Last weekend was a busy one for radio activity with The John Moyle Field Day being the main event. A number of SOTA activations were planned to coincide with the event which was good to see. I have been involved for the past five years as an operator on the JMFD contest with the EMDRC under the club callsign VK3ER and as usual we were perched on top of Mt Cowley (VK3/VC-022) for the event.

With work commitments to get out of the way on Saturday morning, I made my escape as soon as possible, passing via Flinders Peak VK3/VC-030 as a SOTA activation on the way. After parking the car, I rushed to the top as quickly as I cood and got on air shortly after the start of the JMFD. I initially made contact with VK3ER on Mt Cowley and Nick VK3ANL on Mt Disappointment on 2 metres FM with the handheld. I later set up the new 2 metre dipole horizontally and went to the lower end of the band and made a solid SSB contact with Ralph and Damien VK3KQ on Mt Horsfall, Max VK3WT, Andre VK3FASW and Peter VK3PH.

In between this 2 metre activity which was quite orderly, I tried 40 metres and the band was busy. It was great to hear a good number of portable stations out and operating but I was struck by the general mayhem, rigs with terribly overdriven and distorted modulation, extreme compression and a lack of operator skill and manners in some cases. Many of the contesting stations were running high power and also seemed to have trouble hearing clearly above the noise. It also seemed that many portable stations were hard of hearing too. I suspected this was because many were running QRO with generators, inverters and other noise producing equipment taken to an otherwise normally RF quiet site. Severe storm activity across Victoria on Saturday afternoon and evening also added greatly to the atmospheric noise.

I kept my activation of Flinders Peak brief. I could see the storm front approaching from the west and the wind started to pick up significantly. I qualified the summit and packed gettingt back to the car as quickly as possible with light rain falling and started for Mt Cowley. At Winchelsea the storm front arrived with torrential rain making driving visibility very poor and the wind bending trees and sending debris and branches across the road as I drove. I pictured the club station up on Mt Cowley swimming in the main comms tent and antennas blowing over but they were all OK and probably quite well protected by the surrounding forest from the full force of the front.

After settling in I took a shift on HF and the noise was terrible. QRN pegged the meter at times but the guys were struggling with S7 noise on average. This was worse than anything I normally put up with at home! They suspected that it was probably due to some of the comms infrastructure on the Mt Cowley tower being upgraded to digital but I wasn't so sure. Being no stranger to portable operating and not wishing to question the efforts of my fellow club members or their HF setup, we just had to press on with what we had. Stopping the show now to get the antennas higher and routing power cables away from antenna feeds, etc would have cost us time and points. The passing showers outside made the HF van a preferable place to stay anyway.

We worked away at our HF score steadily and I found myself frequently apologising to the other stations contacted for our lousy conditions and thanking them for their perseverence when we were able to confirm the contact after several repeated overs. More distorted overdriven contest stations, more inconsiderate stations announcing their callsigns multiple times to drown out others, splatter from adjacent frequencies - this wasn't much fun. Fortunately a few radio friends around sharing the load and joking around lightens up an otherwise disappointing situation.

And then an appearance from the saddest clown in the circus, a well known serial pest on HF and repeaters from the northern suburbs of Melbourne. Without announcing his name or callsign, he starts to interject between overs like a policeman of the air, insisting that everyone should use their names and that other stations may be CBers and not legitimate amateur radio operators. This clown probably highly fuelled by the grape or grain, interfered between several more overs before disappearing, to probably harass another contest station with his bilge.

Contacts to DXpedition, SOTA or contest stations or can appear to be quite impersonal at times but the point is to make and confirm the contact and simply move on. I don't consider myself to be an avid contester but I want to enjoy the event as much as possible when I choose to be a part of one.

Getting involved with SOTA has taught me a lot about portable operating, being efficient with equipment and working pileups so that everyone gets a go. People not involved with SOTA who have accompanied me on an activation to find out how it works are usually surprised that most SOTA chasers and activators are on first name basis already and that you can sometimes work 3 stations from a pileup a minute in an orderly and friendly manner unlike some of the operating demonstrated during contests.

Although I sometimes find contest stations and the general mayhem to be annoying at times, I acknowledge their right to be on the bands doing their thing. It is my choice to engage any station that I wish on air and sometimes busting through a DX pileup, working a pedestrian portable station in the UK from my bicycle portable station, or working DX SOTA with 5 watts seems so much more rewarding.

The final test for my weekend on Mt Cowley was to activate it as a SOTA summit which I did after assisting with the packing up of the club station and staying back once the others had departed for home. I grabbed my gear, walked well out of the activation zone and returned. I set up the doublet and jumped straight on to 40 metres. Surprise, surprise! Almost no noise. My fellow club members had neatly packed it all away and taken it home with them!

No problems on 40 metres at all. Twelve contacts in around 15 minutes with Peter VK3PF in Gippsland the first in the log, 5 watts both ways with 58, 59 reports exchanged. A steady flow of contacts until a light shower slowed me down alittle. I laughed when Matt VK1MA came up on frequency thinking that he may have missed out on a contact whilst I covered the equipment from the rain. He had a short conversation with Ron VK3AFW, while I wimped out in the rain. I played him out for a while and then came up from the covers to give him a contact.

When the shower passed I went up to 20 meters and had a listen. The band was wide open and busy with yet another contest. I found 14.290 Mhz clear and put out calls for several minutes to no avail. I returned to 7.090 Mhz and there was Allen VK3HRA on VK3/VC-032 for a S2S contact. I then put out the word again that I would QSY to 20 meters. This time it paid off. John VK6NU, Dave VK4OZY and then Allen VK3HRA once again.

