Over the first weekend in April I went to Mt Hotham as part of our ski club 50th anniversary celebration. This provided a great opportunity to get a few SOTA activations in when I could either convince the group to go in the right direction, or alternatively escape! On Sat there was general interest in a 4WD expedition up Blue Rag Range and since my 4WD experience is pretty close to zero, it was a good opportunity to activate Blue Rag Range in the company of some experienced 4WDers. Continue reading →

I last participated in the John Moyle Memorial Field Day in 2010. Then I operated from the car park at Mt Donna Buang with a generator and a multi-band vertical. This year my interest in SOTA suggested that a combined Mt St Phillack and JMMFD SOTA activation would be a good idea. Scouting the available hilltops that were 10 point SOTA summits and had a good view of Melbourne for VHF/UHF purposes narrowed the choice considerably. Mt St Phillack fit the bill well apart from the length of hike to get to it (5km). I decided to give it a shot and set about working out what I could squeeze into a backpack to give myself the best shot at a decent score in the contest. Continue reading →

This activation opportunity came about for me as my daughter was running in the Eastern Metropolitan Regional relay competition at Mt Evelyn all day on 1/12. The draw turned out that she was running early in the morning and late in the afternoon with about 4 hours between races. I calculated that there would be ample time for a 50km drive to Warburton and the the top of Mt Donna Buang, a bite of lunch at Warburton and a quick activation. The weather was fine and sunny and a great day for a walk in the fresh air at the top of a mountain.
Continue reading →