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Monarch Ridge South SOTA Activation (W0C/SP-058)

9 August 2016 | by Bob KØNR | Leave a Comment (1)

For the 2016 Colorado 14er Event, I had to choose really easy SOTA summits to activate because I had fractured my ankle earlier in the summer. At this point, I was able to hobble around with a protective boot but walking more than a few hundred feet was difficult. On Saturday, we drove up Pikes Peak and took a short stroll away from the vehicle to operate. On Sunday, we decided to activate Monarch Ridge South (W0C/SP-058), using the sight-seeing tram that goes to the top.

Access is right off Monarch Pass (Hwy 50), where there is a large parking lot. There is a trail that goes to the top and we’ll be back to hike that some other time. (Actually, Joyce K0JJW and I already tried to snowshoe to the top in blizzard conditions but that is another story for another day.) The trail is a popular mountain bike route, so we saw lots of bikers in the parking lot unloading gear. Monarch Pass is oriented north/south and the trail heads off to the east (behind the tram building).

The tram boarding location is inside this building at the bottom of the tram. We purchased tickets in the nearby gift shop, which is worth a look if you need a map, book, ice cream cone or trinkets. See their website for latest schedule and pricing.

Here’s a photo of the tram going up the side of the mountain. Of course, the views are great and the ride takes about 10 minutes. The tram car holds four people and a reasonable amount of SOTA gear.

At the top, Denny KB9DPF made contacts on 2m FM, aided by expert logger Kathy KB9GVC. The actual summit is a ways to the south of the tram, maybe a tenth of a mile, but we operated from a concrete pad on the north side. The ridge is flat and we judged the activation area to be very large.

We made a total of 13 contacts on 2m and 70cm, including 5 other SOTA summits (S2S).

I used my Yaesu FT-817 on 432.100 MHz SSB, hoping to find someone in the UHF contest that is happening concurrently with the 14er event. I didn’t work anyone on 70cm SSB but I did work K3ILC in Colorado Springs on FM at a distance of ~90 miles. Not too bad. The Arrow antenna is attached to my hiking stick via the camera mount thread.

There is a substantial radio site on Monarch Ridge that did provide some RF interference to us on 2 meters. The 70 cm band seemed to be unaffected but I can’t be sure. The “bad boy” transmitter is the KMYP automated weather station (AWOS) transmitting continuously on 124.175 MHz. Well, at least we could receive current weather information. We did relocate to put some distance between us and the transmitters but my lack of mobility kept us from going too far.

If you are looking for an easy access SOTA summit near Monarch Pass with excellent views, this is it. The hike up should not be very difficult but the tram makes it even easier. If you plan to operate 2 meters, expect some interference. Next time, I’ll try locating even further away from the transmitter site. I might even bring along some bandpass filters. Other SOTA enthusiasts have reported no problems on the HF bands.

At the time of this post, there are plans to put a 2m amateur repeater at this site on 145.325 MHz.

73, Bob K0NR

The post Monarch Ridge South SOTA Activation (W0C/SP-058) 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].

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WØC/FR-030 (Chief Mountain) 3569m / 11709ft

9 August 2016 | by Jerry KDØBIK | Leave a Comment (0)

On Sunday, 7 August 2016 I completed my 9th SOTA activation. Which I realize doesn’t sound like very many considering I completed my very first SOTA activation in November of 2011. Between November 2011 and November 2012 I added seven more to the list. Then I got sick, got busy, had some personal issues and before I knew it the summer of 2016 was quickly slipping away.

For those who have followed my other blog and my podcast (Practical Amateur Radio Podcast), you are aware I started exercising and eating better to get in better shape and lose weight. While I’ve taken over 10 million steps, walked just short of 5,000 miles and climbed 22,000 floors since I started wearing my Fitbit in the summer of 2013, today was the first SOTA activation I had attempted since losing over 50 pounds. While I’m presently in a weight holding pattern, I still make every effort to complete 10,000 steps per day. This walking has kept me in pretty good shape considering where I was just a few years ago. Best I can remember, it took me over 2 hours to hike to the summit of Chief Mountain in 2013.

The trailhead of Chief Mountain is about 40 minute drive from my QTH. As Chief Mountain is extremely popular with hikers/peak baggers I wanted to get an early start. I arrived at the trailhead just after 6:30 AM. With my boots tightly laced and my pack strapped to my back, I hit the trail at 6:45 AM.

The above trail sign is approx. 1 mile from the trailhead parking area and 2 miles below the summit.

One hour and five minutes later I’m standing on the summit of Chief Mountain. The total trail length is approx. 3 miles with a total elevation gain of just under 1,000. This is a great hike and I highly recommend it.

My SOTA HF setup hasn’t changed since 2012. If it works, why mess with it? I use a Buddipole vertical setup with a single wire counterpoise. For this activation I setup for the 20 meter band. I pack enough hardware to create a full-size 1/4 wave length vertical (no coil) along with a 1/4 wave length elevated counterpoise. With band conditions being less than desirable, I believe the extra weight of the two aluminum arms (versus the coil) was worth the effort.

My Buddipole vertical setup with my SOTA flag flying proudly.

Of course, my Elecraft Kx3 (serial number 057) running 10 watts is still very much my pride and joy of my QRP setup and I power it all with my 4+ year old Buddipole A123 Nanophosphate Battery Pack (13.2v, 9.2Ah). However, I must admit I was a little worried if my A123 battery pack would still work after all this time. But I would not be disappointed. They performed just as expected.

HF Contacts (20m SSB)

In just a little over 45 minutes I worked 24 stations from across the US and Canada. Many stations were familiar from previous activations along with many new ones. New Hampshire was the furthest QSO made during this activation.

Thanks to W0MOS, AD1C, N1CC, N1KB, NE4TN, KG3W, K7ZO, VE2JCW, WG0AT, W9MRH, KI4SVM, K2JB, N9FZV, W0MNA, NS7P, VA6FUN, K3SAE, W9RCJ, KK6GMN, KB5IMK, WA9BNZ, N1RCQ, KX3DX, KD0HRM.

A quick “selfie” from my operating position.

VHF Contacts (2m FM)

I don’t always pack along the Elk 2m/440 5 element log-periodic antenna. But as this was the 25th Annual Colorado 14er and SOTA weekend, I wanted a chance to make as many summit to summit (S2S) QSO’s as possible. Again, the added weight paid off. I made an additional six VHF QSO’s with four of those being S2S QSO’s.

Thanks to KD0WHB, WB9KPT, N0BCB, KK6JQV, KC1EPN

Summit to Summit (S2S)

As an activator, we often have the opportunity to work other mountaintop stations in what are known as Summit to Summit (S2S) QSO’s. As this was the 25th annual Colorado 14er and SOTA weekend, I knew my chances of working several Colorado mountain top stations would be good. During the 90 minutes I spent on Chief Mountain I managed to work eight stations on seven different mountain tops. Including two stations out of state (California and Oregon).

All-in-all this was very much a successful SOTA activation. While the HF band conditions were not perfect, the time spent on the air from almost 12,000 ASL was certainly worth it. Anytime I take amateur radio outdoors it always ends up being about the experience and not about anything else. Just the way it should be….

Until next time…

73 de KDØBIK (Jerry)

Jerry Taylor, KD0BIK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. He is the host of the Practical Amateur Radio Podcast. Contact him at [email protected].

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