And this time on flea power, quick set up and pack up, and my whole station in a backpack, the contacts were easily copied with virtually no noise or interference, The activation was enjoyable, flowed without mayhem and over distances we were struggling with at full power when the circus was on the air earlier.

Over the past year I've activated a few SOTA summits with nothing more than a handheld and the stock antenna supplied. I have also looked at a couple of options to improve performance and keep weight and bulk down to a minimum.

The first thing I tried was a pigtail wire. This is simply a ¼ wave length of wire with a lug at one end that simply screws down on the SMA connector between the antenna and the radio and acts as a counterpoise for improved performance. Playing around with one of these does make a marginal difference and might be enough to get the contact logged where you would otherwise fail.

One of the other things I've tried is to unscrew the ground independent dual band whip from the vehicle take it to the summit sticking out of the backpack. A 5 metre length of coax with a BNC and base socket for the antenna is the connecttion for the radio and are the main parts of this setup. At the transmitting site, a string can be tied to the tip of the antenna and thrown over a tree limb to hoist it up a few metres. The antenna can also be taped to a squid pole or other support. This setup is versatile and light and takes up the least amount of room and is ideal for HT only activations with the only disadvantage being the length of the whip sticking out of the backpack being a nuisance when traversing through thick bush. A setup like this will almost certainly allow you to qualify summits within striking range of urban areas quickly without the need to mess around setting up radios, batteries and bulky antennas for other bands.

I've also tried a 2 metre J-pole antenna made from 300 ohm TV ribbon which is wonderfully light and compact but the biggest problem has been reliability. The wire is so fine that it it quickly breaks usually at the most inconvenient time.

  Something that caught my eye recently was the SOTABEAMS 2 metre MFD ( Multi Function Dipole). I like the idea of a complete self supporting antenna such as the vertical HF antenna I frequently use on SOTA activations as it packs completely within the backpack without the need for an additional tuner or bulky squid pole. The MFD promises reasonable performance with the flexibility to mount the dipole section vertically for FM or horizontally for SSB operation. To buy the kit from SOTABEAMS in the UK would cost around $55 with the optional goody bag consisting of some nylon rope, 3 ground pegs and a couple of velcro straps. Another option is a ground spike at an additional cost. Fair enough but looking at pictures and a youtube video of the antenna, I decided that I would build one myself as I had all the other ingredients except the 20mm electrical conduit, T-connector and couplings.

A quick trip down to Bunnings and a short time later I had a 4 metre length of conduit and the other bits for under $5.

The ingredients for MRG MFD antenna as constructed:
3.5 metres RG58/U
1 x BNC connector
1030mm insulated copper strand wire
1 x twin terminal block
1 x small cable tie
4 x 510mm lengths 20mm pvc conduit
1 x 110mm length 20mm pvc conduit
2 x 20mm conduit couplings
1 x 20mm T-connector with inspection cover

Optional parts to complete the antenna:
3 x 2.5m nylon rope
3 x tent pegs

A ground spike of some description is worthwhile. I happened to have an unused aluminium spike from a low voltage garden light which the conduit screwed into perfectly. The spike also has a cover made from an offcut of conduit to protect the spike from damaging anything in transit.

Putting the antenna together is simple enough. Cut the conduit lengths as described. The wire I used for the dipole was striped out of an old extension cord. Cut the 1030mm wire into 2 x ¼ wavelengths for the dipole. These will be trimmed to SWR later. Strip the insulation on one end of the wires and screw into the terminal connector. Push the 110mm conduit firmly into the bottom of the T-connector and carefully drill a hole and feed the RG58/U into the connector. Strip back the coax and terminate the braid to one side of the terminal block and the centre lead to the other. Get your glue gun and melt a big blob of glue onto the back of the terminal block and quickly position it centrally inside the T-connector before it sets. Gently pulling the coax back through the drilled hole will help position the terminal block before the glue sets. Feed the dipole wires out each side of the T-connector and then tightly wrap 15 turns of the coax around the conduit to form a choke balun. Drill 2 small holes in the conduit adjacent to the last turn of coax and install the cable tie to hold the choke balun in place. Terminate the end of the coax with a BNC or other connector to suit your radio. The choke balun consumes almost one metre of the coax and the remaining 2.5 metres or so is ample for most portable setups.

  Next assemble the antenna. Erect the two lower pole sections using the couplings and either strap it to a vertical support or spike it like mine. There should be at least 10mm of conduit at the end of your choke balun to push into the vertical section. Feed the dipole wires through the other two conduit sections and push into the T-connector. Congratulations. You now have a horizontal dipole for 2 metres. The next thing to do is SWR the antenna. I tuned my antenna for the middle of the band at 146.000 Mhz. The easiest way to cut the dipole is to pull the dipole tubes out and cut the wires together side by side. Reassemble the supporting tubes and test the SWR again. Continue as many times as required to tune the antenna but take it easy. Cut no more than 2mm at a time when the SWR gets down around 1:5 to 1 or you may take too much off.

  The next test was to set up the antenna horizontally and try SSB. It only took a minute to configure the antenna set up roughly broadside to Tony's position. This time I didn't really need to guy it despite the wind. Even though the antenna was little more than a metre parallel to the ground I received a good report once again from Tony and we also experimented moving the antenna end on where my signal remained perfectly readable despite dropping 2 or 3 S points. No real match for a 5 element yagi mounted a couple of metres higher but good enough for a SOTA peak without too much extra weight to lug around. It should prove to be a fairly reliable and robust antenna.

