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A few days ago I recorded and made available the 50th episode of the practical amateur radio podcast.  A few hours later I started coming down with cold-like symptoms and spent a few days resting to try to get ahead of this prior to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  I’m glad to report I did manage to get just slightly ahead and at least appeared to be alive and coherent.   Thank God for cold meds, chicken noodle soup and my wonderful wife. 

If you’ve been around from the beginning, you already know I started PARP in May 2008.  The 50th episode wraps up the 4th season and I truly look forward to 2012 and many, many more episodes.

Episode 50 is devoted to SOTA or Summits On The Air.  I realize I’ve recently blogged about and have also talked a lot about SOTA.  While the activity is certainly a new passion, I realize there is much, much more to the hobby.  However, based on comments I’ve received from listeners via email, Twitter and Facebook…I know many have an interest and wanted to discuss the topic so you might plan and conduct your own SOTA chasing and/or activations. 

PARP is available and you can subscribe via iTunes, Zune or stream directly from MyAmateurRadio.com.  Want to stream on the go from your favorite smart phone device?  You can do that as well from our mobile site.

Finally, as a Christmas gift to my family and I suppose to the podcast, I now own a small HD Sony video camera.  I do plan to create some supplemental video content for PARP and will also document some (perhaps) all of my SOTA activations. 

Thank you for listening. 

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK

To say I’m hooked on SOTA might be an understatement.  My second SOTA activation was completed on 27 November, just eight days after my first.  Yes, I’m hooked. 

As mentioned in recent blog updates, I had ordered a few items from Buddipole which didn’t arrive in time for my first activation of Mt. Herman (W0/FR-063).  Let me be clear that this was no fault of Buddipole.  I just simply didn’t order the items early enough for them to arrive in time. 

So with my new items including the Buddipole shockcord whip, the Buddipole A123 nanophosphate battery pack and the Buddipole mini-coil and the lessons learned from activation #1, I set out for Green Mountain.  Before I continue any further.  I just want to say that of the list of things I just identified.  The “lessons learned” were truly the most important.  But new toys are always fun to have and certainly fun to play with.

As I mentioned in my activation alert blog post I chose Green Mountain due to its proximity to my home QTH and very honestly its relatively easy climb.  The elevation gain is approx. 1000’ over about 1.9 miles.  I was still a little sore from the Mt. Herman trip the weekend before, but couldn’t pass up the great weather which was forecasted for the area.   Plus I had some turkey and dressing to work off. 

I arrived at the Green Mountain trailhead just before 8 AM (1500z).  This would allow me plenty of time to hike to the summit and get everything setup to start calling CQ at 1700z.  There are several trails leading to the top of Green Mountain.  I had my APRS beacon on and this is how my trek looked as I hiked to the top.

The Green Mountain trail is a well maintained and an easy to follow trail.  As a matter of fact, if you live in the Greater Denver area, I would highly recommend Green Mountain as a good starter SOTA summit.   It’s close to Denver and the metro area and like I said it is both an easy trail to follow and not difficult either.   As I stated previously, there are several trails that make up the Green Mountain Park area.  All are clearly marked as shown to the right.

Like many of the foothills that dot the landscape around the Denver metro area, Green Mountain does have a transmitter site and tower.  The transmitter site and tower is not the summit.  But as I approached the trail that passes near the site, I saw what I thought was a little boy or girl sitting on a rock.  It was still early and there was no one else around.  This little boy or girl continued to just sit there on the rock.  I began looking around to see if anyone else was around and once I got within about 25 yards I realized was just a rock with a pipe sticking out.  Other hikers had placed a sweater, scarf, gloves and a cap.  It sure fooled me.

I made it to the summit from the trailhead in just a little over 45 minutes and began setting up the Buddipole Versatee vertical.  I used an older hiking staff which has a removable knob handle.  Under this knob is a 1/4 stud for mounting a camera.  Buddipole provides a machined brass connector which is 1/4” threads inside, with 5/8” threads outside.  This allows you to stand the Buddipole Versatee on one end and easily connect it to the monopod or hiking staff.  I then guyed it from just below the Versatee and used large rocks to secure it all in place.  If you remember from my first activation, the wind really caused problems with the way I setup the vertical.  Thanks to Steve wG0AT for this idea.

