SOTA activation of EA7/MA-075 Santopitar - 1019m

 Strightforward activation worth 4 points

Following a short walk along the track, the radio mast comes into view.  The actual summit and trig point is accessible and provided a convenient post for my Sotapole

 

 I managed 24 SSB QSOs on 20m, 40m and 15m, including 1 Summit-to-summit.

 

Next activation on Sardinia:  IS0/IS-065 >>

Activation of EA7/MA-027 April 2025

 A short walk on tarmac road to the summit, but limited activation locations due to official buildings

I parked on the road near the ascending track;  the closed gate prevented unauthorised vehicles. 

 

I was conscious that I may have been trespassing, but pedestrian access is easy to the left of the gate or by scrambling up the bank from the road.  The tarred road then proceeds, first past a keeper's house and then to a mast installation at the summit. I was careful to keep out of their way, and there was a worker in high-vis uniform at the keeper's house - I am sure he saw me, but did not seem concerned.

There are a few activation options on the wooded bank between the zig zagging road.  I found a nice private grassy slope with some shade just below the summit (blue dot):

I set up my sotapole and inverted Vee and managed 12 SSB QSOs on 20m, including 1 summit to summit.  

 

This was not a particularly comfortable activation, so I packed up and set off for the final one of the day:

Next activation: EA7/MA-075 

 

SOTA activation of EA7/MA-093, Cerro de las Guájaras - 842m

 A very easy climb and plenty of space for activation, worth 4 points

 I parked on the narrow road at a junction and walked round to find a suitable way up the hill- the ascent just took 5 minutes or so.  There is a large water tank at the top, but also plenty of space for activation and some small bushes that provide some shade.

 

 I managed 34 QSOs on 20m and 40m, including 1 Summit-to-summit (EA7).

Next activation: EA7/MA-027 

Activation of EA7/MA-010 Vilo March 2025

 Another straightforward climb and activation, worth 6 points

 There is a well marked path from the road and the walk is straightforward to the summit

The summit is large and flat so a offers several options for activation.

I managed 28 QSOs, all on 20m.

Next activation: EA7/MA-093

 

Activation of EA7/MA-126 March 2025

 Straightforward summit and ascent with plenty of activation space

 

The path proceeds through woodland then into open farmland.  A closed farm gate appears to block the path but it is possible to get over the fence fairly easily further up - just follow the fence line.

 

The summit is quite rocky but offers plenty of space for activation.  I wedged my Sotapole in between some rocks and used a bungee to hold it in place - fortunately the wind was light.

I managed 26 QSOs on 20m, 15m and 40m including 2 summit-to-summit QSOs.

Next activation EA7/MA-010 

SOTA activation of 3 low summits EA7/MA-102 Masmullar, MA-098 Comores & MA-115 Cerro Agudo

 Three straightforward but different hills made up a nice day of activations, worth 2 points each

 While my wife walked around the Vinuela lake, I activated the 3 summits shown in July 2025.  I started with the furthest from the lake.

 EA7/MA-102 Masmullar.

I parked just off the track at point P below and followed the easy path shown.

 There was one gate saying 'private property' but as the footpath was clearly shown on the map, and there were footpath signs further up, I assumed this gate was just to stop vehicles:

The summit is relatively flat with various activation options.  As the sun and heat were intense I opted for shade under a tree, with a large flat area in front to set up my sotapole and bandhopper.

 

 I was using my new 'Tactical Mini' pole from Sotabeams, which is 6m tall as opposed to 7m for my usual 'Tactical 7000hds'.  The antenna apex rests at just over 5m high and I had experimented back home with the apex angle as I was concerned that the lower apex (and wider angle) might reduce my bandhopper's effectiveness.  I had found that by pinning the antenna at the end of the 40m wire (as opposed to the end of the string) the smaller apex angle was better.  SWR on 20m was lower and there seemed better coverage of the 20m band at acceptable SWR.  I only wanted to operate on 20m, so this is what I did here.

