Yesterday (Saturday 6th December, 2014) I headed to the Swan Reach Conservation Park (CP), which is located about 167 km north east of Adelaide, and about 10 km west of the town of Swan Reach.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
The park covers an area of about 2,017 hectares and encompasses an area of gently undulating country. It consists of typical mallee vegetation. The park is home to a large variety of birdlife including Wedge tailed Eagle, Purple-crowned Lorikett, Mallee Ringneck, Australian Owlet-nightjar, and Singing Honeyeater. A large number of native mammals can also be found including the Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat, Western Grey Kangaroos, and Red Kangaroos. A large number of native reptiles are also found here including Central Bearded Dragons and Gould’s Goannas. I did not see any wombats but certainly saw quite a few kangaroos.
I last activated the Swan Reach CP on the 11th May 2013. Please have a look at my previous post for information on that activation…..
I turned right onto a dirt road, off the Sedan-Swan Reach Road, and travelled south. After travelling south for a km or so, I then found a small track running off to the east, and drove down the track until I found a small clearing, where I set up my gear. Again for this activation, I used my Yaesu FT-450, 40 watts, and a 40m/20m linked dipole, supported on a 7m squid pole.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
My CQ call was responded to by Stuart VK5STU with a strong 5/9 signal from the north eastern suburbs of Adelaide. This was followed by Arno VK5ZAR and then Steve VK3SRB mobile at Mitcham in Melbourne. Steve had a terrific 5/9 signal from his mobile.
I had a few good QRP contacts whilst in the park. The first was with Ian VK3VIN who was running his little Argonaut transceiver on just 3 watts. Ian was a good 5/7 signal. We tried out ‘how low can we go?’. Ian dropped his power down to just 1 watt and I was able to receive his signal 5/5, without any problems. I lowered my power down from 40 watts where I was 5/9, to 10 watts and received a 5/8 signal report. I then lowered the power output down to 5 watts and received a 5/6-7 signal report from Ian.
I then worked Greg VK5GJ in Meadows, in the southern Mount Lofty Ranges. Greg was running just 5 watts and was 5/5. And my last QRP contact was with Peter VK5NAQ, who despite running just 5 watts, was 5/9 plus to Swan Reach. Peter always has a terrific signal.
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After an hour in the park, I had a total of 17 contacts in the log from VK2, VK3, & VK5.
The following stations were worked:-
Stuart VK5STU
Arno VK5ZAR
Steve VK3SRB/m
Ian VK5KKT
Ian VK3VIN
Peter VK3PF
Steve VK3FSWB
Col VK5FCDL
Mike VK3ZMD
Andy VK2FBAC
Nev VK5WG
Barry VK3MBW
Ron VK5VH
Greg VK5GJ
John VK5FTCT
Peter VK5NAQ
Bruce VK2FBJM
References.
National Parks and Wildlife Service, 1983, ‘Conservation Parks of the Murraylands (western Plains) Management Plans
Last night (Wednesday 3rd December, 2014) I headed up the Elizabeth Amateur Radio Club to deliver a presentation on the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program. The talk was attended by about 15 members of the club who showed a keen interest in the SOTA program. The presentation including all aspects of SOTA, including its history, how summits qualify for SOTA, some operating tips, and favoured equipment used. I also brought along my Yaesu FT-817, linked dipole, some SOTA awards, and my Shack Sloth trophy.
There were a few park activators present, who hopefully now will give SOTA a crack here in VK5. One fella is travelling to Europe soon, and showed a keen interest in activating some summits whilst there on holidays.
Thanks to Allen VK5MAK for asking me to talk to the group.
On Tuesday night (2nd December 2014) I arrived home from work to find no internet coverage from my ISP and then no power. So I packed up the radio gear and headed for the Monarto Conservation Park, which is about 65 km east of Adelaide.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I have activated the Monarto Conservation Park previously (on 2 occasions). Please have a look at my previous posts for more information on those activations, and also for information on the park itself.
