I received my Super Sloth certificate the other day via email for obtaining 10,000 chaser points in the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program.

Many thanks to all of the SOTA activators.

The Remembrance Day (RD) Contest commemorates those amateur radio operators who made the supreme sacrifice and died during World War Two.  The contest is designed to encourage friendly participation and help improve operating skills of participants.  The RD Contest is held on the weekend closest to the 15th August, the date on which hostilities ceased in the southwest Pacific area.  This year the RD Contest took place on Saturday  13th and Sunday 14th August 2016 and I took part, operating portable from the Totness Recreation Park, VKFF-1754.  The aim of the RD is for amateurs in Australia (VK), New Zealand (ZL) and Papua New Guinea (P2) to contact other amateurs in VK, ZL and P2.

The RD Contest is one of a handful of Contests that I go in each year.  I did read some derogatory comments on Facebook regarding contests leading up to the RD.  But for me, this is one of the amazing things about amateur radio, in that there as so many different incredible facets.  And what floats one persons boat, may not necessarily turn on the next.

Totness was recently added to the Directory for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, and I activated the park for the very first time on Wednesday 3rd August 2016, just a week or so ago.  For more information on the park, and that particular activation, please see my previous post……

https://vk5pas.org/2016/08/03/totness-recreation-park-vkff-1754/

Above:- Map showing the location of the Totness Recreation Park in the Adelaide Hills near Mount Barker.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

Although my noise floor at home on 40m is pretty good compared to some of my amateur friends, I decided to operate from the park as I was assured that there would be no man made noise at all.  A dead quite band is fantastic.  My noise floor at home during the day on 40m is around S5.  I suffer quite a bit from plasma TV noise, inverters, etc.  But from parks and summits it is ‘ham heaven’, generally with ZERO noise.  You can hear a pin drop on the bands.

Above:- Aerial shot showing the location of my home QTH with respect to the Totness Recreation Park.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

I headed to the same spot as I had operated from previously.  This is off Haines Fire Track.  Due to the recent heavy rains, there is a lot of water on the track and plenty of very big potholes.  So if you are planning on heading there soon in a conventional vehicle, I suggest slow going.  There is a nice cleared area between the boundary fence and the scrubline, and plenty of room to string out a number of antennas.  And a good spot to park your vehicle.  My wife Marija kindly drove up with me in her vehicle, a little Mitsubish Lancer, and I’m sure I could hear Marija cursing and swearing from behind me, re the road conditions.

At gate 5 of the park

View of Haines Fire Track from the gate

For a few years now I’ve been using a little app called ‘treksafe‘.  Using GPS and mobile phone coverage, it allows you to provide a line of communication with friends and family on your location.  Not that I needed to use it this time, as Marija knew exactly where I was.  But I highly recommend that you have a look at this great little app.

Marija helped me to set up and I was all ready to go by 0200 UTC (11.30 a.m. South Australian local time).  For the RD I ran my Yaesu FT-857d set at 40 watts output, and the 20/40/80 linked dipole which I supported on the 7m heavy duty squid pole from Haverfords.  I tied one end of the dipole off to the boundary fenceline and used a fallen limb from a tree to secure the other leg in place.  

It was not a particularly nice day weather wise, with just small pieces of blue sky and quite a low temperature.  Netherless, we also set up the solar panels, hoping for a bit of sunshine to top up the 44 amp hour power pack.  

I took my Apple Mac laptop out into the field for the first time in a very long time and used VK Contest Logger (VKCL) for the RD.  I normally run a paper log out in the field and when I get home I use Fast Log Entry (FLE) to rapidly create an ADIF file which I then upload to my electronic log (Maclogger DX) and also to WWFF Logsearch.  But by running VKCL I was able to see what stations I had and hadn’t worked in the 3 hour brackets of the contest.

I’ve been asked a few times how I secure the squid pole.  Well, it depends on the activation.  If I’m activating a SOTA summit where I have to climb or a park where I have to walk in, along the Heysen Trail for example, I secure it in any way I can.  Octopus straps are an amateurs friend.  I carry quite a few of these, of various sizes.  The squiddy gets attached to a tree, a rock, a stump, whatever I can find.  But if I activate an easy summit or park, I use a squid pole holder and sit the squid pole in that, and hold it in place with an octopus strap.

Above:- Aerial shot showing my operating spot in the north western corner of the Totness Recreation Park.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

Totness is a beautiful little park with very thick scrub.  The wattle was blooming, and there were quite a few Western Grey kangaroos grazing in the paddock on the western side of the park.  As I’ve mentioned, some more interesting history on the park can be found on my previous post.

https://vk5pas.org/2016/08/03/totness-recreation-park-vkff-1754/

As I had a bit of time up my sleeve, I walked along one of the tracks in the park to take some photos.  You can get some nice views out through the trees towards Mount Barker and Littlehampton.  Until you reach this point, you would never know that you were so close to a built up area. 

I then returned to my station set up an listened to the RD Contest opening address.  I also worked Rob VK4AAC/3 who was portable in the Nooramunga Coastal Park VKFF-0748.

At 0300 UTC it was all go for the RD.  My first contact in the RD was on 40m with Peter VK5KX who had a booming signal.  This was a good sign as recent close in propagation has been very spasmodic.  Next up was Gerard VK2IO/p who was portable in the Maroota Ridge State Conservation Area VKFF-1348.  It was nice to get a Park to Park (P2P) contact.  I also worked Marcus VK5WTF/p P2P.  Marcus was portable in the Red Banks Conservation Park VKFF-1086.   

I worked a total of 45 stations in around one hour, from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, and VK7 on 40m and then headed off to 20m.  I must say that despite conditions being very good, it was relatively slow going on 40m.  As I was in the contest, I did not self spot on parksnpeaks, as this is directly linked to the DX Cluster, and this would be in violation of WIA General Rules for contests.

My first contact on 20m was with Martin VK7GN in Tasmania, followed by Dianne VK4HH and the VK4TS team in Queensland.  All had booming signals.  I made a total of 40 contacts on 20m into VK2, VK4, VK5, VK6, VK7, and VK8.  I also logged including Owen ZL2GLG, Andrew ZL3CC, Mike ZL1MRC.  They were all booming in from across the Tasman.  Sadly, they were to be my only New Zealand stations for the whole contest.  And I didn’t work any stations from Papua New Guinea (P29).

My one VK5 contact on 20m was with Geoff VK5HEL at Murray Bridge, about 40 km to the east of me.  I was really surprised to hear Geoff with such a lovely signal (a genuine 5/9).  It was also nice to log Heath VK3TWO/VK6 who was on Barrow Island, OC-140.  Barrow Island is about 50 km northwest off the Pilbara coast of Western Australia.

I then headed back to 40m where I worked a further 103 stations in VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7.  This included some more Park to Park action with Ray VK2HJW/p portable in the Royal National Park VKFF-0435, Mark VK5MK in the Yumbarra Conservation Park VKFF-1129, and Marcus VK5WTF/p (love that call sign) in the Red Banks Conservation Park VKFF-1086.  

When things slowed down I tuned around the 40m and found that the Europeans were coming in extremely well.  In fact they were the strongest on 40m that I had heard in a while.  There were around 6 European stations on 40m who were S8-S9.  The strongest was EA1DLU from Spain who was 5/9 plus.  I tried to break through the USA/South American/VK pile up to work him but was unsuccessful.

I then found Rob VK4FFAB/p on 7.195 calling CQ from Bunyaville Conservation Park VKFF-1493 (5/3 R and 5/7 S).

