Cox Scrub Conservation Park

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

Our second park of the day was the Cox Scrub Conservation Park, which is just a short drive from the Bullock Hill Conservation Park. I activated this park in December last year, so this was going to be another point for me as it was a new calendar year. Activators for the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award can activate a park for points every calendar year.

Marija and I set up in the same spot as last year, which was the car park off Bull Creek Road. This is a very busy road, with lots of traffic travelling to and from the Fleurieu Peninsula, including a number of trucks from the Goolwa quarry. So be a little careful when you come out of the carpark, as it is on a sweeping bend. The car park is a great spot to set up as there is lots of room to string up the dipole. The only down side is that it can be a little bit noisy with all the traffic from the nearby Bull Creek Road.

IMGA0045

The radio was still set on 7.095 on 40m, so after asking if the frequency was in use, I was immediately greeted by John VK2AWJ with a very strong signal. There is no need to tune the 40m/20m antenna as it is resonant for both the bands. The coax just plugs straight into the back of the radio. I have never had the need to use a tuner. I had just a few minutes before the UTC rollover, but I managed to sneak in Wolf VK5WF and Rob VK5TRM before the new UTC day. Park Hunters for the VK5 Parks award can get points for a particular park every UTC day.

After the rollover, John VK2AWJ was the first to call back in again. This was followed by Nev VK5WG and Peter VK3PF. The band was still holding up quite well. Signal strengths had dropped slightly, as you would expect later in the morning, but conditions were still very good. I spoke with Harry VK2DWT/m5, who was mobile at Coober Pedy, using his FT857d, 100 watts, and a multi band vertical. Harry had a very nice signal and we had a very enjoyable chat.

I then QSYd to 20 metres, not really expecting to get much in the log. However, I always like to try 20m for some of the further afield Australian operators. But what followed was certainly not expected. I worked 11 stations, and probably could have kept going, except for the fact that we were running out of time and wanted to get on the road.

My first contact on 20m was with Phil VK2PHP who was portable in Newcastle, and this was followed by Ian VK3VIN, running QRP from his little Argonaut. I received calls from VK2, VK3, and VK4. All with very nice signals. The Victorian guys were extremely strong which is not normally my experience on 20m.

Marija had received a telephone call from Brian VK5FMID in Mount Gambier, wondering if I was going to try 40m again, so I quickly went back to 40m and worked Brian, Rob VK5TS mobile and John VK5BJE, before going QRT. We then packed up and headed off to Mount Compass where we enjoyed a very nice meal at the Mount Compass Tavern. I had some beautifully prepared kangaroo fillets.

IMGA0061 IMGA0062

I worked a total of 26 stations from the park. A total of 15 of those were on 40m ssb and 11 on 20m ssb.

The following stations were worked before the UTC rollover:-

John VK2AWJ; Wolf VK5WF; and Rob VK5TRM.

The following stations were worked after the UTC rollover:-

John VK2AWJ; Nev VK5WG; Peter VK3PF; Rob VK5TRM; Larry VK5LY; Norm VK5GI; Amanda VK3FQSO; Col VK5HCF; Harry VK2DWT/m5; Phil VK2PHP/p; Ian VK3VIN; Norm VK5GI/qrp; John VK3JLS; Max VK3MCX; Bob VK4ZL; Trevor VK3PD; Zenon VK2YZS/m; Anthony VK3LAJ; Dave VK2DML; Terry VK3ASU; Rob VK5TS/m; John VK5BJE; and Brian VK5FMID.

More photos of this activation can be found in the Photos section of the VK5 Parks Award Yahoo group at…..

https://au.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/sanpcpa/info

Bullock Hill Conservation Park

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On Friday 4th April, 2014, my ever faithful and tolerant wife Marija and I, headed south towards the beautiful Fleurieu Peninsula to spend a few nights in the Deep Creek Conservation Park. We had booked ‘Glendale’ cottage located in the heart of the park. Our reason for heading down there, was that weekend was the 1st anniversary of the VK5 Parks Award, and a special activation weekend had been arranged to celebrate the event.

I had convinced Marija, that we would stop into a couple of parks on the way down to the Fleurieu. So our first stop was the Bullock Hill Conservation Park, which is located about 65 km south of Adelaide, near the small town of Ashbourne.

The Bullock Hill Conservation Park was proclaimed on the 20th January 2014, so it is a very young park. It consists of 200 hectares of undulating countryside, mainly consisting of Pink and Cup gum, with a dense under storey of acacia and mixed heath.

Earlier in the year I had spoken with Tony Randall, the Programs Manager of the Goolwa to Wellington Local Action Planning Association Inc. Tony had submitted a proposal that the scrub be proclaimed as a Conservation Park and was keenly awaiting a reply from the State Government. And then just a few weeks ago, I received an email from Greg VK5GJ, to advise that the park had been gazetted as a Conservation Park.

Marija and I travelled through Ashbourne and then south along Wattle Flat Road. Should you ever visit Ashbourne, there is a terrific little pub there called The Greenman Inn. The hotel, which was built in 1865, was the original Post Office and General Store for the area. As we travelled down Wattle Flat Road, the park was visible on our right, but we continued down to Haines Road, hoping to access the park from there. However the road was impassable. Haines Road is a dirt track, and the Giles Creek crosses it, and it was totally impossible to try crossing it, as you can see from the photograph below.

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So we headed back north along Wattle Flat Road, and found a sign for the park and decided to set up there. As we travelled along Wattle Flat Road, we encountered quite a lot of Western Grey kangaroos on the road. It was slow going, as they were out in force, with it still being early in the morning.

IMGA0014

I used the Conservation Park sign to strap the squid pole to, with the use of the ever reliable octopus straps. The antenna was the 40m/20m linked dipole, inverted vee. Next was the fold up table and deck chair. For this activation, I decided to use my Yaesu FT-450, powered by the 44 amp hour power pack. I ran the FT450 at 40 watts.

