Saturday 15 April 2017 – QRP activation of Booroomba Rocks 1382 metres (4534 ft) ASL, Namadgi National Park, Australian Capital Territory.
Purpose of today’s Summits on the Air (SOTA) activation is to:
- experiment with 5 watts on the 17m band (18 MHz) SSB
- experiment with low power output at 500 mW on the 30 and 40m bands (10 & 7 MHz) SSB
- where possible qualify Booroomba Rocks at 500 mW output, that’s 4 unique QSOs at 0.5 watts
- complete S2S QSOs with Andrew VK3JBL/1 at Mt Stromlo VK1/AC-043 and Gerard VK2IO/P at Mt Tomah VK2/CT-043 Mt in the Blue Mountains NSW, pre and post UTC day change.
Equipment: Radio Yaesu FT-817ND powered by a 4S 4.2 Ah LiFePO4, antenna 15/17/20/30/40m Inverted V linked dipole supported by a 7m telescopic pole. Essentials for self preservation; 2 litres of water, food, first aid kit, emergency shelter and the right clothing for this region. Telstra 4G mobile phone reception is good at the summit. No problems using android SOTA apps and SMS spots.
Left home at 6:30 am for a 40 minute drive to Booroomba Rocks car park (1160 metres ASL) off Apollo Road. The first part of the ascent is a 205 vertical metre climb to 1350 metres ASL, taking 30 minutes to cover 1.2 km. From a position known as the ‘middle knoll’ you get the first amazing view of Booroomba Rocks summit at 1382 metres ASL. From where I’m standing in the picture below (S35.55931, E148.99077) the summit is 700 metres south-east. I still have a further 20 minutes of scrub bashing through thick wattle regrowth, eucalypt trees and up, over and around a variety of small, medium and giant granite boulders known in these parts as granite Tors. Photos below.