I set up in the same spot as the last 2 occasions, which was the carpark on the eastern side of the park. There is plenty of room here to string out a dipole, and stay out of the bush and of course all of the associated nasties that like living in the bush and come out on hot evenings (which this was). I set up my fold up table and deck chair, and the Yaesu FT450, 40 watts and the 40m/20m linked dipole.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
It was a warm evening, but there were showers coming in from the west and there was lots of storm activity. So the static crashes on 40m were S9 plus at times. I placed a CQ call on 7.095 and was immediately greeted by Andrew VK2UH who had a great 5/9 signal coming in from New South Wales. Andrew was defeating the static crashes without any problems. After a bit of a chinwag with Andrew I was called by regular park hunter, Tom VK5EE in Mount Gambier, and then Damien VK5FDEC running 10 watts from his new Yaesu FT857. My fourth contact was Rob VK4FFAB. It was a struggle to get Rob’s call but we got there in the end. Rob was a 3/4, simply because of the static crashes. If they were not there, I would have received Rob perfectly, as there was certainly no man made noise in the park. Thanks for your perseverance Rob.
I had a steady flow of callers during the 90 minutes that I was set up in the park. The band was in very good condition and it was a real shame about the static crashes. I had callers from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, and VK7. Almost all of the States and Territories were represented.
And here is where all the noise was coming from…..
Fortunately the rain stayed away. I had a few light sprinkles, but it remained a very warm evening. By the time I packed up at about 8.15 p.m. the sun was setting and I was rewarded with a spectacular sunset. And I was still in a t-shirt.
The signals coming in from VK5 during this activation were outstanding. Peter VK5NAQ, Charlie VK5KDK, Hans VK5YX, Nev VK5WG, John VK5FMJC, Ian VK5IS, Arno VK5ZAR, and Roger VK5NWE were all 20/9 to 30/9 in signal strength.
A few QRP callers gave me a shout. They were Kevin VK7HKN running 5 watts from his Yaesu FT-817, and Eric VK3FMSC also running 5 watts. And Ken VK3TKQ who was mobile at Mount Evelyn, had a beautiful 5/9 signal into Monarto.
But the strongest signal of the activation was reserved for Roger VK4YB near Caboolture in Queensland. Roger was 40/9 to me, and his 2 element beam was working an absolute treat. What a signal!
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This was a very enjoyable activation despite the QRN. It is very evident from this activation and other evening activations that I have done, that the 40m band opens up beautifully to all parts of Australia at this time. So why not try an evening park activation and work all of Australia.
I had a total of 28 contacts during this activation.
On Sunday, 23rd November, 2014, with my wife Marija, I headed down to the Coorong National Park, VKFF-115. It was a beautiful warm day, and we had just bought ourselves a new Toyota Hi Lux, so it was a a couple of great reasons to go for a drive.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I have activated the Coorong National Park a number of times previously. This is a spectacular part of South Australia which stretched for more than 130 km and protects a string of salt water lagoons which are sheltered from the Southern Ocean by the sweeping sand dunes of the Younghusband Peninsula. The Coorong is a wetland of international signficance. For more information on the Coorong National Park, please have a look at…..
Rather than travelling along the South Eastern Freeway and the Dukes Highway, we headed out along the Wellington Road from home, and down through the beautiful wine growing region of Langhorne Creek, and then on to the little town of Wellington on the River Murray. There, we put the 4WD onto the ferry and travelled over the Murray and then on to Meningie on the banks of Lake Albert. From Meningie we continued south east along the Princes Highway.
Initially, we drove along 400 Mile Road and down to the Coorong. However, as it was a warm day and there was no immediate shade at that location, we decided to turn around and head for Parnka Point, where I have operated from a number of times before. I knew that there were shelters at Parnka Point, where I could set up out of the sun.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
My first contact was with Rod VK5VRB at Meadows in the Adelaide Hills with a very strong 5/9 signal. This was followed by SOTA guru (and recently converted parks hunter) Andrew VK1NAM, Hans VK5YX running 5 watts from his home brew MFJ transceiver, and Ian VK3AXH. I went on to work a number of stations in VK3 & VK5.
After working a total of 15 stations on 40m, I ventured over to 20m, where I put out a number of CQ calls on the nominated World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) frequency of 14.244, but had no takers. It was still only 3.00 p.m. and a little too early for the 20m band to be open long path to Europe. A quick tune around the 20m band confirmed this, with very little activity heard. I did hear Anatoly RZ3ZM calling CQ on 14.228 and gave him a call and received a 5/5 signal report from Russia with my 40 watts.