It was down with the squid pole and in with the links on the dipole for 80 metres.  It was around 0845 UTC (6.15 p.m. local time) and it was now dark, so I expected 80m would be humming along nicely.  And it certainly was.  I made a total of 199 QSOS into VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, VK7, and VK8.  I just needed a VK9 and a VK0 to round it off, but that wasn’t to happen.  I also scored a few more Park to Park contacts with Marcus VK5WTF in the Red Banks Conservation Park and Gerard VK2IO in the Maroota Ridge State Conservation Area VKFF-1348.

My last contact for Saturday was with John VK5PO at 1218 UTC (9.48 p.m. South Australian local time).  It was now absolutely freezing and I was starving, so it was home for me.  Tea that night was from ‘the Golden Arches’ (McDonalds).

On Sunday morning (14th August) I got up around 8.30 a.m. and with the help of Marija, packed the 4WD again, and headed back out to Totness.  It was another chilly morning, with the temperature being around 5 degrees C.  I was set up and on air by just after 2330 UTC (9.00 a.m. local time).  My first contact was with Gerald VK2HBG.  I scoured around the band and worked a few stations before propping on a frequency and calling CQ contest.  It was very slow going.  I made a total of 40 contacts into VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK5.  This included P2P contacts with Gerard VK2IO/p, Ray VK2HJW/p  and Marcus VK5WTF/p again.  Marcus was about 5/5 to me and I was 5/5 to him, and we decided to give 80m a go to see if our signals came up.  Before QSYing, Hauke VK1HW came up and put me in the log, before I headed off to 80m.

I met Marcus on 3.600 and sure enough signals were dramatically improved.  Marcus was running QRP and was 5/9, and he gave me a 5/9 plus.  Marcus advised that he had been listening on 20m and it was open to VK2, VK4 and VK7.  After chatting with Marcus, I called CQ on 3.605 for around 5 minutes but had no takers, so based on the comments from Marcus I headed off to 20m.  My first contact there was with Dianne VK4HH, followed by Paul VK2KTT and then Dave VK4DA, all with excellent signals.  I made a total of 13 contacts on 20m into VK2, VK4, and VK6.

I then moved back to 40m where I made a total of 62 contacts into VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5 and VK7.  This included a QSO with Peter VK3YE who was pedestrian mobile in ankle deep water,  Keener than me!  My last QSO for the RD was with Erik VK7EK. 

So for the 2016 RD Contest I ended up with a total of 426 contacts.  These contacts were made on the 20, 40 and 80m bands on SSB.

A breakdown of the bands I used and the number of QSOs on each of those is as follows:-

• 20m – 52
• 40m – 252
• 80m – 122

As you can see, most of the activity for me during the RD was on the 40m band (as expected).  But 80m also provided some excellent conditions and a lot of contacts across Australia at night (and locally in the middle of the day).

Below is a chart from VKCL showing my activity during the contest.  A lot of activity for the first 8-9 hours of the contest before I went QRT for some shut eye.  And then another 3 hours at the end of the contest on Sunday morning.

And here is a chart showing my activity on the 40m band.  Activity for me on 40m was between 0300-0400 and 0520-0830 on Saturday.  And then on Sunday morning between 2330-0015 and 0055-0300 UTC.

And my activity on the 20m band.  Activity for me on 20m was between 0400-0515 UTC on Saturday.  And then on Sunday morning between 0030 – 0055 UTC.

And finally my activity on the 80m band.  Activity for me on 80m was between 0845-1215 UTC on Saturday.  And then just the one QSO on Sunday morning.

I did receive a handful of calls from amateurs who clearly had not read the rules of the contest and gave me a sequential serial number, and some no numbers at all……they just wanted a chat.  It always pays to read the rules.  I also heard this happening to some other amateurs, with patience lost by some of those.

On Sunday morning I called a few stations who were 5/9 to me, but sadly they could not hear me as they were suffering from high noise levels.  It’s a real shame that a few more amateurs didn’t give portable operation a go.  It is an amazing experience to be able to work stations who are only just operating with milliwatts and hand out a 5/1 signal report but have an ‘armchair’ QSO.

The RD is a great contest which I can highly recommend.  And it is truly for a very very worthy cause.

At the end of the contest I put out a few calls on 7.144 and worked a handful of stations including Rob VK4AAC/3 who was portable in the Wilsons Promontory National Park VKFF-0539.  I then headed to 20m where I worked 6 stations including Albert S58AL from Slovenia.

I then packed up and headed home for some lunch and an afternoon of watching the Olympics and the AFL on TV.

References.

WIA, 2016, <http://www.wia.org.au/members/contests/rdcontest/&gt;, viewed 14th August 2016

After getting home from Black Bullock Hill, Marija and I enjoyed some lunch, and as it was such a beautiful sunny day I decided to head out to activate a brand new park, the Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve, VKFF-1701.  This reference is not to be confused with the nearby Cox Scrub Conservation Park!  The reserve was one of a number of recent additions to the VKFF list for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.  This was to be the very first time it had been activated.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south east of Adelaide.  Map courtesy of Protected Planet.

I drove down to Strathalbyn and along the way I worked John VK5BJE who was operating portable in the Bullock Hill Conservation Park, 5CP-265 and VKFF-0873.  Close in propagation has recently been very poor, so I was surprised to hear John coming in so well.  Although not strong, he was a perfect 5/2 into my mobile, about 35 km away.  I stopped briefly just outside of Strathalbyn to enjoy some views of the town and the surrounding countryside and down to Lake Alexandrina.

view of Strathalbyn

Looking down towards Lake Alexandrina

I then got mobile again and listened in to John working a  number of stations on 40m.  As I grew ever so closer to John his signal became stronger and stronger, until John was 5/9 plus.

After leaving the Ashbourne Road West, I turned left to head south on Bull Creek Road, passing through the little town of Ashbourne and the Green Man Inn.  I continued south on Bull Creek Road, passing the Cox Scrub Conservation Park on my right.  As I reached the south eastern corner of the Conservation Park, the north western corner of the Conservation Reserve soon came into view on my left.

I entered the park via a dirt track on the eastern side of Bull Creek Road.  There are no signs for the park, so make sure you’ve done your homework on where the park is located prior to leaving home.  A few of the tracks in the park were not passable due to fallen trees and limbs, a result of the recent terrible weather that some parts of South Australia had experienced during July.

I set up in a clearing alongside one of the tracks.  I used the Yaesu FT-857d, set on 40 watts output and the 20m/40m/80m linked dipole sitting on the top of the 7m heavy duty squid pole.  I tied the ends of the dipole off to some of the gum trees so the legs were about 3 feet off the ground.

Above:- Aerial shot of the Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve showing my operating spot near the southern part of the park.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

I have been unable to find much information on the Cox Scrub Conservation Reserve on the internet.  It is much smaller in size to its neighbouring Conservation Park brother which is about 544 hectares in size.  Many of the native plants in the park were in flower during my visit.

After setting up I quickly went to 7.110 and worked John VK5BJE in the Bullock Hill Conservation Park.  John was booming in.  Not unexpecting, considering he was just 3-4 km to my north east.

Here is a link to John’s WordPress site and some info on his activation….

Bullock Hill Conservation Park, VKFF-0873 & 5CP-265, 7th August 2016

I then headed up the band to 7.144 where I commenced calling CQ, which was answered by Rick VK4RF/VK4HA.  This was followed by Tony VK3CAT who was portable on SOTA peak Mount Dom Dom VK3/ VN-017 with a good 5/5 signal.  About 12 QSOs later I was called by Gerard VK2IO who was portable on SOTA peak Mount Palerang VK2/ ST-009 which was located within the Tallaganda State Conservation Reserve VKFF-1375.  A bonus, a SOTA contact and my second Park to Park from the Reserve.  Despite band conditions being quite good, callers were spasmodic, so after working a total of 18 stations on 40m, I headed off to 14.310 on 20m.