I turned the radio on and put a call out on 7.095 to be greeted by Larry VK5LY from Renmark in the South Australian Riverland, with a very strong 5/9 plus signal. This was followed by Trevor VK5ATQ who was also 5/9 +, and then John VK2AWJ who was also very strong from New South Wales. The 40m band seemed to be in very good condition. I went on to work a further nine stations from VK3, VK5, and VK7. Nobody was under S9. I had not heard such strong signals on 40m ssb for a long long time.

IMGA0018

When things got a little quiet, I walked up to the top of the hill behind me, and into the scrub. There were some spectacular views from here out to the west towards the nearby Finnis River and down to the south. I also encountered a significant number of Western Grey kangaroos. The park was also alive with Superb Blue wrens darting around the scrub.

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So after a few moments of admiring the view, it was time to head back down the hill, and pack up, and head off to the next park, the Cox Scrub Conservation Park.

The following stations were worked:-

Larry VK5LY; Trevor VK5ATQ; John VK2AWJ; John VK5BJE; Les VK5KLD; Amanda VK3FQSO; Peter VK3PF; Hans VK5YX; Damien VK3CT/mobile; Paul VK7CC; Wolf VK5WF; and Rob VK5TRM.

More photos of this activation can be found in the Photos section of the VK5 Parks Award Yahoo group at…..

https://au.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/sanpcpa/info

References.

Publocation, http://publocation.com.au/pubs/sa/ashbourne/the-green-man-inn

Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Parks of the Fleurieu Peninsula brochure

VK5 Parks award anniversary activation weekend

Posted on April 9, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th April, 2014, the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award celebrated its first birthday. That weekend saw a special anniversary activation weekend take place, which involved a number of keen operators, who operated portable from National & Conservation Parks all around South Australia.

In fact a total of 29 hams participated in a total of 98 park activations. Of those, 84 were unique parks. Over 2,300 QSO’s were made, and this included over 750 park to park contacts.

The following activators took part…..

Tony VK3VTH/5
David VK5AAH
Steve VK5AIM
Andy (VK5AKH) & Mark (VK5QI) – VK5ARG
John VK5BJE
Ian VK5CZ
Gary VK5FGRY
John VK5FMJC
Tom VK5FTRG
Gordon VK5GY
Col VK5HCF
David VK5KC
Andrew VK5KET
Les VK5KLV
Peter VK5KPR
Peter VK5KX
Andy VK5LA
Larry VK5LY
Bill VK5MBD
Andrew VK5MR
Nigel VK5NIG
David VK5NQP
Paul VK5PAS
Stuart VK5STU
Paul VK5VCO
Arno VK5ZAR
Greg VK5ZGY
Richard VK5ZRY

Below is a map showing where the activations took place, all around the State…..

I myself, headed down to the Fleurieu Peninsula and activated the following parks…..

Bullock Hill Conservation Park
Cox Scrub Conservation Park
Deep Creek Conservation Park
Talisker Conservation Park
Eric Bonython Conservation Park
Newland Head Conservation Park.

I would like to say thank you to all the operators who took the time to operate portable from a park. And also thank you to the numerous park hunters who called in to the many activators. Without hunters, there would be no VK5 Parks program. The 40m band was extremely busy on both days, and was in exceptional condition. I heard many of the park activators working ‘pile ups’.

Special thanks to Tony VK3VTH/5, who travelled from Victoria, and activated three parks in the south east of South Australia. This included Canunda National Park, where Tony made a total of 300 QSO’s, including 232 DX contacts. Tony was even involved in the rescue of a bogged 4WD enthusiast, who decided to venture a little too close to the ocean.

There were a number of first time park operators which was extremely pleasing to see. Congratulations to David VK5AAH, Gary VK5FGRY, John VK5FMJC, Bill VK5MBD, Gordon VK5GY, Andrew VK5KET, Les VK5KLV, Peter VK5KPR, Andrew VK5MR, and Arno VK5ZAR. From all accounts they have been bitten by the ‘portable bug’ and have said they will be heading out again.

The herculean effort of the Sunday was that of Andy VK5AKH and Mark VK5QI who using the club call of VK5ARG, activated 20 parks in the one day. The parks were in the Adelaide Hills and the southern suburbs of Adelaide. Great effort fellas !

Above:- VK5ARG (VK5QI) operating at Moana Sands Conservation Park

David VK5KC also activated his first every Summits on the Air (SOTA) peak on Mount Lofty VK5/ SE-005, which is located in the Cleland Conservation Park.

The guys from the South East Radio Group were out in force. This included Col VK5HCF who activated 8 parks, Greg VK5ZGY and trusty wife Gabby who activated 7 parks, Tom VK5FTRG who activated 5 parks, and Andrew VK5KET who activated 4 parks.

Above:- Greg VK5ZGY, operating at Wolseley Common Conservation Park

Whilst operating in the Angove CP Arno VK5ZAR reported that a lady from across the road thought he was set up to record the calls of endangered bird in the park. And whilst operating in the Horsnell Gully CP, he had a “tourist” bush waking couple approach him who were to ally lost. They had been walking for many hours trying to get back to their car. After explaining what he was there for and giving them instructions to the nearest road exit and checking they had plenty of water still they left Arno, heading back to their car..

Above:- Arno VK5ZAR operating at Angove Conservation Park

There were also a number of interesting locations activated. This included Steve VK5AIM who operated portable from Martindale Hall Conservation Park. The park incorporates the Martindale Hall mansion which was constructed in 1877.

Above:- Steve VK5AIM at Martindale Hall Conservation Park

Peter VK5KX and Paul VK5VCO, and their wives, travelled to the Clinton Conservation Park. From all accounts this was a very enjoyable 2 days, except for the field mice who invaded Peter’s camper van.

