W6/SC-215 Panoche Hills High Point

 After activating Peak 2389 with Rex KE6MT and Dan AI6XG, we got back in the car and drove along road P1 to where it intersects with P11. If you're in a sedan, this is where you'll have to park. With some clearance and 4WD you can get closer by driving up P11. In the Pilot, we could get closer. After carefully negotiating a large berm at the intersection, we drove up to the sub-peak.

At the sub-peak, about to hike over.

At the sub-peak, the spur to the summit gets quite rough. We were so close, it wasn't worth trying to drive farther. Since it was such a short hike, we brought Rex's Yaesu 891 so we could run QRO. After putting up the linked dipole we were on the air

Checking out the seismograph station on the top.

Like on the other peak, we each did one band. I started on 2m FM, and got a few contacts in with the Yagi. Later, I did 40CW, which seemed to be the money band. Lots of QSOs for me! Cell service was pretty bad. I didn't find a spot with it, but Rex found enough to send a spot for some sideband. Dan just used his inreach to spot. 

Looking out to the central valley.

This area is used by a lot of shooters, and their fire was a constant background noise to the activation. Not a very wilderness feel. After packing up we headed down the road back to the pavement. As we were driving, we noticed a structure with lots of aluminum. As we got close we could see it was an array of Yagis. We pulled over, and it turns out it was another ham setting up his 6m EME array. We were all thoroughly impressed. After wishing him luck, we drove down to the entrance, where we bid farewell until next time.

6m EME (moon bounce) array being set up. Note Petr in the center for scale.

Trailhead: Intersection of P1 and P11. Drive up P11 if you can.
Website: SOTA Site. BLM Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Walk up the road to the top.
Red Tape: The area is closed to vehicle access from mid-April to mid-October, but you could still walk or bike up. Call the BLM for the most up to date info.

W6/SC-077 Joaquin Ridge

 After a full day of OHV driving and peakbagging, we woke up at our campsite near Wright Mountain. It was warmer than we were expecting, but no one complained. After a quick breakfast we continued our drive down the road to the end to get Joaquin Ridge. 

Sunrise over Coalinga.

There is a parking area and picnic table at the end. It would make a nice place for camping. The gate is locked and no vehicles allowed, but the road had obviously been graded recently. It was a pleasant walk in the early morning sun.

End of the road.

The road drops down to a col, then climbs up towards the peak. A short distance below it, it turns right and goes across the face, below the cliffs. We took the road to the place where it started to turn. 

High point is the top of the cliff.

Here we stepped off the road and immediately found a use trail running up the ridge. Since it was going in the right direction we decided to follow it. Only the last hundred vertical feet or so are covered in dense brush and vegetation, so even if it hadn't been there it would have been easy to get up most of the way. 

Off trail, admiring the summit.

Lucky for us, however, the trail continued into the brush and all the way to the summit. There were a few switchbacks on the climb in the trees. Parts of it seemed like it was an abandoned trail.

Almost there. 

There is a large clearing just below the high point. We stopped here to set up the antenna. I went first on 20m. I had to go way up the band, nearly to the phone portion because of the contest traffic. Eventually I found a clear spot and started calling CQ. It was a constant battle keeping my frequency from the contesters. 

First outing for my FT-817 and MX-P50m.

Once I had gotten everyone, Rex sat down to use it. While he was operating I went over to the high point to see if I could get anyone on VHF. I didn't, but the views were excellent. 

Looking down at the operating clearing. 

Rex had a deadline to be out of there by, so we didn't linger on the summit. We retraced our route back to the car, and started driving out. We decided we had enough time for a quick activation of Santa Rita Peak on the way out, so we ran up for a quick one. Luckily, crazy motorcycle guy didn't show up.

The Diablo range is beautiful.

The drive out was not as difficult as the way in, although we did make a wrong turn at the bottom of the hill. Back at the campground we pumped up the tires and started the long drive back to San Jose.

Trailhead: End of the road, past Wright Mountain.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Follow the road to where it turns below the summit, then bushwhack up the rest of the way.
Red Tape: Each person needs a day use permit to enter the ACEC zone, and each vehicle needs a separate permit to drive into the trail system (and get the gate code).

