A new addition.....well I did have it in the past and sold it....don't ask

As you know I enjoy my CW contesting and am always looking to make things more easy. When contesting I use N1MM+ logging software which works great. During non-contesting times I use Win4icom radio control software. As a side note this software by VA2FSQ Tom is great and very well supported. He also offers radio control software for Yaesu and Elecraft as well, I have used the Elecraft radio control software (Win4k3) and it was great as well.

When contesting there are times when radio adjustments are needed such as filter settings, APF settings and digi select. To get to these adjustments you have to dig down a few menu settings to get where you want to be. Then I came up with what seemed to be an easy solution......but as they say, nothing is easy.
Using Win4icom the multi-menu changes could be done with one mouse click! With Win4icom you can use multiple 3rd party programs and N1MM+ is one of them. After setting up Win4icom and N1MM+ to speak with each other via virtual com ports I was good to go.......so I thought. 

Win4Icom software

The communication between the two programs was all good except for the N1MM+ cw macros would not key the radio and send the CW message. That is a big issue when contesting, I contacted Tom from Win4icom and he informed me that Win4icom does not support the use of DTR over virtual ports. He then informed me to overcome this issue I needed the Winkeyer from K1EL. The funny thing is I used to have a Winkeyer but sold it! 

I then ordered the Winkeyer and waited for it to come in, when it did I followed very closely the installation instructions for the Winkey. When I started both Win4icom and N1MM+ low and behold all the macros worked like a charm! But as always there is always a hiccup when dealing with computers, software and hardware. 

I had my 9A5N touch keyer connected to the Winkeyer port and then I tried to send code from the key it did not work. I have an early edition of the 9A5N key and it does not like the Winkeyer. I solved the issue by connecting the touch key directly to the Icom 7610 radio.
So now I am off to the races and can have Win4icom, N1MM+ and Winkey all happy and working together.

Argentine Peak (W0C/SR-019) is a high 13er (13,738 ft) in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains. I had my eye on this summit for a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation for quite some time now. This summit is a short distance from Argentine Pass, which is the fourth-highest road in Colorado at 13,207 feet. A non-radio goal I have is to drive the Jeep up the twenty highest roads in Colorado, so Argentine Pass is on that list. Not only that, Argentine Peak sits on the Continental Divide, separating the Arapaho National Forest and the White River National Forest, so it can also be activated for Parks On The Air (POTA).

So the plan emerged: Joyce/K0JJW and I would take the Jeep to Argentine Pass and then climb up to Argentine Peak for a SOTA and POTA activation. The road is usually blocked by snow for much of the summer, making it a late summer/early fall adventure. Somehow September slipped away and it is now October, but fortunately, the road is still open. Note that the more common way to hike Argentine Pass is from Silver Dollar Lake trailhead (see KX0R trip report).

The Road

The 4WD route starts with FS 248.1 as it leaves Guanella Pass Road, about 3 miles south of Georgetown, CO (see map above). The forest service road takes off at a point where the Guanella Pass Road takes a very sharp bend. You should have a good topo map to guide you on this route as there are quite a few roads in the area. In general, you follow FS 248.1 which has some subvariants such as 248.1B and 248.1K. The exact choice of roads is not critical but, eventually, you need to get on FS 724.1 which sports a few wide and steep switchbacks up to Argentine Pass. The one-way distance is 9 miles and it took us about 1.5 hours to make the drive.

This road and route is considered moderate 4WD and FS 248.1 provides a good taste of that right after you leave the paved road. Many other sections of the road are easy 4WD but there are some challenging spots along the way. This is a real 4WD road, so you’ll need a decent high-clearance 4WD vehicle in the class of a Wrangler, Bronco, 4Runner, etc. We drove a stock Jeep Wrangler and had no trouble. However, at one spot, the wheel placement was very critical, so Joyce spotted me as I drove through it. Not that difficult…unless you screw it up.

The Climb

As shown below, the climbing route up Argentine Peak (blue line) follows the Continental Divide ridge line as it heads south from Argentine Pass. The road up Argentine Pass ends kind of high in the pass, so at first, we were walking downhill. A faint trail follows the top of the ridge but fades out in many places. Looking at the topo map, I underestimated how much up and down there would be on the ridge but it was not too difficult.

The hike is about 1 mile with 650 feet vertical (one-way). We had fantastic weather in October: sunny, with temperatures in the 40’s F and some light wind (10 to 15 mph). This is one of those top-of-the-world hiking experiences, right along the Continental Divide.