I then went up to 14.310 and asked if the frequency was in use, and was advised by Adam VK2YK that Bob VK5FO was on the frequency on a SOTA summit. I could not hear a peep out of Bob, despite the fact that he was just 150 km away. So I went down to 14.305 and was soon called by Adam VK2YK with a very strong 5/9 signal. This was followed by VK7EB/p. I started calling CQ again, but sadly some stations came up on 14.303 speaking German, and that was the end of that. I was forced to QSY due to the bleedover. So I tuned across the band and found John EA7BA in QSO with some of my mates including Brian ZL2ASH. I gave John a call in Almeria in Spain and he gave me a 5/9 signal report. Brian ZL2ASH in Wellington gave me a 5/6 signal report and Tony F5VBY gave me a 5/8 signal report from France.
I then tuned across the band and found 14.252 clear so I called CQ and this was responded to my Allan VK6APP. Allan was struggling with me and I was certainly struggling with Allan. Sadly his modulation was very distorted, and it was a difficult QSO. A number of subsequent CQ calls went unanswered.
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I then worked a special event call YO555BU. I then went to 14.252 and called CQ again, and this time I had a steady flow of callers from Europe. My first contact was with Max IK1GPG, followed by Zenek SP5INQ, and then UA9LT. I went on to work a total of 15 stations from Europe, but the Yaesu FT-450 kept cutting out as the 44 amp hour power pack was getting low. I am sorry to the European stations that were still calling when I went QRT.
After a total time of 2 hours in the park, I had 38 contacts in the log. We packed up the gear and headed for us. This time taking the Princes Highway to Tailem Bend and then back along the South Eastern Freeway.
My final activation for Monday 17th November, 2014, and my final activation for the four days away, was the Little Desert National Park, VKFF-291, which is located about 375 km north west of Melbourne, in western Victoria.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I activated the Little Desert National Park in September, 2013. For more information on that activation, and details on the park, please have a look at my previous post…..
This is a vast park, covering an area of about. The park has slowly evolved and grown in size over the years. The Kiata Lowan Sanctuary, consisting of 217 hectares, was created in 1955 and was set aside for the preservation of the Malleefowl. The Malleefowl is an endangered bird, and is also known as the Lowan.
image courtesy of wikipedia.org
For more information on the Mallee Fowl, have a look at the following wikipedia article…..
The park was increased in size in 1968 to 945 hectares and was declared as the Little Desert National Park. It was also at this time that the Government ammounced that about 80,000 hectares of desert in the area would be sub divided and cleared for agriculture. Great debate commenced and it was argued that in the long term the land would be more valuable in its natural state. As a result the sub division plan was abandoned, and in December 1969, the park was increased to 35,300 hectares. And then in 1986, the Land Conservation Council which had been created by the Government to advise on the use of public land, recommended an increase in size of the park. The Central and Western Blocks were created and added to the existing Eastern Block. This increased the park in size to 132,000 hectares. In May 1988, the park was declared as a National Park, and it now extends all the way from the Wimmera River in the east, to the South Australian border.
map courtesy of parkweb.vic.gov.au
I headed out to the park from Dimboola via Wimmera Street and then Horse Shoe Bend Road. I set up in the same vicinity as last year, which was near a spot in the Wimmera River called Horseshoe Bend. There is a campground here with wooden benches and seats, and it is beautifully shaded with large River Red gum trees. It is a very pretty spot close to the Wimmera River on the eastern boundary of the park. It is a much prettier and cooler option than some of the more remote and baron parts of the park.
map courtesy of parkweb.vic.gov.au
The Little Desert National Park contains more than 670 species of native plants. Over 220 bird species have been recorded in the park. A variety of native animals are also found in the park including Brush-tailed Possums, kangaroos, bats, and many different kinds of reptiles including Stumpy-tailed lizards and Bearded Dragons.
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I was set up and ready to go by 4.07 p.m. Victorian time. I started calling CQ on 7.095 on 40m. My first contact was with Larry VK5LY who was running QRP, but still had a terrific 5/9 signal. This was followed by Brian VK5FMID who was also 5/9 from Mount Gambier, and then Fred VK3DAC who was 5/9. Mick VK3FAFK was next with a nice 5/9 signal from nearby Stawell. Mick is recently licenced and was one of my regular callers over the 4 days of park and SOTA activations. After working 8 stations from VK2, VK3, & VK5, on 7.095, I was forced to QSY up to 7.097 as the Kandos Net came up on 7.093 and I was getting a lot of ‘bleedover’.
