Big news — I’m proud to announce that the Second Edition of my book VHF, Summits, and More is now available. I’ve received tons of positive feedback on the first edition, published in 2019, and I decided it was time for an update. This new version is printed in color, which greatly enhances the photos and graphics.
This book is an easy-to-understand introduction to VHF/UHF ham radio with an emphasis on mountaintop VHF operation. I’ve enjoyed ham radio and writing about it ever since I received my first FCC license. Although I’ve used the ham bands from 160m to 3cm (10 GHz), I find the VHF and higher frequencies the most interesting. This is mainly because of the interplay between mountains, Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT), and VHF propagation. VHF has lots of spectrum, lots of modes, and lots of fun challenges.
For the second edition, I gave everything a fresh look. I updated every chapter and added 100 pages of new material. In Part I, the VHF tutorial section, I added new chapters to improve the treatment of basic VHF/UHF: Popular VHF/UHF Bands, Antennas, Coaxial Cables & Connectors, and WSJT-X Digital Modes. Part II covers topics that originated from my blog, often based on questions I hear from newer hams. In Part III, which is focused on SOTA, I added several chapters on how to be successful doing VHF SOTA, and I added a few new trip reports. I also added some information on combined SOTA/POTA activations.
The book is available in two formats: a color print edition and a Kindle edition, both available from Amazon. The print version ships immediately; the Kindle version will follow shortly.
Order your copy now. Operators are standing by.
(Actually, just use the Amazon site.)
A view of W0C/SP-096, also known as “Bow Tie Mountain”
On December 1, most SOTA summits in Colorado gain an additional 3 points due to the Seasonal (Winter) Bonus. Joyce/K0JJW and I were looking for a summit not too far away that was still accessible for us to activate. This time of year, many US Forest Service roads are gated shut. Other roads remain open but are not maintained, which means they become impassable as the snow accumulates.
Recently, Ray/KD8EQA reminded me of W0C/SP-096, an unnamed summit unofficially known as Bow Tie Mountain. Ray writes:
Once upon a time… many years ago… in a land of many mountains and many activators named Steve… two of the Steves, K7PX and WG0AT, became good friends and would often hike and activate together. … in the spirit of being silly and having fun… that one or both Steves could be seen wearing a tie during their activations. Soon, the unofficial challenge was underway to see who could show up with the coolest, “make a statement” tie. And this quickly led to the ultimate tie statement… a bow tie! So, guess which summit is credited with being the one where the most memorable, outlandish, bow tie antics took place… the one the Steves refer to as Bow Tie Mountain? Yup, it’s peak 10214, SOTA reference W0C/SP-096.
The complete Bow Tie Mountain story is here, along with an invitation to come play along. Other SOTA folks have activated SP-096 during the winter months, so it seemed likely to be accessible in early December. There was a couple of inches of new snow on the ground, but it was easy-peasy to drive the Jeep there.
Driving directions to SP-096, starting from Highway 9, south of Hartsel.
To get to SP-096, head south out of Hartsel on Highway 9. Then turn east/northeast on CR 116. You will drive right past Threemile Mountain (SP-107), a popular summit with year-round access. These two summits can be done together in the same day but we opted just to do SP-096.
It is an easy hike to the summit, following the closed two-track road.
The parking spot for the trailhead is 38.86462, -10556085. There is an old 4WD road, now closed, that leads up to the saddle just west of the summit. It is an easy hike on the road, then off-trail to the summit. My GPS app clocked it as 0.5 miles one-way and 500 feet vertical. This is about as easy as it gets for a SOTA hike.
Joyce/K0JJW hiking on the abandoned road to the saddle.
Weather
The weather forecast for Dec 1 called for 27 degrees F at the summit, which turned out to be about right. I expected there would be enough wind to drive us off the summit quickly. “Hey, let’s get our four contacts and get the heck out of here.” Instead, the wind was mostly calm, the sun was out, and it was very pleasant.
With the incredible blue sky, the views were stunning in all directions. The fresh snow was just enough to add texture and definition to the various mountains and surrounding slopes.
Following established custom, we took this photo wearing bow ties on the summit. That is Pikes Peak in the background.
The 2m band was pretty quiet, but we did manage to work five stations on 2m FM. The best DX for the day was Matt/KF0RIG in Colorado Springs, about 45 miles away. This is not a very long distance for 2m FM, except that Pikes Peak is blocking the way. Matt had a Yagi at his house pointed at Pikes, and we did the same on our end. Somehow the signal got through, perhaps via knife-edge diffraction. I was impressed that we completed the contact.
Try It
This summit seems to be underappreciated, with only 29 activations. About one-third of these were done by one of the Steves (K7PX or WG0AT). This seems to happen with smaller, unnamed summits. But now it’s got a name and the Bow Tie tradition, so you are invited to give it a try.
Here’s an update on the most activated SOTA summits in Colorado. See my previous report here. Mount Herman (W0C/FR-063) still leads the pack by a wide margin, with many activations by Steve/WG0AT.
A view of Pikes Peak from Mt Herman.
Genesee Mountain has passed up Pikes Peak to take second place in the running. Genessee is in a park just outside of greater Denver and is easy to access. I notice many out-of-town SOTA enthusiasts going up there to get on the air and make some contacts. Pikes Peak is a 14er but has a road to the top, and most of those activations are probably aided by a vehicle. Chief Mountain is a popular hike not too far from Denver, coming in at fourth place. Mount Blue Sky (formerly Mount Evans) is also a 14er with a road to the top. However, it dropped off the list due to the reduced access caused by recent road construction in the area.
Thorodin Mountain ranks fifth and seems to be gaining in popularity, with Carey/KX0R as a frequent activator.
The summit formerly known as Squaw Mountain, now Mestaa’ehehe Mountain (W0C/PR-082), comes in at sixth place. There is a gated road to the top, so most activators hike that road.
Most of these summits are in the Front Range section of W0C, close to major cities, which aids their popularity. The other two are listed in the Sawatch and Park Ranges, but they are also not far from the large urban areas.
First in North America
In North America, Mount Herman is second only to Mount Davidson (W6/NC-423), which currently has 846 activations, many of them by Ellliot/K6EL. Davidson is a small 1-point summit in the middle of San Francisco, so it is easily accessible to a large population. This video by W6DFM provides a tour of that summit. Another notable summit is Vollmer Peak (W6/NC-298), an easy-to-access peak with 551 activations.
So that’s your update on SOTA activations in Colorado.
When I get asked why I only use VHF/UHF frequencies for my Summits On The Air (SOTA) activations, I usually reply with:
Height Above Average Terrain
More specifically, I mean that using VHF for SOTA is fun because Height Above Average Terrain (HAAT) has a dramatic effect on the propagation of my radio signal.