The packed down size is still a little bulky for a small backpack but manageable.

Sugarloaf Peak VK3/VN-011

Activated 15 February 2014

This activation was almost a repeat of my last activation of this summit back on 25 May 2013. It was planned at the last minute and once again I was accompanied by my two daughters who enjoyed the climb last time and were happy to come along.

Light rain started falling just as we arrived at the saddle carpark but it looked like it was going to blow over fairly quickly so we pressed on and started up Canyon Track. The rain made some of the rocky parts of the track slippery and extra care was needed. As we climbed the rain cleared and we were able to set up in the same position as last time. I spiked the vertical antenna into the ground and tapped the coil for 40 metres while the girls were running out the counterpoise wires.

I wanted to make this a fairly quick activation and keep any boredom at bay for the girls as Dad did his radio thing. This turned out well as I was quicly able to log my first contact with Ivan VK5HS at 0417z. Phil VK3BHR was next and was able to spot me on SOTAWATCH. From here on was a flow of contacts with Peter VK3FPSR, Peter VK3PF, Amanda VK3FQSO, Paul VK5PAS, Matt VK1MA. My last contact was with Joe VK3YSP operating portable in the Dandenong Ranges National Park as the rain returned. After 12 minutes on air and the summit easily qualified, we quickly packed the station away and made our way back down.

Thanks to the stations contacted allowing me to work you all efficiently as the weather rushed the activation to an abrupt end.

The Australia Day long weekend provided excellent opportunities for SOTA Chasers and Activators alike to fill the logbook with contacts. I was unable to get away activating for the whole weekend due to family commitments on Australia Day. I logged plenty of SOTA stations from home on Saturday however, and had the chance to escape on Monday, revisiting a couple of summits I first activated last year and adding another one to my list of first time activations.

Hyde Hill    VK3/VC-008

Activated 26 January 2014

After a busy Australia Day with the family and rushed planning, I left home early on Monday morning with Hyde Hill first on my list as I had not previously activated this summit. I studdied the blogs of Glen VK3YY and Peter VK3ZPF on their activations of this summit and parked opposite the previously logged area they described.

The first part of the ascent is fairly easy and quick traversing sparse knee-high regrowth, rocks and burned timber. Beyond this is thick forest presented a major challenge to get well within the activation zone. Progress was slow and I spent as much time going across the terrain as up, trying to find the path of least resistance. I soon found a spot to set up within the zone – heavy with springy ferns and undergrowth and too tight for deploying the doublet. I set up the vertical antenna and threw the counterpoise wires where I could and got on air at 2142z with Ian VK5CZ being my first contact.

Conditions were all over the place on 40 metres with very heavy QSB making several contacts difficult and a couple unconfirmed both ways. I did however manage an S2S with Greg VK2FGJW/1 on VK1/AC-023. I then packed up after about 25 minutes on the air to make my way to the next summit.

Britannia Range VK3VC-011

Activated 27 January 2014

This was my second activation of Britannia Range, the first being on ANZAC Day last year. Last time I was here I left my vehicle at the bottom of Britannia Range Track on Mt Bride Road as it was very muddy and slippery but this time it was dry so I engaged all wheels and low-range and went for it. Although I have reasonable ground clearance, the giant spoon drains are still a bit of a challenge. My tow bar was doing its part to level them of a little as I was driving over them. There are some seriously deep rutted parts of the track caused by many spinning tyres and parts of the track seem to be a 4WD proving ground that would leave the average SUV behind. I parked about 100 metres from the highest point of the track and walked up before turning right and heading into the bush and bashing my way into a clearing. The undergrowth seemed to be thicker than when I was here last time but I found a suitable spot within the activation zone and set up.

This time I logged 14 contacts in 20 minutes including S2S contacts with Peter VK3PF, Greg VK2FGJW and Ian VK1DI. Meanwhile the daily temperature was now rising and I received reports of 2 fire trucks from nearby Warburton heading out to control a small fire via Andrew VK3FAJH on the VK3REC repeater. I scanned the CFA frequencies and heard that the fire was quickly controlled.

Mission accomplished, I packed and headed back to the car for the return trip over the giant spoon drains, carving some more grooves into them as I descended and headed for Mt Bride.

Mt Bride VK3/VC-009

Activated 27 January 2014

My second visit to Mt Bride had an element of deja vu. Last time I was here and spent time messing around trying to get the doublet strung up reasonably without much success and I tried again and also failed. Giving up on the doublet I spiked the vertical antenna in the ground and was on the air within minutes without the need to tune up.

This time I first logged an S2S contact with Rod VK2TWR and Peter VK3PF jointly activating VK2/SM-089 in a total of 11 contacts with the last contact for the day being Amanda VK3FQSO.

Mt Little Joe was the next summit on my list as a possible activation but I decided to leave it for another day, being the lowest scoring hill and yet the toughest climb. I instead headed into Warburton to catch up with my friend Andrew VK3FAJH for a social visit and a dip in the Yarra River to cool off before heading home.

 The weekend of the VHF/UHF Summer Field Day turned out to be a good one for visiting three summits to the West of Melbourne that I had not yet activated. It was also an excellent opportunity to use the higher bands that I seldom use on the FT-817 particularly in SSB mode as the chance of contacts were high. I lugged more gear than my usual QRP setup and decided to make myself comfortable for an overnight summit stay on VK3/VC-032.