I commenced calling CQ and Peter VK6RZ came back to my call with a beautiful 5/8 signal.  This was followed by Rick VK4RF/VK4HA and then Jonathan VK6JON mobile 7.  I worked a further 7 stations on 20m, including another Park to Park, this time with Phil VK6ADF who was activating the Green Mount National Park VKFF-0218.  Despite the fact that Phil was running just 2.5 watts from a Yaesu FT-817nd I was able to hear him perfectly (5/3 sent and 5/5 received).

I then headed back to 7.144 and worked a total of 6 stations until I had to QSY.  I was being hammered by New Zealand and VK stations working Mark AF6TC who had come up on 7.145, just above me.  So it was down to 7.144 where I continued to work the mini pile up which had ensued.  But it wasn’t long and I was experiencing QRM again.  mark had followed me down the band and was just 1 kc above me again.  I QSY’d again but this wasn’t before I worked a total of 17 stations in VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7.  This included three further Park to Park contacts with Matt VK5ZM and Garry VK5FGRY who were both portable in the Morialta Conservation Park 5CP-142 and VKFF-1783, andd then Phil VK6ADF in the Green Mount National Park VKFF-0218.

I headed down to 7.120 and worked a further 7 stations from VK1, VK3, VK4 and New Zealand, before heading off to 80.  The sun was starting to set and it was getting quite cool in the park.  I headed to 3.610 but that was occupied by some very strong ZL’s so I headed up to 3.620 where I called CQ.  First station in the log on 80m was Mick VK3GGG, followed by Peter VK3HSB and Peter VK5PL.  I worked a total of 14 stations on 80m from VK1, VK2, VK3, and VK5.

It was time to head for home.  I had a total of 73 contacts in the log and a new park to add to my Activator list.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. VK5BJE/p (VKFF-0873)
2. VK4RF
3. VK4HA
4. VK3CAT/p (SOTA VK3/ VN-017)
5. VK3FOTO/m
6. VK4FAAS
7. VK3MCX
8. VK2SR
9. VK2LEE
10. VK3SQ
11. VK3UH
12. VK4HNS
13. VK4FFAB
14. VK3KR
15. VK3FSPG
16. VK2IO/p (SOTA VK2/ ST-009 and VKFF-135)
17. VK1ZZ/4
18. VK3FJD
19. VK3BBB
20. VK3ELH
21. VK3FOWL
22. VK3FADM
23. VK3FMAA
24. VK3BL
25. VK2HJW/p
26. VK2PKT
27. VK3PF
28. VK5ZM/p (VKFF-0783)
29. VK3GGG
30. VK3PMG
31. VK4ARW
32. VK3NE
33. VK3OY
34. VK5FGRY/p (VKFF-0783)
35. VK3SFG
36. VK4JK
37. VK3MCK
38. VK3ANL
39. VK6NI
40. VK6JOn/7
41. VK6ADF/p (VKFF-0218)
42. VK1MA
43. VK4ME
44. VK4QQ
45. ZL4KD
46. VK3FDAP
47. VK3HSB
48. VK6NU

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. VK6RZ
2. VK4RF
3. VK4HA
4. VK6JON/7
5. VK7CW
6. VK4DD
7. VK6ADF/p (VKFF-0218)
8. VK6MSC
9. VK7BO
10. VK4ETT
11. VK4MON

The following stations were worked on 80m SSB:-

1. VK3GGG
2. VK3PMG
3. VK3HSB
4. VK5PL
5. VK1MA
6. VK1HW
7. VK5BJE
8. VK5FANA
9. VK3TJS
10. VK2LEE
11. VK1DI
12. VK3PAT
13. VK2NED
14. VK5RY

On Sunday 7th August 2016, the ACT Summits on the Air (SOTA) enthusiasts held their annual VK1 SOTA Winter QSO Party.  My wife Marija VK5FMAZ and I headed down the Fleurieu Peninsula to the little one point summit of Black Bullock Hill VK5/ SE-016 to take part in the event.  The summit is situated about 100 km south of Adelaide.

Above:- Map showing the location of Black Bullock Hill.  Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The summit is around a 90 km drive from our home and took Marija and I through the little Adelaide Hills towns of Echunga and Meadows and then on to Willunga.  From there we travelled to Myponga and then Yankalilla and Normanville.  The impressive cliffs at Lady Bay soon came into view.  I must check the topography to see if any qualify for SOTA as they certainly do tower above the ocean.  Lady Bay is home to the Links Lady Bay Resort, and a gold course that was designed by golfing identifies, Jack Newton, Graeme Grant, and the late John Spencer.

Looking north towards Normanbille

Looking south from Lady Bay

We stopped briefly for a stretch of our legs and to view the HMAS Hobart (D 39) interpretive sign at Lady Bay.  The HMAS Hobart (D 39) was a Perth class guided missile destroyer of the Royal Australian Navy, built in the USA.  She was commissioned into the Royal Australian Navy in 1965.  She was gifted to the South Australian government in August 2000 and she was sunk as a dive wreck in November 2002.  The wreck site is officially known as the Fleurieu Artificial Reef.

We continued on through the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula to the little town of Delamere, where we turned on to Range Road, and travelled for a few km until turning onto Dog Trap Road.  Along the way we called the owner of the land just to confirm that we could access the property.  You can activate the summit from the roadway as you are well and truly within the activation zone, but I have previously operated from the trig point which is located just off the road on private property.  Peter, the land owner kindly allowed us access.

Black Bullock Hill is a very easy summit to reach.  In fact it is a strange summit in that climbing is not required, and it is a summit for SOTA due to it being the highest point on this part of the Fleurieu Peninsula.  It is situated near the intersection of Dog Trap Road, Three Bridges Road and Tent Rock Road.  The summit is 365 metres above sea level and is worth 1 SOTA point.

Many years ago I suspected that the summit was probably named after a black bullock.  But I enquiried with the Yankalilla and District Historical Society and confirmed that the summit’s name actually comes from a plant, not an animal, as some of us presumed.  And that plant is ‘bull-oak’  Allocasuarina Luchnannii, which is part of the Casuarinaceae family.  The plant is also sometimes referred to as ‘buloke’.  It is reputed to the the hardest wood in the world, with a Janka Hardness of 5,060 lbf.  The Janka hardness test measures the resistance of a sample of wood to denting and wear.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janka_hardness_test

Above:- Aerial showing the location of the summit, just on the eastern side of Tent Rock Road.  Image courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The first thing that Marija and I noticed was that the trig point was lying on its side.  No doubt as a result of the terrible weather that many parts of South Australia had experienced during July.

We decided to set up from the side of the road, as the fence to Peter’s property is electrified and I wasn’t feeling in a particularly energetic mood to scale fences.  Marija also had a previous unpleasant experience with an electric fence, so we took the easier option.  The surrounding countryside was lush green and despite it not being a summit in the true sense of the word, there are some great views of the surrounding Fleurieu Peninsula.  The Fleurieu was named after Charles Pierre Claret de Fleurieu,  the French explorer and hydrographer, by the French explorer Nicolas Baudin, as he explored the south coast of Australia in 1802.

Looking out towards Kangaroo Island

The views include some sensational views across Backstairs Passage to Kangaroo Island which is Australia’s third largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island.  I’ll be there in a few weeks time for the International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend (ILLW).  The Backstairs Passage is the strait between the South Australian mainland and Kangaroo Island.  It was named by Matthew Flinders whilst he and his crew on HMS Investigator were exploring and mapping the South Australian coastline in 1802.

