vk5pas

///////////////////////////////////////////
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 1000

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 04:23 AM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2018/06/04/vkff-h...our-roll-1000/


I have finally made it.Â* One thousand different VKFF references in the log.

Yesterday I qualified for the VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 1,000 certificate.

A big thankyou to all of the VKFF Activators who made this possible.




///////////////////////////////////////////
Spring Mount Conservation Park 5CP-219 and VKFF-0789

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 03:45 AM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2018/06/04/spring...d-vkff-0789-2/


Saturday just gone (2nd June 2018) was another lovely day for this time of
the year.Â* So I packed the 4WD and headed down to the Fleurieu Peninsula
south of Adelaide, hoping to activate the Gum Tree Gully Conservation
Park.Â* I have never activated this park previously and have tried to access
it previously without success.Â* And I was to be disappointed again this
time around.Â* I drove down Hammond Road and spoke with one of the land
owners and I found that access gates to the park from this road was now
locked.Â* I obtained the actual farmers name and tried to make contact them
without success.Â* So there is more work to be done before I can get into
this park.

So option number two was the Spring Mount Conservation Park 5CP-219 &
VKFF-0789.Â* I have activated this park previously, but it is such a
beautiful park I decided to head back there.
Above:- Map showing the location of the Spring Mount Conservation Park.Â*
Map courtesy of Location SA Map Viewer.

The Spring Mount Conservation Park is 279 hectares in size and is located
about 15 km south east of the town of Myponga.Â*Â*Sections 633 and 715 of the
park were first proclaimed on the 3rd February 1966 as Spring Mount
Wild-Life Reserve.Â* The reserve was re-proclaimed on 27th April 1972 as
Spring Mount Conservation Park.Â* Additions were made to the park on 13th
September 1973 and 17th October 2013.








The park is mostly Open Forest of Brown Stringybark and Messmate
Stringybark with understorey plants including Myrtle Wattle,Â*Beaked
Hakea,Â*and Yacca.
Above:- Aerial view of the Spring Mount Conservation Park, looking west.Â*
Image courtesy of google maps.

Birds SA have recorded a total of 90 species of native bird in the park
includingÂ*Adelaide Rosella, White-throated Treecreeper, Yellow-tailed Black
cockatoo, Superb Fairywren, Crescent Honeyeater, Grey Shrikethrush, Grey
Fantail, Scarlet Robin,Â*Brush Bronzewing, Sacred Kingfisher, Yellow-faced
Honeyeater, Buff-rumped Thornbill, Bassian Thrush, and Beautiful Firetail.



Each time I visit the park I always see a lot of Western Grey kangaroos.Â*
And I wasnt disappointed on this visit.Â* They were in abundance.





I drove along Mount Alma Road and enjoyed some great views of the
surrounding countryside.
Above:- Typical Fleurieu Peninsula countryside.

I then along Strangways Road and set up along a walking track at gate 10.Â*
I ran the Yaesu FT-897, 40 watts, and the 20/40/80m linked dipole and the
1/2 wave 15m dipole for this activation.
Above:- Aerial view of the park showing my operating spot.Â* Image courtesy
of Location SA Map Viewer.

My first contact was a Park to Park contact, with a QSO with Rob VK4AAC/3
in theÂ*Buckley Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2054.Â* Rob was calling CQ
on 7.144.Â* I then moved down the band to 7130 and started calling CQ.Â* Phil
VK3MB came back to my CQ call, followed by Shaun VK3VLY/p and then Gerard
VK2IO.Â* The 40m band was in quite good condition and I had a steady flow of
callers.Â* Contact number 12 was Peter VK3PF/p who was activating SOTA
summit VK3/ VE-168.Â* Contact number 32 was with Mike VK4DX/p activating
IOTA OC-137.

I logged a total of 36 stations before I headed to the 80m band, hoping to
get some of the local South Australian amateurs in the log.Â* My wife Marija
VK5FMAZ had sent me an SMS message telling me she was listening on 40m but
was unable to hear me.