W6/SC-055 Picachos High Point

 This peak is deep in the Clear Creek Management Area, a large section of BLM land. Access is fairly restricted due to naturally occurring asbestos in the serpentine rock in the area. It had been a few years since my last visit with Rex, KE6MT, and I managed to talk him into taking me for another trip. This time we decided to spend two days, and camp down there. 

Looking back at Laguna Mountain from the fee station as we aired down the tires.

At the wide area at the fee station we aired down the tires for a smoother ride then started the real driving. Clear Creek road was in decent shape, but as soon as we turned onto R5 it got much rougher. Rex did an excellent job getting up the road. 

Time for some car surgery. 

About half way up we stopped to check the car and make sure it was still ok. After a quick walk around, it was discovered that a plastic panel on the bottom had started coming off. We had to pull it off the rest of the way so it wouldn't drag. This done, the rest of the drive up to the Picachos High Point was uneventful. 

On the way up to the summit.

The road goes through the activation zone, and we parked at a wide spot by a clearing below the summit. It was a very short distance to the actual high point, so we both bushwhacked up to it to take a few pictures and sign the log. There were not many entries in it. 

On the summit.

We then returned to the road side clearing and set up the linked dipole and got on the air. Despite the contest going on we were able to find clear spots on 40 and 20 to make some contacts. It was easy getting them, since we were running 100w.

Antenna on the summit.

Once we had worked our pileups we packed up and continued across the ridge to San Benito Mountain for a quick activation as the sun set. I was able to get New Zealand and two Japanese stations. With the last bit of light we packed up and drove down the road to get out of the Serpentine ACEC zone to camp for the night.

Camping near Wright Mountain.

It was a clear night with a full moon, and we watched the stars and moon while cooking dinner and before going to bed. 

Trailhead: R5, just below the summit.
Website: SOTA Site.
Maps: AA6XA SOTA Hikes map.
Route: Bushwhack up to the summit.
Red Tape: Each person needs a day use permit to enter the ACEC zone, and each vehicle needs a separate permit to drive into the trail system (and get the gate code).

QRO CW

Conditions these days are bad, and I find that I can hear stations that can't hear me. This indicates that my antenna is doing alright and more power is needed so the station on the other end can hear me better. I think that more power will also improve my chances of having a local ragchew, because the other ham won't have to struggle to hear me. There seem to be a few options to increase power, buying an amplifier, buying a kit, or designing and building my own from scratch.
My original thought was to get a kit and build it, but one evening while browsing eBay I stumbled across a KXPA100 for sale, at a good price. A few days later, I somehow won the auction. Fast forward a week, and there is a new amplifier sitting on my desk. Connecting it to the KX3 was simple, a matter of plugging the cables into the appropriate jacks. A quick trip to the store to get a UHF to BNC adaptor, and I was on the air.

40 (yellow) and 80 (green) meter spots with the amplifier.

It was evening, so I tuned around 40 meters. Not hearing any CQs I found a clear frequency and started calling myself. With only 10 watts I'm lucky to get a half dozen spots on RBN, and most of them will have SNRs less than 5. With the amp on at 60 watts I quickly got over a dozen spots, many with high SNR. And even better, after only a few calls I got a reply from W4HG in North Carolina. We had a short QSO, but there was some slow, deep fading which cut it short. I then went down to 80 meters to see if the conditions were any better, but didn't get any responses to my CQs. Maybe it was just too late.

The amplifier, hooked up and ready to go.

After a few days of playing with it, I've had some nice conversations with stations, mostly on 80 meters. By the time I get home and have time to play radio, 40 meters has usually got very long, and it is too late for the people on the east coast. 80 is still short enough to reach the people who are still awake. My guess is that it is the lowest band for many people, since 160 requires such large antennas.

What's next? I should improve my antenna, and try to get it higher. I also want to change the inital run of feedline from twin lead to coax. I'm debating whether I should make a balun or just solder the two feedlines together. I also have some ideas kicking around to make a higher power radio for SOTA.