VK3/VC-032

Activated 11 January 2014

I left Melbourne around midday Saturday and headed for VK3/VC-032 located in the Wombat State Forest. I stopped and visited a group of fellow EMDRC club members set up for the VHF UHF Field Day on nearby McLachlans Lookout before heading a few kilometres further West to my location where I planned to set up. VK3/VC-032 is an unnamed summit with gentle slopes and easy vehicle access. I found a clearing just off the road down a little from the highest point but still well within the activation zone. Knowing that there was a chance of other activators around, I parked the car in the clearing and set off with all my usual backpack radio gear plus a tripod. 5 element homebrew 2 metre beam and a broomstick as a mast for the beam. The quickest way to walk out of the activation zone and back was not along the road but due west into medium density forest and regrowth. This was rather awkward carrying all this extra gear and particularly the beam which had a propensity to catch the foliage. At one stage I slipped badly almost falling on the beam which would have most likely destroyed it but fortunately it survived.

Upon staggering back I selected my operating position and set up initially for 40 metres. I worked 9 stations in 15 minutes including S2S contacts with Brett VK2BNN and Greg VK2FGJW. When things quietened down on 40 metres I kept monitoring the band whilst setting up the beam for 2 metres SSB. I then had no problems at all working a steady stream of contest stations with good reports from most stations logged aware of my QRP status. Flicking back to 40 metres I logged another S2S with Nick VK3ANL.

Quite comfortable in this spot I decided to stay the night and play radio for as long as there were people to talk to and switched between 40m, 20m, 2m and even a couple of contacts on 70cm with a couple of contest stations on the HT.

A pleasant sunny day cooled in the evening considerably and by 9.00pm local time a hazy fog settled around me and a few spots of rain started falling. I was able to cover the gear and keep operating but it was becoming rather unpleasant so I stopped around 1130z and jumped into the swag which was quite cozy in the conditions.

It was fairly cool and foggy in the morning but with good weather forecast I decided to string up the doublet as an inverted V from my squid pole well as the vertical HF antenna I had been using and called for SOTA contacts on 40 metres with better results this time. Several stations this time said that they could not hear me the previous afternoon but could now log a contact. This time I logged 23 SOTA contacts in around 40 minutes including another S2S with Greg VK2FGJW on another summit.

As part of my contribution to the VHF UHF Field Day I logged a few contacts on 70cm FM with the HT, and 35 contacts on 2 metres SSB with the beam and the FT-817. This included a couple of S2S contacts with Andrew VK1DA on Mt Ginini, the second one where he also switched to his FT-817 and made the contact QRP both ways, a distance of 460 kilometeres. I also worked 2 meters into VK2, VK5 and VK7 with my flea power before packing up and heading of to Mt Warrenheip.

  Mt Warrenheip   VK3/VC-019

Activated 12 January 2014

Mt Warrenheip is easily accessed from Forbes Road behind the gaudy tourist attraction of Kryal Castle nestled at its base and visible from the Western Highway. There are three main towers on the summit and a sealed road to the top. I drove up here and parked, grabbing the backpack and going for a stroll in a north easterly direction following a powerline past the third tower and then down a fire trail outside the activation zone to the road I had driven up earlier. I returned back up the fire trail and there were several spots that I could have set up but within very close proximity to the powerline that may have been very noisy on HF. I continued past my car and back into the bush around the far side of the first tower and set up in the shade with the doublet thrown between two trees.

All contacts were on 40 metres and the first was with Peter VK3PF who spotted me and helped the activation off to a speedy start. I logged 15 contacts in under 20 minutes including an S2S with Bernard VK2IO/3 on The Horn which I activated both sides of the UTC New Year. Conditions on the band were pretty ordinary with lots of QSB both ways making the contacts difficult for chasers.

With the summit easily qualified I packed up and headed for Mt Bunninyong knowing that with a major cycling event on in the area that access would still be possible but I would be walking quite a but further than I would otherwise normally have to.

  Mt Bunninyong   VK3/VC-018

Activated 12 January 2014

This summit is by far the prettiest of the three summits visited this weekend. I had studied the route of the road race which ran in a circuit to the west of Bunninyong township but did not impede my access by foot to the summit. I parked down from a policed road block amongst a large number of spectator vehicles on Yendon Number One Road, walked through the road block and left into Yankee Flat Road which joined with Mt Bunninyong Road to the summit. I major walking track crosses the road about half way up and I took this zigzag track to the summit which opens into a pleasant grassed picnic spot with a shelter and a couple of picnic tables shaded with mature gums.  To the left, a short walk takes you to the fire tower that allows access to a public viewing platform.

I climbed to the viewing platform and the fire tower was manned. I could overhear the firewatch radios in the room above me whilst I decided to attempt to qualify the summit on 2 metres with the HT. I was easily able to get several repeaters from this vantage point and tried to drum up some simplex contacts. Andrew VK3BQ was mobile on his way home from the VHF UHF Field Day club station VK3ER when he heard me via the Mt Macedon Repeater. We couldn't make a simplex contact but he was able to spot me and assist in a couple of contacts, Ernie VK3DET and Peter VK3TKK. Still needing a couple more contacts I left the tower and strolled over to a picnic table and set up the FT-817 with the vertical antenna and pulled in 16 contacts on 40 metres, including an S2S with Greg VK2FGJW/1 on VK1/AC-042.