Looking out towards the eastern side of Kangaroo Island

Cape Willoughby lighthouse on Kangaroo Island

For this activation I ran the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts and the 40m/20m/80m linked dipole supported by the 7 metre heavy duty squid pole.  There was a small wooden post near the fenceline which I used to secure the squid pole with the assistance of an octopus strap.

We were at Black Bullock Hill and all set up to go by around 2320 UTC (8.50 a.m. South Australian local time) so there was plenty of time to work some SOTA chasers on either side of the UTC rollover.  It was a pretty brosk morning, with the temperature being about 4 degrees C.  The wind was blowing in off the nearby South Ocean.  Prior to calling CQ I had a quick tune across the band and came across Paul VK3HN on SOTA peak Mount St Leonards VK3/ VC-006 working Paul VK2HV.  So Paul became my first contact for the morning with a nice 5/9 signal.

I then headed to 7.090 and commenced calling CQ and this was answered by Dave VK2JDS mobile, followed by two more S2S contacts with Tony VK7LTD and Angela VK7FAMP who were both portable on Mount Phipps, VK7/ SC-027 (5/5 both ways).  Marija also jumped on the mic at this stage and logged the two S2S contacts with Angela and Tony.

The band was completely devoid of man made noise at Black Bullock Hill, and there was only a slight frying pan noise on the band, along with a little bit of Indonesian or Malaysian QRM.  Signals were quite good into the eastern States but it was clear that close in propagation was no existant.

Marija and I had a slow but steady flow of callers from the eastern States including a number of S2S contacts.  We shared the mic until Marija had 9 contacts in the log and then started waving her arms at me when I tried to hand the mic to her.  She had qualified the summit and had endured the cold for long enough and was heading back to the vehicle.

I worked 25 stations on 40m before the UTC rollover from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK7 and VK8, including 15 S2S contacts.  And I worked a further 19 stations on 40m after the UTC rollover.  I then moved to 14.310 on 20m and worked 6 stations.  First taker there was Fred VK4FE.  What was really pleasing about 20m was I logged three New Zealand S2S contacts.  Two of those with Wynne ZL2ATH and Warren ZL2AJ were a bit of a struggle, with signals quite low.  But Kyle ZL2KGF was an excellent 5/5 signal.  This was Kyle’s first ever SOTA activation and he was also in ZLFF-0003 which was a bonus.  See the photos below to see the view that Kyle was enjoying.  My S2S contact with Wynne ZL2ATH over  a distance of 3227km made it Wynne’s longest S2S so far. Not bad considering that Wynne was running a Yaesu FT-817 and just 5 watts. 

Above:- ZL1/ TN-006.  Courtesy of ZL2KGF

I then  moved back to 40m and worked a further 10 stations, but callers were few and far between, so it was off to 80m.  I thought it might have been a little too late in the day, but I was surprised to log a total of 6 stations on 80m including a S2S contact with Ian VK5CZ on The Dutchmans Stern VK5/ NE-028, about 450 km to the north of my location.  I couldn’t believe it when Ian came back to me.  We both exchanged 4/1 signal reports.

I worked the following Summit to Summit (S2S) contacts prior to the UTC rollover……

40m

1. Paul VK3HN/p VK3/ VC-006 (6 points)
2. Tony VK7LTD, VK7/ SC-027 (2 points)
3. Angela VK7FAMP/p, VK7/ SC-027
4. Matt VK1MA, VK1/ AC-042 (1 point)
5. Andrew VK1AD/p, VK1/ AC-032 (2 points)
6. Peter VK3PF/p, VK3/ VT-040 (4 points)
7. Gerard VK2IO/p, VK2/ ST-006 (8 points)
8. Andrew VK1DA/p, VK1/ AC-040 (1 point)
9. Andrew VK1MBE/2, VK2/ ST-001 (8 points)
10. Paul VK1ATP/2, VK2/ ST-008 (8 points)
11. Nick VK3ANL/p, VK3/ VC-030 (1 point)
12. Tony VK3CAT/p, VK3/ VN-012 (6 points)
13. Ron VK3AFW/p, VK3/ VN-027 (4 points)
14. Ken VK3KIM/p, VK3/ VN-027
15. Ian VK1DI/p, VK1/ AC-039 (1 point)

And the following Summit to Summit contacts after the UTC rollover…..

40m

1. Andrew VK1MBE/2, VK2/ ST-001 8 points)
2. Peter VK3PF/p VK3/ VT-040 (4 points)
3. Paul VK1ATP/2,VK2/ ST-008 (8 points)
4. Andrew VK1DA/p, VK1 AC-040 (1 point)
5. Tony VK3CAT/p, VK3/ VN-012 (6 points)
6. Nick VK3ANL/p, VK3/ VC-030 (1 point)
7. Col VK3LED/p, VK3/ VN-024 (2 points)
8. Gerard VK2IO/p, VK2/ ST-006 (8 points)
9. Andrew VK1AD/p, VK1/ AC-032 (2 points)
10. Tony VK1VIC/p, VK1/ AC-032
11. Matt VK1MA/p, VK1/ AC-042 (1 point)
12. Ron VK3AFW/p, VK3/ VN-027 (4 points)
13. Ken VK3KIM/p, VK3/ VN-027
14. Paul VK3HN/p, VK3/ VC-006 (6 points)
15. Phil VK3BHR/p, VK3/ VU-007 (1 point)
16. Bernard VK2IB/3, VK3/ VE-165 (4 points)

20m

1. ZL1ATH/p, ZL1/ WL-153 (1 point)
2. ZL2AJ/p, ZL1/ WK-153 (1 point)
3. ZL2KGF/p, ZL1/ TN-006 (2 points) and ZLFF-0003

80m

1. Ian VK5CZ/p, VK5/ NE-028 (6 points)

It was time to pack up, as it was approaching midday.  I had a total of 65 contacts in the log, including 35 Summit to Summit contacts (113 S2S points).  Marija had also qualified the summit with a total of 9 contacts and 8 Summit to Summit contacts (19 S2S points).  It had been a very enjoyable morning.  Thanks to Andrew VK1AD for organising the event.

I worked the following stations:-

References.

Wikipedia, 2016, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fleurieu_Peninsula&gt;, viewed 9th August 2016

Ian VK5CZ has finalised the results for the 2016 Freeze your Butt Off (FYBO) Contest.  The FYBO Contest was held on 26th June 2016.  I won the  FYBO section after making a total of 151 QSOs with a score of 22,550 points, whilst operating from the Ettrick Conservation Park.

I have designed some certificates for Ian for the contest.

Nev VK5WG was the winner of the home section.

Another fine day here (Friday 5th August 2016) in the Adelaide Hills and I was sick of going through emails, so it was in the 4WD and down to the Tolderol Game Reserve, VKFF-1752 for me.  Tolderol has just been added to the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program, so this was to be a unique park activation.

Tolderol is situated about 80 km south east of Adelaide, and about 11 km south east of Langhorne Creek.  The park is around 45 km south east of my home qth.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Tolderol Game Reserve with respect to my home QTH, the Murray Mouth, and The Coorong.  Image courtesy of protected planet.

Tolderol which is located on the shores of Lake Alexandrina, was proclaimed in 1970 as an experimental area for growing of a variety of waterfowl food crops, in particular three-cornered bulrush.  The total area of the park is around 428 hectares.  A total of 226 hectares was proclaimed in 1870, with an additional 202 hectares added on 10th January 1980.

The Ngarrindjeri aboriginals are the traditional people of the area.  The Ngarrindjeri name for  Tolderol is Thultharrung (pronounced Thul-thar-rung).