HAAT has a specific definition, found in the FCC regulations. HAAT basically describes the height of a transmitter relative to the surrounding terrain in all directions at distances of 3 to 16 km. This HAAT calculator tool provides the HAAT of a site based on its latitude and longitude. Note that the FCC definition of HAAT compares against the terrain relatively close to the transmitter, 16 km (10 miles). For SOTA purposes, we are more concerned with distances further away.
In a recent presentation on mountaintop VHF operating (Hamcon Colorado), I provided these two contrasting examples to drive home the importance of HAAT.
Punkin Center
Punkin Center is a small town located on the eastern plains of Colorado. The elevation is 5364 feet, and its HAAT is roughly zero feet. That is, the terrain is flat. Punkin Center is a fine place to be, but it is not a very good VHF location. The radio range using a 5-watt VHF handheld radio is about 4 miles.
Pikes Peak
Compare this to America’s Mountain, Pikes Peak, which has an elevation of 14,115 feet and a HAAT of 4,445 feet. That is, it rises more than 4,000 feet above the surrounding terrain. (The height advantage is even more pronounced when looking further east towards Kansas, where the highest elevation is ~4,000 feet.) Based on my experience operating from Pikes, the VHF handheld range is over 100 miles.
The improved HAAT of Pikes Peak provides a VHF radio range that is 25 times better than Punkin Center. Again, nothing wrong with Punkin Center, but if I want to make VHF contacts, I’ll choose Pikes Peak.
Let’s compare this to using the High Frequency (HF) bands. The normal propagation mode on HF is skywave propagation via the F layer, which supports radio propagation across North America and around the world (depending on frequency, time of day, solar conditions, blah blah blah). The radio signal refracts off the ionosphere and can go very long distances. From Pikes Peak, I can work the world. From Punkin Center, I can work the world. Not much difference, except the views from Pikes are generally better, and the oxygen is less plentiful.
So when I hike up a mountain, I am excited to get out the VHF gear and see what contacts I can make due to the improved HAAT. I don’t get as excited about working HF, because I can do that from home…or Punkin Center, or other places, with similar results.
Other SOTA activators see it differently, and that is just fine. (VHF contacts represent only ~20% of all SOTA contacts.) There are many ways to enjoy SOTA and ham radio. Just make sure you have fun messing around with radios.
I’ve been having fun with mountaintop VHF ham radio for decades, way before Summits On The Air (SOTA) was a thing. It is an activity that I enjoy very much during VHF contests, Parks On The Air (POTA) activations, SOTA activations, and just goofing around in the mountains. Most of this activity has been on the 2-meter band, but any frequency above 50 MHz can be fun.
My philosophy with ham radio is to have fun doing ham radio things and tell people about it. If they think VHF SOTA looks like fun, other hams may try it. At the same time, I want to be open about the challenges that may be encountered. Doing SOTA activations using just VHF can be difficult, even frustrating. (This is one of the reasons I like doing it.) So this post is a cautionary tale, focused on three essential principles.
Genesee Mountain overlooks the greater Denver area.
1. VHF SOTA is easy to do, except when it’s not
A VHF SOTA activation can be as simple as taking a $30 handheld radio on a hike up a summit and making a few contacts on 146.52 MHz or another simplex frequency. The radio is compact, lightweight, and completely self-contained, ready to go! This is arguably the easiest way to do a SOTA activation if the summit is near a populated area. For example, Genesee Mountain (W0C/FR-194) at 8284 feet overlooks the greater Denver area, so hike to that summit and you should have plenty of stations to work on 2m FM.
Now, try that same approach in a more rural part of the state and you may run into trouble. This is when VHF SOTA is challenging and potentially frustrating.
Which leads us to the second important principle…
2. You need to have chasers within range to contact
This is obvious, but you do need stations that are within range to work. This becomes more difficult in areas that have low population density. There may not be many radio hams within range of your chosen summit; they may not have 2m FM gear, they may not be listening to your frequency, and they may not even have the radio turned on.
Aspen Ridge (W0C/SP-084) is an example of a nice summit that is not near a large population of radio amateurs.
Before activating a summit, consider the likely range and how many chasers might be around for you to contact. Take, for example, Aspen Ridge (W0C/SP-084) on the west side of South Park. The hike up is easy, and the elevation is substantial at 10,740 feet. The map shown above has a circle with a radius of ~25 miles, which is a conservative rule of thumb to get us started. Making radio contacts within this radius should be a slam dunk from this elevation, but it does depend on the actual terrain.
From the map, we can see that we should be able to work stations in Buena Vista and Salida, which are small mountain towns with a corresponding small ham radio population. Some of these folks make it a habit to monitor 146.52 MHz to see what activity occurs on the calling frequency, which helps. But it helps to get the word out to the target audience that you will be on the air. The basic idea is to “send invitations” for your planned activation. The local radio club (Chaffee Lake Amateur Radio Association) has a groups.io list, so you could drop an email message there. If you know some of the hams in the area, you can always reach out and ask them to be listening for you. It is always good to post an ALERT and then a SPOT on SOTAwatch because some chasers may see that. Also, keep an eye on SOTAwatch for other SOTA activators that are on other summits. Another trick is to get on a local repeater and see if anyone is around that can move over to simplex for a SOTA contact. During the summer months, it is common to encounter tourists, campers, hikers, or off-road enthusiasts on 2m simplex.
Looking at my Aspen Ridge logs, I see that I’ve worked K0MGL at his home station near Florrisant, at about 60 miles, with some mountains in the way. So the 25-mile radius shown on the map is quite conservative. (Much longer distances are possible.) Now, I probably would not be able to work K0MGL with just a handheld radio and a rubber duck antenna.
Which leads us to our third and final principle…
3. Every decibel of signal strength matters
VHF radio often gets described as being limited to “line of sight,” which is a helpful model but one that is incomplete. (See The Myth of VHF Line of Sight.) I often make VHF contacts beyond line of sight, bouncing signals around the mountains without knowing the actual radio path. These VHF SOTA contacts happen at the fringes of radio coverage. That is, there is just enough signal to complete a contact, but small changes in signal strength can make the difference between success and failure. So you should optimize your station as best you can.
First up is ditch the rubber duck antenna and get an antenna that is a half-wave in length on the 2-meter band. See A Better Antenna for Dualband Handhelds. Make sure it is a half-wave and not just one of those extended rubber duck antennas that are a quarter-wave. Those work a little better than the typical rubber duck, but the half-wave is far superior.
Another half-wave option is the roll-up J-pole antenna, such as the N9TAX Slim Jim antenna. (There is a slight difference in construction between a J-pole and a Slim Jim antenna but they are so similar, I consider them the same.) You can purchase this type of antenna already assembled, but it also makes for a fun project to build one from scratch. (Just search on the web for “2 meter j-pole antenna plan.”) You’ll need some way to support this antenna, such as a non-conductive pole or a rope strung from a tree.
