[{"content":"Hello, friends and welcome back! Finally found some time to spare and write about Chamisal Mountain W6/NC-187 activation and my trip along the Lost Coast 4x4 trail.\nThe King Range Conservation Area in Northern California had been on my radar for what felt like forever. Here, Highway 1 veers away from the ocean, leaving the rugged shoreline to hikers and the occasional black bear. Other than some logging operations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this remote area remains largely undeveloped.\nThe jewel crown of the King Range is the Lost Coast hike - two-to-four days track along the shore. For detailed preparation tips, I recommend checking out HikingGuy blog post. Personally, I’ve always struggled with permits: only 60 hikers are allowed on the trail daily during the peak season (May 15–September 15), and just 30 in the off-season. Being a busy (and quite spontaneous) person I never managed to get the permit.\nWell, the good thing is that there is a hack for the lazy people with a 4x4 vehicle: Lost Coast 4x4 trail! I wouldn’t say it is a one-to-one substitution, but you get to see most of the cool stuff and even squeeze a SOTA activation into your trip.\nLost Coast 4x4 trail Before you depart, make sure Usal road is open - it is closed between November and April-May. Check the Mendocino county road closures and delays page. Be black bear safe - I saw more bear poop in one day hiking Chamisal mountain than during my whole life before. Do note: since the Usal road is quite overgrown and narrow at times it is a common agreement to ride it from south to north so no one has to backtrack yielding to the opposite traffic. The trail is not too technical, I saw people do it in Sprinter vans and Outbacks. There can be quite a bit of mud early in the season though. The best time to visit is July to September. Lost coast 4x4 trail map south\nI would expect to be on the trail for 2-4 full days.\nMy itinerary I was at the southern terminus on Friday evening, spent the night camping at Usal beach. Saturday morning I did Usal road, visited Needle Rock, hiked in King Range Wilderness and spent the night camping at Wailaki campground. On Sunday in the morning I activated the Chamisal mountain, visited Shelter Cove and rode north on King Peak road. I was in Punta Gorda, the northern terminus, in the evening, and hiked to the Punta Gorda lighthouse. After that I scrambled and left for SF. As you may imagine Sunday felt somewhat rushed and long. I should have camped at A. W. Way county park campground and spent some time in Humboldt Redwoods Park on Monday. Lost coast 4x4 trail map north\nFriday The trail branches off HWY1 between Rockport and Hales Grove as Usal road. Do note, there are no gas stations in the immediate vicinity of the trail starting point. Closest gas stations are in Legett, about 15 miles to the north-east and Fort Bragg, about 30 miles to the south. On my way in I overshot and lost about forty minutes returning to Legett.\nIt was already evening, and the haze of low clouds made the ocean, fir, and pine look somber, mysterious, and beautiful.\nUsal beach as seen from above\nUsal beach campground is ok. Facilities… Exist. If you’re (un)lucky enough, neighbors will be raving and setting off fireworks. Beach itself is off-limits for camping and wheeled vehicles. At least in theory. And, anyway, no one denies it is gorgeous.\nUsal beach during a golden hour\nSaturday Usal Road to the north from Usal beach was pure magic in August - see for yourself.\nMagical forest\nAt Four corners pavement begins. I turned left toward Needle Rock. There is a small visitor center where the ranger lives and where you can get some potable water. The center has a tiny museum and a \u0026ldquo;bone room”: quite a few animals fall off a cliff or wash out from the ocean and end up here. Be careful not to fall off a cliff yourself - as the ranger put it, \u0026ldquo;this month isn’t called Fog-ust here for no reason”.\nOn the Birceland road\nThere is also a small, old cabin, available on a first-come, first-serve basis. It only fits about four people and I would rather leave it to the Lost Coast hikers.\n(A very) Lone Ranger\nAfter a short hike to take photos of the Needle Rock proper I hit the trail again. Quite a good pavement road all the way to the Wailaki campground.\nThe Rock\nAfter setting up a tent I hiked the Chamisal mountain loop - both to figure out how much time I’ll need on Sunday to get to the top to activate it and to see what’s up. You hike under the dense canopy mostly, but there are couple of clearings near Nick’s camp allowing you to see the ocean of fog from above.\nChamisal mountain loop hike map\nSaw a lot of bear poop on the trail. Also, met a cheerful doggo. Looped back, prepared a supper and called it a day.\nThe doggo\nSunday Hiking up from Wailaki campground took me about 45-50 minutes. Not too impressed with my activation - only four contacts, but I had little time to spare.\nDescended and set off to Shelter Cove. The small town has general store with a gas pump, an airfield, restaurants and breweries. After having a lunch and a brief walk I was back on the road: now on the King Peak Road. You can either ride it all the way to the Wilder Ridge Road or, if you feel like spicing things up a bit, you can turn to the Saddle Mountain road. It is not very technical, but it is rocky, with some fairly steep sections.\nWilder Ridge map\nOn the Saddle Mountain Road\nWilder Ridge road, a good quality paved road, brings you to a hamlet of Honeydew, where you take left to Mattole Road and further to Lighthouse Road. Mattole campground is the northern terminus of the Lost Coast trail.\nTruck-in-a-tree on the Lighthouse Road\nMattole river gorge\nI recommend taking the Prosper Ridge / Windy Point dirt roads up to Punta Gorda, a cliff above the shore, a very windy place indeed. There I parked and hiked the remaining two miles to the lighthouse. Totally worth it: gave me a chance to experience the Lost Coast trail without having to commit for multiple days.\nPunta Gorda lighthouse\nAfter enjoying the sunset and having a dinner I was on my way home - through the Humboldt Redwoods State Park and looping south on hwy 101.\nChamisal Mountain W6/NC-187 SOTA activation The summit is covered with wood and dense underbrush. I saw a bench on the photos made by people hiking there couple of years ago. The bench is gone now, so you’re free to improvise. My dipole was clearly not the best fit for the environment - the legs were pressed down by branches and this squeezed-down setup ended up having high SWR. Would much prefer to have a vertical antenna. The \u0026ldquo;portable shack” with a hiking chair and a table is really comfortable. I’m certain the chair is going to accompany me to most activations, still on the fence about table.\nStation on the summit. The bench is gone\nStations worked from W6/NC-187 Only five contacts, but three of them were summit-to-summit and one of them with George KX0R! I am always glad to hear Darryl WW7D as well as all the chasers who help with the activation. Thank you very much folks.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Summit-to-Summit 17:22 KX0R 559 559 14.063 CW w0c/sr-052 Thorodin Mountain 17:24 WU7H 559 549 14.063 CW w7w/CW-085 Snooze Peak 17:30 WW7D 449 529 14.063 CW w7w/CW-085 Snooze Peak 18:05 K0TTW 559 539 14.063 CW 18:10 NK9G 559 559 14.063 CW This is it for now. 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-lost-coast-2024-11-03/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello, friends and welcome back! Finally found some time to spare and write about Chamisal Mountain \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-187\"\u003eW6/NC-187\u003c/a\u003e  activation and my trip along the Lost Coast 4x4 trail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe King Range Conservation Area in Northern California had been on my radar for what felt like forever. Here, Highway 1 veers away from the ocean, leaving the rugged shoreline to hikers and the occasional black bear. Other than some logging operations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, this remote area remains largely undeveloped.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe jewel crown of the King Range is the Lost Coast hike - two-to-four days track along the shore. For detailed preparation tips, I recommend checking out \u003ca href=\"https://hikingguy.com/hiking-trails/northern-california-hikes/how-to-hike-the-lost-coast-trail/\"\u003eHikingGuy blog post\u003c/a\u003e. Personally, I’ve always struggled with permits: only 60 hikers are allowed on the trail daily during the peak season (May 15–September 15), and just 30 in the off-season. Being a busy (and quite spontaneous) person I never managed to get the permit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lost coast 4x4 trail and Chamisal Mountain SOTA activation"},{"content":"This is the Field Day time of the year and as it is customary already, I present you with a new SOTA activation report. My quest for the mountain goat brings us to Oregon, to the foothills of the Mt. Hood. Hiking to the summit of Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain, also known as W7O/CN-032, is a nice half-day activity, and the vistas of Hood are probably the best one can get (given you chance upon a clear day) .\nMt. Hood view from Tom, Dick and Harry mountain\nA wee bit of history The first recorded peoples populating the area near Mt. Hood were Clackamas and probably other Chinookan peoples. First contact with europeans occurred during the Lewis and Clark expedition.\nBy 1846, with numbers of settlers traveling to the fertile Willamette valley increasing, the need for a land based wagon route was clear. Up until this point, immigrants traveled with wagons to The Dalles on the Columbia River, disassembled wagons, made rafts and floated belongings down to Fort Vancouver. This was expensive and dangerous. Today, the Cascades Rapids are submerged after the construction of the Bonneville Dam. But in the 19th century, the river dropped here about 40 feet (12 m) in 2 miles (3.2 km) and ran through a stretch approximately 150 yards (140 m) wide. Rafts had to be unloaded and carefully lowered on ropes, and all equipment had to be ported around the rapids. Conflicts with Native Americans hostile to the invading settlers were common.\nThis motivated Sam Barlow to construct Barlow road, providing an overland route to the Willamette valley. While easier than the river route, Barlow Road was still the most arduous leg of the Oregon trail. Both people and animals were exhausted by the time they got here; pioneer cemeteries along the road are a silent reminder how hard the travel was back then. The crux of the Barlow Road was getting down the Laurel Hill. Logs were dragged to slow down wagons navigating steep chutes, and chain and rope winches were also used. You can hike the old chute. In 1861 a better road was blasted though the hill.\nIn 1849, a military wagon train destined for Oregon forts passed over the road. It carried 230 tons of munitions in more than 400 wagons pulled by 1700 mules. From the beginning of Barlow Road to the camp the soldiers made at what has been known since as Government Camp, they abandoned 45 wagons after dozens of mules died of starvation.\nNow it takes about an hour to reach the village of Government Camp from Portland via Hwy 26.\nAmong the other interesting things in the area is historic Timberline Lodge, which was used to film exterior shots of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.\nThe hike The mountain is named for its three distinct peaks along the summit, forming the cirque that is now part of the Mount Hood Skibowl ski resort. The mountain has been called \u0026ldquo;Tom Dick Mountain\u0026rdquo; in the past, but the Board on Geographic Names officially decided to include \u0026ldquo;Harry\u0026rdquo; in 1969, making the mountain\u0026rsquo;s name a play on the phrase \u0026ldquo;Tom, Dick, and Harry,\u0026rdquo; a placeholder for a few unspecified people.\nHistoric warming hut\nThe trails you can take to the summit start in or near Government Camp. You can either do a loop or an out-and-back trail. Elevation gain from the parking lot is approximately 1,700 ft (518 m).\nThe trails are quite well-shaded; the mountain is forested all the way to the top.\nRhododendron bloom\nThe end of June is when rhododendrons here start to bloom. I also saw a lot of blooming wild strawberries and many huckleberry shrubs—hiking later in the season may be yummy!\nWild strawberries\nTom, Dick, and Harry Mountain, aka W7O/CN-032 SOTA activation Cell phone coverage is good. There is a seismic activity monitoring station on the summit, powered with a solar panel. The summit meadow is quite big and flat, had no problem deploying the dipole. Also there are some logs one can sit on.\nSummit meadow\nTo be honest, I am quite underwhelmed with my activation. On top of getting a bit rusty with Morse code, I was clearly lost in a pile-up. I heard a ton of people, but despite seeing my spots on the SOTA watch site, few people could actually hear me. Those who did hear reported a very poor signal. I need to take a closer look at my dipole antenna—probably it’s time to replace it. But anyway, I made four contacts, including a summit-to-summit one, so the mountain is activated.\nStations worked from the summit Thanks to all the chasers!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 18:50 K7RK 559 559 14.063 CW CN88 19:00 VY1JA 559 559 14.063 CW CP20 20:00 KN6RDC 559 519 14.063 CW s2s W6/SC-371 20:20 K6HPX 559 519 14.063 CW DM42 Contacts map\nThis is it for now, 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-harry-2024-06-23/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is the Field Day time of the year and as it is customary already, I present you with a new SOTA activation report. My quest for the mountain goat brings us to Oregon, to the foothills of the Mt. Hood. Hiking to the summit of Tom, Dick, and Harry Mountain, also known as \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W7O/CN-032\"\u003eW7O/CN-032\u003c/a\u003e, is a nice half-day activity, and the vistas of Hood are probably the best one can get (given you chance upon a clear day) .\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tom, Dick and Harry Mt. SOTA activation, Field Day 2024"},{"content":"Hello friends, It\u0026rsquo;s Field Day time of the year, providing a good excuse to venture deeper into the Sierras. So, here\u0026rsquo;s my SOTA activation report for the North Sierra Buttes, also known as W6/NS-139.\nThe weather was fantastic, with clear skies in the morning and a few clouds appearing in the afternoon. Despite the end of June shaded areas in the forest still had a decent layer of snow.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t say everything went according to plan, but despite some hiccups, I managed to activate the summit and gained a few valuable insights about my antenna setup along the way.\nSierra County The North Sierra Buttes are part of the northern Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. They are situated in Sierra County, near the border with Plumas County, within the boundaries of the Tahoe National Forest. The highest summit is 8,591 feet (2,619 meters) tall. The mountain is a remnant of a volcano and chiefly composed of metavolcanic rock.\nNorth Sierra Buttes as seen from the Gold Lake highway\nSierra County is the second least populated county in California, with a permanent population of around three thousand people, the least populous Alpine County probably having a half of that.\nPrior to the colonization by Europeans, the western part of the county was inhabited by Miwok people and eastern part, including the Sierra Valley, by Washoe people.\nStarting in 1844 European colonists started to penetrate the area, in 1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill a bit to the south, leading to the California gold rush of 1849. Downieville, the county seat, emerged as a bustling mining town.\nNowadays, the town has a cozy atmosphere with its museum, serene historical cemetery, and a variety of dining spots.\nDownieville downtown\nHowever, in its heyday, Downieville was as wild as Wild West boomtown goes. The place gained questionable notoriety due to the lynching of a Mexican-American woman Josefa Segovia on 5th of July 1851.\nThe gallows\nThe gallows near the courthouse were used only once, on November 27, 1885, to execute the murderer of dairyman John Woodward.\nThe gallows plaque\nThis execution was the last legal execution in Sierra County.\nGallows mechanism\nOver the years with exhaustion of riverine gold deposits placer mining was substituted with underground quartz mining. The Sierra Buttes mine, which started in 1851, yielded over $7,000,000 worth of gold in its early decades when the value of gold was below $16.00 an ounce. Mining activities continue in the area to this day.\nThe area is a perfect destination for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy activities like fishing, off-roading, camping, hiking, and more. I saw quite a few folks with mountain bikes and shuttles ferrying them up a hill. There are many for-rent campgrounds near the lakes off Gold Lake Road. Nearby towns of Sierra City (closest), Graeagle, and Portola have commercial lodging available.\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re interested in delving into more historical details about the area, feel free to check out www.sierracountyhistory.org\nGetting to the trailhead In order to get to the lookout on the summit I took Sierra Buttes trail. The main trailhead for day hikers is Packer Lake. Take highway 49 eastbound from Sierra City, take the left turn off for Gold Lake road, then turn left and follow signs to Packer Lake. Before reaching Packer Lake follow signs to Sierra Buttes trailhead on a left turn-off. The trailhead is at about 6200 feet elevation, about 3 miles from the summit. The closest I could get to the trailhead this time was the Packer Saddle area - snow was blocking the road above.\nMap of the North Sierra Buttes lookout trail\nNote on the snow Snow is no joke and kicks difficulty traversing any terrain a couple of notches up. Take it seriously - especially if you are a Californian and only see snow on a vacation.\nFirst - be prepared - when a trail is covered in snow you don’t have a trail to follow. You only have a direction. Even if you manage to follow someone else’s tracks you can’t be sure they will lead where you want them to and there is no guarantee the person ahead was not as lost as you now or didn’t have much higher tolerance for a sketchy terrain. Which means you may end up losing time trying to find a better route. Have a good offline map on your fully charged phone - I use Gaia and I’m very satisfied. Have a backup GPS navigator and/or good compass. Have microspikes in your bag. They are not bulky, not heavy and let you navigate the difficult terrain with more confidence. Confidence saves you time and a lot of effort. On my way down, right above the Packer Saddle, I caught up with a couple I saw on the summit while operating. The lady at some point slipped and fell into a deep snow depression formed around a tree, hurting her foot. They were ok, but I think they would be much okayer if they had microspikes. Don’t be lazy to take microspikes off traversing exposed rock. Finally - check snow conditions before you go - Gaia maps have snow layer overlay. Forest Service has an online snow depth map. Snow and trees\nOn the trail The trail follows the ridge and is fairly straightforward. Upper third is the steepest and goes through the forest.\nLower part of the trail is comparably mild\nOn the trail\nPanorama toward the north, from the ridge\nEnd of June snow\nPanorama toward the east, Lower Sardine lake\nPanorama toward the western approaches, hwy 49 is in the canyon\nSummit and the lookout\nOn the summit There is a metal staircase going to the lookout, definitely an experience not suited for agoraphobic people.\nHead for heights is a must\nTrivia plaque\nThanks to the folks who built the stairs!\nMade it!\nUpper and Lower Sardine lakes as seen from the lookout\nNorth Sierra Buttes aka W6/NS-139 SOTA activation I prefer to use a dipole antenna for my SOTA activity because\nThe dipole can be easily anchored to boulders so it is easy and fast to deploy virtually everywhere. I don’t have to rely on any trees or places to attach the mast to, this saves time I spend deploying and lets me spend more time on the air instead. It gets windy when you get up to a prominent summit and the three legged design provides more stability and wind resistance compared to a freestanding mast with an end fed antenna. End feds work best when you have a big flat with a good quality, reflective soil and a system of counterpoises under the antenna. This is never the case with SOTA in California, 6-10 point summits are rocky and fairly \u0026ldquo;pointy\u0026rdquo;, making a dipole more efficient system - it works best with as little reflection from soil as possible. Other hikers and their dogs don’t trip over or get entangled in my counterpoises because there are none. You don’t need an antenna tuner for the dipole. Dipole deployed\nBut this time the best place to deploy the antenna was the lookout. With a metal roof. And metal railings. Lots of metal. Oof. I knew It won’t be pretty but decided to give it a try. Well, SWR 3.7 and output power cut from 11 to 6-7 volt. I still managed to make three contacts, one of them summit-to-summit with Daniel KA7GPP on North Mountain aka W7W/SK-142 in Washington, with Timothy KF4WKN from North Carolina and with Douglas WA6L, locally from Sacramento but signal reports were 229/339 and this was it, people didn’t hear me. I did have a backup end fed with me but since I didn’t touch it for years I was not even sure if the battery in the antenna tuner was still good and I could tune the antenna.\nInstead of experimenting with an end fed I decided to stick to the familiar system and move to the small flat area right below the lookout. Lost about twenty minutes redeploying the antenna and reconnecting the transmitter.\nNow the SWR was 1 and I could finally start in earnest. Made four more contacts, including Thomas W4JKC from South Carolina, Don AC7P from Texas, John K6YK from California (nice to hear from you again!) and Gary W2AZZ from Arizona - who said he’s using a dipole too.\nAll contacts were made on the 20 meter band. The 40 meter band was very noisy.\nLessons learned, going to practice and will try to activate my next, easier summit using an end fed to make sure I can use it when I need it.\nStations worked from North Sierra Buttes Time UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 20:33 KA7GPP 559 339 14.062 CW CN88 20:40 KF4WKN 559 339 14.062 CW EM85 20:45 WA6L 559 229 14.062 CW CM98 21:05 AC7P 559 559 14.062 CW EL09 21:15 W4JKC 559 449 14.062 CW EM84 21:17 K6YK 559 559 14.062 CW CM97 21:20 W2AZZ 559 339 14.062 CW DM33 This is it for now, 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-sierra-buttes-2023-06-25/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello friends, It\u0026rsquo;s Field Day time of the year, providing a good excuse to venture deeper into the Sierras. So, here\u0026rsquo;s my SOTA activation report for the North Sierra Buttes, also known as \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NS-139\"\u003eW6/NS-139\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe weather was fantastic, with clear skies in the morning and a few clouds appearing in the afternoon.  Despite the end of June shaded areas in the forest still had a decent layer of snow.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can\u0026rsquo;t say everything went according to plan, but despite some hiccups, I managed to activate the summit and gained a few valuable insights about my antenna setup along the way.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"North Sierra Buttes SOTA activation, Field Day 2023"},{"content":"Today\u0026rsquo;s post is about Bay Hill, aka W6/NC-434 SOTA activation. I can\u0026rsquo;t say that the summit is of any particular interest to me on its own. It\u0026rsquo;s just me trying to hit two birds with one stone: I\u0026rsquo;ve never been to Bodega Bay before, and Bay Hill is the closest SOTA hump.\nA wee bit of Bodega Bay history Located about forty miles north of San Francisco, Bodega Bay is neatly protected from visitor crowds by Muir Woods and Napa Valley. It takes about one and a half hours to get there driving on 101 and about two hours driving on the 1.\nCliffs below the Bodega Head Trail\nThe bay is named after Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, Spanish Peruvian explorer who charted this coast back in 1775. While most evidence points towards Drake\u0026rsquo;s Bay, some distance to the south, as the location of New Albion - the first English claim on the west coast of North America - some believe it could be Bodega Bay instead.\nFind an arch\nLike Drake\u0026rsquo;s Bay, Bodega Bay was home for coastal Miwok people when the Europeans were exploring the area for the first time. It also served as the main port for the Fort Ross and was one of the southernmost points of Russian-American Company activity back in the 19th century.\nCliffs below the Bodega Head Trail\nAfter the Mexican-American war the territory was incorporated into the United States.\nThe comparatively secluded location made the place a fitting backdrop for Alfred Hitchcock\u0026rsquo;s \u0026ldquo;The Birds.\u0026rdquo;\nNice flowers\nI was delighted to discover one of the prettiest corners of Central California\u0026rsquo;s shore here, hiking the short Bodega Head trail. The vistas are well worth the drive and you can get some decent oysters and crabs in town.\nDoran spit\nGetting there I\u0026rsquo;d take 1 going north and 101 going back. Just drive to this point. Bay Hill road is a bit rough at times but nothing a Prius can\u0026rsquo;t handle.\nBay Hill aka W6/NC-434 SOTA activation The activation is a fairly simple \u0026ldquo;drive-by\u0026rdquo; one. There are several pull-outs on the road near the summit from which you can work.\nOperating from inside the vehicle but on the battery power\nMake sure your antenna setup is neat, secure, and does not cause trouble for passers-by.\nThe summit is not super prominent\nStations worked from Bay Hill Thanks to all the chasers!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 20:14 WW7D 559 579 14.062 CW CN87 20:16 N7LKK 559 559 14.062 CW DN17 20:18 WU7H 559 559 14.062 CW CN87 20:20 KF7SP 559 559 14.062 CW 20:22 KE5AKL 559 559 14.062 CW DM65 20:24 WB7ULD 559 559 14.062 CW DN40 20:30 WB6POT 599 579 7.032 CW CM99 See you, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-bay-hill-2023-04-02/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eToday\u0026rsquo;s post is about Bay Hill, aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-434\"\u003eW6/NC-434\u003c/a\u003e SOTA activation. I can\u0026rsquo;t say that the summit is of any particular interest to me on its own. It\u0026rsquo;s just me trying to hit two birds with one stone: I\u0026rsquo;ve never been to Bodega Bay before, and Bay Hill is the closest SOTA hump.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Bay Hill SOTA activation 2023-04-02"},{"content":"A quick and easy activation of the Big Hill aka W6/NS-290 in the Eldorado National forest.\nNice forest and lake vistas with a simple access. Not that far from the world famous Rubicon Trail, Jeep Rubicon is named after.\nGetting here The summit is here.\nJust drive down hwy 50, turn to the Ice House Road here and then turn left to the Big Hill Lookout Road here.\nThe road is plowed in winter all the way up to the lookout. While I would definitely recommend a 4wd vehicle for any trip in winter Sierras I was really surprised how well the road is maintained.\nRoad state in winter\nBig Hill aka W6/NS-290 SOTA activation There is a heliport and a fire lookout on the summit. There is even a publicly accessible restroom! No wonder this summit was activated over 120 times already - the antenna farm allows you to get online and self spot. Lots of folks with radios pass by via hwy 50 between the Lake Tahoe and Sacramento areas meaning VHF activation should be a breather. Decent elevation and prominence make it a great HF activation spot as well. The easiest 6 points I ever got. No regrets though - the views are lovely and I had a chance to touch the snow.\nFire lookout and antenna farm\nHeliport plaque\nNorth-Eastern panorama, Lake Tahoe is right behind this range\nStations worked from Big Hill Many thanks to all the chasers, glad to hear a lot of you folks again! Nice propagation, heard Lee K2LT all the way from New York state!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 21:10 KD7DTS 449 559 14.061 CW s2s W6/CT-098 21:18 W4RA 559 559 14.061 CW EM92 21:20 N1CLC 559 559 14.061 CW DM12 21:22 WW7D 599 589 14.061 CW CN87 21:24 WB6POT 599 599 14.061 CW CM99 21:26 WB8BHN 559 489 14.061 CW EN52 21:28 N7CNH 599 579 14.061 CW CN84 21:30 K6HPX 559 559 14.061 CW DM42 21:32 WB5BKL 339 559 14.061 CW EM00 21:32 NT6E 599 559 14.061 CW DM03 21:34 W4ZXT 449 559 14.061 CW EM77 21:36 K7WT 449 439 14.061 CW DM25 21:38 K2LT 449 559 14.061 CW FN24 21:40 NU7A 449 559 14.061 CW CN97 21:42 KN6DMO 559 599 14.061 CW DM04 This is all for now, K0SSK out, 73.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-big-hill-2023-02-12/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eA quick and easy activation of the Big Hill aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NS-290\"\u003eW6/NS-290\u003c/a\u003e in the Eldorado National forest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNice forest and lake vistas with a simple access. Not that far from the world famous\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubicon_Trail\"\u003eRubicon Trail\u003c/a\u003e, Jeep Rubicon is named after.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Big Hill SOTA activation 2023-02-12"},{"content":"Welcome back folks, reporting on Briones Peak aka W6/NC-371 SOTA activation.\nI hiked the loop from the western park entrance via Mott and Briones peaks.\nBriones regional park is a decent sized park near Lafayette, CA. At the time of discovery by Europeans the area was inhabited by Sacklan Miwok but by the 1810s combination of ecosystem-disrupting ranching and smallpox decimated the community. The land was used for cattle grazing ever since.\nThe hike Hike map\nThe views are great - the upleg of the loop does not feature many trees above the starting ravine. This is why I recommend to do the loop clockwise especially in summer - the down leg has some shade much needed in the afternoon.\nNo shade almost until the top\nFrom the Mott Peak (1424 ft / 434 m) you can see Benicia-Martinez bridge connecting the banks of Carquinez Strait, cities of Martinez, Pleasant Hill and Concord. Right behind the prominent Tesoro refinery is located Port Chicago (in)famous because of the deadly July 17, 1944 munitions explosion.\nRolling hills\nOnce you pass the highest point of the trail, lovely Mt. Diablo vistas open.\nMount Diablo\nTurn to the Seaborg trail is kind of easy to miss, I recommend using some decent map / GPS on your phone.\nBriones State park map\nWatch out for mountain bikers and snakes on the trail. Also makes sense to learn how to make cows move out of the way. Don\u0026rsquo;t get yourself caught between a cow and a calf.\nHow to get cows to move\nGetting there Getting there is fairly straightforward. Just drive to the Bear Creak Staging area. There are three decently sized parking lots. Parking is $3 but sometimes fees are not collected, check the entrance booth.\nThere are three parking lots\nBriones Peak aka W6/NC-371 activation Briones Peak is a very popular SOTA activation point (56 activations as of November 2022) - cities below are a home to a substantial ham population making VHF activations very easy.\nSummit grove\nSummit is well shaded. The fence makes for an excellent mast base and the bench allows deploying like a king.\nDipole on the summit\nDo make sure you keep your setup tidy - a lot of people are hiking with dogs, you don\u0026rsquo;t want to get them caught in your cabling.\nPortable shack\nStations worked from Briones Peak Made two summit-to-summit contacts - one local with Elliot K6EL on Vollmer Peak and one with Gary K7UOU on Salt Benchmark in Arizona. Thanks to all the chasers!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 19:04 K6EL 599 599 14.062 CW s2s W6/NC-298 19:06 K7UOU 549 599 14.062 CW s2s W7A/MS-060 19:08 KT0A 559 559 14.062 CW DN83 19:10 W5ODS 449 599 14.062 CW EM26 19:12 N7EDK 449 559 14.062 CW DM49 19:14 AK5SD 559 429 14.062 CW EM10 19:16 N7WM 599 339 14.062 CW DN45 19:18 AC7P 559 449 14.062 CW EL09 19:50 K7SO 599 579 14.062 CW DM65 This is all I have at the moment, take care. 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-briones-2022-11-12/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome back folks, reporting on Briones Peak aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-371\"\u003eW6/NC-371\u003c/a\u003e SOTA activation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI hiked \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/california/abrigo-valley-mott-peak-briones-crest-table-top-and-seaborg-trail\"\u003ethe loop\u003c/a\u003e from the western park entrance via Mott and Briones peaks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/briones\"\u003eBriones regional park\u003c/a\u003e is a decent sized park near Lafayette, CA.\nAt the time of discovery by Europeans the area was inhabited by\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saklan_tribe\"\u003eSacklan Miwok\u003c/a\u003e but by the 1810s combination of ecosystem-disrupting\nranching and smallpox decimated the community. The land was used for cattle grazing ever since.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Briones Peak SOTA activation 2022-11-12"},{"content":"Hello friends today presenting a SOTA activation report for W6/NC-407 aka Richardson East Benchmark. Can\u0026rsquo;t say anything specific about this hump except it is a SOTA summit nearest to the Golden Gate bridge and it hosts a huge antenna farm.\nAlso - while I do believe losing some of your property in a smash-and-grab theft incident is a centerpiece of an authentic San Francisco experience, maybe you don\u0026rsquo;t feel like supporting someone\u0026rsquo;s drug addiction. Who knows?\nAnyway if you are interested in how to enjoy the Golden Gate bridge responsibly - read on.\nA wee bit of history At the time of its opening in 1937, it was both the longest and the tallest suspension bridge in the world with a main span of 4,200 feet (1,280 m) and a total height of 746 feet (227 m). One of Art Deco architecture icons, it still looks impressive in 2022 except the moments when destroyed by some random wandering kaiju, or in some other (un)natural disaster.\nJohn Fremont wrote about the strait connecting San Francisco Bay with Pacific ocean in his memoir:\n\u0026ldquo;To this Gate I gave the name of \u0026lsquo;Chrysopylae\u0026rsquo;, or \u0026lsquo;Golden Gate\u0026rsquo;; for the same reasons that the harbor of Byzantium was called Chrysoceras, or Golden Horn.\u0026rdquo; - John C. Fremont\nThe strait in his vision was \u0026ldquo;a golden gate to trade with the Orient.\u0026rdquo;\nThe bridge is named \u0026ldquo;Golden Gate Bridge\u0026rdquo; after the stait but painted International Orange to pop out in the fog - allowing tourists to exercise their unorthodox and above-the-average wit commenting on this discrepancy.\nGetting there I do not recommend parking anywhere near the bridge, especially if you rent a car - there are a ton of thieves who target tourists and can spot specific rental car stickers a mile away. Cops don\u0026rsquo;t give a damn because jails in California are already at full capacity and this is pretty much all corporate penitentiary overlords care about. On top of that in order to reach very limited parking space near vista points you have to pass Baker-Barry Tunnel - or as I like to call it - \u0026ldquo;The Longest Five Minute Red Light Experience in the World\u0026rdquo;. To be honest if you are lucky you\u0026rsquo;ll get through in no time. You got to ask youself one question: \u0026ldquo;Do I feel lucky?\u0026rdquo;. Well do you, punk?\nMy recommendation is to take bus 101, 114, 132 or 150 to Spencer ave instead or park here or here. If you are taking a bus you may as well disembark at the Golden Gate bridge plaza and hike the bridge itself.