K7AHR invited me to activation two peaks in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. We had a beautiful time hiking across frozen marshes and through windy forests. The wind on the summits was a tad too much to set up HF in. We got our VHF contacts (mostly to operators on other summits) and headed down. Chilly up there getting blasted. 73 N7KOM
Wow, Tim that looked cold!! Thanks so much for posting again that was stunning country and great views. I love Roscoe showing you how it’s done he never seems to tire out. I can imagine him at home in front of a nice fire though sleeping it off. Nice to meet Ann also, 73.
If you like wind , look into tree phones summit. at the top trees grow side ways pointint to the east. It's on the east side of the cascades. go up through Tampico..
Hi Tim, I am trying to get started with portable vhf operating and I have a Beofeng BF-F8HP with a 15" whip. I would think that would be enough to get started but out of curiosity what frequencies do you use, 6M,2M? Thanks 73, KF0GVX
im new as well and i use 42 inch bendable tape military style and made one heck of a difference in vhf
Hi KF0GV, I mostly operate VHF on 146.58-fm. That is the frequency that many of the SOTA activators in the PNW use. 146.56 is a backup if it's busy. If we're struggling to get that last contact for the points, we drop down to 146.52 and call "mountaintop portable". Usually the rag chewers there don't mind a break in their chew to make a mountaintop QSO. One note on the Baofeng: They have poor front end rejection of nearby FM signals. Many summits have radio/tv towers on them. If you are calling and don't hear anyone calling back, you may need to get away from the tower (while staying in the Activation Zone) or need to get a filter. Good luck! 73 N7KOM
