vk5pas

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Lowan Conservation Park 5CP-121 and VKFF-1052

Posted: 10 Mar 2017 05:17 PM PST
https://vk5pas.org/2017/03/11/lowan-...and-vkff-1052/


It was another Friday afternoon, 10th March 2017, and time for another
Friday event for the VK5 National and Conservation Parks Award. Â*I headed
out to activate the Lowan Conservation Park 5CP-1121 and VKFF-1052, which
is situated about 130 km east of Adelaide, near Bow Hill on the River
Murray. Â*It is about one hour drive from my home.

I had activated the Lowan Conservation Park only once previously, and that
was way back in July 2013. Â*This was prior to the park being added to the
Directory for the World Wide Flora Fauna (WWFF) program. Â*For information
on that activation please see my previous post at.

https://vk5pas.org/2013/07/20/lowan-conservation-park/


Above:- Map showing the location of the Lowan Conservation Park, east of
Adelaide in the Mallee region of the State. Â*Map courtesy of Location SA
Map Viewer.

The Lowan Conservation Park is about 660 hectares in size andÂ*consists
ofÂ*remnant mallee scrub in the midst of wheat and sheep farms. The park
consists of grey cypress pines, dryland tea-trees, hop bush and areas of
open grassland.

Numerous bird species can be found in the park, including the Malleefowl,
which is an endangered species. Â*Malleefowl are also known as Lowan, and
the park derives its name from the bird. Â*More information on the
Malleefowl can be found on the National Mallefowl Recovery Team website.


Above:- Malleefowl. Â*Courtesy of wikipedia.

Western grey kangaroos are also common and it is a good place to see
short-beaked Echidnas, and fat tailed dunnarts if you are lucky.Â* There are
no marked walking tracks in the park and the mallee is very thick in parts,
so a compass or GPS device is definitely needed if you are feeling
adventurous. Â*There are no facilities and no marked campgrounds.

I headed out along the South Eastern Freeway to Murray Bridge and then took
Burdett Road to Bow Hill Road where I started travelling east towards the
park. Â*I then turned right onto Gribble Bore Road. Â*The intersection of Bow
Hill Road and Gribble Bore Road is easy to spot as there is an old windmill
and a stone water tank at this location. Â*There is also a cairn to
commemorate the sealing of the Bow Hill Road.








I travelled about 4 km up Gribble Bore Road and soon reached the north
western corner of the park. Â*There is a park sign at this location. Â*Prior
to leaving home I did see on the maps that there was a track in this
vicinity which travelled north-south through the park, down towards a ruin
near the southern boundary of the park. Â*However I was unable to find this
track. Â*I continued on to the north eastern corner of the park where I
found a small break in the scrub. Â*This lead to an open gate and a
track. Â*Dont blink, because you will miss the break in the scrub.





Prior to setting up I decided to have a look where this track lead to. Â*It
took me from the northern side of the park to the south eastern corner of
the park and an open paddock. Â*Unfortunately I could not find any other
tracks through the park.





So I headed back along the track to the northern section of the park and a
clearing in the mallee scrub which was an ideal operating spot. Â*I set up
the station which comprised the Yaesu FT-857d, 40 watts output and the
80/40/20m linked dipole supported on the 7m heavy duty telescopic squid
pole. Â*The soil in the park is very sandy, so driving the squid pole holder
into the ground was like a knife through butter.

It was quite a warm afternoon, around 30 deg C, so I set up the deck chair
and the fold up table underneath the shade of some gum trees. Â*Always with
a watchful eye for snakes. Â*I was all set up and ready to go by 0630 UTC
(5.00 p.m. South Australian local time), a little ahead of my posted
activation time of 0700 UTC.
Above:- Aerial shot of the park showing my operating spot. Â*Image courtesy
of Location SA Map Viewer.

I headed to 7.144, which is a nominated WWFF frequency, but found there
were some stations on 7.146, so I went down to 7.143 and asked if the
frequency was in use. Â*This was answered by Ken ZL4KD who was portable in
theÂ*Hakatere Conservation Park ZLFF-0026. Â*I knew that Ken was going to be
out and about, but it was a real pleasant surprise to have him as number
one in the log. Â*Ken had a nice 5/7 signal and it was a real pleasure to
have a Park to Park contact into New Zealand in the log. Â*Hakatere
Conservation Park is located on the South Island, west of
Christchurch. Â*Ken was also with his wife Margaret ZL3YS, who I also
logged. Â*This was Margarets first ever park activation.

