Canoelands VK2/SY-001 is a SOTA summit I’ve activated a couple of times, once in 2014 and earlier in 2015. It is my nearest summit though not exactly local. Turns out that while the summit is not actually in Marramarra National Park VKFF-0307, there are three regions within the activation zone that are. The map below shows the regions. The green line identifies the boundaries of the National Park (more-or-less). The non-bluish area containing the yellow VK2/SY-001 pin is the activation zone. The bluish areas are too low to be in the activation zone.
Canoelands VK2/SY-001 SOTA activation zone showing three regions in Marramarra National Park VKFF-0307
Region 1 (-33.505524,151.056584) runs along Canoelands Rd and a thin strip of land is in the park and AZ. A powerline runs almost overhead and parallel with the road making it unwise to activate.
Region 2 (-33.497161,151.067346) lies northwest of the property containing the summit. Extra high tension lines run through the northwest side of the property adjacent to the park. There are no apparent clearings and a moderately steep gradient.
Region 3 (-33.510496,151.055315) has some tracks running through it and is reasonably flat. It is away from power lines. There is access via the Colo Spur Trail off Marra Avenue.
My goal was to activate the park and the summit. Of the 3 options, region 3 seemed the most attractive so this is the one I chose. Driving to the summit I made a right turn onto Marra Avenue rather than continue on to my usual spot a couple of hundred metres from the peak. An out of site car park was found at (-33.51044, 151.05754) by turning right down a track just before the gate to the property bordering the park. From there it is a short walk through the bush to reach the operating zone. I set up on the Colo Spur Trail within 100m of a house at a T-intersection of two trails. A short tree provided support for the squid pole and the antenna wire was run up and down the track roughly NW-SE. There was a slight drizzle and a forecast for showers.
Shack and antenna sited along the Colo Spur Trail
It was 9:30am (2330z) when I made my first contact, pretty much on schedule. Before UTC rollover I made 7 CW contacts on 40m as well as 4 summit-to-summit contacts on various modes and bands. This included one with John VK6NU at Mt Dale VK6/SW-036 on 20m SSB who must have had an early start.
After rollover I worked John again and then a stream of summits. The third contact was with Andrew VK1NAM at Mt Gingera VK1/AC-002 chasing his Mountain Goat status. I’d counted Andrew’s contacts on 40m with me being the second and congratulated him in advance. Turned out that he had already achieved goat status during an unspotted activation on 2m in a contact with Andrew VK1DA. I was then able to congratulate Andrew as a real goat and then work Al VK1RX who was co-activating.
After the stream of S2S contacts, I returned to 40m CW to see if there were any remaining chasers. There were only two, and after a couple more S2S I did a run on 40m SSB notching up 17 contacts in 40 minutes. From then on I did a lot of chasing of S2Ss when not activating another band. I was staying all day on the summit so there was plenty of time to explore. I did 20m CW, 15m CW and 30m CW and worked John VK6NU on each band. 30m SSB was also worked. Attempts on 17m CW and 20m SSB met with no callers.
At around 0400z the QRM suddenly came up, a continuous electrical noise across all bands disrupting the relative calm that I’d enjoyed up ’til then. I put up with it for an hour before deciding that it would hamper chances of working summits in Europe. The noise seemed to be coming from the workshop about 50m away so I knew I had to move. I left the gear and took a walk along the trail to scope out potential new operating points. I also took the GPS with me to check the elevation on the map. I did not want to jump out of the activation zone. A location was found about 200m away and so I returned and closed down the station then moved it and set it up again. The whole process took nearly an hour and it was lucky that there were no new activations during that time.
Second location
Second location to avoid local QRM
Setting up again was done in a hurry as a new spot had come up for Al VK1RX and Andrew VK1NAM. They had walked the 7km to Mt Ginger Ale VK1/AC-007 and were doing a quick activation before dropping back to their camp site further back. My antenna was lashed up in a hurry in order to make the S2S contact. Turned out that the antenna was oriented more east-west. The noise had reduced but was not completely eliminated – I was a lot further away from the workshop but closer to the EHT power lines.
Time had marched on. It was now after 4pm or 0600z so I decided to have another go on 40m SSB to take advantage of better band conditions than in the morning stint. I was rewarded with 16 more chaser contacts. and then a spot came up for Andrew VK1DA and Adan VK1FJAW on Baldy Range VK2/ST-008. Calling was disbanded in favour of chasing and they were soon logged. After that a spot for F/HB9BIN at F/VO-033 on 30m came up and I was able to work Juerg with my 10W. He thanked me on SOTAwatch indicating he was using 12W. Many thanks to Juerg! It was my only EU S2S.