If you’re not familiar with the Buddipole versatee vertical setup, all it consists of is the Buddipole versatee adapter, Buddipole coil and either the arms and whip from the dipole kit or the new Buddipole shockcord whip.  I’m using the mini-coil and the shockcord whip.  The final important element to the vertical setup is a single, elevated wire counterpoise.  Buddipole sells an inexpensive lightweight counterpoise kit that works great.  One end of the wire counterpoise attaches to the versatee adapter and the other I keep elevated off the ground with my other hiking pole. 

The other main addition to my SOTA setup is the fantastic Buddipole A123 nanophosphate battery packs.  I decided to go large and I purchased the largest pack they offer.  This is the 4S4P and is rated at 13.2 volts/9.2Ah and weighs just over 3 lbs.  The SLA I packed up to Mt. Herman weighed over 5.5 lbs and was only 7.5Ah.  This little battery pack is truly amazing and I’m 100% comfortable with the investment I made.

Weather conditions were early fall like.  When I left home the temperature was around 30 F and just in the short 30 minute drive, the temperature at the trailhead was around 38 F.  The sun was shining bright and summit temperatures during my two hour stay were in the 50’s with a very light breeze.

But how did it all perform?  Well…I began calling CQ at just before 1700z and logged my first contact on 20m at 16:58z.  I worked 21 contacts on 20m (including a summit to summit contact with wG0AT) and finished up with another 18 QSO’s on 17m for a total of 49 QSO’s in just under two hours.  While band conditions weren’t as good as last weekend, I still had a lot of fun and truly look forward to activation number three.

Speaking of my next activation.  It may actually be a few weeks (or longer) before I have the opportunity to do another SOTA activation.  My wife and I are planning to travel to Texas in about 10 days and then the Christmas holidays are just around the corner.   Also, winter weather will surely arrive at some point and bring snow covered trails and much, much colder temperatures.  I’ve said several times that I don’t consider myself to only be a fair weather SOTA activator, but I also like playing it safe. 

Regarding my possible next activation.  The Colorado Front Range weather can be cold and snowy one day and a few days later all visible signs of snow have melted away.  With that said, there are dozens of SOTA summits just in my backyard ranging in elevation from 6,800 – 9,500 feet with good, solid trails.  I plan to just start at the bottom of the list and work my way up (at least during winter).  This is sure to keep me busy for a while. 

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK (Jerry)

Date:            27 November 2011
Time:           Approx.    1700 UTC – 2000 UTC
Region:        CO-Front Range
Elevation:    2085 m / 6841 ft – 1 Points
Call Sign:     KD0BIK
Frequencies:     14.342.5-ssb, 18.157.5-ssb, 21.437.5-ssb,  +/-  146.52-fm

Equipment: FT-817ND / Buddipole versatee vertical

APRS Track: On Road / On Trail

You might say I was planning my second SOTA activation before the ink was dry on the first.   I know I had mentioned in a previous post that I would pace myself on activations and expected I would keep to a once a month activation schedule.  While my first activation occurred last weekend, the weather this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous (especially Sunday) and winter weather will soon settle in.  Again, I’m not opposed to winter activations…but I figure while I’m still learning and figuring our my complete setup…..a warm class room is better than a cold one.   Plus it won’t hurt to burn off those Thanksgiving calories.

Since this is  a holiday weekend, and I had just completed my first a week ago.  I thought I would plan an easy and close activation to my QTH.  Green Mountain is the closest SOTA peak to my QTH and will be a much easier hike than Mt. Herman.  I should be able to get to the summit, enjoy some operating time and then back home early enough to get some things done before going back to work on Monday. 

With the lessons learned from my first activation, I have a few new additions in my pack.  I also packed a lot of things that I never used on my first and those items will stay home. 

The first new item actually replaces another and will free up about 3 lbs. of weight.  Yes, I’m talking about the Buddipole Nanophosphate A123 battery pack.  I’m really looking forward to what this pack can do for me and the reduced weight. 

