Today I climbed and activated Mt Torbreck with Peter VK3ZPF. This capped off another great SOTA weekend where I passed 100 activator points and also the halfway mark to achieving Shack Sloth status.

Mt Torbreck  VK3/VN-001

Activated 30th June 2013

Day was breaking as I drove the Black Spur with only a few foggy patches along the way. I met up with Peter at Snobs Creek at our scheduled 8.00am meeting time and we set off to our parking spot at the intersection of Barnewall Plains Road. and Con Gap Road. By this stage, any fog was lifting rapidly as perfect mild midwinter conditions greeted us. We were well prepared for much harsher weather but we couldn't have had it any better. It is an easy walk up to the picnic area at the start of the walking track to the summit. There has been recent work done to clear the blackberry infestation on the lower parts of the walking track and it was a pleasant walk to the top, with some great views and a little bit of rock hopping along the way.

A prominent rock cairn marks the summit with an old battered trig point nearby. Plenty of rocks to sit on and use as a radio bench with a few stunted trees for limited shade but not high enough to string an effective dipole from. We were very fortunate to have a perfectly clear day to take in the views around us and although it was cool, we were not cold and I enjoyed the activation with the sun on my back. Being a 10 point activation with 3 bonus points for the season, neither of us wanted to rush this activation.

Peter erected his squid pole and propped himself against a rock and started working the higher HF bands with his FT-817. I climbed the cairn and erected my HF vertical antenna on top of it, draping the counterpoise wires around the edge and finding a relatively comfortable rock seat and radio bench nearby.

I fired up on 40 metres at 0024 UTC and my first contact was with Andrew VK1NAM on VK1/AC-039 followed moments later by Al VK1RX on VK1/AC-027. All up I logged 29 contacts with the last three being S2S contacts with Allen VK3HRA and Peter VK3PF both on VK3/VT-010 and Brian VK3MCD on VK3/VE-073.

After almost two hours on the summit, we packed up but before descending, we found a few small clumps of hardened snow and built a rather lumpy and distressed looking pint-sized snowman. Hopefully on any future summits with better snow, we can improve our snowman crafting skills.







Thanks to the chasers who found us today and Peter for his company and helping make this a most enjoyable activation.

Another three summits activated today, all of them easy to get to by car with minimal pre-planning and without too much strenuous hiking or bush bashing. All three had communications towers on the peaks and therefore well formed tracks so navigating to the activation zones was easy. It was simply a case of strolling along and enjoying some of the views.

The weather was better than I had hoped for. I drove through a few fog patches between Ringwood and Healesville but it was an otherwise clear day. As the sun was rising, it confirmed that it was the ideal winter day for a little summit hopping.

It was great to hear the number of stations that were running QRP this weekend and proving to themselves that running high power is not normally needed to be heard on a summit. Although by no means mandatory, I believe that running low power makes better operators of all of us.

  Mt St Leonard VK3/VC-006

Activated 15th June 2013

There is no missing the turn off to Mt St Leonard as you drive north along picturesque Myers Creek Road from Healesville. Mt St Leonard Road was quite slushy and slippery in parts with the recent heavy rains however it should be passable in any 2WD car through winter with care. I parked the car at the locked gate and hiked easily to the top, surveyed the summit, crowded with communications towers and infrastructure, looking for a place to set up my HF vertical antenna. I climbed the public viewing platform and decided to set up on the platform itself, guessing that the receiver of the FT-817 was going to get clobbered by high levels of RF noise and this indeed turned out to be the case.

I erected the antenna in a corner of the platform, hung the counterpoise wires over the edge and around the sides and set up the radio on the circular table provided for a very comfortable activation. The only things missing were a bar stool and a waitress to take my cappuccino order.

I tuned up on 40 metres with predicted S8 noise and decided to keep the activation short and sweet. My first contact at 2246z was Ron VK3MJR shortly followed by Allen VK3HRA mobile in Healesville, heading for Mt Ritchie. It was easy to make the minimum quota and I logged a total of only six contacts, the last being Tony VK3CAT on 146.500 with the HT.

  Mt Despair VK3/VN-013

I arrived at the locked gate to Mt Despair in good time for the longest return walk of the day. The climb is about 4km but is not steep. Once again there is communications infrastructure at the top and plenty of operating spots to choose from. I chose a spot on the western side of the tower with a couple of rocks to rest the gear and the backside. A trail bike rider arrived as I was setting up and was curious to check out what I was doing.




I was on air at 0140z without any of the RF noise I put up with on Mt St Leonard and made my first contact with Glenn VK3YY/p now set up Mt St Leonard. I bagged a few other S2S contacts with Ray VK3YAR/p on VK3/VN-023, Allen VK3HRA/p and Peter VK3ZPF/p both feeling the chill on Mt Ritchie. I was sitting in the sunshine whilst conditions that they were putting up with on Mt Ritchie sounded identical to what I endured when there recently. I logged a total of 15 contacts in 20 minutes of air time and then packed up to head for Mt Gordon, my last summit of the day.