Shack at the new location
I did a second stint on 20m CW for the DX stations. There were 8 contacts – all from EU except one from Japan. A spot from Peter VK3PF on Mt Useful VK3/VT-016 ended the run. I switched to 40m and found the band alive with RTTY signals all the way from the CW-only segment up to 7090 kHz. The CQ WW RTTY DX Contest was on and there was a lot of activity as 40m had opened to EU as well. I was just able to hear Peter on 7090 under the RTTY and he commented that he had “lost the Forester”. I wasn’t sure quite what that meant but there was too much QRM to enquire further. I went on to work Tony VK3CAT on the same summit. Later on I was shocked to learn that Peter’s car had burnt out in spectacular fashion.
It was 0720z so nearing close down time. I chased Phil OK/G4OBK on 30m but could not hear him very well at all. He was QRPp and there was too much local QRM. Also Sid ZS5AYC was on 20m SSB but nothing was heard there either. A quick pack-up and by 0740z I was walking back to the car, only 5 minutes away. There was still sufficient light to make an easy exit.
Detailed map of sites activated in region 3
A great day out with a very successful activation of the Marramarra park and the Canoelands summit – and the first combined activation. The showers had stayed away and 99 contacts were logged over the 8 hours – 31 being CW. 39 summit-to-summit contacts and one park-to-park were made and the park was qualified for WWFF.
Many thanks to the chasers and other activators!
Log
Date:25/Sep/2015 Summit:VK2/SY-001 (Canoelands) Call Used:VK2IO/P Points: 0 Bonus: 0
| Time | Call | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23:30z | VK2TWR/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/SM-070 |
| 23:36z | VK3CAT/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VC-001 |
| 23:38z | VK3PF/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VT-026 |
| 23:41z | VK2YW | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:43z | VK3HRA | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:45z | VK2WG | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:45z | VK7CW | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:51z | VK2NP | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:52z | VK3MEG | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:54z | VK3WE | 7MHz | CW | |
| 23:57z | VK6NU/P | 14MHz | SSB | VK6/SW-036 |
Date:26/Sep/2015 Summit:VK2/SY-001 (Canoelands) Call Used:VK2IO/P Points: 0 Bonus: 0
| Time | Call | Band | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 00:05z | VK6NU/P | 14MHz | SSB | VK6/SW-036 |
| 00:06z | VK2BJP/3 | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VE-093 |
| 00:11z | VK1NAM/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK1/AC-002 Andrew now a MG! |
| 00:14z | VK1RX/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK1/AC-002 |
| 00:15z | VK1DA/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-005 |
| 00:17z | VK1FJAW/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-005 |
| 00:19z | VK3PF/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VT-026 |
| 00:22z | VK3FQSO | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 00:28z | VK2HV | 7MHz | CW | |
| 00:30z | VK1EM | 7MHz | CW | |
| 00:33z | VK3YY/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VE-067 |
| 00:40z | VK2TWR/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/SM-066 |
| 00:51z | VK2LEE | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:01z | VK2YK | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:02z | VK2KTT | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:02z | VK2NP | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:03z | VK2JDL | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:04z | VK3FJOS/P | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:05z | VK1MA | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:06z | VK3DAC | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:06z | VK3YAR | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:07z | VK3LED | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:10z | VK3WAM/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VN-004 |
| 01:11z | VK2XXM | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:14z | VK4FFAB | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:15z | VK3AV | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:18z | VK7CW | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:19z | VK2AJG | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:24z | VK2FADV | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:27z | VK1AT | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 01:32z | VK3CAT/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VT-013 |
| 01:42z | VK6NU/P | 14MHz | CW | VK6/SW-036 |
| 01:55z | VK3PF/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VC-001 |
| 02:23z | VK3YY/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VE-134 |
| 02:36z | VK3IL/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VT-006 |
| 02:53z | VK2BJP/3 | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VE-138 |
| 02:53z | 3D2YJ | 21MHz | SSB | |
| 03:09z | VK6NU/P | 21MHz | CW | VK6/SW-036 |
| 03:16z | VK3CAT/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VT-022 |
| 03:28z | VK3WAM/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VN-005 |
| 03:34z | VK2HRX/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/CT-032 |
| 03:43z | VK3FMPB/P | 7MHz | SSB | VKFF-982 |
| 03:48z | VK5PAS/P | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 03:52z | VK3PF/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VT-013 |
