Ham radio: any SOTA chasers here

[Salty]

I've been thinking of activating some peaks, particularly those never done (Shoal Pond Peak is high on my list***). Just curious if anyone is interested in announcements here if they don't follow the reflector. Just got my KX2 in and I'm loving it through some test runs**.

Translation for everyone else. Ham radio is a licensed activity where you can contact other operators in the world on bands below AM, between AM and FM (shortwave) and beyond up to microwaves. Shortwave allows contact to anywhere in the world with low power.

SOTA is the Summits on the Air program where folks climb a peak and run their radios, generally at the power of a nightlight. I've made many contact around the world with 5W. SOTA is not a contest but more of a just for fun to see how many contacts you can make as well as the people contacting them (chasers) to see how many summits they can get.

There's a bunch of 3k's in NH I'd love to climb again so I think it's a neat way to motivate me.

**Damned good thing because my 15 month old FTDX101MP has to be returned AGAIN for repairs.

*** We swore we hit the high point but there was no jar so I'd love to find that point and the jar to see how far off they are. Been bugging the crap out of me for years.. .

73,
KA1CJI

 

[NHChris]

Last time I was on Mt Martha I met a guy putting it on the air. He had a dipole strung across the summit. Fun!

Good luck and ride that sunspot cycle as long as you can Salty.

KA1D

 

[Salty]

Oh man, 10 meters has been insanely fun.

 

[maineguy]

I used to do SOTA before it was a thing. Used my Kenwood 2M HT on summits from the Adirondacks to Baxter. Lots of fun. About 98% of the time I used repeaters. This was back in the late 80s to early 90s. Out here I don't hear much SOTA but lots of POTA (Parks on the Air).

 

[Salty]

I used to do SOTA before it was a thing. Used my Kenwood 2M HT on summits from the Adirondacks to Baxter. Lots of fun. About 98% of the time I used repeaters. This was back in the late 80s to early 90s. Out here I don't hear much SOTA but lots of POTA (Parks on the Air).

Yep, same here in the early 80;s. POTA's big around here as well, SOTA not so much but with POTA you don't need to do a bunch of exercise.

 

[skiguy]

Myself and my KX3 have sporadically done both chasing and activating. Living at the foot of the White Mountains provides well for both as there is an active hiking base to begin with. I have spent a good portion of my time activating sub 3000 foot and 2000 foot peaks as they are way more obscure for the most part than the peaks 3000 feet or higher. In fact I was able to activate a peak just shy of 1400 feet by literally walking out the front door of my house to Summit. I like hiking to these obscure knobs and operating as I usually have the place to myself. QRP is fun in the field but I do like being in the shack also and cranking up the juice.

 

[Salty]

Thanks, I was hoping to hear from you knowing you're a ham. I think all of the 3ks that haven't been activated are whacks, and I there's only been twice in my years of off-trail travel I've actually ran across someone. Same as you, I like the solitude, and that's probably why I'm not terribly interested in POTA.

I enjoy QRP for contests since I'm not a big gun (dipoles and 200W) and don't spend 18 or whatever hours in the shack, so it gets me decently on the board and it's always fascinating to see what I can work 5W. Solar cycle doesn't hurt any. I also run FT8 at home which I pretty much refuse to run above 5W given the advantages of the mode.

73,
Salty

 

[skiguy]

I enjoy QRP for contests since I'm not a big gun (dipoles and 200W) and don't spend 18 or whatever hours in the shack, so it gets me decently on the board and it's always fascinating to see what I can work 5W. Solar cycle doesn't hurt any. I also run FT8 at home which I pretty much refuse to run above 5W given the advantages of the mode.

73,
Salty

Not a contester but do enjoy the QRP DX. Best part of being on the eastern flank of the Whites is not only SOTA but going 180 degrees and having pretty much unobstructed line of sight to The Atlantic. Looking at your QRZ page glad to see I’m not the only operator that got delegated to the upstairs of their garage by the XYL. 73’s KC1AEL

 

[SAR-EMT40]

I just bought a Xiegu x6200 and was able to talk on LSB to France a couple of days ago on 5 watts from my back deck in Freedom. I have always enjoyed QRP and use to contact people back in CT and NY while camping in the Whites using a FT-817 and a wire NVIS antenna setup. I am hoping to use this new rig for SOTA and POTA at some time. I am starting to get strong interest in FT8. I use to use PSK31 and really liked that mode back years ago. I am studying for my Extra. When I pass that, I plan on studying Morse code again. I would like to use that mode a lot more.
73

 

[NHChris]

FT8 is an amazing mode. You are working signals that are 30 db below the noise floor.