Mt Gordon VK3/VN-027

Access to Mt Gordon is easy. A well maintained gravel road will take you almost to the summit however for a little excersise there is a widening on the track about half way up which is a good spot to park the car. Enjoy the views to the east and over your shoulder to the southeast as you stroll up. Walk up past the gate the last little bit and take in the view north towards Buxton Peak and Sugarloaf Peak.

I found a couple of rocks to set up on the eastern edge of the clearing by the communications tower as a few grey clouds were building from the east. These clouds were dumping showers and I felt a couple of spots of rain. I didn't mess around and quickly worked my first contact S2S with Ron VK3AFW/p on VK3/VW-009 and 15 other contacts in 15 minutes before packing up and almost jogging all the way back to the car. Surprisingly I missed the rain with only a few spots on the windscreen as I drove home.

This summit completes a frenzy of activations I have done in the past couple of months. I now stand at 99 activator points. What an interesting and satisfying way to have fun with radios and appreciate nature. This SOTA activity is highly addictive.

Next weekend I can't make a summit due to other commitments but may be able to work some of you portable from close to home.

73 for now.

Another busy and enjoyable SOTA day. Being a long weekend with a reasonable weather forecast meant there was the promise of much activity and I wasn't disappointed. Across all 3 summits today, I logged a total of 59 contacts for the day, 10 of which were S2S.

  Mt Dom Dom VK3/VN-017

  Activated 8 & 9th June 2013

I arrived at Mt Dom Dom ahead of schedule when dawn was breaking with thick fog sitting in the valley where I parked. I took note of VK3KAN Rik's notes on access to the summit but had some difficulty following the track mentioned. Not to worry. As I increased altitude I got above the fog and it was not too difficult to pick a haphazard path, getting around various piles of timber and chest high regrowth left by recent logging operations. Quite a thick frost had settled overnight which crunched under foot and also made some of the fallen timber very slippery to negotiate. I eventually settled in a pleasant spot with a good view to the southwest.

Allen VK3HRA was also in the area today and went to activate Mt Mitchell first. We communicated from car to car on 2 metres and could both reach each other with our HTs when on our summits. I set up the HF vertical antenna and fired up the FT-817 first getting on the air at 2254z. I had a good run of contacts until Allen came up about half an hour later and we tag-teamed on the same frequency until the UTC roll over. I made another 9 contacts before packing things up and heading off to Mt Mitchell.

Mt Mitchell VK3/VN-012

caught up with Allen down on the lower roads from Mt Mitchell and we stopped and compared notes on a few summits and I received the most up to date information on the road conditions ahead which included two fallen trees that I was able to drive over. From where I parked the car, it was a fairly easy walk to the summit with a little bush bashing to a flat outcrop of granite surrounded by a number of stunted dead trees that were suitable for stringing up the doublet. This time when I fired up on 40 metres, my signal reports were much better. The 26 contacts included another S2S with Allen who had moved to Mt St Leonard and other S2S contacts with Wayne VK3WAM, Darren VK3FDJT, and Ian VK1DI/3 visiting Victoria and activating Huon Hill on the outskirts of Wodonga.

Buxton Peak VK3/VN-021

With 2 summits under my belt in reasonable time I decided to check out Buxton Peak in passing. I was wondering if I should head off and get Mt Gordon instead for a couple of points more but as Buxton Peak has never been activated, I thought I would have the honour of being the first if possible.

This summit is on private property as I discovered when I drove around to the most likely access point. I was rather fortunate that the land owner was clearing undergrowth between the fence line and the road so I stopped and asked him if there was public access to the summit. When I explained what SOTA was about, he was happy to grant me his blessing, pleased that I was a harmless radio geek and not a hunter with a cache of firearms.

A fire track takes you to the summit rising steadily before hooking south and leveling off for most of the last section. Ferns and undergrowth start to crowd the track in the final section and the last 80 metres or so involves a little bush bashing but nothing too extreme. This is a pretty little summit. It looks rather enchanting from South Cathedral Lane as you approach by car. On top I had good views of nearby Sugarloaf Peak to the north, Mt Mitchell to the west and could see well towards Melbourne and the southwest.

I decided to take the HT only and leave the rest of the gear behind in the car to make the climb faster, relatively confident that I should be able to get the four minimum contacts on 2 metres to qualify. It was a good thing I took the spare battery too. I had used the HT a fair bit already and it had been on standby most of the day.

It took several minutes of calling to get my first contact, Glenn VK3BAC who was also on a HT not far from Yea. Several more calls without luck and I was starting to wish I'd lugged the rest of my gear up the summit. I then jumped on the REC repeater to stir up some action. Richard VK3TXD was there and tried me on simplex without luck. He told me to hang about as he quickly set up his 5 element yagi and pointed it at me with 5 watts for an easy contact. He then tried to rally the troops for me via the repeater but when this didn't seem to work, he signed up on sotawatch and placed his first spot for me. Shortly after, the calls came, another five contacts in ten minutes. Richard's help in the background really was the key to this successful activation and as a result, I think he is also keen to now activate a few summits himself.

