Contesting

JMMFD 2015 Results

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While not a part of the big VK5 multi/multi effort  (see  John Moyle Field day station  VK5WIA – On the air and John Moyle Memorial Field day over for another year for some details) – we had a go!

We operated from PF95tx near Morgan in SA.  We have a “shack” (well 4 walls and a roof!) on a 5Ha bush block just out of town that offers a reasonably quiet HF environment and no neighbours close enough to bother when running the generator to charge the batteries!

I did a 6hr from around 16:00 Saturday afternoon and ended with 84 Contacts across 80, 40, 20 and 15M – Yes, I did it tough using only the KX3.   And no there is not a QRP section for the JMMFD!

Yes, running QRP did put me at a disadvantage, but that is not the point!  Reality is,  that at any given moment, I can grab my QRP kit and be ready to go portable and set up with the minimum of fuss. after all, the aim of the contest is  to encourage and provide familiarisation with portable and field operation  and one would wonder why there is not a QRP portable section for this Contest.

The other side of this is that given I was only running a QRP station I still had a reasonable number of contacts.

  • 80M – 5 Contacts
  • 40M – 71 Contacts
  • 20M – 7 Contacts
  • 15M – 1 Contact

Nothing on 160M or 10M

When we woke up this morning, Ray (VK5RR) proceeded to have a go, with just under 5 hours worked and ending with 89 contacts across 80, 40, 20 and 15M – but he was using the 7100 and 100W!

  • 80M – 1 Contact
  • 40M – 66 Contacts
  • 20M – 21 Contacts
  • 15M  – 1 Contact

Anyway, we had a bit of fun – yeah, we were by no means a big gun and nowhere near a winning score – but it was good to be able to give it a go.

Given we were only using quite modest Antenna’s and most of the contacts were made using one of the 3 dipoles, it was not too bad.

Looking forward to hearing the rest of the results.

Edit – adding a couple of photos from while I was operaing

Bob JMMFD Bob JMMFD 2

Contesting

John Moyle Field Day 2015

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For the JMMFD 2015 I decided that I was going to enter as a single-operator in the 6 hour portable Phone HF.

As an added challenge, I have decided to do it all with just the KX3 – so running only QRP power levels as well.  Several month’s of portable operations in Parks and SOTA has convinced me that this set-up should be sound and quite capable.

The difference here is that I have a bit of extra time to plan and set up some more than a single antenna – making it much easier to cover all available HF  Bands by simply swapping cables on the KX3.

 

You can get a bit of an idea of the setup from the short video.

Anyway, off to double-check the setup and get ready for the contest – will provide an update later on.

Equipment, SOTA

After Breakfast

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A bit of an impromptu Activation today of Mt Lofty.

Work has been getting in the way of heading out portable over the last week or so but today, I grabbed an opportunity.

Well, this morning had a very nice brunch at the Crafers Gourmet Deli which was is only 4 km from the summit.  Highly recommended – grab a meal, then do a SOTA activation!  On the way out the door, grabbed the bag and checked that I had everything I needed.

First off Breakfast was awesome!

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Yeah, it was worth the drive to the Cafe!

Anyway after a nice meal, it was off to Mt Lofty summit.

We set up about 100m from the car park just inside the gates on 40M  and put up a spot and gave a few calls.

It was pretty tough going – some of the worst conditions I can remember for a long time on 40M – Every single contact was a challenge.  So much that it was a releif when I made the 4th and qualified this summit (first time in 2015)

After a struggle on 40, with 10 contacts logged across VK2,3 and 7.  There were some chasers who were way down in the noise, that I could not pull out.

And a Big THANKS (NOT!) to the “helpful” person who decided that they felt the need to relay callsigns and signal reports and therefore invalidating a couple of contacts.  Whilst you think you are helping, you only guarantee that a chaser is not logged and gets no points.

I tried 30M next.  It was a lot better, the contacts were quite a bit easier – and put 4 into the log here from VK1,2 and 3.  30M is the sweet spot most of the time from VK5 into VK1 – or the 900km distance mark nearly every time I try 30, I end up with VK1 chasers in the log.  Today was no exception and the noise on 30 was quite a bit lower than on 40.

