I’ve been up Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) a zillion times via the Pikes Peak Highway and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway (currently out of service) doing SOTA activations, working VHF contests, participating in the Colorado 14er Event, maintaining repeaters and escorting visitors from out of town. See my previous post on activating by driving up the mountain: How To Do a SOTA Activation on Pikes Peak.

Joyce/K0JJW and I had Pikes on our SOTA activation list for 2018 but wanted to do a hike to access the summit. The classic climbing route up Pikes is via Barr Trail, a 13-mile trail that ascends 7800 vertical feet. This is a difficult climb for most humans but I will note that serious runners routinely run up the mountain just for fun. See Fred/KT5X’s comments on the SOTA database about running up the mountain and then doing a SOTA activation.

Another hiking alternative on the northwest side of Pikes Peak is the Crags Trail, also known as the Northwest Slopes route. This route starts about 4 miles south of Divide, CO at the Crags Campground. This hike is 7 miles one-way with 4300 vertical feet. This is easier than Barr Trail but still a significant climb.

Devils Playground

There is a shorter option that does not get much attention (except from some of the locals). The Northwest Slopes route crosses the Pikes Peak Highway at Mile 16 at a popular spot called Devils Playground. There is a large parking area there and the Northwest Slopes trail can be accessed at this point. Just cross the road, step over a cable fence (intended to block vehicles, not people) and follow the obvious trail to the summit.

Note: currently access to the summit by car is restricted due to summit house construction and Devils Playground is a staging area for free shuttle buses that take visitors to the summit.

This trail is 2.6 miles one way and 1300 feet vertical (mostly uphill but some up and down action). The last quarter mile before the summit is rocky and steep. The trail becomes more difficult to follow at this point but careful attention to the cairns will keep you on the right path. As shown on the map, this trail tends to stay close to the road so you will see vehicles along the way. All in all, this was a nice hike on a good trail.

Once on top, we set up our standard 2m FM station: Yaesu FT-90 and the Arrow 3-element yagi antenna. We quickly had a pileup on 146.52 MHz. It is kind of crazy up there when everyone starts calling because you are hearing everyone but the chasers are not.

It was great to work Steve/WG0AT on Mt Herman (W0C/FR-063)  and Brad/WA6MM on Mount Morrison (W0C/FR-092). I also worked Paul/W0RW on 1.2 GHz with my Alinco HT driving a two-element yagi PC-board antenna.  (A quick comparison between the rubber duck and the yagi confirmed that the yagi does have some gain.) We ended up in a bit of a hurry as the clouds moved in but tried to work everyone we could. Our best DX on 2m FM was Dave/N0KM near Del Norte, about 100 miles away. On our way down, the clouds were in and out but no storms or lightning.

All of the usual warnings apply for hiking above treeline: start early and get off the mountain before the storms move in.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Pikes Peak SOTA: Hike from Devils Playground 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].

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.

Sorry there has been very little activity from me during the last few months, family stuff has taken up a lot of my spare time recently, and radio has been well off the menu. However I will try and get back into the Blog as our Summer comes to an end.

I was recently contacted by one of the Telford Hamfest organisers asking me to give a talk:

 We would like to invite you to give a "talk" at our "Telford Hamfest" QRP, orientated, would be great. The date for our Hamfest is Sunday September 2nd 2018. We expect to put on three "Talks". The "Talks" would last about 40(ish), minutes, with a Q&A after each, with a gap until the next talk. The timings are 11.30,12.30 and 13.30. I hope you are able to take us up on our offer Steve
--------------------

The Telford Hamfest is a Radio rally which has been held around the Telford area for many years at various venues. But for a number of years has stabilised at being held at Coalbrookdale, Shropshire, and also now incorporates the G-QRP Convention as an added bonus.

Well Stephen had already decided he wasn't going to the Hamfest this year, so it all arrived too late! But it is with interesting thought what I would of talked about, and who actually put me up for this, I could name a few?

The last lecture I gave is when I ran a Packet radio BBS and node (GB7RUG) some 20 years ago. Talks don't just come together overnight, sorry I had no real time to prepare anyway. So Telford Radio club and G-QRP thanks for asking, I might do it next year if you give me enough time to think about it?

Actually by now I have mulled it over I have even thought in my dreams what I would of chatted about Hmmm! Humm!

See you all next year :-)



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

On Saturday, August 11, 2018, the Bella Vista Radio Club will be operating a special event station at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale Arkansas. This is to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of the museum. We will be operating on the museum grounds from the General Store. Listen for us on the air starting Aug 11, at 1300Z. Operations will conclude at 2300Z.  Two stations, one SSB and the other CW, will be operating on or near 14.250, 14.035, 7.250 and 7.035.