Peter VK3PF then called in, followed by Dennis VK2HHA, and then Bill
VK4FW. Â*All had good 5/9 signals. Â*The 40m band seemed to be in very good
condition. Â*There was absolutely no man made noise on the band and the
static crashes were about strength 5. Â*Unfortunately I had no internet
coverage and I was relying on being spotted by others. Â*Many thanks to Bill
VK4FW, Brett VK3FLCS and Jonathan VK7JON who spotted me on parksnpeaks,
early on during the activation. Â*Thanks also to Steve VK4KUS who spotted me
on Facebook. Â*Spotting certainly helps the activator and also assists your
fellow park hunter. Â*I highly recommend hunters taking the time to spot
activators. Â*Please dont rely on great spotting facilities like
parksnpeaks, but never bother to spot yourself.

Contact number eleven was another Park to Park contact. Â*Neil VK4HNS was
activating the Venman Bushland National Park VKFF-0507, south east of
Brisbane. Â*Neil had a strong 5/8 signal and reciprocated with a 5/6 for
me. Â*My last contact on 40m before QSYing to 20m, was with Les VK5KLV/p who
was in the Telowie Gorge Conservation Park VKFF-1105 and 5CP-227. Â*Les was
quite low down, but very readable as there was no man made noise in the
park. Â*Telowie Gorge is around 300 km north west of Lowan.

So with a total of 29 contacts in the log from VK1, VK2, VK3, VK4, VK5 and
VK7 in the log, I headed to the 20m band. Â*I started calling CQ on 14.310
and this was answered by Bill VK4FW who was 5/3 off the back of his beam,
followed by Rob VK4AAC with a strong 5/8 signal, and then Rick VK4RF/VK4HA
who was 5/9. Â*My one and only contact into Western Australia followed, with
John VK6NU who was only 5/3. Â*Conditions into VK6 of late on 20m have been
down significantly.

I am sure that due to a spot on the DX cluster by Bill VK4FW, a few DX
contacts followed. Â*I logged Valery UT5PI in Ukraine, Rolf HB9RDE in
Switzerland, and Rolf DK2MH in Germany. Â*But sadly that was the extent of
my DX contacts on the 20m band. Â*My final contact on 20m was with Mike
VK4HS with an excellent 5/9 signal.







I then lowered the squid pole and inserted the links in the dipole and
headed off to the 80m band. Â*It was coming up to 6.15 p.m. local time and
still bright sunshine, but I was hopeful of making some contacts around
VK5, as 40m was just not working for local contacts. Â*My first taker on the
80m band was Mick VK3GGG/VK3PMG with a 5/7 signal (5/7 received) from
western Victoria. Â*Mick kindly spotted me on parksnpeaks. Â*I was then
called by Bill VK4FW with a strong 5/8 signal from Queensland, followed by
Kev VK3VEK in western Victoria.

I went on to work a total of 14 stations on 80m, from VK2, VK3, VK4, and
VK5. Â*This included a Park to Park contact with Les VK5KLV in the Telowie
Gorge Conservation Park,Â*VKFF-1105 and 5CP-227. Â*Les was much stronger on
the 80m band (5/9 plus) compared to 40m. Â*I also logged a Park to Park
contact with Adrian VK5FANA who was activating the Clinton Conservation
Park VKFF-0813 and 5CP-044. Â*Thanks to Don VK3MCK who went up to 40m to
tell Adrian I was on 3.610. Â*I had very spotty phone coverage from the
park, but an SMS message from Adrian did sneak through to tell me he was on
80m. Â*So Don kindly went up to 40m to pass the message on to Adrian for him
to come down to 80m to work me.

Around 0830 UTC (7.00 p.m. local time) IÂ*moved back to the 40m band. Â*The
sun was just starting to set at this time, and I was quite surprised to see
a flock of pelicans flying overhead. Â*The park is around 20 km south of the
mighty Murray River and I suspect that is where they were headed. Â*I called
CQ on 7.144 and it wasnt long before Peter VK2NEO called in with his normal
thumping 5/9 plus signal. Â*This was followed by Simon VK2JAZ and then Glenn
VK2WGW. Â*Sadly, despite half a dozen CQ calls I had no further takers. Â*So
I took the opportunity of having a tune across the 40m band. Â*I heard a few
JA stations and a couple of USA stations, however I was unable to break
through the pile ups to work them.

