Mt Majura Summit Mt Majura VK1/AC-034
Activated 28 November 2013
Mt Majura is a Nature Reserve close to the Canberra suburb of Watson and the closest SOTA summit to most of my work activities during my visit. We drove up to Canberra from Melbourne arriving at around 3.00pm. After checking in at our accommodation we felt like a bit of excersise after sitting all day in the car so we decided to activate Mt Majura.
We accessed the summit from Mt Majura Road and drove a short distance up the sealed track to a gate where we parked and then continued the rest of the way by foot. It was an easy steady climb to the top which took under half an hour. I was surprised by the number of kangaroos and rabbits we saw. On the summit there was plenty of space to spread out and stay clear of any potential RF interference from the aviation radar and other communications infrastructure nearby.
Activated 28 November 2013
Mt Majura is a Nature Reserve close to the Canberra suburb of Watson and the closest SOTA summit to most of my work activities during my visit. We drove up to Canberra from Melbourne arriving at around 3.00pm. After checking in at our accommodation we felt like a bit of excersise after sitting all day in the car so we decided to activate Mt Majura.
We accessed the summit from Mt Majura Road and drove a short distance up the sealed track to a gate where we parked and then continued the rest of the way by foot. It was an easy steady climb to the top which took under half an hour. I was surprised by the number of kangaroos and rabbits we saw. On the summit there was plenty of space to spread out and stay clear of any potential RF interference from the aviation radar and other communications infrastructure nearby.
While setting up for 40 metres I was monitoring the local 2 metre repeater with the HT and made contact with Conrad VK2TCC/m. We quickly left the repeater and made simplex contact on 146.500Mhz for my first VK1 SOTA contact, immediately followed by Brendan VK1HAX in the suburb of Curtin.
After putting out a few more calls on 2m with no response I switched to 40 metres on the FT-817 and Rob VK1FAST was first to answer the call. Other stations logged were Marc VK3OHM, Ian VK3TCX, Peter VK3FPSR, Matt VK2DAG and Mark VK3YN.
After putting out a few more calls on 2m with no response I switched to 40 metres on the FT-817 and Rob VK1FAST was first to answer the call. Other stations logged were Marc VK3OHM, Ian VK3TCX, Peter VK3FPSR, Matt VK2DAG and Mark VK3YN.
The view from Mt Ainslie Mt Ainslie VK1/AC-040
Activated 29 November 2013
We drove up to the top of Mt Ainslie and parked well within the activation zone near the main lookout area. I grabbed the radiogear and backpack and we spent some time taking in the view and eating our lunch before walking down below the viewing area and well below the activation zone before returning and setting up the FT-817 on the summit for 40 metres.
Activated 29 November 2013
We drove up to the top of Mt Ainslie and parked well within the activation zone near the main lookout area. I grabbed the radiogear and backpack and we spent some time taking in the view and eating our lunch before walking down below the viewing area and well below the activation zone before returning and setting up the FT-817 on the summit for 40 metres.
Mt Ainslie operating position I was on air just after 0500z and my first contact was Matt VK1MA. This was quickly followed by Ed VK2JI and several other familiar SOTA chasers. As the activity started to quieten down, Matt came up again and suggested trying 2 metres for a few local contacts which I obliged. After another contact with Matt on 146.500Mhz, I made contact with Adam VK2YK/1 and Al VK1RX before packing up.
A sign below the viewing area on Mt Ainslie
Mt Stromlo VK1/AC-043
Activated 30 November 2013
Activated 30 November 2013
We had an organised Skike demo day out at the Mt Stromlo Criterium Complex and after a busy morning, things had quietened enough for me to leave my business partner alone and head to the summit for some radio play. Leaving the dusty gravel carpark I headed up the hill following several different MTB tracks to the top occasionally moving out of the way for downhill bike traffic. I reached the summit in under 40 minutes and turned right and headed to the highest point, a trig point by the ruins of the Oddie Refractor, the earliest telescope on Mt Stromlo destroyed by the wildfire in 2003.
View from Mt Stromlo with Black Mountain on the left It was a warm day and I was already starting to feel the sun. The flies were bad here and it was the first place that they really started to annoy me. A liberal dousing of Aerogard didn't completely deter their persistance. I found some shade under a tree about 50metres from the ruin and spiked the HF vertical antenna in the ground. I fired up the FT-817 on 7.090Mhz and heard nothing but S8 noise. Scanning the band for a quieter frequency did not help and I could only hear the strongest stations with any clarity. I rimmed up the antenna and without dissasembling it relocated to another shaded area about 100 metres further away. I connected things up again and this time the noise floor had dropped to S6, still high but workable. I spotted myself on SOTAWATCH and worked 14 stations in 30 minutes.
Black Mountain VK1/AC-042
Activated 1 December 2013
Activated 1 December 2013
Before leaving Canberra and heading back to Melbourne I activated Black Mountain. This was a rush job as we wanted to hit the road as quickly as possible, hence lack of photos and only 6 minutes on air and only 6 logged contacts.
Similar to the activation at Mt Ainslie I parked at the top and walked down a well formed walking track outside the activation zone before returning and setting up. Dispite the amount of RF infrastructure on the tower and notices in the carpark warning of the possibility of RF interfering with vehicle electronics, I did'nt have any issues on 40 metres and had a surprisingly low S1 noise floor. All contacts were on 40 Metres although I did put out calls on 2 metres to no avail.
Stations logged were all SOTA regulars – Bernard VK3AMB, Ernie VK3DET, Ron VK3AFW, Phil VK3BHR, Kevin VK3KAB and Larry VK5LY. I noticed on SOTAWATCH that Paul VK5PAS spotted me but could not hear me and probably heard Larry and some of the others working me. Hopefully I'll work you on the next activation Paul.
Similar to the activation at Mt Ainslie I parked at the top and walked down a well formed walking track outside the activation zone before returning and setting up. Dispite the amount of RF infrastructure on the tower and notices in the carpark warning of the possibility of RF interfering with vehicle electronics, I did'nt have any issues on 40 metres and had a surprisingly low S1 noise floor. All contacts were on 40 Metres although I did put out calls on 2 metres to no avail.
Stations logged were all SOTA regulars – Bernard VK3AMB, Ernie VK3DET, Ron VK3AFW, Phil VK3BHR, Kevin VK3KAB and Larry VK5LY. I noticed on SOTAWATCH that Paul VK5PAS spotted me but could not hear me and probably heard Larry and some of the others working me. Hopefully I'll work you on the next activation Paul.
So there we have it. Four summits that I was easily able to get to and activate between other activities on a business trip. I did not post alerts prior except for Black Mountain due to the uncertainty of being able to stick to anticipated times. Thanks to all those that I was able to work and sorry if I missed you.
