PICTURES : Kobau mountain near Osoyoos BC DN09

Winter is quickly approaching. There was a skiff of snow at the 6800 ft summit but VE7BBE and myself VE7BEE still managed to get to the top of Kobau mountain near Osoyoos BC last week.Very little snow at the top for this late in the fall. The view was fantastic with all the different fall colours decorating the mountain sides. For access to Mount Kobau take the road off to the left of Hwy 3 at the top of Richter pass east of Keremeos. It is a good wide gravel road all the way to the top. Lots of good spots to operate Ham radio, HF or VHF . Highly recommend the drive just for the view.(Late June to late Sept is when the snow is gone).There is also a back road ( 4 x 4) down the north ridge past the communications towers that has now been widened and comes out at the old Cawston /fairview mine road.(Ed note : the north access road from fairview/cawston can have snow in the treed areas late in to the spring, limiting access from the north until the end of June). From there you can drive down the hill to the East to Oliver and Hwy 97 or West towards Cawston and Keremeos and hwy 3 / 3a. Besy DX and 73s from Buzz

VHF WW CONTEST

The cq vhf ww contest this weekend was a bit of a dud out west here , with very few stations heard.If you have been monitoring the 6 meter propagation and chat pages on the net you could see that the east coast got treated to one of the best openings in many years, while out west there was very little activity.Later on in the late afternoon, there was an unusual qso out west between BA4SI in PM01 and K0GU in DN70 ! Congrats to Jay and Li. The video is of K0GU calling cq on 50.080 as monitored here in Dn09 averaging s8 to s9.Best dx and 73s from buzz

It can SNOW ANYTIME at APEX MOUNTAIN 7300 ft in DN09

Here is a interesting site for September VHF contest weekend. Apex mountain near Penticton , BC in DN09. No not the ski hill. That is actually Beaconsfield mountain. The higher rocky peak to the south of Beaconsfield is Apex mountain.The pictures that follow give an idea what it was like.Yes ....it can snow, even in late summer....The forestry lookout ,like so many in BC , is no more. All that remains is the base supports.

Ve7NUT/7 and VE7PRC/7 both were operational from this mountain top many times during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The 6 crazy amigos that went on this outing are : (top left to right then lower left to right) Denny Warner VE7ASY ,Jim Landcaster VE7RJ, Glen Borgens VE7GSB, Al Stark VE7EHQ (now VE7RS), Tom Jakes and Orin Beebe VE7BEE the BUZZ.....pics from 1980s

OLD KATHLEEN LOOKOUT DN09 in 1984 VE7PRC/7

Here is an interesting photo I came across in my ham radio album.It is a Picture of the Mount Kathleen Forestry lookout near Peachland ,BC in 1984 during the June ARRL VHF QSO party contest .That is Denny Warner VE7ASY standing in the doorway and the tent you see next to the lookout had frost on it in the early morning.... At that time ,the Penticton Amateur Radio Club VE7PRC had a few VHF operators including myself that were crazy enough to haul a whole lot of equipment and supplies to the top of some mountain for a weekend. We used a stacked quad array of 10 el lindsay yagis for 2 m with an Icom ic 211 running 10 watts into a 100 watt klm brick amp. For 6 meters we had a homebrew (old CB) pair of 4 el beams with an early Yaesu ft620 6 meter rig that put out 10 watts at best (more like 7 watts) .A large 6 meter linear was only a pipe dream in those days.(Later on the following year we managed to scrounge a 100 watt Brick amp for the weekend) Even with only 7 watts out on 6m , we still worked are share of grid squares in the northwest and in midwest and managed two hundred plus contacts on 6 and 2 meters from dn09 in southern BC. The road was almost impassable in numerous places that weekend and the last 500 ft was more of a creek bed than a road! more old pics coming soon......buzz