The area is a mecca for bird watchers.  it is reputed that Tolderol and the adjoining Boggy Lake are some of the best waterbird observation locations in South Australia.  Just some of the species to be found here include Black Swan, Pacific Black Duck, Whiskered Tern, Straw-necked Ibis, Spur-winged Polver, Golden-headed Cisticola, and Australian Reed Warbler.  Sadly, duck shooting is permitted in the park during restricted open seasons.

I headed out of Mount Barker along Wellington Road, and into the little town of Woodchester and the Bletchley.  As I came down from the hills, there were some nice views out towards the park and Langhorne Creek.  I also made contact from the mobile with Rob VK4AAC/3 in the Errinundra National Park VKFF-0158 (5/7 both ways).

I continued on to Langhorne Creek, passing through this famous wine growing region which has w wine history dating back to 1850.  Langhorne Creek is traditionally a red wine growing district and is well known for production of outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.  In fact these two red wine grape varieties constitute about 70% of the total vineyard plantings in the Langhorne Creek region.  One of the big wineries that you pass is Bleasdale Wines which was established in April 1850 by Frank Potts.  I have enjoyed many a bottle of Bleasdale over the years.

After leaving Langhorne Creek I drove out along the Langhorne Creek Road towards Wellington.  I turned right onto Dog Lake Road.  There is a sign here indicating Tolderol.

I soon reached the first of 2 gates on Dog Lake Road.  The gate is unlocked, but please leave the gate as you find it.

I continued on a further few km until I reached a Y junction.  There is a sign here indicating that Tolderol is to the left.  A little further on and I reached the second gate.  Again, the gate is not locked, but please leave it as you find it.

There is a park sign just inside the second gate and a little further on there are some interpretive/information signs.

It didn’t take long for me to start spotting a lot of birdlife in the park.  That included Intermediate Egrets, Yellow Billed Spoonbills, and lots of Welcome Swallows.

I continued along a small track and caught my first glimpse of Lake Alexandrina from Tolderol.  Lake Alexandrina is a freshwater lake which was named after Princess Alexandrina, the niece and successor of King William IV of Great Britain and Ireland.  When the princess ascended the throne and took the name Queen Victoria there was some talk of changing the name of the lake to Lake Victoria, but the idea was dropped.

I set up in a cleared area about 20 feet away from the edge of the lake.  The area is infested with Tiger snakes, so I made as much noise as I could.  Prior to heading to Tolderol I head read on a number of websites that these snakes can even be seen in Tolderol on cool days.  Tiger snakes are a venomous snake with symptoms of a bite including localised pain in the foot and neck region, tingling, numbness, and sweating, followed by a fairly rapid onset of breathing difficulties and paralysis.   The untreated mortality rate from a Tiger snake bite is reported to be between 40 and 60%.  They are a protected species, and you can incur a fine up to $7,500 for killing or injuring a Tiger snake, as well as the potential of up to 18 months imprisonment.

There was plenty of room to stretch out the 20m/40m/80m linked dipole which I supported on the 7m heavy duty squid pole.  As there were no trees, the ends of the dipole were very low to the ground (about 1 foot off the ground).  I used some tent pegs to secure the legs into the ground.  There was even a concrete table and benches at this location, although the concrete was a bit cold on the backside.  I ran the Yaesu FT-857d and 40 watts for this activation, and powered the radio with the 44 amp hour power pack.

Above:- Map showing my operating spot in the park.  Image courtesy of protected planet.

I was ready to go by around 0400 UTC (1.30 p.m. South Australian local time).  After setting up I headed to 7.144 on 40m and asked if the frequency was in use.  This was answered by Dennis VK2HHA in Albury who had been waiting on the frequency for me.  Dennis was a beautiful 5/9 plus signal and was the first in my log from Tolderol.  I was then called by Rob VK4AAC/3 in the Errinundra National Park VKFF-0158 who was also 5/9.  I was very pleased to get the Park to Park contact with Rob.  Next up was Roscoe VK3KRH who almost lifted the transceiver off the table with a very strong signal as wlways.

Despite it being a weekday I was very pleased to have a good flow of callers from all across Australia including VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7.  Signals were quite good, but local propagation was nowhere near as good as when I was out portable on Wednesday in the Totness Recreation Park.  In the first hour at Tolderol I only worked two South Australian stations.  They being Les VK5KLV, and John VK5BJE.  Les VK5KLV is at Port Augusta about 400 km to the north of Tolderol and was 5/8 (3/6 received).  Normally Les and I hear each 5/9 both ways.  John VK5BJE is located at Scott Creek, about 55 km north west of Tolderol.  John  was only a 5/3 and gave me a 5/1, but as we both had no man made noise, we were able to hear each other perfectly.

The band did open up to the South East of South Australia (about 400 km south east of Tolderol) at around 0530 UTC  when I was able to make contact with Brian VK5FMID. Tom VK5EE, Col VK5HCF, and Robin VK5TN, all in Mount Gambier.  All had 5/9 signals.

I was pleased to be able to get a further 3 Park to Park (P2P) contacts from Tolderol after working Rob VK4AAC/3.  The first was with Neil VK4HNS who was portable in the Main Range National Park VKFF-0300 (5/3 sent and 5/5 received).  The next P2P was with Brett VK2VW in the Kwiambal National Park VKFF-0274 (5/5 sent and 5/8 received), and finally a nice P2P with David VK5PL in the Para Wirra Recreation Park VKFF-1739.  My contact with David was quite a challenge but we did manage to exchange signal reports.

Band conditions on 40m to Western Australia were a real surprise, especially considering the time of the day.  I made contact with Mike VK6MB (5/7 sent and 4/5 received), Peter VK6APZ (5/9 both ways), Craig VK6VCK mobile at Leeman around 270 km north of Perth (5/3 sent and 5/1 received), and Jarred VK6FFAR who was operating portable on the beach with 10 watts (3/4 sent and 5/1 received).

I logged a handful of QRP operators including Peter VK3PF running 5 watts (5/8 sent and 5/9 received), Ron VK3MRH running 8 watts (5/9 both ways), and Chris VK3PAT mobile running 5 watts (5/7 sent and 5/9 received).

Mobile signals were also very good with the following movile stations logged on 40m: Jonathan VK6JON/7, Brett VK2VW, Chris VK3PAT, Craig VK6VCK, Ian VK3IAN, and David VK3GP.

The strongest signal of the afternoon on 40m was Ron VK3IO at Cockatoo, who was 5/9 plus plus.  Closely followed by Roscoe VK3KRH.

After working a total of 57 stations on 40m I headed over to 14.310 on 20m and asked if the frequency was in use.  This was answered by Phil VK6ADF mobile who told me he had been waiting for me as my signal was a little too weak on 40m for him to work me.  This was followed by a contact with Paul VK2KTT.  Sadly, these were my only 2 contacts on 20m.  Phil had kindly posted me on Facebook and advised me that Danny ON4T in Belgium had posted that there was no propagation to Europe.  I tuned across the 20m band and the only signal I could hear was John EA7BA on 14.156 who was very weak.

Whilst operating during the afternoon I had a constant stream of waterbirds flying overhead.

I then moved to 3.610 on 80m where I worked Greg VK5GJ at Meadows.  Greg advised that my audio was intermittent so I checked the battery voltage and that appeared okay, although the VSWR was up a little high.  I checked all the connections and they appeared all good, so I lowered the squid pole and adjusted the 4 links in the dipole.  I went back to Greg and thankfully he advised that my audio was now 100%.  Signals on 80m were excellent and I logged Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG, Rick VK4RF/VK4HA, Nev VK5WG, John VK5BJE, Peter VK2NEO, and Col VK5HCF.