But the exchanges are quite structured and don’t seem to foster any chit chat. Plus the computer does all the work leaving the op as a spectator. Very different type of hamming.

 

[SAR-EMT40]

FT8 is an amazing mode. You are working signals that are 30 db below the noise floor.

But the exchanges are quite structured and don’t seem to foster any chit chat. Plus the computer does all the work leaving the op as a spectator. Very different type of hamming.

Exactly. That is why I liked PSK31. But if you are chasing contacts only, then FT-8 is an amazing mode. The x6200 actually has FT-8 receive build in. I am sure that the rest of the transmitter portion could be put together with a raspberry pi for something compact. And speaking of psk31 there is also a psk62 I believe. I will be looking into that as well.

 

[maineguy]

 

[skiguy]

Exactly. That is why I liked PSK31. But if you are chasing contacts only, then FT-8 is an amazing mode. The x6200 actually has FT-8 receive build in. I am sure that the rest of the transmitter portion could be put together with a raspberry pi for something compact. And speaking of psk31 there is also a psk62 I believe. I will be looking into that as well.

Something kind of mindless about FT-8. I guess I just have a problem with letting a computer detecting and encoding sub-audible transmissions. I do delve into it now and again but I like a more interactive experience. Granted it’s OK when other modes are long but I’d rather operate with more of a cerebral experience. Here is another mode for you contestors to chew on this weekend. https://www.rttycontesting.com/

 

[maineguy]

The radio club at the university I attended had a RTTY setup. It was the old style mechanical rig (looked like a big clunky typewriter) and there was some kind of o-scope you used to synch the signal. I only used it a couple of times. I guess today it is all done with software. In the Navy, there were lots of RTTY machines shipboard.

 

[skiguy]

The radio club at the university I attended had a RTTY setup. It was the old style mechanical rig (looked like a big clunky typewriter) and there was some kind of o-scope you used to synch the signal. I only used it a couple of times. I guess today it is all done with software. In the Navy, there were lots of RTTY machines shipboard.

 

[Remix]

About 5 years before the Internet, I found that 140mW NFM was fine for a conversation between Mt Mansfield and Mt Washington

I find that there's very little repeater traffic these days.

If you get bored and your radio receives a.m. , try listening to 323.8MHZ for the Air national guard tanker (Pease or Bangor) operations. The actual missions seem to be on random frequencies

 

[skiguy]

About 5 years before the Internet, I found that 140mW NFM was fine for a conversation between Mt Mansfield and Mt Washington

I find that there's very little repeater traffic these days.

If you get bored and your radio receives a.m. , try listening to 323.8MHZ for the Air national guard tanker (Pease or Bangor) operations. The actual missions seem to be on random frequencies

Interesting technology but not HAM. Don’t think you’ll being doing much SOTA.

 

[Salty]

Not a contester but do enjoy the QRP DX. Best part of being on the eastern flank of the Whites is not only SOTA but going 180 degrees and having pretty much unobstructed line of sight to The Atlantic. Looking at your QRZ page glad to see I’m not the only operator that got delegated to the upstairs of their garage by the XYL. 73’s KC1AEL

Actually, my house is from 1789 and is not very spacious, so when I had to rebuild the garage some years ago I tossed in a loft and it was a no brainer. Closer to the feedpoints as well.

 

[Salty]

Something kind of mindless about FT-8. I guess I just have a problem with letting a computer detecting and encoding sub-audible transmissions. I do delve into it now and again but I like a more interactive experience. Granted it’s OK when other modes are long but I’d rather operate with more of a cerebral experience. Here is another mode for you contestors to chew on this weekend. https://www.rttycontesting.com/

I had a similar feeling at first about FT-8, but keeping the wattage to 5W feels more like "fair means". I'll also swap around antennas if I don't get a call back after a while, as well as scope out clear transmit audio freqs., so I at least put a little work into it. Honestly, with CW when working new DX it's really no different to me. Get your call answered and send the obligatory "5NN TU" and that's it.

 

[skiguy]

I had a similar feeling at first about FT-8, but keeping the wattage to 5W feels more like "fair means". I'll also swap around antennas if I don't get a call back after a while, as well as scope out clear transmit audio freqs., so I at least put a little work into it. Honestly, with CW when working new DX it's really no different to me. Get your call answered and send the obligatory "5NN TU" and that's it.

CW your using grey matter in the present. FT-8 is preprogramed and built around macros. I see a big difference between those modes. Best thing about HAM radio as a hobby is there is something for everyone.