Mt Moliagul, SOTA summit VK3/VN-024, 21st December 2014

After moving on from the Little Desert National Park, lunch in Horsham and a stop in St Arnaud we decided to re-visit Mt Moliagul. I last activated this summit on January 2014 on a cooler day (11 contacts).

Here is the link to my first visit to Mt Moliagul. https://vk5bje.com/2014/01/02/sota-mt-moliagul-vk3vn-024/

This time it was warm and cloud was starting to form. On the summit it was hot with barely a breath of wind. My xyl drove the 4×4 to the summit to finish her shift at the wheel.

I then followed the same procedure as I did on my first activation of the summit: I went for a walk down to the tree line, well outside the activation zone while looking around and checking whether a spot in the shade might be possible. I could find no shade in the activation zone. I carried my gear to an old notice board describing what bush-land volunteers had achieved. It was in poor shape but good enough to support my squid pole.

It didn’t take long for people to find me and VK5PAS, Paul, kindly spotted me.

I enjoyed 16 contacts including two s2s qso’s. I thought this was pretty good for an unplanned activation! I was delighted to have contacts with VK3YY, Glenn and VK3KAB, Kevin, who were at Mount Samaria. There are no activator points for me as this is my second activation within a year, but I am glad to give those listed below a chance for Mount Moliagul.

Activator Log

Time Call Band Mode Notes
04:21z VK3YY/P3 7MHz SSB VK3 VE 157
04:23z VK3KAB/P3 7MHz SSB VK3 VE-157
04:30z VK5GY 7MHz SSB Messent CP
04:35z VK3ARR 7MHz SSB Andrew
04:36z VK5PAS 7MHz SSB Paul
04:37z VK3ANL 7MHz SSB Nick
04:38z VK3FPSR 7MHz SSB Peter
04:41z VK3TCX 7MHz SSB Ian
04:42z VK3AV 7MHz SSB Bernard
04:44z VK2EXA 7MHz SSB Peter
04:45z VK3PF 7MHz SSB Peter
04:47z VK3EK 7MHz SSB Rob
04:48z VK3LED 7MHz SSB Col, Maiden Gully
04:50z VK2UH 7MHz SSB Andrew
04:53z VK5WG 7MHz SSB Nev
04:54z VK3DAC 7MHz SSB Fred

SOTA Mt Moliagul, VK3/VN-024

VK2YW, John's S9 signal

VK2YW, John’s S9 signal

Dead stumps come in handy: near the summit of Mount Moliagul

Dead stumps come in handy: near the summit of Mount Moliagul

I have driven past Mt Moliagul many times as we travel to and from Bendigo. I have also used the 70cm repeater located there. A good signal can be received around most places in Bendigo. But today was my first visit to the summit. The gravel road, while a bit rough in places and with a steep bend near the top, could easily accommodate two-wheel drive vehicles. I parked the car a little away from the summit and walked down to the artificial tree line below the activation zone (the summit has been cleared) to inspect a tree before collecting my gear and making use of a handy stump.

Eleven contacts were made on 7090 beginning at 02:01, VK5HCF, Col; VK3VT, Greg (I used to belong to the same radio club as Greg in the late 1970’s at Greensborough and it was great to catch up with him on the air); VK5WG, Nev; VK5AK, Bob; VK2YW, John at Wagga Wagga; VK5NIG, Nigel; VK5PAS, Paul; VK5LY, Larry; VK5EE, Tom; VK2UH, Andrew and VK1VAM/p.