Categories
Contents
Ja-Well-No-Fine (Editorial)
Summits On The Air (SOTA) celebrates 20 Years
The Yls of SOTA- YL Mountain Goats, USA Yls & YL Shack Sloths
Documentary film S53YL Sabina Dermota (SOTA Mountain Goat)
Out-and-About
Silent Key Harriet Schroeder, KK4EAO
Silent Key – K1MMH Mary McComb Hobart
Contact & Calendar Jan 2022
ZS5APT Adele Tyler 1st South African YL SOTA – MG
Ja-Well-No-Fine (Editorial)
Well ladies, here we are at the beginning of 2022, wondering “what-kind-of” year will it be?
I thought that those who climb mountains represent our hopes for the future as they reach upwards and that perhaps it was time to acknowledge the achievements of those Yls who have involved themselves in on-air pursuits like SOTA (Summits On The Air). It is also part of our YL history.
I searched through SOTA News and notices from Oct 2007 – Oct 2021. From a list of ladies who applied for certificates I extracted those Yls who obtained “Mountain Goat’ & “Sloth” status, the highest SOTA awards (see below).
No doubt I will have missed some and made mistakes and hopefully, you my radio sisters will contribute to this historical record by sending corrections?
Careful climbers climb with a ‘buddy’ and share their experiences, so whatever type of radio contacts you make, amateur radio has kept us in-touch, so wishing everyone many QSOs for the coming year – 33 / 88,
Editor : Heather ZS5YH
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Summits On The Air (SOTA) celebrates 20 Years
Summits On The Air (SOTA) is an amateur radio operating award program launched in Great Britain in 2002, now worldwide. SOTA’s aim is to encourage licensed amateur radio operators to operate from mountainous locations, combining hiking and mountain climbing with operating their amateur radio station from the summits of hills and mountains.
It is important to note that the SOTA program is not just for mountaineers! There is a SOTA peak for everyone, no matter the level of fitness. SOTA has been carefully designed to make participation possible for everyone. There are a number of disabled activators and at least one successful blind summiteer.
There are seasoned mountaineers but there are also Mountain Goat Award holders who scarcely set foot on a hill before becoming involved with SOTA. The important prerequisites are enthusiasm, the possession of an amateur radio licence and a love of the open-air.
Those who set up a station on a summit are known as activators, and those who contact activators on summits are known as chasers. Points are awarded to the activator for operating from a summit, and to each of the chasers contacting the activator.
The higher the mountain is, the more points the activator and each chaser receive. Certificates are available for various scores, leading to the prestigious “Mountain Goat” and “Shack Sloth” trophies.
Unlike the activators who climb mountains and make contacts (QSO’s), the chaser does not require any specialist equipment or fitness to get started and in most cases your existing equipment will allow you to start earning points. SOTA chasing is one of the fastest growing specialist interests in amateur radio today.
Today, SOTA has hundreds of participants in Associations across the World, all sharing the same award ethos and infrastructure. Note that SOTA is an award programme not a club or society; as such you can’t be a “Member” of SOTA but you can certainly be a participant!
