My "Dr. Frankenstein" Key for WES

Oh what a busy week this was !

On Thursday evening (Oct. 6) we just had the SKSE, and the weekend of Oct. 8-9 was coming up …

WES time again.

But at the same time I had been hunting for a special award, celebrating the passing of Miguel De

Cervantes, 400 years ago (see http://cervantes.ure.es/ ).

When your call is O N 7 "Don Quijote" you HAVE to get that award, right ?

Oct. 9 was the last day to get the three missing contacts to get my “Platinum” award, I only got to

that on the Sunday at 16:00 UTC. So my time in WES was rather limited, in the end I made only 6

QSOs, but … 4 of them were US stations.

Now for the special theme this time … From the depths of the junk box, unspeakable keys!

So between all this Cervantes hunting, I went into the garage and grabbed some wood and screws.

But what to use as contact points ?

I had a box full of old appliances in my garage, ready to bring to the container park (dumpster).

I saw a couple of broken clock radios and a desk lamp. So I cut off three power cords and went back

to the shack.

After some thinking … drilling a couple of holes … and using only three screws, I came to this result :

A view from the side shows how two of the pins of the power cord form the contacts, the power plug

from the third power cord is the key’s primitive “knob”. The lever is a wooden paint stirrer which

seems to have just the right tension, so I didn’t make an adjustment for that. However, the contact

distance was way too big, so I added a fourth screw halfway the lever to reduce the spacing to a

comfortable distance.

I then covered my DF key with an early "Halloween theme" ... scary stuff eh ?

You could call it a “dust cover” but I suspect it collects more dust than it protects … HI.

The key was used in all 6 QSOs, and worked quite well, though it feels rather “soft”.

Here the proud builder/owner … hope you like my “design” !

The "Dutch SOTA" Tour - Day 3

Day 3 of my short trip meant I had to go home, and had only time for one more summit.

ON/ON-028 Waterschei, 195m, 1 point

I had done this summit the year before, so agin , I parked at the Crystal Arena, at position 51.006741, 5.537109. This is very close to the start of the track.

Last time I had done a long walk around the summit to climb it from the North.

This time I took the more direct approach from the South.

Conclusion : this summit is steep from whatever side you come !

And the slopes are a bit dangerous, it's best to carry at least one walking stick to keep you upright.

Of course, when you make it to the top, the view is the best of all Belgian summits.

You have a 360° clear view, here some of the things you'll see.

The summit itself has very limited space, still I was able to set up my full size 40m linked dipole.

Using the big block of concrete as a support for the fishing pole, and as an operating table.

I spent almost one and a half hour on the summit, and made 30 QSO's on 40m and 20m, mixing SSB and CW. This included also 3 S2S contacts.

That activation was also the end of my trip. I still had to drive 200 km to get back home.

See you on another SOTA adventure !

73,

Luc ON7DQ

The "Dutch SOTA" Tour - Day 2

Day 2 and 3 of my short tour were not in PA land, but since I had the opportunity, I grabbed a few ON summits as well.

So I left Venlo in the morning and drove some 100 km to my first summit near the city of Liège.

ON/ON-029 St Barde et Tonne, 230m, 1 point

I found a good parking spot in the Rue Sergent Merx, at position 50.658567, 5.560872

The entrance to the track is just opposite this street, in the Rue Naniot. 

I made a better description in a later post, see

https://on7dq.blogspot.com/2017/04/short-sota-tour-and-dirage-ham-rally.html

I set up my link dipole along one of the many paths on the summit, which are all in the AZ.
There is no need to climb the black coaldust "bubbles" and get dirty, hi.

A good result again with 26 QSO's, including 3 S2S.

On to the next one ...

ON/ON-026 Henri-Chapelle, 354m, 2 points

A drive-up summit, with a nice parking spot at 50.677059, 5.920479, where you will also fnd a picknick table, and a bench with a nice view over the "Pays de Herve".

Of course, since it was already 13:00 local time, it was time to feed the operator.

Then, at the same bench, play some radio ... while enjoying the landscape in front.

Only 15 QSO's here and 1 S2S, but still not a bad result.

Time to move again ...
Last summit of the day ...

ON/ON-009 Iverst, 693m, 8 points

This was a new summit for me, it became only valid on April 1st 2016. At first I thought it was an April fools' joke, because in my local dialect "ieverst" means "somewhere" or "anywhere" ... hi.

But after I realized it was real, I had to activate it.

I found a nice parking spot on the Belgian side, at position 50.408334, 6.369737.

There is an information panel on the history of the Belgian-German borderline, and to the right it's only a few steps to a nice operating spot.

Again I had 15 QSO's in the log, and 1 S2S. ON7DQ happy, happy !

That concluded my second day, and I had booked an AirBnb room with a friendly lady in Eupen.

That evening was also the first Thursday of the month, so that meant it was time for the SKCC Eurosprint. So as if I hadn't done enough radio that day, I asked permission to set up on the terrace of the house where I stayed, and made another 3 QSO's in the SKSE.