After I QSYd to 7.097 I worked a further 15 stations in VK3 & VK5. This included Marco VK2YES who was portable in the Olney State Forest near Lake Macquarie, and Norm VK5GI who was running QRP 5 watts on his home brew transceiver from Willunga south of Adelaide.
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After working a total of 23 stations on 40m, I headed over to 20m, where I worked a total of 9 stations in New Zealand, VK2, Russia, and VK6. I started calling CQ on 14.244 and my CQ was responded to by Don ZL1AQ and then Noel ZL1DAI. Mike VK2ABT then called in, and this was followed by Sergey RA3PCI, Jeff VK3HJA, Jason Vk6YTS, and Paul VK2DNL. I put out a few more CQ calls but there were no takers, so I tuned around the 20m band and found T32TV working weak Europeans. I also heard 4X6TT on 14.200 but he was just a little too weak to try to work. I then worked Franc (ZL1SLO) operating as ZL1PPY, a special event call commemorating the centenary of the First World War 1914-1918.
So after about 1 hour 15 minutes in the park, I had a total of 32 QSOs in the log. That combined with the 10 QSOs from my activation in September, 2013, saw me fall just 2 QSOs short of the required 44 QSO’s for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) global awards. Oh well, I will have to revist the park at some stage.
The following stations were worked:-
Larry VK5LY
Brian VK5FMID
Fred VK3DAC
Mick VK3FAFK
Tom VK5EE
Nev VK5WG
Kieran VK2QK
Tim VK5AV
Marco VK2YES/p
Bernard VK3AV
Greg VK5GJ
Robin VK5TN
John VK5FMJC
Brett VK3FLCS
Allen VK5FD
Daniel VK5DF
Ian VK5CZ
Norm VK5GI/qrp
Ewen VK3OW
Colin VK3NGC/m
Rob VK3FKL
Ron VK3JP
Allen VK3HRA
Don ZL1AQ
Noel ZL1DAI
Mike VK2ABT
Sergey RA3PCI
Jeff VK3HJA
Jason VK6YTS
Paul VK2DNL
Franc ZL1PPY
Franc ZL1SLO
After getting mobile I worked Rick VK3EQ who was portable on SOTA peak, Mount Beenak, VK3/ VC-016 (5/5 sent and 5/8 received).
Below is a video of the activation…..
References.
Parks Victoria, June 2014, ‘Little Desert National Park Visitor Guide’.
My second to last activation for Monday 17th November, 2014 was the Grampians National Park, VKFF-213, which is located about 260 km north west of Melbourne.
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I have really fond memories of the Grampians, as many of my Dad’s relatives live/d in the Wimmera region, particularly Horsham, not far from the park. As a young boy we would often visit my Uncles and Aunties, and my Nana & Papa who lived at Horsham. My Nana would regularly take us for a drive out to the Grampians, where my little sister and I would feed the kangaroos at Zumsteins.
The Grampians is a vast park, and is 167,219 hectares in size, and was proclaimed as a National Park on the 1st July 1984. The park was listed on the Australian National Heritage List in 2006, for its outstanding natural beauty and being one of the richest indeigeneous rock art sites in south-eastern Australia. The Grampians is referred to as Gariwerd in the local aboriginal language. In 1991, after a 2 year consultation process, the park was renamed Grampians Gariwerd National Park. However, this controversial formality was reversed after a change of State Government in 1992.
I entered the park via a dirt track which ran off the eastern side of the Henty Highway, near Tea Tree Creek. I drove down the track for about 500 metres and set up my gear just off the track. I again used the Yaesu FT-450, 40 watts, and the 40m/20m linked dipole for this activation.
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I had reached the and park and set up 6 minutes ahead of my scheduled time. So I was on track to get home at a respectable hour. I started calling CQ on my nominated frequency of 7.095. My first contact was with Mr. Reliable John VK5BJE at 1.04 p.m. Victorian time. John’s signal was down a little from normal. He was just a 5/5 and I received a 5/1 signal report from John. However, we both had very low, if not non-existant noise floors at our respective locations, so we were able to receive each other without any problems. This was followed by John VK2AWJ/3 who was portable in the Burrowa Pine Mountain National Park. John had been very active over the 4 days, operating portable from a number of Victorian parks. Congratulations John. My third contact was with Peter VK3RV and soon after his partner Jenny VK3WQ. Peter and Jenny had been chasing me over the 4 days during my activations. Thanks Peter and Jenny.
