The last Sunday before the end of the first 10m/6m challenge period provided a good opportunity to head for the hills and activate, especially as VK1 operators would be out in force. The summits chosen near Goulburn are around 100km from Canberra so well within RF range. It was an early start to get to the first one well before UTC rollover.
Mt Marulan VK2/ST-039 868m 4pts QF45XF
Mt Marulan VK2/ST-039 trig point and operating position
Mt Marulan is not too far off the main highway between Sydney and Melbourne with the turnoff in the town of Marulan. It had been activated once before so there were no access problems foreseen. The summit is in a reserve on public land and can be accessed via a track that goes right to the top. The cairn marking the summit is literally right next to the track, however the track itself is overgrown and 4WD is recommended. There are a lot of small trees growing in the middle of the track which one must drive over with the risk of possible vehicle damage. If this is not to your liking, best way is to park at the end of Tickner Valley Rd and leg it the rest of the way. See the trip map below for the route.
Route to Mt Marulan and Towrang Range
Summit
Arriving at the summit I found an elevated cairn with a trig point on top. The pole forming the trig point was leaning over, but very firm and strong. It made a great support for my antenna mast, and being elevated provided an extra couple of metres over my normal antenna height. The area around is mostly clear of high trees as well so a great spot for setting up an antenna. Expecting to try for VK1 to the south, I set up my ZS6BKW antenna east-west and happily was right on schedule.
Map from SIX to help find the way to Mt Marulan
Japan S2S
Checking SOTAwatch I noticed a spot for Takeshi JS1UEH on 15m CW so jumped to the nominated frequency. Nothing was heard for a while so I put out a call but there was no response. Another update from SOTAwatch and that showed Takeshi on 10m CW. I changed to that band and heard Takeshi putting out a call, not a strong signal but with no background noise, perfectly workable. I gave Takeshi a call and he responded giving his summit as JA/IB-003. I was very glad to make my second summit-to-summit with Takeshi and Japan. Great to have the contact on 10m too!
Shack on Mt Marulan VK2/ST-039 with two rigs
VK1 S2S
Shifting down 10 kHz I then worked Grant VK4JAZ who was activating Mt McDonald VK1/AC-048 with Andrew VK1NAM. Then Andrew was worked on 6m as well as Matt VK1MA, but sigs on 6m were not strong. I then spotted on 10m and started calling with 10 minutes to go before rollover. Andrew VK1NAM and Matt VK1MA came up on 10m with much stronger signals than before. In fact Andrew gave me a 5×9 and he was 100km away – I was only using 10 Watts. Then Andrew VK1DA came up on One Tree Hill VK1/AC-035 for my third S2S.
Rollover
After UTC rollover, worked VK1NAM, VK1MA and VK1DA again on 10m and a new call VK1DI with good sigs too. Another VK1 did come up but I wasn’t able to work him. I shifted to 40m CW and worked 7 stations including Warren VK3BYD for a S2S that I had missed earlier with all the 10m activity.
Returned to 10m and helped Andrew VK1DA with some antenna and ATU tests. Seemed that Andrew’s ATU was dropping signal strength by 3 S points. Then it was time for breakfast – better late than never. it was also a chance to set up my other rig. I kept going with the KX3, spotting on 10m CW but got no response to a lot of calls. it was time to deploy the other rig.
Antenna on Mt Marulan VK2/ST-039
QRO
The FT100D and ATU was plugged into the antenna and tuned up fine on 10m. I spotted on 10m SSB and started calling. I had a reply and a nice chat with Hiroshi JJ6VAR who seemed to be receiving me just fine. The radio was set to 100W so that certainly helped. Nick VK2AOH then came up for a S2S from Mt Banks VK2/CT-032 in the Blue Mountains. After another JA contact, I swung the antenna around to favour NA and the WA6APQ California beacon on 28.244 increased in strength. After more calling with no response Andrew VK1NAM appeared on a new summit, Mt Taylor VK1/AC-037. Grant also popped up for a CW contact from the same summit and then it was time to close down. I had overstayed by more than an hour hoping to catch these S2Ss. Bundled everything away and hit the road.
Postscript: Details on how to reach Mt Marulan summit
Since activating Mt Marulan I have had enquiries on how to get there. Its best to walk up rather than drive up the overgrown track – Phil VK2JDL reports that in Dec 2015 there are fallen trees. The track is not too steep or too far. More details:
- Drive to the end of Tickner Valley Rd, Marulan and park
- Go through the rusty gate at (-34.773778,149.925574) giving access to Lot 28 (525 Tickner Valley Rd)
- Continue (west) 50m to a Y junction
- Take the right fork and then follow the track 300m up the hill parallel to the fence (the left fork goes to a building 60m away on Lot 28)
- At the top curve left and keep following the track 1.4km until you find the Mt Marulan cairn in a clearing
Boxers Creek
Continued along the track and found it to be longer and steeper than the incoming track though this time it was down hill. Eventually ended up in the town of Boxers Creek. Identifying the best way to the next summit was not easy. All routes seemed to discourage visitors. I’d seen a spot come up from Andrew VK1DA so drove to the highest point on the road to try and work him on 10m but no luck.