The next step up in antenna performance is to add additional gain and directivity. I use the Arrow II 2m Yagi antenna, which provides about 6 dB of gain over a half-wave radiator. I normally just hold this antenna in my hand, but you can also set up a mast to support it.
Another option is to increase your power level. The typical HT puts out about 5 watts but a mobile radio can go up to 50 watts, a 10-dB improvement. While antenna improvements help on both transmit and receive, increased transmitter power only makes your transmitted signal stronger. However, if the other station is also running 50 watts in a vehicle or at home, more power from the summit tends to balance things out.
The key point here is that even a few decibels of improvement can yield more radio contacts.
Wrap It Up
So there we have it, three important principles to keep in mind when pursuing SOTA activations using VHF. I have had a ton of fun doing this, but I also know it can be frustrating. The most fun occurs when I make a long-distance contact that I did not expect. (My best DX from a SOTA summit using 2m FM is 245 miles.) Keeping these principles in mind helps to set expectations while providing some ideas for improving your odds of success.
The Summits On The Air (SOTA) program offers a good set of tools for chasing and activating summits. Outside of the SOTA program, many different outdoor and hiking apps are also useful for planning and doing activations.
The tools I use have changed over time, so here’s an inventory of what I am currently using. This is not an exhaustive list, but my own personal, commonly-used list of tools. Recall that I typically chase and activate summits only on frequencies above 50 MHz, which affects how I use these apps.
SOTAwatch is the main website for viewing and posting Alerts and Spots.
Chasing
SOTAwatch is the main website for setting and monitoring Alerts and Spots, always useful.
The GoTo SOTA app on my iPhone is SOTA Goat, which can set and display alerts, spots, and other information. This app is very handy and useable.
I recently wrote about HamAlert, which I normally have set to let me know of any SOTA spot in the state of Colorado (W0C Association). I am looking for summits that I can work on VHF, so I monitor for only in-state activations.
Planning
For planning, the SOTA Atlas (Sotl.as) is an excellent mapping website. It offers some good filtering tools to view such things as unactivated summits, frequently-activated summits, summits that you have not activated this year, etc.
SOTA Atlas is an excellent mapping tool for evaluating potential SOTA summits.
SOTA Atlas does more than just mapping. It includes pages that show other SOTA information.
SOTA Atlas shows the key statistics for a particular SOTA participant, in addition to its powerful mapping features.
Of course, the repository for all things SOTA is the SOTA Database. One handy feature for planning purposes is the Resources section associated with each summit. Here, your fellow SOTA enthusiasts may provide links or tips concerning activating a particular summit.
For more detailed mapping around a particular summit, I use GaiaGPS. I pay for the premium service that provides access to a wide variety of maps, which can be essential for finding the best access and approach to a summit. I use their iOS app, which I load with waypoints for summits in areas that I expect to activate.
Lately, I’ve been using AllTrails to gather route information for a particular hike or summit. There are many hiking apps out there, and you probably have your favorite.
Alerting & Spotting
To set an Alert or Spot, I use either SOTAwatch or SOTA Goat, already mentioned above. An Alert provides advance notice of an activation, while a Spot indicates that an activator is on the summit and on the air.
I have also found it helpful to maintain an email list of potential VHF chasers in my area, and I will drop them a quick email indicating that I’ll be on a summit at a particular time and frequency. These folks may or may not pay attention to SOTAwatch, so pinging them via email lets them know a local activation is coming.
One app and website that I only use occasionally is SOTAmat (“SOTA Mate”). This is a very clever app that supports SOTA (and POTA) spotting when normal internet connectivity is not available. I have not used this app very often, but when I did, it was super helpful.
Logging
My hiking partner Joyce/K0JJW and I usually log on paper during an activation. When we get home, I transfer the paper log into an electronic format using the G0LGS SOTA Editor. This is the best, simple SOTA logging program I have found. Sorry, it only runs on Windows. It stores the log in CSV format, but it can also export the info into ADIF.
Sometimes I need to edit and manipulate the log file, especially when I do a combined SOTA + POTA activation. ADIF Master is an excellent tool for editing ADIF files. (Sorry, Windows only.)
Summary
This is an overview of the main tools I use for SOTA. It is quite awesome that we have these apps and websites available for free or at a very low cost.
Today, Joyce/K0JJW and I activated Kaufman Ridge (W0C/SP-081). This was my 10th activation of this summit and the 8th for Joyce. Kaufman is an easy summit near our cabin, so it is a favorite when we want to do a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation. I’ve posted about how to activate this summit in the past, but a few things have changed over the years, so this update seems appropriate. Because of the off-trail hiking, we always seem to take a different route each time, but the specific route is not critical. We have learned a few things to avoid on the hike, which are reflected in this post. The one-way hiking distance is about 1.4 miles with 1000 vertical feet.
Getting There
There is no trail and no trailhead. To reach the recommended parking spot, turn south at the top of Trout Creek Pass and follow Windmill Drive (also marked as County Road 318) southeast to San Isabel National Forest. As you enter the forest, you will be on FS318, which has a gate normally closed from Dec 1 to Apr 30. You can still activate the summit when the gate is closed, but you’ll have to hike in on the road.
Trout Creek Pass to San Isabel Forest
Pass through the gate going south on FS318 and take a sharp left (almost a U turn) onto FS308. Later, turn right onto a side road, FS308B, which should be marked. Drive a short distance on FS308B until the road is closed to motor vehicles. These roads are easy 4WD and high clearance 2WD will probably work fine. The FS road continues but is closed to motor vehicles at this point. There is a dispersed campsite here, so you may encounter campers. Park here at 38.85979, -105.93318.
Roads to the parking spot.
The Hike
The hike up Kaufman starts on the old Jeep road, which is easy to follow. Later, this road ends, and the off-trail hiking begins. In the past, we’ve tried just heading straight for the summit (which works), but it can take you into significant downed timber and difficult rocky areas. It is better to head due south, hook around to the west and approach the summit from the east/southeast as shown on the map. This avoids the large aspen grove directly NE of the summit, with lots of downed timber.
The hike starts at the parking spot, follows the old Jeep road and then off-trail to the summit.
There is a medium-sized rock (maybe 2 by 2 by 3 feet) sitting in the open that is a useful landmark to aim for. This waypoint (The Rock) is particularly useful for orienting yourself on the descent. Keep heading south past The Rock and turn slightly southwest toward a ridge that runs NW/SE from the summit. A good place to intersect this ridge is marked as the waypoint Trail on Ridge. Here you will intersect a game trail that runs along the ridge, which you should follow to the summit. This waypoint is also useful on the descent, to let you know when you need to leave the game trail (which continues on SE for a while).