| 03:56z | VK3YY/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VE-137 |
| 04:00z | VK2TWR/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/SM-071 |
| 04:00z | VK1DA/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-004 |
| 04:01z | VK1FJAW/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-004 |
| 04:07z | VK4AAC/5 | 7MHz | SSB | VKFF-784 |
| 04:21z | VK7CW | 10MHz | CW | |
| 04:24z | VK6NU/P | 10MHz | CW | VK6/SW-036 |
| 04:27z | ZL2IFB | 10MHz | CW | |
| 04:31z | VK1DA/2 | 7MHz | CW | VK2/ST-004 |
| 04:38z | VK5WG | 10MHz | SSB | |
| 04:40z | VK4RF | 10MHz | SSB | |
| 04:41z | VK4HA | 10MHz | SSB | |
| 05:55z | VK1RX/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK1/AC-007 |
| 05:56z | VK1NAM/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK1/AC-007 |
| 06:08z | VK3WAM/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VN-002 |
| 06:20z | VK1EM | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:22z | VK1DI | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:25z | VK2KT | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:26z | VK5FANA | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:27z | VK4RF | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:27z | VK4HA | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:28z | VK3ZPF | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:29z | VK3HRA | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:29z | VK3AGD | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:30z | VK3TKK | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:31z | VK3XCO | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:33z | VK3XL/QRP | 7MHz | SSB | 2W DSB |
| 06:34z | VK3PMG | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:35z | VK5FMID | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:36z | VK2ETW | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:36z | VK1ATP | 7MHz | SSB | |
| 06:37z | VK1DA/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-008 |
| 06:38z | VK1FJAW/2 | 7MHz | SSB | VK2/ST-008 |
| 06:49z | F/HB9BIN/P | 10MHz | CW | F/VO-033 |
| 06:55z | EA2IF | 14MHz | CW | |
| 06:56z | DK4RM | 14MHz | CW | |
| 06:58z | PA1BR | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:01z | DL1ASF | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:02z | S58AL | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:03z | DM5EE | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:05z | JR0QWW | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:13z | G3NKQ | 14MHz | CW | |
| 07:18z | VK3PF/P | 7MHz | SSB | VK3/VT-016 |
| 07:19z | VK3CAT/P | 7MHz | CW | VK3/VT-016 |
VK2IO 
Hi Gerard,
I enjoy reading your blogs and, in this case, congratulations on the detective work in finding the conjunction of Park boundary and the summit activation zone. There is just a chance I might be able to activate Canoelands at the end of the year during our annual trip to Sydney. I will make sure I swot up on the details before going to the Park. I wonder whether you have any knowledge of the how the word ‘Canoelands’ came to be applied to the summit area? I have looked at the area on a map and thought it was a ‘strange’ place name. I wonder whether it has a link to Aboriginal work in the area harvesting bark for canoes?
Many thanks for your efforts.
John D’
VK5BJE
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Hi John,
It certainly makes it more interesting to be able to activate the park and the peak together. I hope you get a chance to do so at Canoelands. As for the place name, it was assigned on 1 Dec 1995 and so named because the local Dharug Aboriginal people obtained bark suitable for building canoes from around this area. I’ve always thought the name a little unusual too. For more info see: JP Powell, Placenames of the Greater Hawkesbury Region, Hawkesbury River Enterprises, Berowra, 1994, p 20.
Cheers,
Gerard – VK2IO
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Hi Gerard
Thanks for the email and the reference. I am glad my intuition is still OK!
cheers
JD
vk5bje
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For the combined activation of the SOTA peak and the park, region 3 is no longer accessible through the private property to Colo Spur. Signs have been erected and the route barred. It has been this way for about a year now.
Today I checked out Region 1 after doing a pure SOTA activation near the peak. Region 1 is a 20m wide strip of land next to Canoelands Rd. The road has a very wide clearing here which partly includes the Marramarra National Park. Access is very easy and you can even drive off the road into the Marramarra National Park if required. The site has an 11kV powerline on the closest (southern) side of the road which is not ideal.
I was able to check out the QRM situation and found it not too bad compared to right at the summit even though the powerline is under 20m away. It is preferable for HF use as there is lower QRM than from the 330 kV powerlines near the peak. There is not much choice but to orient your horizontal antenna parallel to the road. Luckily this is fairly close to the optimal NW-SE direction. On the other side of the road there is a communication tower and it is very noisy on VHF with many spurs. If one were to move 100m east then it should be a better spot for VHF. I would recommend this location for a simultaneous activation of the park and the peak.
Coordinates for this spot are (-33.50513,151.05549).
73, Gerard – VK2IO
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