As you can see from the photos, there were some patches of snow on the ground, but it was not an issue for hiking. A real Mountain Goat (not a SOTA Mountain Goat) wandered by and paid us a visit.

This mountain goat wandered by while we were on the summit.We used our standard 2m/70cm FM station: Yaesu FT-90 running 30 watts to a 3-element Yagi for 2 meters or a 7-element Yagi for 70 cm. We worked stations mostly on 146.52 MHz FM and a few on 446.0 MHz. With downtown Denver about 45 miles away, we easily worked stations in the greater Denver area. We were also successful working stations out to 60 or 70 miles, often with good signal reports in both directions. We both made 20 QSOs using VHF/UHF.

For POTA, we were right on the dividing line between White River NF and Arapaho NF but needed to choose one for our activation. We had previously activated Arapaho, so we chose to operate from White River NF on this trip (K-4410) which is a new park for us.

Summary

We had an absolute blast on this activation. I think it was the combination of a Jeep trip, hiking, SOTA, and POTA all wrapped into one adventure that made it so good. As a bonus, we had excellent weather and a visit by the mountain goat!

73 Bob K0NR

The post Argentine Pass and Argentine Peak appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT,  Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief and in the episode's feature is Simple Test Gear You Can Build,

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• RSGB Director's SOTA challenge
• YL in Philippines is net controller, Aged 10!
• Hams Enjoy a "SOTA ECLIPSE"
• Radio Event in Serbian Parks Honours Pioneering Activator - SK
• The YL CW Net is Back
• Cambridge Amateur Radio Club repeater VE3SWR went QRT
• HEMA Award Scheme Updates
• YOTA Month 2023

We have a very diverse hobby with a huge array of opportunities in many directions. You can stick with one forte and then jump in another direction. For me it keeps things interesting and challenging, our hobby has doors of interest that can be opened by old and young alike. But I just don't get it, in this great hobby we have a minority that spends most of their time, energy and blog posts on bashing. FT8, DXpeditions and contesting seem to be the flavour of the times. Some just go on and on seeking to discredit it at every corner. Why...I just don't get it! Move on and spend your time and energy doing other things and get lost in the pleasure our hobby has to offer. 

I get it I too like to work rare ones and yes I have been disappointed that some operations spend more time on certain modes than others. The solution is not to DQRM them. Get over it move on and enjoy the hobby.

 I get it PCs are getting more involved to some way too involved within ham radio While you complain and whine you at the same time miss opportunities. Get over it move on and enjoy the hobby. 

I get it contesting can be a great thing and to others a thorn. The larger contests happen now and then but they do light up the bands with energy and that is good for keeping our bandwidth from the commercial vultures Do what I do hit the WARC bands for a day if you want. Get over it and enjoy the hobby. 

The World of CW is my blog name and for me it's my passion at this time in the hobby, this is the aspect I want to explore. I have gone down SSB, digital and now CW but to bash a part of the hobby is throwing my time away. To those who get bent out of shape, I just don't get it. Get over it and enjoy the hobby.

 SARCBUZZ

Monthly News and Announcements
Celebrating 50 years of service - 1975-2023

September 30, 2023

• CQ WW DX Contest (SSB)
  October 28/29 Don’t miss out on your chance to compete in the largest Amateur Radio contest in the world. Over 35,000 participants take to the airwaves on the last weekend of October with the goal of  making as many contacts with as many DXCC entities and CQ Zones as possible. Both seasoned SARC DXers and GOTA newbies are invited to participate as a VE7SAR team. Coaching will be available to those who request it. Whether we operate two radios as Multi-Two (Low Power) or one radio as Multi-One (High Power) will depend on the number of operators signed up. Both Larry ([email protected]) and John ([email protected]) will collect names of those who wish to participate, and prepare a schedule. The team already has the September CQ WW RTTY contest under its belt and is looking forward to this next challenge.

• Soldering Workshop
  October 21 8:30 am - Noon. FULL This workshop is for those new to soldering or wishing to refresh their skills. As presented by Dino (VE7XDT) and John (VE7TI) the workshop includes an introduction to soldering, types of soldering irons and stations, and  the construction of an xmas tree circuit board (agenda attached). This workshop is FULL but if you wish to be put on a waiting list or have interest in the next workshop you may contact John VE7TI or Larry VE7LXB .

• Delta ARS Comfest

Sunday October 15 10am - 1pm The long tradition of the ComFest Amateur Radio Swap Meet continues. It is a great venue to meet fellow hams, buy and sell gear and or simply discover what the world of amateur radio has to offer. 1720 56th Street Tsawwassen. General admission $5. Major door prizes.