Once you get onto the ridge, you will have a fantastic view of the Collegiate Peaks to the west. A cairn is at the summit with the typical summit register in a jar.
We had a fantastic time today on the summit. Great spring weather, blue sky with a few clouds. We worked a number of stations on 2m and 70 cm: KF0RIG (On Spinney Mountain, W0C/SP-118), KD0MRC, K8QWR, W0XC, K0MGL, K0LTH, W5PYB (mobile), W0BV, K0PF (mobile), and KD0RRD (mobile).
73 Bob K0NR
Waypoints
End of Old Jeep Trail (38.85545, -105.93519)
The Rock (38.85545, -105.93519)
Trail on Ridge (38.84937, -105.94055)
Summit (38.85050, -105.94280)
While investigating some potential Summits On The Air (SOTA) peaks, someone sent me a link for the FAA weather cam that was on a particular peak. I was able to get a real-time look at the snow on the summit and see the terrain. Of course, the world is full of many different webcams providing real-time video but somehow I had overlooked the FAA WeatherCams. (I am sure some of the pilots out there are thinking “duh, everyone knows about these.”) This caused me to spend some time looking at the various FAA webcams available.
The FAA webcam site provides a useful map overview to choose an appropriate webcam.
Monarch Pass
There is a weather cam at the radio site on South Monarch Ridge (W0C/SP-058), a popular SOTA summit. It is labeled Monarch Pass, which is located below the summit. The orientation of the four cameras is indicated on the map. Besides being on a SOTA summit, this camera is in a great spot to see Monarch Ski Area, the south end of the Sawatch Mountain Range, and the north part of the Sangre De Cristo Mountain Range.
This graphic shows the location of the Monarch Pass weather cam, including camera directions.
Here’s the camera view looking northwest from South Monarch Ridge. You can see towers and cables for the tram that goes up to the summit during the summer months. The Continental Divide and the Monarch Pass Ski Area are in the center of this image.
Looking northwest from the Monarch Pass location.
Wilkerson Pass
Another popular SOTA summit, Badger Mountain (W0C/SP-072), has a weather cam on it, labeled for Wilkerson Pass, just below the mountain. Shown below, the SW camera from Wilkerson looks out over South Park with the Sawatch Range off in the distance.
Looking SW from Badger Mountain into South Park.
There are many more weather cams around the state and across the USA. They provide a real-time look at what is happening in the mountains which is complementary to a good weather forecast. Take a look to see what cameras are in your area that can be helpful.
I was happy to contribute an article to the recent ARRL Parks On The Air (POTA) book. This piece is based on my Pikes Peak mountain topping article that appeared in the June 2023 issue of QST. This book is a collection of articles about POTA from 14 different authors, each writing about a different aspect of the program. The articles are all easy to read and generally provide a first-hand account of how the author has experienced POTA operating. There is plenty of beginner information and operating tips sprinkled throughout the book. More experienced POTA enthusiasts will probably pick up a few new ideas as well.
The Table of Contents below lists the articles and authors, giving you a good idea of the material covered. The meat of the book is only 118 pages long and it is quite easy to read.
My piece covered the triple activation I did from the summit of Pikes Peak, combining POTA, SOTA, and the June VHF Contest into one mountaintop adventure. For POTA, the park was the Pike National Forest (K-4404). I’ve done this type of combo activation in the past, sometimes just SOTA + POTA or just SOTA + VHF Contest. This time I did all three.
The book is available directly from the ARRL or from the usual book outlets such as Amazon.
A view of the W0C/RG-169 summit from the Continental Divide Trail. Look closely to see the game trail heading up to the right towards the saddle.
Lobo Overlook is an excellent summit and tourist spot near Wolf Creek Pass, one of the most scenic passes in Colorado. I’ve been up there for VHF contests and other mountaintop operations and initially thought it might be a SOTA summit. No such luck, as it is superseded by a higher summit nearby (W0C/RG-169). No problem, we’ll just activate that one instead. Lobo Overlook is accessed via an easy 3-mile gravel road just off the pass. The road leads to two small loops at the top, one of which is the actual Lobo Overlook while the other goes to an obvious radio site. The trail to RG-169 is best accessed from the radio site, so we parked there. Wolf Creek Pass and Lobo Overlook sit right on the Continental Divide and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) passes through here just a bit to the west.
The Lobo Overlook road starts slightly east of Wolf Creek Pass.
Lobo Peak
This unnamed summit is listed as 11820 in the SOTA database. However, Lists of John (which was used to create the W0C SOTA database) shows this summit as 11831. My topo map seems to agree with 11831, so this might be an error. Of course, such a cool summit near the CDT deserves a name, so Joyce/K0JJW and I decided to call it Lobo Peak, for obvious reasons. (I looked for an existing nearby Lobo Peak and did not find one.)
Near the radio site, we started at the marked trailhead and headed west on Lobo Trail (878), actually going downhill to intersect the CDT about a half mile down the trail. At the trailhead, it was not obvious which summit we were headed to and it might not even be visible at that point. The summit did reveal itself as we headed down the CDT (see first photo above). We followed the CDT to a visible game trail that takes off steeply to the right (lat/lon 37.49765, -106.81515). There are several game trails that split off, heading up towards the saddle to the left of the summit and we stayed on the most established one. We set up our station within the activation zone just below the actual summit, avoiding the rock scrambling to get to the top.
The trail from Lobo Overlook to RG-169 mostly follows the Continental Divide Trail.
The one-way distance on the trail is 1.2 miles with an up-and-down profile. Lobo Overlook is only slightly lower in elevation from “Lobo Peak”. The trail starts at about 11,770 feet, descending to a low point of 11,500 and back up to 11,800 at the summit. So that produces a net ascent of about 300 feet, maybe more, one way. Of course, you get to repeat this on the way back.
The sign at the trailhead calls this Lobo Pass.
SOTA and POTA Activations
Once in the activation zone, we deployed the IC-705 on 2m FM, driving the 3-element Yagi antenna. We worked Travis/KB9LMJ on 146.52 MHz, who was mobile in Pagosa Springs. Further calling on 2m FM did not yield any contacts, but K0JJW and I did work each other on VHF/UHF. We had anticipated that this might be a tough place to activate on VHF, so we brought along the HF gear and set up an EndFed Halfwave antenna for 20m. Propagation was good and we soon worked 11 stations on 20m SSB.
This summit sits right on the dividing line between the Rio Grande National Forest and the San Juan National Forest, both valid for Parks On The Air (POTA). We opted to operate from the Rio Grande side (K-4405) because that was a new one for both of us.
This is the radio site as seen when you return from the summit, so no excuse for getting lost.
