[SCCC] Plans for ARRL Jan VHF Contest This Weekend

[Drew Arnett]

Contest is 4 character grid.  There will be a bunch of SOTA folks out
and they will want your 6 character grid for the 2026 SOTA challenge
for 2m/70cm SSB/CW.  Or you can tell them you're at your callbook
address.  They just need to get a notion during the QSO and not assume
your location.

Look for some SoCal SOTA CW on 2m around 144.100 as well.  Folks
started using that for CW with their Quanshengs for some reason, and I
haven't convinced them otherwise, yet.  The Quanshengs on phone are
DSB as well.  :-)  I haven't talked to someone using one, yet.  :-(

SOTA folks are spotted or will self spot here:
https://sotawatch.sota.org.uk/en/  Filters, particularly W6 in the
free form filter field, are helpful.

I plan to be out at least Saturday on a summit.

Kinda crazy how much activity we're seeing on 2/70 CW/SSB so far here
in SoCal this year.  With no ducting, small hill, terrain in front of
me, worked 11 unique callsigns on 2m ssb/cw in an hour.  And that was
without 4 of the usual 2/70 ssb/cw SOTA ops available at the time.  I
heard another who couldn't hear me; we would have completed if the
usual duct was out there.  I thought nobody did 2m weak signal.

Fun stuff.

Drew
n7da