Below is a map showing the travel route of Larry VK5LY who activated 4 parks on Saturday, and another 4 parks on Sunday, with his wife Di.

This was a terrific weekend. The weather was magnificent, and the band conditions were extremely good. I myself am eagerly awaiting for next year’s 2nd birthday celebrations.

1. http://www.clipartbest.com

Gold SOTA Mountain Hunter

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

I have just recently received my Gold SOTA Mountain Hunter certificate. Thanks to Greg VK8GM for getting me over the line.

Mountain Hunter Award (all bands) Status = Gold

Association(s) Chased All Bands Count
DM – Germany (Low Mountains) 5
EA2 – Spain (North) 2
G – England 6
HA – Hungary 3
OE – Austria 9
OM – Slovakia 2
S5 – Slovenia 3
SP – Poland 3
SV – Greece 2
VK1 – Australia – Capital Territory 28
VK2 – Australia – NSW 76
VK3 – Australia – Victoria 166
VK4 – Australia – Queensland 2
VK5 – Australia – South Australia 22
VK8 – Australia – Northern Territory 2

Mountain Hunter Award (all bands): associations not yet qualifying

Association(s) Chased All Bands Count
DL – Germany (Alpine) 1
EA1 – Spain (North West) 1
EA3 – Spain (Catalunya) 1
GM – Scotland 1
GW – Wales 1
OK – Czechia 1
VK9 – Australia – Islands 1
W6 – USA 1
YO – Romania 1

John Moyle Field Day 2014

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On Saturday 15th March, 2014, I headed up to the nearby Mount Barker summit for the John Moyle Memorial Field Day (JMFD) which is held annually in March. The aim of the JMFD is “to encourage and provide familiarisation with portable operation, and provide training for emergency situations. The rules are therefore specifically designed to encourage field operation.”

The contest is held in memory of the late John Moyle who was a long term editor of the Wireless Weekly, (later Radio & Hobbies – later Radio Television & Hobbies) magazine from 1947 until his untimely death in 1960. MOYLE served with distinction in the RAAF during the Second World War. He was responsible for a number of innovative solutions in keeping radio and radar equipment working under wartime operations and difficult working conditions. The WIA decided that a suitable long term memorial to John Moyle would be a Field Day with a focus on portable or field operation. The contest has been conducted annually ever since.

When I awoke on Saturday morning, the weather was ‘lousy’ to say the least. In fact I was awoken by extremely heavy rain and strong winds. The weather had certainly broken. We had experienced a particularly hot summer here in the Adelaide Hills, with about 14 days of temperatures exceeding 40 degrees C. On one day the temperature reached a scorching 47 deg C. So as the weather was less than impressive, I wasn’t keen on heading up to Mount Barker summit for the start of the contest at 11.30 a.m. Instead I waited til later in the afternoon, and decided to participate in the 6 hour section.

So at about 1.30 p.m. off I headed to Mount Barker summit, which is located just a short 5 km drive from home. Mount Barker summit is about 517 metres ASL, and sadly does not qualify for the Summits on the AIr program (due to issues with 150 metres of prominence). Despite this, the summit is an impressive feature in the Adelaide Hills, and there are spectacular views in all directions from the summit.

Mount Barker summit was first sighted by Captain Charles Sturt in 1830. However, he believed that he was viewing the previously discovered, and much higher Mount Lofty summit which is located further to the west. Captain Collet Barker corrected this error, when he surveyed the Mount Barker area during 1831. Sturt went on to name the summit, Mount Barker, in honour of Cpt Collet Barker, who was killed just days later by local aboriginals. Although there is some slight contention, it is believed that the very first Europeans to climb the summit were a six man party on 27th November, 1837. The group consisted of John Barton Hack, John Morphett, Samuel Stephens, Charles Stuart, Thomas Davis, and John Wade. The nearby township of Mount Barker (where I live) has a number of streets and landmarks named in honour of many of this group.

The summit is located within the Mount Barker Summit Conservation Reserve, which is 46.2 hectares in size. So, as a Conservation Reserve, it does not qualify for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.

There is a road leading all the way to the top of the summit, which can be reached off Summit Road. My ever reliable and keen wife Marija had offered to come along and help me set up the equipment. But justifiably so, did not want to stick around in the less than perfect weather. So we parked the car in the carpark, alongside the telecommunications tower, and walked a short distance up hill to the picnic area established by the Nairne Lions club.

On the way up, we saw a variety of bird life (of the feathered variety), including Adelaide Rosellas, and New Holland Honeyeaters. There were a variety of native plants in flower, including the banksias and correas. There has been a total of 28 plant species documented on the summit.

Because the weather was ordinary, we quickly erected the tent and antenna, my 40m/20m linked dipole, supported on a 7 metre squid pole (inverted v). I then walked a further 50 metres up to the trig point and admired the view for a short time, while I could. There is a trig point at the top, along with a directional cairn which was erected by the local council way back in 1966, the year after my birth.

As mentioned previously, there are spectacular 360 degree views from the summit. On a clear day, and this was not, you can see all the way down to the south to the Coorong and Lake Alexandrina. There are amazing views out to the west over the Mount Lofty Ranges and the ever increasing township of Mount Barker.

So after some photographs, I headed back down to the ‘shack’ and continued to set up some gear. The weather was holding off, although it was very threatening out to the west. I initially set up on one of the wooden tables established at the summit by the local Nairne Lions Club. And I was visited by a local ham from nearby Hahndorf, who had heard me mention on 20m that I was heading up to the summit.

My first contact was at 0419 UTC (2.49 p.m. S.A. local time) with Jim VK5TR, who I know through the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society. Jim had an incredibly strong signal coming in from the southern suburbs of Adelaide. This was followed by VK3ER, and then my old mate Roy VK7ROY. Despite the fact that it was still early in the afternoon, the 40m band appeared to be in quite good condition.

