On Saturday 21st March 2020 I headed out mid-afternoon to activate the Monarto Conservation Park 5CP-138 and VKFF-0828 and take part in the 2020 John Moyle Memorial Field Day.

I entered into the 6-hour single operator portable category.

I have operated from the Monarto Conservation Park many times in the past.  The park is located about 80 km east of Adelaide.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Monarto Conservation Park.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

I operated from my normal spot, which is adjacent to the carpark on Ferries McDonald Road.

Above:- An aerial view of the Monarto Conservation Park, looking north.  Map courtesy of Google maps.

The aim of the John Moyle Memorial Field Day is….

“to encourage and provide familiarisation with portable and field operation, and provide training for emergency situations. The rules are therefore specifically designed and focussed to encourage field operations.”

For some very interesting information on John Moyle, the man, please see my previous post…….

https://vk5pas.org/2017/03/19/totness-recreation-park-vkff-1754-and-the-john-moyle-memorial-field-day-2017/

John Murray Moyle.  Image courtesy of Peter VK3RV

I was set up and ready to go by about 2.55 p.m. local time.  I ran the Yaesu FT-857d and the 20/40/80 linked dipole for this activation.  My power output was 40 watts.

My first contact was with Peter VK3PWG in Victoria on the 40m band.  My final contact was with Garry VK7JGD in Tasmania on the 80m band.

I made a total of 239 contacts in my 6 hour period, with a claimed score of 478 points.

How does that compare to my scores in previous years?

• 2019 – 187 QSOs
• 2018 – did not operate portable
• 2017 – 241 QSOs
• 2016 – 229 QSOs
• 2015 – 238 QSOs
• 2014 – 155 QSOs

The chart below (courtesy of VK Contest Log) shows my activity during the Field Day.

The vast majority of my contacts were on the 40m band, a total of 176 QSOs.  I made 47 QSOs on 80m, and just 16 QSOs on 20m.

Most of my contacts were into Victoria (VK3) with a total of 83 QSOs.  This was followed by New South Wales (VK2) with a total of 59 QSOs, and then Queensland (VK4) with a total of 34 QSOs.  I was very pleased to work ZL3VZ on 20, 40 & 80m SSB, and also ZL1GAB on 40m.

Above:- Graph showing the areas worked (VK1-VK7 & ZL) during the Field Day.  Image courtesy of nces.ed.gov

The map below shows my contacts around Australia and into New Zealand during the Field Day.

Above:- Map showing my QSOs during the 2020 John Moyle Memorial Field Day.  Map courtesy of qsomap.org

THANK YOU to everyone who called.

After a short wait for its arrival in the mail, I recently received the Mountain Explorer certificate for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program.

I qualified for the award way back in 2015, but I have only just applied for it.

It is issued for having activated at least one summit in each of 5 different SOTA associations.

Another certificate I have recently received is the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) activator certificate, issued for having activated a total of 275 different WWFF reference areas and achieving a minimum of 44 QSOs during each of those activations.

Thanks to all of the WWFF hunters, and thanks to Friedrich DL4BBH the Awards Manager.

Late entry.

Last December I qualified for the VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 1,350 certificate.  It is issued for having worked a total of 1,350 different VKFF references.

Thanks to all of the VKFF activators.

Another recent addition to the amateur radio ‘wallpaper’ was the global World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) Park to Park certificate, issued for having made a total of 1,044 Park to Park contacts.

Thanks to all of the WWFF activators, and thanks to Swa ON5SWA the Awards Manager.

In the last few days, I received another certificate from Pit YO3JW from the Romanian Amateur Radio Society.  It is a Park to Park certificate, issued for having made 1,044 Park to Park contacts.

Thanks to all of the WWFF activators.

And thanks to the Award Manager Pit YO3JW.

For a variety of different reasons, I have not activated a park since the start of December 2019.  Today (Sunday 15th March 2020) was a beautiful sunny day so I decided to motivate myself and head out for a park activation.  I chose my local park, the Totness Recreation Park VKFF-1754.

