Congrats on the successful summit activation Jack and welcome to my current
favorite niche in ham-dom. For me, neither the Argo or Eagle are very well
suited for SOTA use - they're too heavy and consume too much power (heavy
battery), But after reading your post, perhaps you prefer a very heavy
pack and in that case, the Eagle and a big SLA battery might be perfect for
your SOTA activations. The one radio that Ten-Tec sells that is IMHO very
suitable for SOTA is the HB1B, but that would be a relative feather in your
pack.
73, Barry N1EU
On Sun, Apr 7, 2013 at 2:10 AM, Jack Emerson <w4tje@wiredog.com> wrote:
> Hey de Jack W4TJE in Fancy Gap, VA. Radio-wise, today has been a
> blast. You know it’s going to be a good radio day when ur working a strong
> Russian station on 15m cw just after ur sunrise, and he tells you that he
> is running a ten tec stn (Omni V). I think in all my years on air, that is
> the first Russian ever worked running Ten Tec gear. Note to Ten Tec: Send
> me an e-mail, and I will send you his call sign. He deserves a mug, or at
> least a cap.
> Then, at mid-morning, my buddy Todd, N4LA, drove up from NC with his
> backpacks and portable gear, and he and I then drove a few miles up the
> road, parked, and climbed to the top of Buffalo Mtn in Floyd County, VA.
> Todd and I are the same age (49), from the same town originally in NC
> (Siler City), grew up together, both learned radio together, and even have
> common relatives by marriage. After school, he joined the Navy, while I
> joined the Marine Corps, so it did my heart proud today to show the U.S.
> Navy how a Marine humps to the top of a mountain peak (SINGING THE MARINE
> CORPS ANTHEM WHILE CARRYING BOTH BACKPACKS).
> So a full hour after I (USMC) had made it to the top carrying all of the
> gear, Todd (Navy) finally arrived, and we were ready to get on air. We set
> up at the summit at 3970 feet, with me (USMC) doing all the work, while
> Todd (USN) drinking coffee and telling sea stories (LIES) about how rough
> life at sea was for him.It was then that I was introduced to the world of
> the Summits On The Air (SOTA). IT WAS AWESOME.!! We operated both phone and
> cw and put that peak on the air for only the second time. We had stns
> calling us from Europe to the West Coast, and put over 70 of them in the
> log before shutting down and climbing down the mountain ( I had to carry
> Todd, he had ran out of both coffee and sea stories ((LIES)) by then).
> So now, I’m all pumped about operating SOTA, and checking their web site
> tonight tonight I see that there are quite a few peaks near me that are
> rare or have never even been activated. I’ve never been into qrp, but am
> intrigued by the Argo 6 for use as a SOTA portable rig, but am also
> interested in the Eagle for the same use. So any Argonaut 6 or Eagle
> owners, pse tell me any pros and cons for portable use. I am very
> interested in knowing what ur opinions are, esp with respect to battery
> use/power drain.
> And finally, tnx to Todd for introducing me to SOTA today, and don’t get
> mad when you read how I picked on you here on this reflector.
> 73 de Jack W4TJE
>
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