\nHike map\nOn the map above is the hike I recommend. Point 1 is Richardson East Benchmark - in case you are planning to activate, if not feel free to skip and head straight to the vista points 2, 3 and 4.\nDo note - the bridge and the vicinity is a no-fly drone zone - Golden Gate National Recreation Area.\nHave a windbreaker and layers - winds and chill may surprise you any season but more so in summer.\nThe parking - not extremely spacious\nAngel and Alcatraz islands in the Bay\nNot much shade on the trail except in the start / end\nRichardson northern panorama - mount Tamalpais on the horizon\nSan Francisco, Golden Gate bridge and Sutro tower\nDreamy San Franciso and Golden Gate\nAlcatraz, Bay bridge, San Francisco\nAngel island\nGolden Gate - and the bridge\nRichardson East Benchmark aka W6/NC-407 SOTA activation Ample space to deploy an antenna and some cozy concrete blocks to sit on - anything a SOTA activator can wish for.\nPortable shack - flat top allows for an easy antenna deployment\nMy humble addition to the antenna farm\nStations worked from the summit Glad to hear folks again. Made three summit-to-summit contacts - line of sight with K6EL on Mount Davidson in San Francisco proper, AC1Z was heard from Blue Mountain in Colorado and KT0A from Boulder Hill in South Dakota. Thanks to all the chasers!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 16:10 VE7HI 549 559 14.062 CW CN89 16:12 AF7M 559 559 14.062 CW DM42 16:14 K6EL 599 599 14.062 CW s2s W6/NC-423 16:20 WW7D 599 559 14.062 CW CN87 16:22 K7SO 559 559 14.062 CW DM65 16:26 AC1Z 229 229 7.032 CW s2s W0C/SP-123 16:28 W9SSN 549 229 7.032 CW DM12 16:30 KTØA 559 599 14.062 CW s2s W0D/BB-078 16:40 WB6AAJ 559 589 7.032 CW CM97 This is it for now. See you soon 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-richardson-2022-09-17/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello friends today presenting a SOTA activation report for \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-407\"\u003eW6/NC-407\u003c/a\u003e\naka Richardson East Benchmark. Can\u0026rsquo;t say anything specific about this hump except it is a SOTA summit nearest\nto the Golden Gate bridge and it hosts a huge antenna farm.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso - while I do believe losing some of your property in a smash-and-grab theft incident is a centerpiece of an\nauthentic San Francisco experience, maybe you don\u0026rsquo;t feel like supporting someone\u0026rsquo;s drug addiction. Who knows?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAnyway if you are interested in how to enjoy the Golden Gate bridge responsibly - read on.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Richardson East Benchmark SOTA activation 2022-09-17"},{"content":"Hi folks, it\u0026rsquo;s time for another activation report. Wanted to do some summit with a scenic approach and somewhat interesting mountaineering wise. This is why I chose Round Top aka W6/NS-055. The mountain is located right above Carson Pass in Sierra Nevada and quite close to Kirkwood ski resort.\nI can\u0026rsquo;t recall when I was in the area last time - quite possibly never as I tend to take hwy 50 or hwy 120 to eastern Sierras. Was not disappointed and probably going to visit again soon.\nThe area is rife with early pioneer landmarks and I feel I learned a lot about early history of California following the stories behind them.\nA rant As I mentioned elsewhere in this blog I am myself a transplant to California and stories about the early exploration and European settlement excited me early on. What is even more fascinating is that there are still places here where you can be one with Nature as if it is the nineteenth century. I am forever grateful to the people who keep the backcountry wild.\nAs time passed however my perspective on the history of California shifted quite a bit. There is quite a bit of a dark undercurrent once you dive deep enough. We know the history is written from the winner\u0026rsquo;s perspective and all winner stories suffer from a survivor bias.\nTaking hwy 88 provides you with some somber reminders - 1) you can\u0026rsquo;t bullshit a mountain 2) California was the wildest of the west back in the day.\nA wee bit of istory Maiden\u0026rsquo;s grave One of the places I visited is Maiden\u0026rsquo;s grave. Designated as the California Historical Landmark No. 28 marker reads\nBROKEN DREAMS AND HOPE, CARRIED 2000 MILES THROUGH SCORCHING DESERTS AND OVER LOFTY MOUNTAINS. AT LAST\u0026hellip; THE SIGHT OF THE PROMISE LAND. THOSE WHO VISIT THE GRAVE CARRY THE TORCH OF LOVE AND HOPE (WHICH THIS YOUND GIRL LOST), AND PASS IT ON, TO GENERATIONS UNBORN. RECHALL MELTON WAS LAID TO REST HERE, ON A COLD AND FROSTY MORNING, OCT. 4, 1850. BLESSED ARE THE PURE IN HEART FOR THEY SHALL SEE GOD.\nThere is a good article on Calexplornia providing much details about the story. In a nutshell, the 1849 California gold rush caused a large influx of immigrants from eastern states. Rechall Milton was a member of a party trying to cross Sierra Nevada via the Mormon Emigrant Trail and unfortunately succumbed to illness and was buried not far from the current marker.\nBy no means extraordinary this death on the doorstep of the golden state definitely enriched the dark frontier lore and romance. It appears the real person in the grave is one Allen Melton and the real maiden\u0026rsquo;s grave is some distance away on a private property.\nTragedy spring Link to the place location on Google maps. As the Wikipedia article says\nIn 1848 a company of Mormons, some of whom had served in the Mexican–American War as part of the Mormon Battalion, were planning to leave the recently discovered gold fields near Placerville to join the new Mormon colony at Salt Lake City, Utah. Daniel Browett, president and lead scout of the Browett-Holmes Company, decided to ride out with two companions and scout snow conditions and a possible route over the Sierra Nevada against the advice of the rest of the company. When the scouts hadn\u0026rsquo;t returned by July 5, a party of 10 went in search of them without success. On July 19, the main group, now on its way to Utah, arrived at the spring and found a freshly dug shallow grave with broken arrows lying about. Upon investigation, they found their scouts\u0026rsquo; bodies in the grave, whereupon they named the spring \u0026ldquo;Tragedy.\u0026rdquo; The victims had been stripped, mutilated and robbed, according to journal accounts.\nAnother good article about the tragedy on Calexplornia site.\nCarson pass Kit Carson was a legend during his life already. Fur trapper, wilderness guide, Indian agent, U.S. Army officer, main character of dime novels, genocidal maniac - everything neatly rolled up into one figure.\nOn the parking lot you start the hike from there is a monument to the tree Kit Carson scrawled his name on while being a part of Frémont\u0026rsquo;s second expedition into California. I find it quite hilarious that Kit made a mistake writing his own name by missing the \u0026ldquo;i\u0026rdquo; letter - and this inscription is now preserved for later generations in bronze.\nKit Carson pass - a monument to the tree Kit Carson scrawled on back in 1844\nA polarizing figure to say the least. Highly recommend checking the Wikipedia article and make your mind up yourself - there are plenty of leads to follow there.\nThe hike map and timings Mokelumne wilderness is definitely worth visiting. Start early because finding parking after 0900 can be sketchy and you don\u0026rsquo;t want to be caught high up on the mountain in an afternoon thunderstorm. I would recommend camping in the area if you were able to book a spot.\nBlack Butte and Round top as seen from the shore of Caples lake\nHere is my trek on Gaiagps - has the elevation profile, times etc.\nHike map - did it clockwise starting fromthe Carson Pass parking lot\nMoving time is four hours twenty minutes. I generally plan my hikes involving 2000 ft and more of elevation gain with a 20 lb backpack assuming a pace of one mile per hour. In this particular case the whole 9 mile hike with SOTA activation, rest and just-chilling-in-the nature breaks took seven hours twenty minutes. Close enough for me.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s go already! Carson pass parking around 0900\nRed Lake Peak catches an eye in the northern part of panorama\nFrom left to right - Elephant\u0026rsquo;s back, Round Top, The Sisters\nWinnemucca lake and Round Top\nRound Top, The Sisters and Round Top Lake\nAs you climb above Round Top Lake there are no more trees\nAnd as you go even higher there is no vegetation at all\nHigh Desert - Short before noon\nThe mountain itself is what remains of an old volcano plug. I believe the blocky rock weathering patterns on the summit photos below hinting magma cooled fairly slowly otherwise crystals would be smaller but I am no geologist.\nDo note - the photo below shows the crux of the trail - you need to cross this scree filled gulch and scramble up a fairly steep incline with a lot of exposure. If you are hiking solo but saw other people behind you on the trail it makes sense to band together just in case of emergency - as I did. Also remember there are way more routes you can climb up than routes you can climb down. Don\u0026rsquo;t be bold / dumb / hurt.\nDefinitely quite a bit of exposure here, lot of loose scree. Be careful\nRight below the summit there is a steep part\nSame terrain as on the photo above, as seen from the summit\nWinnemucca Lake\nSummit view toward East\nSummit view toward South East, Upper Blue Lake\nSummit view toward South West, Summit City Canyon (there is no City)\nSummit puck, look around for an ammo can with the summit journal\nThe return leg of the hike is very picturesque\nNeeds some paint job tho\nBlue, Green and Grey - in the vicinity of Black Butte\nDidn\u0026rsquo;t expect so many wild flowers and lush vegetation in the mid August.\nNear Woods Lake Campground\nRound Top as seen from Hwy 88 near the Carson Pass\nRound Top aka W6/NS-055 SOTA activation Now as you likely read and saw above there is a legit Class 3 scramble right before the summit. I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to do it with a hefty backpack and activated from the ridge next to the summit as you can see. This place is within 25 vertical meters / 80 feet SOTA activation zone.\nThe top is quite round indeed - a dog and his man on the summit\nI don\u0026rsquo;t really like my antenna deployment - there are no boulders on the ridge to tie to, I had to improvise around cracks. Also really didn\u0026rsquo;t want the mast blown away from the ridge so the antenna ended up fairly low with SWR around 2. Next time I\u0026rsquo;m going to try anchoring the antenna in a backpack.\nOn top of SOTA activation I had a WSPR beacon with me I tried with my dipole. Unfortunately no stations registered my WSPR calls so I\u0026rsquo;ll need to experiment more and figure out what was wrong with my setup.\nStations worked from Round Top Thanks to all the chasers who helped to activate the mountain and to the folks I didn\u0026rsquo;t hear. I hope next time I\u0026rsquo;ll find a way to secure the mast better and answer you.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 19:50 WB6POT 559 579 14.062 CW CM99 19:51 W6CR 449 459 14.062 CW CM96 19:52 K7RV 449 559 14.062 CW DM04 19:53 KB7HH 559 559 14.062 CW DM34 19:54 K6YK 229 229 14.062 CW CM97 19:55 W4JKC 229 229 14.062 CW EM84 19:55 W0MNA 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 19:56 W0ERI 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 This is all I have for today. 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-round-top-2022-08-07/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHi folks, it\u0026rsquo;s time for another activation report. Wanted to do some summit with a scenic\napproach and somewhat interesting mountaineering wise. This is why I chose\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Round_Top_(Alpine_County,_California)\"\u003eRound Top\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NS-055\"\u003eW6/NS-055\u003c/a\u003e. The mountain is located right above Carson Pass\nin Sierra Nevada and quite close to Kirkwood ski resort.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI can\u0026rsquo;t recall when I was in the area last time - quite possibly never as I tend to take hwy 50\nor hwy 120 to eastern Sierras. Was not disappointed and probably going to visit again soon.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe area is rife with early pioneer landmarks and I feel I learned a lot about early history of\nCalifornia following the stories behind them.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Round Top SOTA activation 2022-08-07"},{"content":"Rocky Ridge aka W6/NC-268 is located in Las Trampas Wilderness Regional Preserve, about an hour drive from San Francisco.\nWas looking for a place to activate during 2022 ARRL Field Day June 25-26 and discovered I\u0026rsquo;ve never been to this preserve yet despite the fact that Mt. Diablo and vicinity are among my favorites in the San Francisco Bay area.\nOn top of that there are some nice lunch / dinner places in San Ramon just 15 minutes drive from the Las Trampas parking lot.\nI did Rocky Ridge view loop taking a short radial to the highest point of the ridge to set up the station and activate.\nSome notes and recommendations Check the park hours - if you stay past the gate closing time you will be cited!\nThis grove is the highest point of the ridge\nSummit grove and Mt. Diablo as a backdrop\nDo note, in order to do everything by the book you need to get a trail permit from the East Bay Municipal Utility District because the point you activate from lies within a protected watershed territory.\nPermit needed to enter the watershed land\nKeep your eyes peeled for snakes on the trail and don\u0026rsquo;t tread on them.\nBring enough water, wear a hat, sunscreen and weather appropriate clothes - there is little shade along the top part of the trail and it can get scorching hot. There is a grove on the summit though.\nI recommend taking the loop counterclockwise and starting early - this way you gain most elevation before it gets too hot. Elderberry trail looping back has some shade which was very welcome as temperature rose to about 90 F / 32 C in the afternoon.\nUp the Rocky Ridge road - I recommend starting early before it is too hot\nLovely vistas - well worth baking in the sun for a bit.\nMt. Diablo and Bollinger canyon - note gorges that were used to entrap the game\nHistorical name \u0026ldquo;Las Trampas\u0026rdquo; is translated to English as \u0026ldquo;The Traps\u0026rdquo; and reflects the use of the steep box-canyons by the first nations people and early colonists to entrap elk and deer for easier hunting.\nOn the trail right below the antenna tower\nBy 1806 only a few native inhabitants remained in the area decimated by european diseases.\nInitially inhabited by the members of the Saklan tribe, land was granted to Romero brothers Inocencio, Jose and Mariano in 1844 by the Mexican government. According to old histories \u0026ldquo;the new ranchero symbolized his ownership by pulling up grass, breaking branches of trees and shrubs and by throwing stones in four cardinal directions\u0026rdquo;.\nGorgeous Bollinger canyon\nDue to the loss of original paperwork and pressure from US officials harassing Mexican rancheros after California annexation Romero transferred ownership to Andrew Jackson Tice in 1858.\nAntenna tower on the left, Mt. Diablo on the right\nIn the mid 20th century some land in Bollinger canyon was bought from private owners and converted into a wilderness preserve.\nA gorge running toward the Bay\nUps and downs\nWould not call the ridge \u0026lsquo;rocky\u0026rsquo; myself but rocks are definitely present\nElderberry trail takes you back to the parking lot and has some shade\nCheck the dock for more trivia on history, geology and wildlife of the area.\nRocky Ridge aka W6/NC-268 SOTA activation Trees provide a lot of options to deploy an antenna but raising a dipole on a mast was a bit of a chore as the antenna caught on branches. Ended up with a quite low dipole. Surprisingly enough reported SWR was 1.0 but something tells me a higher dipole would get more contacts.\nAntenna deployed, ready to activate\nPortable shack\nStations worked from Rocky Ridge To be honest I made less contacts than I expected on a Field day - could be too early? Could it be the low deployed dipole? On a bright side made a nice summit-to-summit contact with Paul K9PM/P on W7A/CS-022, Little Squaw Mountain in Arizona.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 16:40 N0DNF 449 559 14.062 CW DN32 16:42 WU0A 449 539 14.062 CW DN70 16:44 N6PKT 599 559 14.062 CW DM42 16:48 W6DER 599 539 14.062 CW CM98 16:50 K6HPX 599 549 14.062 CW DM42 16:52 K9PM/P 449 449 14.062 CW DM35xj 16:52 WB7BWZ 449 549 14.062 CW DN55 16:54 VA7UNX 339 339 14.062 CW CN89 17:00 KN6SMY 449 559 14.062 CW CM87 This is all I have today, take care. 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-rocky-2022-06-25/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRocky Ridge aka \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-268\"\u003eW6/NC-268\u003c/a\u003e is located in\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.ebparks.org/parks/las-trampas\"\u003eLas Trampas\u003c/a\u003e Wilderness Regional Preserve, about an hour\ndrive from San Francisco.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWas looking for a place to activate during 2022 ARRL Field Day June 25-26 and discovered I\u0026rsquo;ve never\nbeen to this preserve yet despite the fact that Mt. Diablo and vicinity are among my favorites\nin the San Francisco Bay area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn top of that there are some nice lunch / dinner places in San Ramon just 15 minutes drive from the\n\u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/ebDRPMBStmfCMeoCA\"\u003eLas Trampas parking lot\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI did \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/rocky-ridge-view-and-elderberry-loop-trail\"\u003eRocky Ridge view loop\u003c/a\u003e\ntaking a short radial to \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/QgzAnBTJdH5qdzj28\"\u003ethe highest point of the ridge\u003c/a\u003e to set\nup the station and activate.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Field day 2022 Rocky Ridge SOTA activation"},{"content":"Leviathan peak aka W6/SN-039 is one of the most popular amongst SOTA enthusiasts (75 activations at the moment) and comparatively easily accessible eight point summits in eastern Sierra Nevada.\nWanted to do this activation a while ago - because of the majestic name and because some light offroading is involved. While appearing a mere hump from 89 the Leviathan is by no means a small mountain and provides excellent vistas - fire lookout on the top is the proof.\nGetting there Situated in the eastern Sierra Nevada mountains, some forty miles southeast of Lake Tahoe, Leviathan Peak was on my list for a year or so. Initially I was planning to do it as an addon returning from some Yosemite activation but fires last year threw a fat wrench into these plans and Leviathan stood unconquered.\nWell, now is the time.\nThe mountain is an hour drive from South Lake Tahoe. If you have time and desire to explore eastern Sierras I would recommend staying near Topaz Lake. It is close by and gas stations on the Nevada side of the lake are the last chance to fill up cheaper before driving south to California.\nHere is where you turn from 89 to Leviathan lookout road. The road is gravel with some rocks and was in great shape when I visited.\nIn 2022 road is in a great shape\nDoable on a two wheel drive car with a decent clearance. If things do get spicy go back, park and walk up - the hike is not that long anyway.\nGate is approximately 150 feet from the summit\nThere is a gate some 150 feet from the actual summit. Here you dismount and soak up some terrific views. On the summit there are some solar panels, an antenna tower and a boarded fire lookout.\nSummit - an antenna tower and a derelict fire lookout\nDo note 8980 feet summit is quite high up and some people might find not only views but also the last 100 feet of the road quite breathtaking. Pace yourself.\nLeviathan peak aka W6/SN-039 SOTA activation Even in summer it can get chilly on the top - expect cold western wind. The temperature was 40 F / 4 C and I repeated a mistake I already made a couple of times. Instead of getting an idea where the wind blows from and setting up radio on the other side of the crest I just saw an inviting pile of rocks and deployed there.\nAntenna deployed, let\u0026rsquo;s roll\nIt was a sunny day but in about forty minutes I was cold to the bone and had to take a break, hide from the wind over the mountain crest and jump some burpees to warm up. Could have missed some contacts but I\u0026rsquo;m certain next time I will pick a better spot.\nReally enjoyed the high desert views - still some snow patches in the Sierras.\nA shack with a view\nStations worked from Leviathan peak Thanks folks, always glad to hear from you again. Making an s2s contact with Gary KT0A was a nice touch.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 18:20 K6HPX 559 559 14.062 CW DM42 18:22 WB6POT 579 559 14.062 CW CM99 18:24 W0MNA 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 18:28 WW7D 579 559 14.062 CW CN87 18:30 W0ERI 599 559 14.062 CW EM29 18:32 W5SJC 559 449 14.062 CW EM15 18:34 N6PKT 559 599 14.062 CW DM42 18:36 AF7M 559 559 14.062 CW DM42 18:40 WU7R 549 449 14.062 CW EM60 18:42 KT0A 559 559 14.062 CW DN83 18:48 W7USA 599 599 14.062 CW DM33 18:50 N6AN 559 339 14.062 CW DM04 18:52 WW6A 339 559 14.062 CW FN42 18:52 WA6YPE 549 559 14.062 CW DM37 This is it for now, see ya. 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-leviathan-2022-06-18/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLeviathan peak aka \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SN-039\"\u003eW6/SN-039\u003c/a\u003e is one of\nthe most popular amongst SOTA enthusiasts (75 activations at the moment)\nand \u003cem\u003ecomparatively\u003c/em\u003e easily accessible eight point summits in eastern\nSierra Nevada.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWanted to do this activation a while ago - because of the majestic name\nand because some light offroading is involved. While appearing a mere hump\nfrom 89 the Leviathan is by no means a small mountain and provides excellent\nvistas - fire lookout on the top is the proof.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Leviathan peak SOTA activation 2022-06-18"},{"content":"Hey-hey friends, welcome back. Last couple of months have been hectic - Russia as you probably know invades Ukraine and I have quite a lot of family there under russian bombs. Alfred Thayer Mahan once said \u0026ldquo;The true speed of war is not headlong precipitancy, but the unremitting energy which wastes no time.\u0026rdquo; So I am trying to do my best keeping calm, carrying on and staying frosty.\nIn line with staying frosty I decided to activate one the easier ten pointers in Sierra Nevada before snow melts and winter activation bonus expires in April.\nNevada\u0026rsquo;s Tamarack mountain W7N/WC-003 (not to be confused with a namesake in Colorado) is located in Washoe county to the north of lake Tahoe. I am not a carpenter but it does not look to me that there are any tamaracks or larches there so the name is a bit confusing. I\u0026rsquo;ve heard of something called a \u0026ldquo;tamarack pine\u0026rdquo; but even if it exists I probably wouldn\u0026rsquo;t tell it apart from a Joshua tree anyway.\nGetting there Here is the trail map. This is Mt. Rose parking lot you start from.\nIf you drive from California I would recommend to stay in Truckee, it is a 40 minutes drive from the trailhead - lot of dining there and some fairly priced accomodation options. During the season you can stay at Mt. Rose campground, but this was not an option in March.\nOn the trail I was planning an activation week before but the forecast promised a snow storm and I decided to wait a bit. March 20 was a sunny day, with temperature slightly below freezing. Wind was a problem though: forecast 10-15 mph, but in reality some gusts felt like 40-50 mph.\nOn the trail, lake Tahoe vistas start to open up\nWalking on the western side of the ridge I was able to dodge most of the wind. Snow was very dense, no snowshoes needed but I would love to have microspikes on me (forgot them again agrh!).\nTamarack mountain on the left and Mt. Rose to the right\nNote there is a false summit on the shoulder of Tamarac, with trees hiding the real one. Use GPS to make sure you are indeed on the summit.\nOn the ridge\nSlide mountain, ski resort\nThe summit cone as seen from the false summit\nCarson valley to the left, lake Tahoe to the right\nMt. Rose as seen from Tamarack mountain\nView from the summit to the north\nIt took about two hours for me to get from parking to the summit.\nTamarack mountain aka W7N/WC-003 SOTA activation I can tell with confidence - this activation was worth every point. Got the mast blown down five or six times before I gave up and put the dipole on the trees. Couldn\u0026rsquo;t really hide from wind because I wanted antenna above the ridge for a low take-off angle in the eastern direction. Snow was blown into Morse paddle contacts and closed them erratically. Took some time to find a position where my setup was shielded - could not QSL properly for about 30 minutes.\nReady to activate with dipole hung on the tree branches\nIf you plan to activate in winter make sure your rig is at least splash proof - snow will get in otherwise!\nThe portable shack, a splashproof rig is a must in the snow\nStations worked from Tamarack mountain Was extremely pleased to make yet another summit-to-summit QSO with George KX0R on W0C/FR-226 aka Rams Horn Mountain in Colorado.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 18:37 W7RV 339 559 14.062 CW DM43 18:38 KX0R 449 579 14.062 CW DM79 18:40 W9MR 339 559 14.062 CW EN52 18:50 K2JB 559 559 14.062 CW EM85 19:00 K6HPX 449 529 14.062 CW DM42 19:10 N6PKT 559 539 14.062 CW DM42 19:12 K0FNR 449 559 14.062 CW DM79 19:20 K8LJG 559 449 14.062 CW EN83 Not sure if I am going to have time for SOTA next few months or so but hope to see you again soon. 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-tamarack-2022-03-20/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHey-hey friends, welcome back. Last couple of months have been hectic - Russia as you probably know\ninvades Ukraine and I have quite a lot of family there under russian bombs. Alfred Thayer Mahan once said\n\u0026ldquo;The true speed of war is not headlong precipitancy, but the unremitting energy which wastes no time.\u0026rdquo;\nSo I am trying to do my best keeping calm, carrying on and staying frosty.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn line with staying frosty I decided to activate one the easier ten pointers in Sierra Nevada before\nsnow melts and winter activation bonus expires in April.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tamarack mountain SOTA activation 2022-03-20"},{"content":"Hello friends, this is the winter SOTA activation report for Genoa Peak aka W7N/TR-007 on the Nevada side of lake Tahoe.\nThis is my first winter activation qualifying for bonus points and the first outside the W6 SOTA region (California). Last winter I tried to activate Mt. Tallac on the other side of Tahoe lake and didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to the summit. This time I chose a less ambitious goal of Genoa peak towering to the west from Genoa, NV on the eastern shore of lake Tahoe.\nGetting there The hike starts in Kingsbury, NV and follows Tahoe Rim Trail until branching off to the right close to the summit. Whole trail is a round trip about nine and a half miles / 15 km long and climbing ~2000 ft / 600 m. The trail goes a bit up and down all the way until you break right from the Tahoe Rim Trail. At the summit cone you can expect some easy scramble. I had crampons and an ice axe just in case but didn\u0026rsquo;t need them. Everyone\u0026rsquo;s mileage may vary, but for my current physical form this hike is about right for a day snowshoeing in the late December. The day is short with the sunrise at 0712 and sunset at 1637, so I didn\u0026rsquo;t have much time on the summit. I set 1300 as a cutoff time - if I don\u0026rsquo;t reach the summit by this time I\u0026rsquo;m turning back.\nGenoa Peak from south via Tahoe Rim Trail\nA word on safety Mountains are a dangerous place and you should have all necessary training and know the limitations of your equipment before venturing alone.\nAs a safety measure I had a satellite communication / GPS device and friends staying in South Lake Tahoe had the map of my planned route, timings and gear I\u0026rsquo;m wearing or have on me. I asked to call 911 and tell about my whereabouts if I didn\u0026rsquo;t reach out by 1800.\nThere are usually quite a few people riding Tahoe Rim Rail on snowmobiles so if something goes south there is a chance you will be discovered quite fast. You should not rely on this too much though. Do listen carefully and be aware of your surroundings - people on the snowmobiles may not expect a pedestrian on the trail. Snowmobiles compact the snow so following their tracks is way easier than plowing virgin snow yourself.\nWeather in the area Second serious snow storm this year started early in the week and dropped over forty inches of snow in the Tahoe area in three days. Saturday December 18th I chose as an activation date was two days after the storm and resulting avalanche warnings. Day temperature hovered around 0 C / 32 F, night -10 C / 15 F. Quiet and sunny Friday let the snow set a bit. Wind this week blew mostly from SW, the same direction I was going to approach Genoa Peak from. This means there was less concern about the snow overhangs built up by the wind. Most of the trail is in the forested area and I don\u0026rsquo;t think avalanches pose a serious risk here. What you really want to be watching for is ice falling from the shack and antenna railings on the summit because ice chunks can fly in any direction after hitting rocks just below the shack so keep your eyes peeled and choose the point you are activating from accordingly.\nEquipment Besides my Discovery TX-500 transiever working on 20/40 linked dipole I had\nA smartphone for photos and GPS InReach device for GPS and emergency satellite comms A (good) compass Paper map of the area Cooking kit and dehydrated food + lighter and matches. Don\u0026rsquo;t put all your trust into one lighter as it can get wet and freeze, piezo sparker can break and so on. Look for \u0026ldquo;cigar\u0026rdquo; or \u0026ldquo;turbo\u0026rdquo; lighters with torch-like flame not affected by wind. Crampons Ice axe Snowshoes Hiking chair and sitting pad to keep my bum off the rocks during the activation Plastic digging tool (I considered a snow shovel but decided it is too bulky and heavy for the loadout) Emergency bivy and a backpack liner for emergency shelter Spare socks and liner gloves Appropriate clothing The whole 16 kg ~ 35 lb loadout fit into the Hill People Gear Aston House backpack.\n16 kg ~ 35 lb - would not call it heavy but hefty for sure\nOff we go Got to the trailhead just before the sunrise. Snow is fresh, fluffy and deep in ravines.\nThe trailhead, most of the snow accumulated during the snowstorm two days ago\nAs the trail climbs higher Tahoe lake bowl vistas open. It was a foggy morning at the lake level.\nSmoke on the water\nWith my backpack I sank quite a bit into the powder.\nFresh snow powder, sometimes I sank even with snowshoes\nMount Tallac across the Tahoe lake\nLuckily I was able to follow a snowmobile track along the Tahoe Rim Trail.\nOn the trail\nSaw a deer and some animal tracks.\nRabbit track\nFrom the ridge you can see Genoa, NV, Carson valley and Pine Nut Mountains.\nGenoa, NV can be seen in the valley to the east of the ridge\nSummit cone is the steepest part of the trail, be careful here.\nAntenna shack on the summit - and a wee bit of scramble to get there\nWindswept plateau below the summit\nSummited 1216.\nPanoramic view of lake Tahoe\nSouthern view from the summit\nEastern panorama, Carson Valley and Pine Nut Mountains\nGenoa peak aka W7N/TR-007 SOTA activation No surprises here, plenty of rocks to tie antenna to. Stay away from the shack - a lot of icefall from railings. I expected a lot of noise from the antenna farm but it was surprisingly quiet on the 20 meters band - WB2FUV was 449 from the New York area for example. Solar cycle seems to be taking off as well - number of contacts on the 20 meter band increases - very good news.\nMy portable shack\nStations worked from W7N/TR-007 Dipole on the summit\nHappy to see familiar call signs in the log, thanks folks. Had to be quick - sorry if I missed someone!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 20:36 VE7HI 599 559 14.062 CW CN89 20:37 WB6POT 559 559 14.062 CW CM99 20:39 WW7D 559 559 14.062 CW CN87 20:39 W9HPX 449 559 14.062 CW EM94 20:40 W6DT 559 579 14.062 CW CM98 20:41 W0MNA 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 20:42 WX1S 559 559 14.062 CW FN43 20:45 W0ERI 559 599 14.062 CW EM29 20:45 WB7BRZ 559 599 14.062 CW 20:47 WB2FUV 449 449 14.062 CW FN21 20:49 W5ODS 449 449 14.062 CW EM26 20:55 W7EE 559 549 14.062 CW DN28 20:58 W7TMD 449 449 14.062 CW DN18 Getting back Rehydrated some pasta for lunch, packed and started to descend 1345.\nRehydrating lunch\nOn the way back\nGorgeous sunset\nWas at the trailhead at 1640, right after the sunset and before dark.\nUntil the next time!\nHad a lot of fun in the snow and am looking forward to continuing my winter activations. See you next time, 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-genoa-2021-12-18/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello friends, this is the winter SOTA activation report for Genoa Peak aka \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W7N/TR-007\"\u003eW7N/TR-007\u003c/a\u003e on\nthe Nevada side of lake Tahoe.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is my first winter activation qualifying for bonus points and the first outside the W6 SOTA region (California). Last\nwinter \u003ca href=\"/post/sota-tallac-2021-08-14/\"\u003eI tried to activate Mt. Tallac\u003c/a\u003e on the other side of Tahoe lake and didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to\nthe summit. This time I chose a less ambitious goal of Genoa peak towering to the west from Genoa, NV on the eastern shore\nof lake Tahoe.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Genoa Peak SOTA activation 2021-12-18"},{"content":"Hello and welcome back! As I wrote in my previous post, I need one more activator point to reach my goal of 100 points by the end of 2021.\nI wanted this one to be fairly simple and fast so the mountain today is Maguire peak aka W6/NC-516 located in the Sunol wilderness - the backyard of Silicon Valley.\nBesides the SOTA activation I wanted to visit one the first European permanent settlements in the Bay Area - Mission San Jose in Fremont, CA, about a fifteen minute drive from the trail head.\nMission San Jose Franciscan missionaries were among the first Europeans to establish outposts in areas of Alta California then inhabited by First Nations peoples. Introduction of the new crops, animals, diseases and forms of land management disrupted local communities and put them on the brink of extinction.\nMission San Jose was established in 1797, the fourteenth of twenty one missions built. To add to the confusion prior to this in 1777 El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe was established some distance to the south and would eventually develop into the present day city of San Jose, now the largest in the Bay Area.\nOriginal mission buildings fell into disrepair and were virtually destroyed by earthquakes. What you see are mostly modern restorations finished in 1985.\nHistorical landmark tablet\nMission San Jose church\nIn the church\nLivermore, CA is named after Robert Livermore, an early settler and ranchero from England. He is interred under San Jose mission church.\nRobert Livermore\u0026rsquo;s grave\nThe altar\nMission San Jose cemetery\nOhlone people map\nOhlone tools\nMuseum and church admission costs $10 as of November 2021. There is a twenty minute informational movie playing in the museum, plan ~50 min visit duration. Park down the street.\nGetting to the trail head Here is the trail.