It is to be proud

Today I was analisying the SOTA activating work I've made since october 2013 using the amazing tools at http://tools.adventureradio.de
The data in graphic format was enough to be proud of the activity made until today.
These numbers were achieved with just 10 watts and a linked dipole or HWEF.  From the summits. Just it. Here you have the results:

Map of the countries worked from summits

List of countries and # of QSOs for a total of +1300

I have not done anything special, nor have any special hability. Just take your radio, a piece of wire, a CW keyer, and go to the mountains, you will enjoy it for sure!

Murugain SOTA EA2/SS-030 VHF S2S Day

Today was a nice day for "sotting" at the Basque Country. Marcial was again riding the world, and in these days I am trying to achieve my first level Basajaun certificate. (I'll publish more about the new Basque Country Summits on the Air new award). I need already two more summits from Gipuzkoa, +-100 km far from Bilbao. So I chose a summit not too high and near the border between Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa  (Here you can see the trip)

So, I set up my motorcycle as usual, carrying the light rig, that is: FT-817ND, LiFePO4 12v 8Ah, 10 mtrs wire, 3,5 fishing pole and Fusch kit QRP antenna tunner. It was one hour trip going not too fast, as there were a lot of people cycling on this roads at weekends.

Udalatx from Murugain

After a coffe and some advise from people of Aretxabaleta, I managed to find the route and a couple of km ahead, I started walking up to Murugain EA2/SS-030. As usual the mountains looked amazing, in this I had at sight Udalatx, with its impressive stone walls (perhaps some day I'll try to hike it up,mmm...)
Even better, despite the weather predictions, the sun was heating pretty well, with no trace of clouds, and only a light wind at the summit. 

In these optimal condx, just after arrival, I quickly set up the FT-817 and its rubber antenna to find the 144 mhz full of avid activators, from 145.475 up to 145.575mhz

I finally managed to contact with 8 of them across 4 EA2 territories:

• Iratxe EA2DNO & Alberto EA2DCA at Montejurra EA2/NV-090
• Antonio EC2AG at Altun EA2/BI-026
• Juan Carlos EA2EEB at Larrunarri EA2/SS-002
• Alberto EA2DYS and Roberto EA2DXY at EA2/NV-015
• Iñigo EA2CQ at Orisol EA2/VI-014 (he was with Cruz EA2EBX but I couldn't contact him)
• Salvador EA2OX at Eretza EA2/BI-016

I don't know if there were more people up over there, but it was definitely the best 144 mhz day I've enjoyed untill today.

Then I use the iron cross on the summit to tie the "short" 10 m wire to make some HF CW. A fast passing thru by 10 and 18 mhz, as my antenna was not very well fitted, gave me 20-25 QSO's more, including several old known ones as Tonnie PA9CW (nice to meet you again!) Roy G4SSH (twice) and the "always-in-the-front-line" Rick N4EX.

In the meanwhile, I met Carlos EB2CZT from Legutio, who was enjoying the beautiful day with his wife, and we had the chance of chatting about... radio, of course!

73 de Mikel EA2CW

Euskal Herriko Mendiak
http://www.euskalmendiak.eu

Intxorta EA2/BI-028: A new one on a fine day

Raul, Mikel & Marcial at Intxorta Summit

As Antonio EC2AG said, today was a 1st class day for sotting at the Basque Country. After a couple of weeks in which we have had only rainy and windy days, today we have not only enjoyed a truly summer day, with abt 20 deg. C. and sun, but also some beautiful experiences.

First of all, Marcial EA2BDS, Oier, my 9 y.o. boy (no callsign yet) and me, were joint by Raul EA2DPA, for his first SOTA activation after more than one year "activator holidays". So we were able to cover 3 bands at the same time, mostly 10, 14 and 24 mhz. We've had place enough to mount 3  full size dipoles, running 3 CW HF rigs as well. The landscape was amazing too, with more than 10 sota summits at sight under the noon light.

Secondly, I was using by the first time my new 2nd hand FT-857 and LiFePO4 8ah batteries (1st hand) and they both have performed very well.

Anboto EA2/BI-002 and  Mugarra EA2/BI-013. Such a beautiful landscape from Intxorta!

At the summit we have got the visit of a group of children from a near ikastola (basque school), more than ... well they moved too fast to count them... but a lot of! Belong theier parents was Roberto EA2AF, from Elgoibar (EA2/SS) and he was carrying a 144mhz talkie, so, after a short chatting, we "compelled" him to use his equipment to activate the summit too... "I have no paper,... no writting machine,.." excuses were fast avoided and we made him ready to the action. So he hadn't any chance, and made his work!.

There you can see Marcial EA2BDS under his new linked dipole while operating

Despite the large number of small people running thru the summit, they didn't "hurt" our preciate dipoles. Even more, I had a group on my side, listening quite serious and interested while I was making CW QSO's on 10Mhz. Later came some explanations (where is your keyer? not this even saw blades you are using? In which language do you all speak while CWing? How do you know which country are the people from) and a hundred more questions. 

Finally, and even with all this entertainment, I has been able to make 89 QSOs, 11 of them S2S, reaching 2K chaser points, and 330 S2S points to become at the first place at all EA CW S2S. 

So I can properly say that today has been a good SOTA day for all of us, but specially for me!

Thank you very much to all the people (a lot of them!) hiking the summits as to all the sloths enjoying the day from home and keeping a short time to "make my day" (as Clint Eastwood said).

73 de Mikel