SOTA Madness - 250+ mi 2m CW and ZL S2S

Every year, the SOTA geeks in Arizona coordinate a "10 point Madness" event where many of them summit high peaks in AZ and try to work lots of summit-to-summit contacts. Living in SoCal, that event is a fun opportunity for me to try working long distance 2m contacts. This year wasn't the best for 2m propagation, but I brought another new antenna for HF which paid off well. Enjoy!
Summit is Apache Peak near Idyllwild - W6/CT-249
Printables page for the mast guy rings: www.printables.com/model/4934...

[@m1hax]

Strong effort carrying all that gear! 💯

[@M0RSF]

Good effort carrying all that gear on what was a fair walk in. Don't think that I've ever known anyone use a rotator on a SOTA summit. Well done! 73 Chris M0RSF

[@RandyUpchurch]

Awesome video. You are true to the spirit of ham innovation!

[@pcfreak1992]

I always enjoy these videos where you take QRO gear up mountains 😄 I can only imagine the fun at the summit when you have both a good location and a lot of power.

[@K6ARK]

It's pretty awesome. QRP is fun but run a little power with a good antenna and stations just come out of the woodwork. It's awesome. 😎

[@jmount1200]

I thought Apache looked familiar with Tahquitz Peak in the background. I enjoyed that hike with a lot less gear, it is always fun to see what you bring to the party!

[@jeff-73]

I can't wait for the K6ARK 1 gram Nano rotator. lol. Great vid as always.

[@ShooterReadyStandBy]

Great activation. Thanks for taking us along.

[@Hebdomad7]

I love videos like this. Especially the morse contacts. Very useful real world recording for training my ears. Love it.

[@betterbprepared]

Loved the video. Glad you put the CW QSO details on the screen. I am about a month into learning CW, and I was able to follow along. Exciting stuff! Thanks for the video! 73

[@CoaxAndCampstools]

Two K6ARK vids in a week? What a treat!

[@K6ARK]

Get 'en while they're hot!

[@downsouthwines4674]

Im so glad Im not the only muppet to get the direction of the Moxon wrong Love that youve done this with the printed hub - I absolutely need to get a lighter weight hub, and youve given me more inspiration.

[@larsrutkowski9685]

Nice work getting out there. Really enjoy your videos. As a noob operator it is really nice to see the decoded CW I'm hearing. 🍻

[@kao354]

Impressive, Adam! Thank you for the video!

[@phildurall7466]

Nice haul up the hill Adam .... Shack in a Pack! The gear and you gave a solid performance on the peak! 73 - KF6IF

[@N4AAJ]

Great video, Adam! I wish more folks would operate 2m cw. I keep my 818 around for that capability. The 15m action in this video was awesome! Really enjoy that you take odd ball stuff to summits. Keeps it interesting. 73 es cul de N4AAJ

[@K6ARK]

It's pretty amazing what you can do when you set up a station on top of a multi-thousand food "tower" in a spot with very little noise. Too much fun! Thanks for the kind words.

[@DXJungle]

Great video. Thank you for sharing your experience. 🤝

[@WO6JO]

Thanks for the S2S Adam! Nice bleep sound effect 🤣

[@K6ARK]

Lol yes, i was editing that up and was like... Oopsie. Got a little excited there. 😆

[@bobn6rdc179]

Thanks for all the great videos, I enjoy seeing the SOTA stuff, I'm afraid I'm more of the POTA type! 73's N6RDC

[@Matt61702]

That’s wild! Your Moxon was doing great. I’m going to need that BOM and build notes 😉

[@Swamp-Fox]

Congrats on the ZL3GA S2S contact!

[@DK5ONV]

Whohooo another cracking Video, Adam. Merry Christmas & a prosperous New Year to you and yours. 73 de Your Friend Uncle Günter 💯🙋‍♂

[@KN4OKadventures]

great video Adam....now I have to build me a better 2 m antenna!

[@JosephVE3GKT]

Awesome video as always Adam! Thanks for bringing us along! 73 VE3GKT

[@chuckrann6282]

Great job Adam! 73 de N4SHO

[@la3ngahenningsota652]

awesome job and video Adam! Hope to work you S2S some day...

[@doesstuffoutside]

Awesome stuff! I've done doublets and end feds with 100W on summits, but you make me want to build a beam.

