Congratulations to my wonderful spouse and favorite hiking partner, Joyce/K0JJW, for achieving Mountain Goat status for Summits On The Air (SOTA).

On August 10th, she reached 1000 activator points while activating Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004).  She had quite the pileup on 146.55 MHz.  Her best DX for the day was WY7ATH near Cheyenne, WY at a distance of 167 miles. Not bad!

Early on, she always hiked with me on SOTA activations but didn’t start pursuing activator points until the middle of 2017. All of her SOTA contacts have been on the VHF/UHF bands, lots of 2m FM along with 2m SSB, 70 cm and 23 cm FM.

Joyce has activated 181 summits, 112 unique in 19 associations.
She is the second female Mountain Goat in Colorado (after Lynn/KC0YQF) and is the eighth female goat in North America.

73 Bob K0NR

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The QSO Today Ham Expo is an exciting event that takes the fun of an amateur radio convention online!

Congrats and thanks to Eric/4Z1UG who conceived the idea and took the initiative to make it happen.

I was pleased to participate in the event, talking about Having Fun With VHF. In case you missed it, here is the video of my presentation.

Slides are here: Having Fun With VHF – Bob K0NR slides

73 Bob K0NR

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I often get asked questions about the band plan for 2 meters (144 to 148 MHz). Usually, this is about choosing a suitable simplex frequency, because the repeater frequencies are already coordinated and visible.

I’ve written about 2m band plans before. This article attempts to cover the topic in a way that applies to all of the US. This is actually a challenge because VHF/UHF band plans are regional in nature.

What Frequency Do I Use On 2 Meters?

I also wrote this article which is specific to the state of Colorado.

It is always best to check your local VHF band plan, usually supplied by the frequency coordinating body for your area. Typically, their main focus is coordinating repeaters but simplex frequencies are also listed.  Most frequency coordinating bodies kind of follow the ARRL 2m band plan, while adapting it for local use.

Channel Spacing: 15 kHz or 20 kHz

A big issue for the 2-meter band is that some areas have adopted a 15-kHz channel spacing while others use a 20-kHz channel spacing.  A typical FM signal is about 16 kHz wide, so the 15 kHz channel spacing is a bit tight but does allow for more channels (resulting in more adjacent channel interference issues). The 20-kHz spacing is “cleaner” but with fewer channels.

This map from the ARRL web site shows the channel spacing in use across the various states.

The channel spacing is driven by factors associated with repeater coordination, and simplex usage tends to adopt the same spacing. (There is no technical reason that simplex has to use the same channel spacing as the repeaters but that’s what usually happens.)

Some repeater coordinating organizations have done a good job of prescribing FM simplex frequencies. The Colorado 2m band plan (called the Frequency Use Plan) lists each simplex frequency individually.  The Illinois Repeater Association uses a similar approach: Illinois 2m Band Plan. The Southeastern Repeater Association (SERA) 2m band plan is also very specific. Note that the SERA band plan indicates that some of the usual 2m simplex frequencies may be used as repeater pairs — an example of a local decision on frequency use.

The Arizona 2m band plan shows a range of frequencies to be used for FM simplex, such as 146.400 – 146.600 MHz along with a note that says the Even 20 kHz Frequencies should be used. So that means the preferred simplex frequencies in this range are 146.40, 146.42, 146.44, 146.46, 146.48, 146.50, 146.52, 146.54, 146.56, 146.58 and 146.60 MHz. Some repeater coordinating bodies just give the frequency segment allocated to FM simplex and don’t mention the channel spacing. And some organizations don’t say anything about FM simplex so you have to figure them out on your own.

Recommendations

So what do we make of all of this? When it comes to 2m FM simplex frequencies, try to find your local band plan. If it recommends 2m FM simplex frequencies, then follow that guidance.

If that doesn’t work, look at the map above to determine if your state uses 15 kHz or 20 kHz spacing. Then follow the guidance in the HamRadioSchool.com article: What Frequency Do I Use on 2 Meters?

In all cases, remember that these are shared frequencies so you need to cooperate with other radio hams. If you bump into existing activity, go ahead and try another frequency. There are usually plenty of quiet simplex channels around.

The one simplex frequency that everyone does seem to agree on is the National Simplex Calling Frequency: 146.52 MHz. For some thoughts on how to use that frequency see: The Use of 146.52 MHz.

I do think that frequency coordination bodies would be wise to provide guidance on simplex channels. This is not frequency coordination but it helps the amateur radio community be more effective in using the spectrum.

73 Bob K0NR

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McQuaid Butte (W0C/SP-019) is a 9043-foot mountain near our cabin in Park County. Joyce/K0JJW and I activated it for Summits On The Air (SOTA) way back in 2013 but for some reason, we had not been back to it. The access road (Salt Creek Road, FS 435) is gated closed from January 1 to June 15 to protect wildlife habitat, so I suppose that is a factor.

Today, we decided to make a return trip to the summit and activate it on VHF/UHF. I remembered that Salt Creek Road can turn into a muddy mess but today it was dry and easily drivable with most vehicles. Salt Creek Road is accessed from Highway 285, south of Fairplay but north of Antero Junction.