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The Yls of SOTA (Summits On The Air)
YL Mountain Goats (Chronological order) 1000 points (highest activator award)
June 2012 Mountain Goat M3ZCB Caroline Blackmun
Feb 2013 Mountain Goat 2E0XYL – Karen Richardson
March 201
3 Mountain Goat S53YL / S57BNX Sabina Dermota OM S57D Milos Dermota
Oct 2013 Mountain Goat M6BWA Vicki Archard OM M0JLA Rodney Archard
Aug 2015 Mountain Goat HB9FPM Eva Thiemann
May 2017 Mountain Goat M6BWA Vicki Archard (All UHF)
May, 2018 Mountain Goat YO6EVA Éva Gajdó first YL Mountain Goat in Romania
June 2020 Double Mountain Goat. 2000 sota points
Dec 2019 Mountain Goat DJ4MA Anna Meyer OM DF5MA Andi Meyer
1st YL MG-SOTA in DL Dec 2019
Nov 2020-Jan 2021 Mountain Goat EA4DOS Elena Ortega, OM Alejandro EA4DON
Jan 2020, 2x MG 12/2020; Sept 2021 3x MG
May 2021 Mountain Goat. ZS5APT Adele Tyler OM ZS5AYC Sid Tyler
USA YL Mountain Goats (Chronological order) 1000 points
April 2017 Mountain Goat KC0YQF Lynn Skinner
Oct 2017 Mountain Goat KB1RJD Merle E. Weber OM KB1RJC Herman W. Weber
Aug 2017 Mountain Goat KE7BGM Katherine McDonough
March 2018 Mountain Goat N3ICE Jill Kennard
MAY 2018 Mountain Goat K1LIZ Elizabeth Burns
Dec 2018 Mountain Goat AG6V Donna Hinshaw
Sept 2019 Mountain Goat KB7CWV Lin Pemberton OM Sept 2018 N7LP Lee
Aug 2020 Mountain Goat K0JJW Joyce Witte All VHF
KC0YQF Lynn Skinner 1st YL in USA SOTA-MG
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YL Shack Sloths (Chronological order) 1,000 points (highest chaser award)
Feb 2008 Shack Sloth 2E0NBR Sharon Warren
April 2011 Shack Sloth M6MIJ Jennifer Nuttall
Oct 2011 Shack Sloth 2E0XYL Karen Richardson
Oct 2012 Shack Sloth M6NHA Sara Ratcliff
May 2014 Shack Sloth VK3FQSO Amanda Bauer
Nov 2014 Shack Sloth VK3FOWL Julie Gonzales
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YO6EVA Éva Gajdó, SOTA-MG from Romania active on an Argentina Mountain
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S53YL / S57BNX Sabina Dermota – SOTA Mountain Goat
This documentary film tells a story about a blind woman called Sabina Dermota. She is blind from birth but blindness was never an obstacle for her. With extraordinary will and love for life and new experiences Sabina Dermota lives a full and fulfilling life. She skis, she went rafting on the alpine river Soča, she even went para-gliding… but her true love is climbing the mountains and running marathons.
Like Sabina says at the beginning of the film: “It seems to me that I can breathe freely only when I’m out in nature, climbing a hill or a mountain.”
Neva Novljan filmed Sabina in her daily routine and on her adventures. And the result is a documentary that reflects joy for living! It also shows that the limitations are mainly in our heads and it contradicts the prejudice we have about what a blind person is capable of.
The documentary was produced in 2015 by TV Slovenia. (English subtitles)
https://365.rtvslo.si/arhiv/zgodbe-izza-obrazov/174438859
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Out-and-About
Depending on weather conditions, Andrey R1II and Tatyana RL1I plan activity from the uninhabited Mestnyy Island, EU-086 sometime in the second half of January 2022. QRV as RI1PP for 1-2 days only. QSL via R1II. Note – RRA: RR-06-29 (new one), RDA: NO-02.
Island of Ostrov Mestnyy is in the Arctic Ocean that is located to the north of Siberia, Russia.
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Silent Keys
Harriet Schroeder, KK4EAO, S/k July 13, 2021
The pages housed under the heading “YL HAMs Net – Original Archives” were all written and posted by Harriet Schroeder, KK4EAO, to an older website. We have copied them here to honor and save all her work. Harriet was one of the 3 (and perhaps #1) founding YLs of the TAG YL Net. Harriet became a Silent Key (SK) unexpectedly on July 13, 2021. Below is a copy of the SK Ceremony that was held on the TAG YL Net July 19, 2021.
She was a daughter, sister, aunt, fellow ham, and my friend.
Harriet was a retired radiologist having practiced for more than 20 years. She attended medical school at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis followed by an internship at Baptist Memorial Hospital. She subsequently held a Residency in Radiology at the University of Tennessee. During her career she was licensed to practice in TN, Arkansas, & Mississippi. She was certified in Diagnostic Radiology by the American Board of Radiology and finished her professional career in the Atlanta, GA area.
Harriet leaves behind some big shoes to be filled. She was a longtime and current Board Member at the Chattanooga Amateur Radio Club and was always present at Club Meetings, Field Days, HAMFests and more to promote our hobby that she loved so much.
