Yesterday was my 49th birthday, so after a Sunday morning sleep in, and then watching the V8 Supercars in bed, I surfaced from the bedroom and had a magnificent roast lamb lunch with the family.  This was followed by a few beers on the couch watching the Aussies smash the English in the cricket.  This was a bloke’s heaven !

My wife Marija then asked what i would like to do for the afternoon !  Bad move.  Never give a bloke an option.  Especially when he is a keen portable amateur radio operator.  I told Marija that I would like to do my first SOTA activation for 2014.  Fortunately my son Jake was at lunch and he offered to drive me over to Mount Lofty, a short 15 minute drive from home.

I have operated from Mount Lofty Summit a number of times previously because of its close proximity to home.  But because it was a new year, this meant some more SOTA activator points for me.  And the added bonus is that the summit is located within the Cleland Conservation Park, so it qualifies for the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

Jake dropped me off at Mount Lofty, and I headed to my favourite operating spot on the eastern side of the summit and the obelisk, away from the tourists.

I started off on 40m first with a contact with John VK5BJE who was portable in the Mount Richmond National Park in Victoria.

I then QSY’d down to 7.090 to call CQ, but when I asked if the frequency was in use I was greeted by John VK2YW, who advised Bernard VK2IB/3, was on the frequency on a peak in Victoria, but he was fixing his antenna which had blown down.  So I placed John in the log and went a bit lower to 7.085 where the pile up started.  This included 2 Summit to Summit contacts.  The first with Greg VK2FGJW who was on One Tree Hill VK1/ AC-035, and then Bernard VK2IB/3 who had followed me down.  Bernard was on VK3/ VE-189.

QRP callers included Col VK5HCF, Peter VK3PF, Nigel VK5NIG, Andrew VK3ARR, Nev VK5WG, and Peter VK3NAD.

After working 21 stations on 40m SSB, I headed up to 20m, hoping to get the two hungry VK6 SOTA Chasers in the log, Mike VK6MB and John VK6NU.

My first caller on 20m was Andrew VK4OZY and this was followed by Matt VK2DAG, Rod VK5VRB, and then Gerard VK2IO.  And then came to the two VK6 boys.  Firstly John, followed by Mike.  It was hard work with John but we got there (5/3 S and 4/1 R).  It was a bit easier with Mike (5/3 S and 5/1 R).

Things slowed down after this on 20m, so I tuned across the 20m band to find very little activity.  I did hear Stuey VK8NSB calling CQ and I tried calling him, but I just couldn’t quite make it.  So I decided to check into the ANZA DX Net on 14.183.  And this was a good move, because I had 3 great DX contacts.

I am trying to get DXCC on QRP 5 watts and portable, and I am currently sitting on about 30 countries since March last year.  So I was very excited when on the net I was able to make contact with Andy E51AND from the Cook Islands, who had a booming signal.  I then received a call from Dom 3Z9DX in Poland, who was running qrp as well, just 5 watts (5/3 sent and 5/0 received).  And finally Maurice FK8HZ from New Caledonia gave me a call (5/8 sent and 5/5 received).

I then went back to 40m to hopefully get some more of the regular VK SOTA Chasers in the log.  I worked a further 18 stations in VK1, VK2, VK3, & VK5.

QRP callers included Nick VK3ANL and Ron VK3MRH.

I then went back to 20m to have a quick listen before Marija arrived.  I managed to sneak in another QSO with John VK6NU.  Conditions had improved between the two of us.  John was up to a 5/7.  The 20m band was not all that busy as far as DX is concerned.  But there was a lot of activity from a Russian contest ? which made finding a clear spot very difficult.

Thanks to Rod VK5VRB for passing the message onto my wife to come and pick me up, after my mobile phone went flat.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

John VK5BJE/3; John VK2YW; Brian VK5FMID; Tom VK5FTRG; Col VK5HCF; Ron VK3AFW; Greg VK2FGJW/p; Peter VK2NEO; Bernard VK2IB/3; Peter VK3FPSR; Phil VK3BHR; Peter VK3PF; Nigel VK5NIG; Andrew VK3ARR; Nev VK5WG; Ian VK5CZ; Keith VK5OQ/3; Marc VK3OHM; Allen VK3HRA; Peter VK5KPR; Peter VK3NAD; Tom VK5EE; Terry VK5ATN; Kevin VK3VEK; VK3XY; Bernard VK3AMB; Nick VK3ANL; Len VK3FB; Ron VK3MRH; Joe VK3YSP; Peter VK5PET; Ian VK1DI; Matt VK1MA; Julie VK3FOWL; Steve VK3VM/5; Mark VK3YN; Mark VK3PI; Rod VK5VRB; and Paul VK2KTT.

