English Mountain Activation

What a day.  As Murphys Laws of War say, No plan survives the first contact intact.  Well today followed that law.  Like most SOTA Activators I try to plan ahead.  I really do!  I picked my summit, planned my route, and packed my gear.  I even checked Google Earth to make sure I had a good route to the summit.  Well Google Earth didn't show the big ass locked metal gate and big no trespassing sign.  Satellites are a pain like that.

So I decided to throw caution to the wind and see if I could find another way around.  An hour later, glad I left a little early to cover these little mishaps, I found my back door.  I found that my new secondary route was a bit more of a hike than my initial plan but oh well. It was a great hike with some great views.

 I made the summit and set up my KX3.  I love this little radio.  Today I was finally able to deploy my 8400mAh LifePo4 battery.  I worked the 10m band for over an hour without much drop in voltage from this little gem.  I made contacts with W6UB nearby in Friendsville, TN thanks Larry.  10m opened up pretty good and I was able to make contact with Hal N6JZT, Andy 9Y4LAS in Trinidad and Tobango, and John YS1/NO7B in EL Salvador.  I was pushing 10 watts with my Buddipole antenna and got great signal reports back from everyone.

I am also very happy with my pack setup.  I think I will do a video showing my pack setup in detail as I have had good feedback from it so far.

Thanks for stopping by and if you have any questions or comments please feel free to post a comment.

73's and keep climbing!