 

I managed 16 SSB QSOs on 20m, including 2 Summit to Summits (HB9 and EA7).  The furthest contact was to a Ukranian station UW8SM.

 

I then packed up, descended and drove to the next hill:

EA7/MA-098 Comores

 

This is a very unusual summit in that it is in the middle of  a town!  That makes it easy to reach, and one can potentially drive right up to, but also potentially awkward to activate with buildings and other people to contend with.

 

I parked just outside the town's gate (blue dot) and walked up the steps shown as dotted lines on the map below:

 

 The summit is composed of private and public buildings with the risk of compromising the residents' privacy.  I walked around a small air conditioned building, possibly housing all the equipment for the tramsmitter tower next to it.  Although that was away from publc view, there seemed little opportunity to set up my antenna without getting too close to the mains electricity feed to the building.  I walked around and found an open area of pavement tucked away from the main road.  Although this was next to a private house, the pavement looked public and mainly bordered by a public building.  I attached my bandhopper to opposite railings and pushed up the apex, leaning the Sotapole against the public building roof:

 

 

The wall provided a bit of shade and comfortable operating seat.  Wanting this to be a quick activation before I raised any concerns, I quickly made 7 SSB QSOs on 20m, packed up and left,

 

Incidentally, my KX2 was picking up some interference from the transmitter tower, on every 5 or 10 kHz or so on 20m there was a tone, so I was careful to choose a frequency to avoid this QRM.

 

I then drove on to the next summit:

 

EA7/MA-115 Cerro Agudo

On the map a driveable track goes right past the summit, just outside the activation zone.  I parked just off the track and scrambled up the hill.  There was a slightly beaten path to the top, but be prepared for low thorny bushes and uneven ground - this is not a marked footpath (and possibly on private land).

 

The summit has a convenient trig point to which I attached my pole.  There is plenty of space to fully deploy a 40m antenna, so my 3 band bandhopper could be fully utilised.

 

 I managed 10 QSOs on 20m, 1 on 40m and 2 on 15m (using the 40m antenna on ts 3rd harmonic).

 

 

 

SOTA activation of IS0/IS-018 Monte Novo San Giovanni May 2025

 Pleasant walk and a final climb up steps to the Shack in the Sky!

I was hoping to park very close to the summit as shown on Open Topo maps (blue P below) and just walk up the steps, but put too much faith in Google Maps, searching for "Monte Novo San Giovanni" and ending up at a skiing hotel.  I drove beyond the hotel, along a track for several km to get as close as possible, and parked at point X below:

 I walked the route marked with arrows, starting with a gentle contour path.  The mountain came into view and it looked very high and a little daunting:

 After a gentle incline I arrived at a gate leading to some steps ascending the mountain side:

 After a short climb up the stone steps, I emerged at the summit towards a mountaiun hut (the shack in the sky!).  Again the wind was strong, but with many fence posts to attach my pole on the sunny side (15:00 Z) I felt that the wind would not be a problem.

However, while the pole stayed up, the gusty wind kept blowing the antenna centre up and off the pole!  I decided to move the pole to the other side of the shack, out of the wind, the side I had approached the shack from (shaded) and only partially extended the pole, attaching the dipole to opposite fence posts.

 I then set up a nice operating position on the outside seats in the sun.  If the weather was too bad I could have operated inside the shack as it was not locked.

 I had 7 QSOs on 20m, SSB, including 1 S2S, 6 on 40m including 1 S2S and 2 on 15m, including 1 S2S.  All 3 S2S QSOs were with Julian, IN3JIB/ISO who was also operating on Sardinia and we had arranged to liaise on S2S QSOs.  He was on IS0/IS-045

That was my final of 10 activations on Sardinia, I wish I had had more time, but thoroughly recommended for activators as the island has many straightforward 8 and 10 point summits.

 Next Activations: Malaga region,  Spain EA7