First in the log on 80m was Adrian VK5FANA who was 5/9 plus.Â* Adrian gave
me a 5/9 plus 30 signal report.Â* Next up was Marija VK5FMAZ and then Greg
VK5GJ who was running QRP.Â* Rob VK4AAC/3 then called in for another Park to
Park from theÂ*Buckley Nature Conservation Reserve.Â* My fifth and final
caller on 80m was Peter VK3ZPF.
Above:- my shack for the afternoon

I then headed to the 20m band and found John VK6NU/p calling CQ from SOTA
peak VK6/ SW-042.Â* John was a strong 5/8 signal and he reciprocated with a
5/8 for me.Â* I headed up to 14.315 and called CQ, and called CQ, and called
CQ.Â* But sadly no takers.Â* This was a little disappointing as the band was
definitely open to Western Australia.

I then lowered down the squid pole and put up the 1/2 wave 15m dipole and
started calling CQ on 21.245, but sadly I had no takers.Â* So I tuned across
the band and found Ken JA2GPR calling CQ.Â* Ken was 5/8 and gave me a 5/6
signal report.

I then headed back to 40m and logged a further 10 stations from VK2, VK3,
VK4, VK7 and New Zealand.Â* Regular park hunter Andrei ZL1TM made it into my
log once again.Â* I was also called by Gar ZL3SV who was a super strong
signal.Â* Gary advised I was peaking 20/9 to Nelson on the top of the South
Island of New Zealand.Â* But, that was all due to Garys antenna, a 2,000
foot long (640 metre) centre feed sloper.
Above:- View of my operating position on the edge of the walking track

To finish off the activation I headed back to 80m as I had seen a spot pop
up for Peter VK3PF/p who was on 3.615 activating SOTA peak VK3/ VE-163.Â*
After logging Peter I moved down to 3.610 and logged a further 6 stations
from VK2, VK3, and VK5.

It was time to pack up and make the 1 hour journey back home.Â* I had a
total of 60 contacts in the log.Â* It was slow going on the way home as the
sun was just starting to set and as a result the roos were out in great
numbers.
Above:- One of the other road users

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

VK4AAC/3 (Buckley Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2054)
VK3MB
VK3VLY/p
VK2IO
VK3CWF
VK2LEE
VK7QP
VK3FRC
VK3FLES
VK2PKT
VK3PAT
VK3PF/p (SOTA VK3/ VE-168)
VK3MPR
VK3ZPF
VK7KR
VK6KRC
VK4SMA
VK6XN
VK4NH
VK4DXA
ZL4TY/VK4
VK3ZZS/7
VK4TJ
VK3ANL
VK4FDJL
VK1NP
ZL1TM
VK3FRAB
VK3SQ
VK2JXA
Vk7FRJG
VK4DX/p (IOTA OC-137)
VK2APL
VK2YK
VK3EI
VK2KYO
VK7JON
VK4FW
VK7ME
VK4VXX/5
VK8PAT
VK7DW
ZL3SV
VK4MDZ
VK2ZK
VK2MCG


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK5FANA
VK5FMAZ
VK5GJ
VK4AAC/3 (Buckley Nature Conservation Reserve VKFF-2054)
VK3PF/p (SOTA VK3/ VE-163)
VK5BJE
VK3KWB
VK3UH
VK2NP
VK3SQ
VK3ARH


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

VK6NU/p (SOTA VK6/ SW-042)


I worked the following stations on 15m SSB:-

JA2GPR




References.

Birds SA, 2018,
https://birdssa.asn.au/location/spring-mount-conservation-park/, viewed
4th June 2018.


///////////////////////////////////////////
2017 stats and highlights

Posted: 04 Jun 2018 02:47 AM PDT
https://vk5pas.org/2018/06/04/2017-s...nd-highlights/

2017



During 2017 I conducted 65 park activations for the VK5 National &
Conservation Parks Award, and a total of 123 for the World Wide Flora Fauna
program.Â* This was a mixture of parks in South Australia, Victoria, and New
South Wales, with 18 of those activations counting towards the Keith Roget
Memorial National Parks Award.Â* Marija and I continued to activate a number
of parks together.

The Friday afternoon/evening activation event for the VK5 Parks Awards
continued to be very popular.Â* I activated a number of unique parks in 2017
including the Blackwood Forest Recreation Park, the Adelaide Dolphin
Sanctuary, the Lawari Conservation Park, and the Nurragi Conservation
Reserve.






I conducted 13 activations for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program during
2017.Â* Four of those summits were in South Australia, while the remaining
nine were in Victoria.