[@nvrumi]

What a great day, Adam! You made me feel good just listening to you work. I'd need a mountain goat to get up there. I don't know if I could do 3K ft of gain. I hope to work you sometime. 73 de AG7TX

[@kendebusk2540]

FB, Adam! With COPD/emphysema, SOTA is out of the question for me, but I hope to get into some POTA sometime next spring. It snowed here in Michigan today, so I'm inside :) de KA8VLW, Ken

[@W6IWN_Radio]

Nice work 👍 👍

[@matix2120]

Hi Adam, amazing setup you've developed! Would you mind sharing some more info on the rotator? I found the motor on amazon, is it 15 RPM version? What is your gear ratio or how much time it needs to do full 360 degree turn? Can you share stls maybe? 73!

[@joelzink]

Very interesting to hear the difference in mode & band with KI7QEK.

[@alvarogaitan2529]

great job thanks for sharing this video 73 from kb2uew

[@503Nick]

Very cool. Your SOTA setups are really awesome. But I’ll stick with my tx500, PackTenna and CF mast for hf and my ft3 for vhf/uhf because I couldn’t carry all your gear 😉

[@K6ARK]

That's a plenty capable station for sure. Occasionally it's just fun to see what's possible.

[@503Nick]

@@K6ARKyour station is awesome. I just know it’s too much for me to carry

[@LL-fu1uh]

Love the base plate for the Moxon. Those green cross bars are they available to 3d print?

[@billcosgrave6232]

👍

[@RonanCantwell]

Impressive on every level...! You need to get yourself a goat. Ronan MM0IVR

[@rstiosejo]

Hello Adam. As always it's awesome to watch your videos. More power to you on hiking a Summit with that weight on your back. Probably 45 LBS as your usual carry recently. Just wondering why you need an amplifier for the 2m on the FT-857D doesn't it have 50w max on 2m? Or maybe I wasn't paying attention to the use of the amplifier? Stay Safe 🎉. 73 Ruben KD6CWI

[@skinnyflea2628]

Really enjoy your DX stuff on SOTA summits with interesting gear! What backpack do you use? That is a lot of rigid heavy weight to carry!

[@cesargalvan3750]

Great video, and the moxon works fantastic, I made one for 10m , I have too the 857, one question: how much power did you use for CW? I'm learning this mode. , saludos XE2GRC

[@twooldmeninthewoods]

Another great video Adam! I can't imagine doing 3K vert with that load on my back! I struggle to setup my FT-817 and my QRP antennas after doing 2K climbs. QUESTION - what are you using to record your QSOs since you are using headphones? I have thought about starting to use a headset in the field but also want to capture it all.

[@K6ARK]

Thanks! I use an in-line audio recorder like this, and usually just use the "monitor" function to headphones for listening. Set the recorder to the "music" setting and input for "line level". amzn.to/3RCFVAU For this video, I had some extra audio recording shenanigans going on as well. I was using a special headset with a jack I added to output RX audio to the recorder, and a lavaliere mic. Those two are routed through a tiny mixer board I designed which pads the line level audio down to mic level. It then sends the RX audio to one of the stereo channels of the recorder, and the lav mic audio to the other. That way I have two independent channels to mess with in post processing. That's overkill for most cases. The basic in-line recording is normally sufficient, and then I just use the camera audio for anything I say.

[@8231trosen]

curious how a portable beam would perform for qrp cw?

[@PortableRadio]

Great setup and video!

[@davidg5308]

What is the telescoping mast? Looks super solid for heavier antennas. Love the westerly ZL contact and over 100 - awesome! I have been a SOTA slacker this year...need to set a 2024 goal and get to it...73!

[@HamRadio200]

I have so many hobbies. My problem is the balance of me and my obligations to my God and my family. I love Ham radio, cycling, RC, mechanicing, but find myself not doing any of them as much as I'd like because of other more important things. I love watching you and I get of sense of living my ham radio dreams through you! I know it's not the same, but your videos are really good!

[@junyangxx]

This is great, Adam! With so many rigs, how heavy is your backpack this time?

[@K6ARK]

I didn't weigh it, but for this excursion, I would estimate 35 lbs or 15 kilos.

[@BlackRobeco]

did you start out off apple canyon?

[@503Nick]

What are those telescoping spreaders that you used for the Moxon ?

[@K6ARK]

3.6m telescopic fishing poles from AliExpress.

[@LeeMcc_KI5YPR]

Adam, do you remember your power on 15m?

[@K6ARK]

I don't remember specifically, but I usually run 50 watts on CW with that rig