Visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks is a favorite trip for us. It is a 9-hour drive to get there from Colorado, so we can make it in a day.  In September, we visited these two parks with a blend of activities in mind: RV camping, hiking, viewing wildlife and ham radio. The ham radio part means Summits On The Air (SOTA) and Parks On The Air (POTA).

Our trip started from Monument, CO, followed by a stop at our cabin near Trout Creek Pass. Heading north, we spent one night at Steamboat Lake State Park (Colorado), which broke up the road trip into smaller sections.

Grand Teton NP

Grand Teton NP listed 27 activations for POTA (POTA K-0031) which is really not that many activations for such a well-known national park. The park and the surrounding national forests have many SOTA summits available, some quite difficult to climb (such as 13,770 foot Grand Teton).   We camped two nights at Colter Bay RV Park, inside the park. This is a decent RV-style campground with full hookups and campsites packed in a bit tight.

Our usual POTA station is the Yaesu FT-991 driving a single-band end-fed halfwave (usually 40m, 20m or 17m) supported by a fishing pole and powered by a 20 Ah Bioenno battery. Joyce/K0JJW likes to use a paper log but I usually log my contacts with HAMRS, either on my notebook PC or an iPad. HAMRS is a relatively new logging program that runs on most operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android, etc.) It is tuned for portable operating, with templates for SOTA and POTA. Check it out, if you haven’t tried it.

One unfortunate surprise while operating from the campsite was a ton of RFI coming from the electronic devices in use by the herd of RVs. The noise floor on 20m was S5— not so good.  It seems that today’s RV enthusiast brings along complete wireless network support with internet access points, WiFi routers, and their associated Part 15 emissions. Oh, well.

After setting up on 20m SSB, K0JJW and I both completed 10 QSOs with some difficulty. We were clearly being heard but we had trouble digging signals out of the noise.

Next up was a VHF SOTA activation on Signal Mountain (W7Y/TT-161). This is an easy-to-access drive-up summit with a great view, highly recommended with or without a SOTA activation. We debated on whether to use HF for SOTA on this trip. Normally, we’ve stuck to VHF/UHF on SOTA summits, as part of the Height-Above-Average-Terrain experience. However, knowing that Northwest Wyoming is a bit sparse for VHF activity, we could easily get skunked on a SOTA activation (less than 4 QSOs). Despite that, we opted to stick with VHF for SOTA and focus on a successful activation (1 QSO or more), with or without the SOTA points. On Signal Mountain, we worked two stations on 2m FM, including Steven/KB7ITU in Rexburg, ID, about 60 miles away. (Hey, we worked another state on VHF!)

Speaking of VHF, we used our dualband mobile (IC-2730A) to listen to the national park repeaters while we travelled through the park. Our dual-receive radio always has 146.52 MHz on one side and “something else” on the other side. When inside large national parks, we’ll set the second receiver to a national park frequency. These are generally conventional FM in the 162 to 173 MHz range. I won’t list the Teton and Yellowstone frequencies here but you can find them with a little searching on the interwebz. For example, see wiki.radioreference.com for Yellowstone NP frequencies.

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone ( POTA K-0070 ) had only 22 POTA activations, not that many considering it is the nation’s first national park. It also has quite a number of SOTA summits of varying difficulty.

We camped two nights at Grant Village campground, a basic national park campground. The campground had no hookups but the campsites are well spaced with many trees and flush toilets. (The only problem we had was when the park service booked another group of campers onto our campsite one night.)

During a previous visit to Yellowstone, we activated Lake Butte (W7Y/PA-219). On this trip, we had our eye on Mount Washburn (W7Y/PA-163), a well-known 10k summit and popular hike, but the road that provides access to it was closed for the summer due to construction. (OK, maybe next time.)