During this activation, I had a steady flow of callers from VK2, VK3 & VK5, with some very good signals. Many were regular park hunters, but there were some new callers in there as well, which is always pleasing. Daniel VK5DF had become a regular caller. Daniel is from the South Coast Radio Club, where I recently gave a talk on the VK5 Parks Award. So perhaps my encouragement had rubbed off on Daniel.
Unfortunately, I was pushed off the frequency by a couple of VK2 stations speaking Italian. This was despite the fact that I had been on the frequency for one hour. I was in the middle of a QSO with Tony VK5ZAI, when these 2 fellas came up and just took over the frequency without asking if it was in use. I often hear these same two gentlemen, on or around this frequency, so obviously they believe they ‘own it’. Perhaps they could not hear me, but surely they could hear the other stations working me. Probably, but I think they just didn’t care.
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So after an abrupt end, I had a total of 32 contacts in the log. This was enough to combine with my previous activation of The Grampians, to surpass the 44 required QSOs for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program.
Mount Dundas, VK3/ VS-045 was my second activation for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program for Monday 17th November, 2014. Mount Dundas is located about 309 km west of Melbourne, and about 16 km north west of the little town of Cavendish.
Image courtesy of mapcarta.com
Mount Dundas is 459 metres above sea level, and is worth just 1 SOTA point. It is an easy summit to access, with a dirt road, leading all the way to the top where there is a large array of telecommunications equipment, including a digital TV broadcast site. According to SOTAWatch I am the only operator to have activated this summit, which I’m a little surprised by considering the easy access.
Image courtesy of mapcarta.com
Access to the summit is via Dundas Gap Road, which runs off the Natimuk to Hamilton Road, just out of Cavendish. There is a dirt road leading to the summit which is suitable for 2wd vehicles. I parked the car a little down the dirt road, and walked a few hundred metres to the top of the summit, so that my final access into the activation zone was by non motorised means. I set up on the eastern side of the telecommunication equipment, and was pleasantly surprised when I turned the radio on to find that there was not a lot of interference from the conglomerate of antennas at the site. There really aren’t too many other options here, as the terrain drops away quite dramatically from the summit peak on all sides, and the surrounding scrub is very thick.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
As I left my car I heard Rob VK2QR operating from a summit, so I quickly set up my gear and gave Rob a call on 7.090. Rob was a good 5/8 signal and was sitting on the top of VK3/ VE-023, a 10 pointer in north eastern Victoria. I received a 5/8 signal report back from Rob. It appeared that the 40m band had improved since my activation at Mount Rouse. Amen to that!
Rob kindly gave me the frequency following our QSO, and it wasn’t long before I had a good flow of callers from VK2, VK3, & VK5. My second contact was with Peter VK3PF, followed by Bernard VK2IO, and my fourth qualifying contact was with Bernard VK3AV. It was certainly not as hard going as Mount Rouse, which was great. Although there was still a bit of QSB on the signals.
A few contacts later, I was called by John VK2AWJ/3 who was portable in the Burrowa Pine Mountain National Park, VKFF-069. John was a good 5/4 and I received a 5/5 signal report from John. This was followed by a contact with Rick VK3EQ, who was on top of McCarthy Spur, VK3/ VT-039, a 6 pointer. Although Rick’s signal was very weak (5/1), I was able to copy him without any difficulty.
I went on to work a further 14 stations on 40m. I didn’t try 20m as promised, as the weather was less than ideal, and I still had two planned park activations, and a big trip ahead of me to get back home to the Adelaide Hills. So I am sorry to any of the VK6’s.
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After 35 minutes on the summit, I had a total of 26 contacts in the log, including two Summit to Summit (S2S) contacts and one Victorian National Park contact.
The following stations were worked:-
Below is a video of the activation…..
After getting mobile from the summit, I worked Rob VK2QR/2, who was portable on Mount Murray, VK3/ VE-025. I was just about to enter the little town of Cavendish when I spoke with Rob, who was a good 5/7 into the mobile (5/7 received from Rob).