\nBefore you drive to the trailhead visit Sunol park entrance to pay the fees - you may be fined if you don\u0026rsquo;t display the ticket properly. Parking space is fairy limited, if you can\u0026rsquo;t park directly by the trailhead drive another hundred yards - there is another parking spot.\nNote you\u0026rsquo;ll need to break off the road to the right here to reach the summit.\nAs you climb from the gorge views of Sunol wilderness start to open up\nOn the road\nMaguire Peak\nView from the summit toward the Mission Peak and Mount Allison\nView from the summit toward the Sunol Peak\nView from the summit toward San Antonio reservoir and Mt. Diablo\nMaguire peak aka W6/NC-516 activation No surprises there - quickly deployed and activated on HF.\nThe shack\nDipole deployed on the summit\nStations worked from Maguire peak Thanks to all the chasers! Made a summit-to-summit contact with KX0R in Colorado.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 21:04 KX0R 579 579 14.062 CW DM79 21:05 W0MNA 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 21:08 K7SO 559 559 14.062 CW DM65 21:10 WW7D 559 599 14.062 CW CN87 21:12 W0ERI 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 21:17 WB4FUN 559 459 14.062 CW FM28 21:18 AE4FZ 229 449 14.062 CW FM04 21:19 K0NO 559 559 14.062 CW EN21 21:20 K6QCB 559 559 7.032 CW DM14 21:22 WB6POT 559 579 7.032 CW CM99 21:30 W6LDQ 559 579 7.032 CW CM87 21:32 WB7VTY 559 559 7.032 CW CN95 This is it, I\u0026rsquo;ve reached my goal for 2021. See you next time! 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-maguire-2021-11-21/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello and welcome back! As I wrote in my \u003ca href=\"/post/sota-donner-2021-11-21/\"\u003eprevious post\u003c/a\u003e, I need one more activator\npoint to reach my goal of 100 points by the end of 2021.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted this one to be fairly simple and fast so the mountain today is Maguire peak aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-516\"\u003eW6/NC-516\u003c/a\u003e located in the Sunol wilderness - the backyard of Silicon Valley.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBesides the SOTA activation I wanted to visit one the first European permanent settlements in the Bay Area -\n\u003ca href=\"https://missionsanjose.org/\"\u003eMission San Jose\u003c/a\u003e in Fremont, CA, about a fifteen minute drive from the trail head.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Maguire peak SOTA activation 2021-11-21"},{"content":"Hi there! As I had already mentioned one of the cool aspects of SOTA is that it gamifies hiking. I do think being outdoors is cool enough on its own but knowing myself I would just stay in my cozy comfort zone with a mug of hot chocolate in my hands and repeat the same hikes over and over again. Luckily each SOTA activation only yields points once per a calendar year so there is always an incentive to activate new summits. My goal this year is reaching the first milestone on the path toward the coveted \u0026lsquo;Mountain Goat\u0026rsquo; status - getting 100 points activating on CW.\nIt is November already and I must hurry - higher mountains already have their first snow this season and I expect and hope for more soon-ish. This means activating higher value summits now until snow makes it more difficult or activating frequently which is not really an option because on top of a need to hold a paying job I am lazy as hell.\nWhy the Donner lake area Well, I guess it is because getting through my Halloween routine I re-watched \u0026ldquo;The Shining\u0026rdquo; recently. It is my favorite movie ever and one I leaned about the Donner Party from.\nExactly 175 years ago, in November of 1946 California bound caravan reached Truckee (now Donner) lake in Eastern Sierras, not that far from then-nonexistent \u0026lsquo;Biggest Little City in the World\u0026rsquo; - Reno, Nevada. Cut from the final destination by snow the party members had to either spend winter with little or no food in tents, lean-tos and shabby cabins roofed with an ox hide or risk crossing Sierra Nevada on foot. Fifteen travellers felt strong enough to attempt the trek across the mountains. Instead of the planned six days it is going to take over a month to cross mountains and eight of the fifteen are going to die during the trek.\nThe situation was further complicated by the Mexican-American war - American military was wrestling California from Mexico at the moment and there were not enough able bodied men to muster for a full scale rescue mission. Three relief parties were able to fetch most of the survivors by the middle of March but it wouldn\u0026rsquo;t be until the late April of 1847 when the last surviving member of the party reached the Central Valley. Forty two men, women and children didn\u0026rsquo;t make it to California.\nThe attention directed at the Donner Party is made possible by reliable accounts of what occurred\nwrites George Stewart in his book, \u0026ldquo;Ordeal by Hunger: The Story of the Donner Party\u0026rdquo;\nThe cannibalism, although it might almost be called a minor episode, has become in the popular mind the chief fact to be remembered about the Donner Party. For a taboo always allures with as great strength as it repels.\nFrom \u0026ldquo;Butcher\u0026rsquo;s crossing\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;The Shining\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;Ravenous\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;Red Dead Redemption II\u0026rdquo; - references and homage to the story of the Donner party are abundant. Undeniably it is one of the most important sources of The Old West lore.\nA transplant to California myself I always felt for these people striving to reach the distant paradise of not-yet-Golden-then State. It is time to pay a visit.\nSo how are things now The times had changed obviously - it takes only about 5 - 5.5 hours to reach Truckee from San Francisco (3.5 with no traffic but there is always traffic). Highway 80 stays open in winter and there was no snow in the valley yet as in early November of 2021.\nDonner memorial state park is on the eastern shore of Donner lake. There are monuments and visitor center with information about the Donner Party as well as about local first nations people and about Chinese workers who were instrumental in building the railroad through the Sierras and connecting eastern and western parts of the US. Should be a nice place to camp in summer.\nMonument near the Schallenberger-Breen cabin site, opened in 1918\nSchallenberger-Breen cabin site\nGuns are game until there is no game. A diorama in the visitor center\nArtefacts of the past\nThis rock formed the back wall and the fireplace of Eddy-Murphy cabin. Remains of the pioneers who perished in the camp were interred here in 1847\nDonner Party tablet\nEddy-Murphy cabin rock\nDonner Lake\nI decided to spend a weekend in the area and activate two mountains - Castle Peak aka W6/SN-038 not to be confused with multiple Castle Peaks in Colorado and Donner Ridge aka W6/NS-181. Both are eight point mountains but Donner Ridge is way lower, way flatter and easier to get to than Castle Peak.\nCastle Peak aka W6/SN-038 SOTA activation Mountaineering is an inherently dangerous activity. Know your limits and plan carefully.\nHere is the trail on AllTrails. Getting there is straightforward - you just drive and park here.\nRoad near Castle Peak trailhead\nThe road may look well paved and maintained but it kind of ends immediately after this left turn.\nAs soon as you make a turn left road ends\nThe parking space is kind of limited and I don\u0026rsquo;t know how busy it gets so try to get to the trailhead early.\nYou bet!\nDonner Summit trails plaque near the trailhead. I\u0026rsquo;m heading to the Castle Peak\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t know how much snow was going to be there and if it was going to be firm / re-frozen or whatnot. Snow was firm and I didn\u0026rsquo;t need snowshoes but wouldn\u0026rsquo;t risk it without microspikes. In fact the upper part of the trail is fairly steep, if I am to return when snow is present I am bringing an ice pick and stiff crampons instead of microspikes.\nDidn\u0026rsquo;t need the snowshoes - the snow was firm enough\nThe first glimpse of the summit\nDay was clear, quiet and way hotter than I expected - shade was welcome when available. Upper half of the trail is fairly exposed but there are still patches of trees here and there on the ridge.\nView from the ridge toward Donner Lake, approximately half way up\nIt gets steeper in the end, I would recommend following the ridge if it is snow free - snowpack can melt and freeze forming a slippery ice crust. I only saw a couple patches of ice but don\u0026rsquo;t be surprised.\nCastle Peak as seen from the ridge\nThere are three summits of Castle Peak. The height difference is less than 25 m / 80 ft so you can activate from any summit. When you reach the western summit first, there is enough space to deploy a dipole.\nView from the summit toward Donner Lake\nWestern summit 2753 m / 9032 ft is only 21 m / 71 ft below the real, Eastern summit 2774 m / 9103 ft. Can activate from either\nPortable shack\nAntenna deployed, Northstar resort on the background\nStations worked from Castle Peak Thanks to all the chasers - you folks are the best!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 20:48 W0MNA 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 20:50 W0ERI 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 20:52 W4KRN 559 339 14.062 CW FM18 20:58 KG6T 559 539 14.062 CW FN42 21:00 N4TIZ 559 449 14.062 CW EM85 21:02 KG4R 449 549 14.062 CW FM05 21:04 KZ0E 559 559 14.062 CW DN70 21:05 WB4FUN 559 559 14.062 CW FM28 21:07 N8PEM 559 559 14.062 CW EN80 Remember - most incidents happen on the descent, be careful.\nQuite a bit of a drop right below the summit. Careful - might be icy and slippery!\nTracing back\nBetter follow the ridge - the slope might thaw and refreeze forming an icy crust\nDonner Ridge aka W6/NS-181 SOTA activation There is a good road all the way up to the trailhead. This is the trail to get to the summit.\nThe trail is a piece of cake, never steep - I wanted something fast and easy for the second day to get home early.\nDonner Ridge was free from snow\nView from Donner Ridge to the west, bump on the right is Castle Peak\nDipole on the Donner Ridge\nThe shack\nStations worked from Donner Ridge Time UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 18:53 W0MNA 599 599 14.063 CW EM29 18:57 VE7HI 599 559 14.063 CW CN89 19:00 N7US 559 559 14.063 CW EN52 19:02 W0ERI 559 599 14.063 CW EM29 19:07 ND0C 449 339 14.063 CW EN23 19:09 N0RZ 559 559 14.063 CW DM97 Activating these two summits brought my score to 99. Almost there!\nSee you folks next time, 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-donner-2021-11-21/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHi there! As I had already mentioned one of the cool aspects of SOTA is that it gamifies hiking.\nI do think being outdoors is cool enough on its own but knowing myself I would just stay in my cozy comfort zone\nwith a mug of hot chocolate in my hands and repeat the same hikes over and over again. Luckily each SOTA activation\nonly yields points once per a calendar year so there is always an incentive to activate new summits. My goal this year\nis reaching the first milestone on the path toward the coveted \u0026lsquo;Mountain Goat\u0026rsquo; status - getting 100 points activating on CW.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is November already and I must hurry - higher mountains already have their first snow this season and I expect\nand hope for more soon-ish. This means activating higher value summits now until snow makes it more difficult\nor activating frequently which is not really an option because on top of a need to hold a paying job I am lazy as hell.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"SOTA activations near Donner lake 2021-11-13/14"},{"content":"Welcome back! In my previous post I promised to test my new TR-25 in the field. Lo and behold Mount Konocti aka W6/CC-035 activation report!\nI wanted to provide chasers with something juicier than one point summits around the Bay Area but at the same time didn\u0026rsquo;t want to go all in with a new transceiver. On top of that a friend was joining me for the hike which meant I needed to haul some additional food and water. Add a backup rig and you have yourself quite a hefty backpack.\nSome trivia about the mountain and Clear Lake As per Wikipedia article referenced above Mt. Konocti is a volcano in Lake County, California on the south shore of Clear Lake. At 4,305 feet (1,312 m), it is the second highest peak in the Clear Lake Volcanic Field. The highest one is Cobb Mountain some distance to the south.\nThe name \u0026ldquo;Konocti\u0026rdquo; is derived from the Pomo \u0026ldquo;kno\u0026rdquo;, mountain, and \u0026ldquo;htai\u0026rdquo;, woman.\nLocal people have long known that Konocti is riddled with natural caves. Although most of the natural caves collapsed or were filled in for safety in the early 20th century, persistent local belief holds that Konocti\u0026rsquo;s central magma chamber is a vast, empty vertical cavern, partly filled with Clear Lake water and connecting with the lake via an underground seep.\nClear lake is sometimes called \u0026ldquo;Bass Capital of the West\u0026rdquo;. I\u0026rsquo;m not much of a fisher myself but last time I camped at the lake I was really impressed with fish that folks from the lot adjacent to ours had.\nAn island-turned-hill unfortunately was the scene of the Bloody Island massacre. There are two markers commemorating the massacre. It is interesting to see how the perspective on the event changed over years. Interesting fact - then-capitain Nathaniel Lyon who commanded the troops involved in the killings will later be the first of Union Generals killed in combat during Civil war.\nRight on the Wright summit there is a plane crash site. On January 26th 1970, Mervin and Julia “May” Enzler left Santa Rosa airport to fly home to Ukiah in their white and turquoise 1946 Navion A. The Enzlers had recently retired as owners of the “Model Bakery” in Ukiah, today operating as Schats Courthouse Bakery and Cafe.\nIncreasingly bad weather forced them to request navigational assistance from air traffic control in Ukiah. After a brief navigational correction with the tower, further contact ceased.\nA massive air and ground search was conducted. Due to the remote location and lack of access, it wasn’t until early February that the crash debris was spotted on the side of the mountain by a local pilot.\nGetting there Just drive to the Park parking. Final couple of miles of the road are unpaved but graded well so you won\u0026rsquo;t have much trouble unless you drive, like, Corvette. I am not sure how busy it gets during peak season but do note the parking is fairly small. This activation happened on 17th of October and there was rain in the weather forecast for the afternoon, the lot was empty. Here is the trail on the AllTrails.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t see any means to pay entrance fees so if they are required - well, oops.\nPark entrance gate, note - road is unpaved\nIf you have time I recommend hiking to Buckingham Peak as Clear Lake vistas should be better from this point than from the highest Wright peak - I didn\u0026rsquo;t have time to get there because of rain.\nMt. Konocti county park map\nTrail crosses private propery - Mt. Konocti County Park opened in 2011 and before that it was all private land. Respect the boundaries and stay on the trail.\nTrail gate\nYou hike a maintenance road so the trail is never steep but it is a bit of a grind especially with a heavy backpack. There are concrete benches approximately every half a mile but I didn\u0026rsquo;t have time to chill.\nJust below the summit - Clear Lake and Cobb mountain view\nRight below the summit there are remains of the plane and the commemorative plaque.\nEnzler plane crash site plaque\nUnfortunately the plaque at the site is severely damaged but I was able to find a picture here.\nEnzler plane crash site plaque as it was\nPlane crash site\nOn the top there is a fire lookout and a couple of tables you can use as mast anchoring points.\nCalFire lookout\nMt. Konocti SOTA activation Dipole deployed\nTo all the chasers - thanks for bearing with me, I had quite a bit of a fight with the paddle cable. As I worked Herschel K0HK from Kansas paddle \u0026ldquo;dah\u0026rdquo; button went mute before I could send the RST report. Brief paddle examination didn\u0026rsquo;t show anything unusual so I decided to swap cables from the paddle to the keyer and from the keyer to the transceiver just in case some contacts oxidized or whatnot. Paddle gave couple of \u0026ldquo;dahs\u0026rdquo; and went mute again - one of the wires was broken and paddle worked properly only when the cable was twisted in a particular way. I twisted it back and tried not to upset the setup until the end of the session.\nThe moral is - your paddle for SOTA should connect to the cable via the jack so if something happens to the cable it is easy to replace. You also need a replacement cable itself in your kit - which I didn\u0026rsquo;t have because my replacement cable was already employed connecting the external keyer to the transceiver - make sure you have needed backup supplies after changing your loadout.\nReady to start the activation, display is a bit hard to read\nI saw KX0R and W7UM\u0026rsquo;s alert posted to Sotawatch - they planned to be on Threemile Mountain aka W0C/SP-107 in Colorado around the time I planned my activation. Reaching them would be a good test for the transceiver - it is one thing to contact people semi- randomly when most of them might just be close by and the other thing is making two separate summit-to-summit contacts with folks on the same summit ~1400 miles away. I first reached Mark W7UM on 14.063 and then tuned to 14.062 where George KX0R eventually replied to my CQs.\nStations worked from the summit Truly yours working Mark W7UM from Threemile Mountain in Colorado\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 21:15 W7UM 559 449 14.063 CW DM79 21:17 KD0YOB 559 559 14.062 CW EN43 21:18 AB6SO 559 559 14.062 CW CM99 21:19 W6BWZ 559 549 14.062 CW CM98 21:19 K3TCU 559 599 14.062 CW FN01 21:20 W0MNA 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 21:20 K0HK 559 559 14.062 CW EM29 21:25 KX0R 559 589 14.062 CW DM79 21:26 WB0CFF 559 559 14.062 CW EN34 21:30 W6IYS 559 229 14.062 CW CM88 21:35 WW7D 559 539 14.062 CW CN87 21:35 WU4R 559 559 14.062 CW EM66 21:40 N4MJ 559 229 14.062 CW EM56 21:50 W4KRN 559 339 14.062 CW FM18 21:55 WA2USA 559 559 14.062 CW EM67 22:10 NU7Y 559 559 14.062 CW DM42 22:15 K9PM 559 579 14.062 CW ???? Time to get back Weather was changing very fast - it was partially cloudy on the way up, cleared by the time we reached the summit and a dense cloud front was closing in an hour after that.\nThe cloud front moves fast - time to pack!\nSome weather is coming\nLast patches of blue\nRain is closing in\nManaged to get back to the car right before the rain caught on.\nTR-25 in the field - my impressions What I like\nI\u0026rsquo;ve made 17 contacts from Mt. Konocti including two summit-to-summit contacts to Colorado. This is the most contacts I\u0026rsquo;ve made ever activating a summit (this is my twentieth activation). And I\u0026rsquo;m certain I\u0026rsquo;d make more if not for a broken cable and a storm on the horizon. Impressed with the rig sensitivity - made contacts with folks in Indiana, Tennessee, Virginia and heard them well. I really like AGC - distant stations can be heard and your eardrums don\u0026rsquo;t blow up when someone close by checks in. Filters are adequate for a SOTA rig - had no QRM issues. Minor things I need to mention\nBright sun does make it hard to read the display - not a big deal for me as I don\u0026rsquo;t do much tuning on a summit anyway. As I have mentioned in my previous post you have to disassemble the enclosure to adjust the sidetone volume. It is quite a chore because the volume good for a quiet shack might be too low for a windy summit. So my verdict still stands - TR-25 is probably the best bang for your buck CW-only transceiver / SOTA rig on the market as of now (end of 2021). Thanks again John, I hope your creation gets the attention it deserves from the ham community.\nSee you folks next time, 73, K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-konocti-2021-10-17/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome back! In my \u003ca href=\"/post/tr-25-2021-10-02/\"\u003eprevious post\u003c/a\u003e I promised to test my new TR-25 in the field.\nLo and behold \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Konocti\"\u003eMount Konocti\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/CC-035\"\u003eW6/CC-035\u003c/a\u003e activation report!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI wanted to provide chasers with something juicier than one point summits around the Bay Area but at the same\ntime didn\u0026rsquo;t want to go all in with a new transceiver. On top of that a friend was joining me for the hike which meant I\nneeded to haul some additional food and water. Add a backup rig and you have yourself quite a hefty backpack.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Konocti SOTA activation 2021-10-17"},{"content":"There is no escape from the fact that Ham Radio might be an expensive hobby. This is why I am really grateful to folks like G0UPL and WA3RNC who come up with affordably priced kits so new hams may try SOTA without having to break their piggy banks.\nWhile I am a huge fan of QCX-mini with only 3 watts out I find it a bit underpowered and lacking band agility - QCX is a single band transceiver. I was in a situation a couple of times when an antenna farm on the summit of a mountain I was trying to activate was making a lot of noise on either 40 or 20 meter band forcing me to use the other one. On top of that 20 and 40 meters band signals propagate differently. Switching bands allows you to shift zones where your signals are heard so you may reach folks who were in a shade on another band.\nThis is why as soon as I heard about TR-25 - 5 watt CW-only 20/40 meter transceiver kit I was sold on immediately. Just in case - I\u0026rsquo;m not sponsored by WA3RNC in any way and paid a full price for the kit.\nTR-25 kit basic info Quoting WA3RNC - TR-25 is a compact but powerful 2-band CW transceiver kit that uses no tiny pushbuttons, and without those seemingly endless and hard-to-remember back menus. There is a knob or a switch for every function!\nSize 5 ½ X 3 ¼ X 1 ½ less protrusions, weight 10.6 Oz Built in Iambic (Iambic-B to be precise) keyer is adjustable 5 to 35 WPM with front panel control Separate jacks for straight key and paddles; Always ready for straight key contacts Operates on 9.5 to 14 volts, \u0026lt; 110ma receive, about 1.1 Amp Xmitt at 10 volts Excellent receiver sensitivity with MDS of -125dBm Sharp IF filter; Better than 350 Hz at the -6dB point, plus 700 Hz audio filter Options include pre-wound toroid coils, precision optical tuning encoder, and complete factory assembly Notes on assembly Kit was delivered a couple of days after my order and fits into a small flat rate post box.\nKit fits into a small post box\nIn the box were three sleeves with parts, an enclosure, two PCBs with surface mount parts preinstalled and an assembly manual. Everything is very neat - for each assembly step you have a separate pocket, no need to sift through a pile of components trying to find the needed one.\nParts are packaged into sleeves - very neat and convenient\nIt is recommended to have some nail polish at your disposal to glue screws in after assembly. I am using blue loctite.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ll need loctite or some nail polish to secure screws in place\nLot of tiny parts are preinstalled so the remaining ones are not crowded and are not placed too close to PCB margins, you can use a soldering vice without risk to break something off.\nPCB is not crowded and fits nicely into a soldering vice\nThere are four major steps - Upper PCB assembly, Lower PCB assembly, adjustment and installing enclosure / knobs. Everything is documented well. Be sure to install capacitors flush with PCB or you will not be able to sandwich two PCBs together.\nUpper PCB is ready\nYou can order toroids pre-wound. In my opinion winding toroids is like half of the fun.\nLower PCB and toroids\nWhen soldering toroids make sure to scrape lacquer off the terminals and test the quality of contact with a multimeter. Battery in my multimeter was dying and I didn\u0026rsquo;t notice one of the toroids was not soldered well. I spent about an hour trying to figure out why on 40 meter band the power output is lower than on the 20 band before finding the root cause.\nWound toroids\nLower PCB is almost ready\nAlignment is fairly straightforward but you do need a multimeter / ampere meter sensitive enough to measure a 5 mA current change between a power source and the transceiver.\nKit assembled and ready for alignment\nTuning side tone volume and signal LED brightness, low battery signal voltage\nI am quite impressed with TR-25 power output - about 8 Watts on 40 meter band and 6 watts on 20 meter band with 12 V Bioenno battery.\nAbout 8 Watts on 40 meter band\nAbout 6 Watts on 20 meter band\nWhat I like about the kit Really easy and fun kit to build. Took me about six hours to assemble and one more to find a problem with my soldering. All needed controls are on the front panel. You don\u0026rsquo;t have to learn any magical button push combinations. Decent power. Need to confirm in the wild but tests in the shack show good sensitivity and appropriate filter sharpness. TR-25 has nothing I don\u0026rsquo;t need in my SOTA radio - no SSB, no antenna tuner, no bells and whistles. Minor peeves Main thing I kinda wish the kit had is an internal message memory. I usually prerecord CQ calls and my QTH so I don\u0026rsquo;t jumble sent summit ID during activation. A workaround to this is using an external keyer with memory. Ultra picokeyer is what I am planning to use. There is no PTT port so unlike with QCX-mini you won’t be able to key an amplifier. I am certain TR-25 filters are adequate but I’m being spoiled by a filter in my Discovery TX-500 adjustable down to 50 Hz. I ordered the kit with the precision optic encoder option - unlike in the default encoder there are no parts inside engaging mechanically so in theory it will hold longer. In practice I don’t believe it matters much - the chasers are going to do most tuning anyway. Tune rate is a bit too high and there are no clicks when you turn the encoder so tuning to the desired frequency is a bit fiddly. Manual says the default encoder does not have clicks either. Note the encoder is not a drop in replacement, there are two different versions of the circuit board to accommodate them. There is no tactile click on the VFO knob press as well and it feels a tad mushy. Short VFO knob press cycles tune step between 10 Hz and 100 Hz. Long press changes tune step to 1 kHz. Once again I don’t feel this 1 kHz tune step is needed at all - most of the time I stick to a single frequency per band. I would much rather prefer to have a VFO lock on a long VFO knob press so my tuning is not affected by an accidental bump in the middle of a contact. DC, key, paddle, phone jacks peak out through holes in the enclosure. They are only attached mechanically to the circuit board so there is a potential to break them off if you are not careful. Don’t be shy with solder installing jacks. Adjusting sidetone volume and blue LED brightness requires taking knobs off and enclosure disassembly. The enclosure is not dust- or splashproof. A bit concerned about peeling knobs off the rig in a backpack - some kind of a protector bag needed. Note all these are fairly minor peeves and I believe as of now (October 2021) TR-25 is the best present for a person interested in SOTA as well as a best buy as a first CW only rig.\nNo internal message memory so an external keyer makes sense\nTR-25 compared in size to other popular QRP radios\nNow it\u0026rsquo;s time to test TR-25 in the wild, stay tuned for a report, 73 K0SSK out!\nUpdates Update 2021-10-18: here is my positive review after testing TR-25 in the field.\nUpdate 2021-10-18: John saw my review and wrote there is a VFO lock added into software rev 0.24.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/tr-25-2021-10-02/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere is no escape from the fact that Ham Radio might be an expensive hobby. This is why I am really grateful\nto folks like G0UPL and WA3RNC who come up with affordably priced kits so new hams may try SOTA without having\nto break their piggy banks.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhile I am a huge fan of \u003ca href=\"/post/qcx-mini-2021-04-28/\"\u003eQCX-mini\u003c/a\u003e with only 3 watts out I find it a bit underpowered\nand lacking band agility - QCX is a single band transceiver. I was in a situation a couple of times when an antenna\nfarm on the summit of a mountain I was trying to activate was making a lot of noise on either 40 or 20 meter band\nforcing me to use the other one. On top of that 20 and 40 meters band signals propagate differently. Switching bands\nallows you to shift zones where your signals are heard so you may reach folks who were in a shade on another band.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is why as soon as I heard about\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.wa3rnc.com/store/tr-25-cw-transceiver-kit.html\"\u003eTR-25 - 5 watt CW-only 20/40 meter transceiver kit\u003c/a\u003e\nI was sold on immediately. Just in case - I\u0026rsquo;m not sponsored by WA3RNC in any way and paid a full price for the kit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"TR-25 CW radio kit from WA3RNC"},{"content":"Wrapping up a long-standing project - activating Mount Tallac aka W6/SN-036. As I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned in my post about Mt. Umunhum activation earlier this year Tallac was on my list for a while. It is one of my favorite hikes in California, challenging enough but still doable as a day trip.\nInitially my plan was to do a winter activation - I\u0026rsquo;ve been on the summit on the 1st of January 2019 after celebrating New Year with friends in a cabin near Tahoe lake. While definitely strenuous the hike didn\u0026rsquo;t throw anything at me I could not overcome.\nIn February 2021 things were different.\n2021 winter attempt Back in January 2019 it didn\u0026rsquo;t snow much in December and by the New Year the snow cover condensed and solidified. I believe I didn\u0026rsquo;t have to put my snow shoes on until getting up the mountain shoulder.\nOn the summit 2019-01-01\nIn January 2021 there was a snowstorm that made me reconsider my trip because of the avalanche danger. Only after about a week of nice weather I did decide to give it a shot. After a night in a hotel in South Lake Tahoe I drove up to the turn to the trailhead road and parked my car at the side of the road.\nWinter parking is some distance from the entrance\nNote during winter months gate is closed and you need to walk from the highway to the trailhead. This adds ~1 mile to the round trip.\nGate is closed in winter\nYou will not miss the trailhead - there is a big stand with a map and useful information.\nInformation stand at the trailhead\nI saw some tracks in the snow so the trail was doable. This time I took short skis with me instead of snow shoes and well they didn\u0026rsquo;t work out for me on the steep terrain.\nMt. Tallac as seen from the trail. What a beauty!\nFresh snow was slowing my progress considerably and by about 1000 I understood I will not summit with enough day time for a safe return.\nLake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf lake\nInstead I decided to confirm how close to the summit I can get by 1300 and then turn back.\nThe closest I could get to the summit\nNot very close. Snow conditions concerned me a bit as well - it was way fluffier than I expected so when I lost a basket my pole sank up to the handle almost with no resistance. Not too reassuring given my plan brought me above the tree line and to a steeper terrain.\nSome deep and fluffy snow\nBetter safe than sorry I went back to my car. Still I had a great adventure, nice hike and stunning views.\nI\u0026rsquo;ll get there just not today\nAugust 2021 Fast forward six month and I\u0026rsquo;m back! Instead of snow and chill, the main problem in summer is the scorching sun. It often gets above 100F in the afternoon and the secret of the success is an early start. Also helps to snatch that sweet parking spot by the trailhead - parking space is quite limited and if you get there late you may have to park by highway.\nAt the trailhead again\nFood left in a hot car may be a treat a bear can\u0026rsquo;t resist. Don\u0026rsquo;t tempt them.\nBeware of bears, don\u0026rsquo;t leave food in your car\nNo permits needed for Desolation wilderness day hikes in 2021.\nNo day permits needed in 2021\nAbout 10 miles there-and-back.\nArea map\nIt is fire season so campfires are out of the question. I thought about bringing a stove but decided to pack a cold lunch instead out of caution.\nNo woodfires but stoves are ok\nWoods are going up in flames in summer second year in the row. September used to be a fire month, now burning starts in June. Smoke was not too dense but ever present.\nMorning haze\nLower part of the trail is well shaded and roughly follows the Fallen Leaf lake shore line.\nFloating Island lake and mt. Tallac as a backdrop\nAbove the Cathedral lake wood starts to thin.\nCathedral lake\nSwitchbacks above the Cathedral lake\nGrey and green\nProbably the most exposed part of the trail, it gets really toasty here in the afternoon.\nFallen Leaf lake as seen from mt. Tallac shoulder\nTo the left trail goes to Gilmore lake, summit trail is straight-and-right. This is the place where the last shade is available. The summit is but a barren rock. Take it easy and chill a bit before a final push.\nBelow the summit. Final push!\nThere is quite a bit of space on the top plateau so you won\u0026rsquo;t have to rub shoulders with other hikers even on a busy day.\nTahoe and Fallen Leaf lakes. View from the summit\nGilmore lake as seen from mt. Tallac summit\nMt. Tallac SOTA activation As usual I had 20/40 band dipole and Discovery TX-500 with me. Plenty of rocks to tie antenna to.\nIn the \u0026lsquo;shack\u0026rsquo;\nDeployed and ready to activate!\nMade all contacts on the 20 meter band. Got some fairly long shots - John K8LJG was able to hear me from Michigan! I am a bit confused about F4WBN - I am not 100% sure if I got the call sign right but I think Christian could be on some expedition nearby? Made three summit-to-summit contacts - Jordan WC6J hailing from Thimble Peak right across the valley from mt. Tallac, Walton W0CP heard from North Kaufman Ridge in Colorado and George KX0R heard from Fairburn Mountain in Colorado. Many thanks to all the chasers making the activation possible!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 18:15 KB7HH 559 559 14.062 CW DM34 18:16 K8LJG 559 449 14.062 CW EN83 18:17 WB6POT 559 559 14.062 CW CM99 18:20 WC6J 559 599 14.062 CW CM98 18:22 K6HPX 559 539 14.062 CW DM42 18:22 F4WBN 559 599 14.062 CW IN93? 18:26 WW7D 559 559 14.062 CW CN87 18:30 W9MRH 559 559 14.062 CW EM69 18:35 W0CP 559 579 14.062 CW DM78 18:36 N7CW 559 549 14.062 CW DM34 18:36 KX0R 559 579 14.062 CW DM79 18:37 W6DT 559 589 14.062 CW CM98 18:40 VE7HI 559 559 14.062 CW CN89 Back to the trailhead Around noon it started to get really toasty and I decided it\u0026rsquo;s time to descend.\nSleepy sierras\nAbove the Cathedral lake\nBy the time I was in my car the temperature was in the high nineties. I sucked my water bag dry and my backup canteen had only a couple sips of water left.\nBack to the parking\nSo folks this page is turned. I had a lot of fun! We\u0026rsquo;ll see where this trail goes next. 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-tallac-2021-08-14/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWrapping up a long-standing project - activating \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tallac\"\u003eMount Tallac\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/SN-036\"\u003eW6/SN-036\u003c/a\u003e. As I\u0026rsquo;ve mentioned in \u003ca href=\"/post/sota-umunhum-2021-01-30/\"\u003emy post\u003c/a\u003e\nabout Mt. Umunhum activation earlier this year Tallac was on my list for a while.