However, my fun on 40m was soon spoiled by the weather which hadn’t stayed kind for very long at all. The summit was soon drenched in rain and struck by very strong and squally winds. So it was off to the protection of the tent, which somehow managed to survive the wind, which at times was extremely strong.

I remained on 40m until about 0800 UTC (6.30 p.m.), when I decided to venture over to 20m ssb. My first contact was with VK6ARG, followed by VK4QD, and then special event station GB0BB in the United Kingdom. Whilst on 20m, I worked a little bit of DX from the United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, Germany, New Zealand, Slovenia. But the 20m band seemed to drop out a lot earlier than normal and there were not a lot of takers.

So after the 20 m band dropped out, I headed back to 40m and started calling CQ, and worked a constant flow of callers from all over VK & over in ZL. The band was in very good shape, but I was fast approaching 9.00 p.m. which signalled the end of my 6 hours of operating time. I even started to get calls from the U.S.A. I started to think that I should have commenced operating later in the afternoon.

I went QRT just before 9.00 p.m. and again with the help of my beautiful wife (who had driven up to collect me), we dismantled the antenna and tent, and packed up all the gear. In the rain too ! And then back to the car, and off to a nice warm bath and a bottle of red !

I ended up with 155 QSO’s in the 6 hour period, which I was a little disappointed with. But it was a lot of fun. This was my first time operating portable during the JMFD, and I will certainly be better prepared next year.

I would like to thank the Mount Barker District Council, who gave me permission to operate from the top of the summit. The lower gate is normally locked at dusk and re opened at dawn.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

VK3MEG; VK1GG/m; VK3SOY; VK2FMIA/p; VK5MH; VK5ZCA; ZL2TCR; VK3IDX; VK2IO; VK3CMZ; VK6YS; VK2EIR; VK4WIT; VK5ZKT; VK8GM; VK2GGC; VK5UV; VK2XRC; VK2TTP; VK1VK; VK2YAC; VK4TDI; VK5WG; VK2HBJ; VK2DAG; VK3KX; VK4VBU; VK2QW; VK2YKW; VK4YH; VK4FTWO; VK6NU; VK2HZ/p; VK6MZW; VK3PKY; VK5DT; VK4KLC; VK5EMI; VK2TTP; VK7LCW; VK2CCJ; VK3VCL; VK4SR; VK3JUG; VK5DT; VK6ZN; VK3SOT; VK4FOXS; AE7H; VK3EWM; VK6ARG; and VK5MH

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

F5PAU; VK6ARG; VK4QD; GB0BB; RA3PCI; VK6SH; IK7YCE; VK1SV; DK4RM; G4RRA; G3OCA; G0RQL; VK6EH; VK2NSW; ZL2OPB; VK2DAG; VK2CL; VK4CPS; VK6ZN; S58AL; VK5ARG; VK2CBD.

Below is a video of the activation…..

References.

Wikimedia Foundation Inc, 2014, Wikipedia, viewed 18th March 2014, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Barker,_South_Australia

‘Mount Barker Summit Conservation Reserve Management Plan 2011’, prepared for the District Council of Mount Barker, T. Milne (2011), EAC-Ecological Evaluation Pty Ltd.

Onkaparinga River National Park, VKFF-402

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

Late yesterday afternoon, my wife Marija and I headed over to the Onkaparinga River National Park. I had activated Onkaparinga River NP last year for both the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award & WWFF, but I wanted to increase my tally of QSO’s up over 44 for the global WWFF award. I had only 10 QSO’s last time I activated this park in July 2013. Plus, this was a new calendar year, so the park was worth an extra 2 points for me for the VK5 Parks Award.

Onkaparinga River NP is 1,544 hectares in size, and is one of South Australia’s largest parks. It is situated about 32 km south of Adelaide. It is a beautiful 45 minute drive from my home, through the Adelaide Hills towns of Echunga, Meadows, and Kangarilla. The park features rounded ridge tops, steep gorge slopes and the narrow river valley of the Onkaparinga Gorge. The gorge has been cut out slowly over many years by the Onkaparinga River.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

Within the gorge itself there are remnant woodlands of pink gum, mighty river red gum, grey box, sheoak, and native pine. There are also significant grasslands, all of which have survived 160 years of livestock grazing, harvesting of timber and cropping.

There are over 180 bird species within the park. This includes Wedge Tailed eagles, Laughing Kookaburras, Sacred Kingfisher, and various lorikeets, rosellas, and parrots.

Numerous Australian native animals can be found in the park including Western Grey kangaroos, koala, brush tail possums, and echidnas. As the sun started to go down, there was no shortage of kangaroos grazing in the open areas surrounding where I was set up.

Rock climbing is a favourite past time in the park, as is canoeing or kayaking down the Onkaparinga River and the associated estuary channels. There are a number of well marked walking trails through the park.

Marija and I accessed the park via Chapel Hill Road. The map below, shows our operating position (marked with the red arrow). There are many fantastic wineries in this area as it is very close to the famous wine growing region of McLaren Vale.

We found a good car parking area on Chapel Hill Road, and unloaded the equipment. We set up just inside the park boundary, right alongside one of the park signs. There was a good cleared area here, so I was able to stretch out the 40m / 20 m linked dipole, which I supported on my 7 m squid pole.

I brought 2 radios with me for this activation. I had the little Yaesu FT-817nd for localAustralian contacts on 40m (running just 5 watts). And I had my much bigger Yaesu FT-450 for the DX on 20m (running 50 watts).

After setting up my fold up table and deck chair and making myself comfortable, I tuned to 40m. Just as I was doing this, I received a text message from my friend, John VK5BJE, who was operating portable in the Mark Oliphant Conservation Park. This was an opportunity for a ‘Park to Park’ contact for the VK5 Parks Award. So I quickly tuned to 7.100 and spoke to John who had a beautiful strong 5/8 signal. I then saw a spot on SOTAWatch for Kevin VK3KAB/p who was portable on SOTA peak, Hyde Hill VK3/ VC-008 on 7.110. I called Kevin who has a lovely 5/8 signal (5/8 signal report received back from my qrp set up).

