[AK-VHF] First SOTA

[Brandon Clark]

Hi Ed,

Yep, that will be this Saturday the 4th at around 9:30 AM local time. . .
or just as soon as I can drag my butt up the mountain, lol. That peak is
not terribly difficult as peaks go, but I will be taking a roundabout path
to avoid the ski areas, so it may take a hair longer than expected.
Rendezvous is definitely LOS to just about everywhere (It is about 1/4 mile
from the Site Summit Nike location, and a little higher).

I am going to bring my Yaesu 817 QRP rig, which does have 2 M SSB. I will
be transmitting through either a collapsible 5/8 wave whip or a portable
dipole - not sure yet. Either way I should be able to reach Nikiski with
just a watt or two, and Homer with a few more if anyone there is on air. It
would be really cool to see if we could reach Kodiak, but I don't think we
have any members out there yet.

The HF setup is a very small, very light dell laptop that I salvaged for
ham radio use. I connect that to a Mini Pro SC interface, which is like a
more compact version of a SignaLink. That carries data to and from the
Yesu's data jack, while a regular CAT cable on the accessory port handles
rig control. (Same setup as one of the stations I demonstrated at the
digital workshop.)

In the SOTA world FT8 and other WSJT modes are starting to take off among
the limeys, and I assembled my setup based on their work. I am hoping that
the weak signal capabilities of that mode will allow me to get QRP signals
out of Alaska, which will make these peaks available to other hams in the
lower 48.
Brandon


On Sat, Mar 28, 2020, 21:18 Edward R Cole <kl7uw at acsalaska.net> wrote:

> Brandon,
>
> I assume you mean Saturday, April 4th.  Net will be on 144.200 USB.
>
> Will you have 2m-SSB with you?  Not familiar with Rendezvous Peak but
> assume its high enough to be pretty much LOS to a wide area.
>
> Hope KL4E is reading this and can convey your message during the
> Wednesday night simplex net.
>
> Advise what your equipment will be in more detail.
>
> 73, Ed - KL7UW
>
> At 07:28 PM 3/28/2020, Brandon Clark wrote:
> >Hello group,
> >
> >    The trails are starting to thaw and the high country is becoming
> >accessible again. That means it's Summits on the Air season! Rendezvous
> >Peak, above Arctic Valley ski area, is one that I tried to activate for
> >SOTA before. I wasn't able to get the requisite 4 contacts because of
> >deteriorating weather and a fast turnaround time at the top, but I'm
> >planning to take a crack at it again this Saturday. I could use eveyone's
> >help with contacts. The exchange is just your call sign, my call, and I
> >give the reference for the peak I'm on. Pretty simple.
> >    My plan is to be set up on the peak in time for the Saturday net. I'll
> >check in there to get a quick 4+ contacts over VHF and ensure that the
> peak
> >has been properly "activated" per SOTA rules. After that I'm going to try
> >running digital over HF with a new portable setup I've assembled.
> >    Alaska has thousands of peaks, but almost none have been activated for
> >SOTA. Many of those that have been activated were climbed by visitors, so
> I
> >think its a matter of pride to get more of these activated by the local
> ham
> >community.
> >Brandon
> >
> >PS: SOTA is a worldwide thing, and on any given day there are tons of guys
> >activating peaks, and even more ops acting as "chasers" to provide
> contacts
> >to the activators. Us activators REALLY appreciate the help, so check in
> on
> >https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/ to see who is out there whenever you're
> >looking for something new to try on HF. Nothing makes your day like
> getting
> >to the top, sending out a spot, and having hams across the continent try
> to
> >work you. It really is a team radiosport.
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> 73, Ed - KL7UW
>    http://www.kl7uw.com
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>