One of my last contacts was Allen VK3HRA who was pleased to hear me operating close to his QTH. He invited me to drop by on my way through and steered me with directions via the radio to his home. We discussed many things radio and also sat around the computer for awhile with a couple of cold Coronas planning some winter activations before I headed home.

I'll certainly be out if plans permit for another VHF UHF Field Day and preferably on a SOTA summit where it is possible to stay the night – several that I'm now familiar with come to mind with relatively straightforward access to make the lugging of all the extra gear manageable. I was a little surprised that I did not hear more SOTA activity over the weekend. One of these VHF UHF Field Day events is well worth going out on when you will be guaranteed of much better success working the higher bands and getting many more contacts than would normally be the case. It is a great opportunity to see what your equipment is really capable of. Unlike some of the contest weekends on HF bands where QRP stations often get swamped by deaf operators running maximum power, the higher bands are different. Not everyone that you may hear will be able to hear you but you may be surprised. Give it a shot on a SOTA summit on the next VHF UHF Field Day.

Mt Dandenong VK3/VC-025

Activated 5 January 2014

Last Sunday took the family up to the Dandenong Ranges to catch up with friends we hadn't seen for awhile. I threw the radio bag in the car just in case we had the chance to activate Mt Dandenong. The weather was changing for the worse in the afternoon with increasing strong winds and a change on the way but this worked to my advantage for a quick activation.

After leaving our friends we drove to the Kalorama end of Ridge Road and strolled up towards Sky High via Kyeema Track. Last time I was here on 26 April last year it was quiet mid week activation and I was able to set up on a picnic table in the gardens but this time the place was teeming with people. I found a sloping area of grass at the eastern end of the carpark away from the crowd where my antenna wasn't going to be in the way of others.  I set up for 40 metres as the stiff winds picked up even more and the cold front blew in dropping the temperature sharply in a few minutes.

With good mobile phone coverage I was able to self spot which resulted in Matt VK2DAG being the first logged at 0505z. I was on air for only 12 minutes as rain started to fall and made 12 contacts in this time including two S2S contacts including Greg VK2FGJW on VK1/AC-035 and Bernard VK2IB on VK3/VE189 before leaving the frequency to Bernard.

Allen VK3HRA was planning a trip to a few summits beyond Falls Creek that he hadn't yet activated and wanted to visit them to evaluate for winter activations during the bonus points period. His intention was also to work some of the VK1 boys who were planning to be on Mt Kosciuszko working the 2 meter band with beams. I had some tentative plans drawn up for a few summits closer to home but the opportunity to knock off at least three 10 point summits in the area with like minded company was hard to resist.

I left home shortly after 4.00am with my radio equipment and camping gear as the plan was to be on the summit of Mt Cope around 11.00am local time to make a number of S2S contacts. I met up with Allen in Myrtleford and we continued in convoy to The Mountain Stream camp site below Mt Bogong and then continued on in my car to Mt Cope.

Whilst in the area I also wanted to activate Mt Bogong and catch another couple of 10 point summits in the Mt Buffalo National Park and be on one of these summits either side of the UTC New Year to have a shot at double points before heading home. Over the next couple of days there was likely to be a good number of activators about to increase the S2S tally.

Mt Cope   VK3/VG-001

Activated 30 December 2013


We arrived in good time at the car park and after sorting out our gear and slapping on sunscreen we set off on the 1.5 km walking track to the summit. We were able to find our spots to both set up with some shade and rocks to use as a bench. Allen set up his FT-897 for 2 metres SSB with a portable beam and I set up my FT-817 with the vertical HF antenna tuned for 40 metres.

My first contact was an S2S with Tony VK3CAT on VK3/VE-016 a few minutes past the new UTC day. This was the first of a good bag of a total of 13 S2S contacts out of a total of 28 logged contacts. We were on the summit for a while and eventually worked the Canberra crew with the special callsign VI100ACT on Mt Kosciuszko before packing up and heading to Mt Nelse.

 Mt Nelse    VK3/VE-004

Activated 30 December 2013

The walk to Mt Nelse was around 5 km one way from the car park. We could have parked a bit further up the hill but it was already crowded with vehicles so we set off along the road and climbed the last part to the summit off track. Mt Nelse is a barren summit with a very battered old trig tower and a rock cairn with a length of plumbing conduit sporting a lost snow glove. No shelter from the elements but very good 360 degree views on this clear day.

Allen set his antenna up using the trig for support and I simply spiked the vertical antenna into the ground and rolled out the counterpoise and worked 40 metres. I was on air for around 25 minutes and worked a total of 13 stations including 2 S2S contacts with Peter VK3PF on VK3/VE-023 and Rod VK2TWR on VK2/SM-039.

Mt McKay   VK3/VE-007
Activated 30 December 2013

We were able to drive to the summit of Mt McKay quite easily via the very dusty Mt McKay Road. Upon reaching the top we grabbed our radio gear and headed down outside the activation zone and back in. There is a shelter with benches inside ideal to set up on and I went for this option to stay out of the wind that was picking up since being on the previous summit. I suspected that we were going to get clobbered by various RF noise from all the comms gear sharing the peak with us and this did prove to be the case with S7 background noise to cope with.

  None the less my first contact was an S2S once again with Peter VK3PF this time from VK3/VE-081. This time I logged a total of 15 contacts in 18 minutes. Allen set his antenna up around the other side of the shelter using it as a partial windbreak and worked 20 metres. By this stage it was time to reach into the esky and pull out a couple of beers before packing up and heading back down to the camping ground where we had left Allen's car for the day.