I then headed up to 7.144 and called CQ and was greeted by the masses of Park Hunters. First cab off the rank was Rod VK5VRB, followed by John VK2AWJ, then Brian VK5FMID, and then Ben VK3WRL. A steady flow of callers followed from VK3 & VK5. All with very nice signals. It appeared that the 40m band was in good shape. A few guys called me whilst running QRP. They including Doc VK5BUG using just 3 watts, and Col VK5HCF down in Mount Gambier, 400 km away.

I also worked Tony VK3CAT who gave me a call whilst he was on SOTA peak, Mount Macedon VK3/ VC-007. Tony was a good strong 5/8 and I received a 5/9 signal report from Tony. Tony had a slight accident with his thermos while we had our QSO, which put a bit of smile on my face. Sorry Tony !

Sadly, some VK2’s came up just 2 kc away from me, which made things very very difficult. I am sure they could hear me. Other VK2’s were. It was their daily net, and I guess they were’nt going to move for anyone. Sadly, this seems to be a common problem with some operators.

When things started to slow down on 40m, I lowered down the antenna and unclipped the alligator clips so I could operate on 20m. I was keen to work some DX from the park. I had been inspired by Tony VK3VTH and Peter VK3ZPF, who are both keen park activators for both WWFF and also the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award (KRMNPA). In recent times both Tony & Peter have been working huge amounts of DX during their park activations.

So after setting up the dipole for 20m, I saw a spot on SOTAWatch for Mike 2E0YYY, who was sitting on top of SOTA peak, Gun G/SP-013. There was a huge amount of QRM from nearby stations, but despite this, Mike was a very good signal into the park. I called a few times and managed to get through to Mike (4/5 sent and 5/5 received). It was great to work Mike. He was my first ever SOTA contact 3 years ago.

After working Mike I headed off to 14.244, but there was a lot of interference from nearby stations, so I went down slightly lower to 14.243 and put out a CQ call, to be answered by DK4RM. My old mate Peter VK4AAV then called in to say hi. Peter was kind enough to place me on the DX cluster, and that is when everything went mad. What followed was a huge pile up from Europe and the United Kingdom.

It got so busy, that I almost had to go split operation. I ended up with a total of 84 QSO’s on 20m ssb. Of those, 73 were DX contacts in England, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Austia, Russia, Ukraine, France, Romania, Italy, Switzerland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, USA, Slovenia, Belarus, Poland, Baeleric Islands, Finland, Japan, Slovak Republic, and Ireland.

There were some very interesting contacts amongst this. They included Geni OE7DXT who was mobile and had a beautiful 5/7 signal amongst the pile up. Tom G0SBW who was pedestrian mobile and QRP with a nice 5/4 signal. Rich G0OWU who was QRP with 10 watts and had a nice 5/7 signal.

I was also called by Peter ON2WAB/p who was portable in ONFF-370, Meetjeslandse Kreken. It was a little bit of a struggle with Peter who had a 4/4 signal but we made it. Peter gave me a 5/5. And I was also called by Jef DD2CW who was portable in DLFF-039, Augsburg-Westliche Wälder.

My very good mate Bill W1OW from Massachusetts USA also came up to say hi amongst the pile up. Thankyou to Peter VK3CFA for letting me know he was there. I would later work Bill on 40m SSB as well.

And an interesting call came from Fuji, 7K1PAS. It was really great to speak to Fuji, who was my only Asian contact, and with the same suffix as my call sign. Thanks Fuji.

I would like to say a big thank you to Andrew VK2UZ. During the pile up I was working, I started to get some bleed over from just above me. I went up 2 kc and spoke to Andrew & the G station he was working, and they both graciously QSY’d up a little higher. Thanks guys for your courtesy. Sadly the same cannot be said for a ZL who subsequently came up just 2 kc away and totally killed the frequency. I apologise to all the Europeans who were still calling. I just could not fight off the ZL’s huge signal.

When the 20m band started to close, I headed back to 40m and I booked in to the 7.130 DX Net for about 20 minutes and worked a further 10 stations in VK2, VK4, VK6, VK7, New Zealand, USA, and French Polynesia. This included a contact with Doug VK2FMIA/p was portable in Warrabah National Park, VKFF-518. Also a QSO with Wayne VK5LWR/p who was portable in the Deep Creek Conservation Park (with a 5/9 plus 20 db signal).

But it was starting to get late, and I had pushed my luck far enough with my XYL, so it was time to pack up and head home. I had managed a total of 120 QSO’s on 40m ssb and 20m ssb. Of those, 73 were DX contacts on 20m SSB. And 4 DX QSO’s on 40m ssb. This was a really enjoyable and very exciting activation.

The following stations were worked on 40m SSB:-

VK5BJE/p (Park); VK3KAB/p (SOTA); VK5VRB; VK2AWJ; VK5FMID; VK3WRL; VK5EMI; VK5KGP; VK5FBAC; VK5WG; VK5NQP; VK5FAKV; VK5BUG/qrp; VK3ZPF; VK5HCF/qrp; VK3HJ/m; VK5BJE; VK3FABE; VK5JDS; VK3VEK; VK3GMM; VK5AV; VK5MPJ; VK3CAT/p (SOTA); VK3ERW; VK3AMB; VK7ROY; FO5JV; W1OW; VK2FMIA/p (Park); VK7CC; ZL2ASH; ZL2TCR; VK4FAAS; VK5LWR/p (Park); and VK6FNKS.