\nIt is \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/mt-tallac-trail\"\u003eone of my favorite hikes\u003c/a\u003e in California,\nchallenging enough but still doable as a day trip.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInitially my plan was to do a winter activation - I\u0026rsquo;ve been on the summit on the 1st of January 2019 after celebrating\nNew Year with friends in a cabin near Tahoe lake. While definitely strenuous the hike didn\u0026rsquo;t throw anything at me I\ncould not overcome.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn February 2021 things were different.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Tallac SOTA activation 2021-08-14"},{"content":"Got an email from Google saying they are “improving the experience of the Free Tier” by discontinuing F1-micro type of instance in favor of E2-micro type and I need to switch if I want to continue receiving the Free Tier discount.\nE2-micro instances get 12.5% of 2 vCPUs, are allowed to burst up to 2 full vCPUs for short periods and have 1 Gb of RAM.\nAfter rebooting my VM into E2-micro type I decided to upgrade Ubuntu as well.\nEvidently something has changed in the initramfs-tools package since the last time I did maintenance because instead of trying to adjust LZMA2 dictionary size while compressing an initramfs image using xz archive tool it just quit with an error. Initramfs image is built every time you install a new version of a kernel image so this prevented the upgrade from finishing properly.\nme@muh-server:~$ sudo apt-get upgrade Reading package lists... Done Building dependency tree Reading state information... Done Calculating upgrade... Done The following packages have been kept back: gce-compute-image-packages linux-generic linux-headers-generic linux-headers-virtual linux-image-generic linux-image-virtual linux-virtual thermald ubuntu-advantage-tools 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 9 not upgraded. 1 not fully installed or removed. After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used. Do you want to continue? [Y/n] Y Setting up initramfs-tools (0.136ubuntu6.6) ... update-initramfs: deferring update (trigger activated) Processing triggers for initramfs-tools (0.136ubuntu6.6) ... update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-77-generic xz: Memory usage limit is too low for the given filter setup. xz: 166 MiB of memory is required. The limit is 50 MiB. E: mkinitramfs failure cpio 141 xz --check=crc32 --threads=0 1 update-initramfs: failed for /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-77-generic with 1. dpkg: error processing package initramfs-tools (--configure): installed initramfs-tools package post-installation script subprocess returned error exit status 1 Errors were encountered while processing: initramfs-tools E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) Fix You need to modify initramfs-tools config file and set memory limit around 200 - 250Mb so compression does not fail. In the vanilla config on my VM the limit was set to 5% of RAM available or ~50 Mb on 1Gb RAM instance.\nme@muh-server: cat /etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/99-gce.conf # Use xz compression per GCE COMPRESS=xz XZ_OPT=--memlimit-compress=5% export XZ_OPT I increased the limit to 25% and initramfs update works now.\nme@muh-server:/etc/initramfs-tools$ sudo update-initramfs -u update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-77-generic xz: Adjusted the number of threads from 2 to 1 to not exceed the memory usage limit of 246 MiB me@muh-server:/etc/initramfs-tools$ Might not affect you on a beefier server - if you have 4Gb+ of RAM you are unlikely to hit this particular issue.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/ubuntu-2004-update-initramfs-fail/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eGot an email from Google saying they are “improving the experience of the Free Tier” by discontinuing F1-micro\ntype of instance in favor of E2-micro type and I need to switch if I want to continue receiving the Free Tier discount.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eE2-micro instances get 12.5% of 2 vCPUs, are allowed to burst up to 2 full vCPUs for short periods and have 1 Gb of RAM.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter rebooting my VM into E2-micro type I decided to upgrade Ubuntu as well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvidently something has changed in the initramfs-tools package since the last time I did maintenance because\ninstead of trying to adjust LZMA2 dictionary size while compressing an \u003ca href=\"https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Initramfs\"\u003einitramfs\u003c/a\u003e\nimage using \u003ca href=\"https://linuxconfig.org/beginner-s-guide-to-compression-with-xz-on-linux\"\u003exz\u003c/a\u003e archive tool it just quit\nwith an error. Initramfs image is built every time you install a new version of a kernel image so this prevented\nthe upgrade from finishing properly.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ubuntu 20.04 update-initramfs fails on low RAM GCE VMs"},{"content":"Hans G0UPL made yet another addition to the family of QCX transmitter kits. QCX+ is good as I wrote previously but QCX-mini is even better!\nI was not lucky enough to get my hands on the kit from the very first batch but patience is gold. On a bright side revision 2 PCB I received does not require a hack with an additional capacitor in parallel with C38.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve received the kit, built it and I love this tiny rig!\nSame way as with my previous post I will try to avoid repeating the excellent build and operating manuals but I do have a few nits to pick.\nBonus: WSPR beacon mode test.\nQCX+ was good but\u0026hellip; The first thing you notice of course is the smaller size of QCX-mini as compared to QCX+.\nQCX-mini assembled as compared to QCX+\nI like SOTA so rig size and weight matters quite a bit to me. QCX+ was acceptable but when it was laying flat it was quite hard to read the display. Also I really liked the fact that all controls and protrusions are on the \u0026ldquo;face\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;back\u0026rdquo; of the radio and unlikely to be peeled off in a backpack. QCX-mini is so tiny it does not matter where controls are - it will be safe in a padded accessory bag. The downside of course is less surface for heat dissipation - I plan to use the rig as a WSPR beacon and it will be keyed for about two minutes continiously. We\u0026rsquo;ll see how it holds, so far so good.\nI really like the fact that PTT has +5 volt tip layout by default. I had to make the modification for QCX+ so I could use normal audio cable to key amplifier kit and also built GPS kit so it takes +5 volt from the tip. My GPS kit and amplifier are now naturally compatible with QCX-mini.\nAs it\u0026rsquo;s older brother QCX-mini puts out 3 watts with 12 volt battery (draws about 0.3 A on a key down), and about 15 watts with amplifier and 12 volt battery (draws about 3.2 A on a key down). Stand by current draw is about 0.1 A.\nDimensions and weight Assembled transceiver weighs 200 g / 0.44 lb.\nFront view and dimensions\nSide view and dimensions\nModular system What I like the most about the QCX system is its modularity.\nFull system weighs about 4250 g / or 9.37 lbs. This includes\nQCX-mini (200 g) two batteries (2x394 g). One battery is spare, you may as well ditch the battery controller if you have two batteries Battery controller (181 g) to power both the transceiver and amplifier from one battery and optionally connect a solar panel Amplifier (382 g) Mast (700 g) Dipole antenna and pegs + emergency end fed just in case (654 g) Antenna tuner - in case you need to match an end fed antenna Phones, cables, titbits and doodads With 12V battery standby current is 0.1 A, key down current 3.2 A, output around 15 W.\nFull system packed. Collapsed mast length is 56 cm / 22 \u0026rsquo;\u0026rsquo; - for reference\nFull system assembled (no antenna)\nIt is possible you don\u0026rsquo;t need 15 W and ok with just 3 W. You can ditch the amplifier, one battery, battery controller and some cables. With 12V battery standby current is 0.1 A, key down current 0.3 A.\nMinimal setup, around 3 kg with antenna and mast\n3 watts out with 12 volt battery\nYou can add a GPS kit and run QCX-mini as a WSPR beacon. In the photo below is an older version of GPS module in a 3d printed enclosure.\nWSPR beacon with GPS module\nKit assembly tips The main board is quite crowded now. While Hans boasts he assembled the kit using 3mm chisel iron without any issues I strongly recommend getting a decent iron or a soldering station. There are many pre-installed SMD components on the board and if you fry or move them with a bad iron you will probably need to wait another six month for a replacement kit.\nThe kit with TCXO option\nDo not throw away cut component legs - you\u0026rsquo;ll need a lot of them to connect the display, gain control potentiometer and rotary encoder later in the build.\nYou will definitely need a file or a dremel tool - you break control and display PCBs apart and need to file down the resulting jagged edges. It is critical if you plan to install an enclosure - control PCB needs to squeeze through a cut out in the display PCB and it just won\u0026rsquo;t without filing.\nMake sure control board squeezes through the hole in the display board\nIf you plan on installing an enclosure be careful when soldering the BNC connector. Best way to do this is to insert PTT and Cat 3.5mm jacks into the board first - they fit tight and won\u0026rsquo;t fall off. Then you insert the BNC connector and screw the enclosure side panel on it. Once you have these in place proceed and solder BNC connector and jacks. There is little room for error and no \u0026ldquo;play\u0026rdquo; in components - you want to make sure the enclosure side panel is exactly where it should be in respect to protruding components. Same goes for Paddle / Phones / DC jacks and other side panel - assemble before soldering and make sure everything is positioned correctly.\nBe careful installing D33 diode - it is installed vertically and should sit as close to PCB as possible. 1.05 version of assembly manual has it positioned differently so feel free to check the photo below. Note how close it is to the DC jack. In the assembled rig it needs to fit under gain control potentiometer and if you\u0026rsquo;re sloppy here it won\u0026rsquo;t.\nQuite a tight build note D33 diode near DC jack\nMy personal preference is to wind and install all coils first. This way is easier to test if they are soldered properly with a multimeter. Plus you don\u0026rsquo;t heat as many components up waiting for shellac to burn off the wire. The wire is very thin and shellac burns right away - no scraping required. Just test and if you hear no beep from multimeter heat again for a couple of seconds - should be enough.\nWound and installed coils first\nAnd finally - just follow the instructions. The assembly manual is excellent.\nFinal touches before installing bottom part of the enclosure\nAuto Gain Control add-on kit One issue I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed operating QCX family rigs is that there is no built in AGC so volume of incoming signals varies significantly depending on how strong the signal reaching the antenna is. Quite often I\u0026rsquo;m cranking volume up trying to copy a station couple hops away and then some nearby station blasts in super loud. Yikes!\nThere is a small add-on Auto Gain Control kit available from Electron Volt (r) Shop that I believe helps a bit. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure about the kit availability in the future - when I bought mine in May 2020 there were only two more available but the page promised another batch.\nAGC kit prior to soldering\nWiring / assembly instructions are clear and easy to follow. Note photo for step 12 – \u0026lsquo;Prepare and solder the 5V wire\u0026rsquo; in the manual is not correct. Contacts of voltage regulator IC11 from left to right are input voltage, ground and output voltage (+5V). You need to solder red wire to the rightmost contact, check the photo below. If in doubt - check with a voltage meter!\nQCX-mini rev. 2, note red +5V wire soldered to the rightmost contact of IC11\nNote the AGC is not too fast, does not bounce back completely between symbols sent so if you swear by full QSK operation this mod may not be ideal for you. Works just fine for me though.\nBonus: WSPR test I actually didn\u0026rsquo;t have much luck using QCX+ as a WSPR beacon. Operation manual recommends enabling practice mode when connecting GPS module to prevent GPS module from keying the transmitter and frying PA. So I was duly enabling practice mode, enabling beacon mode and\u0026hellip; nothing was happening really, no one heard me.\nWhat the manual does not tell is that in practice mode no WSPR signal is being emitted as well. So yes, you just plug GPS module data into the paddle jack, enable WSPR beacon mode and let the radio decide what to do next.\nWSPR settings that worked for me:\nMode: WSPR Frequency: 14,097,140 - default for 20 meter band. Frame: 06 - transmit every 6 minutes. I only work mobile so I don\u0026rsquo;t think this is to often and should be enough time for transistors to cool down Start: 06 WSPR call: _K0SSK - this should be YOUR call sign just in case. WSPR power: 33 - about 3W. WSPR time and locator are configured by GPS module My humble dipole and Twin Peaks with Sutro Tower in the background - testing WSPR mode\nAnd - voila! It works! Nice propagation reported for a 20 meter band at sunset. I wish I had as many SOTA contacts :)\nWSPR spots\nSee you next time, 73 K0SSK out!\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/qcx-mini-2021-04-28/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHans G0UPL made \u003ca href=\"https://www.qrp-labs.com/qcxmini.html\"\u003eyet another addition\u003c/a\u003e\nto the family of QCX transmitter kits.\n\u003ca href=\"/post/qcx-plus-2020-08-25/\"\u003eQCX+ is good as I wrote previously\u003c/a\u003e but QCX-mini is even better!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was not lucky enough to get my hands on the kit from the very first batch but patience is gold. On a bright side revision\n2 PCB I received does not require a hack with an additional capacitor in parallel with C38.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve received the kit, built it and I love this tiny rig!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSame way as with my previous post I will try to avoid repeating the excellent build and operating manuals but I do have\na few nits to pick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBonus: WSPR beacon mode test.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"QCX-mini CW radio kit from QRP Labs"},{"content":"ARRL winter field day! Time to get out to the Nature and work portable! Which is how I do it all the time duh.\nMy initial plan for the field day was to drive to the Tahoe area and try activating Mt. Tallac. Weather made corrections - Northern California had been pummeled by rain and snow that week and I decided to wait for snow to set before making an attempt.\nSafe and easy plan B I fell back to is activating Mount Umunhum aka W6/CC-052.\nDue to the fact that the mountain had been closed to visitors until recently it is not featured in popular culture as frequently as other prominent Bay Area peaks.\nA wee bit of trivia Ohlone people call the mountain \u0026rsquo;the resting place of the hummingbird\u0026rsquo;. \u0026lsquo;Umunhum\u0026rsquo; is an onomatopoeia of the hum a hummingbird produces. I would assume there should be quite a few of them around but I am yet to see one.\nHummingbirds give the mountain its name\nAs usual with most high peaks around the San Francisco bay the summit hosted a military installation during the Cold War years. Concrete cubic base of the decommissioned radar tower can be seen from almost any point in San Jose and across the valley.\nDa Monolith\nMilitary had left quite a lot of hazardous trash behind and it took until 2017 to clean and reopen the summit to the public.\nWow it is open for about 4 years now\nGetting there If you have time and are inclined to hike before an activation I recommend this trail. You drive to the lower parking lot, hike up to the summit and back. On weekends it is hard to find a parking spot there after 0900 so plan accordingly.\nIf you don\u0026rsquo;t have much time or desire to walk you can park almost on the summit. This lot usually has some free spots almost all day. Exercise extreme caution driving between lower and upper parking lots - there are many bicyclists on the road.\nThere is also a parking lot for people with disabilities on the very top.\nStairway to the summit\nWach out for a wild life.\nAll the (not so) fun critters Bay Area has can be found here\nIf the weather is right you can probably see both the ocean and South Bay Area.\nParking and the antenna farm on the second peak\nSan Jose and the Bay\nMore views\nVisitor shed near the radar tower has nice infographic plaques with area history, geography and biology.\nBay Area most prominent peaks. Guess who\u0026rsquo;s next :)\nMount Umunhum SOTA activation What\u0026rsquo;s nice about the parking lot is railing you can attach your mast to.\nDipole is up\nI first put my foldable chair next to the antenna mast but the ranger patrolling the summit asked me to move to the side so I don\u0026rsquo;t block the sidewalk.\nVery portable shack\nStations worked from W6/CC-052 Thanks to the winter field day the ether had been quite lively. Heard from local folks - cheers John K6YK, few gentlemen in Colorado, couple of our northern neighbors in Canada, W5ODS from Oklahoma and even from W4KRN who is across the continent in Virginia - one of the longest shots for me so far! Really appreciate your help in activation.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Maidenhead grid 19:01 VA6EA 559 559 14.062 CW DO33 19:10 N7RR 559 559 14.062 CW CN88 19:12 VE7HE 559 559 14.062 CW CO39 19:15 K6YK 559 559 14.062 CW CM97 19:16 WB7W 559 559 14.062 CW DN15 19:18 N0DET 559 559 14.062 CW DN70 19:20 WB7BWZ 559 559 14.062 CW DN55 19:25 KT5X 559 559 14.062 CW DM75 19:27 KX0R 559 559 14.062 CW DM79 19:28 AE0XI 559 559 14.062 CW EN12 19:31 K7VK 559 559 14.062 CW DN26 19:40 W4KRN 559 559 14.062 CW FM18 19:41 W5ODS 559 559 14.062 CW EM26 See you next time! 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-umunhum-2021-01-30/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eARRL winter field day! Time to get out to the Nature and work portable! Which is how I do it all the time\nduh.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy initial plan for the field day was to drive to the Tahoe area and try activating Mt. Tallac. Weather made\ncorrections - Northern California had been pummeled by rain and snow that week and I decided to wait for\nsnow to set before making an attempt.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSafe and easy plan B I fell back to is activating \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Umunhum\"\u003eMount Umunhum\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/CC-052\"\u003eW6/CC-052\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDue to the fact that the mountain had been closed to visitors until recently it is not featured in\npopular culture as frequently as other prominent Bay Area peaks.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"ARRL Winter field day 2021 - Mt. Umunhum"},{"content":"And yet another SOTA report from the Bay Area - this time it is about Montara mountain with its highest point - Scarper peak also known as W6/NC-288.\nIt may be of a surprise to you but european explorers were oblivious of San Francisco bay existence for quite a while. For example Sir Francis Drake most likely stopped to careen his ships in what is now called Drakes bay during his 1579 circumnavigation voyage and search for a North-west passage. English later were trying to use his landing to dispute Spanish and American claims on California.\nOnly in 1769 Juan Gaspar de Portola and his companions discovered the Bay. The monument commemorating this event is located on the Sweeney ridge trail hugging Montara mountain from the north.\nThere are other trails on the mountain I frequently hike because they provide a decent exercise and stunning views of both Pacific Ocean coast and the Bay. I recommend North peak trail / loop.\nGetting to the summit is sketchy at best SOTA activation is a tad problematic though because Scarper peak is sandwiched between private land and San Francisco watershed land closed to the public. On top of that (pun intended) there is an operational FAA radar on the peak and I would rather not risk interfering with it even with a pesky 10W rig.\nSan Francisco watershed - no trespassing allowed\nScarper peak trail page on All Trails seems to be out of date. Apparently the peak was reachable but at some point since 2018 another gate had been added here blocking direct summit access. When Brian N6IZ heard in the SOTA Slack channel I\u0026rsquo;m planning to activate Scarper he shared his post with information on how to get to the summit without getting onto private land.\nHaving considered all pro- and contra- I chose this place to work other HAMs from. This point is below 25 meters from the summit vertically so I didn\u0026rsquo;t activate the mountain technically and didn\u0026rsquo;t add points to my record. At the same time it is high enough to make line-of-sight contacts with most of the Bay Area. Also you don\u0026rsquo;t not need to do any bushwhacking, there is a road all the way to the top.\nAn installation on the ridge - will be activating from here\nIf you feel like you absolutely have to get to the peak I believe you can use an abandoned tractor as a landmark and then bushwhack up a wash to a service road and the activation zone. Once again I do not recommend doing that.\nAn abandoned tractor\nHere is the map I\u0026rsquo;ve made.\nYe Olde Pyrate map\nGetting there The trailhead and parking is located here in El Granada. I don\u0026rsquo;t think you\u0026rsquo;ll have any problem finding a parking spot - the trail does not seem to be too popular outside of the local community and locals don\u0026rsquo;t need to drive there.\nAs you hike up, vistas of El Granada and Pillar point start to open up. Further up you\u0026rsquo;ll have a great view of the local airfield and harbor.\nEl Granada and Pillar point\nEddie Andreini Sr. Airfield\nPillar point harbor\nMost of the trail is exposed and when I hiked it the temperature reached 80F (27C). IN JANUARY. Have plenty of water, sunscreen and a head cover! There are some trees on the ridge though.\nSpine ridge trail\nScarper peak SOTA (non)activation If you read my previous reports you know I activate on HF. Never had any success trying to activate on VHF and it was the time to fix that. Usually I hear some folks calling SOTA or operating mobile but they don\u0026rsquo;t seem to pick the signal from my 5-10W handhelds and a short antenna. Activating during a week long VHF contest boosted my chances as well as did my new Arrow II yagi antenna. Brent KB1LQD was planning to activate Mt. Umunhum and we coordinated.\nYaesu VX-6 and Arrow II antenna\nStations worked from W6/NC-288 I was able to make QSOs with KB1LQD, K6TJ, K6EL, N6JSO, KN6ETI and K2GMY. Thanks folks I had a lot of fun!\nSee you next time! 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-scarper-2021-01-17/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAnd yet another SOTA report from the Bay Area - this time it is about\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montara_Mountain\"\u003eMontara mountain\u003c/a\u003e with its highest point -\nScarper peak also known as \u003ca href=\"https://sotl.as/summits/W6/NC-288\"\u003eW6/NC-288\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt may be of a surprise to you but european explorers were oblivious of San Francisco\nbay existence for quite a while. For example Sir Francis Drake most likely stopped\nto careen his ships in what is now called \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drake_in_California\"\u003eDrakes bay\u003c/a\u003e\nduring his 1579 circumnavigation voyage and search for a North-west passage. English\nlater were trying to use his landing to dispute Spanish and American claims on California.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOnly in 1769 Juan Gaspar de Portola and his companions discovered the Bay. The monument\ncommemorating \u003ca href=\"https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/san-francisco-bay-discovery-site.htm\"\u003ethis event\u003c/a\u003e\nis located on the \u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/sweeney-ridge-trail-via-sneath-lane\"\u003eSweeney ridge trail\u003c/a\u003e\nhugging Montara mountain from the north.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Scarper peak SOTA (non)activation 2021-01-17"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m back with a new report - I had quite a bit of fun in the North Bay last November activating Mount Tamalpais aka W6/CC-063.\nThe mountain is a birthplace of mountain biking and had been mentioned in The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac - the book made me fall in love and eventually move in with California.\nAlso this is the place where apes from Dawn of the planet of the Apes live.\nMount Tamalpais topo cast\nGetting there There is a long winding road climbing from Fairfax via Alpine lake. If you start early you\u0026rsquo;ll have a chance to see fog boiling in the lake valley.\nStarting early you can catch fog in valleys\nAs with Mt. Diablo you can drive up almost to the summit. The mountain has three peaks and parking is close to Eastern peak with a fire lookout.\nFire lookout as seen from parking\nPark map\nMount Tamalpais SOTA activation There is not much space around the fire lookout but I was able to tie my dipole to the rocks \u0026ldquo;wrapping\u0026rdquo; the building. Suboptimal given all this barbed wire and rebars interfering with the antenna but it worked ok.\nMy shack\nDipole deployed, let\u0026rsquo;s roll!\nStations worked from W6/CC-063 20 meter band had been extremely noisy, had to QSY to 40 meters.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 18:15 K0DTJ 559 559 7.032 CW CM87 18:16 NW7E 559 559 7.032 CW CN94 18:17 K6YK 559 559 7.032 CW CM97 18:20 KE6RS 559 559 7.032 CW CM88 18:29 K7GA 559 559 7.032 CW DM22 18:32 NS7P 559 559 7.032 CW CN84 18:36 N6MKW 559 559 7.032 CW DM04 Hiking the loop My plan was to work HF from the Eastern summit and hike a clockwise loop East Ridgecrest Blvd =\u0026gt; Arturo trail =\u0026gt; Upper Northside trail =\u0026gt; Parking visiting two remaining peaks because SOTA with no hike is not fun. AA6XA wrote in his blog post the correct peak to activate is the Western one. I would say the difference in height is negligible but there is an abandoned base of 666th Radar Squadron and an active FAA radar installation on the Western peak. I decided to keep out and activate from the Eastern peak instead.\nActive FAA radar\nThe bay, Golden gate and Ocean view from J-33\nWiew to the North from the Eastern peak\nGolden Gate and Pacific Ocean as seen from the Eastern peak\nSan Francisco and the Bay\nRichmond bridge and Mt. Diablo\nThe summit as seen from parking\nThere are picnic tables in the shade near parking - perfect place for a break!\nLunch - miso soup and tea\nAlpine lake (I guess)\nMore San Francisco\nOn the trail\nOn the way back you can watch the Sun setting behind Farallon islands and see whales if the season is right. Majestic!\nBolinas bay and setting Sun\nSee you next time! 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-tamalpais-2020-11-14/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m back with a new report - I had quite a bit of fun in the North Bay last November activating\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Tamalpais\"\u003eMount Tamalpais\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/CC-063\"\u003eW6/CC-063\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe mountain is a birthplace of mountain biking and had been mentioned in\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dharma_Bums\"\u003eThe Dharma Bums\u003c/a\u003e\nby Jack Kerouac - the book made me fall in love and eventually move in with California.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso this is the place where apes from\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dawn_of_the_Planet_of_the_Apes\"\u003eDawn of the planet of the Apes\u003c/a\u003e\nlive.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Tamalpais SOTA activation 2020-11-14"},{"content":"Hey-hey, buckle up for yet another SOTA activation report! This time our guest is Mount Diablo aka W6/CC-045.\nNeed to confess - as a kid I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing Diablo and Diablo II games. Dark atmosphere, fast paced real time isometric combat and RPG elements made for an ideal mix. While I could spend more time studying instead of wasting time playing games there is hardly any other piece of media that made me wish to become a software engineer more. Well, maybe Might \u0026amp; Magic VI. And also probably Doom. But Diablo is definitely one of the trinity.\nWhy do I mention that? Because Diablo game had been named after Mount Diablo. Don\u0026rsquo;t trust me, check David Brevik talking about the game.\nSo yeah this is one of those mountains very important to me.\nThe name and wee bit of history According to sources cited in the Wikipedia article, the name was given to the mountain by Spaniards. A group of local Miwok people were pursued but were able to disengage in a thicket near the mountain. This event had been attributed to Devil intervention hence the name. Locals called the mountain Tuyshtak and Sukkú Jaman.\nThe summit can be seen virtually from anywhere in the Bay Area and was chosen as the first surveying initial point for Northern California and Nevada. If I recall correctly Mount Diablo meridian and baseline marker can be found inside the beacon tower.\nOne of the interesting features is an aircraft beacon / lighthouse on the summit. One of the last artifacts of the pre-radio navigation era, the light beacon was installed by Standard Oil 1928 to guide aircraft to Oakland and San Francisco airports. Disabled after the attack on Pearl Harbor to prevent its use by Japanese it lost its significance as a navigation aid over the course of the war and was not re-lit until 1964 when Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz who was a Commander in Chief of Pacific Forces during World War II established the tradition to light the beacon up on December 7 to honor those who served and sacrificed. The beacon is also lit on Sundays during an ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.\nMount Diablo area is a home for one of the largest and most active amateur radio clubs in California - Mount Diablo amateur radio club. I\u0026rsquo;ve got my Extra license there!\nYet another attractive feature is that one can drive up to the very summit. Unsurprisingly Mt. Diablo is one of the most activated peaks in the W6 SOTA region with 95 activations as I write this post. Mountain prominence allows for low launch angles so you will be heard from afar. Derek K9DJV operates frequently from here on weekends, on 146.520 MHz FM with a directional antenna. I was receiving him on my Baofeng while approaching Clouds Rest in Yosemite and Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic. Had never been able to reach back with my rubber duck antenna. Didn\u0026rsquo;t meet him this time as well! Well, someday, someday\u0026hellip;\nGetting there The mountain is a part of California State park. There are two entrances - a southern one and a northern one. Roads converge closer to the summit. Entrance fee is $10 at the moment. I would recommend having cash - rangers had trouble with a payment terminal last time I visited. You can also camp in the park, online reservation required.\nMy personal favorite hike in the park is the Summit Trail but this time I just drove all the way up.\nPark map\nGetting to the summit parking lot early never hurts but people shuffle in and out constantly so finding a parking spot should not be extremely difficult.\nView from the summit\nMount Diablo is one of the most prominent peaks in the Bay Area so you can see a lot of the Bay Area from there.\nAntennae on the summit\nThe beacon and upper parking\nUpper parking access is closed but it\u0026rsquo;s just about 150 - 200 feet from lower summit parking.\nMount Diablo SOTA activation Dipole deployed\nIn hindsight I don\u0026rsquo;t think I chose the place to operate from properly. Too close to the antenna farm, had a lot of noise pumped into my QCX+ so unfortunately could not copy quite a few folks. Sorry about that!\nMy shack\nSummit panorama\nHad QCX+ rig with an amplifier and GPS module with me. After the SOTA activation I, once again, tried my luck with WSPR mode and again no one heard me. I believe I found what I\u0026rsquo;m doing wrong, will test and provide the details in the next blog post.\nStations worked from W6/CC-045 Oh my! This was quite a day, I\u0026rsquo;ve got contacts from two Mountain Goats! KX0R and WG0AT from Colorado! Steve\u0026rsquo;s WG0AT YouTube channel and Twitter are how I learned about SOTA in the first place. Grateful to all the chasers - only you folks make an activation possible.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 18:47 K6YK 599 559 14.062 CW CM97 18:51 AD0WB 599 559 14.062 CW DM79 18:54 WG0AT 599 559 14.062 CW DM79 19:04 VE7HI 599 559 14.062 CW CN89 19:10 KX0R 599 559 14.062 CW DM79 19:15 KB1LQD 599 559 14.062 CW DM03 19:17 KT5X 599 559 14.062 CW DM75 See you next time! 73 K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-diablo-2020-10-17/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHey-hey, buckle up for yet another SOTA activation report! This time our guest is\n\u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Diablo\"\u003eMount Diablo\u003c/a\u003e aka\n\u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/CC-045\"\u003eW6/CC-045\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNeed to confess - as a kid I spent an unhealthy amount of time playing Diablo and Diablo II games.\nDark atmosphere, fast paced real time isometric combat and RPG elements made for an ideal mix.\nWhile I could spend more time studying instead of wasting time playing games there is hardly any other\npiece of media that made me wish to become a software engineer more. Well, maybe Might \u0026amp; Magic VI.\nAnd also probably Doom. But Diablo is definitely one of the trinity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy do I mention that? Because Diablo game had been named after Mount Diablo. Don\u0026rsquo;t trust me,\ncheck \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VscdPA6sUkc\"\u003eDavid Brevik talking about the game\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Diablo SOTA activation 2020-10-17"},{"content":"Welcome back friends! It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since the last blog post - I was busy (and lazy!) Time to clean the backlog up a bit and write about Clouds Rest aka W6/SS-257 activation.\nThe Bay Area was extremely smoky in the middle of September and I hoped I could get some cleaner air higher in Eastern Sierra. Right before my planned trip all national forests had been closed due to fires. Sequoia National park started to burn as well and winds pushed smoke toward Yosemite. I decided to go anyway - if there is no escape from ash I\u0026rsquo;ll breathe ash with a view at least.\nDue to national forest closures my initial plan - to spend Friday night in Walker, enter Yosemite area from the East, activate Tioga Peak on Saturday 12th and Clouds Rest on Sunday 13th had to be scaled down: Tioga Peak is located in Inyo national forest and was not accessible at the moment.\nGetting there I was trying to combine SOTA activation with a decent hike. It\u0026rsquo;s a 13 mile out and back trail. During the peak season in summer, when there are no attendance limits in Yosemite parking near Tenaya lake can be pretty crowded. I\u0026rsquo;d recommend spending a night in Lee Vining and starting early before people driving from the west get there. This time parking was not a problem - a lot of folks cancelled trips due to the smog.