There is a good parking spot shown on the map above at 38.95791, -106.00790. A trail begins here, heading east. It used to be 4WD road but it is now closed to motor vehicles. This trail/road heads east and then curves to the north and eventually disappears. About that time, you’ll encounter a fence that needs to be crossed as you make your way towards the summit (approaching from the west). There are pieces of a trail here and there but its mostly bushwacking up the side of the summit. In places, there is substantial downed timber that can be stepped over and around but its mildly annoying.

Our route turned out to be 1.3 miles one way with 650 vertical feet. We both quickly made enough QSOs to qualify for activator points, working W0BV, KD0MRC, K0MGL, WZ0N on 2m FM (and some on 70 cm). The weather was excellent, resulting in a fun SOTA activation in the Pike National Forest.

We will probably return again to this summit because it’s a nice hike that is easy to get to from our cabin.  It would also be a great choice for someone passing through on Highways 24 or 285.

73 Bob K0NR

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In 2018, Joyce/K0JJW and I did a trip to the Black Hills area of South Dakota to do some SOTA activations:  Dakota SOTA Adventure.   We really enjoyed that part of South Dakota and figured we would be back. The Black Hills top out at ~7200 feet and the climbs are usually interesting but not very difficult. There are plenty of SOTA summits to choose from and the scenery is beautiful.

This summer we found ourselves on a road trip returning to Colorado from Wisconsin, so we decided to swing by South Dakota for a couple of days. Joyce is getting close to achieving the coveted SOTA Mountain Goat award (1000 activator points), so we were looking to add to her activator score. I’m not saying we only did easy summits but we pretty much did easy summits.

Looking at the SOTA database, we scanned for summits with 6 points or higher that also had a significant number of activations. On this trip, we were driving our Class B RV (basically a big honkin’ van with RV gear in it). This limited our choice of SOTA summits to ones that can be accessed via reasonably good roads. We were fine with the typical gravel US Forest Service road in good condition but not anything worse.

We connected up with Don/K0DAJ who we met at a hamfest in Loveland, CO earlier this year. Don reviewed my list of potential summits and provided valuable feedback and additional summit suggestions. Don also alerted the local hams that might want to get on the air to work us. We use VHF/UHF exclusively for SOTA, so it is easy to get skunked if there isn’t anyone around. (I found out later that Gary/KT0A also passed along the word for us.)

The SOTA Summits

We identified seven summits that we wanted to activate, which would provide 56 new activator points. They ended up being clumped into three northern summits, around Deadwood, and four southern summits southwest of Rapid City. We camped at a USFS campground in between the two clumps, activating the northern three on the first day and the southern summits on the second day.

Terry Peak (W0D/NW-002)

Terry Peak is a drive-up mountain with a short hike up to an observation platform.  We approached Terry Peak from the south on Terry Summit Road, off of Hwy 85/Hwy 14A. The Black Hills National Forest map is very helpful for finding all of these summits.

We discovered that Terry Peak is quite the tourist spot and several groups of people showed up while we were there.  It is also a big radio site with over a dozen towers and many more transmitters. When we parked, I noticed that the VHF/UHF mobile transceiver in the RV had both S meters pegged at full scale on all frequencies. Rut Roh, there is probably some RF around here. As usual, we had the Yaesu FT-90 transceiver which has a robust receiver in it, and it performed well. Still, I noticed that strong signals would abruptly drop down to being almost unreadable when some transmitter on the site turned on.

Mount Theodore Roosevelt (W0D/NW-023)

Mount Theodore Roosevelt turned out to be a pleasant surprise with a really good trail to the summit (0.4 miles one way, less than 200 feet elevation gain).

Also, at the summit, there is a tower that was built in honor of President Roosevelt. This is a fun little hike with a monument at the summit.

We climbed the stairs leading to the top of the tower and operated from inside it. The tower reminds me of the many lighthouses we’ve been inside, but it’s not nearly as tall, and no light.

Unnamed Summit – 5110 (W0D/NW-038)

For a third summit, Don suggested an easy-to-access unnamed summit (5110), W0D/NW-038. We got there by driving south from Sturgis on Vanocker Canyon Road (26), then west on Galena Road to USFS 171.1. Driving a short distance north on 171.1 got us to an open area where we parked. Then it was just a bushwack up the hill (no trail), 0.3 miles one way with an elevation gain of 400 feet.

Day 2 was a repeat of summits that we did in 2018, so I won’t repeat all of that here: Odakota Mountain (W0D/BB-002), Bear Mountain (W0D/BB-029), Coolidge Mountain (W0D/BB-012) and Rankin Ridge (BB-089). Refer to the 2018 trip report for more info.

This time, Odakota Mountain was extra special because Don/K0DAJ joined us on the summit.

There is an actual summit marker for Odakota, so I had to get a photo of me standing there.