The following stations were worked on 20m SSB:-

2E0YYY/p (SOTA); DK4RM; VK4AAV; VK6JES; ON5JE; EA4DTV; OE8TLK; UA4PKN; UT5PI; ON5JK; F1RUK; YO3JW; I5FLN; IK2AHU; OE7DXT/m; F5PAU; HB9FLU; OZ7KIM; IZ2GTO; ON5SY; OK2APY; ON4BB; HA0LG; UA9LT; IW2NXI; RA1OD; VK5VRB; DF6EX; OZ4RT; DK3GG; M0WYZ; IZ5ILF; RN3B; DL1EBR; IK2VUC; S52KM; DL1NAX; OK2PAU; R7AY; EV1R; F4HDR; HA8IE; OP7M; DL2ND; RA3PCI; DH1UQ; G0SBW/pm; ON7ZM; OH6RP; DL5XU; SQ9JYK; EA6XQ; ON6YH; US2WU; G4NIF; SP6KEP; I5RMY; S58AL; G0OWU/qrp; IZ2ZQP; VK3NCC/2; OH6JE; SM6CNX; ON2WAB/p (ONFF-370); RD4HZ; OH6IU; DD2CW/p (DLFF-039); VK5ZKT; G0BPK; M0LBJ; G0AWY; VK3CFA; W1OW; 7K1PAS; OM1AX; OM7OM; VK4KDX; G3UUV; VK5MPJ; VK3SX; VK7PSJ; EI4IT; VK6NTE; and EA7BA.

References.

‘Onkaparinga River National and Recreation Parks’, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, June 2010.

Friends of Onkaparinga Park Inc, http://www.communitywebs.org/OnkaparingaParks/.

The Knoll Conservation Park

Posted on March 11, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On the way home from the VK5 SOTA & Parks symposium, Larry VK5LY and I stopped off at The Knoll Conservation Park, which is located at Crafers West in the ‘Adelaide Hills’ Mount Lofty Ranges. Before leaving the BBQ, the 2 ‘eager beavers’ Nigel VK5NIG & Stu VK5STU had mentioned they were going to whizz over to Mount Lofty summit which is located within the Cleland Conservation Park, and do a dual SOTA/Parks activation. So, Larry and I did not need any prompting.

I activated The Knoll CP last year, but because it was a new calendar year, this activation was another point for me. And this was a unique / new park for Larry. The Knoll CP is a beautiful little Conservation Park, which I am sure most people don’t even know about. The entrance is off Waverley Ridge Road, directly opposite Sheoak Road, and the start of busy Upper Sturt Road. I am sure that most people drive passed this park quickly and don’t even know it’s there.

There is a small carpark on the eastern side of Waverly Ridge Road, so we parked Larry’s car there and unpacked the gear. Larry and I then walked up the slight hill to the tower installation in the park, and set up just on the southern side of the tower and associated infrastructure. We couldnt venture too far into the park, because we were wearing ‘Japanese safety boots’ (thongs), and there is a large amount of leaf litter and debris on the ground within this park. We didn’t fancy a chance encounter with a snake ! We set up Larry’s home brew linked dipole and Yaesu FT-817, and found ourselves some shade from the very hot sun, under a large gum tree. We then tuned to 7.095 on 40m ssb.

Our first QSO’s were with Stu & Nigel on the top of Mount Lofty. They answered Larry’s first CQ call. Stu and Nigel were only about 3 km away from us, so it was no surprise that their signal/s were very strong. That was a great start. A SOTA contact and a Park to Park contact for the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.

Larry kept calling CQ and got a few Park Hunters, but it was very quiet on the band. Trevor VK5TW called in, followed by Phil VK3BHR with a nice signal. Nick VK3ANL/p who was portable on SOTA summit Mount Ida VK3/ VU-009 and within Heathcote-Graytown National Park VKFF-624 then gave us a call. Another SOTA peak, and a WWFF park. But that was about it…..it was very quiet. So we checked the radio and found that we had the 817 on the 2.5 watt setting.

Larry and I then bumped up the power to a mighty 5 watts and were called by ‘the voice of the mid north’ Nev VK5WG, followed by Peter VK3PF. So after many minutes of calling CQ with no takers, Larry and I tuned across the band and found Tony VK3VTH/p. Tony was in Cobbobonnee National Park for the Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award & WWFF (VKFF-728). Tony had a very strong 5/9 signal.

We then ventured back to 7.095 and put a few calls out and were greeted by Brian VK5FMID; Tim VK5AV, Peter VK5KET, and Amanda VK3FQSO. Peter was running QRP 5 watts, using his FT-817 from home.

It was starting to get very hot, and we were heading out for tea, that night, so we packed up and headed home, with another park activation under our belt.

The following stations were worked:-

Stu VK5STU/p (SOTA); Nigel VK5NIG/p (SOTA); Phil VK3BHR; Nick VK3ANL/p (National Park); Nev VK5WG; Peter VK3PF; Tony VK3VTH/p (National Park); Brian VK5FMID; Tim VK5AV; Andrew VK5KET/p; Amanda VK3FQSO; and Trevor VK5TW.

That night, my wife Marija and I, and Larry and his wife Di, enjoyed a very nice meal and some fine wine at one of our local restaurants ‘Nonna’s’ at Mount Barker.

VK5 SOTA and Parks symposium

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On Sunday 9th March, 2014, the inaugural VK5 SOTA & Parks symposium was held at the Guides Hall at the location of the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Club (AHARS) clubrooms at Blackwood. A total of 32 people attended the symposium. The pleasing aspect was that the majority of those attending had never activated a SOTA peak nor a National or Conservation Park.

The day kicked off at 9.00 a.m. with a welcome by Tony VK5KAT, the President of AHARS. The four pre morning tea presentations were as follows…..

An overview of SOTA’s progress in VK5 & VK overall – Ian VK5CZ
Tips for activators/hunters of the VK5 Parks Award – Larry VK5LY
Overview of World Wide Flora & Fauna (WWFF) – Paul VK5PAS
Using lithium phosphate chemistry batteries:a beginners perspective – John VK5BJE

We enjoyed a morning tea break, and then further 5 presentations as follows…..