\nTenaya lake and Pywiack Dome\nMorning was pretty clear and sunny. Note there are multiple parkings near the Tenaya lake, the trailhead is here. I always end up parking closer to the lake and end up wading through bushes to get to the trail.\nEntering Yosemite blah-blah-blah. Follow the rules\nThe trail is well beaten and fairly easy to follow. You climb up a ridge first, there is a trail junction on the top, follow directions to Clouds Rest.\nNear a junction. Farther hump obscures Clouds Rest\nYou are then crossing a valley and climbing up again.\nLake on the bottom of the valley\nMount Starr King on the left, Clouds Rest on the right. Smog starts to show up\nUpper Yosemite valley and Smith Peak in the background. View from Clouds Rest crest\nTop of the crest scarred by glacier\nWildlife\nRock chaos and Mt. Lyell (I believe) in the background\nFoot trail\nTa-dah! Half Dome as seen from the East\nClouds Rest SOTA activation Had QCX+ rig with amplifier with me. With 13V battery the rigs pumps about 14W into an antenna. Also had GPS kit with me and tried to send WSPR signals but no signals from me were reported. Need to double check I use the right settings. 14.062, usual frequency I work, was busy, faint QRM, couldn\u0026rsquo;t read and didn\u0026rsquo;t want to interfere. I\u0026rsquo;ve moved up to 14.063 and activated the summit within 30 minutes.\nDipole deployed on the top. Time to activate\nStations worked from W6/SS-257 As always great to hear you folks again! Randy K9VD, Gary N2ESE thanks for helping me to activate!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 20:30 AB6SO 599 559 14.063 CW CM87 20:35 N2ESE 599 559 14.063 CW FN20 20:40 WD8KDB 499 449 14.063 CW EN85 20:41 K9VD 599 559 14.063 CW CN87 20:45 KE9AJ 599 559 14.063 CW EN50 20:55 K0LAF 599 559 14.063 CW EM37 Hiking back Return leg of the hike was quite uneventful. Smog was getting thicker and thicker and I wanted to get back as soon as possible.\nOn the way back, smog gets thicker and thicker\nOne of my favorite hikes in Yosemite, even fires could not poison the experience. Stay tuned for more, K0SSK out 73.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-clouds-rest-2020-09-12/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome back friends! It\u0026rsquo;s been a while since the last blog post - I was busy (and lazy!) Time to clean\nthe backlog up a bit and write about Clouds Rest aka \u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/SS-257\"\u003eW6/SS-257\u003c/a\u003e\nactivation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe Bay Area was extremely smoky in the middle of September and I hoped I could get some cleaner air higher\nin Eastern Sierra. Right before my planned trip all national forests had been closed due to fires.\nSequoia National park started to burn as well and winds pushed smoke toward Yosemite. I decided to go\nanyway - if there is no escape from ash I\u0026rsquo;ll breathe ash with a view at least.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Clouds Rest SOTA activation 2020-09-12"},{"content":"Hey-hey friends! If you read my previous post you know I\u0026rsquo;ve built a QCX+ kit from QRP Labs recently. Naturally I was eager to try the rig in the field but at the same time I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel like doing any serious hike plus I wanted to maximize the probability of a successful activation. Ideally the summit should be close to a ham brood, the hike should not be boring but still allow to bring some backup equipment just in case QCX+ fails me.\nMeet Mount Caroline Livermore W6/CC-075 in the Angel Island State Park located (quite unsurprisingly) on Angel Island, the second largest in San Francisco bay.\nThere are plenty of hams around the bay and I wanted to visit the park for quite a while now. I would prefer to camp but due to Covid-19 closures the only option for visiting the island in August 2020 is a day hike.\nBecause of closures there is no ferry connection between SF and Angel Island. The only option right now is to take a ferry from Tiburon.\nA wee bit of history Park on an island worth visiting just for sake of visiting an island but there is actually more to it.\nJoseph Kinyoun was stationed here in 1900 as the head of the Marine Hospital Service. He lead efforts to contain the San Francisco plague epidemic of 1900-1904, a regional outbreak of Third plague pandemic originated in China. Kinyoun resigns after allegations that his conclusive bubonic plague diagnoses were scaremongering.\nI highly recommend a book on the topic \u0026ldquo;Black Death at the Golden Gate: The Race to Save America from the Bubonic Plague\u0026rdquo; by David K. Randall.\nProbably the most famous installation here is US Immigration Station sometimes dubbed \u0026ldquo;Ellis Island of the West\u0026rdquo;. Unlike the it\u0026rsquo;s eastern counterpart Angel Island was not too welcoming. The station was built on the island in the wake of the plague outbreak and was used to enforce strict immigration laws, to detain and quarantine want-to-be immigrants from Asian countries. An immigrant myself I find this part of an american history very interesting and worth a close examination.\nThe mountain is named after Caroline Sealy Livermore who was instrumental in assigning a state park status to Angel Island.\nGetting there I recommend booking ferry tickets beforehand. In the summer ferry works every day and only on weekends off season. The closes parking lot is less than 5 minute walk from the pier. There are dining options near the pier so you\u0026rsquo;ll need only snacks and water with you. I was 20 minutes early for 1000 ferry to the island and was the very first passenger in the boarding line. Upper deck of a ferry is open and it is usually pretty windy - just in case you have any Covid concerns.\nAngel Island pier. Smog and fog are hiding Angel Island\nThe ferry ride itself takes about 15 minutes and takes you to the visitor center moore. Restrooms, a cafe and bike rentals are located here. You may bring your bicycle to a ferry but there is no bike trail to the summit.\nMorning Angel Island\nAs I write this SCU and LNU Lightning fire complexes are still smoldering, week ago when I went to the park August fires were raging. While the smoke situation was not as bad as in the South Bay area it was quite bad. What you see in photos is like 50/50 fog and smoke mix. On a clear day you may expect nice views of SF, Alcatraz and Golden Gate but it\u0026rsquo;s often foggy in summer.\nGear I would grade this hike as an easy one so you\u0026rsquo;ll need nothing specific aside from layers, a windbreaker and a hat you can attach to yourself firmly. I believe if you dredge the strait you\u0026rsquo;ll find tons of baseball caps blown off tourists.\nAyala Cove\nOn the island There is a loop trail bringing you to the top of Mt. Livermore (237 meters / 777 ft). I wanted to squeeze as much as possible out of my first island visit so after reaching the summit and activating it I followed the loop clockwise until the intersection with the fire road and then hiked the fire road counterclockwise to get a better view of the lower parts.\nI started my hike at 1030 and was back to the visitor center by 1500 just in time for 1520 ferry. The last ferry back to Tiburon is 1620 and can be quite packed.\nThe fastest way to get to the top of Mt. Livermore is via the North ridge trail.\nNorth ridge trail plaque\nThe trail starts to climb right from the visitor center\nI was pleasantly surprised with the forested northern part of the island. To be honest I was expecting to find another dull sun bleached hill but the reality was quite a bit more shaded and picturesque.\nOn the stairs\nAbove Ayala Cove\nNear the summit\nBeacon on the summit\nKarl the Fog does his thing\nMt. Livermore SOTA activation I would say the summit of Mt. Livermore is by far the coziest place I have activated from. There is a fence you can attach a mast to, a table and a bench you can place your equipment on. Bring long straps, I didn\u0026rsquo;t have straps long enough to attach to the fence poles and ended up strapping my mast to the horizontal fence cables. It worked but antenna wires pulled the mast from a vertical position.\nDeployed and ready to operate\nStations worked from Mt. Livermore W6/CC-075 QCX+ was the main station and Elecraft KX-2 was a backup. Operating QCX+ from a stand makes for a huge usability convenience improvement - it is a chore to decipher the LCD display when the transceiver lays flat on a table.\nSo did QCX+ work? Oh yes! Actually I am very impressed with sensitivity - the only reason why I needed to ask for repeats was my still humble ability to read Morse code. Received signals were punchy and easy to copy even without an external audio filter. Filter does help to cut noise a bit though.\nYeee! QCX+ in the wild\nThanks to all the chasers who made the activation possible! You folks rock! I was really happy to hear a lot of people again. Given I only put out around 3W most of the credit for the activation is definitely yours.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 18:55 KI7VEM 599 529 14.062 CW CN85 18:59 N5ZC 599 529 14.062 CW DM95 19:00 KR7RK 599 559 14.062 CW DM42 19:02 KF7VI 599 529 14.062 CW CN86 19:04 W0MNA 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 19:06 K9VD 599 599 14.062 CW CN87 19:08 K7SS 599 559 14.062 CW CN87 19:10 W0ERI 599 599 14.062 CW EM29 19:15 VA6CA 599 339 14.062 CW DO21 19:17 WW7D 599 579 14.062 CW CN87 19:20 W0JSL 599 329 14.062 CW DM79 19:20 NS7P 599 579 14.062 CW CN84 Time to get going As I have already mentioned I didn\u0026rsquo;t have much time - I wanted to check the southern part of the island and be back to the pier for 1520 ferry. At around noon the fog below started to melt.\nSummit panorama\nSmog and fog start to clear. Ayala Cove and Tiburon peninsula\nI was following the loop further until the intersection with fire road but instead of returning to Ayala Cove I turned left to the fire road and hiked it counterclockwise. This is a nice, level hike and on a clear day I would get a great view of San Francisco waterfront and Alcatraz from there. Not this day though - fog was still funneling into the bay through Golden Gate. There are not as many trees as on the southern slope and ocean breeze can be pretty chilly.\nSouthern slopes\nFort McDowell\nOn the fire road\nOld-ish building near US Immigration station\nUS Immigration Station, got to check it another time\nThis is it. Was back to the pier just in time for 1520 ferry back to Tiburon.\nOn the ferry back to Tiburon\nI will definitely be back and probably going to rent a bike. Highly recommend the hike if you are in the area and want something easy but not boring.\nMy next post is likely to be about QCX+ WSPR beacon mode. Take care. K0SSK out 73 ditdit.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-angel-2020-08-23/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHey-hey friends! If you read \u003ca href=\"/post/qcx-plus-2020-08-25/\"\u003emy previous post\u003c/a\u003e\nyou know I\u0026rsquo;ve built a QCX+ kit from QRP Labs recently. Naturally I was eager to try the rig in the field but\nat the same time I didn\u0026rsquo;t feel like doing any serious hike plus I wanted to maximize the probability of a\nsuccessful activation. Ideally the summit should be close to a ham brood, the hike should not be boring but\nstill allow to bring some backup equipment just in case QCX+ fails me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeet Mount Caroline Livermore \u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/CC-075\"\u003eW6/CC-075\u003c/a\u003e in the Angel Island\nState Park located (quite unsurprisingly) on Angel Island, the second largest in San Francisco bay.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Caroline Livermore SOTA activation 2020-08-23"},{"content":"Hello friends! Not a SOTA activation report this time. I took a break and spent some time with a soldering iron in my hands!\nSOTA is not only about hikes and operating radios but also about building your rigs and antennas. When a heap of dead and cold components turns into a radio one can use to make contact with people hundreds miles away it is pure magic. This never gets old. So I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be happier when Hans G0UPL announced he\u0026rsquo;s updating his excellent QCX transceiver kit.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve immediately pre-ordered the upgraded version.\nQCX was good but\u0026hellip; About a year ago I got my first QCX kit. I just got my Technician license and was looking for some easy-to-medium difficulty kit to get a refresher on soldering. Also I was thinking about a simple CW rig for SOTA. Ordered 20 meter version.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve built the kit and had a lot of fun in the process but eventually QSX didn\u0026rsquo;t quite work out as a SOTA rig for me. I couldn\u0026rsquo;t read Morse code reliably enough at the time and the built in decoder was not extremely helpful.\nThe other issue with an original QCX is that there is no enclosure option included with the kit. There is a great aluminum third party enclosure from BaMaTech but it is quite expensive and I had to wait for it to restock.\nAlso I was not confident I\u0026rsquo;m sending enough watts out to be heard reliably. In order to add some punch I was thinking about building the amplifier kit. It\u0026rsquo;s needed to key the amp from the transceiver and while I bought the kit I just couldn\u0026rsquo;t bring myself to solder needed wires, drill the enclosure and install PTT port into my QCX.\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s cool about QCX+ The updated version does have an optional enclosure. The assembled rig looks rad IMO. PTT port is built in. CAT port is built in. Not that I care for SOTA but someone may find it useful. You can connect a GPS module also available as a kit, calibrate frequency and sync time. This allows QCX+ to act as a WSPR beacon. Yes, you can use QCX+ as a WSPR beacon! I find this feature very interesting because I want to know where I was heard even if no one got back to me. Also it may help to compare antennas. The QCX+ board is slightly larger, less crowded than one for QCX and has component free margins fitting into enclosure slots. They also allow for an easier assembly using a board holder. QCX+ main board with most components installed held with a board holder\nWhat\u0026rsquo;s not so cool The QCX+ board is slightly larger, less crowded than one for QCX so rig dimensions are larger as well. There is no built in speaker or battery - not that I need it but I need to mention. I thought about installing the GPS module into the same enclosure but unfortunately it makes little sense - GPS module uses paddle input port to communicate with the rig and you can\u0026rsquo;t use both simultaneously. Looks like I found a bug in T1.05 firmware - if you try to send a stored message sometimes the rig just beeps and returns back to the keyer speed adjustment menu. Beeps VERY LOUDLY. Like, eardrum busting loudly, be careful! I\u0026rsquo;m still trying to confirm if it\u0026rsquo;s a real bug though. NB: Which band to choose? If you don\u0026rsquo;t know which band to build for, I\u0026rsquo;d recommend 20 meters.\nIn my opinion a 20 meter band is the best for summer CW SOTA if there are no sun spots. General rule of thumb is to choose operating frequency about 0.8 * MUF (Maximum usable frequency). By getting as far as possible from LUF (Lowest usable frequency) we minimize absorption losses in D the layer. As of August 2020 there are no sunspots and maximum daily MUF hovers around 18 MHz making the 20 meter band a natural choice.\nBecause higher frequency signals penetrate into the higher layers of the ionosphere the length of \u0026lsquo;hops\u0026rsquo; increases as well. Moving through the ionosphere a linearly polarized wave turns into an elliptically polarized one (This is by the way why polarisation of a receiving antenna is not extremely important). But each time a wave reflects from Earth a horizontally polarized component is being shorted. Longer hops =\u0026gt; less reflections from Earth =\u0026gt; less attenuation.\nMore than that - I prefer dipole antennas over verticals because the latter require a lot of radials to be effective on dry and rocky californian summits. Problem with portable dipoles though is that they are deployed way lower than at an ideal half wavelength height. My SotaBeams mast is about 6m / 20ft high. Since dipole is deployed in an inverted \u0026lsquo;V\u0026rsquo; configuration the effective height is even smaller, about 5m / 16ft. Low dipoles aka \u0026ldquo;space / worm warmers\u0026rdquo; beam up (remember the recommended height for NVIS is lambda / 8?). As frequency increases the height of the same antenna measured in the number of wavelengths increases as well. This means instead of beaming straight up and losing a lot of energy in the soil dipole starts to radiate better at lower angles. Being on a narrow summit helps to increase an effective height further and squeeze the main lobes further down and closer to the horizon.\nKit assembly tips I\u0026rsquo;ll try to avoid repeating the assembly manual for it is the best manual for a kit I ever saw - very easy to follow.\nIt took me about four evenings to finish the QCX+ and align it. I guess you can gulp it in one take - should take 6-8 hours from start to finish but why rushing things you enjoy?\nThe board comes with smd components pre-soldered, you only have to deal with through-hole components.\nOn the first day I wound and soldered the transformer and filter toroids. I prefer to wind / install all the coils first because it is easier to test your work quality before you add other components. If you put some components between coil terminals how do you know which path the tester current takes? What I like about the coil wires in this particular kit is that the insulation is very thin and does not require any scraping - just solder wires, test joints with a tester and heat a joint again if a tester does not beep. This is another reason to install coils first - why risk overheating other components?\nWinding and installing toroids first\nOn the second day I\u0026rsquo;ve soldered all the ICs and some capacitors. I recommend using an antistatic mat / bracelet just to be on a safe side.\nBoard with most IC installed\nOn the third day I\u0026rsquo;ve finished assembly of the main board.\nOn the fourth and the last day I put together the front panel, assembled and aligned the radio. All needed testing equipment is built into the radio itself. Just a note - when installing a knob onto the rotary encoder don\u0026rsquo;t push it all the way in. It is a button and you\u0026rsquo;ll need some room to be able to press it.\nRig with the enclosure opened for alignment\nSince I plan to use QCX+ with a 50W amplifier I made a suggested PTT jack conversion to be able to use a stock 3.5mm jack wire to connect the transceiver and the amplifier. Note the conversion puts +5V to the tip - something to remember if you plan on building a GPS receiver from the kit and powering it up from QCX+. Please refer to the manual for details.\nTwo cuts and two jumpers to swap PTT and +5V output\nTwo cuts and two jumpers to swap PTT and +5V output\nWhile being marketed as a 5W transceiver it actually puts out around 3W on a 12V battery. I hope it won\u0026rsquo;t put too much strain on mosfets in WSPR beacon mode - the duty cycle is brutal, 2 minutes of a continuous key down. I believe everything is going to be ok though.\nOutput power is around 3W on 12V battery\nOutput signal is clean enough and click-free as far as I can see with my toy oscilloscope. I was tuning around a signal from a calibrated signal source and it looks like the displayed frequency is actually about 50 to 100 Hz higher than the actual frequency the transceiver is tuned to. This is with the TCXO option installed. Looking forward to connecting the GPS module and calibrating more precisely.\n17 WPM dit as seen on an oscilloscope screen\nAs compared to other transceivers With an enclosure measuring 14.7cm x 10.5cm x 5.5cm (5.8\u0026quot; x 4.2\u0026quot; x 2.2\u0026quot;) and weight of 562 g (1.24 lb) QCX+ is not the smallest and not the lightest transceiver on the market (surely one of the cheapest). 3W power output is quite humble as well. But it has certain features not available even in transceivers 10x times more expensive. I especially like the flexibility of the canned messages menu and the ability to modify stored messages. Saves a lot of time because you are not forced to pre-record your SOTA CQ sequence in one go as with Elecraft KX-2 for example. WSPR capability is neat and the documentation is superb. Hans provides a very detailed explanation of the QCX+ internals but if you are not inclined to increase your QNB it suffices to follow simple instructions and get your transceiver in the end.\nBravo Hans and thank you!\nFront panel\nBack panel\nQCX+, QCX, Elecraft KX-2, Xiegu G90, Mountain topper MTR3B_LCD size comparison\nStay tuned for the next SOTA report featuring newly built QCX+. For now this is it! 73 dit dit. K0SSK out.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/qcx-plus-2020-08-25/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello friends! Not a SOTA activation report this time. I took a break and spent some time with\na soldering iron in my hands!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSOTA is not only about hikes and operating radios but also about building your rigs and antennas. When\na heap of dead and cold components turns into a radio one can use to make contact with people hundreds\nmiles away it is pure magic. This never gets old. So I couldn\u0026rsquo;t be happier when Hans G0UPL announced\nhe\u0026rsquo;s updating his excellent QCX transceiver kit.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve immediately pre-ordered \u003ca href=\"https://www.qrp-labs.com/qcxp.html\"\u003ethe upgraded version\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"QCX+ CW radio kit from QRP Labs"},{"content":"Welcome back friends! Yet another activation report - this time our target is Half Dome in Yosemite national park or as SOTA people know it W6/SN-040.\nThis trip almost didn\u0026rsquo;t happen. I had completely different plans for the last weekend of July 2020 but for good or for bad these plans became obsolete mid week. The best Plan B I could come up with was to curl up under a blanket and marathon the extended cut of Lord of the Rings. But. I needed a new Plan A.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve applied for a Half Dome permit and won! Need to say I was applying for a permit every week I wasn\u0026rsquo;t holding a pager since mid May with no success. I\u0026rsquo;ve planned my vacation for the first week of August and likely going to be busy afterwards so it was my last attempt this season.\nThere are following options for those who want to get into Yosemite at the moment (August 2020).\nWin Day-use permit. Valid for 7 consecutive days for unlimited re-entries. Reserve a camp site in the park. Reserve a place to stay in Yosemite Valley Lodge, Curry Village, or The Ahwahnee. Have private lodging or vacation rental reservation in Wawona, Yosemite West, or Foresta. Get Yosemite wilderness permit - these are processed by lottery 14 days in advance of the start date of your hike. You may submit your reservation application online one day prior (15 days) to the lottery date. The deadline for all lottery entries is at 7:30 am Pacific time, 14 days in advance. Read more info here. Win Yosemite Half Dome permit - applying two days prior to the planned trip date. For me the only working option was the last one. When I hiked Half Dome for the first time a couple of years ago I just got there and waited for a group who had extra permits. I didn\u0026rsquo;t believe this is a viable option this year - busy season, lot of people have a lot of free time to get to Yosemite. Would be too much competition plus I\u0026rsquo;m there for a SOTA activation and as you\u0026rsquo;ll learn getting to the top as soon as possible is critical.\nSo, yeah, I\u0026rsquo;ve got the permit. Sorry Gandalf I\u0026rsquo;m off for an adventure!\nHike details Here is the hike map and description. Note as of July 2020 Mist trail is a one way trail only between 9:00 and 16:00 - descending the steps from the top of Vernal fall is prohibited to allow for social distancing. You have to take the John Muir trail instead. I\u0026rsquo;ve taken a photo of the one way trail map for you.\nMap of the one way trails below the Nevada fall\nReturn via JMT adds another mile or two so you should be ready to hike about 17 miles / 27 km with an elevation change of 5200 ft / 1580 meters. By no means an easy hike but well worth it.\nGear Pretty much standard California day hike gear with few peculiarities.\nHat Sunscreen and chapstick with UV protection Hiking shirt and pants / shorts Warm layer Shell / rain gear First aid kit At least 2 quarts / 2 liters of water. Better 3. There are some water sources on the trail but I believe looking for a decent source and filtering is a huge waste of time on a day hike especially a long one. Food - depends. I opted for snacks / protein bars to save time on cooking a lunch so I can get down and have a fancy dinner before restaurants close. Now important: gloves. You do need gloves to climb the cables. Preferably with leather palms for better traction. Climbing harness + lanyards + carabiners to clip into cables. Ideally via ferrata type but even two strips of climbing webbing would be better then nothing. Lot of folks climb cables with no harness but I\u0026rsquo;m yet to meet someone who\u0026rsquo;d regretted bringing one. Flashlight - you may be delayed and have to descend when it\u0026rsquo;s dark. Helmet - meh I dunno. Ideally yes. Practically - there is no rockfall so I didn\u0026rsquo;t bring mine. If you climb with kids they do need a helmet. Logistics Half Dome trail is a long hike taking most people around 10 to 12 hours to finish. This is why you want to start as early as feasible so you don\u0026rsquo;t have to be descending when it\u0026rsquo;s dark already. Some people staying in Yosemite start as early as 5:30. To those on a tighter budget I can recommend staying in Yosemite bug - you have an option of a hostel or a private room to stay in, there is a restaurant on the property open until 22:00 and it\u0026rsquo;s just an hour drive from Half Dome trail parking. If you get to the parking early it\u0026rsquo;s easier to find a free spot.\nYosemite valley in the morning\nLet\u0026rsquo;s start walking The trail between Happy Isles and the top of Vernal fall is the busiest by far - most visitors especially with kids don\u0026rsquo;t venture further. The trail is very well marked and there are plenty of people so chances to get lost are slim. This does not mean you don\u0026rsquo;t need a map with you.\nMist trail sign\nHow misty Mist trail is depends on the season - last time I hiked it early June and I was soaked! Steps may be wet and slippery - careful here! This time - end of July - Vernal fall was not as strong so Mist trail was a tad moist that\u0026rsquo;s it.\nVernal fall and steps on Mist trail\nVernal fall\nThis flight of stairs was a major congestion point\nFinal flight of stairs was a major congestion point before Mist trail became a one way trail. Expect some down bound traffic before 9:00 though.\nTop of Vernal fall\nNevada fall\nTop of Nevada fall\nTrail signs near Nevada fall\nFrom the top of Nevada fall the trail is level and sandy for a couple of miles until you start to climb the \u0026ldquo;underdome\u0026rdquo;.\nFirst glimpse of Half Dome\nView to the east - Clouds rest and Merced river valley\nNote the sky is almost clear. Bottom of the dome steps is where a ranger checks permits and where most permitless people hang trying to solicit a permit. This is also the last shade so if you need a break this is the place.\nOn the dome steps\nClouds rest\nUh-oh clouds start to converge\nTop of the stairs is where you see the close up view of the dome and cables.\nDome and cables\nThis is also the point where you decide if climbing cables is a good idea. There is nothing bad in turning back here if you feel like it\u0026rsquo;s more than you can safely handle.\nPeople on the cables\nI was pushing myself too hard and about 4/5 up the cables I suffered a minor heat stroke - ears started ringing, I felt week, pupils dilated and everything around became super bright. I clipped in with my harness and sat on a plank for a few minutes able only to breathe with my eyes closed. Applying a wet microfiber towel to the neck where large blood vessels are revived me quite fast though. Bringing a towel and a harness was well worth it. I was able to continue climbing and summited if a few minutes.\nYay summit! Yosemite valley view\nHalf Dome SOTA activation Summit panorama\nBecause of the clouds rolling in the session was cut short unfortunately but I did activate the summit and let few chasers to bag it as well.\nThere is plenty of space on top to deploy an antenna and a lot of rocks to tie it to.\nKeep track of your stuff - lil critters will gladly munch on wires or get into your unattended backpack! I had to literally fight a chipmunk with a hiking pole to get it off my pack. Resist the temptation to touch wildlife - plague is endemic in Yosemite. Squirrels, chipmunks and gophers may carry it. If a critter can\u0026rsquo;t or won\u0026rsquo;t run from you chances are there is something wrong with it.\nStations worked from Half Dome W6/SN-040 Dipole on Half Dome\nOnce again thanks to all the chasers who were standing by for me! Cheers to Darryl WW7D - he helped me to activate Lassen Peak earlier this year and now Half Dome. Also made contact with Ralph VE7OM and Kenneth VE7HI from Canada - I\u0026rsquo;m kind of new to the ham radio world and this was my first international contact.\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 20:35 W0MNA 599 575 14.062 CW EM29MJ 20:37 WW7D 599 599 14.062 CW CN87wq 20:38 K6YK 599 569 14.062 CW CM97jw 20:39 K9VD 599 599 14.062 CW CN87vv 20:40 W0ERI 599 579 14.062 CW EM29mj 20:41 VE7HI 599 579 14.062 CW CN89oa 21:42 VE7OM 559 599 14.062 CW CN89oa 21:43 K3TCU 599 559 14.062 CW FN01dj The way down Uh this doesn\u0026rsquo;t look good\nRemember I\u0026rsquo;ve said you want to get to the top as early as possible? You do because weather in the mountains changes rapidly and the last thing you want is to have an antenna out during a thunderstorm.\nThis day is a remarkable example. At 11:00 there were only couple small clouds. At 12:00 when I was on the dome stairs there were several bigger clouds on the horizon. I\u0026rsquo;ve summited at 13:00. Deployed antenna, transceiver and started calling CQ 13:30 - eastern horizon was all cloudy. 14:00 I\u0026rsquo;ve packed and started to descend, 14:20 rain with hail caught up with me on cables.\nGoing down\nDon\u0026rsquo;t be cocky thinking you\u0026rsquo;ll be able to get down quickly. As I was about a half way down on cables a lady going up understood she did not have enough strength to grip securely on cables polished with gloves of previous climbers. She was two people below me at that point blocking the line in both directions. She needed to handle her panic attack, cry and rest a bit before heading down. And this is when it started raining. With hail. Luckily the person next in line to the lady was able to support and calm her down.\nOn the way up I\u0026rsquo;ve got a heat stroke and now I was cold and shivering! My anorak was strapped to the backpack but I didn\u0026rsquo;t want to lose footing on wet granit trying to take the backpack off. Once again having a harness proved to be well worth the added weight and bulk.\nRain and Hail rolls on\nA ranger came to the bottom of cables and recommended waiting for rain to end and granite to dry a bit. I thought this was going to take a while but in about 10 minutes rain stopped and in 10-15 minutes granit was dry enough to move again. The panic lady was able to descend slowly.\nWaiting for granite to dry\nTook quite a few photos chilling on cables during the rain but didn\u0026rsquo;t notice I\u0026rsquo;ve activated the \u0026lsquo;sepia\u0026rsquo; effect with my tired and cold fingers so most of the photos are not worth posting.\nClouds above Merced river valley\nClouds rest on Clouds rest\nOn the trail to Nevada fall\nNevada fall, again\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t take John Muir Trail down before because it was closed for winter the last couple of times I was in Yosemite. What I can say - wow! Such a great view of Nevada fall and back of Half Dome!\nJohn Muir trail and Yosemite valley view\nHalf Dome, Mt. Broderick, Liberty Cap and Nevada fall\nWhew! Quite a hike! Need to rest and think about the next SOTA summit. K0SSK out 73 ditdit.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-half-dome-2020-07-25/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome back friends! Yet another activation report - this time our target is Half Dome in\nYosemite national park or as SOTA people know it \u003ca href=\"https://summits.sota.org.uk/summit/W6/SN-040\"\u003eW6/SN-040\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis trip \u003cem\u003ealmost\u003c/em\u003e didn\u0026rsquo;t happen. I had completely different plans for the last weekend of July 2020\nbut for good or for bad these plans became obsolete mid week. The best Plan B I could come up with was to\ncurl up under a blanket and marathon the extended cut of Lord of the Rings. But. I needed a new Plan A.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Half Dome SOTA activation 2020-07-25"},{"content":"If you read my previous blog posts you know I spent some time in Lassen Volcanic national park trying to activate Brokeoff mountain (W6/CN-003) and successfully activated Lassen peak (W6/CN-002). So what\u0026rsquo;s next? Well, the elefant in the room is, you guessed it, W6/CN-001 also known as Mount Shasta.\nThis mountain is a very special place for me. It comes with glaciers, thin air and scorching sun. It has everything you\u0026rsquo;d expect from a \u0026ldquo;real\u0026rdquo; mountain and then some. I tried to climb it in 2017 first time and had to turn back from the bottom of Misery Hill.\nThis experience made a great impact on me. It changed the way I see nature and my own place in it.\nAs an engineer and as a person who grew up in an urban area I dealt with tamed, broken in nature for the most of my life. I always liked being outdoors but it didn\u0026rsquo;t matter to me much. I was there for scenery and maybe some healthy motion. Most of \u0026lsquo;Nature\u0026rsquo; I had experience with was a mere \u0026lsquo;Environment\u0026rsquo;, terraformed and docile. I felt like I know which boxes it belongs to\u0026hellip;\n\u0026hellip;and then I was sitting there on the rim of a snow field above Red Banks unable to catch my breath and I couldn\u0026rsquo;t believe it. I was excited. I was scared. I fell in love.\nVery visceral understanding came to me - you can\u0026rsquo;t compete with Nature let alone \u0026lsquo;beat it\u0026rsquo;. Yeah, you can turn oceans into plastic dumps. Sure, you can poison waters digging for rare elements. You can pave off meadows to build decorations for our tiny dramas. The planet going to turn, tides going to come and go, volcanoes going to form and disintegrate long after the humanity extinguishes itself for good. Nature is going to stay.\nThe only thing you can do is being a better you. Day after day. A tad smarter. A bit more experienced. Slightly better prepared.\nAnd one day you will summit.\nI did.\nAnd one day you\u0026rsquo;ll mix with star dust and become one with Nature. This day is yet to come. Until then - step by step, paying attention to breathe cadence, up.\nChoose your own adventure Shasta and surroundings provide lot of opportunities for recreation and people enjoy it in different ways. Mountaneering wise there are multiple routes with the most popular one ascending from Horse camp to the summit via Avalanche gulch on the southern side of the mountain.\nMost folks who take this route do it in two days - on the first day ascend from Horse Camp to Helen Lake campsite approximately half way up and on the second day start early with minimal gear, summit, return to the camp and back to the trailhead.