The wind issues I experienced last weekend and the breaking zip ties have also been eliminated.  I will be taking one from the wG0AT playbook and mounting my Buddipole versatee adapter directly to my hiking staff.  My hiking staff has a removable knob handle with a standard tripod screw mount on top.  I have an adapter that will adapt the 1/4” thread to 5′/8”.  The versatee will screw down onto that adapter and create a much more secure connection.  Finally, I also ordered the new Buddipole adjustable shockcord whip which can be seen in action in this youtube video. 

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK (Jerry)

Mt. Herman is in the books as my first SOTA (Summits On The Air) activation.  I’ll get to all the particulars in just a minute.  First, I want to thank a few individuals who truly made a difference in helping me make this activation a success.

Steve Galchutt, wG0AT.  If you’re the least bit interested in SOTA and/or any type of portable operations, you’re probably already familiar with his YouTube videos.  If not, please take a look.  Steve answered my many questions about the SOTA program and activating Mt. Herman.   Thanks Steve.

Budd Drummond, W3FF.  Budd is the Budd in Buddipole.  Without his fantastic products, all I’ll describe later would not be possible.  In addition, Budd helped spot me and cheered me on as the pileup started.  I was told he would probably show up and help stir up contacts for QRP stations.  Show up he did.  Thanks Budd.

As I described in my activation alert and the update released a few days later.  I’ve done backcountry hiking, backpacking, camping and have climbed a few 14’ers here in Colorado.  I’ve also operated portable HF before but have never combined the two in any way before today.  I had some (OK…a lot) of concerns and probably over prepared for this and also brought along a lot more gear than I truly needed.  More about this in a minute.

A major concern I had going into this activation centered around powering my station.  I have been researching the Buddipole nanophosphate A123 battery packs and decided to bite the bullet and purchase one.  Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive in time (no fault of Buddipole Company) and I had to go to “Plan B”.  This “Plan B” ended up being my old stand by which is a sealed lead acid 7.5 Ah battery weighing in around 6 lbs.  The battery is a couple of years old but I’ve maintained it the best I could.  I tested it prior to the trip by running the FT-817 on WSPR.  My station transmitted every 6 minutes or so for a transmit duration of almost 2 minutes each cycle.  It powered the 817 in this condition for nearly 3 hours before beginning to fall off.   

As a precaution I carried along a rollup solar panel which I’ve had a few years.  I was concerned  the battery wouldn’t hold out and figured if it was a sunny day, the solar panel would help supplement the battery.  The solar panel and solar charge controller weighs in about 2 lbs. 

My antenna setup for this activation was probably the one area I felt fairly confident with.  I’ve owned my Buddipole for several years and have used it in portable operations and even set it up at home a few times.  I’ve used it in the dipole configuration as well as vertical.  The Buddipole setup is a highly versatile system and of course very portable. 

For portability I went with the vertical versatee setup.  Which consists of a mast, the buddipole versatee adapter, coil, two mast sections and standard whip with one wire counterpoise.   The challenge I experienced was with the mast.  I had also ordered the new Buddipole shock cord mast and like the battery it didn’t arrive in time.  I wasn’t looking forward to carrying the extended mast I have for the buddipole tripod.  With the help of Steve, wG0AT he shared with me some pictures of using a hiking pole to support the vertical.   This will work….but did it really?

I think I finally fell asleep on Friday night just before midnight.  I was excited and I was mentally going through my pack (which I had packed a few hours before).  I finally convinced myself I had everything and fell asleep.  I was awake before my alarm sounded at 5 AM.  The plan was to have breakfast somewhere between Denver and Monument, Colorado and arrive at the trailhead by 8 AM local time (1500z).  This would allow me two hours to make it to the summit of Mt. Herman and setup to start calling CQ around 10 AM local (1700z).

I arrived at the Mt. Herman trailhead right on schedule and began the hike.  I’ll admit I’m not in shape…..far from it.  But I allowed enough time to do 1 mile hike (about 1000’ of elevation gain) and was on the summit with about 45 minutes to spare.  I started setting up the antenna first.  The wind was rough…really rough on the summit.  While I setup guy ropes, the wind was really punishing my antenna. 

As I previously stated, I was planning to lash the versatee to one of my hiking poles.  I brought along about a half dozen tie-wraps or zip ties.  I use these things all around the house and office.  I’ve always considered them the next best thing to duct-tape and bailing wire.  I’ve never had a tie-wrap break on me and figured this would be a better solution to bungee cords.  Unfortunately within 15 minutes the first two zip ties had been broken and the antenna crashed to the ground.  I had four more and decided to go for broke and use all four.  Success???

