I’ve been thinking about activating Ormes Peak (W0C/FR-052) for a while now. It is not too difficult to get to and is not a difficult climb. After the Waldo Canyon fire (2012), the area was closed for several years, so I needed to be patient. Then I noticed that Don KØDRJ put an alert on SOTAwatch indicating that he was going to activate the summit, so I gave a listen on 146.52 MHz. Sure enough, around mid-morning I heard Don on the frequency and worked him without any problem from my home location.

Then I got to thinking. Joyce KØJJW and I had talked about going for a walk this afternoon, so I did a little checking on Ormes Peak and concluded that it was an option. My fractured ankle is still on the mend so I am not back to 100% of my hiking ability. Ormes seemed like a good next step that would keep me progressing.

We hopped in the Jeep and headed to Rampart Range. To get to Ormes Peak, take USFS road 300 from the north (which is what we did, via Mount Herman Road) or from the south via Garden of the Gods. You’ll want to have a Pike National Forest map for this trip.

Turn East onto USFS road 303 and then follow USFS 302 (these roads are easy 4WD, probably OK for high clearance 2WD). These roads go through the Waldo burn area so you see what a burned forest looks like. Ormes Peak was not directly affected by the fire but we did see a few burned trees on the mountain. According to the Summit Post info, the best approach is from the south but we continued on around to the east and parked at the marked parking area here: 38.948680 deg N, 104.929677 deg W. From there, we bushwacked westward up the side of the hill without too much trouble (about half a mile and 600 feet vertical).

Once on top, I started calling on 146.52 MHz using the FT-1D handheld transceiver. I assembled my 2m yagi antenna hoping to work Brad WA6MM headed up Mt Antero but I found out later he did not summit. We had excellent visibility in all directions: great view of Pikes Peak to the south, Mt Yale and a sliver of Mt Princeton to the west and Mt Evans to the northwest. This really is a great spot to just sit and enjoy the view.

After making 7 contacts on 2m fm, we packed up the gear and headed down the mountain. Ormes Peak is a good “close in” summit accessible from Colorado Springs area.

73, Bob KØNR

The post SOTA Activation: Ormes Peak (W0C/FR-052) 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].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s features are interviews with Experienced Amateur Radio DX’er and Practical Wireless Editor Don Field G3XTT and Connie Ballantyne KB0ZSG, who runs a successful DSTAR net.

• GeoSync Ham Radio Satellite
• Ham Track Unauthorised Radio Comms
• Battleship Radio Exam Location
• Media to Give Ham Fairness?
• Ofcom 5 GHz Consultation Responses
• 60m for Luxembourg

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ed Durrant DD5LP to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s features are interviews with Experienced Amateur Radio DX’er and Practical Wireless Editor Don Field G3XTT and Connie Ballantyne KB0ZSG, who runs a successful DSTAR net.

• GeoSync Ham Radio Satellite
• Ham Track Unauthorised Radio Comms
• Battleship Radio Exam Location
• Media to Give Ham Fairness?
• Ofcom 5 GHz Consultation Responses
• 60m for Luxembourg

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. 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.

Once again the 630m band will become a cacophony of CW and other sounds on Saturday night, November 12th! The actual motivation for the weekend event is a celebration of the November, 1906, Berlin Treaty ... making 500 kHz the International Distress Frequency for the next eighty years. It's also a great excuse for a lot of 630m diehards to get on the air and celebrate the band.






Three different groups will participate:

    U.S. Experimental Operators
    Canadian Amateurs
    Maritime Radio Historical Society

U.S. Part-5 Experimental Operators including WD2XSH stations and others will operate in the 472 – 479 kHz band. They will use CW transmissions for QSOs and beacons with special messages. There may also be some operation on 500 kHz itself.

Canadian Amateurs will be concentrating their efforts on providing two-way cross-band CW QSO's with other amateurs in the U.S.A. and Canada. They will be transmitting on specified frequencies (see below) and listening for replies to their 'CQ' on specified QSX frequencies within the 160, 80 and 40m CW bands.

The Maritime Radio Historical Society will activate its KSM/KPH transmitter at Bolinas, CA for a mini “Night of Nights” with special messages and bulletins.

Listeners are encouraged to send their reception reports to individual stations or via the LF/MF ON4KST chat page which should be very active during the event. Most experimental calls can be found via QRZ.com listings.

All amateurs are encouraged to participate in the cross-band activity by being able to listen on 630m but being able to answer on one of the specified HF bands.