The year 2017 kicked off for Marija and I with a SOTA activation of Mount
Bryan VK5/ SE-001 on New Years Day.Â* This was as part of the regular VK New
Years Day SOTA event.Â* Marija and I spent New Years Eve in Burra at one of
the local pubs, and on NY Day we headed out to the summit.Â* After 2 hours
on Mount Bryan I had a total of 76 QSOsÂ*in the log including 41 S2S
contacts. Â*Marija had a total of 39 QSOs in the log including 37 S2S
contacts.Â* It had been an amazing activation.





Marija and I then did the Dare Hill Drive.Â* This was a very enjoyable and
scenic drive through spectacular countryside in the north of South
Australia.Â* The drive took us to the homestead of Sir George Hubert
Wilkins, and through the historic Collinsville Station property.Â* On the
drive we stopped off to activate two rarely activated parks, the Caroona
Creek Conservation Park and the Pandappa Conservation Park.








In mid January I had a fun afternoon out with Chris VK5FR and David VK5KC,
at the Encounter Marine Park VKFF-1707.Â* We drove down along Goolwa Beach
to the mouth of the mighty Murray River and set up on the sand.Â* We had a
number of interested onlookers, one lady being game enough to pick up the
mic.Â* The video below is a little bit of footage of the activation.



In February Marija and our daughter Olivia headed to Victoria.Â* Our main
reason for travelling there was to go to Sovereign Hill at Ballarat as
Olivia has an interest in Australian history.Â* Whilst away on the trip I
activated SOTA peak Mount Warrenheip VK3/ VC-019, the Creswick Regional
Park VKFF-0964, and Mount Buninyong VK3/ VC-018.Â* Whilst at Mount
Buninyong, Allen VK3ARH paid us a visit.








March 4th to March 12th 2017 was Parks Week.Â* I had a little bit of free
time from work and undertook 2 activations during the event.



On Friday 10th March I headed out to activate the Lowan Conservation Park
5CP-121 & VKFF-1052.Â* This was another successful activation, with a total
of 87 contacts in the log including a number of Park to Park contacts,
including Ken ZL4KD and his wife Margaret ZL4YS who were in ZLFF-0026.

And then on Saturday 11th March Marija and I activated Mount Lofty VK5/
SE-005 which is located within the Cleland Conservation Park 5CP-042 &
VKFF-0778.Â*Â*This was as part of an afternoon/morning of VK/Europe/UK SOTA
activations, in which it was hoped that a number of Summit to Summit
contacts would be obtained between VK & Europe/UK.Â* Band conditions on 20m
had been quite ordinary in preceding weeks, so I didn’t expect to work much
DX during this activation, yet alone any of the DX SOTA activators.Â* I
ended up withÂ*113 contacts in the log, included twenty (20) Summit to
Summit contacts and six (6) Park to Park contacts.Â* This included numerous
DX S2S contacts into Spain, Switzerland, England, Romania, Wales, and
Germany.
Above:- racking up the QSOs at Mt Lofty/Cleland CP

Later in March I headed out to the Totness Recreation Park for the John
Moyle Memorial Field Day.Â*Â*I entered in the Six Hour Portable Operation
category. Â*Specifically the Single Operator, Phone Only, HF Bands
section.Â*Â*Within my 6 hour block of operating I made aÂ*total of 241
contacts with a score of 482 points.Â* I came in 1st place in the 6 hour
portable section, running the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts and the linked dipole.





In April the special activation weekend was held for the 4th year
anniversary of the VK5 National & Conservation Parks Award.Â* Marija and I
headed down the Fleurieu Peninsula, south of Adelaide.Â* We activated 4
different parks and made a total of 532 QSOs.






A total of 20 amateurs took part in the weekend, activating 29 different
parks across Australia.Â* A total of 1,311 QSOs were made over the weekend,
including 410 Park to Park contacts.Â* Each activator who took part in the
weekend received a special participation certificate.
Above:- participation certificate for the 4th year anniversary of the VK5
Parks Award.

A few weeks later I headed to Victoria to Foster to attend Antennapalooza
run by the Gippsland Gate Radio & Electronics Club.Â* The them for the 2017
event was operating portable, and I was asked to deliver a presentation on
the parks awards.Â* Whilst away I activated a number of parks and SOTA
summits.







