YU/CS-046 Varovnice

Varovnice - YU/CS-046 - 406m 1 point

After my morning activation of Avala YU/CS-043, me and my wife decided to visit a nice restaurant near Belgrade... by chance, there was an unactivated and accessible summit not far from the restaurant. So on our way back, we payed a visit to Varovnice YU/CS-046.

Approaching Varovnice from west.
The summit would be unnoticeable if it were not for the commercial antennas.

Varovnice is an inconspicuous summit on one of the low ridges east from Mt. Kosmaj YU/CS-040. Except the ever present commercial antennas, there is a modest monument, dedicated to the memory of Serbian solders who fought there in early december 1914 during the final stages of the WWI Battle of Kolubara.

Near the monument there are same benches and that was the place I chose for the activation. Since there was not much time left I decided to operate only on 14 MHz, with the quarter wave vertical. First contact was S2S with G4ISJ/P at G/CE-001. In less than half an hour I made 28 qsos and then was time to pack and leave home. I will definitely come again to this summit. It is not too far from home and not as crowded as Avala YU/CS-043 (the only SOTA summit realy close to my home).

Kosmaj YU/CS-040, 12 km west from Varivnice

Avala YU/CS-043, 25 km north from Varovnice

S2S:

G4ISJ/P G/CE-001

YU/CS-043 Avala - ANZAC day

Avala - YU/CS-043 - 506m 1 point

ANZAC day S2S activation

Avala YU/CS-043

On SOTA reflector a plan was made to try for S2S (summit to summit) contacts between EU and VK, on ANZAC day, Saturday April 25.  Several activators joined, and I decided to join too and operate from my local summit Avala YU/CS-043. Encouraged by the recent long path contact with FK8DD from YU/IS-113, I was hoping that I will work some VK activators on 20m CW with my MTR2.

The S2S event was scheduled to happen between 05:30 and 07:30 UTC (at EU morning and VK sunset). I was a bit late to arrive, and the antenna (quarter wave vertical) was set at 06:30 UTC. After working some already familiar EU chasers, I was called by a loud AC1Z followed shortly by KP4CPC, my first contacts from this part of the world. A bit later, HB9AFH/P called me from HB/AR-006, followed shortly by HB9BIN/P from HB/BE-087. I tuned up and down (bit difficult with the spartan MTR2) and kept an eye on SOTA spots, but could not hear any VK stations, except a very very weak VK3HRA/P - so weak I did not dare calling him. In the meantime, I run into 9H4RH/P on 9H/GO-001 for a new S2S, and was called a bit later by EA2BD/P from EA2/NV-119. Ignacio EA2BD/P had a strong signal, but he caught my eye  by the way he answered my cq: "S2S S2S de EA2BD/P". This is definitely a good method to raise attention while trying to establish a S2S contact, and I will try it myself. Finally, a very weak station answered my cq and it was Allen VK3HRA/P from VK3/VC-024. I could have heard him much better if I had chosen a quieter summit, without commercial antenna towers everywhere. On the other hand, he was not in much better position - plagued by bad weather.

Saturday morning on Avala was glorious, bright and sunny

After some more EU chasers, I called it a day. The total was 23 qsos, 5 S2S.

S2S:

HB9AFH/P HB/AR-006
HB9BIN/P HB/BE-087
9H4RH/P 9H/GO-001
EA2BD/P EA2/NV-119
VK3HRA/P VK3/VC-024

YU/IS-112 Anatema

Anatema - YU/IS-112 - 325m 1 point

After activating YU/IS-113, the next summit to visit was Anatema YU/IS-112, just 6 km to the south. We went  to the village Rečica at the foot of Anatema, and then uphill following the road spotted on Google Earth images few days ago. The hill is covered with sand (most probably Danube alluvium)  and the road is in fact a deep trench in the sand. Unfortunately, in the vicinity of the village all the way along the road is a garbage dump. Near the hilltop, we left the car and went searching for the very summit. It was hidden somewhere in a dense shrub vegetation, and since the hilltop is flat, we decided to look for some more comfortable location elsewhere in the activation zone.

