Autumn is the best time of the year for hiking in the mountains and thus the best time of year for ski-less SOTA-activations. With new semesters come new ARKers, and this time, many are also interested in hiking. At 22. September, we gathered eight people interested in a new SOTA-activation.
We did a short activation of Hommelvikheia LA/ST-275 before Field Day, which was fun. With that experience, we decided to go on a longer trip this time. A good compromise between a suitably short travel time and a suitably long walk turned out to be Samsjøvola.
LB5DH and LA2QUA attempted to reach it on skis last year but turned around when surprised by thick fog. We intended to follow the same path that leads almost to the top. This worked out, but we had to get our feet wet when crossing a few marshes.
This time we wanted to try a somewhat unique band for the activation. We brought a 6m antenna, a first for a SOTA-trip with ARK. Sara, one of our new members, has a dad who is only QRV on 6m. While acknowledging that reaching him is a long shot, we wanted to try. Some of us gathered the day before to make a 6m antenna, as we lacked one suited for portable use. As with many others of our portable antennas, we opted for a vertical. 6m verticals are quite small, but we had to bring a tall mast anyway so we made it with elevated radials approximately 8m off the ground.
Despite our attempts, we did not reach Sara’s dad nor get any SOTA-QSOs on 6m. However, the 20m band was good as usual and everyone with a license activated the summit. In addition, many without licenses got a chance to try the radio under §9.
It is evident that it is now autumn and that the weather is getting colder. Nevertheless, we considered the activation a success and plan for more SOTA-activations in the future. Thanks for the trip to Alpha, India, Emma, Lena, Sara, Oskar, Wenche, LA2QUA, LB9JJ and LB5DH.