One of my activations whilst away was a joint activation with Chris VK3QB
and Chris VK3PAT at the Shallow Inlet Marine Coastal Park VKFF-0749.Â* This
was a really enjoyable morning on the beach under the shade of the awning
of the Toyota Hi Lux.






On Easter Sunday Marija and I activated the Scott Creek Conservation Park
in the Adelaide Hills.Â* After Marija had qualified the park I jumped on the
mic using the special call of VK5WOW, issued for the 2017 WIA AGM at
Hahndorf.Â* I ended up with a total of 157 contacts as VK5WOW, on the 20, 40
and 80m bands, including 11 Park to Park contacts. Â*A small amount of DX
was logged from New Zealand, Croatia, Finland, Italy, France, Germany,
Japan, and Belgium.Â* Below is a short video of the activation.



Later in April Marija and I drove to the Riverland and attended the BRL
Gathering.Â* Whilst away we activated a number of parks.Â* Once again I set
up a small display at the event, showing various portable transceivers,
antennas, power sources, and awards.Â* I also delivered a presentation on
operating portable.






A highlight of this years BRL Gathering was a high altitude balloon launch
by the Amateur Radio Experimenters Group.






One of my activations whilst in the Riverland was at the Cooltong
Conservation Park.Â* Marija activated & qualified the park first and I then
operated as VK5WOW, making a total of 161 contacts.Â* Whilst activating the
park Shaun VK5FAKV came out to pay us a visit.






On Anzac Day Marija and I activated the Tolderol Game Reserve VKFF-1752,
using the special AX prefix.Â* We made a total of 176 contacts between the
two of us.





In late April I activated the Monarto Conservation Park using the special
call of VK5WOW.Â* I made a total of 113 QSOs.



In early May I activated the Totness Recreation Park, again using the
special call of VK5WOW.Â* I made a total of 130 contacts.

On 6th May I activated the Ferries McDonald Conservation Park for the Harry
Angel Memorial 80m Sprint.Â*Â*I worked a total of 63 stations during the
Sprint from VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5, VK6, VK7, and VK8.





The weekend of 13th & 14th May was the Mills on the Air Weekend.Â* On
Saturday I activated Nixons Mill at Hahndorf using the special VK5WOW
call.Â* I made a total of 89 QSOs, including making contact with hams at the
Dunn Mill at Mount Barker, and Andersons Mill at Smeaton in Victoria.Â*
Later that day I also activated the Kenneth Stirling Conservation Park as
VK5WOW and made a total of 107 contacts.Â* On Sunday I activated the old
Laucke Flour Mill at Strathalbyn and made a total of 87 QSOs.Â* I was joined
briefly by Tony VK5MRT.





On 17th May I activated the Mount George Conservation Park with the special
VI5WOW call.Â* I made a total of 84 contacts.

This was my 6th activation using VK5WOW or VI5WOW.Â* During April & May
under these calls I made a total of 872 contacts.Â* Sadly, propagation was
not great when it came to DX.



During May the Annual General Meeting & Convention of the Wireless
Institute of Australia was held at Hahndorf, just down the road from my
home.Â* Andrew VK6AS, and Heath VK3TWO & his wife Monique stayed with us.Â*
The theme of the convention was Radio is Magic.

The event kicked off on the Friday evening with drinks and gourmet pizza at
the Hahndorf Convention Centre.Â* Saturday saw the AGM and presentations.Â* I
delivered a presentation on Operating field portable in the great
outdoors.Â* The Saturday night formal dinner was at the convention centre.

On Sunday morning, myself and 4 other team leaders (John VK5BJE, Peter
VK5PET, Les VK5KLV, & Chris VK5FR) took a number of amateurs out into the
field to activate parks.Â* For many it was their first park activation.Â* One
of my team was Gerard VK2JNG, who has taken to park activating like a duck
to water.Â* Later that day there was a Come and Try event at the Hahndorf
Oval.Â* Chris VK5FR and I set up a parks display table.