\nThere are people who challenge themselves and gulp the whole trail in one day. Speed records are impressive - starting with no one else but the old timer John Muir in 1875 with 4 hours 10 minutes result to the currently (as of July 2020) standing record of 1 hour 35 minutes by Tom Goth.\nPeople push the limits all the time. As we were resting and boiling water to make some tea after getting to the bottom of Misery Hill a gal approached me and asked which way is the summit trail. It\u0026rsquo;s hard to see the trail from below so I recommended going straight up - eventually one is going to hit one of the switchbacks. I and my companion finished lunch, packed and hit the trail ourselves. About half way up we\u0026rsquo;ve met the returning gal again. She was shining with joy - it took 2 hours 54 minutes and 46 seconds for Sarah Burke to get to the top and install the new record for women.\nI doubt I will come close to this time ever. My sort of fun is trying to activate Mt. Shasta in SOTA.\nGearing up Tried-and-true Umlindi pack from Hill People Gear\nSOTA is all about finding the right balance between rig power and portability. I was choosing between my Mountain Topper and KX-2 and decided to go with KX-2. It is a bigger, heavier rig but I wanted to be sure I\u0026rsquo;m heard. Having 12W of power instead of 5W can make a difference.\nAs usually the antenna of choise is a 20/40 linked dipole. Mag loops are not as effective in transmitting and verticals perform poorly on rocks / snow with no radials. Radials are an option but they create tripping hazards. Good thing about Shasta is that there is plenty of space close to summit and you can easily deploy pretty much anything free standing.\nBattery is 12V 3 Ah Bioenno Power battery pack. Added WolfWave sound filter and Buddypole mini solar panel controller to power both transmitter and WolfWave from a single battery. With all the cables and knick knacks weight of SOTA equipment is 2.44 kg / 5.6 lb.\nOther heavy things are an ice axe, crampons, 2 liters of drinking water in a bladder and 32 oz in Naglene Oasis cantene for tea and rehydrating food.\nAdd cooking kit, food, a medkit, gloves, watch cap, glissading pants, puffy jacket and shell jacket, pack everything in Umlindi pack and you\u0026rsquo;ll end up with 24lbs / 13 kg of gear. Quite hefty but no one said SOTA is an easy enterprise.\nHelmet is a must as well as snow goggles and sunscreen - sun is reflected from the snow and you\u0026rsquo;ll get severe burns if you don\u0026rsquo;t apply the sunscreen liberally. The rule is simple - if you can see skin - cover or put some sun screen on it.\nEnough rambling, time to go Mt. Shasta town is 20 minutes drive from the Bunny Flat trailhead. We booked in hotel in the evening on Friday, slept couple of hours and drove to the trail.\nOff we go\nThere are self registration envelopes / forms available in the restroom building. Summit / wilderness access price is $25 per person. Parking is free of charge.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s go!\nInside Horse Camp lodge\nUp until reaching Horse Camp lodge trail gains elevation gently. You can get into the lodge any time but you can\u0026rsquo;t camp inside.\nFrom Horse Camp on you walk on rocks and the trail gets progressively steeper. Up to 50/50 it is easy to follow after that it is pretty much going up the gulch. If you plan on camping in Helen Lake camp there is a trail hugging an outcrop with Helen Lake from east there are lot of switchbacks and if you\u0026rsquo;re doing one day ascent just go up. Earlier in the season rocks are covered with snow and are easier to navigate.\nEarly morning above Helen Lake camp\nReached the snow line early morning.\nAvalanche gulch view toward Helen Lake camp\nThis round-ish snow blob in the center is Helen \u0026lsquo;Lake\u0026rsquo;. I\u0026rsquo;m not sure if it ever defrosts. There is a sizeable tent town in the eastern shore but it\u0026rsquo;s hard to see on this photo.\nShasta\u0026rsquo;s shadow\nFrom now on this is a race against the sun. You want to get to the top of Red Banks before snow and ice holding rocks together melt.\nThreading through the dusty snow\nRight below Red Banks. Watch out for the rockfall!\nThis is the scatchiest part of the trail - keep a distance because the leader can bump sizeable rocks down. Last 30-40 feet of the approach are almost vertical and you want to do them before snow melts and stops to hold the ice axe reliably. Also - without a question you need to know how to self-arrest with an ice axe.\nThe hardest part is behind\nYay! Going to have some tea and food.\nTop of Red Banks\nSome folks leave ice axes, crampons and heavy things below Misery Hill - further up the terrain is less technical.\nMisery Hill\nFrom now on this is pretty much just a hike in a thin air.\nView from Misery Hill to the south\nView from Misery Hill to the east\nTop of Misery Hill\nFrom the Misery Hill you enter a small snow covered plateu. Don\u0026rsquo;t forget to reapply the sunscreen to the bottom of your nose.\nThe last push\nSummit!\nView from the summit to the north\nView from the summit to the south\nMount Shasta SOTA activation Dipole on the summit\nOk, now the SOTA part of this adventure. When I started the hike I didn\u0026rsquo;t know if I\u0026rsquo;m even going to be able to pull the rig out of my pack or I succumb to altitude sickness and will have to descend immediately. When I got to the top I was in a way better shape than I anticipated so I\u0026rsquo;ve deployed the antenna and started calling CQ on 14.062.\nStations worked from Mount Shasta W6/CN-001 Getting ready to activate\nMany thanks to all chasers who were waiting for me on the air! Without you folks it would all be in vain. Was really stoked to hear Kenneth K6HPX who helped to activate Black Mountain W6/NC-150 earlier this year. Also I\u0026rsquo;ve made my longest contact so far with Gary N2ESE - from Shasta to Stanhope, NJ! Not bad with 10W given our current solar spot cycle pit!\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 20:50 K6HPX 599 549 14.062 CW DM42lf 20:51 K7SO 599 559 14.062 CW DM65xx 20:52 AC7FF 599 579 14.062 CW DM43ef 20:55 K6QCB 599 479 14.062 CW DM14ec 20:56 WN4AT 599 339 14.062 CW EM63qi 20:57 N2ESE 599 339 14.062 CW FN20pv 21:00 N9KW 559 499 14.062 CW EN61av 21:02 K0WRY 599 559 14.062 CW EM18CD 21:05 N9GR 599 559 14.062 CW EN40hj 21:08 K0ES 599 599 14.062 CW DM79MP 21:10 AB6SO 599 599 14.062 CW CM87vl I\u0026rsquo;m sorry for a short session but the altitude started to kick in and I decided to get lower ASAP.\nThe way down Preparing to glissade\nOnce again, Red Banks are sketchy. It may not look like much on this photo but this initial drop is almost vertical. Softer snow means it is easier to control your glissade but this initial part is quite scary - you take crampons off for a glissade and can only brake with an ice axe. Be very careful and mind rocks below you!\nBottom of the slide\nThis is the downside of climbing Shasta late in the season - you can\u0026rsquo;t glissade too far. Navigating scree and boulders takes way more time.\nHelen Lake Camp\nLooking down from 50/50\nBack to the trail head\nUhh! Shasta never disappoints. This was as challenging as the first time and I had even more fun. Once again - thanks to all the chasers who made the activation possible. Stay tuned for further SOTA reports. K0SSK out 73 ditdit.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-shasta-2020-07-18/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIf you read my previous blog posts you know I spent some time in Lassen Volcanic national park\n\u003ca href=\"/post/sota-brokeoff-mtn-2020-07-03/\"\u003etrying to activate Brokeoff mountain (W6/CN-003)\u003c/a\u003e\nand \u003ca href=\"/post/sota-lassen-peak-2020-07-04/\"\u003esuccessfully activated Lassen peak (W6/CN-002)\u003c/a\u003e. So what\u0026rsquo;s next? Well, the elefant in the room is, you guessed it, W6/CN-001 also known as Mount Shasta.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis mountain is a very special place for me. It comes with glaciers, thin air and scorching sun.\nIt has everything you\u0026rsquo;d expect from a \u0026ldquo;real\u0026rdquo; mountain and then some.\n\u003ca href=\"/post/illbeback-shasta/\"\u003eI tried to climb it in 2017 first time\u003c/a\u003e and had to turn\nback from the bottom of Misery Hill.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis experience made a great impact on me. It changed the way I see nature and my own place in it.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Shasta SOTA activation 2020-07-18"},{"content":"One of peculiarities of Lassen volcanic is that there are quite a few areas not connected internally, you have to leave the park and re-enter using other entrance.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve spend two days exploring the central area with Lassen peak - this part gets most tourist traffic. There is Cinder Cone / Butte lake area. The trailhead accessible from north and is close to Old Station. There is Juniper lake area accessible from south and is close to Chester. And finally there is area near Drakesbad ranch accessible from south and is close to Chester. I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to visit Devil\u0026rsquo;s kitchen, Boiling Springs Lake and Terminal geyser located near Drakesbad ranch. Combined trails are about 10 miles / 16 kilometers. There is plenty shade on the trail.\nGot up early and managed to catch a sunrise on the way to the park.\nRising sun near Red Bluff\nLast few miles to the trailhead are unpaved and I was a tad concerned about road condition. It was better than I anticipated, should be no problem even with a two wheel drive. There is a sign \u0026ldquo;trailers not recommended\u0026rdquo; but I did see couple of trailers parked at the trailhead. Go figure.\nThe road is unpaved but there are no ruts. This is the steepest stretch\nWas really stoked to touch PCT. Just a cherry on a cake.\nThe plaque at the start of the trail\nWaterfall\nDecided to get to Devil\u0026rsquo;s kitchen first. You cross large meadow and walk through a coniferous wood. Lot of shade, very serene.\nMeadow\nMore meadow\nIn Devil\u0026rsquo;s kitchen area creek crosses geothermal features. You can actually hear water boil. Lot of steam!\nFirst glimpse at the Devil\u0026rsquo;s kitchen\nSteam and boil\nIn order to get to Boiling Springs Lake you trace back and need to cross the meadow again.\nMt Harkness\nThere is a loop around Boiling Springs Lake. Southern let gets closer to the shore and is more shaded, northern is higher and has some openings where you can see surrounding mountains.\nBoiling Springs Lake. It is hot!\nNo bamboozlery this time, it boils legit\nAnd yet another fun fact about Lassen volcanic is that there are no geysers in the park despite all the volcanic activity. Terminal \u0026ldquo;geyser\u0026rdquo; is actually a stream going over very hot rocks. You don\u0026rsquo;t have to wait, it works all the time.\nTerminal geyser\nWhew! What a weekend! I\u0026rsquo;ll definitely be back to Lassen volcanic but for the time being I\u0026rsquo;m done.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/terminal-geyser-2020-07-05/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eOne of peculiarities of Lassen volcanic is that there are quite a few areas not connected internally,\nyou have to leave the park and re-enter using other entrance.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve spend two days exploring the central area with Lassen peak - this part gets most tourist traffic.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere is Cinder Cone / Butte lake area. \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/k4m38QjjxBZ7zanP9\"\u003eThe trailhead\u003c/a\u003e\naccessible from north and is close to Old Station.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere is \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/fKjYVL1CE9k1RG8z9\"\u003eJuniper lake\u003c/a\u003e area accessible from south and is close\nto Chester.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAnd finally there is area near \u003ca href=\"https://goo.gl/maps/x6iEma3xSsdHULBg9\"\u003eDrakesbad ranch\u003c/a\u003e accessible\nfrom south and is close to Chester.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e","title":"Three days in Lassen - Part 3, Terminal Geyser 2020-07-05"},{"content":"Planned the hike and SOTA activation of Lassen Peak (W6/CN-002) for the second day in Lassen Volcanic.\nThe weather was fair and spirits were high. I slept well and was ready for the highest summit in the park.\nLassen volcanic is an extremely diverse place in the geological sense. All four types of volcanoes are represented: Cinder Cone is quite unsurprisingly a Cinder Cone volcano, Prospect Peak is a Shield volcano, Brokeoff mountain is what\u0026rsquo;s left of a very large Composite volcano and, finally, our star today - Lassen Peak is a Plug Dome.\nOnce again I was driving from Red Bluff through the southwestern park entrance. It is about an hour drive to the pay booth and another 25-30 minutes to the parking and trailhead. I believe during peak season parking fills up by 10:00. Thunderstorms are possible and usually occur in the afternoon, yet another reason to start early.\nThe trail is 5.1 miles / 8.2 km out and back. Elevation gain 1970 ft / 600 m.\nView from the parking lot\nThere is a restroom on the parking lot. Expect temperatures around 40-50F / 5-10C at the trailhead and dropping as you climb + wind. Wear layers, sunscreen and a head cover. Trail had been reopened in 2015 after a long maintenance and is in the excellent condition in 2020.\nThe plaque at the start of the trail\nAt the second switchback\nThere is some shade on the trail for the first mile or so but then you are in the open.\nViews start to open\nBumpass mountain\nSnow tongue\nThere are couple of snow tongues on the trail and my thin-soled Merrels didn\u0026rsquo;t grab much on a wet snow. Hiking poles saved the day though.\nJust an epic view, nothing special\nBlue, grey and green\nBrokeoff mountain\nGetting higher\u0026hellip;\nBrokeoff mountain and lake Helen\nRocks and Bumpass mountain\nOn the crater rim\nThe last 100 ft is an easy scramble. Look around to avoid bumping into other tourists.\nSummit! And a radio cabinet\nSummit view\nMt Shasta\nMt. Shasta is 80 miles / 130 kilometers to the north and such a beauty in her snow veil!\nGolden-mantled ground squirrel on the summit\nKeep an eye on your food and don\u0026rsquo;t feed the wildlife.\nLassen Peak crater\nThere is no glacier on Lassen Peak but the mountain gets enough snow in winter to sustain quite a few permanent snow patches in the crater.\nLassen Peak SOTA activation I\u0026rsquo;ve made it! Ether was busy on Independence day weekend. Started calling CQ on 14.060 but due to QSB decided to QSY to to 14.0615. Lot of success there! Made a contact with Daniel NA6MG - fellow SOTA enthusiast and holder of Mountain Goat status! Daniel was super kind to spot me and I\u0026rsquo;ve got myself a tiny pile up in no time!\nStations worked from Lassen Peak W6/CN-002 Time UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 18:45 AG6V 599 599 14.060 CW CN88rh 18:46 AJ6KZ 599 519 14.060 CW DM04rd 19:00 KE7AV 599 599 14.060 CW CN88uj 19:06 NA6MG 599 599 14.0615 CW DM04 19:07 WW7D 599 599 14.0615 CW CN87wq 19:08 NQ7R 599 559 14.0615 CW DM42dt 19:15 NS7P 599 569 14.0615 CW CN84hb On the way back. Crowd starts to thicken\nGot back to parking fairly quickly. I\u0026rsquo;ve initially planned visiting Bumpass Hell area on the third day but it was still early, around 14:00 when I was in my car. I decided I have just enough time for this trail before calling it a day.\nCold Boiling lake and Bumpass Hell Note you get to Bumpass Hell from Bumpass Trailhead Parking via this trail and from Kings Creek Picnic area via this trail.\nI recommend the second option - Bumpass Trailhead Parking gets full early. In my experience it is easier to find a parking space near Kings Creek Picnic area because there are multiple trails of a varying difficulty starting from there and people who finished their easy trails and lunches tend to shuffle out by 14:00.\nThe sign\nCold Boiling Lake\nN.B. It\u0026rsquo;s not cold (rather lukewarm) and not very boiling. Full of bamboozlery.\nMore Cold Boiling Lake\nStream crosses the trail\nThe trail gets quite muddy in couple of places and you need to balance on logs / rocks. Nothing too difficult.\nLights and shadows\nMore Cold Boiling Lake\nBumpass Hell\nI highly recommend to stick to the trail - Bumpass Hell is named after Kendall VanHook Bumpass who fell into a geothermal pot and had his scalded leg amputated. Sapienti sat.\nCloser look at Bumpass Hell\nReturned to the car using same trail. Most of people left the park by this time and I could spend some time enjoying water, mountains and deep blue skies unimpeded.\nLake Helen close-up\nLake Helen and Lassen Peak\nEmerald lake\nThis is it! Satisfied with hiking and SOTA exploits I\u0026rsquo;ve returned to hotel to repack for Terminal Geyser hike on Sunday. Happy birthday USA!\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-lassen-peak-2020-07-04/","summary":"\u003cp\u003ePlanned the hike and SOTA activation of Lassen Peak (W6/CN-002) for the second day in Lassen Volcanic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe weather was fair and spirits were high. I slept well and was ready for the highest summit in the park.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLassen volcanic is an extremely diverse place in the geological sense. All four types of volcanoes are\nrepresented: Cinder Cone is quite unsurprisingly a Cinder Cone volcano, Prospect Peak is a Shield volcano,\nBrokeoff mountain is what\u0026rsquo;s left of a very large Composite volcano and, finally, our star today -\nLassen Peak is a Plug Dome.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Three days in Lassen - Part 2, Lassen Peak on Independence day 2020"},{"content":"Lassen volcanic is one of my favorite US national parks. Five hour drive from San Francisco in north-easterly direction is not something lot of out of state tourists do. Yosemite and Sequoia national parks usually receive more traffic and are a bit too crowded during the peak season to my taste. The crowds are so significant that during certain stages of 2020 Coronavirus epidemic Yosemite park was closed for all but winners of Half Dome / overnight permits to avoid virus spread.\nMy initial plan for Independence day weekend was indeed to try winning a day use Half Dome permit. I\u0026rsquo;ve been there couple of years ago and want to repeat the feat, with a radio rig in my backpack this time. I suspect I wasn\u0026rsquo;t the only person who had a similar plan though and the lottery didn\u0026rsquo;t work out for me.\nWell, as an old fart Moltke once said - \u0026ldquo;No battle plan survives a contact with the main hostile force\u0026rdquo;. I needed to come up with a plan B for a weekend on the first of July and the trip to Lassen is what I decided upon. Ideally I\u0026rsquo;d rent a campsite and stay in a tent but I wasn\u0026rsquo;t sure if campsites are even open and if there is any space for me. Fell back to hotels - found nothing reasonably priced in Chester and decided to stay in Red Bluff.\nRed Bluff is a small-ish town on 5th highway with a decent number of fast and not-so-fast dining options and Walmart supercenter - useful in case one forgot something packing up in a haste. South western Lassen volcanic park entrance is an hour drive from Red Bluff. This allows an early bird skipping a breakfast to beat competitors in a race for a parking spot at a trail head.\nFirst day plan The plan was simple:\ndrive to the Park hike to the top of Brokeoff mountain activate it if possible hike back to the car drive back to Red Bluff What you need to know about the trail is that the trailhead is actually located about 300ft before Park entrance booth. So in order to make everything by the book you pass the trailhead parking, drive to Park entrance, pay fee, make U-turn and park at the trailhead. If you manage to get there early the booth may be unmanned. Fret not, park near the visitor center, walk back to the booth, put your payment into an available envelope and don\u0026rsquo;t forget to tear the pay slip part - you need to present it on the dashboard as a proof of payment. If you have \u0026ldquo;America the Beautiful\u0026rdquo; pass you can just park at the trailhead. Saves you a few minutes.\nThe trail starts on the side of the road opposite to the parking. It is quite hard to spot, look for the crosswalk.\nThe plaque at the start of the trail\nLower part of the trail is nicely shaded and quite moist at times - you need to cross couple of streams / mud pools.\nPools of water in the shade\nTrail is located at a significant elevation and it definitely feels. On a clear summer day the temperature in Red Bluff may be 110 F, 80 F at the trailhead and 60-50 F on the summit. It looks like the summit is windy almost always. You need layers, windbreaker, sunscreen and headwear to enjoy the trail. Don\u0026rsquo;t be deceived by the clear sky - I wished I had some thin gloves - hands got pretty chilly.\nBrokeoff indeed\nAs you gain elevation the forest gets thinner and you get the first glimpse of the eroding stratovolcano remains. Brokeoff mountain is second highest point in the Park after Lassen peak.\nTrail climbs up this valley and to the ridge\nRocky trail\nTrail hugs the mountain from south and reaches the ridge leading to the summit. There is usually some snow in summer but not much.\nOn the ridge. First snow\nThe summit of Brokeoff mountain\nVoila! The top! Many people think Brokeoff mountain trail is the best trail in the park because you get an epic view of Lassen peak. You can see Shasta as well but photos taken with a phone were pretty lame so you got to believe me it\u0026rsquo;s nice.\nLassen peak\nThere is a shallow pit made of concrete on the trail right below the summit. Provides an ok protection from wind. I\u0026rsquo;ve made some tea and rehydrated early lunch there before unpacking the radio. Also I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed my only 100g gas fuel can is almost empty. Three is two, two is one, one is none. No tea tomorrow. Baw!\nPanoramic view to the east\nPanoramic view to the west\nThe summit platform itself is not very big, another reason to get there early if you plan a SOTA activation - it can get crowded and you\u0026rsquo;ll have hard time deploying an antenna. I was able to deploy my dipole before most people got there.\nAntenna and some dude on the summit\nThe rig\nAnd this is pretty much where my luck ran off. I didn\u0026rsquo;t self spot on SOTAwatch hoping for people getting on the air preparing for Independence day. Also I managed to forget how to activate antenna tuner in my KX-2. There are two buttons \u0026ldquo;ATU\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;XMIT/TUNE\u0026rdquo;. By pressing \u0026ldquo;ATU\u0026rdquo; you send about 1W carrier and make autotuner to re-tune. \u0026ldquo;TUNE\u0026rdquo; just sends carrier and shows SWR - handy if you use an external tuner. I press \u0026ldquo;TUNE\u0026rdquo;, see SWR ~3 but don\u0026rsquo;t hear usual relay clicks and SWR does not decrease. After a couple of tries I concluded something is wrong with the tuner and I should probably not exceed 5W output power to avoid frying finals. Only when I was back to hotel and preparing for the next day I understood my error. Wah-wah-wah\u0026hellip;\nI\u0026rsquo;ve got on the air, started calling CQs and, well, I was not successful enough to get points for Brokeoff mountain. Only worked three stations of the mandatory four. Lot of thunderstorm static on 40 meter band and almost nothing on 20 meters. I\u0026rsquo;ve spent 3 hours CQing from 1130 to 1430, my cut-off time. Packed the rig and headed back.\nThe other planning error I\u0026rsquo;ve made is not getting charger for radio batteries. I only planned to activate on the Independence day when packing and didn\u0026rsquo;t see why I would need to recharge anything. Going to bring a charger with me no matter what - it\u0026rsquo;s not that heavy or bulky.\nSo - it is how it is - SOTA is sometimes about embracing the suck. Even if I didn\u0026rsquo;t get points I got the trail, the summit, the views and whole experience. No regrets.\nStations worked Time UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 18:54 N6ZI 599 599 14.060 CW DM12jr 19:18 NT6H 599 599 14.060 CW CM95qg 19:57 KV6K 599 599 14.060 CW CM89ck On the way back\nWay back was quite uneventful - drove back to hotel had some sushi and prepared my gear for 4th of July on Lassen peak.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-brokeoff-mtn-2020-07-03/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLassen volcanic is one of my favorite US national parks. Five hour drive from San Francisco in north-easterly\ndirection is not something lot of out of state tourists do. Yosemite and Sequoia national parks usually\nreceive more traffic and are a bit too crowded during the peak season to my taste. The crowds are so\nsignificant that during certain stages of 2020 Coronavirus epidemic Yosemite park was closed for all but\nwinners of Half Dome / overnight permits to avoid virus spread.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMy initial plan for Independence day weekend was indeed to try winning a day use Half Dome permit. I\u0026rsquo;ve\nbeen there couple of years ago and want to repeat the feat, with a radio rig in my backpack this time.\nI suspect I wasn\u0026rsquo;t the only person who had a similar plan though and the lottery didn\u0026rsquo;t work out for me.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Three days in Lassen - Part 1, Brokeoff mountain 2020-07-03"},{"content":"Continuing with my SOTA exploits. This time my target was W6/NC-150, Black Mountain located in Rancho San Antonio county park near Cupertino, CA. The summit is accessible via 11.2 mile out and back PG\u0026amp;E trail. Elevation gain is 3146 feet. Beware of poison oak, ticks, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and feral software engineers wandering into the park from Silicon Valley.\nI have already tried to activate Black Mountain few months ago but was not able to copy call signs fast enough. Was fairly optimistic about the activation this time as I expected quite a few folks to participate in the Field Day contest. Also I can copy a tad better now.\nThe plaque at the start of the trail\nTemperature in summer often reaches 100 F and more. There is some shade in the lower part of a trail and some trees on the very top but most of the time you are fairly exposed - sunscreen and a head cover is a must.\nGetting there I recommend to hit the trail early as Rancho San Antonio parking fills up by 8:30 AM on weekends. Park parallel here and go to the PG\u0026amp;E trail trailhead on foot.\nIn the hills\nThe first section of the trail crosses gently rolling hills.\nThe crossroads\nAfter crossroads the trail starts to climb more sharply, generally closer to the summit it gets progressively steeper and more rocky but does not turn into a scramble.\nPower line. Moffet field and hangars\nAs you climb a nice view of Silicon Valley, Moffet field and the Bay opens.\nActivating Black Mountain W6/NC-150 The antenna\nSet up my rig in a shade and started calling CQ. Was able to activate quickly - bunch of folks were contesting so getting my four mandatory QSOs took less than five minutes.\nStations worked:\nTime UTC Call sign RST sent RST received Frequency Mode Location 19:30 N1CLC 599 599 14.060 CW DM12KW 19:31 WB7VTY 599 599 14.060 CW CN95ai 19:35 WB5USB 599 599 14.060 CW DM65rc 19:35 K6HPX 599 599 14.060 CW DM42lf 19:56 AD7KG 599 599 14.060 CW DN40an 19:56 N5RZ 599 599 14.060 CW EM00mj 20:05 NW6P 599 599 14.060 CW CM86xh Again not much luck on VHF/UHF - heard a lot of people but they didn\u0026rsquo;t hear me.\nSilicon Valley and the Bay\nClose to the top\nThe quarry and Silicon Valley\nIf you feel like it you can bump the difficulty a notch up and do a loop using the trail on the other side of the canyon to get back to the parking.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-blk-mtn-2020-06-27/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eContinuing with my SOTA exploits. This time my target was W6/NC-150, Black Mountain located in\nRancho San Antonio county park near Cupertino, CA. The summit is accessible via 11.2 mile out and back\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/california/black-mountain-via-pge-quarry-and-black-mountain-trail\"\u003ePG\u0026amp;E trail\u003c/a\u003e.\nElevation gain is 3146 feet. Beware of poison oak, ticks, rattlesnakes, mountain lions and feral\nsoftware engineers wandering into the park from Silicon Valley.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI have already tried to activate Black Mountain few months ago but was not able to copy call signs fast\nenough.\nWas fairly optimistic about the activation this time as I expected quite a few folks to participate in the\nField Day contest. Also I can copy a tad better now.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Black Mountain SOTA activation 2020-06-27 (Field Day)"},{"content":"Welcome back folks. One thing I never mentioned before is my master\u0026rsquo;s degree in Radioengineering. Weirdly enough despite being fascinated with wireless communications from the very early age I didn\u0026rsquo;t get into amateur radio until recently. Just always thought passing exams is not quite worth it. Plus while learning to copy Morse code had been always on the list of things to do before pegging out I just \u0026rsquo;never had time for it'.\nAbout a year ago, I was looking for a new walkie-talkie to take on hiking trips so our group had some means of communicating in no cell phone reception areas. While researching available options I realized it makes sense to get licensed to get access to amateur radio frequencies.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve bought Technician exam book and oh boy what a delight it was to get back into radio \u0026lsquo;saddle\u0026rsquo;! Long story short I\u0026rsquo;ve got my Technician, General and Amateur Extra licenses within next three months and had lot of fun in the process. Assembling QSX trancseiver from QRP labs got me into kit building.\nAreas of a particular interest to me are emergency / low power communications and Summits On The Air program. SOTA challanges you in a few ways:\nyou need to plan carefully - summit activation usually requires driving somewhere, hikng up and down before it\u0026rsquo;s dark. you need to be able to get the rig and batteries to the summit somehow. Finding a compromise between power and portability is vital. you need to learn to copy Morse code. CW signal is way more narrow than SSB signal in frequency domain. This means one can be heard by more chasers using same power. In most cases you will be limited to QRP operations transmitting 5 watts or less. I\u0026rsquo;m not telling QRP SSB is impossible but it complicates the summit acivation even further. you should be able to pick the right frequencies to maximize the chance to be heard given the propagation situation. The fact that we are in the bottom of the sun spot cycle spices things up. My very first SOTA activation So here we are. About a year in I feel like I can copy 15 WPM well enough and use Morse decoder capabilities of Wolfwave sound processor as a backup to confirm I have copied call signs correctly.\nI decided to start with Mt. Saint Helena - the highest point in Sonoma county, California. The hump was originally named Kanamota, \u0026ldquo;Human Mountain\u0026rdquo; and then Mount Mayacamas. The name was changed to \u0026ldquo;Saint Helena\u0026rdquo; after a Russian survey party ascended the peak in 1841 and left a copper plate on the summit inscribed with the date of their visit. The mountain was renamed in honour of Helena Rotcheva, wife of Alexander Rotchev, the commanding officer of Fort Ross - southernmost Russian settlement in Americas.\nPrincess Helena Rotcheva (nee Gagarina)\n\u0026ldquo;Wizard of Earthsea\u0026rdquo; by Ursula Le Guin was one of my favorite books as a kid as well as \u0026ldquo;Treasure Island\u0026rdquo; by Robert Louis Stevenson. Both of authors have a certain connection to this place - Stevenson spent the summer of 1880 honeymooning in an abandoned mining camp on Mount Saint Helena and Ursula Le Guin was a resident of Napa valley. Her novel \u0026ldquo;Always Coming Home\u0026rdquo; describes a post-apocalyptic society that considers Mount Saint Helena sacred.\nOn top of all of that (pun intended) there is a decent hike to the summit.\nGetting there Here are the trailhead coordinates on Google Maps. You get there using good (by Californian standards) paved roads.\nI highly recommend arriving early - during a peak season parking fills up by 9:00. There are few tables right near the trail head where you can have your breakfast.\nTables at the trail head\nStevenson memorial trail sign\nThere are two parts of the hike - first 0.7 mile or so it\u0026rsquo;s a narrow trail meandering through the forest and the rest is the maintenance road to the summit of the mountain. The first part is also the steepest part. This is the only shady part of the trail as well - there are few trees on the very top but aside from this you are open to elements once you get to the road. Water / head cover is a must in summer!\nView from the road\nMorning was quite foggy but fog quickly melted away as I was going up.\nExpect climbers here\nClimbers like this place as well.\nView to the West about half way up\nView to the South\nMultiple summits\nThe mountain has several summits - follow the trail to the fartherst / highest one.\nView to the West from the summit\nSummit panorama\nRussian copper plates reproduction\nThe summit\nGetting on the air There is plenty of space on the top to set up an antenna without obstructing the summit / views to fellow hikers.\nI had Baofeng UHF/VHF radio with me as a backup and heard quite a few people including a SOTA activator on mt. Diablo. No one was able to hear me on UHF/VHF it appears even from the very top and with a roll-up J-pole antenna deployed.\nWas more lucky on HF with my Elecraft KX-2 and a magnetic loop antenna. I prefer dipole and believe it is a superior antenna for SOTA because it is way more efficient radiator. Wanted to test a mag loop though.\nCapacitor of a magnetic loop is a weak link of the system - you don\u0026rsquo;t want to hit it by a rock and bend plates. I find the need to retune antenna each time I change frequency quite tedious. Capacitor box is not very packable and whole antenna setup is heavier then a dipole. Max power is about 50 watts in this particular model. The only situation when I see mag loop shine is on a very small summit top. A dipole or vertical with radials have way larger footprint. I did get summit activated but I feel I would activate faster with a dipole.\nStations worked:\nCall sign Location Frequency Mode Time UTC AI6QZ CM87TP 14.060 CW 20:07 N6PHP CM88ol 14.060 CW 20:40 N5URL EM15iq 14.060 CW 21:07 W6JHB CM98jr 14.060 CW 21:24 My rig and the magnetic loop antenna\nRig close up\nThis is it! Stay tuned for more.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sota-mt-helena-2020-06-20/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWelcome back folks. One thing I never mentioned before is my master\u0026rsquo;s degree in Radioengineering.\nWeirdly enough despite being fascinated with wireless communications from the very early age\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t get into amateur radio until recently. Just always thought passing exams is not quite\nworth it. Plus while learning to copy Morse code had been always on the list of things to do before\npegging out I just \u0026rsquo;never had time for it'.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAbout a year ago, I was looking for a new walkie-talkie to take on hiking trips so our group had\nsome means of communicating in no cell phone reception areas. While researching available options I\nrealized it makes sense to get licensed to get access to amateur radio frequencies.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"First SOTA activation: Mt. Saint Helena 2020-06-20"},{"content":"Hello friends, as I promised in my previous post I\u0026rsquo;m going to tell you about configuring GoogleWiFi router with a Raspberry Pi server acting as DHCP and DNS server / VPN gateway. While part related to NordVPN is vendor specific I feel it would not be too hard to use similar setup with any VPN provider. Feel free to skip VPN related part.