view of Booroomba Rocks summit marked by a small eucalypt tree. In the summer of 2003 the vegitation around Boorooma Rocks was all but destroyed in the well-known Canberra fire storm.
GPS track log overlay on Google Earth
For directions to the summit review the following posts:
Arrived at the summit cairn for 2220 UTC (8:20 am local) 1 hour and 50 minutes after leaving home. The view is spectacular having an uninterrupted 360 degree view of the surrounding national park and beyond. Standing here on the summit, one has a sense of being on top of the world! For a well-earned break, I took my merry old-time to set up. 😉
At 1380 metres ASL I’m above the cloud base the air is completely still not a breath of wind anywhere. The sun, now in the north-east is shining brightly, looking to the north I can’t see Canberra due to the low cloud base.
Canberra is within visual line-of-sight therefore VHF and UHF ops are relatively easy. What’s not easy around these parts is encouraging VK1 radio amateurs to turn their radios on. I don’t undestand why so many folk spend serious money on expensive radio gear and a radio amateur licence, only to have the radio sitting silent! Or perhaps the radio is on and most are ignoring me, ha ha 😉
2017 is turning out to be a surprise for QRP SOTA operations, despite the sun’s predicted very low (almost zero) sun spot activity, QRP QSOs continue to be a realistic option at least for those who dare to experiment. If you are looking for a new challenge and are bored with running 100+ watts at the home QTH, try a lower power setting known as QRP 5 watts or less. Try calling a SOTA activator with your rig set to 5 watts output! Summary of my QRP low power QSOs from Booroomba Rocks:
- 500 mW – 6 QSOs, summit qualified at 500 milliwatts 🙂
- 1 watt – 5
- 5 watts – 36
Best long distant chasers:
- at 500 mW on 30m SSB: Steve VK7CW 715 km (444 miles)
- at 500 mW on 40m SSB: Paul VK4CPS 1100 km (683 miles)
- at 5 watts on 18 MHz SSB: At 22:48 UTC working Tom NQ7R in Arizona North America for a 5-6 signal report. Short path 12,794 km (7950 miles), Long path 27,208 km (16,906 miles).
Summit to Summit (S2S) QSOs includ: Gerard VK2IO/P at Mt Tomah VK2/CT-043, Compton VK2HRX at Rocky Knob VK2/NW-019 and Andrew VK3JBL/1 at Mt Stromlo VK1/AC-043. I didn’t recall seeing advance notice of Compton’s activation of VK2/NW-019 which turned out to be a bonus for an extra 6 S2S points ❗
Extract of VK1AD SOTA Activator Log: 15 April 2017 Booroomba Rocks QRP QSOs, duration 2 hours
Time | Call | Band | Mode | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
22:40z | ZL1BYZ | 18MHz | SSB | John S59 R59 18.145 5 watts |
22:43z | ZL1WA | 18MHz | SSB | Jacky S59 R59 18.145 5 watts |
22:48z | NQ7R | 18MHz | SSB | Tom S56 R43 18.147 5 watts |
22:50z | ZL2AJ | 18MHz | SSB | Warren S59 R59 18.147 5 watts |
22:50z | VK1RZ | 18MHz | SSB | Roald S59 R59 18.147 5 watts |
23:00z | ZL3JD | 14MHz | SSB | Phil 14.310 5 watts |
23:13z | VK2IO/P | 18MHz | SSB | Gerard S2S VK2/CT-043 S51 R41 18.147 5 watts |
23:21z | VK1MA | 144MHz | FM | Matt S59 R59 146.5 |
23:27z | VK1MA | 10MHz | SSB | Matt S59 R55 10.130 5 watts |
23:31z | VK7CW | 10MHz | SSB | Steve S53 R52 both QRP at 0.5 watt |
23:32z | VK5WG | 10MHz | SSB | Nev S58 R55 me 1 watt |
23:43z | VK3JBL/1 | 144MHz | FM | Andrew S2S VK1/AC-043 S59 R56 HT 5 watts |
23:45z | VK3PF | 7MHz | SSB | Peter S59 R55 me 1 watt 7.095 |
23:46z | VK4TJ | 7MHz | SSB | John S59 R53 me 1 watt |
23:48z | VK2RP | 7MHz | SSB | Dave S59 R57 me 0.5 watt |
23:49z | VK4CPS | 7MHz | SSB | S58 R31 me 0.5 watt |
23:51z | VK3GGG | 7MHz | SSB | Mick S59 R42 me 1 watt |
23:54z | VK1ATP/M | 144MHz | FM | Paul S59 R59 HT 5 watts |
23:55z | VK1FWBD/P | 144MHz | FM | Wade S58 R54 HT 5 watts |
23:58z | VK2EWC/P | 7MHz | SSB | Tom S59 R58 1 watt |
00:01z | VK3GGG | 7MHz | SSB | Mick S59 R55 7.095 5 watts |
00:01z | VK2HAX/P | 7MHz | SSB | Ben S58 R59 QRP 5 watts |
00:03z | VK7CW | 7MHz | SSB | Steve S59 R59 5 watts |
00:03z | VK3PF | 7MHz | SSB | Peter S58 R53 5 watts |
00:04z | VK5WG | 7MHz | SSB | Nev QRP both 5 watts S54 R54 |
00:05z | VK3FSTU | 7MHz | SSB | Stuart S58 R59 QRP 5 watts |
00:07z | VK2IO/P | 7MHz | SSB | Gerard S2S VK2/CT-043 S58 R59 both 5 watts |
00:08z | VK2HRX/P | 7MHz | SSB | Compton S2S VK2/NW-019 S59 R59 5 watts |
00:08z | VK5PAS | 7MHz | SSB | Paul S59 R55 5 watts |
00:09z | VK3MRG/P | 7MHz | SSB | Marshall S58 R57 5 watts |
00:11z | VK2VW | 7MHz | SSB | Brett S59 R59 me 0.5 watt |
00:12z | VK2KYO | 7MHz | SSB | Ken S59 R55 me 0.5 watt |
00:13z | VK3FCMC | 7MHz | SSB | Michael S59 R58 QRP 5 watts |
00:14z | ZL1BYZ | 7MHz | SSB | John S52 R31 me 5 watts to ZL |
00:15z | VK2NP | 7MHz | SSB | Cliff S59 R52 me 0.5 watt |
00:16z | VK1MA | 144MHz | FM | Matt S59 R59 HT 5 watts |
00:17z | VK1FWBD/P | 144MHz | FM | Wade S56 R54 en route |
00:20z | VK1MA | 7MHz | SSB | Matt S59 R58 5 watts |
00:21z | VK3CAT | 7MHz | SSB | Tony S59 R59 5 watts |
00:21z | VK3LED | 7MHz | SSB | Col S59 R58 5 watts |
00:22z | VK5FANA | 7MHz | SSB | Adrian S55 R53 5 watts |
00:23z | VK3JBL/1 | 144MHz | FM | Andrew S2S VK1/AC-043 S58 R55 HT 5 watts |
00:25z | VK7DW | 7MHz | SSB | Andrew S59 R58 5 watts |
00:26z | VK3SL/P | 7MHz | SSB | Steve Raymond Island S59 R59 5 watts |
00:30z | VK7JOH | 7MHz | SSB | John S59 R56 5 watts |
00:31z | VK7FOLK | 7MHz | SSB | Helen S56 R56 5 watts |
00:32z | VK3SFG | 7MHz | SSB | Sergio S58 R47 5watts |
Photos: © Copyright 2017 Andrew VK1AD
Rock pool plateau, looks like the foot print of a giant dinosaur, could it? I guess the pools have formed over millions of years from a former lava flow combined with wind, water and ice errosion. Any geo experts out there?

granite rock pools at 1350 metres ASL. In winter these ancient fresh water pools freeze over with a thin layer of ice
Temperature on the summit is 13 degrees C (54 F), the air is completely still, not a single breeze

Booroomba Rocks summit marked by a stone cairn and a precious young eucalypt tree. Nice to see the cairn reassembled. 🙂
Yaesu FT-817ND powered by a 4S 4.2 Ah LiFePO4 battery
Great report Andrew,
I’m very interested in exploring the WARC bands, especially on digital modes.
Regards
Chris
VK4FR/VK5FR
Hi Andrew, I could hear you load and clear on 40m into Samford Conservation Park VKFF-1639 but you couldn’t hear me no matter how many times I tried. Oh well, perhaps next time. I was also using 5W with my FT-817 and an endfed antenna.
Looks like an excellent hike, Andrew. And a fantastic contact log! Congrats!
Hi Andrew,
You had a good signal into the Adelaide Hills with your 5 watts. Above my noise floor here at home which is increasingly getting worse.
Congrats on qualifying the summit with 500mw.
Happy Easter,
Paul VK5PAS.
Thanks Paul, I’m enjoying the QRP challenge I have set for myself for 2017. Always a pleasure to have you in the log.
Cheers Andrew VK1AD