Here are some GMA Chaser certificates that have just been forwarded to me…..

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I was pleasantly surprised this morning when I went down to the post office.  Amongst the bills, I had  a few QSL cards, a batch of QSL cards forwarded to me by Tony VK3VTH to check for DXCC, but I also had a certificate from Andrew VK1NAM.  Greatly appreciated Andrew.

Andrew and many others have set a high benchmark for SOTA and have certainly formed a strong foundation for the program here in Australia.  And now Andrew has been hooked on WWFF.  Again thanks mate, and look forward to working you when either your or I, or maybe both, are on a SOTA peak or in a National Park.

Yesterday, Sunday 27th October, 2013, a group of 8 attended the Kingsford Hotel at Gawler for a lunch to celebrate the 1st year anniversary of SOTA in VK5.

Attendees were:-

1. Ian VK5CZ.
2. John VK5BJE
3. Larry VK5LY
4. Andy VK5LA
5. Andy VK5AKH
6. Keith VK5OQ
7. Mike VK5MCB
8. Paul VK5PAS

Special thanks to Larry 5LY and Andy 5LA who travelled all the way from the Riverland, and Mike 5MCB, who also travelled to the lunch from Pt Pirie.

Larry 5LY & Andy 5LA even activated Mt Gawler, VK5/ SE-013, on the way to the lunch.  John 5BJE and I received a phone call from Andy to advise that they were on the summit.  So John and I pulled the car over, on Lower Portrush Road, and made contact with Larry and Andy from the mobile.  John was a bit more generous with his signal report than me.

We decided that the afternoon at the pub, would be a show and tell, so a selection of transceivers, antennas, and other gadgets were brought along.  It was good to see and hear what equipment everyone was using.

It was a really good fun afternoon with a nice meal, a few beers, plenty of laughs, and a few war stories from a summit or two.

On Friday evening (18th Oct 2013) I drove down to the beach at Corny Point and set up my gear, hoping to get some contacts on the 7130 DX Net.  It was a really warm evening, so shorts & t-shirt & thongs were in order.  I found a nice little parking spot on Lighthouse Road, which had some steps leading down to the beach.  There were no issues with lighting, as there was a full moon.  The beach was beautiful and sandy and there was just a very gentle breeze coming in off the Spencer Gulf.  Everything seemed to be perfect…so what about propagation conditions ?

After setting up the 40m/20m linked dipole on the 7m squid pole, I turned the 817nd on, and the signals coming in from the 7130 DX Net were very strong.  The noise floor was virtually non existent, so I decided to give the 2.5 watt setting a go.  And it paid off, as people were hearing my little QRP signal.

I had a few very interesting QSO’s during the evening on the DX Net.  They included Wolfgang VK2LKW who was operating portable from the Deua National Park in New South Wales (5/9 both ways); special call ZM90DX (5/9 S and 5/2 R); Brian ZL2ASH (5/9 S and 5/7 R); and Rod VK4FLYT who was running QRP 3 watts (5/8 S and 5/4 R).

Below is a photo taken during the day (the following morning) of where I operated from.

After the 7130 DX Net closed, I decided to go up to 20m and have a quick listen in on the Southern Cross DX Net.  Again signals were strong so I decided to check in, bumping my power up to 5 watts.  I managed to make contact with Larry W4VES (5/9 S and 5/2 R), and Bill W1OW (5/9 S and 5/3 R).

During my 2 enjoyable hours on the beach, I had managed 15 QSO’s in total on 40m SSB and 20m SSB.

I worked the following stations:-

Mal VK5MJ; Wolfgang VK2LKW/p (Deua NP); ZM90DX; Brian ZL2ASH; Andy VK4TH; Shaun VK5FAKV; Rod VK4FLYT (qrp 3 w); Roy VK7ROY; Paul VK5FUZZ; Frank VK3GFS; Iva VK4HG; Steve VK2MD; Greg VK2XE; Larry W4VES; and Bill W1OW.

On Sunday 13th October, 2013, David VK5KC and I set up an amateur radio display at the Port Elliot Show on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide.  This was the 135th year of operation of show.  The first show was held at Middleton and shows were run at various venues along the south coast for the next twenty years.  In 1889 the Society purchased a plot of land near Port Elliot and annual shows have been held there ever since, with the exception of the Second World War and one other year.