Allen hit the road home while I pulled out the swag and set up for a quiet night with my own fire place and seating area to spread out. I set up the radio to have a listen around and before dinner had a 2 way QRP contact with Anthony VK3YSA/ZL holidaying in New Zealand and about to embark on a cruise. I had a relatively quiet night as I wanted to start the climb to Mt Bogong reasonably early before the heat of the day would make tougher.

Mt Bogong   VK3/VE-001

Activated 31 December 2013

Another walker who we conversed with on the way back from Mt Nelse suggested that with the warm weather forecast that I make a reasonably early start for the climb to the summit of Mt Bogong to avoid the heat.

My gear was packed and I had a good breakfast and left from the Mountain Creek camp site shortly after 7.30 am for the 2 km walk to the start of the Staircase Walk. This section can be driven in a 4WD crossing several shallow streams to the start of the Staircase depending on the seasonal opening of the road. The climb to the summit from here is only 6 km but the track is aptly named and rises consistently to the first level area at Bivouac Hut, a good place to take the backpack off and rest awhile.

From here the track soon continues its steady rise to the top and soon breaks out above the tree line to magnificent views to the north and Kiewa Valley. A memorial not far from the summit marks the place that three hikers perished during a blizzard in the 1940's. This is a sobering reminder of the harshness of the environment. The final ascent to the summit levels off as the cairn comes in to view. Plenty of space to spread out and enjoy the view from Victoria's highest peak although the sun was strong, a fairly stiff breeze was about and I had to put on a jacket to stay comfortable during the activation.


 I worked 27 stations in a little over an hour all on 40 metres with only one other summit station logged, Tony VK3CAT in VK3/VE-012. I was aware that Wayne VK3WAM was on another summit but with only CW capability from his end and my lack of morse skills, unfortunately I couldn’t count this as another S2S contact.

The total walking time from the start of the Staircase to the summit took me 3hours 15 minutes and the return took 2 hours. Add another hour for the walk from the camp ground to the staircase and return. This was pushing it a little and I would rate it as the toughest SOTA hike I've done to date but well worthwhile.

After getting back to the car I rested for an hour or so before heading back into Mt Beauty to get a few supplies and head towards the Mt Buffalo National Park to camp New Years Eve and climb The Horn and The Hump the following day. I was fortunate to find a camp site at the Catani Lake camping ground which had signs saying all sites were fully booked. A polite chat with the ranger and I had a small spot to myself to roll out the swag for the night. I was able to have a good shower and relax but didn't last to midnight for the New Years celebrations. I was pretty stuffed after Mt Bogong and was asleep around 10.00pm.

  The Horn    VK3/VE-014

Activated 31 December 2013 & 1 January 2014

After a leisurely start in the morning I headed to The Horn and set up the antenna on a corner of the railing of the viewing platform. Shortly after getting on air it started to rain lightly. I unfurled my light weight tarp covered the radio and worked 21 stations before the UTC New Year. 13 of these were S2S contacts. The activity on air was frantic as working both sides of the UTC New Year allowed activators to take advantage of getting double points for the summit. Once the time rolled over into the New Year I worked another 9 of the 12 stations logged were S2S contacts. With the weather not looking to improve I pulled down the antenna and packed my gear to head off to climb my last summit for the day, The Hump.

The Hump    VK3/VE-019
Activated 1 January 2014

This is my second visit to The Hump, the first being on 6 October 2013 when I worked the summit both sides of the UTC rollover and also got 3 bonus points for a winter activation. The drizzling rain returned on my walk to the summit and already being close to the top I was prepared to sit it out if required before setting up my equipment. Regardless this was going to be a quick activation. I set up the antenna first after considering a sheltered position for the gear and self. I set up the radio in a sheltered rock ledge and tied my tarp up between two large rocks that also provided a comfortable reclined seating position.

It was indeed a short activation. Only 4 contacts in 4 minutes as the rain arrived. My second contact was with Ron VK3AFW mobile on his way home from activating more summits due to the rain. I also received a text message from Allen VK3HRA telling me not to wait for him to appear on another summit because he had also called it a day due to the weather.

After packing up the rain cleared but it was still visible around me and I could have done another summit on the way home but after bagging six 10 point summits in three days and earning an extra 10 points on The Horn and a respectable number of S2S contacts, I called it time.

Thanks to all the stations I worked over this Christmas and New Year period. Most of the time I didn't have reliable mobile phone or data coverage and could not post alerts or self spot but with the amount of SOTA activity around that did not matter.

Hope to work you from another summit soon.

With a break between Christmas and the New Year, it was obviously a good time to get some summits under the belt. These summits are some of the closest to home that I hadn’t yet activated and I had my chance to do so with the family camping at O'Tooles Flat in the Eildon National Park. Due to the adhoc nature of these activations, I did'nt put up alerts prior and couldn’t reliably spot myself when on the summits.

Mt Terrible Spur  VK3/VE-134

Activated 27 December 2013

This summit is accessed via the Eildon-Jamieson Road from Bald Hill Gap. The vehicle track climbs steeply from here and was no problem to get to in dry conditions in 2WD. I parked on the northern side of the summit just before the activation zone and hiked to the top. The summit is a cleared area but to the side there are plenty of large trees to string an antenna from. I elected to spike the vertical HF antenna into the ground and run the radials out to save time.

My first contact was an S2S with Ian VK1DI and over the next 20 minutes I only logged another 6 stations. Not wanting to hang around I packed and went back to the car and continued south along the Mt Terrible Track to Mt Terrible.