Most of the contacts were on 146.52 MHz, a few on 446.0 MHz. Joyce’s log and my log are pretty much the same but I did work a few more stations. In summary, we had QSOs with these stations during the two days: AD0HL, K0DAJ, KB0QDG, KC0WC, KD0AYN, KF0AFX, KF0ARA, KF0XO, KF7ZQL, NC0K, W0LFB, W0NIL, W0SEB, W0SSB, W5LJM, W7LFB, WN6QJN and WS0V. Thank you to each and every one of you for getting on the air!

In Colorado, we pretty much work Colorado stations on VHF from the summits, so it was fun to contact other states on this trip. From Bear Mountain, we worked W0NIL and W0SSB in Chadron, NE, about 90 miles away.  Not too shabby. From Terry Peak, we worked Clem/KF7ZQL in Carlile, WY at a distance of 50 miles. Not as far, but another state in the log.

We caught AD0HL and KF0ARA on unnamed summit 6167 (W0D/BB-008) from both Odakota Mountain and Bear Mountain, for two Summit-to-Summit (S2S) contacts. We also got two S2S contacts with Don/K0DAJ:  Crooks Tower from Terry Peak and Terry Peak from Mount Theodore Roosevelt.  It was kind of an S2S festival!

Don/K0DAJ and Terry/AD0HL worked us on 6 of the 7 summits, so they were our most prolific chasers. Thanks, guys! Finally, special thanks to Don for the helpful advice and joining us to play radio in the Black Hills.

We were able to get our minimum 4 QSOs on each summit and usually had many more. This resulted in 56 activator points, so we are quite happy with that.  We have just sampled a few of the many SOTA summits in the Black Hills area, so I suspect that we will be back for more.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Return to Dakota SOTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

August 1 & 2, 2020
Saturday and Sunday
www.ham14er.org

Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing many of Colorado’s 14,000-foot mountains and Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks to set up amateur radio stations in an effort to communicate with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the 29^th annual event and see how many of the mountaintop stations you can contact. The covers the entire weekend but many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by noon due to lightning safety concerns.

The event includes all Summits On the Air (SOTA) summits, which adds over 1800 potential summits! If you aren’t up to climbing a 14er, there are many other summits to choose from with a wide range of difficulty. See the Colorado SOTA web page at w0c-sota.org

Radio operators who plan to activate a summit should post their intent on the ham14er group via the ham14er groups.io website. Also, be sure to check out the event information at http://www.ham14er.org

Frequencies used during the event
Activity can occur on any amateur band including HF and VHF. The 2m fm band plan uses a “primary frequency and move up” approach. The 2m fm primary frequency is 147.42 MHz. At the beginning of the event, operators should try calling on 147.42 MHz. As activity increases on that frequency, move on up the band using the 30 kHz steps. Don’t just hang out on 147.42 MHz…move up! The next standard simplex frequency up from 147.42 MHz is 147.45 MHz, followed by 147.48 and 147.51 MHz.

For a complete list of suggested HF, VHF and UHF frequencies see this web page.

Warning: Climbing mountains is inherently a dangerous activity.
Do not attempt this without proper training, equipment and preparation.

There is a lot more information available here: www.ham14er.org

Sponsored by The Colorado 14er Event Task Force

Also be aware that the SOCAL SOTAFEST is happening on the same weekend, which means there will be plenty of SOTA activity on the ham bands!  See http://socalsota.com

The post 2020 Colorado 14er Event appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Many hams start out with ham radio by using FM on the 2-meter band (and maybe the 70 cm band). Clearly, the Technician license privileges are focused on VHF with 2 meters (146 MHz) being the most popular band. I wrote about common types of equipment that hams choose to support their operating habits here:  Your First (and Second) Ham Transceiver.

Some hams get interested in the other modes on VHF, with 2m SSB being one of the most popular.  The wavelength is a convenient size such that mobile antennas (with either vertical or horizontal polarization) are possible. For a home station, a decent 2m yagi antenna can easily be installed. With even a modest antenna, hams routinely work hundreds of miles using SSB or CW on 2 meters. It used to be that you could purchase an all-mode 2m transceiver to get into working weak-signal VHF.  Because of these things, I always considered 2 meters to be the starter band for serious VHF operating.

Six Meters – The Magic Band

While operating the ARRL June VHF Contest, I noticed a trend with activity on six meters (50 MHz). There were quite a few stations on the air that appeared to be new to VHF contesting. For whatever reason, they took advantage of the sporadic-e propagation during the contest to make VHF contacts.

There are two driving factors for this: the inclusion of 50 MHz capability on many HF transceivers and the emergence of the FT8 mode. The inclusion of 50 MHz on HF radios has been going on for some time now and hams can “try out 6 meters” by just tuning up one of their HF antennas. It may not work great, but it will usually work. Another option is to put up a simple wire antenna tuned for 6m, such as a halfwave dipole or an end-fed wire. Using FT8 is a great way to squeeze out contacts when signals are poor, so it can help compensate for the suboptimal antenna. Once the operator gets a taste of 6m operating, upgrading the antenna is a modest step that can improve their station without buying any new equipment.

This means that 6 meters has become the on-ramp to (more) serious VHF operating. This is probably been happening for a few years now and it is just taking me a while to notice it.

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