Read the end of this story on Day 3 or go back to Day 1

The "Dutch SOTA" Tour - Day 1

In an attempt to activate all Dutch (PA/PA) summits, I made a three day tour along the summits I still needed. I had activated two of the five Dutch summits before.

On August 31st, I left my home at 05:45 local time, and after 300 km I was at the first summit.

PA/PA-004 Torenberg, 107m, 1 point  [EDIT: this summit has been deleted]

I drove to position 52.232284, 5.862798 along the Amersfoortseweg near Apeldoorn, there turned right onto Kampsteeg and parked at 52.231135, 5.865236. I found a nice spot with a little shade. I was QRV at 09:45 local time.

In less than one hour, I had 29 QSO's in the log, including 3 S2S.

Since it was not a big detour, I had a quick visit to the historic radio place Radio Kootwijk.

GPS position for driving is 52.174580, 5.827683, where you can park. Parking used to be free, but now it's 5 Euro for one day. You can't pay per hour.

[EDIT: there is free parking here 52.178435, 5.856207 (Hoog Buren, a 3.3 km walk)]

Info in Dutch about Radio Kootwijk is here

Since I didn't plan on visiting the buildings, I just took a few pictures and went to my second summit.

PA/PA-005 Galgenberg, 102m, 1 point [EDIT: this summit has been deleted]

Parking is here 52.059508, 5.939249.

This summit is only accessible by crossing the Terlet glider airfield and a camping site, so you have to ask permission. I tried to find someone to ask, but the place was deserted, it seems averyone had a coffee break at the same time. 

So I had no problem getting to the summit at position 52.063629, 5.932377.

A nice bench was half in the shade, so I could choose if I wanted to be sunburnt or not, hi.

I fixed my pole to the bench, and put up my link dipole. 

In just over one hour the bench was completely in the sun (hi), and my log showed 38 QSO's, including one DX with K4DY, and 2 S2S. One of the S2S was a bit special, as we will see later. It was with Hans PA0HRM/P, who happened to be close by on my next summit  ... over to

PA/PA-006, Signaal Imbosch, 110m, 1 point

Follow the Beekhuizenseweg to this parking place 52.037021, 5.990766, on Google Maps it's called "Parking De Brandtoren".

It is at the end of a cul de sac (called Signaal Imbos), it looks like a bike only path, but can be driven with a car, just look out for all the bikers.

Coming from the village of Rheden, it can be confusing to get there, at a certain point you have to take the narrow road to your left, across from a big parking lot. See screenshot from Google Streetview. You can even follow that small road with Streetview.

(Source : Google Maps)

Just when I had all my stuff ready to start walking, Hans PA0HRM showed up at that same parking, he had finished his activation. Great to meet the PA Association Manager in person !

I just regret that I forgot to take a picture ...

We had a short talk, and Hans gave me clear directions on how to find the exact location of the summit.

The summit marker is NOT where you see "Signaal Imbosch" on Google Maps !

So I started walking, first through this gate ... direction North-East.

After about 450m there is a forest track to your right.

Follow it some 200m, until the tracks widens and has some sandy open spots, there you have to go left and uphill and look for the summit marker, there is no fixed way to get there.

The summit marker is at position 52.03800, 5.99904

The marker stone made a nice place to sit on, and I used my small aluminium table for the KX3.
Perfect !

 It was already past 15:00 local time when I was QRV, and in another hour of playing radio, I had 26 QSO's in my log, and 2 of those were summit to summit contacts.

AND of course I couldn't be more pleased that Hans got home and worked me again, now from his home shack.

After that I had a 100 km driving to do, to the city of Venlo, where I had booked a room on AirBnb.

The story is continued on Day 2

Ardennes and Luxemburg SOTA Tour - Day 4

For my trip back home, I had selected 4 easy summits.

First I went to

ON/ON-016 Les Aisances

I parked at pos 49.767429, 5.207851, and walked up the slope until I was in the AZ.

Some light rain didn't stop me from activating, I had an umbrella and rain coat, and to protect the KX3 and logbook, I used a large shopping bag on its' side, on my small table. That worked well enough to put 13 contacts in my logbook.

ON/ON-006 La Croix Scaille

This is also an easy drive-up summit, and even better, just across the French border is another one, so you can do two summits with little effort.
I parked my car a bit further than the official parking lot at the "Tour du Millénaire", where it was very busy. My parking spot was here : 49.954300, 4.844630.

I set up my station just across the road, but as it seemed, many walkers passed by, and of course I had to explain several times what I was doing. Also a car with two rangers stopped to check me out, but they were very friendly and made no objections.

The weather was a bit better here, so I could stay a bit longer, and made 22 QSO's.
After a quick lunch, I drove the forest road just across the border, to arrive on another summit ...

F/NO-047 Moulin de Thilay

Parking position was  49.948765, 4.841334, and I walked a bit further along the forest road to set up.

Also here, a car from the "Garde-Chasse" came by several times, they didn't even stop ...

