Snap shot of my Win4icom setup.

Radio Control Software: Taking the Complexity Out of Ham Radio

What Are the Advantages of Radio Control Programs?

Macros in Action

• The radio goes to 40m if not already there, on VFO A
• Antenna 2 is selected.
• CW mode is chosen.
• I am dropped into the middle of the 40m CW band segment.
• A custom audio level is set.
• Filter 1 (300Hz) is applied.
• NB, Digi select, RF gain, and NR are all set to custom values optimized for 40m CW.

The Split Operation Macro

• Dual watch is turned on.
• Split is turned on
• The appropriate antenna is selected based on the current band.
• VFO A and B are set to the same band
• VFO B is set to 1kHz above VFO A
• Filters are configured for both VFOs

A Word on Reliability

Show Notes

Amateur Radio Topics:

• Cushcraft and Hy-gain Sold
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lh (Linton News)
• Open Hamclock Backend is now fully independent of the original source
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Li (OHB Works)
• ARDC is Hiring
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lm (ARDC)
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Ln (ARDC)

Open Source / Linux Topics:

• i486 is out
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lj (itsfoss)
• Puter adds OnlyOffice
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lj (itsfoss)
• Soulsircuit is short circuiting?
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lk (lilputing)
• Google Drive missing from Ubuntu 26.04
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Ll (OMG Ubuntu)

Linux in the Ham Shack Topics:

• Linux Ham Radio KISS Serial Driver Being Modernized In 2026
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lo (Phoronix)
• WSJT-X 3.0.0 is Out!
  • Source: https://lhs.fyi/Lp (Release Notes)

Announcements & Feedback:

• Announcements:
  • Can you help support the show?  
    • You can do that via Patreon, Paypal, Merch - just a few bucks a month helps us out immensely when it comes to covering the costs of giving you the most terrific amateur radio podcast on the internet!
  • We need topics! 
    • Weekender episodes - anything goes!  
    • We need ideas for things you’d like to hear about in our Deep Dive episodes!  Help us out by emailing suggestions to [email protected]
  • Come see us at Hamvention
    • May 15-17, 2026 - Booth 2206, Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio.  That is building E2/Tesla Hall, and we’re directly across from Flex Radio and Begali Keys in the big walkway between the 2 garage doors (so it’s nice and cool!).  We’ll be there from 9-5 on Friday and Saturday… and since we both have long drives ahead of us, we’ll be there at 9am and leave early (probably by 11) on Sunday… so make sure, if you’re waiting to visit us until Sunday, you get there EARLY!
    • Join us for dinner at Hamvention!
      • Friday:
        • Join Bill and I for dinner at BJ’s Brewhouse (2715 Fairfield Commons Boulevard, Beavercreek, OH 45431; it’s about 10 miles from Hamvention) on FRIDAY, May 15th, at 6pm.  Their menu is extremely diverse… pizza, pasta, burgers, steaks, etc.  Several Gluten-Free (although, because of their menu, there is a chance of cross-contamination; management told me to alert the server and they would do their best to avoid contamination) and Vegetarian options are available, too
      • Saturday:
        • Join Bill and I for dinner at Chuy’s Tex-Mex (2717 Fairfield Commons, Beavercreek, OH 45431) on Saturday, May 16th, at 6pm.  Bill and I are very keen on Mexican food, so this is somewhat of a no-brainer.  And there are Gluten-Free (again, possible risk of cross-contamination) and Vegetarian options available!
  • Repeater for sale!
    • Spread the word to anyone you think might be interested, if you’re not!  The repeater that Russ had set up has been taken offline because of Russ’s death.  If anyone is interested in everything available (sold as a package deal only), please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll send you the details/pictures.  Pickup in SW Missouri, the Billings, Montana area or at Hamvention (or if you live along the route between either of our homes and Hamvention; other places hinge on whether we will be traveling through/to where it needs to go.  Don’t hesitate to ask!).
  • Memorial Service for Russ, K5TUX
    • There will be a memorial service held for Russ at our home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri on November 1, 2026.  Everyone is welcome!  If you’d like to join us, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll send you more info!
• Feedback:
  • Bob, K4RFK via email:
    • How about you revisit setting up TLF and/or YFKtest and include how to set up contests that aren’t included in the initial downloads.  I’ve looked at their instructions and cant make head nor tails out of them.