It was starting to get a bit late in the afternoon so I started to pull down the antenna when I heard Tony VK5MRT calling me on 80m.  I had some of the links out and the antenna was lying on the ground, so it was a quick effort to re-erect the antenna.  Once back up I gave Tony a call and fortunately he was still there and made the log (just).  I was then called by Brian Vk3BBB, and Don VK3MCK before I went QRT.

At the end of the activation I went for a bit of a drive through the labyrinth of tracks through the park.  I encountered a number of local kangaroos.

I was very happy, with a total of 71 contacts in the log and a unique park activated.  Driving back home through Langhorne Creek I enjoyed a beautitful sunset.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. VK2HHA
2. VK4AAC/3 (VKFF-0158)
3. VK3KRH
4. VK3OHM
5. VK2MOR
6. VK5KLV
7. VK7CW
8. VK3EDH
9. VK3AN/p
10. VK4RF
11. VK4HA
12. VK2XXM
13. VK3GGG
14. VK3PMG
15. VK2KYO
16. VK3SQ
17. VK6JON/7
18. VK2IO
19. VK2VW/m
20. VK3PF
21. VK3MRH
22. VK2JAZ
23. VK2NP
24. VK7BC
25. VK3IO
26. VK3PH
27. VK3PAT/m
28. VK2PG
29. VK6MB
30. VK3GH
31. VK6APZ
32. VK6VCK/m
33. VK3IAN/m
34. VK5BJE
35. VK3GP/m
36. VK6FFAR/p
37. VK4HNS/p (VKFF-0300)
38. VK3AXH
39. VK3UH
40. VK3DBP
41. VK7CC
42. VK3STU
43. VK3HSB
44. VK3ELH
45. VK3BBB
46. VK4FAAS
47. VK2VW/p (VKFF-0274)
48. VK5FMID
49. VK5EE
50. VK5HCF
51. VK5PL/p (VKFF-1739)
52. VK5GJ
53. VK7JJ
54. VK2NEO
55. VK5TN
56. VK4DD
57. VK7DW

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. VK6ADF/m
2. VK2KTT

The following stations were worked on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5GJ
2. VK3GGG
3. VK3PMG
4. VK4RF
5. VK4HA
6. VK5WG
7. VK5BJE
8. VK2NEO
9. VK5HCF
10. VK5NRT
11. VK3BBB
12. VK3MCK

References.

Wikipedia, 2016, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langhorne_Creek,_South_Australia&gt;, viewed 6th August 2016

Wikipedia, 2016, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Alexandrina_(South_Australia)&gt;, viewed 6th August 2016

Wikipedia, 2016, <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_snake&gt;, viewed 6th August 2016

I have been very busy in the past couple of weeks adding new Australian parks to the World Wide Flora (WWFF) program.  And a few days ago a number of the South Australian parks that I added were approved by the WWFF Reference Managers.  One of those being the Totness Recreation Park, VKFF-1754, which  is located in the Central Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’, about 35 km south east of Adelaide, and just a few minutes drive from my home (just 2.5 km from the centre of Mount Barker).  The weather was not flash, with intermittent showers, but I decided to head out to activate the park this afternoon (Wednesday 3rd August 2016).

Above:- Map showing the location of the Totness Conservation Park in the Adelaide Hills.  Map courtesy of protected planet.

The land that is now Totness Recreation Park was formerly the property of the South Australian Railways and the Department of Transport.  In 1970 the land was transferred to the (former) National Parks Commission and dedicated for reserve purposes, under the National Parks Act 1966.  Totness Recreation Park was constituted on 22nd January 1972 under the new National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 to protect natural habitat and provide recreational opportunities for the local community. The park comprises section 124, Hundred of Macclesfield. It was constituted free of access under State mining legislation.

In 2006, the Minister for Environment and Conservation released a discussion paper on a review of the reserve classification system in South Australia.  Under the model proposed, Totness would become a Conservation Park.  However, it appears that this paper has not progressed very far.

During the construction of the South Eastern Freeway, the park was dissected into two uneven portions totalling 41 hectares.  The northern section comprises about 9 hecatares whilst the southern section comprises around 32 hectares.  The dam in the northern section of the park was constructed in 1884 and was used to supply the steam locomotives travelling to and from Victor Harbour until 1955.  The southern section was totally burnt out during the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires.

A variety of native plants and animals can be found in the park.  More than 180 native plants species have been recorded within the park.  Plant species of conservation significance recorded within the park include the state rare Manna Gum and Bassian Thrush, and the regionally rare Spider Orchid.  Western Grey kangaroos, Common Ringtail Possums, Echidnas, Koalas, and various bat species can be found in the park.  A total of 26 species of native bird have been recorded in the park, including the rare Shining Bronze cuckoo and declining woodland birds including the white-throated treecreeper, scarlet robin and Bassian thrush.

To access the northern section of the park you take Totness Road, which runs off the Old Mount Barker Road (Frank Walsh Drilling is located on the corner).  But I headed to the southern section of the park.  I headed out from home along Hawthorn Road, and then turned right onto Liebelt Summer Track.  I then reached the intersection with Darby Road and Haines Fire Track and turned right onto Haines Fire Track.

Liebelt Summer Track

Haines Fire Track

Haines Fire Track is a dirt road and after all the recent heavy rain, had quite a bit of water across it and a number of potholes, but it is easily passable in a conventional vehicle.  The park soon came in to view on my right.  Don’t get confused with all of the other scrub that you pass before reaching the park.  That is all private property.

Looking back down Haines Fire Track

For this activation I ran the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts and a selection of dipoles which u supported on the 7 metre heavy duty extendable squid pole.  I used a fence post to support the radio.

‘The shack’

Yeas FT-857d

The 80/40/20m dipole strung out

There is a nice cleared area between the park boundary and the commencement of the scrub, so there was plenty of room to string out the dipoles.  Although there was a locked gate, there was a pedestrian entry point into the park, which saved the issue to having to jump barbed wire fences.

I was set up and ready to go about 15 minutes earlier than my planned activation time.  Just before 0400 UTC (1.30 p.m. South Australian local time) I headed to 7.144 and asked if the frequency was in use and Peter VK3PF replied to let me know that the frequency was clear.  Peter was the first in my log for this brand new park.  Peter had a very strong 5/9 plus signal and reciprocated with a 5/9 signal for me.  This was followed by Steve VK7CW who was also 5/9 plus, then Geoff VK3SQ, and then Rick VK4RF/VK4HA.  The band was fairly quiet with just a slight frying pan noise in the far background, and certainly no man made noise on the band.

Above:- Aerial shot showing my operating position in the  north western corner of the park.  Image courtesy of protected planet.

Roscoe VK3KRH called in running just 3 watts and with his beam was still 5/9 plus.  What a signal.  Soon after Rob VK4AAC/3 called me from the Snowy River National Park VKFF-0455 with a 5/9 signal.  It was nice to get my first Park to Park contact from Totness.  Despite it being a week day I had a steady flow of callers from all across Australia (VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7).  Mike VK6MB called in from Perth but sadly we were unable to make a valid contact as Mike was having difficulty in hearing me.  Greg VK5GJ called in from Meadows, running his normal 4 watts, and had a solid 5/8 signal.  Soon after Mike VK6MB called back in again, and this time we were able to exchange signal reports and make a valid contact.  Another QRP caller was Nev VK5WG, running just 5 watts from the Mid North of South Australia.  Nev had a solid 5/9 signal.