I had watched several of the Buddipole Youtube videos on setting up the versatee vertical.  The recommended setup was two antenna accessory arms, red coil: tap 5, standard 5.5 foot whip with all 6 extensions out.  The counterpoise 14.25 feet.  I managed to fight the wind, the vertical was standing straight and I quickly checked using my iP-30 antenna analyzer.  Just a few tweaks to the counterpoise and I had an SWR reading of 1.5.  This was good enough for me.

I quickly got my Yaesu FT-817ND setup and was in business.  I dialed up the HF Pack 17m frequency of 18.157.50, listened for a few minutes (heard nothing) then asked if the frequency was in use (heard nothing) asked again and after hearing nothing I began calling CQ.  At 17:15z the first station answering my CQ was just a few miles below me down in the town of Monument, Colorado.  wG0AT had been listening for me. Steve posted my callsign on the SOTAWatch website which alerted  all the other SOTA Chasers to my activation.  Let the fun begin.

The pileup was simply amazing and contacts flew into my paper logbook (just a Rite in the Rain journal).  From 17:15z through 17:49z I worked 28 stations consisting of 22 US, 2 Canada, 2 Germany, 1 Spain and 1 Czech Republic.  All on 5w.  I truly didn’t count on working DX and certainly didn’t count on adding to my DXCC count.  But the Czech Republic was a new DX entity for me and I’m truly pleased to have worked  him.  Thanks again to Steve, wG0AT who sent me the picture below showing my APRS route up to the summit and three of the DX stations QSL cards.

My plan was to spend about an hour working 17 meters and then try 12 meters.  However, just after wrapping up with W7RJC at 17:49z the vertical came crashing down to the ground.   The temperature on the summit was below freezing and I guess that made the plastic zip ties brittle and they just couldn’t handle what mother nature was dishing out.  I was out of options and decided to pack up. 

Besides the high wind, I could not have asked for a better day for my first SOTA activation.  The picture (below) was taken with my iPhone and shows the view from the summit towards the northeast.  Once I got everything packed away I took some time to enjoy a sandwich my wonderful wife made for me the night before and take in the beautiful sights around me. 

Just before strapping the pack on for the descent back to the car I took this photo (below) to capture just how pleased I was with the events of the day.  I had finally combined a couple of my favorite hobbies together into one activity and can honestly say, I can’t wait for the next SOTA activation.

This experience has helped me to also better understand I need to do more to get back in better physical shape.  As I’ve always said, amateur radio is different things to different people.  The best part about the SOTA program is it can be enjoyed both from a mountain top or from the comfort of your ham shack.  I’ve done both and will continue to chase and activate every chance I get.  I hope you’ll join me.

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK

Date:            19 November 2011
Time:           Approx.    1700 UTC – 2000 UTC
Region:        CO-Front Range
Elevation:    2757 m / 9045 ft – 4 Points
Call Sign:     KD0BIK/qrp
Frequencies:      18.157.5-ssb +/-, 24,977.5-ssb +/-  14.315-ssb +/- ,and 146.52-fm

Equipment: FT-817ND / Buddipole versatee vertical

APRS Track: On Road / On Trail

Just a slight update to my plans which I posted earlier in the week.  We live and learn right?  When I planned for this activation I didn’t think to look to see what (if any) contests were taking place on the bands.  Well….if you are into contesting, you are well aware that this weekend is the ARRL November Sweepstakes for phone.  I owe a very big thank you to Steve, wG0AT who gave me a friendly nudge and reminded me of this.  The last thing I want is for my little 5w signal to be “swept” right off the summit of Mt. Herman.   So, I’m keeping 20m as an option…but plan to start on 17m and go from there. 

I have been told cell and data service is available from the summit of Mt. Herman.  The town of Monument, Colorado is just down below.  However, the last tweet or Facebook post I plan to make will be from the car.  Once I leave the car I plan to stay true to RF only.  Once I reach the summit, I will change my APRS beacon (if I remember) to indicate  the frequency I’m running.  So just follow my slow progress up the mountain by clicking the link above labeled APRS Track: On Trail 

This is going to be about having FUN and learning a lot along the way.  You can count on me sharing it both on my blog as well as an upcoming episode of the practical amateur radio podcast.   