My first activation for Monday 17th November, 2014, was Mount Rouse, VK3/ VS-048, which is located near the town of Penshurst, about 275 km west of Melbourne, and about 30 km south east of Hamilton, in western Victoria.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
There are some activations, when you just wished that you had stayed in bed. This was one of those activations! Other than the weather being less than ideal (it was wet and windy), the 40m band was in very poor condition. I managed just 7 contacts from this summit. But out of everything bad, comes something good. To my surprise, I was called by a station in the Azores on 20m, who was 5/9 and gave me a 5/7 signal report. And yet I wasn’t even able to make contact with a single VK3 on 40 metres. I guess that is one of those interested aspects of this great hobby of amateur radio.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I had activated Mount Rouse once before. That was back in September, 2013. For more information on that activation and information on the summit, including its history, please have a look at my previous post……
This is a very easy summit to access, with a road leading all the way to the top of the summit through the Mount Rouse Reserve. A set of steps takes you up to the trig point. Although only a little one pointer, this is a great little summit, with a bench awaiting you once you reach the trig point, and fantastic views of the surrounding countryside, and the little town of Penshurst below the summit.
On the subject of Penshurst, please take the time to have a look around this little town. It is full of history and as some very historic buildings. There is also the Volcano Visitor Centre which is well worth a visit.
As mentioned, the 40m band was in very poor shape. There was absolutely no propagation locally around VK3. I managed to squeeze 5 contacts into the log on 40m with Nev VK5WG who was my first taker, Larry VK5LY, Mark VK7MK, John VK5FMJC, and finally Allen VK5FD portable at Port Victoria. I did hear Peter VK3FPSR trying to call, but Peter was so weak, that it was impossible to make the contact.
So after 10 very frustrating minutes on 40m, I lowered the squid pole and removed the links in the linked dipole, for operation on the 20m band. My first contact there was with Mike VK6MB who was a good 5/7 (5/7 signal report received in exchange). And I then received a call from Joan, CU3AA, in the Azores Islands, in the North Atlantic Ocean, to the west of Portugal and the west African coast. Joan was an excellent 5/9 signal and he gave me a 5/7. But that was the end of that. I had no more callers on 20m.
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As the weather was lousy, and the band was lousy, I decided to head down and head off to my next summit, Mount Dundas near Cavendish. I had the very low number of 7 contacts in the log. One of my worst SOTA activations as far as callers is concerned.
Following my activation of Mount Eccles National Park, I headed off for my final activation for Sunday 16th November, 2014. That being the Mount Richmond National Park, VKFF-361, which is located about 380 km west of Melbourne, and about 22 km north west of Portland, in western Victoria.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
Mount Richmond is known to the local Gundidjmara aboriginal people as Benwerrin, meaning ‘Long Hill’. Benwerrin provided a rich variety of foods for the aboriginal people, both in the bush and along the nearby coast. The large trees with dark grey, hard and fissured bark with dense dar green foilage are Blackwood Wattles. The tree’s strong wiid was good for making hunting boomerangs, and the sticky sap forms useful glue for hand tools.
Mount Richmond was named after Richard Henty, who was one of the first European children born in the Portland area. The park itself was established in 1960, as a result of the dedication of local naturalists such as Noel Learmonth and Cliff Beauglehole.
About 450 species of plants have been recorded in the park, including 50 orchid species. Other plants include Correas, heaths, wattles, and Bush Peas.
The park is home to a large variety of bird life including Emus, Crimson Rosellas, Gang-gang cockatoos, honeyeaters, thornbills, Silvereyes, robins, finches, tree-creepers, and Currawongs. The park is also an important habitat fr the uncommon Long-nosed Potoroo, which is a small member of the kangaroo family. The Potoroo is rarely seen and is generally only active during the night. Other native animals that call the park home are Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Koalas, and Red-necked wallabies.
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I entered the northern portion of the park via Mount Richmond Road. I found a nice picnic and camping area which had a wooden table and benches. It looked a great place to operate from. It isn’t very often that I get the table and chairs provided, so I decided to enjoy the luxuries whilst they were presented.
Image courtesy of parkweb.vic.gov.au
I found 7.095 to be clear and I put out a CQ call and was immediately greeted by Kevin VK3KAB and Glenn VK3YY who were portable on Mount Terrible Spur, VK3/ VE-134. Their signals were 5/7 with their QRP operation of 5 watts. You can read about their activation on Glenn’s WordPress site at…..
