These activations are from February to May 2022. I used my usual KX3 and ZS6BKW doublet on all these.

Goorooyaroo summit and nature reserve

In February 2022 I walked up to Goorooyaroo Nature reserve, which is a former target area for the military firing range and is considered to contain “unexploded ordnance”, ie. bombs and shells that have not yet exploded. Signs warn of the danger.

Advice from the ranger is that it is safe to walk if you stay on the trail. Well, it must be because the ranger drives up and down it occasionally. Also there is the usual range of animals in this forest such as kangaroos, wallabies and probably rabbits and feral cats, possibly dogs. No exploded animal carcasses are visible.

Tuggeranong Hill vk1/ac-038

A few weeks later I walked up Tuggeranong Hill. I took a different route from usual, starting at the intersection of Fidge St and McManus St in Calwell, walking uphill from there and along a track that leads around the hill. At the point where the TV translator towers are visible directly up the hill, there is a track to walk up to the summit trig.

No pics of the radio on the blue tarp. I’ve posted plenty of those.

Coree VK1/AC-025 March 2022

I activated this summit and the park it’s in but did not take any photos of the gear. Here are some photos taken on the way down and back to Canberra.

Spring Hill VK2/ST-036, March 2022

I tried using a small collapsible table for my radios. Other activators were out on nearby summits so it was a good day for VHF activity, hence the TR751A and the 3el beam for 2m.

Roadside activation near Gurley Silo, north of Narrabri, 7th May 2022

dipping my activation toes into the SIOTA program

Mt Macquarie, vk2/ct-011, May 2022

This was the day after the activations at Kaputar National Park.

Mt Ainslie 21st May 2022

Tumorrama Hill May 25th 2022

On this day my activator score clicked over 2000, very satisfying.

Billapoola

This unnamed summit is in the Billapoola State Forest. it has to be activated from the roadside as the summit is too densely populated with pine trees. The roadside is only a few metres lower than the summit. The roadside and the forest downhill from the road is infested with blackberries. Care is needed to avoid the thorns.

I took a stand that was originally designed for an outdoor umbrella which some people use for protection from the sun in their back yard. It was discarded by a local resident so rather than letting the council pick it up I decided to see how it would go as a pole support. It worked well, there was no wind but if necessary a few pegs could have been hammered in to hold it down.

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