\nI\u0026rsquo;m not sponsored by NordVPN, instructions provided as is and as any information from the Internet should be used carefully.\nWhy GoogleWiFi? I\u0026rsquo;m a lazy person and I don\u0026rsquo;t want to spend lot of time managing my router. I was playing with DD-WRT capable routers for a while and I feel it is more secure to offload this task to a big company.\nThe downside is that GoogleWiFi is largerly a black box and you have little idea of what happens inside. You can not disable DHCP server. If you configure an alternative DNS server in GoogleWiFi settings the router still advertises own IP as the DNS server and acts as a forwarder instead of allowing clients to connect to a custom DNS server directly. I find this behavior highly suspicious.\nHaving said that I don\u0026rsquo;t believe GoogleWiFi have capabilities to analyze all trafic in the internal network. And they say they don\u0026rsquo;t track you which you may or may not believe. If you are concerned about this possibility I recommend installing VPN clients on devices connected to the network so LAN traffic goes through VPN as well. You may also find this instruction on how to make a tin foil hat useful.\nThe other plus of GoogleWiFi is that it is easy to configure a secondary WiFi network, a \u0026lsquo;guest\u0026rsquo; one. In my setup traffic from \u0026lsquo;default\u0026rsquo; LAN 192.168.86.0/24 is all routed via VPN, but clients on \u0026lsquo;guest\u0026rsquo; LAN access the Internet directly - handy for connecting anything with its own VPN client. This is as well a good fall back option in case you mess up something in 192.168.86.0/24 setup.\nWhy have Pi-hole? Ads on the Internet are obnoxious. Some sites are barely useful with no ad-blocking plugins installed. Most of browsers are made or subsidised by companies why rely on ad revenue. These companies do not want you to have an ability to control which content you get and what information you end up sharing with the company. Some platforms and internet connected devices do not provide any mechanism to opt out of ads at all. Having a separate device acting as a filter allows you to turn the knob yourself. Filter is on for all devices using Pi-hole as a DNS server automatically. You can create your own rule lists and have a fine grained control over your ad traffic.\nWhy connect to the Internet via VPN? Once again tracking data is a source of revenue for lot of companes. Using VPN reduces your footprint on the Internet maybe to the point it ceases to be sound to track you economically. Remember the weakest link is always between the monitor and the backrest.\nHardware My network setup consists of a modem connected to ISP, GoogleWiFi device with WAN port connected to the modem and with LAN port connected to Raspberry Pi.\nYou want some good quality cables and you want them short - it looks neat. Long and chewed up network cable can be a traffic bottleneck.\nYou want Raspberry Pi with a built in Ethernet port. You could use a USB dongle with Ethernet port but the performance would be terrible.\nI\u0026rsquo;m using Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Plus Rev 1.3 and I suspect anything more powerful/newer should work as well.\nYou can confirm your Raspberry Pi model from the operating system in the following way:\n$ cat /sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model Raspberry Pi 3 Model B Plus Rev 1.3 GoogleWiFi configuration As I already mentioned GoogleWiFi is not very flexible when it comes to a non-orthodox setup. You can not configure GoogleWiFi DHCP server to advertise Raspberry Pi as a DNS server or a default gateway unless you run GoogleWiFi in bridge mode but then you lose mesh capabilities and can\u0026rsquo;t have a \u0026lsquo;guest\u0026rsquo; WiFi network.\nGood thing is Pi-hole comes with own DHCP server and you can have two DHCP servers on same 192.168.86.0/24 LAN in case their pools do not intersect.\nWhat we are going to do is configure GoogleWiFi with only one IP in the pool: 192.168.86.2. Later we\u0026rsquo;ll assign this IP to eth0 interface of Raspberry Pi statically.\nYou may need to enable \u0026lsquo;Cloud features\u0026rsquo; in GoogleWiFi settings temporary. I had to enable \u0026lsquo;Cloud features\u0026rsquo; to save a modified DHCP IP reservations list.\nSettings =\u0026gt; Network \u0026amp; General =\u0026gt; Advanced networking =\u0026gt; LAN Leave \u0026lsquo;Router LAN IP\u0026rsquo; 192.168.86.1 Leave \u0026lsquo;Subnet mask\u0026rsquo; 255.255.255.0 \u0026lsquo;DHCP Address Pool\u0026rsquo;, change both \u0026lsquo;Starting IP\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;Ending IP\u0026rsquo; to 192.168.86.2 Save settings Check the list of devices connected to GoogleWiFi - you may need to disconnect all devices from your \u0026lsquo;default\u0026rsquo; network so Raspberry Pi does not have to fight over a single available IP with other clients.\nRaspberry Pi bootstrap I recommend using 32Gb card with your Raspberry Pi. Raspbian image would fit on a smaller card but there is only so many write operations SD card can handle. Having a larger card allows to spread these writes and the card is going to last longer. We\u0026rsquo;ll mount log and temporary file directories into RAM once again to make less writes to SD card. A downside (or a feature?) is that you lose logs after Raspberry Pi restart. You can mount dirs back to SD card for debugging purposes.\nFlash the image and boot Rasbperry Pi Download and install Raspberry Pi imager for your operating system Chose Rasberry Pi OS (other) =\u0026gt; Raspberry Pi OS Lite (32-bit). You don\u0026rsquo;t want to waste limited resources on bells and whistles. CLI FTW! Flash the card Open the card and create an empty file named \u0026lsquo;ssh\u0026rsquo; in the root directory. SSH server is going to be started on boot and you will be able to log into Rasbperry Pi from other host on \u0026lsquo;default\u0026rsquo; network. Insert the SD card into Raspberry Pi and power it on. Now you can either\nconnect a monitor and a keyboard to Raspberry Pi to access CLI interface or if you don\u0026rsquo;t have HDMI monitor/USB keyboard you can connect to Raspberry Pi via SSH from an other host $ ssh pi@192.168.86.2 Note since there is only one IP address in the DHCP pool you will need to configure an IP address on your client host manually. Set it to 192.168.86.3. This configuration is temporary, once Pi-hole is up it will serve configurations to all clients on the network.\nAt this point you should be able to log into Raspberry Pi using default credentials pi/raspberry.\nBasic Raspberry Pi configuration Let\u0026rsquo;s prepare Raspberry Pi for Pi-hole installation\n$ sudo raspi-config Change password to a secure one\nConfigure eth0 with the static IP 192.168.86.2 and default gateway 192.168.86.1\nAdvanced options =\u0026gt; Expand Filesystem so full volume of the SD card is available to the operating system.\nReboot, log into Raspberry Pi\nConfirm /etc/dhcpcd.conf contains correct static IP configuration for eth0\n$ cat /etc/dhcpcd.conf ... interface eth0 static ip_address=192.168.86.2/24 static routers=192.168.86.1 static domain_name_servers=192.168.86.1 Disable swap to minimize writes to SD card $ sudo apt-get remove dphys-swapfile Check if root partition is mounted with noatime option to minimize writes to SD card $ cat /etc/fstab proc /proc proc defaults 0 0 PARTUUID=xxxxxxx7-01 /boot vfat defaults 0 2 PARTUUID=yyyyyyy7-02 / ext4 defaults,noatime 0 1 Mount /tmp, /var/tmp, /var/log into RAM to minimize writes to SD card $ sudo vi /etc/fstab ... tmpfs /tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,nosuid,size=100m 0 0 tmpfs /var/tmp tmpfs defaults,noatime,nosuid,size=30m 0 0 tmpfs /var/log tmpfs defaults,noatime,nosuid,mode=0755,size=100m 0 0 Reboot, log into Raspberry Pi\nConfirm swap is off, /proc/swaps list should not have any files listed:\n$ cat /proc/swaps Filename\tType\tSize\tUsed\tPriority Confirm /tmp, /var/tmp, /var/log are monuted to RAM $ mount | grep tmpfs ... tmpfs on /var/log type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,noatime,size=102400k,mode=755) tmpfs on /var/tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,noatime,size=30720k) tmpfs on /tmp type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,noatime,size=102400k) ... Update Raspberry Pi to the latest version $ sudo apt update $ sudo apt full-upgrade At this point Raspberry Pi should be ready for Pi-hole suite installation.\nPi-hole configuration Run the helper script to install and configure Pi-hole\n$ curl -sSL https://install.pi-hole.net | bash You should get credentials for the Pi-hole admin interface on http://192.168.86.2/admin\nLog into the admin interface, navigate Settings =\u0026gt; DNS Here we are going to configure Pi-hole to use NordVPN upstream nameservers. It is important to use DNS servers from your VPN provider not ones provided by ISP - DNS queries log would show which domains your host tried to resolve and you potentially visited. Feel free to skip this step if you do not configure VPN.\nSet upstream DNS to 103.86.96.100 and 103.86.99.100 Pi-hole DNS settings\nSave settings In Pi-hole admin interface navigate Settings =\u0026gt; DHCP Enable DHCP server Set DHCP address range from 192.168.86.20 to 192.168.86.250 Set Router (gateway) IP address to 192.168.86.2 Set Domain lan \u0026lt;= the domain is hardcoded in GoogleWiFi so we can\u0026rsquo;t use anything else here. DHCP lease time 24 Pi-hole DHCP settings\nSave settings\nLog into Raspberry Pi via SSH and modify static IP configuration to use localhost 127.0.0.1 as DNS server instead of GoogleWiFi 192.168.86.1. /etc/dhcpcd.conf should have the following config for eth0 interface:\n$ cat /etc/dhcpcd.conf ... interface eth0 static ip_address=192.168.86.2/24 static routers=192.168.86.1 static domain_name_servers=127.0.0.1 This step is not necessary but won\u0026rsquo;t hurt - open GoogleWiFi settings and configure DHCP IP reservation for eth0 of Raspberry Pi Settings =\u0026gt; Network \u0026amp; General =\u0026gt; Advanced networking =\u0026gt; DHCP IP reservations Press +, Raspberry Pi is going to show up in the list as CromeOS device. Assign IP 192.168.86.2 to CromeOS device. This way even if Raspberry Pi for some reason loses static IP configuration it will still be able to get the IP via DHCP and no other host is going to claim 192.168.86.2.\nDisable \u0026lsquo;Cloud features\u0026rsquo; in GoogleWiFi settings. Reboot Raspberry Pi just to make sure all services are starting automatically and the system can recover automatically after reboot or power loss. Connect a new device to the \u0026lsquo;default\u0026rsquo; WiFi network. New client should get an IP in 192.168.86.20-192.168.86.250 range. Test if you can browse Internet from the newly connected device. Check Pi-hole dashboard http://192.168.86.2/admin and confirm your new client shows up in the \u0026lsquo;Network\u0026rsquo; section and has a checkmark in \u0026lsquo;Uses Pi-hole\u0026rsquo; column. Confirm counters of total/blocked DNS queries increase. Load some site you know has lot of ads and see if the situation changed. Configure clients to get IPs via DHCP. I recommend to spend few days running this setup before you continue with VPN configuration. if something does not work you don\u0026rsquo;t have to guess if it\u0026rsquo;s Pi-hole or VPN problem. Remember you can always connect to \u0026lsquo;guest\u0026rsquo; network if the \u0026lsquo;default\u0026rsquo; one does not have Internet / clients don\u0026rsquo;t get IPs or whatnot.\nNordVPN + openpyn configuration NordVPN provides a packaged cient for Debian derivatives. We can\u0026rsquo;t use this client because it flushes firewall rules needed to configure Raspberry Pi as a VPN gateway and there is no way to override this behaviour. We will be using openvpn client configured with openpyn service.\nFirst I tried following these instructions and configure both openvpn and firewall manually. There are multiple issues with this approach:\nThe process of fetching server configuration file manually is tedious. On top of that VPN servers come and go and when a server you was connected to is recycled you need to find a new server, fetch config, restart openvpn client and so on. You can get \u0026lsquo;Recommended server\u0026rsquo; from here. It looks like the only metric taken into account here is a distance. The server can be close to you but very loaded. In fact when I was testing the VPN connection manually using \u0026lsquo;Recommended server\u0026rsquo; from this page the performance was so bad I almost gave up on the whole idea of using VPN. Fret not! There is a solution - tool made by jotyGill\nRuns as a service Fetches VPN server configuration files automatically Configures firewall, allows to open ports you need open Choses the best VPN server for you based on pings and server load. I can barely notice VPN is active when connected to a server chosen by openpyn openvpn and openpyn installation Log into Raspberry Pi via SSH $ ssh pi@192.168.86.2 Enable forwarding so Raspberry Pi could act as a router. Open /etc/sysctl.conf and uncomment the ip_forward configuration line $ sudo vi /etc/sysctl.conf ... net.ipv4.ip_forward=1 ... Install dependencies $ sudo apt install openvpn unzip wget python3-setuptools python3-pip Install openpyn from my fork. I had to make few changes in the tool - as of May 2020 original stable version didn\u0026rsquo;t support opening UDP ports, DHCP traffic from a broadcast IP, had to be re-initialized after Raspberry Pi restart because log directory mounted to tempfs is wiped out on reboot. All these issues are addressed in allow_udp branch. I see there is a new version of tool in the development branch of the original repo. This new version may or may not address all these issues but I have no time to actively contribute right now. Just made a hack that works for this particular setup. Feel free to review the diff with master before installation. $ sudo python3 -m pip install --upgrade --force-reinstall git+https://github.com/k0ssk/openpyn-nordvpn.git@allow_udp Initialize openpyn. You\u0026rsquo;ll need to have your NordVPN credentials ready as well as options to launch openpyn with. $ sudo openpyn --init options example:\nus -t 5 -f --allow 22 53 80 --allow-udp 53 --dhcp-iface eth0 --update --masquerade --update forces openpyn to fetch new VPN server configs on start - if you don\u0026rsquo;t supply this options VPN server list is going to get stale. --masquerade creates iptables rule in NAT table allowing hosts in the internal network to connect to the Internet via pihole server. us connect to servers in US of A. Use openpyn --list to find available options -t 5 compare 5 servers and chose the best one -f force firewall rules --allow 22 53 80 allow connections to TCP ports 22 (SSH), 53 (DNS), 80 (admin interface) --allow-udp 53 allow connections to UDP ports 53 (DNS) --dhcp-iface eth0 allow connections from broadcast IP to the port 67 on eth0. Needed for DHCP configuration. More details in my previous post. I higly recommend to check full list of options in the documentation on Github. Final touches Enable openpyn service to start on boot $ sudo systemctl enable openpyn Start openpyn service $ sudo systemctl start openpyn If you found you need to update options openpyn starts with modify service configuration file, reload the config and restart openpyn service\n$ sudo vi /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/openpyn.service $ sudo systemctl daemon-reload $ sudo systemctl restart openpyn $ sudo systemctl status openpyn Whew! We are close, just needed to confirm everything works as expected.\nConfirm tun0 interface has been created $ ip a | grep tun 13: tun0: \u0026lt;POINTOPOINT,MULTICAST,NOARP,UP,LOWER_UP\u0026gt; mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast state UNKNOWN group default qlen 100 Confirm iptables rules were created $ sudo iptables -L -n -v Chain INPUT (policy DROP 18741 packets, 2387K bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination 13108 6852K ACCEPT all -- tun+ * 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED 4565K 6147M ACCEPT all -- eth0 * 43.80.254.11 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED 16788 2201K ACCEPT all -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED 0 0 ACCEPT all -- lo * 43.80.254.11 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED 67762 4867K ACCEPT all -- lo * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED 6328 436K ACCEPT all -- lo * 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 1 145 ACCEPT icmp -- * * 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 icmptype 255 0 0 DROP all -- * * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 3 228 ACCEPT tcp -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:22 95 6080 ACCEPT tcp -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:53 1648 105K ACCEPT tcp -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:80 14782 1025K ACCEPT udp -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt:53 6499 1776K ACCEPT udp -- eth0 * 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt:67 0 0 ACCEPT tcp -- lo * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:22 0 0 ACCEPT tcp -- lo * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:53 0 0 ACCEPT tcp -- lo * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 tcp dpt:80 0 0 ACCEPT udp -- lo * 127.0.0.0/8 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt:53 Chain FORWARD (policy DROP 5215 packets, 438K bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination 12M 1127M ACCEPT all -- eth0 tun0 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 17M 22G ACCEPT all -- tun0 eth0 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 ctstate RELATED,ESTABLISHED Chain OUTPUT (policy DROP 48965 packets, 5627K bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination 0 0 ACCEPT udp -- * lo 0.0.0.0/0 103.86.96.100 udp dpt:53 4608 317K ACCEPT udp -- * tun+ 0.0.0.0/0 103.86.96.100 udp dpt:53 0 0 ACCEPT udp -- * lo 0.0.0.0/0 103.86.99.100 udp dpt:53 7150 494K ACCEPT udp -- * tun+ 0.0.0.0/0 103.86.99.100 udp dpt:53 1740 250K ACCEPT all -- * tun+ 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 4270K 589M ACCEPT all -- * eth0 0.0.0.0/0 43.80.254.11 30525 17M ACCEPT all -- * eth0 0.0.0.0/0 192.168.86.0/24 0 0 ACCEPT all -- * lo 0.0.0.0/0 43.80.254.11 70913 5062K ACCEPT all -- * lo 0.0.0.0/0 127.0.0.0/8 3177 242K ACCEPT all -- * lo 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 Check MASQUERADE rule has been created in NAT table: sudo iptables -L -n -v -t nat Chain PREROUTING (policy ACCEPT 3552 packets, 255K bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination Chain INPUT (policy ACCEPT 538 packets, 41092 bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination Chain POSTROUTING (policy ACCEPT 179 packets, 12804 bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination 415 31093 MASQUERADE all -- * tun+ 0.0.0.0/0 0.0.0.0/0 Chain OUTPUT (policy ACCEPT 572 packets, 43529 bytes) pkts bytes target prot opt in out source destination Confirm from a client host you are connected to the Internet via VPN. Open NordVPN. If you are connected via VPN the line on the very top of the screen going to read Your IP: \u0026lt;your external IP\u0026gt; · ISP: Some ISP · Your Status: Protected Confirm DNS queries do not leak to your ISP here. We did it! Happy browsing!\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/googlewifi-pihole-nordvpn/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHello friends, as I promised in \u003ca href=\"/post/debugging-dhcp-tcpdump/\"\u003emy previous post\u003c/a\u003e\nI\u0026rsquo;m going to tell you about configuring GoogleWiFi router with a Raspberry Pi server acting\nas DHCP and DNS server / VPN gateway. While part related to NordVPN is vendor specific I feel\nit would not be too hard to use similar setup with any VPN provider. Feel free to skip VPN related\npart.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m not sponsored by NordVPN, instructions provided as is and as any information from\nthe Internet should be used carefully.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"GoogleWiFi + Pi-hole and NordVPN"},{"content":"With lot of time spent home during stay-at-home order active in my area I decided it\u0026rsquo;s a time to overhaul my home network setup.\nI think I\u0026rsquo;ll get into details in the following posts but at this time I want to tell about an issue with DHCP leases I was able to track down using tcpdump.\nOne of the elements of the infrastructure is a DHCP server on a RaspberryPi based host. The DHCP server is used to assign IPs, nameservers and default gateway to the clients on the LAN network.\nHow it broke The server was accessible without a problem before I decided to configure RaspberryPi as a VPN gateway and started managing firewall rules via openpyn service.\nAfter openpyn took control over iptables new clients could not get a DHCP lease.\nInitial investigation iptables was naturally the place to start with. I did configure openpyn to open port 67 for clients from the internal network 192.168.86.0/24 to connect to.\nsudo iptables -L -n -v | grep 67 0 0 ACCEPT udp -- eth0 * 192.168.86.0/24 0.0.0.0/0 udp dpt: 67 Despite the opened port I didn\u0026rsquo;t see any attempts to lease IPs in DHCP server logs and clients were just stuck in a limbo unable to get an IP or default gateway.\ntcpdump to the rescue! Let\u0026rsquo;s check what happens 67, 68 UDP ports on eth0 interface\n-vvv enables verbose information about the packet -n disables name resolution so your not waiting on DNS responses to show the packet -e shows MAC Address -i specifies the interface to listen on sudo tcpdump -vvv -n -e -i eth0 port 67 or port 68 The output was quite noisy but most packets were from GoogleWiFi router\n21:36:01.201856 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:01 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 286: (tos 0x0, ttl 2, id 0, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 272) 0.0.0.0.68 \u0026gt; 255.255.255.255.67: [udp sum ok] BOOTP/DHCP, Request from ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:01, length 244, xid 0x5ecc2c30, secs 1, Flags [Broadcast] (0x8000) Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:01 sname \u0026#34;gwifi_rouge_dhcp_detection\u0026#34; Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Discover END Option 255, length 0 To filter out unwanted UDP packets we\u0026rsquo;ll skip ones coming from ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:01.\nYou\u0026rsquo;ll need to substitute with a MAC address you want to filter out prefixed with 0x. In this example DHCP server eth0 has MAC address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:03 and the client has MAC address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02.\nsudo tcpdump -vvv -n -e -i eth0 \u0026#39;((port 67 or port 68) and (udp[38:4] != 0xffffffffff01))\u0026#39; I\u0026rsquo;ve started the capture and pressed \u0026lsquo;Renew DHCP lease\u0026rsquo; button on the client. Here is what is saw on DHCP server.\n21:58:03.118281 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0x0, ttl 255, id 49865, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328) 0.0.0.0.68 \u0026gt; 255.255.255.255.67: [udp sum ok] BOOTP/DHCP, Request from ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02, length 300, xid 0x17f8dde1, Flags [none] (0x0000) Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Request Parameter-Request Option 55, length 10: Subnet-Mask, Classless-Static-Route, Default-Gateway, Domain-Name-Server Domain-Name, Option 119, Option 252, LDAP Netbios-Name-Server, Netbios-Node MSZ Option 57, length 2: 1500 Client-ID Option 61, length 7: ether ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Requested-IP Option 50, length 4: 192.168.86.77 Lease-Time Option 51, length 4: 7776000 Hostname Option 12, length 15: \u0026#34;Client-hostname\u0026#34; END Option 255, length 0 PAD Option 0, length 0, occurs 6 As you can see there is a request but no response. If you look closely you\u0026rsquo;ll see the request comes not from the internal network 192.168.86.0/24 but from the broadcast address 0.0.0.0. This is understandable - new client does not have an IP yet so it has to connect to 255.255.255.255.67 and get IP from DHCP server.\nConnections from 0.0.0.0 were dropped this is why DHCP didn\u0026rsquo;t work. After I\u0026rsquo;ve opened port 67 for all udp traffic on eth0 clients started to get leases immediately.\nsudo iptables -A INPUT -p udp --dport 67 -i eth0 -j ACCEPT Here are captured packets with this iptables rule in place, note full DHCP request cycle present - Discover, Offer, Request and Ack.\n22:01:48.095467 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0x0, ttl 255, id 49877, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328) 0.0.0.0.68 \u0026gt; 255.255.255.255.67: [udp sum ok] BOOTP/DHCP, Request from ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02, length 300, xid 0x17f8dde4, Flags [none] (0x0000) Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Discover Parameter-Request Option 55, length 10: Subnet-Mask, Classless-Static-Route, Default-Gateway, Domain-Name-Server Domain-Name, Option 119, Option 252, LDAP Netbios-Name-Server, Netbios-Node MSZ Option 57, length 2: 1500 Client-ID Option 61, length 7: ether ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Lease-Time Option 51, length 4: 7776000 Hostname Option 12, length 15: \u0026#34;Client-hostname\u0026#34; END Option 255, length 0 PAD Option 0, length 0, occurs 12 22:01:48.097287 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:03 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0xc0, ttl 64, id 29936, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328) 192.168.86.2.67 \u0026gt; 192.168.86.77.68: [bad udp cksum 0x2ee6 -\u0026gt; 0x0039!] BOOTP/DHCP, Reply, length 300, xid 0x17f8dde4, Flags [none] (0x0000) Your-IP 192.168.86.77 Server-IP 192.168.86.2 Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Offer Server-ID Option 54, length 4: 192.168.86.2 Lease-Time Option 51, length 4: 86400 RN Option 58, length 4: 43200 RB Option 59, length 4: 75600 Subnet-Mask Option 1, length 4: 255.255.255.0 BR Option 28, length 4: 192.168.86.255 Domain-Name-Server Option 6, length 4: 192.168.86.2 Domain-Name Option 15, length 3: \u0026#34;lan\u0026#34; Default-Gateway Option 3, length 4: 192.168.86.2 END Option 255, length 0 PAD Option 0, length 0, occurs 3 22:01:49.106741 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0x0, ttl 255, id 49878, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328) 0.0.0.0.68 \u0026gt; 255.255.255.255.67: [udp sum ok] BOOTP/DHCP, Request from ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02, length 300, xid 0x17f8dde4, secs 1, Flags [none] (0x0000) Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: Request Parameter-Request Option 55, length 10: Subnet-Mask, Classless-Static-Route, Default-Gateway, Domain-Name-Server Domain-Name, Option 119, Option 252, LDAP Netbios-Name-Server, Netbios-Node MSZ Option 57, length 2: 1500 Client-ID Option 61, length 7: ether ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Requested-IP Option 50, length 4: 192.168.86.77 Server-ID Option 54, length 4: 192.168.86.2 Hostname Option 12, length 15: \u0026#34;Client-hostname\u0026#34; END Option 255, length 0 PAD Option 0, length 0, occurs 6 22:01:49.122177 ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:03 \u0026gt; ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02, ethertype IPv4 (0x0800), length 342: (tos 0xc0, ttl 64, id 29941, offset 0, flags [none], proto UDP (17), length 328) 192.168.86.2.67 \u0026gt; 192.168.86.77.68: [bad udp cksum 0x2ee6 -\u0026gt; 0xfd37!] BOOTP/DHCP, Reply, length 300, xid 0x17f8dde4, secs 1, Flags [none] (0x0000) Your-IP 192.168.86.77 Server-IP 192.168.86.2 Client-Ethernet-Address ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:02 Vendor-rfc1048 Extensions Magic Cookie 0x63825363 DHCP-Message Option 53, length 1: ACK Server-ID Option 54, length 4: 192.168.86.2 Lease-Time Option 51, length 4: 86400 RN Option 58, length 4: 43200 RB Option 59, length 4: 75600 Subnet-Mask Option 1, length 4: 255.255.255.0 BR Option 28, length 4: 192.168.86.255 Domain-Name-Server Option 6, length 4: 192.168.86.2 Domain-Name Option 15, length 3: \u0026#34;lan\u0026#34; Default-Gateway Option 3, length 4: 192.168.86.2 END Option 255, length 0 PAD Option 0, length 0, occurs 3 Summary, how to debug DHCP Check DHCP server logs Confirm there are no problems with interface configuration, all needed network interfaces are up Confirm DHCP server runs on the correct interface Check if you see any activity on ports 67 and 68 on DHCP server interface using tcpdump Try allowing all input traffic on DHCP interface and see if it helps. Note depending on your network achitecture this may overexpose services running on the server. Revert changes/tighten up firewall rules as soon as you have discovered the root cause Appendix for those too lazy to Google: How DHCP works I took this section from this excellent tutorial.\nDHCP exchange diagram\nDHCP discovery The client computers broadcasts messages on the physical subnet to discover available DHCP servers. This client-computers creates a User Datagram Protocol (UDP) packet with the default broadcast destination of 255.255.255.255 or the specific subnet broadcast address if any configured.\nDHCP offer When a DHCP server receives an IP lease request from a client, it reserves an IP address for the client and extends an IP lease offer by sending a DHCPOFFER message to the client. This message contains the client\u0026rsquo;s MAC address, the IP address that the server is offering, the subnet mask, the lease duration, and the IP address of the DHCP server making the offer.\nDHCP request In most companies, two DHCP servers provide fault tolerance of IP addressing if one server fails or must be taken offline for maintenance. So client could receive DHCP offers from multiple servers, but it will accept only one DHCP offer. In response to the offer Client requests the server. The client replies DHCP Request, unicast to the server, requesting the offered address. Based on the Transaction ID field in the request, servers are informed whose offer the client has accepted. When other DHCP servers receive this message, they withdraw any offers that they might have made to the client and return the offered address to the pool of available addresses. In some cases DHCP request message is broadcast, instead of being unicast to a particular DHCP server, because the DHCP client has still not received an IP address. Also, this way one message can let all other DHCP servers know that another server will be supplying the IP address without missing any of the servers with a series of unicast messages.\nDHCP acknowledgement When the DHCP server receives the DHCPREQUEST message from the client, the configuration process enters its final phase.\nBonus fact - DHCP uses ports 67 (server) and 68 (client) Client should know the port number on a server to connect to otherwise it would have to scan all the ports on a DHCP server and getting a lease would take forever not to mention all hosts on the network would get this broadcast traffic.\nWhat about a client? Client could send a request from a random port and server would use the source port to get back to the client. Once again, the idea behind client listening on a well-known port 68 is to reduce broadcast \u0026lsquo;blast radius\u0026rsquo;. If client uses a random port it is quite possible some other host on the network uses same port for a differen purpose. This other host is going to get a responce from DHCP server aimed for DHCP client and in a best of the worlds it just does nothing because it has no use for this responce. If a service is buggy and does not handle unexpected packets properly it may crash upon receiving the responce from DHCP server.\nThis is the reason why there is a designated port 68 DHCP server sends a responce to.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debugging-dhcp-tcpdump/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWith lot of time spent home during stay-at-home order active in my area\nI decided it\u0026rsquo;s a time to overhaul my home network setup.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI think I\u0026rsquo;ll get into details in the following posts but at this time\nI want to tell about an issue with DHCP leases I was able to track down using\n\u003ccode\u003etcpdump\u003c/code\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Debugging DHCP using tcpdump"},{"content":"Hey-hey kids it has been a while, right? Ok, I\u0026rsquo;m planning to blow the dust off this blog.\nDon\u0026rsquo;t expect anything grandiose yet but I did some homework and moved the blog from Octopress to Hugo so this tin lizzy has a heart of a fighter jet now.\nSee you soon.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/moved-to-hugo/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHey-hey kids it has been a while, right? Ok, I\u0026rsquo;m planning to blow the dust off this blog.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon\u0026rsquo;t expect anything grandiose yet but I did some homework and moved the blog from Octopress\nto Hugo so this tin lizzy has a heart of a fighter jet now.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSee you soon.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Moved to Hugo"},{"content":"As you have noticed I continue to trail off the paved path of the technically inclined blog and venture into hiking/mountaineering Internet backcountry. The reason is I’m an extremely lazy guy who promised to get back to Shasta almost a year ago. It’s time to be back as promised!\nSo, Shasta, heh. Shasta. 4,322 meters or 14179 feet tall White Mountain. My very first serious mountain and the first one to beat me.\nMy friends tried to summit from the north in the beginning of June 2018 but had to turn back because of altitude sickness. Next attempt was scheduled 23-24 of June and I gladly accepted the proposition to join them.\nNorth side routes\nRoutes from the north are generally more difficult than classic south route from Bunny Flat via Avalanche gulch. Northgate trailhead is way less accessible. You want 4wd car to get there. My friends were able to reach the trailhead driving Mazda 3 but it took about two hours after the turn from 97, they stuck couple of times and scratched the car. My Outback had no problems on Military pass, it took about 40 minutes from the highway to the trailhead parking. By the way at the moment, June 2018, Google maps tend to propose ‘faster’ routes to the Northgate Trailhead, don’t be misled - take Military pass unless you are up for some serious offroad experience. Just look for and follow direction signs once you are off the pavement.\nWe were at the trailhead parking at about 0130, 23rd of June. My friends put up a tent, I decided to sleep in the car. Now there is the first hiccup in my planning - I took a tent I didn’t need because three of us fit into my friends’ tent and I didn’t take a sleeping bag which I needed. Big mistake. Night in the car was not bad though even with no sleeping bag.\nIn the morning we’ve issued self-issue wilderness permits and summit passess required above 10000 ft. Have $25 to put in the summit pass envelope and keep stubs on you - rangers may ask for them. Permits are valid for three days from the issue date. Don’t forget to get a poop bag from the restroom - there are no other restrooms up the trail and there is no one to clean the waste after you.\nAmong other information in the kiosk there was a posting about two hikers missing.\nPosting about the missing hikers\nGiven a remote location of the trailhead and only two other cars parked it started to feel eerily familiar. Super nice trio from Oregon with a minivan (lots of trouble on the Military pass I tell ya) summited previous day and were packing out. They generously shared their beer cache with us. Yay!\nOur plan was to reach high camp just below Hotlum/Bolam ridge, sleep there, head out at about 0100 and follow the ridge up.\nFirst part of the plan worked fine for me, even though I once again had too much unnecessary equipment on me.\nThis is how too much junk looks like\nLooks so close!\nGorgeous view to the north\nIt took some time to decide where to camp exactly, lower but closer to the springs or higher and closer to the summit. Since the plan was to eat and drink properly we decided to camp by water.