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While I was calling on 30M (yeah gotta love the voice keyer on the KX3!)

Off to 20M, hoping to pick up any of the VK6 boys – but no such luck. Did manage to pull out a couple who said they could not hear me on both lower bands at all so it was worth the try.  20M added 6 more chasers to the logs from VK3,4 and a surprise – VK5 as well.  Once again, 20M conditions were not brilliant, but the noise was even less than the lower bands and it made the contacts that much easier.

Finally I jumped back to 40M and hoped that the conditions had improved, but well, lets just say that not really!  I did add a few extra contacts to the logs across VK3 and 5.

One thing for sure the WX was about perfect for a summit hovering around the 20 deg mark and nice and sunny.

Finally pulled the plug after about 90 minutes and had 26 contacts logged.  Thanks to all the chasers who persisted in tough conditions to make this an enjoyable activation.

Batteries

I have recently switched over to using 4S 5000maH Lipo batteries for my portable  operations – and dropped the weight down from 2.7kg for a 9aH SLAB to 550g.  Today, I did this whole 90 minute activation using the same battery that I had for my last 2 Friday evening Twilight Activation’s.  I have not written them up, but the first was nearly 3 1/2 hours, and the 2nd was about 2/12 hours.  At the end of today, this put just over 7 hours of operations on the battery – and at the end it was still about 35% charge remaining.

I have just finished floating it up and in fact, it was only 60% down.

This is a massive improvement over the time I was getting from the SLAB’s with their inherent high internal resistance and low voltage.

Yes, 4S Lipo when fully charged is 16.8V, which is a tad hot for the KX3 – so yes, I do utilize a battery conditioner which I have posted about before.

For the $32 for the battery (hard case from hobby king) it is one of the best investments I have made for my portable kit.  Now I know that with the 2 batteries I have, I can do at least 10 hours of portable operations and not need to worry.

SOTA

Don’t take it for granted.

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… yeah , the scenery and beauty of our summits that is.

As I am sure most SOTA chasers will be aware, there was a devastating bushfire that swept thru the the Mt Gawler summit and burnt nearly 12,000Ha and several homes.

Today was the first time I ventured back up this hill since the fires 3 weeks ago.

What I mean by not taking it for granted was this – I go up there “all the time” and only have a very small number of photos of the scenery.  I did manage to pull a photo from my 2014/2015 roll-over activation – and that was because we set up a 6M beam  and I wanted a photo of that.

So, first off the before.

Mt Gawler

You cannot really see a great deal – but you can see that it it typical eucalyptus bush.

The first view of smoke – towards Mt Gawler
Mt gawler fire

The during – This was when the fire was at it’s worst and looking directly towards Mt Gawler.

Fire in the hills

The photo was from 7km away and yes, those flames are well over 50M tall!

Today, 3 weeks later.

After the fire

Not quite the same perspective as the before photo, but from a similar spot – yes, burnt right up to the fenceline and really destroyed a lot of the bush for sure.

Another spot – this is just opposite the gateway to Noel’s property (where the trig point is) and that pile of cut down trees that were probably over the road is where I used to park the car when activating.  No, not enough space to pull off the road anymore, so I will be activating from a bit further along the road for the time being.

Mt Gawler

Now, what I am truly looking forward to over the next several month’s is watching the transformation of this summit and surrounds back to what it was.

But yet again, thus summit surprised me – with the wildlife!  We had a kangaroo come up thru the burnt area to within about 10m of us, and then hopped off, and when we were leaving, one of the Emu’s we often see was spotted on the back deck of a house that survived – joining a party!

The fire was intense in this area and no doubt, it will be a good few years before it is anything like it was but also what we saw was amazing – at how close this fire got to so many houses and the house are still there without too much sign of damage.

Anyway, onto the Activation!

Had a really pleasant afternoon, and  started out on 40M and was able to provide points to 22 stations across VK1, VK2,VK3 and VK5.  It was not too hectic, just a few times where there was more than 1 caller, but worked everyone eventually!

Jumped up to 20M hoping for a little bit of EU action, and worked VK6MB, ON5SWA, DJ5AV and OK2PDT – then it was as someone switched off the band to EU – could hear a little bit but way down, but pleased to have at least some DX.