After leaving the car we went searching for the summit

A nice spot near the top of YU/IS-112

 Finally, we found a nice shady spot, without dense vegetation. I erected the 14 MHz vertical, and spotted myself. A steady stream of chasers ensued, and among them EA1AER/P from Coto Alto EA1/LE-097. 25 minutes later, after 16 qsos, the stream of chasers subsided so we made a lunch break. An hour later, we concluded that it is still early to head home, so I decided to give 40 meters a try. My wife helped me to extend the doublet between a tall tree and the fishing pole. S53XX/P on S5/TK-029 answered my call for a new S2S qso. Up and down the band I made some more contacts, 10 in total on 40 meters. Then it was time to pack and head home.

Didi the dog did her best to distract me. Should I get some bonus points?

S2S:

EA1AER/P EA1/LE-097
S53XX/P S5/TK-029

YU/IS-113 Gorica

Gorica - YU/IS-113 - 282m 1 point

The plan for the holidays was to cross Danube by ferry after activating YU/VO-005, and go to Gorica YU/IS-113. Gorica is the first hill in the upstream part of Danube gorges (Iron gates), where Danube croses the Carpatho-Balkan mountains, leaving the Panonian plain.

Gorica YU/IS-113 seen from Stara Palanka, on left bank of Danube

Ferry crossing from Stara Palanka to Ram, village at the foot of Gorica

After the ferry crossing, we followed the road uphill and reached Gorica as night was falling. We found a suitable place to camp on the slopes facing Danube.

Looking downstream from Gorica

The next morning was bright, windy and chilly. I got up early, hoping for LP contacts with VK. Near the summit, but still away from commercial antenna towers there, I found a nice spot to set up my quarter wave vertical for 14 MHz. But at 06.00 UTC, when all was ready, there was nobody to answer my calls. Tuning down the band, I found a loud and lonely FK8DD calling cq and listening up. I adjusted my transmitting frequency and RIT and called... and got an answer from FK8DD. My first long range DX with MTR2 and from a SOTA summit! What a way to start the day! But after that, I heard nobody else, so returned to the camp to sleep a bit more.

Almost 2 hours later, I spotted myself and after that worked quickly a group of 10 EU chasers, including summit to summit qso with DL/ON6UU/P on DM/NW-258. A coffee break, a second try and few chasers more, and that was it - 17 contacts in total.

I am fond of this part of Serbia and visited it many times before, so I will surely visit again this nice and quiet hill. If the weather late in summer is not too dry and hot, there might be mushrooms to hunt also - one more reason to come here again.

My operating position at YU/IS-113

On the descent we recognized YU/VO-005, 17 km away,
where we were a day before; and Vršačka brda 37 km away

S2S:

DL/ON6UU/P DM/NW-258

YU/VO-005 Zagajačka brda

Zagajačka brda - YU/VO-005 - 250m 1 point

The lowest SOTA summit in YU association

Zagajačka brda (*) is a group of small hills, part of Deliblatska peščara (Deliblato sands) Nature reserve (YUFF-031), in Banat, close to Danube and border with Romania. The hills are actually vegetation covered loess and sand deposits of characteristic shape, resembling dunes or rounded little hills in Teletubbyland. With an elevation of 250 meters, Zagajačka brda is the lowest summit in YU SOTA association list.

We arrived there early on Friday afternoon, later than planned, so there was not much time left for operation. We had to hurry to catch a ferry across Danube before dark. I operated only on 7 MHz using the doublet spread at 5 meters above ground, between the structure on the summit and my fishing pole. First qso was my first summit to summit contact ever with HB9BCB/P on HB/BE-158. In the next 15 minutes I made 7 more contacts, with strongest signals from YO2BP in Timisoara, very close to me. Before dismantling the antenna I tried my luck on 10 MHz, without success.

View of Vršačka brda, 28 km away

Anyway, I plan to come again to YU/VO-005 and make more contacts since it is not too far from home and the scenery is beautiful. If not sooner, than on April next year to look for morels (there were none this spring, March was too dry for them)

S2S:

HB9BCB/P HB/BE-158

(*) Now I see that correct name of the hills is Zagajička brda, since the hills are named after the village Zagajica

YU/CS-043 Avala - first SOTA activation

Avala - YU/CS-043 - 506m 1 point

First activation - March 29. 2015.

Mt Avala (YUFF-006) is one of Belgrade landmarks, along with the TV tower near its top. Although Wiki and media say it has 511 meters, the topo maps say 506 meters, so the latter was accepted as official height in SOTA.