Until I’m back from activating my first SOTA summit….

73 de KD0BIK

Date:            19 November 2011
Time:           Approx.    1700 UTC – 2000 UTC
Region:        CO-Front Range
Elevation:    2757 m / 9045 ft – 4 Points
Call Sign:     KD0BIK/qrp
Frequencies:     14.315-ssb +/-  146.52-fm

Equipment: FT-817ND / Buddipole versatee vertical

APRS Track: On Road / On Trail

So here it is!  My first SOTA activation alert.  I selected Mt. Herman as my first activation summit for a couple of reasons.  First, I’ve watched a few Youtube videos from Steve Galchutt, wG0AT operating from Mt. Herman and I’ve chased this particular summit as well.   While it may not be the easiest summit, it’s also not the most difficult.  Second, as I’m still learning the ins and outs of SOTA activations, I’m still also unclear to the private land versus public land access.  Since Mt. Herman is on public land and it’s been activated a few times before, I figure the only thing stopping me from this being a success is my ability to make it to the summit, HF propagation and how well my batteries hold out. 

Speaking of batteries.  as I write the activation alert I’m not 100% certain what battery setup will accompany me on my trip.  As I blogged recently about my first SOTA QSO, I had been researching the nanophosphate technology battery packs from Buddipole.  The research all pointed to these packs being very well built with exceptional life and performance.  While expensive (compared to SLA types) the lighter weight and longer life ended up selling me on the concept.  I placed an order for one of the packs and charger from Buddipole.  Just not sure if it will arrive in time.

So having said that, plan “B” will be to carry along a single sealed lead acid battery along with my fully charged FNB-85 battery pack installed in the FT-817.  As a safety net, I will also carry along a rollup solar panel.  The extra weight is minimal and may come in handy if I have a nice sunny day. 

I have changed my mind a few dozen times (or what seems like it) on whether to leave the FT-817 behind and instead take the FT-857.  After all, I can always turn the power on the 857 down, but can’t increase the power on the 817.  However, I’m going to stick with my 817 and 5w of power. 

As I make out my gear lists (which will eventually be posted on this site) I feel like Santa (making his list, checking it twice) I can only hope in the end it proves I’ve been nice and not naughty.  Having said that, I’ve setup my buddipole versatee vertical several times when operating portable.  I’ve also setup everything outside just to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.  So it should all go together fairly quickly once I get to the top.

If I feel I have a weak link, it will surely be around my power setup.  If I have to go with “plan B” (the 5+ pound SLA) it is an older battery.  But I’ve tested it here in the shack and it charges, holds a charge and has powered my 817 for over 3 hours operating WSPR.   

What else will be in my pack?  When I’ve operated portable in the field, I’ve only been no greater than 100 feet from my truck.  Forgot a pen?  No problem…run to the truck.  Need to carry a deep cycle marine battery?  No problem.  All this changes with a SOTA activation.  If I reach the summit and realize I’ve forgotten a pen or the cold zaps the battery, I’m stuck.  So my first SOTA activation might include a few things I may or may not need.  On my checklist, I have a place to check that I have the gear in my pack, used the gear on the summit etc.  I’ll review this have versus used to see what needs to come off the list. 

One other point and I’ll close this activation notice.  This is not my first hiking trip, nor is it my first mountaineering adventure.  However, it is my first hiking/mountaineering adventure where I’ve combined amateur radio on this scale.  How I view my post success/failure results might differ from others who activate SOTA stations.  Of course, I’ll leave this for the after trip report.

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK

I can’t honestly say that I knew a whole heck of a lot about SOTA prior to a week or so ago. Sure I figured it had something to do with activating mountain tops and had figured out what the acronym stood for. By the way, SOTA stands for Summits On The Air. The general idea of SOTA is much of that with IOTA (Islands On The Air) or LOTA (Lighthouses On The Air). Ironically, the same weekend I worked my first SOTA station, I also worked my first lighthouse. Since there aren’t very many lighthouses in Colorado, I decided I would read up on and become more familiar with SOTA. I believe I’ll be able to find a few summits here in the Centennial State to keep me busy for a while.