We set up a small display in the Perry Hall, which included a Yaesu FT-817nd, a Yaesu FT-450, an Icom 706, and a Yaesu VX-6R.  We also had a few portable antennas on display, along with some digital modes, and a laptop showing a slideshow of amateur radio photographs.  We also had the WIA’s promotion brouchures ‘Calling CQ’ and some newly printed AHARS brochures.

Once the weather cleared, we also improvised and set up the FT-817nd outside of the hall, alongside the dog obedience area.  A nearby collection of ‘junk’ produced a heavy metal chair and some heavy pavers and besser blocks which we used to secure the 7m squid pole and the legs of a 40m/20m linked dipole.

We were joined in the afternoon by young 15 year old Andrew VK5FACE.  Congratulations are in order for Andrew for volunteering some of his time.  Andrew enjoyed his time making a number of contacts, on 40m SSB with some interested onlookers.

Despite some very inclement weather and a not so favourable position in the show grounds, we still managed to attract some attention, with some very interested visitors to the display.

The following stations were worked by Andrew:-

Barry, VK3LBW; Den VK3FDAS; Graham VK3GRK; Frank VK3GFS; Larry VK5LY; Craig VK3CRG; Brian VK5FMID; Kevin VK3VEK; Alan VK5AR; Grant VK3GRR; and Gordon VK3EJ.

Allen VK3HRA has created a new spotting site which has the ability to spot SOTA & Parks activations.  It supports SOTA, KRMNPA, SANPCPA, and also WWFF.

It can be located at…..

http://www.parksnpeaks.org/

Congratulations Allen on your efforts.  A great idea.

Sue, VK5AYL from AHARS is also liaising with Allen with regards to a possible phone app similar to SOTA Goat & Rucksack radio.

I am home safe after my trip down to the South east of South Australia, and western Victoria.  I had a very enjoyable time activating South Australian and Victorian parks, and activating one South Australian and a dozen or so Victorian summits.  I also thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the gents from the South East Radio Group and delivering a presentation to them on SOTA, the VK5 Parks Award, the KRMNPA, and WWFF.

Here is a quick summary of parks and summit activations…..

Martin Washpool CP – 8 QSO’s.
Messent CP – 13 QSO’s
Reedy Creek CP – 10 QSO’s
Furner CP – 13 QSO’s
Mt Burr summit – 48 QSO’s
Canunda NP – 17 QSO’s.
Carpenter Rocks CP – 14 QSO’s
Mt Napier summit – 36 QSO’s
Mt Rouse summit – 16 QSO’s
One Tree Hill summit – 37 QSO’s
Blue Mountain – 56 QSO’s
Pt 756/Pyrennes summit – 29 QSO’s
Ben Nevis summit – 43 QSO’s
Mt Lonarch summit – 32 QSO’s
Mt Buangor summit -28 QSO’s
One Tree Hill summit (night time activation) – 5 QSO’s
Mt Langi Ghiran summit – 42 QSO’s
Mt Zero summit & Grampians NP – 23 QSO’s.
Mt Arapiles summit – 33 QSO’s
Little Desert NP – 11 QSO’s.
Ngarkat CP – 23 QSO’s

• Total of 537 QSO’s.
• 13 x SOTA activations (12 uniques)
• 21 x Summit to Summit QSO’s.
• 6 x SA Conservation Parks activated – SA Parks Award.
• 1 x SA National Park activated – SA Parks Award.
• 18 x other SA Parks worked – SA Parks Award
• 10 x Park to Park QSO’s – SA Parks Award
• 6 x Victorian Parks worked – KRMNPA
• 2 x Victorian NP activated – KRMNPA

Some of the highlights included…..

• 2 x contacts into VK9 Lord Howe Island on 40m SSB using QRP 5 watts
• a dozen or so QSO’s into Europe & the UK using QRP 5 watts on 20m SSB.
• contact with John VK5BJE/p (park to park) using just .5 watt.

On Friday morning, 16th August, 2013, myself and 7 other amateurs ventured over to Kangaroo Island, OC-139 for the annual International Lighthouse & Lightship weekend.