Continental Divide Trail
I’ve hiked sections of the Continental Divide Trail before, including some pre-SOTA backpack trips with Denny/KB9DPF. It is a great trail because it runs along the backbone of the Rocky Mountains. It is often accessible via roads to high mountain passes. (Another example is Wander Ridge, just off Cottonwood Pass.) Once you hop onto the CDT, you are hiking an established trail that is literally on top of the world.
This is an excellent, easy-to-access summit in the Wolf Creek Pass area. So if you are in the area, this might be one to activate. The road to Lobo Overlook is closed during the winter.
Argentine Peak (W0C/SR-019) is a high 13er (13,738 ft) in the Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains. I had my eye on this summit for a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation for quite some time now. This summit is a short distance from Argentine Pass, which is the fourth-highest road in Colorado at 13,207 feet. A non-radio goal I have is to drive the Jeep up the twenty highest roads in Colorado, so Argentine Pass is on that list. Not only that, Argentine Peak sits on the Continental Divide, separating the Arapaho National Forest and the White River National Forest, so it can also be activated for Parks On The Air (POTA).
Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW on the way up Argentine Peak in the background.
So the plan emerged: Joyce/K0JJW and I would take the Jeep to Argentine Pass and then climb up to Argentine Peak for a SOTA and POTA activation. The road is usually blocked by snow for much of the summer, making it a late summer/early fall adventure. Somehow September slipped away and it is now October, but fortunately, the road is still open. Note that the more common way to hike Argentine Pass is from Silver Dollar Lake trailhead (see KX0R trip report).
The 4WD route is shown above in orange, starting out as FS 248.1 leaving Guanella Pass Road.
The Road
The 4WD route starts with FS 248.1 as it leaves Guanella Pass Road, about 3 miles south of Georgetown, CO (see map above). The forest service road takes off at a point where the Guanella Pass Road takes a very sharp bend. You should have a good topo map to guide you on this route as there are quite a few roads in the area. In general, you follow FS 248.1 which has some subvariants such as 248.1B and 248.1K. The exact choice of roads is not critical but, eventually, you need to get on FS 724.1 which sports a few wide and steep switchbacks up to Argentine Pass. The one-way distance is 9 miles and it took us about 1.5 hours to make the drive.
This road and route is considered moderate 4WD and FS 248.1 provides a good taste of that right after you leave the paved road. Many other sections of the road are easy 4WD but there are some challenging spots along the way. This is a real 4WD road, so you’ll need a decent high-clearance 4WD vehicle in the class of a Wrangler, Bronco, 4Runner, etc. We drove a stock Jeep Wrangler and had no trouble. However, at one spot, the wheel placement was very critical, so Joyce spotted me as I drove through it. Not that difficult…unless you screw it up.
The Climb
As shown below, the climbing route up Argentine Peak (blue line) follows the Continental Divide ridge line as it heads south from Argentine Pass. The road up Argentine Pass ends kind of high in the pass, so at first, we were walking downhill. A faint trail follows the top of the ridge but fades out in many places. Looking at the topo map, I underestimated how much up and down there would be on the ridge but it was not too difficult.
The route to Argentine Peak follows the Continental Divide ridge line from Argentine Pass.
The hike is about 1 mile with 650 feet vertical (one-way). We had fantastic weather in October: sunny, with temperatures in the 40’s F and some light wind (10 to 15 mph). This is one of those top-of-the-world hiking experiences, right along the Continental Divide.
Joyce/K0JJW on the summit of Argentine Peak.
As you can see from the photos, there were some patches of snow on the ground, but it was not an issue for hiking. A real Mountain Goat (not a SOTA Mountain Goat) wandered by and paid us a visit.
This mountain goat wandered by while we were on the summit.We used our standard 2m/70cm FM station: Yaesu FT-90 running 30 watts to a 3-element Yagi for 2 meters or a 5-element Yagi for 70 cm. We worked stations mostly on 146.52 MHz FM and a few on 446.0 MHz. With downtown Denver about 45 miles away, we easily worked stations in the greater Denver area. We were also successful working stations out to 60 or 70 miles, often with good signal reports in both directions. We both made 20 QSOs using VHF/UHF.
For POTA, we were right on the dividing line between White River NF and Arapaho NF but needed to choose one for our activation. We had previously activated Arapaho, so we chose to operate from White River NF on this trip (K-4410) which is a new park for us.
Summary
We had an absolute blast on this activation. I think it was the combination of a Jeep trip, hiking, SOTA, and POTA all wrapped into one adventure that made it so good. As a bonus, we had excellent weather and a visit by the mountain goat!
There is a SOTA summit next to Wilkerson Pass called The Pulverizer (W0C/SP-092). With such an inviting name, of course, we had to activate it.
The Pulverizer (W0C/SP-092) viewed from west of Wilkerson Pass
According to its Summit Post page, this summit was named by well-known mountaineer and author Gerry Roach. Apparently, this name is an adaptation of the name of a nearby summit, Pulver Mountain. The Pulverizer does not have a trail to the summit and is known for having a lot of downed timber in the way. I found a trip report that said,
Overall, this is the kind of “hike” you only do if you really, really want to get these summits. It’s the kind of hike that you take someone on if you never want them to go with you on a hike ever again. Miserable downfall for pretty much the entire hike.
Having climbed the summit, I think this is an exaggeration but we did encounter plenty of downed timber. Many of our SOTA activations involve off-trail hiking, so we have been conditioned to expect the all-too-common dead trees on the ground.
Wilkerson Pass
Joyce/K0JJW and I followed the route identified by Walt/W0CP that starts at the Wilkerson Pass Visitor Center. (This summit can also be accessed from the east, via County Road 90.) We parked the Jeep on the east end of the parking lot and walked the trail (actually a sidewalk) to the south. At the “trailhead” waypoint, we left the sidewalk and headed south on a trail that quickly faded away.
Head south from the parking lot on the trail (sidewalk, actually) that loops around the picnic area.
Most of this area is in the Pike National Forest but there is a large piece of private property as shown on the map. The route to the summit is not critical but you need to avoid the private property, well marked with No Trespassing signs. The northeast corner of the property is shown on the map below as Fence Corner #1 (39.03252, -105.52364). We aimed for that corner, then followed the fence line heading south to Fence Corner #2 (39.02911, -105.52373). After that, you pretty much head to the summit, adjusting your route to avoid the worst sections of downfall.
Avoid the private property by skirting around it, then head to the summit.
The hike is 1.5 miles one way, with about 950 feet of elevation gain. There is a bit of up and down so the accumulated elevation gain may be higher than this. It starts out downhill, then flattens out but then provides a steep uphill section at the end. On the return trip, head for Fence Corner #2 and then follow the fence line north.
This shows the typical downed timber that has to be navigated.
On the summit, we had good luck with making VHF & UHF radio contacts. This was during the Colorado 14er Event, so we had other summits on the air for S2S contacts. Sitting right above Wilkerson Pass, it has an excellent radio horizon in all directions. Here’s the view from the top, looking east:
The view to the east with Pikes Peak off in the distance.