Harriet was one of the founders of this very net, wishing to create an environment where women, shy women like herself, could gain confidence in a hobby she enjoyed very much. Harriet was not one to call attention to herself, but always had a word of encouragement for others. In fact, many of the YL’s in this area were prodded by Harriet to get their licence and increase their knowledge.
Harriet was our secret squirrel, we never knew her location, but now as she rests in peace, we know exactly where a woman as faith filled as she was now resides.
https://lmarc.net/club/resources-tools/tag-yl-net/yl-hams-net-original-archives/
Mary M. Hobart, K1MMH – Ham radio is a reflection of our world in miniature. There are so many wide ranging interests, so many fascinating people all with so much dedication and passion for the service they love. And just think of it — decades of public service and friendships that extend across town across the country and around the world. And you’ll find every walk of life and every generation in ham radio. It’s fascinating and challenging and rewarding! It’s unique! So say “Hello”, get on the air and see for yourself!
https://www.qsl.net/vu2sdu/loveit.html
Silent Key – K1MMH Mary McComb Hobart (July 25, 1943 – December 12, 2021)
of Ardmore, Pennsylvania died on Sunday evening, December 12th, 2021, age 78, with her son Bob by her side.
Born in Washington, D.C. after school she attended Northwestern University in Chicago. then moved to Philadelphia, After her sons graduated from college, she moved to New England to work in development at Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) and then at ARRL. During her 13 years at ARRL Headquarters, she was behind the creation of The Diamond Club, The Diamond Terrace, The Maxim Society, and the Second Century Campaign, among other initiatives. She served as secretary of the ARRL Foundation, and promoter of the ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund.
Her interests in Amateur Radio included emergency communications and education. During Hurricane Katrina, she virtually single-handedly created the Ham Aid Program that provides new gear to amateurs who have lost their equipment in disasters,
She was also one of the founders of the successful Teachers Institutes for Wireless Technology. Funded by voluntary contributions, the annual summer workshops help to better acquaint classroom teachers and educators with wireless technology and the science behind it.
She retired from ARRL in 2014, moving back to the Philadelphia area to be closer to family.
Mary K1MMH has been memorialised on a wall at the Signal Point PJ2T station since 2009, when she was one of the operators for PJ2T in the 2009 ARRL SSB DX Contest.
Mary arrived overcome with worry that she would not be comfortable operating in an amateur radio competition from such a busy location as PJ2T, the Caribbean contest station on the island of Curacao. But she dug in and learned fast, applying her optimism and can-do attitude as with all things, and really excelled and had fun in the process. Her work left the American Radio Relay League immeasurably better off, and we all loved her and valued her as a friend.
Condolences to her family from, W0CG, PJ2DX. Geoff Howard
Obituary notice: I knew Mary through Riverfront rowing – knew her as a team mate, as member of the Board of Directors, tireless volunteer, as a fundraising inspiration. We cheered and marvelled as she moved from learning to row to team boats, to indoor rowing races, and competing in her own boat at the legendary Head of the Charles regatta. She fearlessly tackled bad weather and bad water and embraced every challenge and found joy on the river. In Mary’s honor we dedicated a boat the Riverfront Recapture women still race in, named simply “Hobart.” My personal treasured memory, however, is simply that of her amazing tenacity – her resolve in completing the goals she set out on, and from that her inspiration to us all. Gretchen Gregg
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Calendar Jan 2022
Jan 1 CQ Marathon Starts
Jan 2 -7 JARL (Japan) (09:00 to 21:00(JST) CQ NEW YEAR PARTY 2022
Jan 8 Ham Radio University 2022- 23nd event
Jan 15 Malaysia DX Contest 2022 ( 00:00 UTC – 23:59 UTC)
Jan 14-16 PEARS National VHF /UHF Contest (RSA)
Jan 19 SARL 80M club Contest
Jan 23-29 Quartz-Pause in the desert. (USA)
Jan 29-30 UBA DX (Belgian Amateur Radio Union) Contest SSB, 2022 (last Saturday of January)
Feb 18-20 14th Annual Summer Lighthouse Weekend – Southern Hemisphere. Friday- Sunday
18-20 de febrero de 2022. XIV edición del “Fin de Semana de los Faros Americanos”
March 8 International Women’s Day