So far this fall, propagation on the 630m band has been excellent and hopefully will continue well into November. Previous cross-band events have seen contacts made from coast-to-coast as well as west to Hawaii.

VE3OT QSL and coverage from previous crossband event

Confirmed Canadian stations include:

Station:  VA7MM (Mark) CN89 Coquitlam, B.C.
Time: 0400Z – 0800Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 475.0 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 1801 kHz / 3574 kHz / 7062 kHz

Station: VE7BDQ (John) CN89 Delta, B.C. November 2016
Time: 0300Z – 0700Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 474.0 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 3555 kHz

Station: VE7CNF (Toby) CN89 Burnaby, B.C.
Time: 0300Z – 0800Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 476.5 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 1836 kHz / 3558 kHz / 7031 kHz

Station: VE7SL (Steve) CN88 Mayne Island, B.C.
Time: 0200Z – 0700Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 473.0 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 3566 / 7066 kHz

Station: VE7CA (Markus) CN89 North Vancouver, B.C.
Time: 0200Z – 0700Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 477.5.0 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 1820 / 3550 / 7048 kHz

Station: VO1NA (Joe) GN37 Torbay, Newfoundland
Time: 2130Z – 0130Z (Saturday night Nov 12 Z – Sunday Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 477.7 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 3562 kHz

Station: VE3OT (Mitch) EN92 London, ON.
Time: 0000Z – 0400Z (Saturday night Nov 13 Z)
TX Frequency: 477.0 kHz
RX (QSX) Frequency: 3563 kHz / 7058 kHz

Several US Experimental stations also will be in operation throughout the band, in two-way QSO mode with each other, using CW or JT9. Some stations will also use WSPR and QRSS CW beacon modes.

The success of this event largely depends upon the participation of as many amateurs as possible.

Hopefully you will be able to participate in the two-way cross-band activity by being able to listen on 630m and then able to switch over to HF to transmit. This could involve the use of a separate receiver / transmitter or can often be easily implemented via your transceiver's 'A/B' switch.

No antenna for receiving on 630m? Don't let that stop you from taking part in the fun. Surprisingly good results can often be had by using a low band wire antenna such as a dipole or inverted-L for listening on 630m ... the antenna does not necessarily need to be resonant. In fact, often times, a non-resonant receiving antenna can provide a better overall S/N ratio than one which is resonant, as these often gather more noise along with signals.

You may want to experiment before hand by listening to many of the numerous U.S. experimental stations operating nightly, mostly in the WSPR mode, between 475.6 and 475.8kHz. Most operators provide a CW identifier following their WSPR transmission but a better way to decode these signals is by installing the latest WSPR software, WSJT-X (freeware), at K1JT's website here. The software works extremely well and is easy to install and get working. If you set the software to 'upload spots', you can share your nightly catches with dozens of other listeners throughout the continent on the WSPRnet website.

courtesy: KB5NJD's 630m Daily Blog

I'll be sending out a few more reminders as the 630m activity night gets closer but please mark your calendars and make a date to participate, by either sending in your 'heard' reports or by getting on-the-air and working some of the Canadian cross-banders.


If you have further questions, please contact myself or John Langridge, KB5NJD / WG2XIQ.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I received my November QST and as I flipping through it I came across page 82 regarding online ARRL contest uploading. This caught my interest and as I read it became crystal clear that this was a very cool newly released feature. Don't take my word for it instead take your November QST and flip to page 82 and check it out......for those of you who are not ARRL member and do not get QST......GET IT!!! Just kidding.....in a nut shell ARRL has a website  were if you participate in an ARRL contest you can upload your score and it's very slick. You are asked for your email, the ARRL contest just finished, your power, if you used spotting assistance and finally how many operated under your call. Then you add your log file which all contest software can produce. You submit it and that's it.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

I received my November QST and as I flipping through it I came across page 82 regarding online ARRL contest uploading. This caught my interest and as I read it became crystal clear that this was a very cool newly released feature. Don't take my word for it instead take your November QST and flip to page 82 and check it out......for those of you who are not ARRL member and do not get QST......GET IT!!! Just kidding.....in a nut shell ARRL has a website  were if you participate in an ARRL contest you can upload your score and it's very slick. You are asked for your email, the ARRL contest just finished, your power, if you used spotting assistance and finally how many operated under your call. Then you add your log file which all contest software can produce. You submit it and that's it.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].