The failed attempts at an end fed wire antenna – Ian VK5CZ
SOTA for the beginner – Stu VK5STU
Spotting & alert programs – Nigel VK5NIG
What is prominence ? – Paul, VK5PAS
SOTA & Parks transceivers – John VK5BJE

Following the presentations, there was a 20 minute question and answer session, and this was followed by the closure of the symposium by Tony VK5KAT. We all then enjoyed a BBQ, kindly cooked by David VK5KC and Nigel VK5NIG. Great job fellas.

Attendees included the following…..

Chris VK4FR/5
David VK5AAH
Steve VK5AIM
John VK5BJE
Doc VK5BUG
Ian VK5CZ
Andrew VK5CV
John VK5EMI
Charles VK5FBAC
Rick VK5FGFK
Louis VK5FLY
Rex VK5FRCP
Norm VK5GI
Greg VK5GJ
Graham VK5GW
Gordon VK5GY
Stef VK5HSX
Tony VK5KAT
David VK5KC
Les VK5KLD
Craig VK5LI
David VK5LSB
Larry VK5LY
Nigel VK5NIG
Roy VK5NRG
Paul VK5PAS
Paul VK5PH
Stu VK5STU
Trevor VK5TW
Arno VK5ZAR
Ian VK5ZIM
Gerard VK5ZQV

I would like to say THANKYOU to the following, for helping me in preparing this successful day…..

David VK5KC & Nigel VK5NIG (BBQ)
David VK5KC & Roy VK5NRG & others (for setting up the hall).
the presenters…Ian VK5CZ, Nigel VK5NIG, Stu VK5STU, Larry VK5LY, & John VK5BJE.
Special thanks to Ian VK5CZ for travelling from Clare, and Larry VK5LY for travelling from Renmark.
John VK5EMI for the photographs.
My wife Marija, for shopping for morning tea & the BBQ.

And thank you to everyone that attended. There was so much interest, that this is going to become an annual event. Next year, we will most likely hold talks in both the AHARS clubrooms & the Guides Hall. In the AHARS clubrooms we will have talks on the very basics of SOTA and the Parks Awards (for the beginners), and in the Guides Hall, we will have more specific presentations on a variety of topics.

Mount Lofty VK5/ SE-005 and Cleland CP

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

After our little activation at the Belair National Park, Larry VK5LY and I headed over to the nearby Mount Lofty summit. I have activated Mt Lofty many times before as it is very close to my home, but this was Larry’s first time to Mt Lofty, which is also located within the Cleland Conservation Park. So this was a ‘double whammy’ activation for both SOTA & the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award.

Mount Lofty is 727 metres ASL and is worth 4 SOTA points. Mount Lofty summit is located in the Mount Lofty Ranges ‘Adelaide Hills’, and is just a 20 minute drive from the city of Adelaide. Each year more than 350,000 people visit the summit to enjoy the breathtaking and panoramic views of the city of Adelaide. There is a restaurant and a cafe at the summit, and also a visitor information centre.

Mount Lofty was first climbed by a European, when in April 1831, explorer Collet Barker climbed the peak. This was almost seven years before the city of Adelaide was settled. The summit was named by the famous explorer, Matthew Flinders, on the 23rd February 1802, during his circumnavigation of Australia.

View of the city of Adelaide from the summit (Photo courtesy of WIkipedia).

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

We set up in my favourite spot on the eastern side of the summit, away from all the tourists at the restaurant and the lookout. It can be really busy there. The advantage of the eastern side of the summit is that there is also a lot of shade under the tall gum trees. And it was a warm afternoon, with the temperature reaching 35 degrees C, and any shade was appreciated.

We set up my 40m/20m linked dipole, inverted vee, using the 7 metre squid pole. Larry and I brought 2 radios with us for this activation. The Yaesu FT-817nd for the local contacts on 40m (running QRP 5 watts), and the bigger Yaesu FT-450 with a bit more power (running 30 watts), for trying our luck on 20m with the DX. But with the FT-450, also came the heavier load. Because this is an easy summit, it was not so taxing, but still involved lugging the extra kg’s into the activation zone. Nethermind, both Larry and I agreed that we needed the exercise.

Larry started off on 40m on 7.090, and was soon welcomed with a pile up. Larry’s first contact was with Richard VK5ZRY who was still portable in the Ramsay-Way Conservation Park on the Yorke Peninsula. This was a great start to get a ‘park to park’ contact for the VK5 Parks Award. Many of the ‘normal suspects’ called in from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK5, to say ‘g’day’ to Larry. Conditions were very good, with excellent signals from all parts of the country.

We also worked a Summit to Summit with Doug VK2FMIA, who was portable on VK2/ NT-008. This is an un named summit in the Northern Tabelands region of New South Wales. The summit is 1,456 metres and is worth 10 SOTA points. Doug (who is a very keen Parks activator) had a very nice 5/6 signal coming in to Mount Lofty.

Larry’s backside was starting to get numb, and he wanted to stretch his legs. So this was a good opportunity for us to swap operators, and to venture over to 20m. We saw a SOTAWatch spot for Klaus DF2GN, who was portable on a summit in Germany. In fact Klaus was sitting on the top of Rainen DM/BW-042. Both Larry and I worked Klaus (a genuine 5/9 both ways). Klaus’ signal was very strong all the way from Germany to the Adelaide Hills. This was Larry’s first ever DX summit to summit. I also worked Klaus and this was another first….my first ever DX summit to summit. Larry and I were both very excited about this contact.

Rainen is 1,006 metres above sea level and is worth 10 SOTA points. It is located in the Bathe Wuerttemberg region of the Low Mountains German Association. It is near the little village of Schomberg.