I will be participating part of the day, likely on the SSB station. I may spend some time trying to listen to CW to see if I can decode it yet! Gotta work on that!

For more information see the following links:
ARRL Link
Bella Vista Radio Club Link

Looking forward to having a QSO with you on Saturday!

 

 

Wayne Patton, K5UNX, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Arkansas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Stories you’ll find in our August, 2018 issue:

SHARES: The Federal Government’s Plan-B HF Communications System
By Steve Handler

In the aftermath of the 1962 Cuban Missile Crises, President John F. Kennedy wanted to improve the communications systems that linked the federal agencies. The goal was to provide better interconnectivity and also survivability of the system in the event of war or natural disasters. The result was the National Communications System (NCS). On September 20, 1988, NCS created the SHAred RESources (SHARES) High Frequency (HF) Radio program. This program was tasked with backing up the landline, and later cellular, telephone systems. Current SHARES participants include the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Health, and Human Services, Homeland Security, Interior, Justice, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs. Other governmental entities include the Federal Communications Commission, General Services Administration, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency. Non-governmental organizations include entities such as the American Red Cross. Critical telecommunications infrastructure companies such as AT&T and Verizon also participate in SHARES. Steve explains how it all works.

APRS and other Digital Communications: Part 1
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

While many hams may think of APRS as a mode that has little more to offer than beaconing and radiolocation functions, it is a figurative Swiss Army Knife of utilities that can be of use in contacting other hams while traveling, exchanging quick text messages, satellite communications, email, public service, and many other activities. From the mechanical age of RTTY, with its clacking printers chewing through rolls of paper to the peculiar digital whine of FT8, amateur radio has always been at the forefront of wireless digital communications. Cory explores the various facets of APRS and other non-verbal digital communications in Part 1 by looking first at the history of digital communications starting with the original binary code: CW.

Not the Sounds of Silence: Exploring the ELF and VLF Bands
By Georg Wiesalla

The many (man-made) signals and (nature) sounds in the low frequency regions can travel for thousands of kilometers all around the globe and inside the Earth-Ionosphere waveguide. Therefore, ELF and VLF emissions have been, and are still being studied for a very wide range of military and scientific purposes. They can be found in many areas of science and public life, even in some leisure pursuits including aviation, amateur radio, detection of nuclear explosions, ELF and VLF-range emissions by meteorites, geological mapping, ionospheric research, military communications, radio astronomy, seismic research and under-sea exploration and oceanography. Georg takes us on a journey into radio depths.

Buying New and Used Radio Gear
By Robert Gulley AK3Q

Buying new or used radio equipment can be a daunting task for the experienced radio enthusiast, but even more so for folks new to the hobby. As an avid radio enthusiast and amateur radio operator, Robert has owned many different types of radios and associated radio equipment. From AM/FM broadcast radios to scanners, shortwave radios to amateur gear, and very old radios, to some of the latest SDR equipment, he has purchased gear from many different sources. He has been very fortunate (and yes even lucky) in that very few purchases have been made from less-than-honest people. The few, which were bad experiences, certainly taught him some valuable lessons.

Scanning America
By Dan Veeneman
Lenoir County (NC); Missouri Dept. of Conservation

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Nevada Scanner Safari 2018

Milcom
By Larry Van Horn N5FPW
Military UHF Traffic Control Frequencies

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman
The Silent Summer: US Gets Quieter

Shortwave Utility Logs
By Hugh Stegman and Mike Chace-Ortiz

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
It’s All About Propagation

Digitally Speaking
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV
DV33

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Portable Generators: Test and Enjoy!

Radio 101
Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Monitoring HF Marine Radio During the Tropical Storm Season

Radio Propagation
By Tomas Hood NW7US
Solar Wind and Coronal Mass Ejections

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Rob Wagner VK3BVW
FT8, WSPR and the Shortwave Listener

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
Health on SW; Canada as DX; BBC Offerings

Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
Cosmic Podcasts; Books, Charts and the National Radio Quiet Zone

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
SDR: You can do it!

Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
The Rescue: Drake SPR4 Communications Receiver

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Collinear Array: Multiple Elements in a Single Piece

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].

For the Colorado 14er Event, Joyce/K0JJW and I decided to activate Mount Princeton (W0C/SR-005).  I had climbed this summit many years ago, well before Summits On The Air (SOTA) was a thing. Princeton is a majestic peak that towers over Buena Vista and the surrounding area. We see that mountain quite often when we are up at the cabin, so I kept thinking it would be great to activate it for SOTA. Despite it being a popular 14er, it had only been
activated 2 times before (now 4 times with Joyce and me).