A quick try on 17M, but no takers, so jumped onto 30M and picked up a couple more, before jumping back to 40M and had a couple of final contacts before packing up.

Yeah, I’ll be making more of an effort to take a couple of photos each and every time I head out be it to a summit or a park, because you literally never know if it will ever be the same again.

Thanks again to all the chasers – look forward to working everyone from another summit or park soon!

Edit: addition of a few extra photos.

 Extra Photos

After a post on the Yahoo Group, Ed shared a video from his Activation on the SA SOTA 1st anniversary  I actually have some photos that are from the same direction as early in the video.

It just goes to show, that sometimes what we take for granted ( a local hill) is something special for a visitor!

Mt gawler

Mt Gawler

Looking Out across towards Gawler, and for the astute, if you look at the Emu photo in the coat of arms activation it is the same direction

Towards Gawler from Mt Gawler

And Finally, check Ed’s video carefully for the Signpost at Mt Gawler Road and Richardson Road – the tree is no more.

Intersection

Intersection

Ed’s video is a further reminder that the Camera is an essential part of the portable kit, and should be used every single outing.

Equipment, VK5 Parks Activations

Morgan CP

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Boxing day 26th Dec 2014 Morgan CP Activation Report

Morgan CP was the 2nd ever CP that I activated way back in April or there about.

I was in Morgan, and saw that Paul (5PAS was going to be heading out, so ducked over to the CP , and set up.  I had made a few changes to my portable station and this was a good chance to try them out.

The obvious one….

Morgan CP 20141226

Yeah, what I call my SotaPost – it is a 1M long “star” post with a foot peg, handle and pole support welded on.  The foot peg, for pushing it into the ground, the handle for well, holding it and also easy removal and the pole support is pretty obvious.

The soil is quite sandy (in places where it is not solid rock) at this CP, and I needed to find a suitable location where I could raise the pole the 9M without trees – the pole was a big bonus, and even though it was only in the sand about 300-400mm it was a solid support for the squid pole and the 40M dipole, it did not look like falling over.

Now, the other additions which you can’t see (i’ll write up a separate post on later) is an updated power system.  Yes, after one too many times of lugging the 9aH SLAB’s around I grabbed a 4S 5000maH LiPo battery, necessary charger and a battery monitor.

The biggest benefits are actually that the battery weight has now reduced from 2.7kg down to 530g, which when on a long hike is a massive saving, and this alone allows me to pack my SotaPost and still come in lighter overall!

Yes, the 4S LiPo is 14.8V (nominal) and up to 16.85V fully charged, it means I can’t directly connect it to the KX3. But connected to my DC-DC conditioner (which I have mentioned in the past) it worked a real treat, and much to my surprise, this battery source looks like it is going to be very close in usable life to the 9aH SLAB.

As you can see from the photo, I chose to just set up in a shady spot to operate from.  The weather was near perfect for being out and about, with the temperature in the mid 20’s and a gentle breeze to keep the files away.

So, without posting an alert, and just posting a spot to ParksnPeaks website, I started calling on 40M and before long the chasers had found me.  It really is an indication that by Spotting when out and about you will get calls.

It was a pretty relaxed activation and the calls were fairly steady, no pile-ups, so I was able to have a bit of a chat with the chasers on this activation, rather than the usual (hectic) hello,  signal report and move on, which made for a nice change.

Literally while waiting for Paul to come on the air, I worked several VK3 and VK5 stations, including a contact with Joe (3YSP) and Julie (3FOWL) who were portable in the Warby-Ovens National Park.

Not long after that, I heard Paul also talking to Joe and Julie before he moved to another frequency, where I was able to make a P2P contact to Paul (5PAS) in Munyaroo CP (via Whyalla).

14 Contacts in around 90 minutes on a very pleasant afternoon – yeah, this is why I love going out portable.

My portable operation of 90 Minutes and a check on the LiPo at the end saw that I had only used around 15% of the charge, and given that during this activation the TX time was probably quite high, given I was able to chat a bit more with almost all chasers is an indication that this power solution is more than adequate for at least a full day’s of portable operations.  More to come as I actually use it in the coming days.