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In this episode, we join Martin Butler M1MRB, Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Caryn Eve Murray KD2GUT, Edmund Spicer M0MNG and Colin Butler M6BOY to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin Butler (M6BOY) rounds up the news in brief, and the episode's feature is Home brewing / Kit building.

We would like to thank our John Merkel (AJ1DM) and monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

• ITU Corporation Re-purposes Linton Armoury Facility to House Iconic Amateur Radio Manufacturing

• New Regulations for Hams in Norway

• Students are 'Over The Moon'

• Station's Experiments Explore Use of 4m and 8m Bands

• Arrest for Interference with Emergency Radio Channels

• Britain Seeks Views Before it Drops the Hammer on Signal Jammers

• 2026 ARRL Field Day Merch Now Shipping

• VOA Museum Announces Expanded Hours During Hamvention

• Your TP-Link Router is Under Attack from Russian State Hackers

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 216 is now available for download.

Exploring the Ham Dash App ham radio dashboard. Consolidating the shack with Raspberry Pi 5 and M.2 solid state drive. Should you Repair or Replace that appliance with the recently expired warranty.

Download
YouTube

When I talk about doing VHF SOTA activations, people often wonder about what kind of contacts to expect. VHF propagation from a mountaintop can be surprisingly good, and the range of possible contacts runs from the routine to the remarkable. Having done a lot of these activations, I’ve noticed that VHF SOTA contacts tend to fall into three broad categories. Let’s take a look at each one.

Type 1: The Local Contact (20–30 Miles)

This is the most common type of VHF SOTA contact, and it’s what keeps most activations from getting skunked. A simple 2-meter FM handheld radio, a decent half-wave antenna, and a summit with good Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) — that’s all you need to make contacts with stations in the surrounding towns and valleys.

The typical range for this category is roughly 20 to 30 miles, with some variation depending on terrain. From most Colorado summits, this covers small mountain towns, outlying suburbs, or rural homesteads with a radio operator and a 2m FM rig. These are the chasers who have 146.52 MHz programmed in, monitor for activity, and are happy to give you a quick contact. Often, I’ll catch mobile stations driving through the high country with their radio set on 2m simplex.

These contacts are the bread and butter of VHF SOTA. Mostly reliable, repeatable, and very useful for getting the four QSOs to get the activator points. Don’t underestimate them.

Type 2: The Extended Contact (30–150 Miles)

Now it starts to get interesting. This category requires a bit more effort — both from the activator and the chaser. We’re talking higher power, a better antenna, or both. On the summit end, a 3-element Yagi like the Arrow II provides about 6 dB of gain over a half-wave antenna, which makes a significant difference. It also helps to run more power than a handheld radio can, with 25 watts making a big difference. A home station using 50 watts with a quality high-mounted omnidirectional or beam antenna can significantly boost range on the chaser side.

These contacts are mostly still on 2m FM, although SSB and other modes can really help at these ranges. The contact might require pointing the Yagi in the right direction, asking the chaser to try a different antenna orientation, or just working a little harder to pull the signal out of the noise. These contacts are made at the margin, so every decibel of signal strength matters.

This category represents a real challenge, and that’s part of the appeal. When you complete a contact at 100 miles with some rough terrain in the way, it feels like an accomplishment. You earned that one.

Type 3: The Exceptional Contact (150+ Miles)

These are the contacts that make you stop what you’re doing and say “wow.” Distances beyond 150 miles on 2m FM are not routine — they happen when something special is going on. Three factors drive most of these exceptional contacts:

Favorable geography. Two high summits separated by a long distance can sometimes “see” each other in a way that lower-elevation stations cannot. In the Colorado high country, summit-to-summit contacts across large distances are possible when both operators are at altitude. The geometry just works out.

Favorable propagation. This is where it gets really fun. Sometimes enhancement occurs on the VHF bands, which means the signals become significantly stronger. Several elements contribute to this, though most link to tropospheric conditions. Tropospheric ducting can have a very strong effect, occurring when atmospheric conditions create a temperature inversion that takes VHF signals well beyond normal range. The ionosphere can also play a role, with Sporadic-E propagation opening up the 2-meter band unexpectedly, providing path distances of over 800 miles. This is rare on 2 meters and more common on the 6-meter band.