Mt Terrible   VK3/VE-067

Activated 27 December 2013

Mt Terrible Track gets a little more challenging from Mt Terrible Spur. I was able to do it in 2WD but the additional ground clearance of my vehicle was an advantage over the spoon drains and rocky bits. Forget attempting this track in the wet unless you have 4WD capability.

On arriving at the summit I parked past the fire tower and strolled around to contemplate a suitable position to operate from. I was tempted to set up by the remnant concrete foundations of Mt Terrible Hut that is no longer but I was sure that it would have been noisy with all the other comms gear on the site. The guy in the fire tower was looking down at me and yelled out hello. I told him what I was up to and he suggested setting up on the nearby helipad well within the activation zone as other radio operators have done. This seemed to be a sensible option so I strolled to the site and beyond to ensure that I walked out of the activation zone and back prior to setting up the vertical HF antenna.

  My first contact was an S2S with Glenn VK3YY in company with Kevin VK3KAB and Trevor VK3ATB on Mt Reynard. After working all three I quickly worked another 4 stations before packing up hand heading back to the car.

Bald Hill   VK3/VE-131

Activated 27 December 2013

Bald Hill is oddly named as it is not bald at all. It is accessed by a steep track heading north from the Bald Hill Gap on Eildon Jamieson Road. I drove up to near the summit in 4WD and had to walk out of the activation zone and back in past my parking spot to a sheltered clearing providing good opportunity to string up a dipole. Because I wanted to hurry along, I spiked the vertical HF antenna into the ground and was on the air a few minutes later.

I was only on air for 10 minutes and logged 7 stations, all regular SOTA chasers. I was kept amused during the activation watching ants carrying off a number of stunned march flies I swatted. With the march flies constantly attacking and seemingly unbothered with a liberal application of Aeroguard, I was glad to pack up quickly and head back to rejoin the family at our camp site at O'Tooles Flat to partake in a good camp meal and a bottle of red.

 Computers come so far over the past few decades.  Sheer computing power and technical advances are huge and continue to expand at an amazing rate.  As this technology has advanced, complexity of the operating systems that make these things work has followed. Indeed computer operating systems seem to be slowing computer efficiency as fast as the processing power improves. No question that what we can do these days on a computer is amazing to what we used to do in the past. It wasn't that long ago that I used to design major lighting installations on varying commercial projects with 3D CAD modeling software and the computer would churn away overnight to calculate the results of my work.  But it is likely that if you installed Windows 7 on that machine of a decade ago, the baggage of the operating system alone would grind it to a standstill without enough grunt to open a web page, let alone perform the complex task it used to do.

Times have changed and with increased processing power, the modern off the shelf computer is preloaded with so much crap and trial ware that the task of using a computer to simply get the job done is becoming a chore. I have recently purchased a computer for my daughter to use next year at high school. I feel I have made an informed choice and have bought well. It is a slim compact and fast Samsung notebook with 4Gb RAM , Windows 8 and a solid-state hard drive, promising long use between charges (she won't be allowed to charge it at school).

My inner Geek has been unable to resist temptation with this sleek new machine and prior to slipping it under the Christmas tree, I had to have a good play with it. The first thing I wanted to check out was how much of the hard drive was taken up already by the operating system in its virgin state. What a surprise! Already over 60Gb and we haven't even loaded any basic requirements like Microsoft Office or the mp3's and the Youtube videos it is likeley to get clogged with. Exploring the tiles of the opening screen was another trying experience. Going straight in to Internet Explorer from this tiled start page takes you in to a full screen mode which is not intuitive to escape from if you wish to efficiently open other applications and switch easily between them as one is used to from previous versions of Windows. No doubt that Windows-8 will appeal to some as many laptops now have a touch screen as well as the traditional tactile keyboard but I can't help feeling that this latest operaing system from Microsoft is only transitional.

I've become disillusioned with Microsoft based computers over the past few years.  I think before I buy any more new computer hardware I'll at least wait until the next generation Microsoft product comes along. Windows 8 to me seems like another Windows Vista – the fizzer before something (hopefully) better comes along. One "new" thing that Microsoft are trying to do is have an App store type software system like Apple or Linux based systems but it still falls short. It is just an added step or bit of complexity designed to keep the system cleaner of malware – too little too late. Shame they load it up with heaps of crapware instead that will never be used and some that my not be easily or safely uninstalled without stuffing something else up.

Windows has been bug ridden for years. I'm tired of firing up one of our Windows computers at home to do something simple like print an invoice to find popups telling me my drivers are now outdated and my scanner won't scan or itunes crashes because of a recent automatic update. Boot up time is slow because the antivirus software will impede it and several other startup programs are whirring away in the background maxing out the RAM and CPU while the machine gets its act together. It's akin to a drag-car smoking up the tyres before it eventually gets traction and takes off down the straight.  Barely a week seems to go by when our main Windows computer suffers a glitch of some sort or the kids have innocently installed a trojan and I have to reset, reconfigure or reinstall something.  A complete fresh reinstall of Windows and the computer still falters. What to do? Ditch Windows-7 as the main operating system for good!  It's a sensible option, especially if you are running an older computer with XP as this about to cease support from Microsoft and will become less secure in the future.