• SARC Monthly Meeting
  Wednesday October 11th 7pm - 9pm. Location: Surrey Fire Hall Training Centre. The guest speaker for the next meeting is Halden Field VE7UTS. Halden is a member of the North Shore ARC and a past contributor to their newsletter and to The Communicator. Halden has presented at several west coast Ham Fests including at Seaside Oregon. He will be speaking on some of his favourite amateur radio construction projects.

• Saturday Morning Breakfast and OTC
  SARC Meets informally for breakfast at Denny’s Restaurant 6850 King George Boulevard in Surrey, between 7:30 and 9:00am each Saturday morning. We’d love for you to join us. Following breakfast, the OTC will be open from 9:30 until noon. You are invited to come down to the OTC with your equipment and any ham-related issues and our Elmers will try to assist you. You can also reach Elmers by email at [email protected].

Thank you for being a SARCBuzz reader.

[email protected]

Calendar of Events

In a previous post, I described getting the IC-705 set up for FT8 using the SDR-Control app on an iPad. My objective was to have a portable FT8 station for use during SOTA and POTA activations.

To save time, let me get this out of the way:

Yes, I do know that making contacts via FT8 is not as personal and may not be as much fun as running a pileup on SSB or CW. Still, it is Real Ham Radio and enjoyable in a different way.

I’ve used this station on multiple activations now but I have to admit that these have been mostly for POTA. It seems that whenever I get on top of a SOTA summit, I tend to focus on making VHF contacts which consumes the available time and the HF gear remains stashed way in my pack. This is more about my operating habits than anything else. Looking at spots though, there is a lot of FT8 on POTA and not nearly as much on SOTA. The SOTA crowd tends to have a lot of traditional CW enthusiasts and maybe POTA has fewer of them. Also, SOTA operating is usually backpack portable so carrying a compute device for FT8 may be considered an unnecessary hassle. POTA stations are often in or near a vehicle, so station size/weight is less of a concern.

For POTA, I make sure my activation is posted at pota.app, indicating the park number I am activating. When calling CQ, I modify the standard FT8 text to be “CQ POTA” to indicate that I am doing an activation. When my signal is detected by the Reverse Beacon Network (RBN), a spot is created that shows me doing a POTA activation from that park. Pretty cool. If I have an internet connection, I monitor my spots using the Ham Alert app. This provides useful feedback about where my signal is showing up around the world.

But what are the main reasons that FT8 is useful for POTA?

FT8 is popular

In case you haven’t noticed, FT8 has emerged from being just a niche activity to now being very popular on most ham bands. At times this can be a problem with the standard FT8 frequency slice being overloaded with signals. There is a lot of FT8 activity on the bands, for general ham use and SOTA/POTA.

FT8 works well with low power

FT8 and the other WSJT-X modes are designed to work well with weak signals, so they are a great match for low-power operation. Of course, QRP power levels are very common for backpack portable activations, mostly due to the limitations of carrying a reasonable-size battery.

FT8 signals are spotted on RBN

As mentioned earlier, FT8 signals are picked up and spotted by RBN. For better or worse, people have come to rely on spotting for many types of ham radio operating. When on a SOTA or POTA activation, you really want to be spotted as such. For phone activations, I usually do that with a smartphone but that requires some extra effort and a mobile phone connection. FT8 and RBN take care of that for you.

FT8 logging is automated

The various FT8 software applications automatically log the QSO information, which means it is easy and less error-prone. After the activation, I just pull up the ADIF log file, check it for obvious errors, add in the SOTA/POTA info, and submit it to the appropriate websites.

FT8 is campsite friendly

This last one may be a bit subtle but I’ve found FT8 to be campsite friendly. By that, I mean I can get on the air at any time (early, late or at nap time) and not disturb anyone else. (On SSB, I would likely be enthusiastically yelling into the microphone trying to work a pileup.) Besides the audio noise factor, FT8 operation allows for multitasking. I can converse with my fellow campers while still keeping up with the FT8 flow. Alternatively, I can cook dinner, make a fire, or pack my backpack while the FT8 QSOs roll in. This may sound a little bit like cheating but, hey, whatever works.

Wrap Up

So clearly, I’ve been having fun with FT8 for POTA. I consider it to be another tool in the toolkit. There are times when I will make good use of it but there will also be times to use other modes.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Why Use FT8 For POTA? appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.