Posted: 5/23/2017 1:35:19 AM EDT
|
SOTA = Summits On The Air!
With a 1911 and an AR-15, using a J-38 and IC-703 on 20 CW in unit 6A 
What a great way to spend the day! Poole |
|
Quoted:
SOTA = Summits On The Air! With a 1911 and an AR-15, using a J-38 and IC-703 on 20 CW in unit 6A http://bill.poole.com/AZ-SOTA-20may17a.jpg What a great way to spend the day! Poole |
|
yeah, that's up near Flagstaff. The killer attack rat-dog was guarding my site.
there are LOTS of peaks on the rim and elsewhere in northern AZ, many are an easy hike from the nearest dirt road. To be a valid activation you have to hike to the peak, even if it means parking below the peak and hiking the road the rest of the way. power is proportional to how much battery you are willing to carry. So nearly everyone uses QRP (5W or so). and QRP is better in CW. My pole is a 20' fishing pole holding up the vertical, it hung at an angle so the base of the antenna is behind my back, the radials are on the ground behind me, one is visible on the left side of the photo, the other much harder to see. the Radiating element I think you can just barely see it rising behind my head. about 6' of coax not visible to the radio. but a dipole hung over a tree branch by tossing a string over the branch. I've been a ham for 42 years and I feel like SOTA has breathed new life into it, especially slow/medium speed CW. Poole |
|
I miss Arizona. There is nothing like this here in SC. It's hard to even find a wilderness because people and houses are everywhere. You can drive for hours and it's like you never left the city. I would have never moved from Arizona but I could never get used to the heat. It's a misery 8 months out of a year.
BTW, I used to operate HF portable in Arizona. Mountain tops were great for VHF/UHF too. Back then I never heard of SOTA thou. My favorite peak was - Williams Mountain, just west of Flag. There is a hiking trail that goes all the way to the top. The views are amazing. In the summer time, we could ride a cable all the way up to the skiing slop up on the San Francisco peaks. I believe it was a bit over 11.000 elevation. I always brought my HT and called CQ on 146.520. It's amazing how far a 5W HT can reach from that mountain. BTW, it someone saw you walking with that AR here in SC, they would call 911 and the whole sheriff's department would show up in a tank. SC is considered a gun friendly state but proximity to some liberal areas can be noticed everywhere. |
|
Quoted:
there are LOTS of peaks on the rim and elsewhere in northern AZ, many are an easy hike from the nearest dirt road. To be a valid activation you have to hike to the peak, even if it means parking below the peak and hiking the road the rest of the way. Quoted:
there are LOTS of peaks on the rim and elsewhere in northern AZ, many are an easy hike from the nearest dirt road. To be a valid activation you have to hike to the peak, even if it means parking below the peak and hiking the road the rest of the way. From section 3.7 of the rules
3. Operations must not be in, or in the close vicinity of, a motor vehicle. No part of the station may be connected in any way with the motor vehicle. However, the use of a bike (non-motorized) or animals to enter the Activation Zone is permitted. (see http://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/first-activation-in-a-long-while/5619) 4. The Operating Position must be within the Activation Zone. The operating position must lie within a closed contour line at the permitted maximum Vertical Distance below the summit. (Typically the contour line is 25 metres below peak height of the summit). The Operating Position is taken to be the position of the operator. From section 3.5.6:
It is recognised that operation from the exact top of the Summit may be difficult or even impossible. It is also important that SOTA operations do not disturb the enjoyment of the mountains by others. Accordingly, each Association shall define the Vertical Distance from the precise summit, within which a Summit operation will be considered valid. This Vertical Distance will define a contour outlining an Activation Zone within which a Summit operation will be considered valid. This Vertical Distance will normally be 25 metres. I seem to recall that there was a concern for places where the only parking was within 25 meters of the summit you were allowed to park, unload and haul your gear outside the activation zone and then carry it back into the activation zone. However, I don't see that mentioned in the rules. |