It was a real pleasure to be able to log a number of VK5 callers, with local propagation working very well.  The same cannot be said during the past couple of months.  But today was the exception.  Sadly this only lasted for around 50 minutes into the activation.  Errol VK5FEKH/p called me and it was a bit of a struggle to initially pick him up but was eventually logged at 5/1.  Ian VK5IS/p then called in from Punyalaroo near Swan Reach.  Ian was also low down at 5/1.  The band had changed!

About 20-25 minutes later I was chatting to Fred VK3JM about propagation and the fact that I was initially working VK5’s but the band had now dropped out.  I soon had ‘foot in mouth’ as Ian VK5KKT from Two Wells called in with a 5/9 plus signal.  The band was back in again for the local stations.

There were some good strong signals from mobiles logged.  They included VK5FANA mobile near Moonta (5/9), Wayne VK2PDW mobile at Wagga Wagga (5/8), Toby VK3PNF mobile near Sehhparton (5/9), David VK3NGD mobile/QRP (5/3); Mark VK3FOTO mobile (5/9)

I worked a total of 54 stations on 40m, before headed off to 20m.  Despite being spotted on parksnpeaks by Peter VK3PF, numerous CQ calls on 14.310 went unanswered until I was called by Peter VK5PET and then Phil VK6ADF.  Unfortunately there were no further takers, so I headed down to the ANZA DX Net on 14.183 and found that the net was just wrapping up so I didn’t have the opportunity of booking in.  I then had a listen across the band and found Lesley VK5LOL/4 signing with a VK2 station on 14.220.  At the end of the QSO I asked Lesley to QSY up 5, where I had a bit of a chat with Lesley who is on holidays with her hubby Hans VK5YX in Queensland.  They are now at Charters Towers.  I then headed back to 14.310 and called CQ and worked Rick VK4RF/VK4HA.  But Rick was my only taker.  I tuned across the 20m band and all I heard was the Over the Horizon Radar.

John VK3PZ sent me a screen shot from our contact and some audio, using his newly acquired Icom IC-7300.  See below….

I then lowered the squid pole and put up the 15m dipole and called CQ on 21.244 for around 5 minutes with no takers.  So I self spotted on parks and peaks and soon after I was called by a  JA8 whose signal was very low down.  Unfortunately we were not able to make contact.  A quick tune across the 15m band revealed no activity at all.  So it was back to 40m for me.

Once back on 40m I worked John VK5BJE with a good 5/9 signal, followed by Robert VK2XXM, and then Gary VK1ZZ/4 in the Forty Mile Scrub National Park VKFF-0181. Unfortunately I soon started to experience some QRM from stations on a net on 7.146, but was able to make a handful of further contacts, including a QSO with Ian VK7IF who was maritime mobile in Twofold Bay near Eden in New South Wales.

After working 8 stations on 7.144 I took down the 20m/40m linked dipole and put up the bigger 80m/40m/20m linked dipole and started calling CQ on 3.610 on 80m.  My first station logged on 80m was Greg VK5GJ running QRP, followed by Brian VK3BBB and then John VK5BJE.  Signals were extremely good on 80m and I worked into VK1, VK2, VK3 and VK5.  My last contact was with Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG.

The sun was just starting to set and it was getting extremely cold, so it was time to pack up and think about heading back home.  I was very happy with a total of 77 contacts in the log and a unique park having been activated.

At the end of the activation I went for a walk along a track which leads to a nice high point in the park, with some nice views out towards Mount Barker and Littlehampton, including the Mount Barker summit.

Looking out towards Mount Barker and Littlehampton

Mount Barker summit

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. VK3PF
2. VK7CW
3. VK3SQ
4. VK4RF
5. VK4HA
6. VK5KIK
7. VK3KRH
8. VK2KYO
9. VK5FMLO
10. VK5EE
11. VK3OHM
12. VK5PET
13. VK4AAC/3 (Snowy River National Park VKFF-0455)
14. VK5FANA/m
15. VK4ARW
16. VK5KLV
17. VK3MRH
18. VK3BBB
19. VK5GJ
20. VK3MCK
21. VK5ND
22. VK3ELH
23. VK3FAPH
24. VK7BC
25. VK6MB
26. VK4GSF
27. VK4ZD
28. VK3PZ
29. VK5WG
30. VK2JAZ
31. VK4OK
32. VK4HNS
33. VK7FPRN
34. VK2IO
35. VK5FEKH/p
36. VK5IS/p
37. VK7LTD
38. VK2PDW/m
39. VK3PAT
40. VK7FAMP
41. VK3ZMD
42. VK3PNF/m
43. VK3GGG
44. VK3PMG
45. VK2QM
46. VK3JM
47. VK5KKT
48. VK4FAAS
49. VK3NGD/m
50. VK1HW
51. VK2FARL
52. VK2HPN
53. VK7LCW
54. VK3FOTO/m
55. VK5BJE
56. VK2XXM
57. VK1ZZ/p (Forty Mile Scrub National Park VKFF-0181)
58. VK3SFG
59. VK6JON/7
60. VK4FFAB
61. VK2MOR/m
62. VK7IF/mm

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. VK5PET
2. VK6ADF
3. VK5LOL/4
4. VK4RF
5. VK4HA

The following stations were worked on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5GJ
2. VK3BBB
3. VK5BJE
4. VK5HCF
5. VK5FANA
6. VK3SIM
7. VK2XXM
8. VK1DI
9. VK3GGG
10. VK3PMG

It was a slow drive home with a number of fury friends, Western Grey kangaroos, out and about for their evening stroll.  I even encountered some wild deer, but I wasn’t quick enough with the camera.

References.

Government of South Australia, 2007, ‘Management Plan Totness Recreation Park’.

Some very wild and wet weather here in Adelaide has prevented a lot of portable activity.  Already this year Adelaide has well and truly exceeded its annual average rainfall.  And up here in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’ where I live it has been incredibly wet and windy, with lots of flooding.  But yesterday (Friday 29th July 2016) was a nice sunny afternoon, so I packed up the portable gear and headed down to the Kyeema Conservation Park VKFF-0826 and 5CP-107.

I have activated and qualified Kyeema previously, but my main reason for heading there was to book in to the newly formed VK Shires Net and hopefully hand out a new VK shire number to some of the participants.

Kyeema is about 35 km south of my home, and around 62 km south of Adelaide.  It is situated on the Fleurieu Peninsula, south west of Meadows, and east of Willunga.

Above:- Map showing the location of the Kyeema Conservation Park, south of Adelaide.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

Previously I had activated the park from the southern side off Woodgate Hill Road, so this time after reviewing maps, I decided to try to access the park from the north.  It appeared after looking at maps, that there was a track which ran off Brookman Road and traversed through the northern section of Kyeema.

I travelled from home out through Echunga and on to Meadows.  I then took the Brookman Road, heading south towards Willunga.  I normally continue on to Woodgate Hill Road, but this time I kept an eye out for the track leading off to the east.  But sadly it appeared that the tracks I was viewing on maps, were tracks leading through Kuipto Forest which had locked gates from Brookman Road.  I reached Woodgate Hill Road and decided to turn around and head back to Brookman-Connor Road, hoping that somewhere from there I might find a track leading off to Kyeema.  Unfortunately I could not access the park from this side, as all the gates to the adjoining Kuipto pine forest were locked.

So I contined on until I reached Blackfellows Creek Road, and commenced heading south.  It wasn’t long until I was able to see the north eastern corner of the park, across the cleared farming land.

I then turned right onto Woodgate Hill Road and started travelling west towards the carpark, from where I normally set up.  This south eastern corner of the park is quite steep in terrain and it was very pleasing to see a lot of regrowth in the park after recent bushfires.