PROMOTORY RIDGE JUNE VHF CONTEST CO90 VE7NUT/7

In 2001 VE7NUT/7 won the Division leader award in BOTH the June and September VHF QSO Party Contests. During that time period we operated from Promontory Ridge near Merrit , BC from the old forestry lookout as well as from the scout cabin on Beaconsfield mountain near Apex ski resort .The scanned picture is of some of the crew and how we set up everything in the cramped quarters we had on Promotory. The picture also shows the large Johnson 6 n 2, 1 kw 6 m Linear ( BIG BERTHA ) as we called it . Luckily for us we had 20 amp 115 vac power available ! This is the same amplifier which I use today at VE7BEE in Keremeos,BC along with the same stacked 5 el m2 yagis that Mike K6MYC from M2 sold me years ago. Thanks Mike! They still work as good as the day I bought them even after being up 20 different mountain tops and contests...so pick a mountain top, grab some ham friends and go have a blast mountain topping this summer.......oh and by the way ,in BC as in other areas.....bring your parka because we sometimes get snow even in July at 7000 ft ! 73s BUZZ

CORNWALL HILL LOOKOUT and PROVINCIAL PARK in CO90

Cornwall mtn (hill) lookout location is located west of Ashcroft ,BC via forest service road and is easily accessable with 2 wd vehicle during the summer.It has great views in all directions and is an excellent radio operating site for vhf and or hf portable set up.

CRATER MOUNTAIN CN99XE

I happened to be going by Crater mountain west of Keremeos today and snapped some pictures on the way . Still lots of snow,probably till late July this year.If you want to google this site the actual top of the mountain is :Long 120.08115w Lat 49.17915n . Access is via Ashinola road in Keremeos,BC (road to Cathedral Lakes) and is in the back country and is only accessable with small high clearance 4x4 or all terrain vehicle during mid summer.Takes about 3 - 4 hours to get to the top if all goes well. Peak is over 7000 ft and is subject to snowfall at any time of the year! The View is spectacular along with the 6 m and 2 m reception from this site! Area is remote even though it is close to Keremeos so .....make sure that you do not go alone, let some one know where you are going and when you are due back. Also take note, cell phone and emergency access is very limited in this area.This summer ,do something different, grab your favorite radio and go mountaintopping....take a truck, atv ,car or hike it....just do it! BUZZ

GOAT PEAK in DN09

GOAT PEAK is a great location. It has a lookout along with commuications tower on top and is close to highway 33 near Beaverdell for access and amenities. Pictures can be seen here at this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryanandsabina/3648147957/

Check out the other great pics about this site. In the 1970s a number of vhfers operated from here with good results.

FLAT TOP MOUNTAIN CN99 NEAR PRINCETON,BC

Flattop as the locals call it is easily accessed during the summer by a 4 x 4 pick up or suv. You are well advised to use a trail map or gps as the area is covered with a lot of old logging roads. The top is at 7000 ft and has wonderful views of the coastal range mountains of northern Washington state and southern BC. The area is widely used by hunters and atv and 4 x 4 s so be on the look out for other vehicles. I have not operated from this location as of yet but it should be a good location to check out as there are no obstructions or communications towers in the area.....Will post pictures when I can ( trying to get there this summer to try it out)or add one if you have one.

BUZZ

PICTURES OF KOBAU MOUNTAIN VHF OPERATING SITE

Here are a few pictures from Kobau mountain outside of Osoyoos,BC. I operated from here a few years ago during the June VHF QSO Party. The antenna is a dual polarity 6 and 2 portable beam combo that I built from 2 m2 antennas. 5 el on 6 and 12 on 2.It takes less than 5 minutes to change polarity with the crank down fold over aluminum mast.not a great site for working west but is excellent for north, south and east . The operating area shown is at 6300 ft asl. 73s and best dx

BUZZ

JUNE VHF QSO PARTY 2011 CONTEST

As always the end of the June contest seems to come too soon. Band was still open here,but all of a sudden there is NO activity.Had lots of fun at the home station giving out DN09 as a grid square this year.A lot of THANK YOU for the new grid.....and you are all welcome. Apparently VE7BEE was the only 6 and 2 m station active from this grid during the contest . Nice to hear ve7scc in CO90 from Promitory ridge near Merrit,BC on the air as well and also N7ckj/r from Bodie mountain Near curlew ,WA in dn08.Keep up the good mountain top contesting guys....Look for me up ROVING in September if all goes well....Worked both of the above on six and two this contest which is a change as we seem to have a lack of activity arround here on 2 and 70cm. I have to admit that after having my 432 array on the ground for many years, due to lack of activity , I am now considering rebuilding it and putting it back up 4 x 22 el just for the contests and maybe some scatter work. I have a few videos attached of some of the stations received at the home location this year.Best dx and see you in the Sept contest...de BUZZ