I received a Certificate of Appreciation at the Convention for delivering
my parks presentation.Â* I would like to express my sincere thanks to the
Organising Committee for the 2017 WIA AGM & Convention:Â*David VK5KC,Â*John
VK5BJE,Â*Jim VK5TR,Â*Shirley VK5YL, Stuart VK5STU,Â*Roy VK5NRG,Â*Grant VK5GR,
Matt VK5ZM, David VK5KK, Ian VK5ZD,Â*Joy Robbins, &Â*Daniel VK5DF.





There was also a special 2017 WIA AGM & Convention award on offer, which
both Marija and I qualified for.Â* The certificate was actually designed by
myself.





On the Sunday afternoon of the Convention I headed out to the Mylor
Conservation Park for one final run of the special call of VI5WOW.Â* I
logged a total of 56 stations and hopefully gave a few more people a chance
to get the special call in their log.Â* So all up I ended up with 928 QSOS
whilst using VK5WOW and VI5WOW.

In June Marija and I headed down to the South East for the annual
convention and National Fox Hunting Championships held by the South East
Radio Group.Â* Whilst down that neck of the woods we activated 7 parks in
South Australia and Victoria, and made a total of 567 contacts, with 44 of
those being Park to Park contacts.

The SERG event coincided with the VK Shires Contest.Â* Marija and I
activated three shires GD5, MG5, & GL3.Â* I made 193 QSOs.Â* Marija made 78
QSOs in her very first contest.Â* Congratulations to Tony VK3XV who came in
at number one in this category with 173 QSOs and 182 Shires and a score of
31,486 points.Â*Â*I managed to get position number 2 with a total of 167 QSOs
and 180 Shires and a score of 30,060 points.Â* And well done to Marija who
came in at number 3, with 70 QSOs and and a score of 5,180 points.

We enjoyed a fantastic night at the SERG Convention dinner on the Sunday
evening. Â*We shared a table with my good mate John VK5NJ and his wife
Tanina, and Tony VK5ZAI and his wife Jill. Â*Marija even drew the first
winning raffle ticket, winning a little BaoFeng hand held tx. Â*I can highly
recommend the SERG Convention to anyone who has not been before.







In July I activated the Totness Recreation Park for the Trans Tasman Low
Band Contest.Â*Â*The aim of the contest is to encourage Low Band activity
Trans-Tasman, that is between VK and ZL.Â*Â*The contest is divided into three
2 hour periods. Â*I remained out in the field until just after the
commencement of the third period which was at 1200 UTC (9.30 p.m. local
time). Â*The cold weather got the better of me (got down to 4 deg C) and I
packed up and headed home with a total of 171 contacts in the log.
Above:- the shack at Totness for the Trans Tasman.

In August for the 2017 International Lighthouse & Lightship Weekend, Marija
and I activated the Marino Rocks lighthouse AU-0018 located within the
Marino Conservation Park 5CP-126 & VKFF-1056.Â* We made aÂ*a total of 210
contacts, including 22 different Australian lighthouses and one NZ
lighthouse. Â*Amongst that were 10 Park to Park contacts.Â* Ian VK5MA visited
us during the activation.





Below is a short video of our activation at Marino lighthouse.



On October 22nd the 2nd VKFF Team Championship was held.Â* Six teams took
part in the event.Â* Marija and I entered the event as The Walkie Talkies
and activated the Monarto Woodlands Conservation Park.Â* The weather was
less than ideal, and Marija and I huddled underneath the awning of the 4WD
during the activation.Â* We made a total of 197 QSOs, which included 32 Park
to Park (P2P) contacts under some very trying band conditions.Â* Marija and
I took 1st place this year, pipping last years winners Team Kookaburra.






In late October between 23rd-29th October, National Bird Week was held.Â* I
headed down to the Coorong National Park for an activation and some bird
photography.



I managed to get some good photographs during my visit to the Coorong.Â*
However, not everything went to plan.Â* I blew up my Yaesu FT-857d.Â*
Fortunately it has been fixed.








In early November I activated the Scott Creek Conservation Park with my
good mate John VK5BJE.Â* During the activation I tested my newly acquired
Yaesu FT-897 which I had obtained through a deceased estate auction with my
local radio club.Â* We had a great afternoon out in the park and ended up
with 102 stations in the log between us, including some nice Pacific DX
contacts on 20m, and five Park to Park contacts.