But I got a funny question here.
Two people, a mother and her son had already given me some strange looks at the previous summit.

Now, by coïncidence, they had walked the same road, so they came by my station again, and this time their curiosity was too much and they asked what I was was doing , so I explained all about ham radio and SOTA.
Ah ... said the mother, I thought you were listening for the birds ...
I didn't tell her that we have indeed many "strange birds" in our ham community, hahaha.

I made 21 QSO's here, and also got 3 S2S !

After this activation, I drove back to the Belgian side, and quickly visited the Tour du Millenaire.
Read some info in English here.

A view from above on the parking lot, quite busy for a Tuesday afternoon ...

Now only one summit remained on my list ...

ON/ON-021 Plantis de Mesnil

If you drive slowly to this point, 50.177220, 4.916878, you will see where you can drive into the woods and find a parking spot for just 1 car (or maybe two if you're careful).
This is what it looks like in Google Streetview.

The parking spot is already in the AZ, but I walked a little on the path beyond the barrier to set up.
I didn't take any table or chair, so i just used some plastic bags as a "ground shack".

18 QSO's later, I packed all my stuff, and then it was time to take the long drive home ...
On the way home I saw a nice sunset, with some air balloons flying over ...

That's all folks ... a short but very enjoyable SOTA trip ... and 41 activator points added to my account ... nice.
See you all on the next trip !

Luc, ON7DQ

Ardennes and Luxemburg SOTA Tour - Day 3

This day I activated the other 2 summits in Luxemburg.

LX/LX-004, Widderbierg - 387m, 2 points

I drove the Rue de la Grotte (in places also called Rue Wangert), from the village of Mensdorf.
Parking position was 49.65787, 6.31164, and from there I followed the track by G4OBK from SMP.
[EDIT : on later activations, I found a better parking spot and shorter walk into the AZ, see this report ]

I found a nice place to set up in the AZ, there was a pole in the ground that I could tie my fishing pole to.

Despite wearing long trousers and putting them in my socks, I got bitten by a tick on this summit, my first one in SOTA !

I found it on my belly, so it probably found its way "up" under my tshirt, while walking through the tall grass.

The activation resulted in 30 QSO's, and one S2S with Kurt, HB9AFI/P.

By the time I got back at the car, it was time for lunch .. my "baguette" was still fresh and tasty, keeping it in my cool box.

TIP : I bought it at Delitraiteur, Avenue de Longwy 400 in Arlon, pos 49.668036, 5.824249 , and it's only 2 km from highway E25. 

LX/LX-002, Grengenwald - 432m, 4 points

Second and last summit for this day.

I followed again the info and track from G4OBK.

Parking position 49.66892, 6.20344, and then track from SMP.
[EDIT : on later activations, I found a better parking spot and shorter walk into the AZ, see this report ]

After reading Phils' blog, I had to find the bench he wrote about, and so I did.

I tied my pole to the back of the bench and had a nice operating desk !

I made 18 QSO's, including 1 S2S.

And with that last one, I got all 4 summits in LX activated.

I still had most of the afternoon left, and so went swimming in Les Thermes in Strassen .. and of course I did fill up on gas before rerturning home the next day.


Continue reading on the trip back home on Day 4

Ardennes and Luxemburg SOTA Tour - Day 2

This day I planned to activate 2of the 4 Luxemburg summits.
From my BnB in Arlon, it was only 60 km to the first one.

LX/LX-003, Kiirchbësch - 422m, 4 points

Parking position for this one was 49.891585, 6.224272 , which can be reached via a road called Am Roudebierg, starting in the village of Bettendorf.
I followed the instructions and track by G4OBK on the SMP site.

Since this was on a Sunday, and I had been told by Michael, DB7MM that there was a 2m contest in the morning, I had taken my FT857D backpack AND the KX3 set.
The VHF antenna was a 4 element logperiodic by Anjo Antennen, and for HF I took my simpler endfed with 9:1 UNUN, that I just made before this trip.
Lucky that the summit was only 10 minutes walk from the car !

 Above, you can see the UNUN fixed to a tree, and the other end of the endfed at some 6m above ground ,on  the fishing pole.

In one hour, I made only 5 QSO's on VHF, so again, not really worth to take the extra gear.
I continued on HF with the KX3 (which has an autotuner, the FT857D doesn't).
That went much better, in no time I had 14 more QSO's , including one S2S.

After a nice Lunch in Diekirch, it was time for the second one.


LX/LX-001, Steekammchen - 456m, 4 points

This is the parking position 49.97120, 5.95437

Again, Phil G4OBK had done all the work for me, so it was very easy to find a good operating spot, using the track from SMP..

The weather was nice, the views wonderful ... and I could fill my log with no less than 36 QSO's, with one S2S, all within one hour. All QSO's were made on 40m and 20m, using CW and SSB.

On the  return to my BnB in Arlon, I made a short visit to the dam in Esch-sur-Sûre ( pos 49.911780, 5.922893 ).

Continue reading on ... Day 3