Sign to Mt Marulan on Tiyces Lane
Towrang Range VK2/ST-052 873m 4pts QF45VF (1st activation)
Turned off the main road and followed one track which led to a dead end. Retraced my steps and tried a different track eventually ending up at a farm but couldn’t find anyone in the workshop so proceeded on. Eventually met the owner and after explaining my intention he agreed to guide me to the mountain. A tree had fallen across the track so we had to go around through the bush. Some tense moments when my car ended up right against a tree while negotiating a narrow passage. The track eventually came to an end in a clearing with plenty of space for parking. The owner departed to clear the fallen tree and I headed on foot towards the summit which was up the hill, through a gate and about 500m further on. The track is well marked.
Map from SIX to help find the way to Towrang Range
Summit
The summit has a flat area covered with tall trees and there was no trig point. I found the base of a cut tree to hold up the squid pole. It was 3:45pm so I was well behind my alerted schedule which meant I only had a bit over an hour to activate. Putting up a spot for 10m SSB on SOTAwatch I started calling hoping to work Andrew VK1NAM. There was no response however a check of SOTAwatch showed Grant VK4JAZ on Isaacs Ridge VK1/AC-041 requesting a contact. I switched to 40m and made the S2S. Later on I found out that Andrew had already packed up so that reduced my chances of making a 10m contact.
Antenna and operating point on Towrang Range VK2/ST-052
I moved on to 40m and qualified the summit just on CW contacts then back to 10m for more CQ calls. Eventually I received a call from Matt VK1MA. Hallelujah! I received a similar report as on Mt Marulan and was very happy to make the contact. After that I moved on to 20m CW to make some EU contacts over the long path. My antenna had been set up for VK1 contacts so I did not expect a lot, but still managed a handful before they dried up.
Finally I moved on to 40m SSB, worked a national park, a bunch of chasers and in the last moments, a summit. It was Andrew VK3ARR doing a short activation of Mt Alexander VK3/VN-016. It was getting dark so after one more contact I quickly closed down and headed back along the trail. There was still enough light when I got back to the car to find my way back along the track without too much guesswork. I met up with the owner on the way out, let him know about the successful activation and thanked him again. A couple of km along the track I emerged onto the bitumen road.
Highlights
- First activation of Towrang Range VK2/ST-052
- S2S with Takeshi JS1UEH on 10m
- First time use of FT100D on a summit allowing 100W
- SSB contacts on 10m with Japan
- California 10m beacon heard on 28.244
Equipment
- Elecraft KX3 powered by 4200 mAh LiFePO4 battery
- ZS6BKW antenna on 9m mast
- Yaesu FT100D powered by 4200 mAh battery
- LDG Z11-Pro matcher
Thanks to the many chasers and activators and of course the land owner for making this activation a success!
VK2IO 
It was a pleasure working you, Gerard. Will look out for you again next weekend.
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So surprised with the 10m contact between Mt McDonald and Mt Marulan, perfect Gerard a genuine 5-9 solid contact. Thanks for the S2Ss on 6 and 10 and a unique to chase. A terrific SOTA day out! 🙂
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After activating Mt Marulan today, cannot believe that you drove up there
On 7th Dec 2015 there are a couple of trees down across the road, the bush has really closed in on the track up to the ridge. And a couple of wombats have dug some huge holes at the bottom of the track
Great summit to activate, thanks for the blog and access details
Phil VK2JDL
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Yes I had to dodge the wombat holes too and it seems the track has now become impassable. It was only just navigable in Aug and has had the spring growth since! Glad you made it up there Phil – it is a nice summit for SOTA.
Cheers, Gerard
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I think a caterpillar tracks would be required to drive up that “fire trail” now. On a recent visit (2020) with Compton we chatted with the landowner to the north as he drove past our parking spot at the western end of Tickner Valley road. He commented that it was another neighbour who had cut the fire trail with his grader! There was a lot of foliage and trees growing all over the fire trail up the hill. If vehicle access is desirable, perhaps coming the other way, see Gerard’s map above, would be best, starting from Tyces lane, which intersects with the Hume Hwy somewhat closer to Goulburn. Don’t know if anyone has done that.
Andrew vk1da
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