Final Impression
So the real question is did we like the summit and will we do it again? We are glad that we did it, kind of a check-the-box item for SOTA activations in the South Park area. This is not our favorite SOTA summit but we might do it again sometime. You might say “We Have Been Pulverized” and we are not in a hurry to do it again.
The Ham Nation folks invited me on to talk about the Colorado 14er Event last night. Thanks for the invite! This turned out to be a concise look at the 14er event with lots of great photos of past operations.
Here’s the video (my segment was 20 minutes long):
We have lots of information on the event at ham14er.org.
Amateur Radio Fun in the Colorado Mountains
August 4 through 7, 2023 www.ham14er.org
Amateur Radio operators from around Colorado will be climbing ColoradoSummits On The Air (SOTA) peaks and communicating with other radio amateurs across the state and around the world. Join in on the fun during the annual event by activating a summit or contacting (chasing) the mountaintop stations.
This event is normally held the first full weekend in August. Again this year, we will add two bonus days to the Colorado 14er Event. The main two days remain Saturday and Sunday (Aug 5 & 6), while the bonus days are Friday Aug 4 and Monday Aug 7th, for those SOTA enthusiasts that need more than two days of SOTA fun! Be aware that many mountaintop activators will hit the trail early with the goal of being off the summits by (1800 UTC) noon due to lightning safety concerns.
The 14er event includes Summits On the Air (SOTA) peaks, which provide over 1700 summits to activate. (See the W0C SOTA web page or browse the SOTA Atlas.) The Colorado 14er Event was started in 1991, about 19 years before the SOTA program was set up in Colorado. As SOTA grew in popularity, this event expanded from just the 14,000-foot mountains (14ers) to include all of the SOTA summits in the state. We still call it the Colorado 14er Event because, well, that’s where it all started and the 14ers are the iconic summits in the state.
Important: The recommended 2m FM frequencies have been changed to 146.58, 146.55, and 146.49 MHz, to align with the use of the North America Adventure Frequency for SOTA (146.58). The National Simplex Calling Frequency (146.52) may be used as appropriate. There will be plenty of action on the other ham bands, for more information see the operating frequencies page.
My article that describes last year’s SOTA/POTA/VHF contest activation from Pikes Peak appears in the June issue of QST magazine. This VHF/UHF activation occurred on the Saturday of the ARRL June VHF Contest and qualified for Summits On The Air (W0C/FR-004 Pikes Peak) and Parks On The Air (K-4404 Pike National Forest). The article highlights the use of the North America Adventure Frequency of 146.58 MHz.
I made 80 radio contacts that day, on the 6m, 2m, 1.25m, 70cm, and 23cm bands. Not a great score for the VHF contest but quite nice for a VHF SOTA and POTA activation. My primary piece of equipment was the ICOM IC-705, which enabled all modes on the main VHF/UHF frequencies.
If you are an ARRL member, look for the article on Page 58 of the print edition of June QST or the online version. Not an ARRL member? Darn, you should fix that if you want to read articles published in QST.
If you are an ARRL member, please look at the article and consider voting for it in the QST Cover Plaque Award. Thanks!
Bob/K0NR operating from unnamed summit W0C/SP-094.
I do a lot of SOTA activating using 2m FM and have developed a few operating habits that can really make a difference. These may seem obvious but might be overlooked by operators new to the game. To get an overview of using VHF for SOTA, look at this article: How to Do A VHF SOTA Activation.
Here are three operating tips when using 2m FM for SOTA:
1. Upgrade Your Antenna
A handheld radio is commonly used for SOTA operation because it is a self-contained, compact radio. These radios always come with a rubber duck (electrically-short monopole) antenna. These antennas vary in quality but they are universally poor performers compared to a half-wave radiator. I’ve measured the effectiveness of many rubber duck antennas on 2 meters and they are somewhere between 8 and 12 dB worse than a half-wave radiator. So an easy upgrade is to use a half-wave telescoping antenna. Another popular option with a half-wave radiator is the roll-up J-pole (often called a “Slim Jim” antenna). An even better choice is a small 3-element Yagi such as the 146-3 from Arrow antenna, which is about 6 dB better than a halfwave antenna. Keep in mind that the Yagi should be held vertically-oriented for FM operating.
2. Open Your Squelch
The squelch circuit in an FM receiver requires the signal to be large enough to flip the squelch open. When operating at weak signal levels, the squelch may mask a signal that is actually readable. A recommended technique is to just open up the squelch control and let the FM noise come through. This maximizes the opportunity to pick out that weak signal out of the noise.
3. Point Your Antenna Everywhere
If you have a directional antenna, make sure you methodically point it in a variety of directions when calling CQ. For example, with a 3-element Yagi, you should divide up the 360 degrees around you into 45-degree sections. Point north, make a call, point northeast, make a call, point east, make a call, and so forth. Also be aware that the direct path to another station may not be the strongest path. This is especially true if you have tall summits around you that can block or reflect your signal. Many times I’ve pointed in the “right direction” to work another station but then found that the signals were strongest with the antenna pointed away from the direct path. So the secret is go ahead and try different antenna orientations to maximize the signal strength, even when you know the physical direction to the other station. Sometimes the radio waves decide to take another path.
Those are my three tips for today.
Do you have any to add?
Last year, Joyce/K0JJW and I tried to activate Red Mountain Number 3 (W0C/UR-016) for SOTA in the San Juan mountains. The map showed there was a road to the top, so we were expecting easy access. However, the road is gated off about 2 miles from the summit, requiring a hike. So we hiked almost to the summit but turned back when the thunderstorms rolled in. We retreated to safety and vowed to return another day.
Red Mountain Number 3 as viewed from Red Mountain Pass.
This week, we went back and activated the summit, along with Stu/W0STU and Liz/KT0LIZ. Red Mountain No. 3 sits just southwest of its sister summits: Red Mountain No.1 and Red Mountain No. 2. (Red Mtn 1 is also a SOTA summit, so we’ll need to activate that one sometime.)
We accessed Red Mountain 3 (RM3) by taking Highway 550 to Red Mountain Pass. The road for RM3 is County Road 14 but is not well marked. The turnoff (shown on the map above) is just south of Red Mtn Pass, going to the east (37.89587, -107.71369). County Road 14 is a narrow but easy road, barely 4WD, that leads to the gate (37.89476, -107.70774). We parked there and hiked up the road.
The sign on the gate.
I don’t usually like to hike on roads but this one turned out to be just fine. It was a nice, easy grade and was flat without a lot of rocks poking up. The sign on the gate indicates that the road crosses private property but that hikers are welcome. My GPS app shows that we hiked 2 miles one-way with 1400 vertical feet. We met about a dozen people on the hike, so this seems like a popular summit. We noted other trails and roads in the area and wondered if some of them might provide a better route but everyone we saw just used the same road that we used.
