After dinner on Thursday 23rd November 2023, Marija and I decided to head out to activate the Rise and Shine Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-4277.
The park is located at Sandon, about 138 km northwest of Melbourne.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Rise & Shine NCR. Map c/o Google Maps.
The reserve is about 113 hectares in size and was established on the 26th day of February 2002. (CAPAD 2022)
Above:- An aerial view of the Rise & Shine NCR showing the park boundaries. Image c/o Google Earth.
The reserve takes its name from an old gold mine. It is located on Sandon-Clydesdale Road, Sandon. Sandon takes its name from Sandon in Essex. (Blake 1978)
We ran the Yaesu FT857, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for this activation. I used the special event callsign of VI10VKFF. Band conditions on 40m were excellent. We experienced the Over The Horizon Radar on 80m.
Marija worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK7AAE
- VK3APJ
- VK5DW
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK3BBB
- VK2CCP
- VK5GY
- VK3GJG
- VK2EG
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-
- VK7AAE
- VK3APJ
- VK5DW
- VK4NH
- VK4DXA
- VK3BBB
- VK2CCP
- VK5GY
- VK3GJG
- VK2EG
- VK1AO
- VK2MET
- VK3PF/m
- VK3KAI/m
- VK3MTT
- VK2WGW
- VK3YV
- VK3TNL
- KG5CIK
- VK2DL
- VK2IMP
- VK2YK
- VK5GA
- VK3CA
- VK5LA
- VK5KAW
- VK5KLV
- VK2LQ
- VK2PCT
- VK2DWP
- VK7MAT
- VK4HMI
- VK3SX
- VK2WE
- VK3GB
- VK3SG
- VK5KVA
- VK5SPJ
I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-
- VK3CA
- VK5LA
- VK5KAW
- VK2YK
- VK5GA
- VK3ARM
- VK2DWP
- VK3GJG
- VK5HS
With the park qualified, we packed up and returned to our Sandon accommodation. It was a slow drive as we had plenty of company on the roads.
References.
- Dcceew.gov.au. (2023). Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2022 – DCCEEW. [online] Available at: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/land/nrs/science/capad/2022 [Accessed 26 Mar. 2024].
- Leslie James Blake, 1978, Place Names of Victoria.
VK5PAS 