Portable DX Paul VK5PAS

Antennas It has been said that antennas compose one third of your station. The other two thirds are your operating equipment and your operating skills Experimentation

Promote yourself Place your intentions on as many forums as possible The more people who know you are going to be out there, the better.

Posts & Alerts Parksnpeaks SOTAWatch (posts & alerts) SOTAWatch Reflector (post) DX cluster Hamspots WWFF http://hamspots.net/wwff/ WWFF Forum http://forum.wwff.co Facebook SOTA, WWFF, VKFF/SOTA, Field Radio Yahoo groups Very disapointing that a lot of people use these tools as a Hunter or Chaser, but never bother to spot.

QRP or a bit of extra grunt? QRP is entirely possible Huge buzz 40 watts Dependant on the location Carrying gear long distances If you are on a SOTA peak or in a WWFF park, the DX will listen just that little bit more carefully.

Time your activation. Consider the time of day Know when the bands are open Particular bands are good for particular parts of the world at particular times 20m long path to Europe (afternoons) 10m short path to North America (mornings) Who is your targeted audience? Try to time your activations for those who you would like to get in the log. Greyline Don’t leave it too late There is no point going out at midday if you want to work Europeans on 20m via the long path Don’t leave it too late – don’t move to 20m from 40m after the band has closed.

Propagation Look at the solar figures / propagation conditions Solar flux, sunspot number, A & K indices If they are poor, consider putting your activation off until another day Hourly Area Prediction (HAP) Charts A high solar flux or sunspot number combined with low A and K figures, generally indicate good news for the higher HF bands A low solar flux or sunspot number means that the higher HF bands may not be open. HAP charts – Bureau of Meteorology, Space Weather Services – HAP charts are designed for communications between a specified base and mobile within a nominated area. Each chart shows colours which represent the recommended HF frequencies for contacting the station within the area bounded by the chart for a particular hour.

Frequencies Nominated calling frequencies 7.090 7.144 14.310 14.244 Clear frequency away from QRM Use nominated calling frequencies if possible. I have often moved from 40m up to 20m and have had Europeans waiting for me.

Location Salt water Take off angle Generally the water needs to be between you and the direction from where the DX signals are originating. Take off angle Use of hills sloping towards the desired direction Quiet location Away from power lines. Removed from other people Shade Ease of egress Work of Les G6XN who has looked at take off angles and portable operation Peter VK3YE’s website Ease of egress – if the DX is biting, you can loose track of time. Climbing back down the summit, National Parks gates close.

Operating skills Confidence Know how to work a pile up Consider working split Operating style Listen for outside of VK Persevere Be on air Keep calling CQ Be patient DX pile ups can be undisciplined call for any SOTA/parks activators then call for QRP stations then call for portable or mobile stations then call for any DX (you might be surprised who calls you!)  then call for stations who can hear you, but with difficulty (there is nothing worse as a Chaser/Hunter listening to an activator who is weak, but then disappears down below the noise floor due to a change in the band.)   And finally call for anybody else (now the fun starts). Use the recent example of working Danny OT4V on 40m from Mowantjie Willauwar. And also my previous activation at Newland Head. Europeans were hearing me on 40m.

Other tips Mention where you are when calling CQ Ask someone to place you on the DX cluster Remember the DX Code of Conduct: impolite to self-spot Consider setting up an SMS group on your mobile Try a group email Use the local repeater Tag team Awareness Don’t be disappointed Good quality audio There is a DX Code of Conduct Generally it is frowned upon to self spot on the DX Cluster. However it appears acceptable on SOTAWatch and the Facebook sites, as there is something just that little bit different about your activity, e.g. you are on the top of a hill or in a National Park. Tag team – join up with a mate who is operating from home & using a beam. Jonathan VK6JON, using a Buddipole on the beach Awareness- more & more SOTA & WWFF DX activators are now listening out for VK’s. Mike 2E0YYY (SOTA). Danny OT4V & Swa ON5SWA (WWFF) from Belgium Don’t be disappointed if you didn’t get any DX in the log. Give it a go another day

Top five Antenna Posts and alerts Propagation Operating skills Location

For Hunters All the usual haunts. Parksnpeaks DX Cluster SOTAWatch Hamspots WWFF Antenna Patience Can be frustrating breaking the pile up Perseverance Don’t give up Timing Tail ending

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