Instead, we decided to try an unnamed summit 8770 (W7Y/TT-139) that was relatively easy to access but had not been activated for SOTA. We found some trip reports that said there is a nice trail to the summit and the only complaint was that the summit does not have a view due to the many trees.  We parked at the Divide Trailhead, about 12 miles west of Grant Village. The trail is 1.8 miles in length (one way) with 700 feet of elevation gain. So not too difficult but a real hike.  The summit is broad and sure enough with lots of trees, so no view. Practice normal bear precautions on this trail.

Again, we opted for VHF SOTA, knowing that we might not get enough radio contacts for points…but we only needed one contact to qualify as the first activation. We worked two mobile stations passing through the park on 146.52 MHz. Yes, it is good to always be monitoring the calling frequency. You never know who is going to show up.

For POTA, we noted that the Continental Divide Trail National Scenic Trail (K-4558) passes through Yellowstone NP, which would allow for a double activation.  The CDT has always been special to me as it passes through Colorado and provides some of the most scenic hiking in the state. It only had 15 activations listed at that time, two of those were ours from when we activated it a month earlier, in Colorado. We choose the Old Faithful area as a good place to activate Yellowstone NP ( K-0070) and the CDT. We set up near the edge of the parking lot, away from the crowds. Again it was the FT-991 driving the endfed halfwave on 20m SSB. It was midday, so we expected good 20m propagation (and a nice pileup for Yellowstone) but the band was not cooperating. We both made at least 10 QSOs for a successful activation, so we count that as a win, but the pileup never happened.

Besides the radio operating, we had a good time touring through the park and looking for wildlife. We saw tons of buffalo, not quite so many elk and deer, but no bears or wolves. We have had better wildlife viewing on previous trips but it was still fun.

Heading South

Then it was time to start home, heading south out of Yellowstone back through Grand Teton. Of course, we were monitoring 146.52 MHz, when we heard Lorene/KG6MWQ  on unnamed summit 7586 (W7Y/TT-164). She was on the summit with AE6NH, operating both HF and VHF. It was great to catch a VHF activator in Yellowstone. This was the first activation for TT-164, so congratulations to both of them.

We decided to make a stop at the Colter Village area on the way through Grand Teton NP. Our first priority was to use the shower facilities there. Our second priority was doing another POTA activation.

This time we set up in a large parking lot, away from anything that might produce RFI. Again, it was 20m SSB using the halfwave antenna supported by a fishing pole. We sat near the RV on our camp chairs and table. Our typical configuration is to have two sets of headphones so both of us can copy well. We just use the standard handheld microphone which is easily passed between us when we change operators.

Later in the day, we exited the park and headed south through Jackson, WY. We stayed overnight at a farm near Afton, WY which is surrounded by Bridger-Teton National Forest (K-4535). Of course, we needed to do one more POTA activation. We searched around for a usable spot to park and then fired up on 20m SSB. Propagation was OK but not great but we got it done.

The next day, we were up and going early, driving the rest of the way home to Monument. It was a wonderful road trip that blended sightseeing, hiking, camping, and ham radio. Let’s go do it again!

73 Bob K0NR

The post Yellowstone and Grand Teton: SOTA and POTA appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

We had a great time going after the W0C 10-10-10 SOTA Challenge. (See 2021 Colorado SOTA and 14er Event ) For activators, the objective was to activate 10 summits higher than 10k feet in 10 days. It turned out that some previous commitments would not allow us to do 10 days of activating, so we smushed 10 summits into 6 days. With careful choice of summits and doing multiple summits in a day, we put together a plan.

Saturday and Sunday started off with the Colorado 14er Event, so we opted to do Pikes Peak on Saturday and Mount Evans on Sunday. These are both drive-up summits, so not a lot of hiking. As previously reported, we had some good luck with 1.2 GHz from those summits. Then, on Monday we hiked Puma Peak and Little Puma, two 11k summits in South Park. On Tuesday, we did three summits on one day: Dicks Peak, 10090 and 10715. These three hikes were not particularly difficult but doing all three made for a full day.