My first SOTA QSO sort of came by accident. I had been tuning up and down the band looking for W3T which was the Nikola Tesla special event station operating out of New York. I had noticed W3T spotted on a few of the DX clusters, but never heard them or the stations I did hear operating on the posted frequency were clearly not W3T. I turned to Twitter to see if anyone else had either worked W3T or heard them. I was just about to send my tweet when I saw a twitter posting from K0BAM. Jim lives over in Delta, Colorado. Anyway, his Twitter posting read something like W7IMC operating QRP SOTA from Idaho 14.343. I gave the big dial on the front of my Yaesu FT-950 a spin up to 14.343 and listened for a few minutes.

The bands have been in fine shape most of the day. I had worked several US stations and even a JA on 10m just before this. The signal I was hearing from Idaho sounded like it was coming from Idaho Springs, Colorado (just up I-70 from me). I listened a few seconds more and the mountaintop station called Whiskey, Seven, India, Mike, Charlie QRZ. I quickly came back with Kilo, Delta, Zero, Bravo, India, Kilo and just like that I was in QSO with my first SOTA station.

As I previously stated, Scott’s (W7IMC shown right) 5w signal was booming into Colorado and we quickly exchanged pleasantries and he told me he was located on Regan Butte and provided the SOTA identifier of W7/SR-181. I knew Scott had others who wanted to work him and I wished him luck with his activation and said my 73 and logged the QSO in my logbook. I stayed on frequency and listened for another three or four QSO’s and picked up more information about the SOTA program. Of course, I quickly pulled up Google (Google is our friend) and soon found a couple of interesting websites.

The first website is the SOTA main home on the web. SOTA actually began over in the UK and slowly migrated throughout Europe and eventually we caught on over here. SOTA refers to each particular area as an association and there are 54 such associations around the world. Each association is managed by a volunteer called an association manager. The association which serves the Denver Front Range area is W0. W0 is managed by wG0AT, Steve Galchutt. You may know Steve from his Youtube videos featuring Rooster and Peanut his two pack goats.

Each association will have anywhere from a few qualifying summits and some have several thousands. In the case of W0, we have 1,791 qualifying summits. Enough to keep me busy for a long time. All total there are over 42,000 qualifying summits world wide.

Now we have two different ways to participate in the SOTA program. We can lace up our hiking boots, grab our portable gear and activate a qualifying summit. This is called an activator. Or we can grab a cup of coffee, head down to our comfortable shack. This is called a chaser. Obviously the success of the program requires both types of participants. Of course, an activator can work other mountain top activations.

Both activators and chasers can log their contacts into the SOTA database. Points are awarded for both categories. For what I hope is an obvious reason, those performing the activator role earn more points than those chasing. In addition, each qualifying summit may have different points earned based on degree of difficulty.

With winter coming on with a bang in the Colorado high country, I’ll spend the next few months learning more about SOTA and working other SOTA station activations as I can. Check out the SOTAwatch database for upcoming activations and current spots.

Finally, if you’re an iOS user (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). Check out the Pocket Sota app. It’s .99 cents in the iTunes App Store. The app provides a listing of all the associations which you can drill into to find detailed information about each of the qualifying summits including a map view.

The image to the left represents 219 qualifying summits in the Front Range region of the W0 association. While some of these are 14,000+ peaks, many are not. Those that aren’t just might be accessible even in the early winter months and I might just have to investigate a possible activation as KD0BIK/P. However, before I really get serious about this, I need to update my portable power setup.

I’m looking at the nanophosphate technology so many of our fellow amateur’s are raving about. Unlike the 12v 7.5Ah batteries I use today, which weigh in at a whopping, back breaking 5+ pounds. The 9.2Ah version is only a little over 3 pounds. Also, as I understand…the nanophosphate batteries last until the last milliamp is gone from the battery, all while holding their voltage. Yes the cost is much greater than SLA models. But I feel this could be well worth it.

Until then, I’ll be watching the SOTAwatch database for activations as well as keeping my ears open for any I happen to hear on the bands. I’ll make sure to document any such activities be it chasing or activations right here.

Until next time….

73 de KD0BIK (Jerry)