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

Andrew VK4OZY; Matt VK2DAG; Rod VK5VRB; Gerard VK2IO; John VK6NU; Mike VK6MB; Andy E51AND; Col VK4CC; John VK4LJ; Dom 3Z9DX; Lynne VK4SWE; Maurice FK8HZ; and Terry VK4HQ.

Thanks to everyone that called.  It was a good fun activation.  And thanks to everyone who passed on birthday wishes.  I think next year for my 50th I will probably be tied up with a bigger celebration….so no SOTA or Parks.  Maybe ???

On Friday evening, 20th December, 2013, I headed up to Mount Lofty summit, which is only 20 km west of home.  Well, I actually had the luxury of a chaufferred ride up there by my wife Marija, who dropped me off and then headed back home.  Marija didn’t fancy sitting on a log in the bush, holding hands, and listening to me talking on the radio, so she dropped me off and we organised for her to come back over and pick me up later.  Now thats a dedicated wife.  I think she may have had plans of leaving me on the summit !

Mount Lofty summit is also located within the Cleland Conservation Park, so it qualifies for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award as well as SOTA.  I have activated Mount Lofty & Cleland Conservation Park, 3 times before, but my motivation for the activation was that the 7.130 DX Net was holding a special Christmas edition of the net.  So I decided to do something a bit ‘novel’ for the net and head up to the summit.

After Marija dropped me off, I set up in my favourite spot on the eastern side of the summit, along a walking track in the bush.  This is a quieter location, away from the obelisk, the cafe, and the tourists.  There is a convenient Telstra sign there which is great to secure the squid pole to.  The weather conditions were not the best.  The temperature had dropped from a very hot 40 deg C down to about 25 deg C and the wind had really whipped up and was very strong.  Every time I heard a crack or a creak, I was looking up to make sure it wasn’t a gum tree limb about to come crushing down.  And out to the east of me there was plenty of shower activity.

I set up the linked dipole to 20m first, and my first contact was with John VK2YW who had  beautiful strong signal coming in from Wagga Wagga.  This was followed by Tom VK3EO who also had a very strong 5/9 signal from Swan Hill.  Normally the VK3 fellas don’t come in all that well on 20m, but Tom certainly had a magnificent signal.  Andrew VK1NAM then called in from the ACT with his normal good solid signal.  And thanks to Andrew as well for spotting me on SOTAWatch.  And my fourth contact was with another VK3….Marshall VK3MRG, who had a beautiful strong signal.

I was hoping that some of the Western Australia SOTA Chasers may call in, and sure enough Mike VK6MB came up.  It was good to get Mike in the log, because I can only imagine how hard it must be all the way over there in Western Australia to get 20m SOTA / QRP contacts.  So that’s why I have been trying to make a concerted effort to get onto 20m more often during any SOTA or Parks activation.  I have mentioned it before, but I think us Aussies take distance/s for granted down here in this big country of Oz.  It is about 4,000 km from Sydney to Perth (east to west), and a little over 3,000 km from Adelaide to Darwin (south to north).  They are big distances.  The map below will give you a good idea of the size of Australia compared to Europe.  And we regularly call VK3 – VK6 contacts…a local QSO !

I was also hoping that a bit of DX might call in, and to my surprise (with the help of Andrew’s spot on SOTAWatch), Michael DJ5AV called in with a booming 5/9 signal.  I received  a 5/5 signal report back Michael, who has recently been chasing a lot of the Australian SOTA activators.  My second DX contact was with Colin G4UXH.  This was much more of a challenge.  I could hear Colin very well (5/6) but he was struggling with me (3/2).

I then looked down the band to 14.156, hoping to speak to a few of my friends in the UK, Spain, Australia, and New Zealand, who gather there every day for a chat.  I spoke to John EA7BA (5/9 sent & 5/4 received).  I could clearly hear Terry G0VWP, but sadly he was unable to hear me.  This was a real shame, because Terry is a SOTA enthusiast.  I could also hear Billy, GI3NVW, but unfortunately I wasn’t quite making the grade with him.  He could hear me, but that was about it.

After working 11 stations on 20m I was running out of time, so I switched over to the 40m band and initially called CQ on 7.090 and worked Nev VK5WG, Allen VK3HRA, and Tony VK3CAT.  All had very nice signals.

I then QSY’d to the 7.130 DX Net.  Sadly the Over the Horizon radar was extremely strong and this made conditions very difficult indeed for me to work any of the DX that was on the net with my flea power of 5 watts.  I tried calling Brian ZL2ASH who was a good signal, but sadly he couldn’t hear me through the radar.  I normally make the grade quite easily with Brian when I am portable/QRP, but not this night.  William FO5JV was coming in very strong, and despite the fact that I had worked him previously whilst portable/QRP, I decided not to call, simply because of the radar.