Stu/W0STU examines his VHF/UHF handheld, positioning it for optimum signal level
As you can see from the photos, we had excellent weather that day. This time, no thunderstorms to chase us off the peak!
The San Juan mountains are remote, with not a lot of people within VHF range. We were all using just VHF/UHF for SOTA, so I was concerned we could get skunked on making our four SOTA contacts. There are a few smaller towns within range and we might be able to work Grand Junction from there. I knew that Lloyd/W7SAO in Delta usually monitors 146.52 MHz and we worked him right away. After that, we called our fellow campers, James/KD0MFO and Vic/KD0OGE, working them mobile near Ridgway. We kept calling for a fourth contact and sure enough, Mike/KE5YF showed up on 2m FM. Mike is from Sweetwater, TX and was driving his Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) over Engineer Pass. So we made our four contacts to qualify for SOTA points.
Traditional summit photo: Stu/W0STU, Liz/KT0LIZ, Joyce/K0JJW, Bob/K0NR
Liz and Joyce are hiking on a typical stretch of the road.Bob/K0NR operating 2m FM for SOTA. (Photo: W0STU)
The four of us had a great day on the summit. We took our time and enjoyed the hike and the radio operating. The easy access and excellent views from the top make this an attractive SOTA summit if you are traveling in this area.
There are over 50 summits in Colorado with an elevation of 14,000 feet or higher. These are commonly called fourteeners (or 14ers) and get a lot of attention from outdoor enthusiasts. Some folks have climbed all of them, which quickly leads to the question of What Is A Fourteener? This question is really about what is a distinct fourteener versus when is a summit just a subpeak of another fourteener. The Colorado Mountain Club list of 14ers shows 54 peaks, while other lists include a few more summits. Doing a search on Lists Of John reveals there are 74 locations in the state that exceed 14,000 feet. What constitutes “the correct list of 14ers” is often debated in the climbing community but I won’t try to sort that out here. I’ll use the Colorado Mountain Club list of 54 summits for this posting.
Summits On The Air (SOTA)
Obviously, if these are the 54 highest summits in Colorado, they are all going to be SOTA summits, right? Not so fast, Sir Edmund. The SOTA program generally requires summits to have 150 meters (492 feet) of prominence, a measure of the elevation of a summit relative to the surrounding terrain. From peaklist.org:
Prominence is the elevation of a summit relative to the highest point to which one must descend before reascending to a higher summit.
A simple graphical representation of prominence.
There are exceptions in the SOTA program that allow for summits of 100-meter prominence, but this does not apply to Colorado. Paul/VK5PAS has a webpage that explains prominence as applied to SOTA.
In recent history, the folks that set up the SOTA Associations have done a great job of sorting through what is a valid summit. In the US, there are excellent databases of geographic information that make this possible. Which is to say that in a particular SOTA Association, a consistent method is applied for determining “what is a summit”? This is all documented for Colorado in the W0C SOTA ARM here: https://sotastore.blob.core.windows.net/arms/ARM-W0C-3_3.pdf
Lincoln, Bross, Democrat, and Cameron
Now, back to the Colorado 14ers. There is a popular trek that allows a climber to summit four 14ers in one day, without extreme effort. The trail starts at Kite Lake, heads up to Mount Democrat (14155 ft), then over to Mount Cameron (14222 feet), and on to Mount Lincoln (14293 feet). The return trip passes over Mount Bross (14178 feet) and back down to Kite Lake. (There have been access issues in recent years concerning private property on this loop, so be sure to check that out and respect any closures).
Map showing the area around Mount Democrat, Mount Cameron, Mount Lincoln, and Mount Bross.
If we check out the official list of SOTA summits, we will find Mount Democrat (W0C/SR-059) and Mount Lincoln (W0C/FR-001) listed but not Mount Cameron and Mount Bross. Per Lists of John, Cameron and Bross have prominences of 152 and 315 feet. The col between Lincoln and Cameron, does not drop down enough to provide Cameron with sufficient prominence. Same with the col between Cameron and Bross. Mount Lincoln has the highest elevation of those three summits and wins the honor of being listed as a SOTA summit. Note that Democrat, with the lowest elevation of the four summits, does qualify for the SOTA list due to its 770 feet of prominence. (There is a big enough dip between Democrat and Cameron.)
Now back to the list of 54 Colorado Fourteeners: Mount Cameron is not on the list but it often shows up on other 14er lists. Mount Bross is shown on the list of 54 but is not a SOTA summit. There are seven other Colorado 14ers that don’t qualify for SOTA: Crestone Needle, El Diente Peak, Tabeguache Peak, Sunlight Peak, Ellingwood Point, Little Bear Peak, and North Maroon Peak.
You don’t need to become an expert on calculating prominence to do SOTA activations. Really, the key thing is to check the SOTA list and make sure your intended summit is on the list before you hit the trail.
Rito Alto Peak is an easy 13er about 15 miles west of Westcliffe, CO in the Sangre De Cristo mountain range. This summit caught my attention because it was near Hermit Pass, one of the highest passes in Colorado at 13047 feet. We’ve been taking the Jeep up the highest roads in Colorado, and Hermit Pass was on The List. Looking around on the map, I noticed that Rito Alto Peak was an unactivated 10-point SOTA summit right next to the pass. Not only that, the summit is in the San Juan National Forest (K-4404), enabling a POTA activation as well. So how could we not do a trip up there?
Bob/K0NR climbing up Rito Alto Peak near Hermit Pass
Rito Alto Peak (W0C/SC-004) and Hermit Pass are about 15 miles straight west of Westcliffe, CO. To get there, take CR 160 (Hermit Road) west and then turn south onto FS 160. The turn-off is easy to spot and begins the 4WD portion of the trip. The 4WD road is not particularly difficult from a technical point of view, but the road is very rocky for most of the 9 miles. Every once in a while, the road has a smoother section, only to be followed by lots of rocks. I call these roads “moderate but annoying.” Any real 4WD vehicle should be able to handle this. We drove our stock Jeep Wrangler and it did fine. This is not a road for Suburu-class SUVs.
To get to Hermit Pass, head west from Westcliffe, then follow Hermit Road south.
At the end of the 9 miles of bouncing up the road, we parked at Hermit Pass and started the climb there. (It took us about 2 hours to drive this road.) Of course, you can always hike some or all of the road. Useful climbing info can be found here on 14ers.com. Hermit Peak, to the south of the pass, is NOT a SOTA summit. However, further south is Eureka Mountain (W0C/SC-007), which could also be hiked from Hermit Pass.
Climbing route shown in blue.