On Wednesday, we took the Jeep up to Mosquito Pass and hiked two 13ers: Mosquito Peak and London Mountain. We had previously activated those two summits in 2018. Finally, on Thursday, we did our tenth summit with Walt/W0CP and Jerry/K0ES, one of our favorites: South Monarch Ridge. Walt and Jerry worked the HF bands while we did VHF/UHF. That was a slacker day, because we rode the tram up from Monarch Pass.

The weather was consistently fantastic, with no thunderstorms in sight. The smoke from western wildfires was thick at times and can be seen in some of the photos.

The Bands

As usual, we operated above 50 MHz, focusing on 2m, 70cm and 23cm FM operation. Most of the contacts were on 2m FM but we had significant activity on the other bands. The 1.2 GHz work was really fun: Using 1.2 GHz in the Colorado 14er Event. I made 162 contacts and Joyce made 94, for a total of 256 for the week. Not bad!

Thanks to all of our chasers and fellow activators:  AC0FT, AC0FY, AC0V, AD1CT, K0AVU, K0BEJ, K0EHR, K0ES, K0FYR, K0GPA, K0GPA, K0MGL, K0MOS, K0REW, K0SJP, K0TRD, K1DDN, K5RHD, K6TUY, K7ASB, KA4EPS, KB0KQI, KB6VHF, KC0PBR, KC3BHI, KC5CW, KD0MRC, KD0VHD, KD0YOB, KD8EQA, KE0BTX, KF0DGK, KF0FOG, KG5APL, KJ4DER, KL7GLK,
KL7IZW, KM4PEH, KM5TY, KN0MAP, KX0R, KX3DX, N0DET, N0EMU, N0IPA, N0IVN, N0KM, N1SMB, N1XCO, N8XBD, W0ADV,
W0BV, W0CP, W0JSL, W0OOD, W0RW, W1KGH, W3REM, W5IG, W6AUN, W7UM, WA0KXO, WB0JNS, WB0TNH, WZ0N

Challenge Results

The results for the W0C 10-10-10 Challenge have been posted, for both activators and chasers. Here are the Activator results:

Six activators met the challenge of doing at least 10 summits during the event. That was our goal…not pursuing the top of the list but we did want to get 10 summits done. I am fifth on the list and K0JJW came in at sixth. We had the same number of SOTA points because we did the same summits. I had more QSOs though.

It was a fun event and we were happy to be able to activate 10 summits. Fortunately, the weather was good, otherwise we might have gotten rained out on the longer days.

73 Bob K0NR

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Last weekend we held the Colorado 14er Event (Aug 7 and 8), the annual mountaintop event in Colorado. A group of us used this weekend as an opportunity to make 1.2 GHz (23 cm) Summits On The Air (SOTA) contacts: K0NR, K0JJW, KM4PEH, K5RHD, W0ADV, KL7IZW, W0RW, KC5RW, and K0BEJ.

Many of the 1.2 GHz operators used the Alinco  DJ-G7T triband handheld transceiver. This radio covers the 2m, 70cm and 23cm bands. The RF output on 23 cm is only 1 watt but it is the lowest-cost way of getting a signal on that band.

Pikes to Uncompahgre

On Saturday, Joyce/K0JJW and I were on Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) and worked Randy/K5RHD on Mount Evans (W0C/FR-003) at a distance of 97 km (60 miles). Signals were strong and we had no problem making those contacts.

We also worked David/W0ADV on Uncompahgre Peak (W0C/RG-001) at a distance of 227 km (141 miles). David used the Alinco HT driving a 16-element Comet Yagi. We had a bit more power (10 watts) from our Kenwood TM-541A transceiver, also driving a Comet Yagi antenna.  Signals were strong in both directions and these QSOs were a new personal best for both Joyce and me on 1.2 GHz.