This was followed by Terry VK3UP and then Mike VK3XL, who both had 5/9 plus signals. A steady flow of callers followed from VK1, VK3, VK5, & VK7. A few QRP operators called in, including Mark VK3ASC operating with 5 watts, Mark VK1EM, and Daniel VK5DF running 5 watts. And I also spoke to a few mobile operators including Peter VK3PF on the highway approaching Rosedale, and Allen VK3HRA mobile in the Morwell National Park.
The strongest station worked from Mount Richmond, was Peter VK5NAQ who had a thumping 30/9 signal into Mount Richmond. What a signal.
I remained on 7.095 and continued to work the callers. I was working Johnno VK3FMPB when the heavens opened up, and it started to rain, quite heavy. So I had to grab the radio and run. Sorry Johnno. I wasn’t going to get wet, and certainly didn’t want the radio getting wet. So it was back to the car for a short time until the rain disappeared.
I then returned to the picnic table with my bothy bag and huddled under that, as the occasional shower still came through. My first contact after returning was Richard VK5ZRY on the Yorke Peninsula. I worked a further 10 stations after the rain, including Rob VK2QR/3 who was portable on SOTA summit, The Knocker, VK3/ VG-016, with a beautiful 5/9 signal. And also some more QRP stations, including Craig VK3JK on 5 watts, Colin VK3NCC on 5 watts, and Daniel VK5DF on 5 watts (using a different antenna this time). I was hearing a few European stations coming through on the frequency at this time.
After working 39 stations on 40m ssb, I lowered the squid pole and removed the links, and headed off to 20m, where I put out a number of CQ calls on 14.244, until I was answered by Albert S58AL. Unfortunately it wasn’t long, until a European station came up right alongside of me, which made things incredibly difficult. I managed to work a further 4 stations in Hawaii, Slovenia, Italy, and England, until I was forced to QSY as the bleed over was just unbearable.
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I found 14.253 free and put out a CQ call, which was answered by my good buddy, Marnix OP7M. A steady flow of callers from Europe followed this. I worked a further 18 stations from Italy, Germany, Poland, Japan, Netherlands, Russia, and France. And thrown amongst the mix was John VK6NU in Western Australia. Propagation to Europe seemed to be quite good, but the radio was struggling to get sufficient power supply from the 44 amp hour power pack, which was getting low down in voltage. Each time I keyed the microphone, the radio would shut down. This is a problem I’ve been experiencing a bit recently.
My 44 amp hour power pack just couldn’t provide enough voltage, and the radio kept cutting out which was extremely annoying. Plus it was getting dark and the weather was miserable, so it was time to pack up and head back to the warmth of the motel room at Portland. I had a total of 64 contacts in the log. Again, I was very pleased, as I had qualified the park for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) global award.
The following stations were worked:-
Kevin VK3KAP/p (SOTA)
Glenn VK3YY/p (SOTA)
Terry VK3UP
Mike VK3XL
Nev VK5WG
Matt VK1MA
Ian VK1DI
Tim VK5AV
Brian VK5FMID
Bernard VK3AV
Peter VK3RV
Col VK5HCF
Hans VK5YX
Tony VK3CAB
Mark VK7MK
Mark VK3ASC
Mark VK1EM
Peter VK3PF/m
Allen VK3HRA/m
John VK5BJE
Barry VK5BW
VK2CCJ
Bob VK5FPAC
Peter VK5NAQ
Jim VK5TR
Daniel VK5DF
Brett VK3FLCS
John VK5TD
Johnno VK3FMPB
Richard VK5ZRY
Dennis VK3BQZ/m
Brian VK3BBB
John VK5FTCT
Peter VK3TKK
John VK3FCAN
Craig VK3JK
VK3NCC/p
Daniel VK5DF
Rob VK2QR/p (SOTA)
S58AL
WH6DXW
S52KM
I5FLN
M0HDX
OP7M
IK1GPG
DL7UXG
SP5BR
RZ3DN
SP5AUB
JA1HOX
IK2VFR
ON4BB
PA1AR
M0WYZ
RU3EG
John VK6NU
DL2ND
DL1EKO
DL1EBR
F1BLL
DJ7ZZ
IZ5JMZ
DL5EBG
Below is a video of the activation…..
References.