By Djidash (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Avala is my closest SOTA summit. It is less than 20 km away.

At the end of March I finished building my basic SOTA equipment: a MTR v2 rig designed by KD1JV, and my clone of ZM4 antenna tuner. The wire antenna was cut and prepared in the morning of the activation, on March 29. I decided to make an antenna for 14 MHz, a quarter wave vertical with 2 elevated radials, since I had excellent results with this type of antenna in the past (on 40 meters).

We parked at the parking are at the lower peak, at the base of the TV tower. There is a 500 meters walk to the top from there.

On the top of Avala there is a Monument to the Unknown Hero, a WWI memorial. The area around the top is a park with paths leading to the monument. I guess the park should be kept free of leisure activities, including radio, so I decided to find an operating place elsewhere in the activation zone. The park and the top are encircled by a road (closed for vehicles) just some meters above the activation zone limit. Apart from the circular road itself, the only remaining flat areas within the activation zone are a small picnic area, a parking in front of old Hotel Avala and the hotel building itself, and a flat area behind some souvenir kiosks. Apart from the big TV tower on the lower Avala peak, there are two communication towers on opposite locations along the circular road.

I chose the picnic area for my activation location. It very close to one of the communication towers. Since it was my first portable activity ever, it took some time to untangle the wires and rise the antenna. I could not tune the antenna properly, the LED on ZM4 was only slightly diminished. I think I read somewhere that this might be caused by strong signals from the nearby communication tower - the antenna picks them all and disrupts the expected operation of the resistive bridge. Anyway, I tuned the antenna the best I could and hoped for the best.

My first SOTA activation, 29.03.2015 on YU/CS-043

I am not a good cw operator and have been long time off the air, so keying mistakes were abundant. Most of all I kept forgetting to sign /P. Some mobile network QRM was heard, but not too much. Soon after my first CQ, first contacts were made with DJ1PQ and DL2KAS. And after that - nothing, nobody was coming back. I thought that I might have damaged my transmitter because of unmatched antenna. Finally, after some retuning and more cqing, the pileup started. During next 25 minutes, I worked 24 stations more (26 in total), and then the pileup stopped. That was it, not too bad for a first SOTA activation.

Second activation - April 4. 2015

Warmer weather was forecast for following Saturday, so I decided to make an early morning activation, this time on all bands (i.e. on 7, 10 and 14 MHz since these are the bands my MTR v2 operates on). During the week I built my portable cw paddle, and started building a second antenna. I decided to try a doublet for 7 MHz and above, fed by 450 ohms home made ladder line. Due to other commitments, the antenna building was again left for the morning of the activation, and it took much longer than expected, so instead early in the morning I took of to Avala at 11 AM.

Despite sunny weather, there were not much visitors at the top, so I decided once again to erect the antenna in the picnic area. I also inspected an alternate location, a small flat area behind the souvenir kiosks, at the same elevation. Maybe next time I will go there since it is uninteresting for visitors, always unoccupied and further away from the communication towers.

My operating position

 I had much more problems this time while erecting the antenna. Thick and heavy wires kept pulling down the fishing rod mast and getting tangled in nearby trees. Same as a week before, I was using a 12V SLA battery, so my MTR v2 was giving almost 5 watts on all bands. I tuned (again with difficulties) on 7 MHz, and S54X came to my call. Just as I was finishing the exchange, the antenna decided to come down, so I ended the exchange with the antenna mast in one hand, the other hand keying qrx 5 ant dwn.

Operating at YU/CS-043

5 minutes later I secured the antenna and continued with 5 more qsos. I jumped quickly to 10 MHz, but nobody there came to my cq. I had not much time left so moved further to 14 MHz (latter home I saw I have been spotted by rbn, so maybe I should have waited some more time on 10 MHz). After 6 more qsos on 14 I had to call it a day and move on to arrive on time for my nephews birthday party.

Well, after this activation I must say I am not impressed with the doublet. I am using one at home (2 x 21 m) with great success,  but that one is sloping from a 30 m high building. This one, attached as an inverted V on a 8 m fishing rod, is nothing more than a cloud burner, in my opinion. Besides, I made it from 1 mm2 PVC insulated electric wire, and it is quite heavy for the cheap fishing rod I am using as a mast. So I am considering again resonant monoband quarter wave verticals for 10 and for 7 MHz as my next antennas...