Totness is just a short drive from my home, and as a result, I have activated Totness many times before.  The park is located about 40 km south-east of Adelaide in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Totness Recreation Park.  Map courtesy of Google maps.

Totness Recreation Park is about 41 hectares (101 acres) in size and was established on the 15th day of January 1970.  The park is dissected by the South Eastern Freeway (the main road between Adelaide and Melbourne).  The park is surrounded by rural properties that are primarily used for grazing.

Although it is designated as a Recreation Park, Totness has no visitor facilities.  There are walking trails in the park.  The park is not signposted nor is there a lot of parking options.  Access to the park is either via Haines Fire Track for the southern section or Milne Road for the northern section.  Milne Road runs off Mount Barker Road.

The land that is now Totness Recreation Park was formerly the property of the South Australian Railways and the Department of Transport.  The park was declared as the Totness National Parks Reserve on the 15th day of January 1970 and was re-designated as a recreation park on the 27th day of April 1972.

Above:- An aerial view of the Totness Recreation Park looking west towards the city of Adelaide.  Image courtesy of Google maps.

The park takes its name from the area of Totness, which was named by William Hannaford (1825-1869) when he cut up section 2963 Hundred of Macclesfield in 1961.  He issued seventy-year leases with right of purchase which commenced in 1871.  Hannaford was born in Totnes Devon in 1825.  He emigrated to Australia aboard the Emma in 1845. The surrounding area was as known as Little Totness.

The town of Totnes in Devon, England is a small market town located at the head of the estuary of the River Dart.  The town has a long recorded history dating back to 907 when its first castle was built.  The spelling of the town is Totnes, unlike Totness in South Australia.

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During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the wattle bark industry flourished in the vicinity of the park.  Stringybark trees were cut for firewood.  The nearby Mount Barker Tannery utilised the wattle bark for tanning leather and the firewood was used in steam boilers and brick kilns.

A significant portion of the southern section of the park was land which was originally granted to John Dunne in 1853.  Dunne was a significant figure in the early history of the town of Mount Barker.

Above:- John Dunne.  Image courtesy of WIkipedia

Over 180 native plant species can be found in the park including messmate stringybark and manna gum woodlands which are now uncommon in much of their former range across the Mount Lofty Ranges.

Numerous native mammals can be found in the park including Western Grey kangaroos, Common ringtail possums, short-beaked echidnas and koalas.  Feral Fallow Deer can also be found in the park.

Birds SA have recorded about 57 species of bird in the park including Superb Fairywren, Striated Thornbill, Brown Thornbill, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Grey Shrike-thrush, Australian Golden Whistler, White-throated Treecreeper, Eastern Spinebill, Yellow-rumped Thornbill, and Red-browed Finch.

In the northern section of the park you can find an old South Australian Railways dam.  The dam was built in 1884 and was used until 1944 to provide water to the steam trains which travelled through Mount Barker from Adelaide to the seaside town of Victor Harbor.  Water was piped to an outlet at the Mount Barker Railway Station about 5 km away.  The dam also previously provided water for Mount Barker residents until 1955 with the commission of the Mannum-Adelaide pipeline.  Today, the dam is popular for fishing for Redfin.

Above:- An aerial shot of the Totness Recreation Park showing the northern and southern sections dissected by the South Eastern Freeway.  Image courtesy of google maps.

I set up in my normal spot which is off Haines Firetrack.  There is a small area here where you can park your car without blocking the gate.  I set up my fold up table and deck chair just inside the gate and I ran the Yaesu FT-857d and the 20/40/80m linked dipole for the activation.

I called CQ on 7.144 and first in the log was Brenton VK3CM with a very strong 5/9 plus signal.  This was followed by Dennis VK2HHA, Colin VK3NQS and then Malcolm VK3OAK/p who was operating portable in the Mount Erip Flora Reserve VKFF-2397.