Parks Victoria, 2014, ‘Mount Richmond National Park Visitor Guide’.
My first activation for Sunday 16th November, 2014, was Mount Napier summit, VK3/ VS-046, which is located near Hamilton in western Victoria (13 km south of Hamilton). This was my second activation for the 2014 Summits on Air (SOTA) Spring Activation Weekend.
Map courtesy of mapcarta.com
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
I first activated this summit in September, 2013. For more information on that activation, and some history of the summit and its surrounds, please have a look at my September 2013 post…..
I entered the Mount Napier State Park via Murroa-Buckley Swamp Road, which runs off the Hamilton-Port Fairy Road. The dirt road traversing the park is in good condition and is easily negotiated with a 2wd vehicle. I parked my car at the Mount Napier walking track, and commenced the 30 minute walk up to the top of the summit. This is a nice easy walk to the top, with a well marked path and a few benches along the way. The walk is spectacular taking you through the beautiful understorey of the Mount Napier State Park.
Following this activation I received an e-mail from Nick VK3ANL who stated:
“Mt Napier gets my vote for being “Essence of SOTA” – it’s a genuine walk to the top, but not too hard or long, and through some great Aussie bush, and then it opens out to a summit with real character, and with $million dollar views.”
I think Nick is spot on with his comments. Although only a one pointer, the walk up to the summit is very pretty and the views from the top of Mount Napier are really impressive.
map courtesy of mapcarta.com
The weather was not fantastic when I arrived at Mount Napier. It had been drizzling with showers from the time I got up. But there was the occasional break in the weather. So I ‘donned’ the jacket and my backpack, and headed off from the car, hoping to miss the worst of the weather. As mentioned, this is a really pretty walk. And I encountered a few wallabies on the way to the top/
On my way up, I received just a sprinkle of rain, but by the time I had reached the trig point, the weather had taken a turn for the worst. The summit itself is very exposed, with no trees, so it was incredibly windy, with light misty showers. I secured the squid pole to the concrete base of the Major Thomas Mitchell memorial which is located on the summit. It was so windy, it was quite difficult trying to keep the squid pole in place.
After setting up I put a CQ call out on 7.090 and this was answered by Rob, VK3EK, and then Peter VK3FPSR, followed by Peter VK3PF portable in the Coopracambra National Park. More information on Peter’s activation can be found on hsi WordPress site at…..
I then spoke with Darrin VK3FDAP operating portable and QRP at Moorabin. Thankfully I had my 4 qualifying contacts. I pressed on and worked a further 12 stations in VK1, VK2, VK3, & VK5 before the UTC rollover. There was very severe QSB on many of the signals. One of these contacts was with Julie VK3FOWL who was operating portable with her husband Joe VK3YSP, in the Wilsons Promontory National Park.
After the UTC rollover I worked a further 7 stations in VK1, VK3, & VK5. It was quite a struggle, with the band not in great shape. There was lots of QSB on the incoming signals, and the same was being reported back on my QRP signal. Gary VK2GAZ called me a number of times and although I was able to hear Gary, clearly he could not pull me out of the noise. Sorry Gary.
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The weather had not improved, so I had a quick tune around the 40m band and found Nigel VK5NIG who was operating portable from the top of Mount Gawler summit, VK5/ SE-013. Nigel had a good 5/5 signal (5/5 received back from Nigel). I then found John VK2AWJ/3 operating portable from the Chiltern Mount Pilot National Park, with a good 5/7 signal coming in to Mount Napier. With a little bit more tuning around the band, I was rewarded with a contact with Joe VK3YSP, portable in the Wilsons Promontory National Park, and then Tony VK3CAT who was portable on SOTA summit, Sugarloaf Peak, VK3/ VN-011.
It was time to dash back to the car. I had a total of 28 contacts in the log.
The following stations were worked:-
Whilst still on my way out of the Mount Napier State Park, on my way to Mount Eccles National Park, I spoke with a few stations from my mobile set up, which is a Icom IC-7000 and a base loaded whip antenna on the boot of the car.
My first mobile contact was with Peter VK3ZPF who was portable in the Yarra Ranges National Park, then Peter VK3PF in the Alfred National Park, followed by Allen VK3HRA portable on SOTA peak VK3/ VG-029 which is located in the Alpine National Park.
Below is a video of the activation of Mount Napier…..