For complete information on climbing this summit, spend some time studying the 14ers.com web site. You will see references to the Upper Trailhead and the Lower Trailhead. A 4WD road leads to the upper trailhead which is where we started our hike at 11,800 feet. The Lower (or Main) Trailhead is way down at the bottom (8900 feet) which makes for a much longer hike.  Also, you end up hiking on the road, which tends to be boring.

The Road

The 4WD road is mostly “easy 4WD” with some challenging spots inserted along the way. It was no problem to drive the road with our Jeep Wrangler. A crossover-style SUV would have trouble in spots but can probably make it with very careful wheel placement. We parked very close to the upper trailhead, just pulling off to the side of the road, but there is not much room there. There is a lot more parking near the communications towers shown on the map but you have to hike another mile or so on the road. We made sure we had a parking spot by arriving at the upper trailhead at 5:30 AM; we were the first ones there.

The trail starts out very distinct and is easy to follow. Later, the terrain turns to talus (fields of large rocks) which continues for the entire climb. In some spots, the trail fades and is difficult to follow. Even when you are “on the trail” you get to do a lot of rock hopping. There is a reason they call these the Rocky Mountains. By my GPS app, the distance was 2.1 miles (one way) with 2360 vertical feet.

Summits On The Air

For radio operating, we focused on 2m FM using the Yaesu FT-90 Transceiver with LiPo battery, putting out 30W into a 3-element Arrow yagi antenna. I did have my very first DMR SOTA contact with Terry/KE0HNW, using my Tytera MD-380 handheld on 70 cm. I also made a few calls on 446.0 MHz but never got a reply.

Here’s my log…Joyce’s is about the same but with fewer QSOs.

UTC   Band  Mode Callsign
15:38 144MHz FM KD0VHD mobile
15:40 144MHz FM KS0E Jefferson
15:42 144MHz FM KI6YMZ Maroon Peak (W0C/WE-002)
15:46 144MHz FM N0MTN Mt Sherman (W0C/SR-061)
15:47 144MHz FM K0ETT Huron Peak (W0C/SR-010)
15:48 144MHz FM WA6MM Mt Bierstadt (W0C/PR-015)
15:49 144MHz FM KN0MAP
15:50 144MHz FM KD0YOB on his way up Mt Flora
15:53 144MHz FM KE0HNW
15:54 144MHz FM KE0RMY
15:55 433MHz DV KE0HNW My first SOTA DMR contact
15:57 144MHz FM W0AJO
16:17 144MHz FM K0BLL Mount Belford (W0C/SR-006)
16:30 144MHz FM W0ASB Mount Antero (W0C/SR-003)

We worked six other mountaintop stations, all of them 14ers. I also worked a few more summits on our way down the mountain but we were outside the activation zone, so I submitted those as a chaser log.

Thanks to everyone that came out to play!

73 Bob K0NR

The post Colorado 14er Event: Mount Princeton (W0C/SR-005) 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].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2018 Aug 06 0236 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 30 July – 05 August 2018

Solar activity was very low throughout the period. Region 2717 (S08, L=027, class/area=Axx/10 on 02 Aug) was briefly the sole active region with sunspots, but was largely unproductive. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed this period.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels on 30 Jul, moderate levels on 31 Jul, and 01, 03-04 Aug. Normal levels were observed throughout the rest of the period.

Geomagnetic field activity was quiet to unsettled on 31 Jul, and 01-03 Aug, with quiet conditions observed throughout the remainder of the period, under a nominal solar wind environment.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 06 August – 01 September 2018

Solar activity is expected to be very low throughout the outlook period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 21-26 Aug. Moderate levels are expected on 06-11, 18-20, 27-31 Aug and 01 Sep. Normal levels are expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is likely to reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 20 Aug due to the influence of a negative polarity, coronal hole high-speed stream. Active conditions are expected on 07-08, 17, and 20-21 Aug due to multiple, recurrent coronal hole high-speed streams. Quiet to unsettled conditions are expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: 1. https://Twitter.com/NW7US 2. https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

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https://groups.io/g/propagation-and-space-weather

Spread the word!

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Links of interest:

+ Amazon space weather books: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC
+ https://Twitter.com/NW7US
+ https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Space Weather and Ham Radio YouTube Channel News:

I am working on launching a YouTube channel overhaul, that includes series of videos about space weather, radio signal propagation, and more.

Additionally, I am working on improving the educational efforts via the email, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and other activities.

You can help!

Please consider becoming a Patron of these space weather and radio communications services, beginning with the YouTube channel:

https://www.patreon.com/NW7US

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