As I drove along Woodgate Hill Road, the Mount Magnificent Conservation Park and the summit soon come into view.  Sadly, the summit does not qualify for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program, despite offering some amazing views from the top of the surrounding Fleurieu Peninsula.

I soon reached the carpark on the northern side of the road.  There is plenty of room here for vehicles, and just to the west of the carpark is a cleared area, and this is where I set up.

There is a cleared area between the western side of the carpark and the scrub and the far western boundary of the park.  It is an ideal spot to string out a dipole.  And as I had the larger 80/40/20m linked dipole with me today, this location was perfect.

Above:- Aerial shot of the Kyeema Conservation Park, showing my operating spot in the south western corner of the park.  Image courtesy of Protected Planet.

Kyeema Conservation Park, which was first proclaimed on 1st January 1964,  is about 360 hectares in size.  An additional 25 hectares of land were added in 1974.  The park consists of thick scrub including messmate stringybark, pink gum, cup gum and canlebark gum.  The name Kyeema is believed to be local Kaurna aboriginal language meaning ‘dawn’.

The park contains a large amount of native fauna including Western Grey kangaroos and the Southern Brown Bandicoot.  Around 88 species of birds can be found in the park.  Whilst I was there I spotted a number of Scarlet Robins.

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The park was devastated during the 1983 Ash Wednesday bushfires, and a number of the eucalypt trees located in the south western part of the park were planted by school students during the 1980’s as part of a long-term revegetation program.  About 20,000 seedlings were planted in the first three years.  The area is known as the ‘Childrens Forest’ to recognise the many children who helped to re-create the valuable habitat.

Above:- Article from the Victor Habour Times newspaper, Wednesday Sept 28 1983.  Courtesy of trove.nla.gov.au.

The park continues to have an active Friends of Kyeema Conservation Park group.

Kyeema Conservation Park has an extremely interesting history.  The area surrounding the park was mined for alluvial gold back in the 1880’s and was abandoned in 1890 due to a low yield.  A few years later, some the scrub was cleared for pine plantations and in 1932 a labour prison reserve was established here.  The camp which opened on 22nd March 1932 was South Australia’s first prison camp.  It was originally known as the Kyeema Afforestation Camp, and was later known as the Kyeema Prison Camp.  It was used by low security risk prisoners and on average, around 13 prisoners worked in the area at any one time, guarded by only 2 prison guards.  The prisoners cut a road through the stringybark forest to the camp, and sank wells, grew their own vegetables, carted water from the creek when the wells failed, showered from buckets, cut firewood, planted trees, put up fences and built bridges.   

The camp soon developed the reputation of being the most humane’ development in the history of the South Australian penal system’.  As was the case with other inmates a prison camps, the prisoners were called by name, not number, and were paid at a higher rate for their labours than other prisoners.  Upon completion of their work, the prisoners were allowed to yarn, read or play dominoes.  The prison camp was closed during the mid 1950’s.

I found some very interesting articles on Trove relating to the Camp.

I was on air by 0625 UTC, 5 minutes ahead of my posted activation time on parksnpeaks and Facebook.  I headed to 7.144 and asked if the frequency was in use and this was answered by Rick VK4RF/VK4HA who had a booming signal.  This was followed by Ken VK3UH, Mike VK6MB with a good 5/8 signal, and then Michael VK5FVSV.  The 40m band appeared to be in quite good shape, with good signals coming in from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7.  I also had a bit of QRM on the frequency with two other QSOs taking place.  I could hear a strong EA5 in Spain chatting away, and there was also a LU2 in Argentina.

About 18 contacts into the activation I was called by Rob VK4FFAB/p who was activating the Great Sandy National Park VKFF-0126.  Rob had an excellent 5/9 signal and reciprocated with a 5/9 for me.  A Park to Park contact is always a nice bonus during an activation.

I continued to work a steady flow of callers with good signals.  Hauke VK1HW almost blew me out of my chair with a huge 5/9 plus plus signal from Canberra.  It was nice to work Glenn VK2LDN who has recently upgraded from his Foundation call, and Eric VK7EV who has also upgraded from his F call.

I soon started to experience some very strong QRM from 7.146 and headed up there to find out who was there.  I politely asked if the 2 stations would mind QSYing a little higher up and they kindly obliged.  I then headed back to 7.144 and worked Les VK5KLV/p who was activating the Mount Brown Conservation Park VKFF-0914 and 5CP-145.  Les was extremely strong.  My last contact on 40m at this time was with Peter VK3PF and I left the frequency with Les VK5KLV.

I headed up to the VK Shires Net on 14.240, which was just starting to wrap up.  Sadly I just worked Lyn VK4SWE and Scott W5/MM0LID.  When the net wrapped up I headed off to 7.185 and the 40m version of the VK Shires Net which was being run by Bill VK4FW.  I logged Bill, Glen VK2FQSL, and Chris VK3QB.  Sadly there weren’t too many participants in the net.

I then went back to 7.144 and called CQ and worked William VK2NWB, Gerard VK2IO, Russell VK4ARW, Phil VK6ADF mobile and finally Roald VK1MTS mobile.  Both Phil and Roald had beautiful strong signals.

To conclude the activation I went to 80m and worked 5 stations on 3.610.  Michael VK5FVSV was first, followed by Mick VK3PMG/VK3GGG, followed by William VK2NWB and finally Gary VK5FGAZ.  Despite the signals being extremely good, I had very few callers.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

1. VK4RF
2. VK4HA
3. VK3UH
4. VK6MB
5. VK5FVSV
6. VK3OHM
7. VK5BJE
8. VK7CW
9. VK7HT
10. VK4AAC/3
11. VK3BBB
12. VK3GGG
13. VK3PMG
14. VK1MA
15. VK2NNN
16. VK3FSPG
17. VK3MCK
18. VK4FFAB/p (Great Sandy National Park VKFF-0126)
19. VK5FANA
20. VK6JON/7
21. VK3FLCS
22. VK5GJ
23. VK7DW
24. VK1HW
25. VK4HNS
26. VK2LDB
27. VK3DBP
28. VK2FSAV
29. VK7EV
30. VK5KLV/p (Mount Brown Conservation Park VKFF-0914 and 5CP-145)
31. VK3PF
32. VK4FW
33. VK2FQSL
34. VK3QB
35. VK2NWB
36. VK2IO
37. VK4ARW
38. VK6ADF/m
39. VK1MTS/m

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

1. VK4SWE
2. W5/MM0LID

The following stations were worked on 80m SSB:-

1. VK5FVSV
2. VK3PMG
3. VK3GGG
4. VK2NWB
5. VK5FGAZ

References.

Birds SA, 2016, <http://www.birdssa.asn.au/location/kyeema-conservation-park/&gt;, viewed 30th July 2016.

Government of South Australia, 2016, ‘Thirty years for Friends of Kyeema’.

National Parks South Australia, 2016, <http://www.environment.sa.gov.au/parks/Find_a_Park/Browse_by_region/Fleurieu_Peninsula/kyeema-conservation-park&gt;, viewed 30th July 2016

Taylor; B, 2010, ‘Prisons without Walls: Prison Camps and Penal Change in Australia, c. 1013-c. 1975’.

Weekend Notes, 2016, <http://www.weekendnotes.com/hidden-secrets-battunga-country/?wns=2&gt;, viewed 30th July 2016

There is an excellent Facebook site entitiled “Trig Stations of Australia and New Zealand” which can be located at….

https://www.facebook.com/TrigStation/

Photos of Geodetic Trig Stations from all over Australia and New Zealand appear on the site. People are encouraged to post their trig pictures on the site.