RSGB Director's SOTA challenge

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RSGB Board Director Ben Lloyd, GW4BML has taken on the challenge of activating 10 summits during 12 days on the remote Scottish islands

He will climb some with his partner and fellow radio amateur Martha, and their two-year-old daughter Lyra.

This Summits on the Air (SOTA) challenge combines Ben’s favourite hobbies of amateur radio and hiking, but it also sometimes brings with it adverse weather conditions and the need to reach remote islands by kayak!

Ben is hoping that by sharing his challenge he will not only inspire radio amateurs to try SOTA, but he will also encourage people who love walking and hiking to try amateur radio.

You can catch up with his adventures on the RSGB social media channels and through the special playlist of videos on the RSGB YouTube channel.

YL in Philippines is net controller, Aged 10!

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The newest operator handling a weekly evening net for the Philippines Ham Radio Cebu DX7CBU is also a very new ham who has wasted no time showing her leadership skills. At the age of 10, Summer Mina, DY7SUM, is the youngest member of the club, where her parents, Bjorn, DW7KGB, and Bopbop, DW7OIC, run nets on other nights. With the help of her parents and her mentor, Jet, 4F7MHZ, the club's founder and trustee, Summer sat for her Foundation exam from the National Telecommunications Commission this past June and received her licence. Now she is actively taking check-ins on 2 metres.

Jet told Newsline in an email that Summer was inspired by her parents' activities as amateur radio operators, calling her a natural achiever. Her leadership abilities extend to her academic life off the air. When she's not running the show on the local repeater, Summer is in her third term as president of her class at the Maria Montessori International School in Cebu.

Hams Enjoy a "SOTA ECLIPSE"

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With the hope for clear skies on Saturday 14th October 2023, a small group of SOTA enthusiasts in Oregon will be climbing the peaks - not just for a chance at Summit-to-Summit contacts but to stop long enough to experience a total eclipse of the sun from an elevation. Andy Morrison K9AWM has that story for us.

Hams who are also fans of SOTA activations and camping out don't really need an excuse like an eclipse to make a big weekend event happen but Tim N7KOM and his friends are seizing the moment anyway in Oregon The state's southeastern region is in the path of totality for the annular (an-yuh-lerr) eclipse and that is as good an occasion as any for a hike up to Drake Peak, SOTA designation W7O/CE-002 (W Seven OH stroke CE Zero Zero Two), and Light Peak, W7O/CE-004 (W Seven Oh stroke Zero Zero Four). Writing on the SOTA Reflector, Tim announced his own plans to camp at Mud Creek Campground and arrive on one of the summits by 9:20 local time. His rig and of course his camera will be ready. Any operators wanting to contact him in advance should email him at timn7kom@gmail.com. He is willing to bulk-order viewing glasses to wear so everyone can safely view the event.

The weekend doesn't end when the eclipse is gone, however: Tim expects to keep getting more summits right up through Sunday afternoon.