VK5KLV and Rick VK4RF for posting me on Facebook. And thanks to Rick VK4RF, Adrian VK5FANA, and Rob VK4AAC/3 for spotting me on the DX cluster.
The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-
The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-
The following station was worked on 15m SSB:-
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