We then chose a quiet spot on 20m and started to call CQ. I say ‘quiet’, but it didn’t stay like that for long. The 20m band was very busy, and it was only within a minute or 2, and we were getting QRM from nearby stations. However, not much we could do, and we continued to battle on calling CQ. We soon got a pile up going from Europe & the UK and worked stations in England, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Austria, Slovak Republic, and the Czech Republic. We were also called by Gerard VK2IO who was mobile with a very strong 5/9 signal. Other VK’s to call in included Matt VK2DAG, Andrew VK2UH, and John VK6NU in Western Australia. It is always nice to get a VK6 in the log, because they are a long way away from the rest of Australia. For anyone reading this outside of Australia, it is nearly 4,000 km from Perth in the west, to Sydney in the east.

Larry and I then saw a spot for Mike 2E0YYY, who was portable on Shining Tor G/SP-004 (559m ASL & 2 SOTA points). Mike was my very first ever SOTA contact a few years ago, so I was very keen to work Mike. I had spoken to Mike a number of times whilst he was on a summit. But that was while I was at home. Never whilst I was sitting on the top of a summit.

Photo courtesy of http://www.walkthehills.co.uk

So Larry and I headed off to 14.328 and there was Mike, with a nice 5/6 signal. We gave him a call and got through first time, with a 5/5 signal report being returned by Mike.

Whilst operating we had a few interested onlookers. Some of those were even brave enough to approach us, to find out what we were up to. This included a couple of British tourists who were extremely interested to hear that we were working all the way back to their homeland. We also had a young lady out bushwalking with her children, and they were very interested in what these 2 strange guys were doing in the bush with a squid pole and talking strange lingo. It is always pleasing to have a chat to people and passing on information to them on this unique and very interesting hobby.

After working Mike 2E0YYY, we ventured to 14.323 and called CQ again, working a further 12 DX stations in the USA, England, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Germany, and the Netherlands. And not forgetting Paul VK2KTT who was a very strong signal.

It was starting to get a bit late, heading towards 7.00 p.m. local time, and we had strict orders from our wives to be home by 7.30 p.m. for dinner. Yes, we are good husbands !! It was very frustrating, because we still had European & UK stations calling us. But it was time to pack up and head home to the girls, a few bottles of red, and home made lasagne.

Larry and I had a total of 55 QSO’s in the log, including 2 S2S DX, and 31 DX contacts into the USA, Europe, & UK.

The following stations were worked by Larry:-

Richard VK5ZRY/p; Peter VK5KPR; Ian VK5CZ; Roger VK4YB; Glenn VK3YY; Adam VK2YK; Steve VK3FSWB; Rod VK2TWR; Tony VK3CAT; Peter VK3PF; Peter VK3FPSR; Marshall VK3MRG; Matt VK2DAG; Matt VK1MA; John VK2YW; Andrew VK2UH; Ian VK1DI; Doug VK2FMIA/p (summit to summit); DF2GN/p (summit to summit); and Mike 2E0YYY/p (summit to summit)

The following stations were worked by me:-

Richard VK5ZRY/p; Doug VK2FMIA/p; Klaus DF2GN (summit to summit); G6TUH; VK2DAG; VK2UH; VK6NU; G0RQL; G4UXH; VK2IO/m, DL1DVE; EA2CKX; EB2CZF; EA2IF; EA2DT; ON5SWA; OE7FMH; OM1AX; ON2JF; OK1SDE; OE7WGT; 2E0YYY/p; KD7FMC; G6LUZ; G4OBK; G3XQE; IK1GPG; M6NNA; HB9MKV; EA2LU; DL3JPN; G0LGS; EB2JU; PA0SKP; VK2KTT; and EA4GJT.

Belair NP with Larry

Posted on March 10, 2014 by Paul VK5PAS

On Sunday, 9th March 2014, the first VK5 SOTA & Parks symposium was held at the Adelaide Hills Amateur Radio Society clubrooms. And Larry VK5LY from Renmark in the Riverland, was one of the guest speakers. So it had been arranged that Larry and his lovely wife Di, would be guests at our house on Saturday & Sunday nights.

Larry & Di arrived at home on Saturday afternoon, and while the girls went shopping, Larry & I headed back out again to Belair National Park (I had been there earlier in the day). Larry had not activated this park before and was looking to qualify it for both the VK5 Parks Award and for WWFF.

This time I headed for Sheoak Road at Crafers, which is a higher part of park, and we entered the park at Waverley Lodge. Larry and I walked down the track a short distance and set up in the bush under some large gum trees. It was a warm day, approaching 35 degrees C. We used my 40m/20m linked dipole and Yaesu FT-817 on the 5 watt setting.

Because I had activated the park earlier in the day, I sat back and relaxed in the deck chair in the shade, while Larry played on the radio. Larry’s first contact with with Gerry VK5NMG at beautiful Moonta Bay. This was followed by Richard VK5ZRY near Port Vincent on the Yorke Peninsula. Richard told us that he would head over to the Ramsay-Way Conservation Park, just a short distance from home and give us a call. In fact, Richard advised that he had previously owned the land that this Conservation Park is located on, but had sold it to the Government to be declared as a CP.

I found this to be really interesting, with Richard explaining to us some history of the park. I had activated Ramsay-Way CP last year for the VK5 Parks anniversary weekend.

Again, the band seemed to be in very good shape, but it was hard going to fill out the log with very little activity. Larry & I spent about an hour in the park and managed to get 11 contacts. Anyway, we were happy with this. We had achieved a park to Park with Richard, and Larry had got his quota of 10 QSO’s, so he had qualified the park for the VKFF award. We decided to head over to nearby Mount Lofty summit and Cleland Conservation Park.

The following stations were worked:-

Gerry VK5NMG; Richard VK5ZRY; Ian VK5IS; David VK5LSB; David VK5KC; Peter VK5KPR; Andy VK5LA; Ron VK5VH; Richard Vk5ZRY/p; and Nigel VK5NIG.

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