I went on to work a total of 39 stations on 40m including two further Park to Park contacts.  One with Adam VK2YK/5 who was in the Cobbler Creek Recreation Park VKFF-1699, and the other with John VK5HAA/p who was in the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park VKFF-0781.  I also logged Peter VK3PF/p and Ross VK3NRB who were activating SOTA peak, Mount Shillinglaw.

When callers slowed down I had a tune across the 40m band and I found special event station VI3RA calling CQ on 7.160.  Over this weekend the Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club with the kind permission of BAI Communications (Broadcast Australia) will connect amateur transceivers to the curtain array and rhombic antennas at the Broadcast Australia site in Shepparton which is located in North Central Victoria Australia. This site was previously a Radio Australia location which was the Shortwave Service from Australia. The Radio Australia transmissions from this site ceased in 2017.

After logging VI3RA I moved up to the 20m band and started calling CQ on 14.310.  Murray VK4MWB came back to my CQ call with a strong 5/8 signal.  Andrei ZL1TM then called in and although he was a weak signal, he made my log.  Unfortunately, they were my only 2 callers on 14.310.

I then headed down to the ANZA DX Net on 14.183, but sadly they were just closing the net.  Net control Mike VK4JT kindly allowed me to give Alberto P29LL in Papua New Guinea a call.  Alberto was 5/8 and he gave me a 5/5 signal report.  Once the net had closed I logged a handful of stations on 14.183 including Ted VK6NTE with his normal big signal, Clem VK4XCS, and Greg VK4VXX.

I then moved to the 80m band where I logged Darryl VK5JDS and Joseph VK5WU.  To conclude the activation I moved back to 40m where I logged a further 8 stations on 7.130.  I couldn’t get back to 7.144 as the 40m band was very busy with a number of European stations.  I was also privileged to be called by Rex VK3OF who was at the mic of VI3RA.  Rex was instrumental in getting VI3RA on air.

THANK YOU to everyone who called me.  It was my first activation for a long time, and I had a lot of fun out in the afternoon sun having a chat.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3CM
2. VK2HHA
3. VK3NQS
4. VK3OAK/p (Mount Erip Flora Reserve VKFF-2397)
5. VK3SQ
6. VK3ZPF
7. VK4NH
8. VK4DXA
9. ZL4TY/VK4
10. VK4HNS
11. VK2EXA/p
12. VK4TJ
13. VK4/AC8WN
14. VK4/VE6XT
15. VK4SSN
16. VK3TKK/m
17. VK2YK/5 (Cobbler Creek Recreation Park VKFF-1699)
18. VK2WI
19. VK3NBL
20. VK4FDJL
21. VK4FARR
22. VK3CFA
23. VK1MIC
24. VK3SH
25. VK3STU
26. VK5HAA/p (Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park VKFF-0781)
27. VK2LEE
28. VK2KJJ
29. VK2UXO
30. VK5KBJ
31. VK3PF/p (SOTA VK3/ VE-068)
32. VK3NRB/p (SOTA VK3/ VE-068)
33. VK4SMA
34. VK3MAB
35. VK4CZ
36. VK4MWB
37. VK4SYD
38. VK5FMAZ
39. VK3VDX
40. VI3RA
41. VK3HK
42. VK3SX
43. VK2IO
44. VK4OY
45. VK3HBG
46. VK7HCK
47. VI3RA
48. VK3OF
49. VK7PSJ

I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

1. P29LL
2. VK4JT
3. VK4GSF
4. VK6NTE
5. VK4XCS
6. VK4VXX
7. VK4BXX
8. VK4/NN3Z

I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5JDS
2. VK5WU

References.

Birds SA, 2020, <https://birdssa.asn.au/location/totness-recreation-park/>, viewed 15th March 2020.

Department for Environment and Heritage, 2007, Totness Recreation Park Management Plan.

State Library South Australia, 2020, <https://published.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/placenamesofsouthaustralia/T.pdf>, viewed 15th March 2020.

Wikipedia, 2020, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totness_Recreation_Park>, viewed 15th March 2020.

Wikipedia, 2020, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Totnes>, viewed 15th March 2020.