It was approaching 8.00 p.m. local time and was starting to get dark. Â*It
was almost time for the 7130 DX Net. Â*I had about 15 minutes before the net
started so I called CQ on 7.130. Â*This was answered by Peter VK2STO in
Lightning Ridge with a 5/9 plus signal. Â*Brian ZL2ASH in Wellington then
called me (5/9 plus), followed by William FO5JV in French Polynesia.








The net commenced shortly afterwards and I only remained on the net for one
round, working Roscoe ZL1AAF an Robert VK7VZ. Â*I was joined by a number of
bats who flew around me continuosly, perhaps attracted by the torch
light. Â*I was getting really hungry, so I moved up the band to 7.137 with
the intention of working a few stations and then heading home. Â*First in
the log on 7.137 was Keith VK6WK who was quite a difficult copy due to the
ever increasing static crashes. Â*Regular park hunter Damien VK3FRAB then
called in, followed by Perrin VK3XPT who was operating remote. Â*I worked a
total of 17 stations from VK2m VK3, VK6, and VK7. Â*Conditions on the 40m
band were excellent. Â*My final contact on 7.137 was with Andrew VK2VRC and
we agreed we would try 80m.

So I lowered the squid pole and inserted the links for the 80m length of
the dipole and headed to 3.610. Â*I was pleased that I did, as band
conditions there were excellent, with a total of 10 stations logged from
VK2, VK3, VK4, and VK5. Â*It was interested to note that I was hearing the
Over the Horizon Radar on 80m for the very first time. Â*Along with some
signals on the same frequency from South East Asia.

It was now 9.30 p.m. local time and I had a total of 87 stations in the
log. Â*It was time to head home for a late evening meal. Â*The 1 hour drive
home was quite slow at times as there were numerous kangaroos out and about.

I worked the following stations on 40m SSB:-

ZL4KD/p (Hakatere Conservation Park ZLFF-0026)
ZL3YS/p (Hakatere Conservation Park ZLFF-0026)
VK3PF
VK2HHA
VK4FW
VK3FCMC/p
VK3FOTO/p
VK3SFG
VK3TKK/m
VK3FLCS
VK4HNS/p (Venman Bushland National Park VKFF-0507)
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK3ANL
VK2PDW
VK1DI
VK4KUS
VK3VIN
VK7JON
VK4GSF
VK3HK
VK2UH
VK7LTD
VK2TAZ
VK4XAC
VK7DW
VK7FAMP
VK5KLV/p (Telowie Gorge Conservation Park VKFF-1105 and 5CP-227)
VK2NEO
VK2JAZ
VK2WGW
VK2STO
ZL2ASH
FO5JV
VK7VZ
VK6WK
VK3FRAB
VK3XPT
VK2NED
VK3FLJD
VK3KRH
VK3RU
VK3PAT
VK3FSPG
VK3MPR
VK2FROX
VK3GMC
VK7FRJG
VK3JR
VK3BL
VK2AC
VK2VRC


I worked the following stations on 20m SSB:-

VK4FW
VK4AAC
VK4RF
VK4HA
VK6NU
UT5PI
HB9RDE
DK2MH
VK4HS


I worked the following stations on 80m SSB:-

VK3GGG
VK3PMG
VK4FW
VK3VEK
VK3ANL
VK3MCK
VK2KV
VK3ZE
VK5KLV/p (Telowie Gorge Conservation Park VKFF-1105 and 5CP-227)
VK2IO
VK3HMV
VK5FANA/p (Clinton Conservation Park VKFF-0813 and 5CP-044)
VK3FOTO/p
VK2SVN
VK2AC
VK3MBW
VK5NM
VK5SFA
VK3BL
VK2FKEG
VK2FROX
VK3XP
VK2VRC
VK4BOV


References.

Mallee Bound, 2017,
http://www.malleebound.com.au/html/l...n-park.htmlgt;, viewed
1th March 2017