Modulation type. FM is a great mode for local and medium-distance contacts, but it is not the most efficient modulation for squeezing out long-distance QSOs. SSB and CW require significantly less signal strength to complete a contact compared to FM — a difference that can easily be 10 dB or more. That’s a huge advantage when signals are marginal. So when the conditions are favorable but not quite strong enough for FM, switching to SSB or CW can make the difference between completing the contact and just hearing a ghost signal in the noise. This is one of the reasons I’ve been enjoying the 2026 SOTA Challenge on 2m and 70cm CW/SSB — it pushes operators to explore what’s really possible on these bands.

My best 2m FM contact from a SOTA summit is 245 miles (Mount Scott (W5O/WI-002)  — that one was a keeper. My best 2m SSB contact was 372 miles, from Three Mile Mountain (W0C/SP-107) to N0LL in Kansas. Longer contacts are possible, but you have to be on the right summit at the right time, with the right chaser listening.

Which Type Is Most Common?

Type 1 is by far the most frequent, and Type 2 contacts are a regular occurrence for activators who show up with the right gear and a good summit. Type 3 contacts are not predictable, but they are not as rare as you might think.

The key takeaway is that VHF SOTA is not a one-size-fits-all experience. You can tune your station and operating strategy to optimize for any of these categories, or just show up with a handheld and see what happens. Either approach can work, and both are fun.

That’s the universal purpose of amateur radio, after all.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Three Types of VHF SOTA Contacts appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Show Notes

