My amateur radio activity has been very much on the back burner during the last few months due to other commitments.

However, rather than cut the lawns, wash the car on a Sunday morning and look forward to a roast beef lunch, sandwiches were a better offering this last weekend. I had arranged to go to the Telford radio rally and maybe pickup a few items. Don't bring back any junk, said my wife! Ugh!



                                        So it was time to get up early dig out the badge.


The Telford radio rally had always been hosted in the centre of Telford town centre for many years, but about 10 years ago it was moved to the Enguity Centre at Coalbrookedale  museum, in the centre of Shropshire where the industrial revolution started.





We arrived quite early and people were certainly up with the larks to get a place in the queue, and maybe grab a bargain? 



This year the rally had teamed up with the GQRP club which had moved it's famous annual QRP convention from Rishworth. Most of the team were there, including George (G3RJV) and Graham (G3MFJ). Bringing along their wealth of experience with the rest of the crew from the hub of club, giving members free advice, sales, and trying to recruit a few new ones to the fold:






Sadly my snap of the club stand came out blurred and I don't have another, much to my disappointment! If anyone has a photo, please send me a copy and I will edit it in..

However I did purchase the  mug to prove my support for the G-QRP club.

If you didn't visit the convention you can always join the G-QRP club, at £6 for a year's UK membership and not much more for international, it is really an amazing bargain! Including 4 Sprats  (the quarterly magazine of the club) posted to your home! Sprat is packed with designs, QRP circuits, membership news etc. Edited by George Dobbs since the formation of the club in 1974. How can many say they have done a job like that for over 40 years, again amazing!


                                                            Join the GQRP club here.










 
The RSGB had also popped along to offer their sales team with some exciting reading and some new publications.














Even though I didn't buy much this year it proved to be a good social event,  meeting up with a quite few other Amateurs I know from around the country,  picking up a few ideas, hints and tips, and learning news which I wouldn't of heard of online.







It was time to have a look outside at a few traders that had setup shop, and grab a cuppa before returning back home late afternoon.






Maybe see you there next year or you never know where I am going to pop up next! 

Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

Joyce/K0JJW and I were getting prepared for a trip to Gatlinburg, TN in August with some of her family. Gatlinburg is the gateway town to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the surrounding area. I had hiked and camped in the Smokies years ago and this was a great opportunity to visit that area again. Of course, we needed to get in a little Summits On The Air (SOTA) action during this trip.

We decided to pick out some easy-to-access summits in the area so we could weave them into the trip without too much disruption. My first step was to consult the SOTA database for potential summits in Tennessee and North Carolina, looking at the summits with the most activations. This is usually a good indication of easy access and not too difficult of a climb. I did pick out two iconic summits to activate: Clingmans Dome (this highest summit in the national park) and Mount Mitchell (the highest summit east of the Mississippi river in the US). After checking the various trip reports logged on the SOTA web site, I created a list of potential target summits. Clingmans Dome and Mount Mitchell were Must Do but any other summits would be more opportunistic based on available time and location.

We are using VHF/UHF for SOTA activations and opted for a basic FM station for this trip: a pair of Yaesu FT-1D handhelds, a couple of vertical antennas and a 3-element Arrow yagi antenna for 2 meters. I debated about whether to bring along the yagi but the split-boom design fits into my luggage without any problem. In the end, I am glad we had the yagi as several of the contacts would have been missed without it.

Greentop

Greentop (W4T/SU-076) was our first summit…basically a driveup mountain with radio towers and a lookout tower on top. I noticed quite a bit of interference on the 2 meter band, something I’ve encountered in previous activations near transmitter sites. It turns out that putting a more effective antenna on an HT (such as a half-wave vertical) couples more of the interference into the receiver and degrades its performance. On the other hand, the standard rubber duck antenna picks up less of the interference and performs better then the “good” antenna. After I realized this was happening, I tried using two HTs with reasonable results: one radio with a rubber duck was used for receive on 146.52 MHz while another radio with a half-wave antenna was used for transmitting. The net result was reasonable performance that allowed us to make contacts on 2m fm.