I found Linux to be the answer – in particular Linux Mint. Why? It is the most user friendly alternative to Windows and acomplishes most of my everyday tasks with a minimum of fuss and with reliability, stability and speed that I have not found with any Windows machine. Sure there is a learning curve to work through but Linux Mint is the most “Windows like” of any of the vast array of Linux operating systems available. The major difference is the software – the bulk of it found in “repositories”, a similar system to Apple operating systems and certainly no harder to master than Apple if you are making the transition from Windows. You probably already know a number of people that have moved from Windows to Apple and have never looked back. I have done the same but with Linux Mint and with a minimum of cost and using machines that were destined for scrap. In fact it has become an interesting sideline to the hobby of amateur radio and has made my radio shack a much more interesting place to tinker and play.

The Mint software repositories are full of software of interest to the radio amateur along with other programs that will forfill most requirements. This includes satelite tracking software, radio programming and control software, logging, antenna design, digital mode decoding and encoding and more. For the past three years I have been playing with Mint and many other Linux distros and have come to appreciate the reliability and ease of use for most of my daily computing tasks. I am even able to run a few Windows based programs quite well on a Windows emulator program known as Wine. Does Wine run all Windows software? No but what isn't available isn't missed when there is a good choice of alternative software available. One of my favorite Windows based pieces of Ham software, Radio Mobile runs perfectly on Wine.

Some of the best known open source software on Linux such as Firefox, Thunderbird, VLC, Libre Office and Audacity are widely used and available under Windows so getting familiar with the core programs of Linux shouldn't be to difficult for most to master.

Two Windows based programs that I regularly use, Ham Radio Deluxe and Magellan Vantage Point don't run under Wine but I have an alternative. I have set up the main shack computer to dual boot Windows-7 and Mint so I have the best of both worlds. Another alternative to this is to run a copy of Windows within Linux as a virtual machine but it will run noticably slower due to the virtual machines additional load on RAM. You may wish to consider using a virtual machine if you have a decent 64 bit quad core processor and 8gb or more of RAM and this will allow you to then switch between both operating systems instantly without rebooting.

I have also revived an Acer Netbook that was hopelessly crippled from new with Windows Starter and 1Gb RAM. What a pathetic mismatch of machine and software. Keeping Windows Starter and dual booting this machine showed a drastic increase in performance operating under Linux. Spending $14.00 on a 2Gb stick of RAM and installing it myself made this sub $200 machine fly.

I find Mint a pleasure to use and have no problems accomplishing most tasks reliably with minimal fuss. The desktop can be customised extensively and all common audio and video codecs are loaded, I can find and download software in an instant and use it immediately without rebooting, resolving software conflicts, hunting for additional drivers, etc. I'm not bombarded with browser pop-ups and notifications for system reboots and updates and I have much better control over the software I actually install on the machine and when I want to install or update. No more unwanted browser toolbars and other bloatware. I have an easier time using Libre Office instead of Microsoft office and can convert file types and import and export to other programs or other machines where the files can be opened or worked on regardless of the operating system or software at the other end.

As soon as the operating system is installed things are ready to go. Wireless cards, video cards, soundcards and bluetooth are all recognised and only need a minor tweak or password to work straight away. All my peripherals, a Brother laser printer, Epson all-in-one printer/scanner/fax, Samsung Galaxy smartphone, Apple Ipod, Kobo Ereader, multimedia keyboard and every USB device I have are all recognised and work out of the box. This is what a computer should be - a machine that allows you to get the job done with a high level of security and a minimum of stuffing about. The other thing that makes Linux attractive is the price – free.

So give it a go. If you have an old computer gathering dust, have a play, satisfy your inner Geek and breathe new life into it before you put it out for the next council junk collection. You might be surprised at what you end up with. A great shack machine, business computer, a machine that you want the kids to break and learn on, a household network server or a stand alone multimedia centre that can record HD video and audio and stream it wirelessly around your home.

And yes this blog entry written and posted from my favorite and most reliable “kerbside special” to date with the best donor parts from at least 5 different computers that would make Dr Frankenstein proud. Total cost $NIL. The performance and general reliability if this machine puts our potentially more powerful $1600.00, 2 year old, quad-core Windows-7 machine with 8Gb RAM to shame. I know what will be happening to this baby when my wife eventually lets me interfere with it.

I have been quite busy over the past few weekends and having activated most of my nearby SOTA summits, the next best thing to do as time permits is to operate portable close to home.

Mt Graham is not a SOTA summit but it is at least as good as several SOTA peaks I have visited and is a good place to go for a dry run or to test out equipment before embarking on a full scale multiple summit activation. The Summit is at 250 m and the base is at 196 m. It had been on my “places to check out” list for a while and the allure was strong as I share my surname with this hill.

Situated in the Sugarloaf Reservoir Park, Mt Graham is easily accessed from the Eltham - Yarra Glen Road in the Christmas Hills. Enter the gates and drive across the dam wall and park at The Saddle Dam picnic area. The Chris Phillips walking track begins here and runs parallel to the perimeter fence before turning left and following the shoreline . At this point simply continue straight ahead and follow the fence line over native grasslands, through fern thickets and a rough fire track to the summit. There are good views back across the reservoir from the lower parts of the hill but the views from higher up are partially obscured by tall timber. None the less there is sufficient clearance to string a wire so I elected to deploy the doublet antenna as I was not in any particular hurry to activate and move on.

Aside from climbing Mt Graham there are a number of activities to do here including fishing, sailing observing wildlife, swatting flies and hiking the 18km track around the dam. A permit is required from Parks Vic to access remote parts of this walk. There are a couple of sheltered picnic facilities with barbeques and plenty of quiet places to explore with the family if doing the radio thing bores the rest of your clan.