Spin the Random Topic Wheel

• Intro to picking a 1st timers Distro

This Weekend in Hedonism

• Cheryl’s Recipe Corner
  • Spring Chicken Salad
  • Description:
    • This is an item served in one of our local coffee shops (I know the owner, so she gave me the recipe… which I have since tweaked to my preferences). It’s great as a brunch item or a light meal on hot summer days. And can be whipped up super quick if you’ve got some rotisserie chicken on hand - and you can get the carrots and green onions already prepped at most grocery stores (I do 99.9% of my grocery shopping at Walmart)!
  • Ingredients
    • 1 cooked chicken breast (boneless/skinless or that has been deboned) OR rotisserie chicken that has been deboned, chopped and shredded into bite sized pieces
    • 1/2 cup Mayo (+/- to taste)
    • 1/2 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette (+/- to taste)
    • 1/2 cup THINLY sliced Celery
    • 1/2 cup Julienned Carrots, cut into small pieces
    • 1/2 cup chopped Walnuts OR Pecans
    • 1/2 cup finely sliced green onion (optional)
    • 1/2 cup halved seedless red Grapes
    • Loaf of Baguette Bread (optional)
  • Directions
    • Mix chicken, mayo, vinaigrette, celery, carrots, nuts and green onion together. Cut the grapes in half and store in a separate container and mix in with a portion of chicken salad immediately before eating (if you don’t keep them separate, the grapes will make the chicken salad very liquidy).
    • If using baguette bread, cut a 6" piece off of the loaf (works best with end pieces; if you can find the “mini baguette loaves” that are 8-10" long, just cut them in half) and carefully hollow the bread out (leaving enough of a bread barrier between the chicken salad and the crust that the bread doesn’t fall apart). Lightly toast, if desired (I definitely prefer them warm and lightly crunchy). Stuff the bread with the chicken salad and enjoy with extra grapes, chips, etc.
  • Notes:
    • At the coffee shop where this recipe originated, the Baguette bread is hollowed out and stuffed with the chicken salad, making it a unique “sandwich” presentation (they call it the “Spring Chicken Stuffer”). If you don’t want to mess with that, it’s also great served on sandwich bread, a hamburger roll or even all by itself.
    • I personally prefer Ott’s brand Raspberry Vinaigrette, which is manufactured 20 minutes from our house - Kraft is my second choice.
    • This mixture will be store fine in the fridge for about 1 week (BUT, the longer it is stored, the more it will dry out as everything will absorb the mayo and dressing - just stir a little more mayo and dressing in). I personally put a few spoons of chicken salad in a separate bowl, a spoon of mayo and a squirt of raspberry vinaigrette and a spoon full of grape halves and stir well, that way the grapes are well incorporated.
    • While this is yummy immediately after making it, after it has a few days to meld with the other flavors, it is amazing.
    • When making this a meal, it pairs well with a piece of quiche
    • Feel free to tweak this however you see fit! Add some spices (salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dill weed, parsley)! As I typed this, I thought that Bacon Bits would probably be really good with it. Let me know how you made it your own creation!
• Cheryl’s Mixed Drink Corner
  • Peach Bellini
  • Description:
    • I’m an equal opportunity girl, when it comes to alcohol, for the most part (although, I’m still trying to learn to love Gin). And you’ll find me enjoying a “girly drink” like the one I’m sharing today, and a finger of Scotch tomorrow. This is a great brunch beverage, too.
  • Ingredients
    • 1 lb. fresh or frozen sliced peaches, plus more for serving
    • 1/4 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, plus more for serving
    • 1/2 cup peach schnapps
    • 1 bottle prosecco or sparkling white wine
  • Directions
    • Add the peaches, strawberries, and peach schnapps to the pitcher of a blender. Cover tightly with the lid, and blend at high speed until smooth.
    • Divide the peach mixture among 6 glasses. Garnish each glass with more peaches or strawberries, if you like. Fill each glass half full with prosecco; stir, and add more prosecco, if you like.
• Russ’s Drink Corner (now hijacked by Cheryl - and probably occasionally by Bill!)
  • Elijah Craig Small Batch
  • This bottle is from the C918 batch, meaning it was their 3rd release for the year, bottled in September of 2018
  • Description
    • Elijah Craig was a baptist preacher who created the process for “true Kentucky bourbon.” - and he’s credited with the process of putting his distillate into charred oak barrels. Citing a surge in popularity and supply not meeting demand, in early 2016 Heaven Hill Distillery removed Elijah Craig’s age statement and began blending younger stock into its non-age stated (NAS) small batches
  • Details
    • Mashbill: 78% corn, 10% rye, 12% malted barley
    • Region: Bardstown, KY
    • Proof: 131.4 (65.7% ABV)
    • Color: Copper
    • Nose: Brown Sugar, with well toasted pie crust and cloves.
    • Taste: Vanilla and Oak, followed by the sweetness of corn syrup from a pecan pie - and a tiny hint of cherry and a touch of honeysuckle.
    • Finish: Extremely heavy baking spices; the rye makes it spicy. But the lingering end was heavy clove and extreme sweetness - a mix between caramel and that pecan pie corn syrup taste
    • Price: $200+ (750ml) - VERY limited in availability.
    • Rating: 89
• Bill’s Whatever Corner
  • Item: Numb Numb Juice Hazy IPA from Fall River Brewing in California
  • Numb Numb Juice Hazy IPA is a tropical juice bomb that shifts to an almost candy like finish on both the nose and palate. While being served in a coconut with a little umbrella seems fitting, the can it’s in will have to do. It’s so nom nom, that it might leave you numb numb. So drink responsibly. Cheers!
  • ABV: 7.5% IBU 33

Announcements & Feedback:

• Announcements:
  • Can you help support the show?
    You can do that via Patreon, Paypal, Merch - just a few bucks a month helps us out immensely when it comes to covering the costs of giving you the most terrific amateur radio podcast on the internet!
• We need topics!
  • Weekender episodes - anything goes!
  • We need ideas for things you’d like to hear about in our Deep Dive episodes! Help us out by emailing suggestions to [email protected]
• Come see us at Hamvention
  • May 15-17, 2026 - Booth 2206
• Repeater for sale!
  • Spread the word to anyone you think might be interested, if you’re not! The repeater that Russ had set up has been taken offline because of Russ’s death. If anyone is interested in everything available (sold as a package deal only), please reach out to [email protected] and we’ll send you the details/pictures. Pickup in SW Missouri, the Billings, Montana area or at Hamvention (or if you live along the route between either of our homes and Hamvention; other places hinge on whether we will be traveling through/to where it needs to go. Don’t hesitate to ask!).
• Memorial Service for Russ, K5TUX
  • There will be a memorial service held for Russ at our home in Mt. Vernon, Missouri on November 1, 2026. Everyone is welcome! If you’d like to join us, please send an email to [email protected] and we’ll send you more info!
• Feedback from Peace Carmene W1DCN
• Feedback from Thiago S.
• Feedback from Steve D
• Feedback from Ted Poppke WO0R

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