Clingmans Dome

Clingmans Dome (W4C/WM-001) is a popular tourist spot in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Parking is a challenge and there are quite a few people on the short trail to the summit.

Although it sits right on the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, it is in the W4C (Carolinas) Association for SOTA purposes. As I approached the summit, I saw a fishing pole sticking up in the air. I thought “huh, I wonder what the rangers are demonstrating today.” Followed by “Hey, wait a minute, that looks like a SOTA activation.” Sure enough, I met W2SE and WI2W setting up on 20m CW. Joyce and I headed to the observation tower and worked 2m from up there. There were quite a few people on the observation tower so I considered just operating from down below. I decided to leave the yagi in the backpack and just use the half-wave vertical. We fit right in with the chaos of tourists on the tower.

Mount Mitchell

At 6684 feet in elevation, Mount Mitchell (W4C/CM-001) is the highest point in the USA east of Mississippi River. (Interesting perspective: our house in Colorado is 800 feet higher than this summit.) We started with just the 2m vertical but switched to using the yagi when we had trouble copying a few stations. It definitely made a difference…probably 6 dB or so. When signals are near the FM threshold, this can pull them out of the noise.

One of the highlights on Mitchell was working Kevin/K4KPK on Walnut Mountain, summit to summit. Kevin is very active in SOTA and has contributed many SOTA summit guides in the area. I made good use of these reports when planning our trip.

Richland Balsam and Waterrock Knob

We discovered a number of summits right along the Blue Ridge Parkway and we ended up working these two: Richland Balsam (W4C/WM-003) and Waterrock Knob (W4C/WM-004). Another flashback for us was driving sections of the parkway, which is a lovely drive (typically 45 MPH speed limit) that winds through the mountains. It has been years since we’ve been on that road. This route is something I’d like to explore further on a future trip as you could spend a week wandering along the parkway and knocking out summits.

We worked Pat/KI4SVM on 2m fm from Watterock. I recognized his callsign from the trip reports he has submitted to the SOTA web site. Later, I looked up his SOTA score and found that he is a double Mountain Goat (> 2000 activation points) and the highest scoring activator in the W4C association.

Brasstown Bald

The Mountain Explorer Award is a SOTA award for activating in different SOTA Associations (regions). Activating in Tennessee (W4T association) and North Carolina (W4C association) got my total to 6. Joyce pointed out that we might be able to also hit Georgia on the trip, so we added Brasstown Bald (W4G/NG-001) to the list. This is the highest summit in Georgia, so it rounded out our collection of state high spots for TN, NC and GA.

Brasstown Bald is an easy hike up summit with a significant observation tower on top, including a visitors center. This is another location where we experienced interference from radio gear on the summit, so we chose our position carefully and used the 2m yagi to point away from the interference sources.

This trip worked out really well. We managed to activate 6 summits for a total of 58 points, operate from three new SOTA associations (W4T, W4C and W4G), enjoy some really nice hikes and see some great scenery. I was a little concerned whether we would find enough random activity on 2m fm for our SOTA activations but it all worked out. Actually, there were a few times that 146.52 MHz was busy and we had to standby to make a call. Some of our contacts were less than 25 miles but many covered 100 miles or more. Yes, the 3-element yagi made a difference.

If you are in the Gatlinburg area, it certainly makes sense to try a few SOTA activations. I am also thinking about a return trip to enjoy the area more fully including some longer hikes. We really liked hiking the trails and summits there. The elevation is lower than Colorado (read: you have oxygen to breath), the forests have lots of deciduous trees (not just evergreens) and the trails are less rocky. I am sure we will be back.

73, Bob K0NR

The post Smoky Mountain Summits On The Air appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ed Durrant DD5LP  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is PiStar

We would like to thank Alexander Zigar (M0SUV), Antony Mark Tilt and Philip Stephenson (KØPWS) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• ARES and ARRL Promote Ham Harvey Assistance

• Digital Modes for Foundation Level?