Evans to Sunshine

On Sunday, we moved to Mount Evans and Randy/K5RHD activated Pikes Peak. We worked Randy on that peak, the reverse of the QSO on the previous day. Meanwhile, David/W0ADV was climbing two 14ers in the San Juan Mountains: Redcloud Peak (W0C/RG-002) and Sunshine Peak (W0C/RG-004). These two summits are close to each other, separated by a saddle, so it is common to climb them as a pair.

David’s route had him climbing Redcloud first and then continuing on to Sunshine, then returning to Redcloud on the way back down. We worked him on Sunshine and on the return trip over Redcloud, as he headed back to the trailhead.

We had trouble hearing David on Sunshine Peak but his signal was just strong enough that we could complete the contact. His signal was stronger from Redcloud, a surprise because the two summits are close in elevation. I expected them to be about the same in terms of signal path and strength. David reported that there was a ridge to the northeast of Sunshine that might be blocking the signal, but it was not in the way for Redcloud.

So these contacts with Sunshine Peak set a new personal best for both Joyce and me on 1.2 GHz (244 km, 152.6 miles). David clearly did the hard work, summiting two 14ers in a day. (We were on a drive-up mountain with a short hike.) Thanks, David/W0ADV!

I was very pleased with the results from the 14er weekend. Now I am wondering what’s next for us concerning 1.2 GHz. We can probably make radio contacts further out but it is going to depend on the topography of the path. We will have to do some investigation on additional summits to try.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Using 1.2 GHz in the Colorado 14er Event appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

The Summits On The Air (SOTA) program originated in the United Kingdom but has propagated to most countries around the world. The program came to Colorado on May 1st, 2010 with Steve/WGØAT sending a CQ from Mount Herman, just west of Monument. Today, the SOTA program in Colorado (called WØC-SOTA) is very active with roughly 180 activators that operate from Colorado summits.

To celebrate our 10th Anniversary, WØC-SOTA is organizing a 10-10-10 Event with a challenge for Activators and Chasers alike. (Activators operate from summits, Chasers try to contact them.)

Activator challenge: Activate 10 (or more) 10K feet (or higher) summits (in Colorado/WØC) within 10 days.

Chaser challenge: Chase Activators on 10 different (or more) qualifying WØC summits (10K or higher) within the 10 days.

Event Date: We will kick-off the event in conjunction with the Colorado 14er event on August 7th, 2021 and conclude on August 16th.

Everybody is invited to participate, either as an Activator or a Chaser. Block off these days in your calendar now and start planning for how you can participate. Feel free to operate as much or as little as you would like. It is all about having fun messing around with radios. Any HF, VHF or UHF band can be used for making SOTA contacts, with the most popular ones being 40m (CW & SSB), 20m (CW & SSB) and 2m (FM).

Note that the recommended 2m FM frequencies for the 14er event have changed to:

146.580 FM   North America Adventure Frequency
146.550 FM    Simplex Alternate
146.490 FM    Simplex Alternate
146.520 FM    National 2m FM Calling Frequency
(as needed, please don’t hog the calling frequency)

There will be a leaderboard on the W0C-SOTA website showing all participants who meet one of the challenges. More details will be announced on the WØC-SOTA Website as soon as they are hashed out.

For more information on the SOTA program in general, see the worldwide SOTA website.

Full Disclosure: May 1 is actually the 11th Anniversary, but the COVID-19 Pandemic interfered in 2020, so we are catching up.

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Lately, for the ARRL January VHF contest, I try to find a SOTA summit to activate. Operating time is usually just a few hours, so it does not make for a big score. The main advantage is for VHF SOTA (Summits On The Air) because there is a lot more activity on 2m CW and SSB. This year, I wanted to go for the mountaintop trifecta of SOTA, POTA (Parks On The Air) and VHF contest in one activation.

Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107) emerged as the activation summit because it is not too far from our cabin and accessible in the winter. (This time of year, the roads to many of our favorite summits are blocked.) For POTA, it is located in the Pike National Forest (K-4404). Because it is a short hike, I concluded that I could carry the Yaesu FT-911 and the 20 Ah Bionno battery. This would cover all the bands, give us more RF punch and still have plenty of battery capacity.