I did take a little bit of video which I have placed on You Tube, which shows the radar in action…..

After working 6 stations on the net (in VK2, VK3, & VK7), I announced that I would QSY down to 7.110 and work anyone who might like Mount Lofty & Cleland Conservation Park.  The weather had deteriorated dramatically, and Marija had arrived and was waiting for me in the car, so it was a case of getting any interested ops in the log and moving on.  The weather had dropped from 40 deg C earlier in the day, down to about 13 deg C on the summit, with drizzly rain and strong gusty winds.  I did manage to work a few more stations in VK2, VK3, VK4, & VK5, (including Andrew VK2FAJG, operating QRP with 4 watts) before packing up and heading back home to the warmth of home.

By the end of the activation, I had a a total of 26 stations on 20m SSB and 40m SSB in the log.

The following stations were worked:-

John VK2YW; Tom VK3EO; Andrew VK1NAM; Marshall VK3MRG; Ed VK2AFY; Mike VK6MB; Michael DJ5AV; Gerard VK2IO; Colin G4UXH; Glenn VK3YY; John EA7BA; Nev VK5WG; Allen VK3HRA; Tony VK3CAT; Andy VK4TH; Ron VK3IO; Richard VK3IDX; Dennis VK2HHA; Paul VK7CC; Roy VK7ROY; Colin VK4FAAS; Urey VK3ATA; Luke VK3HJ; Iva VK4HG; Rod VK5FTTC; and Andrew VK2FAJG (QRP 4 watts).

Despite the weather, and the fact that it was no extra points for me for either SOTA or the VK5 Parks Award, this was a good fun evening.

I had already activated Mount Lofty summit VK5/ SE-005 which is within the Cleland Conservation Park.  In fact Mt Lofty was my 2nd ever SOTA activation way back in March 2013, when I first started SOTA.  And I activated it for a second time in May 2013.  So there were no SOTA points up for grabs by me.  But the temperature on Wednesday (6th November) had reached 35 degrees C, and it was going to be a magnificent evening.  Additionally, the 7.130 DX Net was on, and my main inspiration was that the Barefoot Table Net was having a special QRP night that evening.  So off to Mt Lofty I headed.

I had contacted John VK5BJE earlier in the day whilst he was activating the Port Gawler Conservation Park, and asked John if he would like to come along and do a joint activation.  John sounded really keen and I arranged to call him later in the day, which is exactly what I did on the way to the summit.  When I called I found that John was enjoying a nice cold beer at the Stirling Hotel, waiting for his lovely wife Jenny.  But he did agree that he would meet me up at the summit at about 7.00 p.m.

So I continued on my way to Mount Lofty, with some thoughts…..’should I do the summit, or join John for a nice cold beer‘.  The summit activation won……..just !  Upon reaching the summit I set up on the eastern side of the main car park, amongst the scrub.  I had operated from this exact spot during my 2nd Mt Lofty activation in May, 2013.  It is a bit more of a secluded position, away from all the tourists and lovers enjoying the view of Adelaide near the obelisk.  It is an excellent take off point out to the east, through the trees.  I found a Telstra cable sign which was ideal to attach the 7m squid pole to with some octopus straps.

After turning on the little Yaesu FT-817nd, the noise floor was very low.  There were quite a few strong static crashes however.  My first contact of the evening was with Al VK1RX (5/9 both ways).  This was a real thrill for me, because band conditions on 40m have been really poor into the eastern states.  Particularly the further afield states, like NSW & the ACT.  And things only got better from there, because my second contact was with Andrew VK1NAM, who also had a good strong 5/8 signal coming in from Canberra.  I received a 5/7 signal report from Andrew.  Things were looking up !

My third contact was with my old mate Larry VK5LY who was at the home of Ivan VK5HS, both enjoying a nice cold beer after a hard days work.  I was very envious.  And my fourth contact was with regular Parks Hunter and SOTA Chaser, Brian VK5FMID, from Mount Gambier.

This was followed by a steady flow of Chasers from VK1, VK2, VK3, and VK5.  The band conditions were really great.  Conditions even allowed me to make contact with Tom VK5EE in Mount Gambier, who was QRP with 5 watts, and a terrific QSO with Ben VK3FTRV, who was running QRP with just 2.5 watts.  My 3rd QRP to QRP contact was with Bill VK2YKW who was QRP 5 watts, using his Wouxon X1M and an inverted vee dipole.  I had intended to try 20m for the further afield VK’s, but 40m was performing so well, I decided to stay there.

After 30 minutes of operating, I decided to stretch the legs and go for a walk up to the main lookout area near the obelisk.  The obelisk, known as Flinders Column, was constructed in 1885.  Its primary function was that of a Trigonmetrical Survey Station.  There are spectacular views of the Adelaide metropolitan area, and out to the east through the Picadilly valley, from the lookout.