• ARRL finally realizes “status quo” isn’t going to cut it

• ARDF Record at YOTA 2017

• Ofcom Resolves Car Locking Issue

• UK M6 amateur handles Emergency Call

• Three ELaNa CubeSats Delivered to ISS

• Galapagos Islands DXpedition

• Estonia on 60m from September 2017

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ed Durrant DD5LP  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature is PiStar

We would like to thank Alexander Zigar (M0SUV), Antony Mark Tilt and Philip Stephenson (KØPWS) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• ARES and ARRL Promote Ham Harvey Assistance

• Digital Modes for Foundation Level?

• ARRL finally realizes “status quo” isn’t going to cut it

• ARDF Record at YOTA 2017

• Ofcom Resolves Car Locking Issue

• UK M6 amateur handles Emergency Call

• Three ELaNa CubeSats Delivered to ISS

• Galapagos Islands DXpedition

• Estonia on 60m from September 2017

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

Stories you’ll find in our September, 2017 issue:

Icom IC-R8600 All-Band All-Mode Software Defined Receiver
By Bob Grove W8JHD

To say that Bob Grove, a longtime radio reviewer, is impressed with this new offering from Icom, is a severe understatement. Bob writes, “With the release of this Software Defined Receiver, analog receiver design is relegated to history. Never before have so many features and options been offered in one general-coverage receiver. No wonder it comes with a 93-page, 8 x 10-inch instruction manual!”

Electrical Pioneers: The Life and Times of Guglielmo Marconi and Ernst Alexanderson
By Georg Wiessala

Regular TSM contributor, Georg Wiessala, explores the lives of two of radio’s legendary pioneers. He notes, “It is hard to imagine in our own age just how groundbreaking, confusing and inspirational the work of the early radio pioneers was in theirs, at a time when even the Eiffel Tower became a radio mast. However, our era of borderless communication and technological advance carries with it echoes of the ‘globalization’ of earlier times, as the 19th Century turned into the 20th.”

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Inc., the Dayton Hamvention 2016 Club of the Year
By Wayne Heinen N0POH

RM Ham, as Rocky Mountain Ham Radio, Inc., is known, is a different kind of amateur radio group—it’s not a club where you fill out an application, pay your dues and join. You can only become a member by participating with the group and over time, if you pitch in on a regular basis, you get an invitation to have your name added to the roster. The exclusive nature of this club is actually its greatest strength. Wayne explains the incredible things this group of hams have accomplished and how your club can benefit from their organizational skills.

Impact of the FCC’s TV-Band Repack
By Mike Kohl

Despite the reported $1.75 billion set aside by Congress to pay winners in the spectrum auction, there are many surprises awaiting the FCC that perhaps should have been expected in advance. Not the least of which forces the FCC to go back to congress to ask for enough money to affect band repack changes. Radio stations, low-power TV translators, even amateur radio clubs will be affected by changes mandated by the FCC. Mike explains the process currently changing the landscape of America’s TV band that will continue taking place over the next three years.

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Dubuque, Iowa, and RACOM

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Portable WHCA Trunked Systems

Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Twentieth-Century Military Monitoring—This isn’t Your Daddy’s Milcom Anymore

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
Tracking the Buzzer: The World’s Most Popular Radio Station?

Shortwave Utility Logs
Compiled by Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Honey, I Repurposed the Loop!

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Are Hams Well-meaning Scofflaws?

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
The Ups and Downs of Antenna Installations

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Historic Event in Cycle 24: the GLE

World of Shortwave Listening
By Jeff White
Shortwave Broadcasters Meet on the West Coast of North America for the First Time

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
North vs. South Korea on Shortwave; CFRX, BBC Programming and More!

Amateur Radio Satellites
By Keith Baker KB1SF/VA3KSF
Spotlight on Chinese Amateur Radio Satellites

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Cary WB2QMY
Gear up for a New Season!

Adventures is Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
The “Moving Coil” Radio: National NC-100 (RCK Version)

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Antenna 101: A Nuts and Bolts Review

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

Ken Reitz, KS4ZR, is publisher and managing editor of The Spectrum Monitor. Contact him at [email protected].