I carried quite a collection of antennas which gave us plenty of operating choices. We started out on 2m and 70 cm FM, working mostly local stations. This quickly got us enough contacts for SOTA and POTA points. We used a rollup J-pole for 2 meters and 70 cm, until it became intermittent and the SWR went wild. Then we switched to the Arrow 3-element Yagi for 2 meters.

About that time, I decided to see what was happening on 2m SSB. There were a number of contest stations on the air, mostly from the front range cities (Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, …). I worked a bunch of them using 50 watts from the FT-991 to the 2m Yagi antenna (horizontally polarized).

Suddenly, I was surprised to hear N0LL from Kansas calling me. I’ve worked Larry before from Colorado but it usually was from a really good location such as Mt Herman or Pikes Peak. Even then, we often had to switch to CW to complete the contact. Today he was louder than many of the Denver stations. We easily worked on SSB, which turned out to be a new personal best DX for me from a SOTA summit (372 miles).

After things slowed down on 2m SSB, I decided to make some HF contacts. The North American QSO Party (SSB) was active, so I decided to set up for 20m and see who I could work. Running 100 watts to an endfed halfwave kept me competitive with the contest stations. Then I moved up to 17m SSB and worked non-contest POTA and SOTA chasers.

We both accomplished the three-in-one mountaintop activation for SOTA, POTA, and the VHF contest. I also worked the NA QSO Party, so that makes it four-in-one, but who is counting?  The January weather cooperated with us with almost no wind on the summit, about 28 degrees F. We sat there in the sunshine and just enjoyed the view before hiking back down.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Radio Fun on Threemile Mountain (W0C/SP-107) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Charlie/NJ7V invited Joyce/K0JJW and me to be on the All Portable Discussion Zone, on the Red Summit RF YouTube channel. We talked mostly about Summits On The AIr (SOTA) using VHF/UHF. It was a fun experience for both of us.

The post K0JJW and K0NR Interview on Red Summit RF appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

For Summits On The Air activations, I have been exclusively using the VHF/UHF spectrum. I like the HF bands but for SOTA, I just think that Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) of a summit is an ideal match for frequencies above 50 MHz.  See Summits On The Air VHF Mountain Goat.

After much nagging peer pressure encouragement from my fellow W0C SOTA activators, I decided to give HF a try. (The solar index had markedly increased in the past week, so the timing seemed right.) I chose an easy summit to hike (Threemile Mountain), so I could just focus on the radio operating.  Plus, Joyce/K0JJW and I were carrying a bit more radio gear, the usual VHF station plus my Yaesu FT-817 for the HF bands. For HF antennas, I dug two single-band EndFedz halfwave antennas for 20m and 15m out of the basement.

We quickly made four contacts on 2m FM and then set up the HF station. I used a telescoping fishing pole as the antenna support, strapped to a conveniently-located pine tree. The halfwave antennas were mostly horizontal and not that far off the ground (maybe 15 feet at the highest point).

A quick check of the SWR using the internal FT-817 meter showed that the transmitter was happy. Then, I called Bob/W0BV on 14.346 MHz to see if I was radiating anything. I was not real strong at his location but we made the contact. As soon as he spotted me on SOTAwatch, I had a nice pileup of stations calling. In the meantime, Joyce kept working stations on 2m FM.

I quickly made 12 QSOs on 20m, including F4WBN in France (best DX for the day). Before I left 20m, Bob/W0BV met me on 14.061 for a CW contact. Just because. Then, I took the 20m antenna down and hoisted the 15m halfwave, the same configuration but a bit shorter in length. The 15m band was not quite as good and had more fading but I made 7 QSOs there.

I was very pleased with the results, especially being able to use the 15 meters, my favorite HF band.  I could have brought along additional antennas to try 17m, 12m and 10m, but there’s always next time. I had a great time working the SOTA chasers on HF, so I will surely do it again.

73 Bob K0NR

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