30/03/2013. My first activation was Mt. Torbreck VK3/VN-001; and why not start big with a 10 point summit?

This would be a 2 metre FM only activation with the FT470, 5/8th ground plane and 30 watt PA. For power I had a 17ah SLA battery.

All up this gear was quite heavy although I was not overly fussed; the walk being not much more than an hour & Nan & I were in training for Peru (Inca Trail) later in the year.This summit also had a special attraction as I spent years looking at it from my parents boat on Lake Eildon.

This was Saturday of the Easter and School holidays. We set up camp on the Barnewall Plains on our own and headed up after lunch.  First contacts were whilst approaching the cair (inside the activation zone). They were with Ron VK3AFW near home and s2s with…