JUNE VHF QSO PARTY 2011

Contest started good from DN09 with lots of activity and the band open south and to the midwest for about 3 hours in the early afternoon.Had to curtail operations due to large number of T storms in area resulting in a s9 noise level for most of the evening.VE7SCC/7 worked on both 6 and 2 from promotory mtn near merrit (lucky guys....) due to a previous commitment I was not able to attend.....maybe september? Time will tell.Movie clip ve7scc calling on 6m...73 and best dx BUZZ

KL7NO calling on 50 MHZ Bp54 to DN09

Here is a recent video clip of receiving alaska on my FT847 . The location here is blocked by 3000 ft mountain to the northwest which makes it almost impossible to work KL7NO.This time today at 0520 Z it worked....best dx BUZZ

JUNE VHF QSO PARTY CONTEST ANTENNAS VE7BEE IN DN09

Here is my VHF antenna arrays that are currently at use at the home location at VE7BEE.

I have a stacked array of 2 x 5 el m2 for 6 m with the top antenna at 35 ft above ground and ant spacing is about 9 ft .There is also an 18 el 2 m m2 modified 18xxx on same tower.The other array is a 4 x 18 el m2 on a homebrew tower with el and az .On 6 meters I have 1 kw available from "BIG BERTHA" as we called it when operating portable as VE7NUT."It" is an old Johnson Viking 6 n 2 VHF AMP upgraded with 4cx350bs .I have run the amp strictly on 6 m with heavy use for the past 20 years with no major problems. For 2 meters I have a homebrew twin 4cx250b amp with 800w available.

• I have on numerous occasions dragged that 6 meter amp up to the top of many mountaintops and different grids in BC and operated portable off a 1800 watt honda generator with out any problems.The Johnson 6 and 2 amp is very rugged and well built ,so if you want a good reliable power amp on 6 m or 2 m ,I would highly recommend it if you can find one. See You on the bands.....73s and best dx..... BUZZ

MOUNT KATHLEEN SUMMERLAND

Mount Kathleen is located aprrox 20 km west of Summerland BC up an old forestry road,this mountaintop location is all but forgotten in the BC interior. A group of VHFers including myself operated from this location during the early 80s as VE7PRC/7 .At that time there was an old small forestry lookout on the top of the rock out cropping. Sadly the original lookout was burnt but was rebuilt as a snow/hiking shelter in 1993. .The road is still passable by good 4 x 4 truck or atv.The pic is from when we operated up there with a 100 watt amp and a diamond stacked array of 2 meter yagis ! That was a big effort on top of that small hill.There was only enough room for 3 trucks at best on top,do not ask how crowded it got in the look out with all the gear!

Thanks to VE7RJ ,VE7EHQ,VE7GSB and the other group of crazy guys that took the time to go mountain topping during the VHF JUNE CONTEST.

ANOTHER VHF MOUNTAIN TOP SEASON HAS BEGUN !

The snow is finally melting...... well maybe in the valley floor it is.......we had fresh snow in the mountains around here in DN09 yesterday at the 5500 ft level! Is it never going to quit snowing?The snow pack in this area of British Columbia seems to be at record levels.With this in mind our VHF mountaintop plans this year at VE7BEE have had to change. We were considering checking out the top of apex mountain this June for the VHF CONTEST for the day but at 7300 ft and with all the fresh snow at the higher altitudes it just is not going to happen. It is only a few weeks till the contest,so it looks like we will be going back to the Promotory hill site in CO90 or worse case a more localized lower site in CN99 at the old nickel plate mine near Headly BC. The nickle plate area site I have used before on numerous occasions for vhf and hf operating. It has very easy road access with many good spots to pull over and set up portable equipment. There is also a couple of lakes in the area that offer good fishing as an added bonus. VE7MJT (Mike Tucker) has operated from the government campsite at nickle plate lake a number of times as well. The road between apex mountain in Dn09 and the old mine site is open all year round and can be reached from Penticton or from the Headly ,BC side.The access from Headly is via a STEEP GRADE dirt and gravel road but it is the shortest route to get up past the 5000 ft level where the old mine site is. Best to check with the locals in Headly as to the condition of the road before setting out in the winter.The picture is of the promotory lookout which is no more .....and the road up from the Headly side at about 4000 ft level.