I headed back to the operating spot and had a tune across the band.  Soon after, at about 7.00 p.m. I received a call from John VK5BJE, asking me “where are you ?”  I gave John some directions, and he soon joined me at the operating spot.  John made himself comfortable and took over the reigns of the mic, whilst I enjoyed sitting back relaxing watching John in action.  It wasn’t long before John had his own steady flow of Chasers & Hunters.  This was John’s third SOTA activation.  It appears he had been bitten by the dreaded SOTA bug.  It is worse than Dengue fever !

After working Bernard VK3AMB, John QSY’d down 5 kc, as we were experiencing QRM from T33A, the DXpedition on Banaba Island, DXCC-320, and IOTA OC-018.  He had come up and was operating on the same frequency and sadly he was not hearing us.

At 8.00 p.m. John and I QSY’d to 7.130 on 40m, to book in to the 7.130 DX Net, hoping that we might be able to get some exotic DX in the log.  I started off on the mic and was very fortunate to be able to work William FO5JV in French Polynesia.  William had a very strong 5/9 + signal, and I received a 5/1 from William.  I also spoke to Brian ZL2ASH in Wellington New Zealand, who also had a very strong 5/9 + signal.  I received 5/7 from Brian.   Band conditions on 40m were holding up really well, despite the static crashes becoming increasingly strong.

John then took up the operating spot, and whilst John was operating on the Net, I headed up to the main look out area to enjoy the night time view.  Surprisingly, there were not many cars in the carpark.  But what was lacking with motor vehicles, was replaced by kangaroos.  There were at least half a dozen Western Grey kangaroos roaming around in the carpark.  They appeared to be quite tame, and you could get relatively close to them.  The photo below isn’t great….it was taken on my i-phone.

Despite there not benign many cars in the carpark, there were quite a few people at the lookout, enjoying the superb view of the Adelaide lights.  After taking some photos, I headed back to the operating spot and rejoined John who was still patiently waiting for his turn to call on the 7130 DX Net.  Sadly by the time it was John’s call, the band conditions had changed, and William FO5JV, was suffering extremely bad QRM from Malaysian stations operating on the frequency.  However John did speak with Brian ZL2ASH (5/7 received by John from Brian).

John and I then booked out of the 7130 DX Net, and headed up the band to the Barefoot Table Net on 7.170.  Ian VK3VIN had advised via e-mail earlier in the day that the net for that evening would be a special QRP net.  We could hear all the participants coming in extremely well, and made contact with a number of VK3 and VK7 stations.  We did experience quite a bit of QRM from North America.  It appeared that one of the exotic DX stations from one of the DXpeditions was operating split.  And the receive frequency included 7.170.

John remained on the summit with me, for a while and then decided he should head home.  It was starting to get late, and we had experienced a really fun night.  In fact he had only reached the TV transmitter towers just down the road, when he received a telephone call from his wife Jenny.

I stayed for another 45 minutes and worked a few more stations in VK2, VK3, & VK5.  The band still seemed to be performing very well.  By the time I was ready to pack up I had a total of 40 QSO’s on 40m SSB in the log, including 2 ‘DX’ contacts into French Polynesia, and New Zealand.

Whilst John and I were operating during the evening, we could hear lots of sounds coming from the bush.  And whilst walking back to the car, along the track through the bush, I found out what was causing a lot of the noise.  There were a large number of Western Grey kangaroos.  I headed up to the lookout again, for one final glimpse of the Adelaide lights, and then back to the car.

I worked the following stations:-

Al VK1RX; Andrew VK1NAM; Larry VK5LY; Brian VK5FMID; Tom VK5EE; Ivan VK5HS; Andy VK5LA; Adam VK2YK; Mike VK3XL; Matt VK2DAG; Peter VK3FPSR; Ben VK3FTRV; Ian VK1DI; Tony VK3CAT; Ed VK2JI; Mark VK1MDC; Shaun VK5FAKV; Peter VK3TKK; Ian VK5CZ; Bernard VK3AMB; Bill VK2YKW; Peter VK3YE-ped mobile; Don VK7DON; Paul VK5FUZZ; Brian ZL2ASH; Brent VK2MEV; William FO5JV; Ian VK3VIN; Peter VK3FPSR; Tony VK7AU; Glen VK3GMC; Joe VK3YSP; Jim VK5KOB; Bob VK2ZWZ; Dallas VK3EB; Dennis VK2HHA; Gary VK5PCM; Ian VK5KKT; John VK5TD; and Tony VK5TT.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable activation, despite the fact that I did not get any SOTA points or VK5 Parks points. The weather was spectacular, band conditions were very good, and it was great to see John having a lot of fun.

I have placed a video on You Tube of the activation…..