Appropriately, my last contact for the day was Allen once more for a final S2S, this time on Mt Toolebewong.

  Mt Ritchie   VK3/VC-003

Activated 2nd June 2013

I was hoping for better weather today but unfortunately that was not to be. I arrived at the access point to the summit at a hairpin bend on Acheron Way, a locked gate identified as Track 15 next to the Acheron River. As I arrived it started to drizzle then rain. I sat in the car for a while hoping for this to clear and when I had a break, I began my ascent. Track 15 rises steadily, getting quite steep in parts and eventually comes to a wide cleared junction with Track 10. Turn left and head North along Track 10 which continues to rise steadily to the summit almost 5 kilometres away. The summit easy to find where Track 10 runs into Track 1 and is mainly cleared with well spaced mature trees.

The drizzle and rain continued most of the way up and at times low cloud blew across the track making conditions a little unpleasant and adding to the sense of remoteness. I was concerned about how I was going to activate the summit once I arrived. I didn't want to get all the gear out and spend time in the rain setting up and pulling down antennas so I decided to make all contacts on 2 metres just using the HT and resorting to the FT-817 and vertical HF antenna as a last resort if I could not score the minimum four required contacts.

On the way to the summit I was listening to the WIA broadcast on the VK3REC repeater and I radioed in after the callback to notify the listening group of the summit activation. I then switched frequency to 146.500 and the incoming calls began almost immediately. The only problem was that not all of them could hear me. Ron VK3AFW came up first and within a few minutes I had three contacts. I was still getting calls from stations that couldn't hear me including VK3KIS and VK3FAJH which was frustrating. VK3AFW stayed on frequency and tried to assist in getting another contact. At this stage I decided to get the rest of the gear out and set up on 40 metres. As I was rolling out the counterpoise and coax, another call came up on 146.500 Mhz. It was Bernard VK3AMB and we managed the last contact needed to qualify. By this stage I was rain soaked and getting cold but glad I didn't have to set up HF after all. I quickly packed up and made my way back to the car, rain increasing but warming up again as I walked. From where the car was parked to the next car stop along Acheron Way took less than 10 minutes.

  Mt Vinegar VK3/VC-005

Activated 2nd June 2013

Activating Mt Vinegar was almost a repeat performance of Mt Richie. The rain was constant as I drove to the gate on Acheron Way at the start of Mt Vinegar Road. I sat in the car for nearly 20 minutes waiting for a break in the rain. As soon as it stopped, I threw on my other dry rain jacket and backpack and started off towards the summit. Mt Vinegar Road starts fairly level for the first few hundred metres but then begins to climb steadily. This is a nice walk but after the first few turns the track became quite slippery in parts due to the heavy rainfall and recent vehicle activity which had churned up a lot of mud. At around the half way mark, Mt Vinegar Rd joins with The Dom Dom Saddle Track that winds east towards Mt Donna Buang. Take the steep right turn and continue to Mt Vinegar summit.

On the way up the rain stopped and the sun came through the clouds, giving me hope for an easier activation than Mt Ritchie but unfortunately, this was short lived. Once again it was my intention to activate the summit using the HT, avoiding setting up an antenna . I was once again able to get into the VK3REC repeater easily and announce my arrival on the summit. Jack VK3WWW and Wayne VK3WAM answered the call and I tried to work them both on 146.500 FM without any success. Again I could hear them but they could not hear me. A couple of other stations also came up on the repeater and we tried simplex without any luck. Wayne was keen for a contact and suggested 2 metres SSB as he could not access 40metres from his home QTH. The drizzle had stopped so I got out the FT-817 and tried 2metres SSB. Once again I could hear both Jack and Wayne but they could not hear me. Wayne came back to me on the repeater and thanked me for trying but now that I was here and half set up, I had no option but to fire up on 40 metres. As soon as the HF vertical antenna was up and tuned, the rain started again. I made the four contacts required with VK3TKZ, VK2UH, VK1DI and VK2UW in four minutes keeping the radio dry and trying to write in a wet log book but managed and quickly packed up the station. I was a lot faster getting back to the car this time and glad to be heading home, tired and wet but satisfied that I had managed to get another 2 summits under my belt in one day under rather trying conditions.

A bothy bag would make activations like these much more comfortable. I now have a bothy bag on my shortlist of SOTA equipment required. I also want to get a hand-held Garmin GPS unit instead of relying on Androzic on my Android smartphone as this is heavy on the battery and also misbehaved and locked up a few times on today's adventures. Fortunately, navigating to both these summits was quite straight forward and both summits were directly on the tracks. Any serious bush bashing today would have been rather unpleasant. Despite the weather, wildlife was abundant today. I saw two wallabies a large number of lyrebirds, a deer and a couple of leeches who obviously enjoyed the wet conditions.