In 2024, Joyce/K0JJW and I activated South Monarch Ridge (W0C/SP-058) on the Friday of the Colorado 14er & Mountaintop Event. South Monarch Ridge (also known as Monarch Crest) is a fun summit, easy to access via a trail or via the tram (during the summer). Kevin/KD0VHD and Lynaire/K0LPR joined us on top. Kevin took this ... Read more

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During the Colorado 14er & Mountaintop Event, amateur radio operators from around Colorado will be activating Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event by activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations. Be ... Read more

The post 2026 Colorado 14er & Mountaintop Event appeared first on Above Average Terrain.

Here’s a post from way back in 2005. It falls into the category of “notable VHF contacts,” so I am reposting it here. Last July, my wife and I were walking along the beach on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan in Ludington State Park to the Big Sable Point Lighthouse. While we waited for ... Read more

The post Across Lake Michigan on 146.52 MHz appeared first on Above Average Terrain.

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.

Ham Radio License Class

Buena Vista, Colorado 

The Technician license is your gateway to the worldwide fun and excitement of Amateur Radio

• Earn your ham radio Technician class license
• Learn to operate on the ham bands, 10 meters and higher
• Learn to use the many VHF/UHF FM repeaters in Colorado
• Pass your FCC amateur radio license exam in class

Schedule:

Sat    May 9th    1-4 pm In-Person Kickoff Session
Wed  May 13     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Wed  May 20     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Wed  May 27     7-8 pm Online – Review session via Zoom
Sat    May 30     1–3:30 pm In-Person Review and Exam Session
(The exam session is open to everyone.)

Most of the course content will be delivered via the Ham Radio School online system, requiring about 20 hours of independent study by the student. Each chapter includes an eBook reading section, an instructional video, a review summary, a lesson quiz, and optional depth learning media. Our instructors will provide additional instruction and coaching during in-person and online sessions.

The in-person sessions will be at the Casa Del Rio Clubhouse in Buena Vista.
The fee for the class is $29.95.
Advance registration is required by May 1st.

Note: the FCC also charges a $35 license fee to issue your license, payable after you pass the exam
.
To register for the class or to get more information, contact:
Bob Witte KØNR    [email protected]

Sponsored by the Chaffee-Lake Amateur Radio Association

Click here to download Technician Class Flyer – May 2026

The post Technician Class – Buena Vista, CO appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Big news — I’m proud to announce that the Second Edition of my book VHF, Summits, and More is now available. I’ve received tons of positive feedback on the first edition, published in 2019, and I decided it was time for an update. This new version is printed in color, which greatly enhances the photos and graphics.

This book is an easy-to-understand introduction to VHF/UHF ham radio with an emphasis on mountaintop VHF operation. I’ve enjoyed ham radio and writing about it ever since I received my first FCC license. Although I’ve used the ham bands from 160m to 10cm (10 GHz), I find the VHF and higher frequencies the most interesting. This is mainly because of the interplay between mountains, Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT), and VHF propagation. VHF has lots of spectrum, lots of modes, and lots of fun challenges.

For the second edition, I gave everything a fresh look. I updated every chapter and added 100 pages of new material. In Part I, the VHF tutorial section, I added new chapters to improve the treatment of basic VHF/UHF: Popular VHF/UHF Bands, Antennas, Coaxial Cables & Connectors, and WSJT-X Digital Modes. Part II covers topics that originated from my blog, often based on questions I hear from newer hams.  In Part III, which is focused on SOTA, I added several chapters on how to be successful doing VHF SOTA, and I added a few new trip reports. I also added some information on combined SOTA/POTA activations.

The book is available in two formats: a color print edition and a Kindle edition, both available from Amazon. The print version ships immediately; the Kindle version will follow shortly.

Order your copy now. Operators are standing by.
(Actually, just use the Amazon site.)

73 Bob K0NR

The post Second Edition of VHF, Summits, and More appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The SOTA Management Team launched a special challenge for 2026: a distance-based scoring challenge using CW and SSB on the 2m and 70cm bands. The announcement is here on the SOTA reflector.

The basic idea is to encourage SOTA contacts using CW or SSB on these two bands. Because the scoring is based on distance, you need to enter the location of the other station. When chasing a summit, the location is already known by the SOTA database, but you need to have your location entered into the logging system. Summit-to-Summit contacts are easy to log because both locations are known. The hassle comes up when you are activating a summit and need the chaser’s location. An easy way to share location info is using the 6-character grid locator (e.g., DM78av at my house). Some chasers may know their 6-character locator but you may need to look it up. I usually ask the other operator if they are operating at home so I can look up the grid later. If they are away from home, I ask for enough information to be able to determine their grid.

W0C Activity

I wasn’t sure how many folks would pursue this challenge here in Colorado, but we are off to a good start. Here’s the current activator summary:

K0JJW and I have activated 5 times for the challenge, and have been pleasantly surprised with the number of chasers who get on, primarily using 2m SSB. It seems that some hams have 2m SSB capability, but don’t have many opportunities to use it. So they come out to play!

There are a few things to be aware of when operating these bands and modes:

Antenna Polarization

The first thing we ran into was the need to make sure both stations have the same antenna polarization. Common practice on VHF/UHF is to use vertical polarization for FM (and similar modes), but use horizontal polarization for CW/SSB and other weak-signal modes. The serious stations on CW/SSB will tend to have large Yagi antennas, horizontally polarized. But we soon found that many of the chasers at home were using vertical antennas on CW/SSB, because that’s what they have set up. No problem, on the summit we just flipped our handheld Yagi antenna to be vertical. The point is that antenna polarization should be taken into account, else you can experience a substantial signal loss.

Tuning in SSB

Another issue that surfaced is the need to do more precise tuning when using SSB. For FM, you can just dial in 146.52 or whatever and call it good. If there is a small frequency difference between stations, it does not matter. On SSB, a few hundred Hertz of frequency difference (which is common) causes the familiar “Donald Duck” effect, so you need to tune more carefully.

Most people know that the 2m SSB calling frequency is 144.200 MHz, so they start there. But if you hear an activator on 144.2001, you should tune to match their frequency when you call them. Don’t just sit on 144.200 and think “the other station is off frequency.”

Calling Frequency

Some sources list 144.100 or even 144.060 as the 2m CW calling frequency. These frequencies can be used, but common practice in Colorado is to just call CW or SSB on 144.200 MHz. That way, people monitoring the band for activity can find it more easily. Same thing with 432.100 MHz on the 70 cm band. Clearly, posting spots on SOTAwatch can really help with making CW & SSB contacts.

When activity picks up, the calling frequency can get busy. This is why most radios have a big knob on the front of the radio that allows you to tune up or down. Standard practice is to move up 5 or 10 kHz, as needed. If you are operating on the calling frequency for a long period of time, you should not be surprised if other people show up on frequency.  It works best if everyone cooperates, shares the frequency, and moves to adjacent frequencies when possible. This is similar to how 146.52 MHz can get busy on FM, so people shift to using 146.58 MHz to spread things out.

Quansheng UV-K5

Various people have hacked the Quansheng UV-K5, a dualband HT, to operate using CW and SSB. The modification consists of loading new firmware and, in some cases, doing a simple hardware modification. This video provides an overview of how this works. Many people are having fun modifying this HT, and it is an inexpensive way to get up and running on CW/SSB.

So come on out and give CW/SSB a try on VHF/UHF.

73 Bob K0NR

Getting Started on 2m SSB

The post SOTA Challenge: CW/SSB on 2m & 70cm appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.