The figure above shows the track of our climbing route. There is no trail and there is plenty of talus to step over and around. The route is not critical but we tended to stay on top of the ridge line, sometimes deviating to find a better path. The distance was 0.7 miles one way with an elevation gain of 700 feet. So not too difficult, except for climbing over rocks. Trekking poles are highly recommended.
We spotted three bighorn sheep on the next ridge over.
On the summit, we set up our normal 2m FM station: the Yaesu FT-90 transceiver with 3-element 2m Yagi antenna, and started calling on 146.52 MHz. Joyce made the first contact so she has the honor of doing the first SOTA activation from this summit. You Go Girl!
Bob/K0NR and Joyce/K0JJW on the summit of Rito Alto Peak.
I was a bit worried about getting enough contacts to qualify for SOTA points but that turned out to not be a problem. We heard strong signals from the Buena Vista area (W0BV, KD0MRC) and Florrisant (K0MGL). We also made some Summit-to-Summit QSOs (S2S): WV0X (St Charles Peak, W0C/SC-031), W0ADV (Snowmass Mountain, W0C/WE-003), and W0CP (McQuaid Butte, W0C/SP-109). We also worked K0EEP, K9RZK, W9RIK, and W9NDR. Our Best DX for the day was 104 miles, with W0ADV on Snowmass. Thanks for all of the 2m FM QSOs!
Just one of the many fantastic views from the mountain.
As shown in the photos, the weather was excellent. We took our time on the mountain and never saw signs of thunderstorms. The climb down was easy and we returned to the Jeep. Then it was 9 more miles bouncing down the road and on to Westcliffe for a late lunch. What a great day for SOTA + POTA + Jeep trip.
While planning for the 2022 Colorado 14er Event, I decided to focus on making some long-distance contacts on 1.2 GHz (23 cm). Last year, Dave/W0ADV and I worked summit-to-summit (S2S) at a distance of 244 km (152.6 miles), which is my best result so far. See my previous post here…
For this year’s event, I wanted to beat that distance so I checked in with the usual SOTA activators that use the 23 cm band, wondering if any of them would be on summits that would support such an effort. I was thinking in terms of another S2S contact using portable FM handheld radios. I identified a few summits in the San Juan mountains that might work, from Pikes Peak or Mount Evans. Also, northern New Mexico has some potential summits, but I did not find anyone interested in activating them.
Bob/K0NR sitting down on the job on Pikes with the ICOM IC-9700 and Comet CYA-1216E Yagi antenna. (Photo: K0JJW)
Knowing that Lauren/W0LD has done quite a bit of VHF/UHF operating from Pikes, I figured he would have some insight concerning summits that are workable from Pikes. We connected via telephone and discussed some options. In that conversation, he suggested I reach out to two hams that have serious 23 cm stations in Kansas: N0LL and N0OY. This shifted my thinking away from S2S contacts to working a UHF station out on the plains. (Kansas has a noticeable lack of SOTA summits.) Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) is well-suited to this approach, being easy to access with a road to the top and an excellent radio horizon to the east. I sent an email to Larry/N0LL and Pete/N0OY to see if they were available. Larry replied that his 23 cm gear was currently off the air but Pete said that he was available to give it a try.
The N0OY station deserves the name “antenna farm”. (Photo: N0OY)
The distance from Pikes Peak (W0C/FR-004) to N0OY is almost 400 miles, so the FM handheld radio approach was probably not going to work. My ICOM IC-9700 was the way to go, with 10 watts of RF power to a Yagi antenna. Pete used an ICOM IC-705 to drive a transverter that supplies 50 watts of RF to an 8-foot dish antenna at 45 feet. I chuckled when I heard this because the IC-705 is a popular SOTA rig…just not usually found on 23 cm.
The N0OY 8-foot dish antenna at 45 feet.
Joyce/K0JJW and I made it to the summit a bit early and immediately set up for the 23 cm attempt. Normally, we operate on the west side of the summit, away from the visitors center and most of the tourists. For 23 cm, I wanted the best shot possible to the east, so we walked over to the boardwalk on the north side of the summit. It sticks out enough to give an excellent view due east.
N0OY (EM18ct) is straight east of Pikes Peak (DM78lu), 628 km (392 miles).
Once I was set up, I sent a text message to Pete asking him to start transmitting my direction on 1296.1 MHz. We had agreed to start with CW, our most efficient mode, and perhaps later try SSB. He started with a series of CW dashes and I could easily pick up his signal. Joyce pointed the antenna for me, finding the best direction to peak the signal. Pete’s signal was not terribly strong, but solid copy, only a few dB above my noise floor. Because he was running more power than me (about 7 dB), I was concerned that he would not be able to hear me. I called him using CW and initially, he did not respond. We kept trying and my signal came up a bit at his end and we were able to complete the contact. Conditions were marginal enough that we did not try SSB. (Sorry, Joyce missed out on this one…she doesn’t work CW.)
The weak K0NR CW signal just barely showed up on N0OY’s waterfall display.
SOTA Requirements
Although we drove to the summit of Pikes Peak, we made sure we were SOTA compliant. Our normal approach on a drive-up summit is to load up our backpacks with a portable station and hike some distance away from our vehicle. My IC-9700 is not exactly a compact transceiver but it is portable enough to transport some distance and it can be powered using a small Bioenno battery. I’ve carried this size radio (often an FT-991) on other SOTA activations, hiking a mile or two with it. It certainly adds weight to my pack, but it is manageable. The antenna was a Comet CYA-1216E, about 5 feet long, with 16 elements and a specified gain of 16.6 dBi.
So this is my new personal best for 23 cm SOTA:628 km, 392 miles. My thanks go to Pete/N0OY for getting on the air and giving this a try. His station was doing more than half the work with this radio contact. I’ve done SOTA QSOs like this with other weak-signal VHF/UHF operators. They may not be active SOTA chasers but they like the challenge of completing a difficult contact. I really appreciate them getting on the air with me. It’s all part of having fun messing around with radios.
This raises the question of what’s next?
Maybe I can get N0OY to move his station another 50 km to the east for another attempt. Probably not.
Stay tuned.
73 Bob K0NR
This SOTA Award arrived via email today (Aug 25, 2022)
Big news — I’m proud to announce that the Second Edition of my book VHF, Summits, and More is now available. I’ve received tons of positive feedback on the first edition, published in 2019, and I decided it was time for an update. This new version is printed in color, which greatly enhances the photos and graphics.
We accessed Red Mountain 3 (RM3) by taking Highway 550 to Red Mountain Pass. The road for RM3 is County Road 14 but is not well marked. The turnoff (shown on the map above) is just south of Red Mtn Pass, going to the east (37.89587, -107.71369). County Road 14 is a narrow but easy road, barely 4WD, that leads to the gate (37.89476, -107.70774). We parked there and hiked up the road.
