eHam
eHam Forums => Portable Operations => Topic started by: WK4DS on December 21, 2022, 06:56:30 PM
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The answer is yes, yes you can. So dont let what you might think is a huge problem (like a mountain in the way) keep you from enjoying the radio hobby. I activated a park the other day and setup at the foot of the mountain and if you go read the blog post, you will see just how close I got to the base of the mountain and still had a good time working some QRP CW.
https://www.davidsaylors.com/wk4ds-amatuer-radio-blog/pota-activation-at-the-foot-of-a-mountain-aar (https://www.davidsaylors.com/wk4ds-amatuer-radio-blog/pota-activation-at-the-foot-of-a-mountain-aar)
WK4DS - David
72
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Good activation!
Are you prohibited from hanging antenna wires on trees?
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No, I just dont want to spend the time out in the cold putting up the antenna, I am looking for a fast to deploy, fast to roll up system for times when I only have maybe an hour of free time for an activation and this seems to be giving me that ability. In warm weather, I do string up wire antennas at the top of the mountain and it works really well from there.
Thank you!
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If you are doing a SOTA (Summits on the Air) activation the answer is No, you must be within 90 feet of the summit, and not operate from a vehicle.
I hope this answers your question.
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Certainly! You must first register with VOTA - Valleys on the Air. Or just start your own VOTA system. Good luck!
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You must first register with VOTA - Valleys on the Air. Or just start your own VOTA system.
Oops, it's already ongoing :-) The ARRL Volunteers On the Air !
https://vota.arrl.org/
My wife and I will be operating as W1AW/0 a few times in late May :-)
Glenn AE0Q and Merri AB0MV
And I have operated POTA from a National Forest accidentally tucked up against a peak in Colorado that I couldn't see because of the dense forest, almost no contacts that day from the other side, but more than a hundred going East as usual.
Then there was the CW DXpedition to the Rock of Gibraltar that a friend and I made in 1974 at the bottom of the sunspot cycle (ZB2WZ and ZB2WY).
https://www.qsl.net/ae0q/contest/zb2wz.htm
The hotel was on the East side of the 1400ft rock going right up behind us, out of almost 1400 QSOs only 6 were with NA stations.
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It depends upon time of day, the sunspot cycle and most importantly the frequency. For the next several years 160 and 80 meters often support NVIS propagation. Even a low horizontal antenna may work. 80 meters during the day, but not always in the evening, however typically this is for short range QSO's probably less than (or much less than) 200 miles. During the summer months often noise on 80 and 160 is bad. OCCASIONALLY, in good sunspot years 40 meters may support NVIS propagation during the day out to possibly several hundred miles. I have had good QSO's on 40 and 80 with dipoles laying on the bushes and zig zagging all over the place, average height probably less than 5 feet, not ideal, at least 20 or 30 feet better. NVIS not probable above 7 MHz.
A vertical is NOT a good choice for NVIS. So IF you operate near significant ham populations, and want to get over a big hill, then 80 may be your best bet. Sometimes the band holds up and even improves in the late afternoon, and occasionally NVIS still works into the early evening hours (but often not). NVIS is high angle radiation, (near vertical) and sometimes gives good results out well beyond 50 miles, and very occasionally hundreds of miles. Rick KL7CW