In November Marija and I enjoyed 2 great weeks away in Victoria and New
South Wales.Â*Â*Whilst away from home we activated a total ofÂ*six (6)
summitsÂ*for the Summits on the Air (SOTA) program, and a total of twenty
sevenÂ*(27) parksÂ*for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program and the
Keith Roget Memorial National Parks Award.Â*Â*We made a total ofÂ*1,680
QSOsÂ*under some pretty trying band conditions at times.Â* This included x 2
Summit to Summit contacts, and 138 x Park to Park contacts.Â*Â*We travelled a
distance ofÂ*4,450 km.









Both Marija and I received an activator certificate for taking part in the
KRMNPA Weekend.Â* Many thanks to Tony VK3XV, the KRMNPA Awards Manager.



Radio wasnt the only thing on the agenda during the trip away.Â* We did a
lot of sightseeing including a really enjoyable cruise in the Croajingolong
National Park viewing the majestic White Bellied Sea Eagles.






And whilst away we met up with a number of amateurs.Â* We called in to see
Paul VK3SS at Stratford, and enjoyed a nice evening out with some of the
local hams at Traralgon.Â* Whilst at Malacoota we bumped in to John VK2AWJ.Â*
And on the way home we caught up with Kev VK3VEK and Peter VK3TKK.








Later in November the 2017 VKFF Activation Weekend was held.Â* Marija and I
stayed at Morgan for a few nights and activated 6 parks whilst we were
away.Â* We made a total of 490 QSOs including 138 Park to Park QSOs.







Each activator who took place in the 2017 VKFF Activation Weekend received
a special participation certificate.



During November the VKFF Annual Photographic Competition was held.Â*Â*There
were a total of 31 entries. Thankyou to everyone who submitted photos
(VK3FLCS, VK3GGG, VK3PF, VK3ZPF, VK4HNS, VK4JAZ, VK4SMA, VK4SOE, VK5FMAZ,
VK5PAS, VK7JON).Â* A total of 17 amateurs took the time to cast their
vote/s.Â* First place was shared by myself and Neil VK4HNS.Â* Second place
was shared by Grant VK4JAZ, Marija VK5FMAZ & Paul VK5PAS.Â* Third placeÂ*was
shared by Jonathan VK7JON, Peter VK3ZPF, Peter VK3PF, & Paul VK5PAS.







During 2017 I was issued with a number of awards including the following:-

WWFF Park to Park 264
WWFF Park to Park 308
WWFF Park to Park 352
WWFF Park to Park 396
WWFF Park to Park 444
WWFF Park to Park 544
DXFF 40
YOFF Diploma 10 x 200 QSOs
WWFF Activator 154
WWFF Activator 165
WWFF Activator 176
WWFF Activator 187
WWFF Hunter 944
WWFF Hunter 1044
Murray River Parks Activator 20
NSW National Parks 50 year
VKFF Activator Honour Roll 175
VKFF Activator 200
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 600
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 625
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 650
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 675
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 700
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 725
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 750
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 775
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 800
VKFF Hunter Honour Roll 825

Click to view slideshow.

Each year the VKFF program issuesÂ*certificates to the Top VKFF Hunter and
the Top VKFF Activator.Â* This year the Top VKFF Hunter with a total of 548
different VKFF references during 2017 was Peter VK3PF.Â* An amazing effort.Â*
Coming in at 2nd place was Gerard VK2IO with 547 different VKFF references,
just 1 behind Peter.

The Top VKFF Activator turned out to be myself with 102 different VKFF
references activated during 2017.Â* This was very closely followed by Gerard
VK2JNG with 99 different VKFF references activated.Â* Gerard has certainly
taken to park activating.



And each year the global WWFF program issued Top 44 certificates.Â*Â*The
first Top 44 certificate is issued each year for the Top 44 activators in
the world, and is based on activations where 44 QSOs are achieved.Â*Â*I came
13th in the world with 90 activations.Â* The top activator in the world was
SP5UUD with 505 activations. Now that is an achievement.

The other Top 44 certificate is issued to activators who have made it into
the Top 44, with respect to the number of QSOs made during activations.Â* In
2017 I came in at position number 27 with a total of 7,037 QSOs from 102
different references.Â* That works out to around 69 contacts per activation.





Some of my best DX contacts whilst out portable in 2017 was with Grant E6AG
on Nieue, A25BE in Botswana.