2. Ham Radio

Signal Peak (W6/NS-179) SOTA Activation 8/4/2012

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Close-up of the bungee lashing the mast to the pine tree branch.
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Close-up of the bungee lashing the mast to the pine tree branch.

  • Signal Peak towers above Cisco Grove and I-80. The mountain (vs. just the peak) is named Red Mountain. The redness is apparent in this photo taken about halfway up Tahoe National Forest's road 85 ("Rattlesnake Road") which provides access to the summit and nearby lakes and campgrounds. Rattlesnake Road is a rough and steep dirt road. Rugged 2WD vehicles can make it to the top in dry weather, but 4WD is preferred. For maps and more detailed directions to Red Mountain and Signal Peak, see <a href="http://www.grizzlyguy.com/HamRadio/SOTA-SignalPeak-W6NS179-2013">this album from a later activation</a>.
  • The back (east) side of the mountain as seen from the road that leaves forest road 85 and accesses the summit. This final access road is best not attempted with 2WD vehicles.
  • I had planned to operate from the historic stone lookout building on the spur ridge southwest of the summit. However, based on what I could see on topo maps I couldn't be certain that it was within the 80 vertical feet activation zone allowed by SOTA. The summit itself is covered by communication towers, equipment huts, generators, fences, etc. so operating from the actual summit would have been difficult. I decided to instead operate from under this small pine that is about 30 vertical feet below and east of the summit. The pine gave me shade and an easy way to secure my 18' Buddipole mast without having to guy it. Most of my contacts come from the east, so the steep downslope greatly helps the 20/40m link dipole antenna's performance in that direction. The dipole was strung N-S so the maximum lobes were to the E-W.
  • The Buddipole tripod supports the mast, and the mast is lashed to one of the pine tree's branches with a bungee for stability. Since the winds were light and the tree solid, guying was not required.
  • Close-up of the bungee lashing the mast to the pine tree branch.
  • The small fir tree on the right edge of the photo provided a convenient tie-off point for the south end of my 20/40m link dipole.
  • I used my hiking pole to support the north end of the antenna.
  • I used two rocks to keep the base of the hiking pole from moving, then routed my twine through a carabiner clip that I keep on the strap for this reason. I made a few wraps of the twine around the pole for tensioning and used a third rock to secure the end (sits on the piece of cardboard that I wrap the twine around for packing). Old Man Mountain (W6/NS-184) is the granite mountain in the background to the left of the hiking pole.
  • Here is a better shot of Old Man Mountain (W6/NS-184) that is just a few miles NNE of Signal Peak. The Fordyce Creek OHV trail runs between the two, from the Indian Springs Trailhead along I-80 to Meadow Lake. It is one of the most difficult 4x4 trails in California and not for the faint of heart.
  • My little mast reaching skyward from the pine tree with the summit and it's myriad of towers in the background. If size really matters, then why can I communicate so much farther than all that big stuff on the summit? ;-)
  • Me, the tree and my HB-1B. See?
  • Off to the races we go. I was about 20 minutes early getting on the air (vs. what I estimated in my SOTAWatch alert) so I spotted myself after about 5 minutes of receiving no responses to my CQ's. Rich N4EX in North Carolina came along shortly after that for my first QSO. I had some intermod issues from the communication sites on the summit, but they were surprisingly few and minor.
  • Castle Peak (W6/SN-038) to the east. Visibility was unusually poor today.
  • To the south, Cisco Grove and I-80 are at the base of the mountain. The road to the summit begins there.
  • The spur ridge to the southwest of the summit. The historic stone lookout building where I had planned to operate is at the end of the ridge, just below the camera's line of sight.
  • Beyond the end of the spur ridge, I-80 continuing westward to the Sacramento Valley.
  • Snow Mountain (W6/NS-171) to the SSE.
  • Looking east and down to the summit access road. The dust is from ATVs heading up to the summit.
  • Logbook page 1.
  • Logbook page 2 including a summit-to-summit QSO with Fred WS0TA on Mosquito Peak in Colorado (elevation 13,781 feet). Thanks to everyone who worked me!
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