Welcome to my blog page!

Thanks for stopping by! You'll find radio-related blog entries here, the GREAT majority of which will be related to SOTA (Summits on the Air). I run QRP, almost always at 4 watts unless I'm using a different radio.

Videos can be found on my YouTube channel.

Other information can be found on my webpage. Learning CW, more about SOTA, and a few other things.

Friday, June 5, 2020

Yellowstone Mesa W7A/NM-062

The top of the mesa
This is one of the first activations I do during Arizona's summer bonus season. It's a little ways out, but not far across the border into AZ from UT. Being a mesa, there's no vertical climb. I usually get out earlier in the morning before it gets too hot. Some years there's rattler's or flies--this year was clear of both.


Trail report:
Access is gained from Highway 59 in Utah, which becomes Highway 389 in Arizona. The turn off is a few miles south of Colorado City, AZ onto county road 239 which heads due south for about 11 miles. This county road is a nice dirt road the entire way and can be taken by pretty much any vehicle. The road ends at an old gravel pit which is a mere 150 yards to the high point, and it's
basically just climbing out of the pit. There are three benchmarks at the top. Flat and rocky with a few short trees and a nice view from the edge. There are rattlers in the area.

The experience:
This is a great time of year to go, the flowers are blooming and it's not terribly hot until about noon. It really shows the beauty the desert can have. There's a rock formation that creates a little shelf that's perfect for setting up. A few rocks nearby to steady the mast and all is ready to go. This was the fourth activation using the Te-Ne-Ke as my main key as a test of how it holds up and how much I like it.

There was lots of activity so I ended up staying longer than usual. Probably less than half the time I try 30 meters to see how it goes. Normally I do well enough on 20m and 40m that I don't even bother. I thought I would try it out this time--I only ended up with one contact on that band.

Because I had been on so long this time, I went back to 20m to see if there were others out there and I got quite a few more (I had started earlier than normal for me to begin with). The highlight of the morning was getting Lars in Sweden, SA4BLM.

Video of the four activations using Te-Ne-Ke

Date:05/06/2020 | Summit:W7A/NM-062 (Yellowstone Mesa) | Call Used:AC0PR | Points: 6 | Bonus: 3
TimeCallsignBandModeNotes
14:27KI4TN14MHzCW
14:45K6KM14MHzCW
14:48AB4PP14MHzCW
14:49KH2TJ14MHzCW
14:49AC7P14MHzCW
14:49N7EDK14MHzCW
14:50K6YK14MHzCW
14:51N0RZ14MHzCW
14:52K4MF14MHzCW
14:52NG6R14MHzCW
14:53N6TVN14MHzCW
14:53N4MJ14MHzCW
14:54K1LB14MHzCW
14:54K3TCU14MHzCW
14:55KI5WA14MHzCW
14:55WU7H14MHzCW
14:56K7TP14MHzCW
14:57KA5PVB14MHzCW
14:58AD5TF14MHzCW
14:59WD4CFN14MHzCW
15:03W7RV7MHzCW
15:04KE6MT7MHzCW
15:05WA6KYR7MHzCW
15:05WW7D7MHzCW
15:06K6HPX7MHzCW
15:06W0NF7MHzCW
15:07K8FB7MHzCW
15:08K6QCB7MHzCW
15:09K7SO7MHzCW
15:15WA2USA10MHzCW
15:20K9OZ14MHzCW
15:20W0ERI14MHzCW
15:23K0FX14MHzCW
15:24NG7A14MHzCW
15:25WB2FUV14MHzCW
15:26W2AFE14MHzCW
15:28K0LAF14MHzCW
15:28N4LAG14MHzCW
15:29W0MNA14MHzCW
15:30SA4BLM14MHzCW
15:33N4EX14MHzCW
15:34W0NF14MHzCW

Contact map:

Radio-related Equipment:
  Linked dipole, homebrewed (4 bands)
  Picopaddle (backup) 
  Earbuds

Other gear (always carried no matter the summit):
  Leypin selfie stick tripod (for recording video)
  Outdoor Products 3-liter water hydration bladder
  First-aid kit
  Gloves
  Compass
  Trekking poles
  Clipboard
  Android MotoZ (US topo map app, spotting, UTC time, recording)
  Guying kit (rarely used on activations)
  Hoodie
  Rain jacket
  Beanie
  Extra socks
  Small bungees (for securing mast to bush, tree, etc.)
  Misc. items (for repair, food, matches, etc.)

Thanks for reading!

72,
Mike ACØPR

No comments:

Post a Comment