\nWe decided to camp near water\nThe tent and two North Face Dolomite 20 bags zippered together fit three of us. It got really cold at night and honestly I have no idea what would I do if I didn’t have a sleeping bag to get into.\nAs planned at 0100 we woke up and started to prepare for the summit attempt. Unfortunately I was not able to go higher due to the altitude sickness. Wah-wah-wah\u0026hellip;\nThis is as close as I could get\nMy Tarahumara backpack from Hill People Gear was able to summit with my friends though - this situation when your gear is way more badass than you are.\nTarahumara backpack is back from the summit\nAsked a ranger passing by about two guys missing and was told they are fine but for people in their seventies this trip may be very last serious trip. They’ve spent ~48 hours on the mountain, lost each other and split, were pretty wasted and hallucinating when found by SAR.\nI tried to get more sleep, then packed sleeping bags, refilled water containers and waited until my friends returned from the summit. Way back was obviously easier but hell, Shasta beats me up for the second time in a row! Grrrrrrrr!\nLessons learned Should have parted with the second insulation layer - way too much bulk, I didn’t use it. Pants for glissading - my snowboarding pants are way too heavy and bulky and just have no place on a mountain with no snowboard. Thin rain pants keep you dry and you warm up quickly if you stay dry. Got minor blisters - needed thin liner socks under wool socks. You don’t really know if you need liners until you use your boots on an uneven terrain - some boots sit just fine, some boots play a bit. In case if a boot ‘plays’ your woolen sock rubs against your foot causing blisters eventually. Feet are way happier if a wool sock rubs against a liner sock instead. Furthermore it’s needed to tie boots properly, tight in the middle so the balls of feet are pushed back and down and feet don’t have vertical ‘play’. Makes sense to put gaiters on right at the trailhead to keep dust and pebbles out of your boots. Too much junk. Like really, too much. Power bank, too many replaceable batteries, lot of water but no room for a sleeping bag. YAGNI FTW. As a result from a previous one - not too impressed with my Osprey backpack - not enough points to attach equipment externally. I didn’t manage to configure the backpack so all weight transferred to the lumbar area. Going to be replaced with Qui-ya backpack from HPG in the future. So do you think it ends here? Hell no. I was back in a week. Obviously lacking mountaineering experience for the north side decided to take the classical south route via Avalanche gulch. I took into account everything mentioned above. Since it was apparent it takes more time for me than one night to acclimatize I decided to ‘flash’ Shasta in one day as I did with mt. Whitney earlier this June.\nGear attachment system this time was built around Umlindi backpack and Prairie belt from HPG.\nUmlindi backpack with Prairie belt near the top of mt. Shasta\nThere are tons of reviews out there and I have little to add except that there is lot of thought and love put into these things and I believe they are worth every penny I’ve paid. I think 30 liter Umlindi is the most versatile base pack offered by HPG. I use it as my EDC backpack without Prairie belt and bottom attachment straps. Killer features for me are wide and sturdy compression straps (not a flimsy nonsense you see on most backpacks on the market) and yoke-like harness system. Compression straps allow to attach bulky items like shell and insulation layers to the top, bottom or back of the backpack. With belt attached the pack sits firmly on my hips and shoulder harness rather prevents it from bouncing back/forth/side-to-side than bears any load. I’ve spent almost fifteen hours in a row under the pack with a gallon of water, food, crampons, icepick and clothes and by the time I was back to the trail head my back, neck and shoulders were as fresh as when I started.\nThird attempt timeline Arrived to Bunny Flat trailhead at around 1700, 30th of June, slept in the car until 0015 1st of July and started the ascend.\n0022 Bunny flat 0100 Horse camp There is a spring to fill your canteens and bladders and a restroom to empty your canteens and bladders.\n0257 50/50 flat First snow tongues, I put crampons on here.\nTook this photo on the way back\nView to the south from 50/50, the photo taken on the way back\n0424 Helen lake Most of folks who do Shasta in multiple days camp here.\nPerfect Comanche moon and some folks ascending from the camp at Helen lake\nAvalanche gulch, early morning\n0630 Heart The most difficult part is from there to the top of Red Banks. I really-really wanted to get to the top of Red Banks before 0900 on a firm snow.\nWanted to get above Red Banks before sun starts to melt the snow\nBottom of Red Banks\nThe other reason to get by as early as possible is because narrow walls of Red Banks are badly eroded, rock falls are very common so helmet is a must. Head-sized boulder bounced past me here down to the Heart. It’s a bit safer when snow and ice bind rocks together.\nRed Banks are narrow, steep and dangerous\n0900 the bottom of the Misery hill Whew, the hardest part is done, time to eat, drink, breathe and to summit. I took crampons off because there is no snow until the top of Misery hill and by the time I got up there snow on the ridge was soft enough. I saw no need to put crampons on again.\nShastina from the top of Misery Hill\nSummit\u0026hellip; So close\u0026hellip;\n1130 summit Few more steps\u0026hellip;\nVoila! I\u0026rsquo;m on the top!\nView from the summit to the south\nView from the summit to the west\nPpl chillin on the top\nSpent some time on the summit, ate few gels and started descending. The plan was to be at the bottom of Misery hill by 1230 when snow in Red Banks get some radiation and soften a bit. You don\u0026rsquo;t want to glissade on the frozen snow - it harder to self-arrest.\n1230 bottom of the Misery hill. Here I put my rain pants on, and tightened all straps. On a good day you can glissade from the botom of Misery hill to Helen lake. Use extreme caution glissading down Red Banks - allow enough slack between you and a person below you to react if you case a rockfall. It gets pretty steep right before you get out of Red Banks - keep a firm grip on your ice axe!\nBelow Red Banks all glissading is pretty much PG-13.\nAround Heart I started to feel symptoms of altitude sickness but since I was going down already they were a minor annoyance.\n1450 50/50 flat Gets real hot there, good idea to reapply sunscreen washed out by sweat.\n1642 Bunny flat trailhead That’s it folks, Shasta is done and I have no more serious plans for summer 2018. There is a hope for some technical stuff in this blog now he-he.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/mt-shasta-in-one-day-2018-07-01/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs you have noticed I continue to trail off the paved path of the technically inclined blog and venture into hiking/mountaineering Internet backcountry. The reason is I’m an extremely lazy guy who promised to \u003ca href=\"/post/illbeback-shasta/\"\u003eget back to Shasta\u003c/a\u003e almost a year ago. It’s time to be back as promised!\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Shasta in one day 2018/07/01"},{"content":"Why this post in this blog? - I am generally trying to keep this blog technically inclined. Researching information on one day mt. Whitney hike I was able to find bits of useful information here and there but no ‘end-to-end product’ so to say. This post is an attempt to decrease amount of googling you need to do. Plus doing this hike in one day wasn\u0026rsquo;t a cakewalk so quite naturally I need to brag a bit, please bear with me.\nDisclaimer - use the information as well as anything you find on the Internet as a baseline. Mountaineering is an inherently dangerous activity. Be prepared, be cautious and be lucky. No book or Internet publication is able to provide you with a hands on experience.\nReasoning Why mt. Whitney trail? - Well, because it\u0026rsquo;s there. Because it is the highest point of the contiguous United States.\nWhy try to do it in one day? Because it’s doable in one day. You don’t have to plan a vacation if you live in California - Friday or Monday day off suffices. You have a higher chance to win a one-day permit than an overnight permit. Because it is a great test of your endurance and mental strength. If you have more time I do recommend to spend more time in the area to acclimatize properly and be able to enjoy the scenic nature of Inyo area and Yosemite national park.\nThis post is about summer season, I know little about off season mt. Whitney conditions.\nUseful resources on the Internet whitneyzone.com forum is a great starting point. The forum contains tons of useful information, including summit reports and current trail conditions.\nFirst things first you need to start preparing early, by 15th of March if you want to get a permit for the summer season. Nice table with options, permit types and useful links can be found here\nSecond thing on the Internet you should pay lot attention to is the forecast: something you should definitely be following for at least two weeks before a summit attempt. Remember though - the weather can change very quickly, mt. Whitney is famous for afternoon thunderstorms.\nI think the best place to pick up the permit is Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center located at the Junction of Highway 395 and State Route 136, 2 miles south of Lone Pine, CA. Open 0800 - 1700 Daily (last permit issued 1645).\nNote The final step for your reservation is to check in and pick up your permit before starting on the trail. Reservation will be canceled as a no-show if you do not confirm or pick up the permit before 10 am on the entry date.\nCheck this link for more information and instructions.\nLeave no trace but leave some clues damn it Remember - if there is no one knows if and where you go no one is going to search for you when you do not return. You should have an emergency contact, a person who does not climb with you, who has exact information about you and your plans and who is instructed to contact emergency services in case there is no notice from you by the certain time.\nMake sure your emergency contact has the following information:\nYour name/Surname, age, weight, height, eye color. Specific conditions like diabetes/allergies if any. Your recent photo, better with the gear you’ll have with you on the trail. Photo of your gear. Car make, year, license plate number. Planned route, planned departure time, planned return time. Escalation procedure - eg. if no call by 0900 day after planned return day contact X. If no information by 1200 on the day after planned return day call emergency services in the area and so on. Emergency services contact information Inyo sheriff office Emergency services 760-878-0395 760-878-0235 Inyo SAR (search and rescue) 760-878-0383 info@inyosar.com Equipment Rule of a thumb - choose equipment colors that would made you happy if you were three years old again. If something bad happens it is going to be easier for a SAR search party to find you.\nSummer summit temperatures around the water freezing point + chilling wind = no cotton.\nHelmet - shields your head and provides a solid platform for headlamp attachment. Size should allow to wear it on top of a beanie or a baseball cap. Polartec beanie - warm, keep warmth when moist and dries quickly. Baseball cap - I like a cap from Outdor Research with shade attached. You do look a bit dorky but it\u0026rsquo;s better to look dorky than to be sunburnt. Water tight hard shell/windbreaker. You may swap for a soft shell if you feel so. Fleece layers - two (jerseys? eh?) don’t know how to call them properly, anyhow - fleece pieces that make you warm. Two for the fine tuning. Long sleeve base layer. Water tight pants - for glissading, I use my snowboarding pants. Gaiters - prevent snow from getting into your boots and, even more importantly, do not allow crampons to catch on your pants and tear them. Last time on Shasta I didn’t have gaiters and tore a substantial hole in my pants. Not cool. Track pants - quick drying everyday hiking pants - you may need to change after glissading. Mountaineering boots with good ankle support, preferable with GoreTex or similar membrane - there are several streams to cross, you don’t want to lose time there or/and wet your feet. Should be well broken in before you take mt. Whitney trail. Good socks. I mean it. Crampons - ‘trail crampons’ or ‘microspikes’ suffice for mt. Whitney trail - there is nothing too technical. Plus it is easy to put them on and take off. This is very convenient in the thin air where sometimes you feel like even opening a pocket is too much of a hustle. Ice axe - must have for ascending and glissading down the snowy slope. It is an extremely dangerous idea to use flimsy walking poles for this purpose. Also you look 20% cooler with an ice axe. Make sure you are trained to self-arrest before you start glissading. Walking poles - use them and save your knees for another trip. Miscellaneous Sunscreen - sunbathing is dumb. Sunbathing at 14000 feet is twice as dumb - your favorite skin cancer research foundation. Sun glasses - pick good ones, with UV protection, comfortable with the helmet/beanie/baseball hat. This is important, you are going to wear them for the whole day. Headlamp Backup headlamp Backup backup headlamp - you don’t want to abort the mission due to a failed light and just sit on your legs waiting for the sunrise to retreat - am I right? Better if your headlamps share same type of the battery. Make sure the headlamp has SOS mode - I saw at least one SAR report describing a guy colliding with other hiker while glissading down the Chute and being helped by the people from Trail camp when they saw his SOS blinker. Water filter - there are streams at least during an early spring/summer season and you may not need to carry more than 2 liters of water if you have a filter. Note though - filtering takes time, I decided to carry 3 liters of water with me to avoid prolonged stops. GPS unit - not needed, really, I didn’t have any problems finding the trail even at night. ’Up’ is to the summit, ‘down’ is to the parking. You do want to have a printed map just in case. Check blog post for a detailed map from National Geografic. Cellphone - to take photos, if you’re lucky enough you will get signal on the summit. Camera - if you feel so, I believe cellphone works just fine. Trauma/med kit - compressed gauze, Israeli bandage, tourniquet, rollable SAM splint, band-aids, antibiotic ointment for scratches, Acetamphenomen/Aspirine for fever, and so on. Obviously - if you have no idea how to use an item from the kit it will be of no use to you. Learn or discard. Food Normally you need about 2200 Kcal a day. In order to fuel 20 hour hike you’ll need another 4600 Kcal. Try not to stick to same-tasting food and be as creative and diverse here as possible. I’m not sure if it’s just me but by the second half of the day I was pretty tired of peanut butter, sweet trail mix, sweet protein bars and sweet energy gels. The only non-sweet thing I was going to have was a pack of sliced salami and I forgot it in the fridge at home. Lesson learned: make sure you have on you all you plan to have on the trail. It\u0026rsquo;s a good idea to add BCAA to your water for an additional energy, check if there are any filters in your hydration system as BCAA powder may clog them.\nOff we go Took a day off on Friday 8th of June. Left San Francisco at about 0700 heading to Lone Pine via Yosemite, highway 120. Note it’s a toll road, don’t forget your ‘America the beautiful’ interagency pass. Drive time from SF to Lone Pine is about seven and a half hours.\nAt around 1500 was by Eastern Sierra InterAgency Visitor Center in Lone Pine. The permit pickup process is quite straight forward - you show your ID and get a permit, a permit tag you should attach to the backpack and a poop bag. Ranger then briefly explains how to poop into a said bag and warns against leaving anything edible and edible smelling (toothpaste/air fresheners/suscreen) in your car. Bears are active and will vandalize your car if tempted. I left toothpaste and backup sunscreen tubes in the hostel in Lone Pine. My ranger was a cute blond girl which I took as an extremely good sign.\nLone Pine\nAfter getting the permit I’ve returned to Lone Pine and checked into Whitney Portal hostel - very well may be the best place to spend the night before the hike. Most people staying there are thru hikers walking Pacific Crest Trail. It was my first hostel experience and first submerging into hiker trash subculture. Simply put it was amazing. Who knows maybe someday I will manage to shed everything earth binding and will be off pink blazing somewhere on AT? Ah, dreams, dreams… Great blog on thru hiking culture. My deepest \u0026lt;3 ! Needless to say if you want a cosy place with no people snoring in the same room you should check different options - there are quite a few hotels in Lone Pine.\nI dined and went to bed trying to get as much sleep before 0030 on 9th of June as possible. Trust me, it is very hard to sleep well with mount Whitney before you so if you feel you are not able to sleep it makes sense to leave earlier, to have more of a time cushion at least. It is about 20 minutes drive from hostel to the trailhead parking. The restroom/trash are by the trailhead as well.\nWhole hike took ~19 hours for me. I’m not an athlete by any means but I think I’m quite fit as for an office plankton. You want to set times for each of checkpoints and set it hard that if you fail to get to a checkpoint by a certain time you return. You should anchor on Trail crest time - you want get there by 0900 while the snow is still firm. You want to glissade down from Trail crest before 1600 while the snow is still soft and it is easy to self-arrest on the slope. This is why I decided to start at 0100 - pretty early.\nMy time on the trail 0100 starting from the trail head Traihead sign\n0230 ‘Entering Whitney zone’ sign Whitney zone\n0254 Outpost Camp 0352 Trail side meadow 0505 Trail Camp Sunrise yay! I can see something but rocks!\nSunrise\nSnow is right above the Trail Camp. This is where I put the crampons on.\nTrail Camp\nThe view toward the Trail Camp from the base of Chute.\nStart of Chute\n0600 Chute Usually until July upper switchbacks are covered with snow so you have to walk up the couloir instead of taking switchbacks. This is where you need your crampons on and where the real fun begins. I strongly recommend to put your helmet on at this point if you didn\u0026rsquo;t yet - at least three fist sized rocks rolled by while I was walking the Chute. If you see a rock rolling make other people aware - they may not be paying attention at all and may be too exhausted to react in timely manner. Another reason - yelling \u0026lsquo;Rock!!!’ is plain fun. Be cautious of a snow situation and don\u0026rsquo;t yell yourself an avalanche though. You really want to get to the Trail Crest before 0900 because snow starts to melt, you start to sink and lose lot of energy. You gain about 450 meters ~1500 feet here.\nChute\n0915 Trail Crest The first possibility to peak at the Yosemite side of Sierra Nevada. Breathtaking views, I really started to feel the altitude by now and lowered the tempo. Critters on the trail crest are trying to cute some food from unsuspecting hikers and judging by the fat and glossy look not without a success. Be aware and alert - animals here are not afraid of humans and will immediately munch right through your unattended backpack if situation permits.\nLil muncher\nI decided to pack my jacket because while I was walking up the Chute sun started to burn me up a bit but as soon as I got into the crest opening whooshing winds made me to reconsider the decision. Wind speed was constantly rising reaching approximately 40 mph by 1251 when I summited.\nTrail Crest\nRidge - the most dangerous part of the hike.\nThe ridge\nThe trail is narrow, during an early season there are still patches of snow and ice here and there. Two patches were exceptionally nasty and made me to put crampons on.\nThe ridge\nThis is where \u0026lsquo;microspikes\u0026rsquo; excel as you can put them on in seconds and it does not require lot of effort. Three or four times the trail crosses \u0026lsquo;windows\u0026rsquo;:\nA window\nPortals in the ridge between the valleys. Wind gusts were especially strong there, I didn\u0026rsquo;t risk staying for too long while the scenery opening through these \u0026lsquo;windows\u0026rsquo; is simply astonishing. The trail hugs the western slope of the mountain. You gain another 450 m of altitude.\n1251 Summit Summit panorama\nSmithsonian hut built in 1904 was meant to house scientists during storms.\nSmithsonian hut\nIt is not considered safe during thunder storm nowadays. If you see clouds you should turn back immediately - there is no quick way down and you may be easily caught by a storm. Add altitude sickness here and you have a receipt for a very nasty situation. Storms usually happen in the afternoon and this is why it is important to get to the summit as early as possible. I didn\u0026rsquo;t hang for too long at the summit because almost immediately after I put my name into the visitor book in the box on the side of the Smithsonian hut I\u0026rsquo;ve started to feel a bit queasy - altitude sickness started to kick in. Losing ~250 meters of altitude half way back on the ridge made me feel way better.\n1500 Trail Crest From Trail Camp down hike was not too remarkable.\nBelow Trail Camp\nWhitney portal\nI was pleased to see the nature in the Portal I didn’t see in the night though.\n2008 Back to the trail head Reached the trail head at 2008, before it was dark and was happy to find my car intact and sound. I strongly recommend reading this trailhead sign before you get in trouble.\nTrailhead\n25 minute drive to mt. Whitney portal store and hostel, and this was it. Once again confirmed the world is a very tiny place when met my boss from a previous company. He and his friends were doing Whitney as well, were able to summit earlier than me after spending the night in Trail Camp.\nNext day decided to visit the lowest point in contiguous US, it\u0026rsquo;s less than 200 miles drive from Lone Pine.\nBadwater basin\nNotes on altitude sickness How much altitude sickness affects you depends on multiple factors - altitude you\u0026rsquo;re acclimatized to before starting the climb, individual susceptibility, how well you\u0026rsquo;re hydrated and so on. Prior to attempting one day Whitney hike you should know at least approximately how your organizm reacts to the decreased air pressure so you can abort the mission before your condition deteriorates significantly. Researching the matter I was not able to find any evidence of a strong corellation between fitness levels and susceptibility - even if you are very fit you may not be able to finish the hike due to AS. There are people who suffer from dizziness and hadaches ascending as little as 1500 meters.\nAS symptoms: loss of appetite and/or thirst, nausea or vomiting, excessive flatulation, fatigue or weakness, headache with or without dizziness or lightheadedness, insomnia, peripheral edema (swelling of hands, feet, and face), nose bleeding, shortness of breath upon exertion, persistent rapid pulse.\nThere is it appears some corellation between dehydratation and AS. You lose moisture much faster at the higher altitude. This is why it is so important to stay properly hydrated. Have plenty of water and drink whenever you’re thirsty and from time to time even if you are not - the organism is confused and you can’t completely rely on thirst signals it sends to you. I took a sip every 15 minutes or so. If you drink too much the excess water will be excreted, not a big deal if you add enough electrolytes to the water you consume to keep the balance. You don\u0026rsquo;t want to allow sodium concentration drop, the condition known as Hyponatremia. Check instructions for the particular product for suggested concentrations. Note electrolyte tablets can clog a filter in your hydration system if there is a filter - check beforehand.\nUsually it takes several hours for altitude sickness to develop. This is why you should climb high and sleep low - you can’t monitor your condition while asleep and you will not get any rest trying to sleep with altitude sickness. This is another reason why you don’t want to be too high for too long. I was trying to ‘outrun’ altitude sickness and, generally speaking, succeeded. If I had to spend more time on the summit because of some delay on a trail or whatnot I would feel way worse on the way down.\nAccording to wikipedia article Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen can be used to reduce symptoms of minor altitude sickness to some extent.\nSolo vs group Soloing mt. Whitney in one day was not a good idea - I did it, I regret the decision and I certainly do not recommend repeating this feat to anyone. There are plenty of people on the trail, making you vulnerable to the Bystander effect further fortified by the harsh environment conditions and exhaustion. You can’t make other people to risk their lives because of your recklessness, especially if they don’t have proper training and equipment. If you have a problem it make take hours for people to report the situation to SAR/911. If it is afternoon already chances are you’ll have to wait until the dawn for any assistance.\nAbility to communicate with the Base camp/other members of the team is vital. This is why you absolutely have to have VHF/UHF radios in your group and make sure every member of the group is able to operate them. Note you can’t rely solely on the radio communications above the Trail Camp - you will not be able to receive signals from the other side of the ridge and from places shadowed by terrain features. You should never separate above the Trail Camp because of this. I met two groups separated on the way back - a guy was waiting on the trail crest for his friend still descending via ridge part of the trail (met them afterwards near Outpost Camp, both were fine). Couple of folks were waiting for their friend to glissade down the Chute - both damp and cold. Eventually the group decided to descend to Trail camp and either find the missing hiker there or call 911. The guy was waiting in the Trail camp. Lessons learned - you should not separate above Trail camp, if you do separate you need to know both exact place and time where you meet again and the plan how to proceed if someone is still missing.\nI hope you’ve enjoyed the report and going to make only your mistakes instead of repeating mine. See you on the trail!\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/mt-whitney-in-one-day-2018-06-09/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhy this post in this blog? - I am generally trying to keep this blog technically inclined. Researching information on one day mt. Whitney hike I was able to find bits of useful information here and there but no ‘end-to-end product’ so to say. This post is an attempt to decrease amount of googling you need to do. Plus doing this hike in one day wasn\u0026rsquo;t a cakewalk so quite naturally I need to brag a bit, please bear with me.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDisclaimer - use the information as well as anything you find on the Internet as a baseline. Mountaineering is an inherently dangerous activity. Be prepared, be cautious and be lucky. No book or Internet publication is able to provide you with a hands on experience.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Mt. Whitney in one day 2018/06/09"},{"content":"Recently I was investigating quite an interesting issue - there is Ubuntu based VM our testers run some tests on. It was reported they\u0026rsquo;re unable to log into the virtual machine.\nAfter a brief investigation it became clear the issue is not network or SSH key related.\nThese are records from auth log:\n/var/log/auth.log Feb 28 20:21:39 test-instance sshd[21954]: pam_unix(sshd:session): session opened for user ubuntu by (uid=0) Feb 28 20:21:39 test-instance systemd-logind[756]: New session 75 of user ubuntu. Feb 28 20:21:39 test-instance sshd[21954]: fatal: fork of unprivileged child failed Feb 28 20:21:39 test-instance systemd-logind[756]: Removed session 75. Quite an obscure error message, but smells like cgroup problem. Indeed:\njournalctl -xe --no-pager | grep cgroup Feb 28 20:21:39 test-instance kernel: cgroup: fork rejected by pids controller in /user.slice/user-1000.slice/session-75.scope Number of processes in the system was not this high, so, naturally the next guy to blame is the number of threads.\nPids of the most thread-heavy processes can be found using the following oneliner\nfor prc in $(ps -A -o pid); do grep -s Threads /proc/${prc}/status | awk -v prc=\u0026#34;${prc}\u0026#34; \u0026#39;{print prc, $2}\u0026#39;; done | sort -n -r -k 2 | head 10925 5156 10971 5138 11193 506 764 11 831 7 802 4 854 3 821 3 853 2 19109 2 First column here is a pid, second - number of threads.\nNext it\u0026rsquo;s needed to find out what limit is being hit. Honestly it was quite a discovery for me that pids.max cgroup limit controls number of threads as well.\nLimit set in the following file\ncat /sys/fs/cgroup/pids/user.slice/user-1000.slice/pids.max 10813 Current usage can be found here:\ncat /sys/fs/cgroup/pids/user.slice/user-1000.slice/pids.current 10809 user-1000 here is ubuntu, confirmed by id ubuntu.\nAs you can see the limit is almost exhausted. Once the limit was increased\necho \u0026#39;32768\u0026#39; \u0026gt; /sys/fs/cgroup/pids/user.slice/user-1000.slice/pids.max it became possible to log in as user \u0026lsquo;ubuntu\u0026rsquo;. Tester folks were able to identify the reason of an excessive thread spawning and the issue should not reoccur.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/ubuntu-user-hits-thread-number-limit-preventing-ssh-login/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRecently I was investigating quite an interesting issue - there is Ubuntu based VM our testers run some tests on. It was reported they\u0026rsquo;re unable to log into the virtual machine.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter a brief investigation it became clear the issue is not network or SSH key related.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese are records from auth log:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e/var/log/auth.log\n\nFeb 28 20:21:39 test-instance sshd[21954]: pam_unix(sshd:session): session opened for user ubuntu by (uid=0)\nFeb 28 20:21:39 test-instance systemd-logind[756]: New session 75 of user ubuntu.\nFeb 28 20:21:39 test-instance sshd[21954]: fatal: fork of unprivileged child failed\nFeb 28 20:21:39 test-instance systemd-logind[756]: Removed session 75.\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eQuite an obscure error message, but smells like cgroup problem. Indeed:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ubuntu user hits thread number limit preventing SSH login"},{"content":"There is an annoying bug in Kubernetes 1.6 running on GCE with Calico/Flannel networking operating via CNI plugin interface.\nYou may experience same issue if kubelet on your nodes runs with options\n--network-plugin=cni --cloud-provider=gce When a new node is added to the k8s cluster it\u0026rsquo;s recognized as \u0026lsquo;Ready\u0026rsquo; but no pods except Calico/Flannel pod are being scheduled there.\nIt looks like Calico/Flannel creates all needed routes in GCE but fails to properly report this to the k8s master or whatnot.\nHere are related bugs:\nOne Two Three\nIf you check status of the problem node you\u0026rsquo;ll see NetworkUnavailable condition set as True:\nkubectl get node \u0026lt;node_name\u0026gt; -o yaml ... status: conditions: ... - type: NetworkUnavailable reason: NoRouteCreated status: \u0026#34;True\u0026#34; ... One possible workaround is to manually override problem node status, as suggested here\nYou may run the following script from k8s master node (it queries k8s API on localhost). Array of hostnames has to be updated with actual names of problem nodes of course. Review code carefully and make sure you understand what it does before applying to production!\n#!/bin/bash hostnames=(minion-0 minion-1 minion-2) for i in \u0026#34;${hostnames[@]}\u0026#34;; do curl http://localhost:8080/api/v1/nodes/$i/status \u0026gt; a.json cat a.json | tr -d \u0026#39;\\n\u0026#39; | sed \u0026#39;s/{[^}]\\+NetworkUnavailable[^}]\\+}/{\u0026#34;type\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;NetworkUnavailable\u0026#34;,\u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;False\u0026#34;,\u0026#34;reason\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;RouteCreated\u0026#34;,\u0026#34;message\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Manually set through k8s api\u0026#34;}/g\u0026#39; \u0026gt; b.json curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/nodes/$i/status -H \u0026#34;Content-Type: application/json\u0026#34; -d @b.json done it basically dumps node status into a file, overrides \u0026ldquo;NetworkUnavailable\u0026rdquo; condition and pushes the node status back. Quite a dirty hack have to admit but a working one.\nOnce the workaround is applied pods should start to be scheduled properly.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/gce-and-self-hosted-k8s-1-dot-6-noroutecreated/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThere is an annoying bug in Kubernetes 1.6 running on GCE with Calico/Flannel networking operating via CNI plugin interface.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may experience same issue if kubelet on your nodes runs with options\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e--network-plugin=cni --cloud-provider=gce\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen a new node is added to the k8s cluster it\u0026rsquo;s recognized as \u0026lsquo;Ready\u0026rsquo; but no pods except Calico/Flannel pod are being scheduled there.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"GCE and self hosted k8s 1.6 no route created"},{"content":"Sup guys I\u0026rsquo;m back and I have something for you nerdy hikers. If you\u0026rsquo;re impatient enough please feel free to skip to the bottom of the post to get the details.\nFew weeks ago I\u0026rsquo;ve made an attempt to summit mt. Shasta in northern California - from Bunny flats, via Horse camp, 50/50, Helen lake, Red banks. Reached the bottom of Misery hill (4km point) and turned back.\nLessons learned:\nPlanning matters I seriously underestimated how strenious the hike is going to be basing on my Half Dome hike experience. Reports on the Internet contain way too optimistic timings.\nWeight matters I almost exclusively attribute the fact that I didn\u0026rsquo;t summit to the excessive weight of my backpack. Second medkit is toleratable but climbing with binoculars and a power bank were clearly a terrible idea. All junk combined built backpack weight up to something about 20 kg and slowed the climb dramatically. We only reached the bottom of Misery hill at about 15:00 completely wasted, chilled for about an hour waiting for our companions who did summit and started descend at 16:00.\nWhat next? I\u0026rsquo;ve spent some time trying to find some instruments allowing to predict my performance and to my great surprise was not able to find anything worth mentioning. Well, if there is nothing, something had to be created. Presenting Super duper hiking calculator of DEATH(unicorns).\nWeb application aims to predict how much slope angle, thin air and your backpack are going to slow you down. Also it builds elevations profile and calculates some other hike related data. The calculator is intended for ballpark estimates. If you\u0026rsquo;re not hiking in a ballpark use your discretion.\nAs a base I decided to use Tobler\u0026rsquo;s hiking function because Naismith\u0026rsquo;s rule does not really map to my personal experience.\nIn order to account for elevation effects I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to include coefficient matching elevation changes in atmosphere density. Maybe the relation is not that straight especially for higher elevations but it\u0026rsquo;s still better than nothing.\nBackpack weight - was able to find only one empirical rule, 1% worth of body weight added to your backpack slows you down for 6 seconds for mile. It was presented as some army empirical rule and it may work for heavy loads. Does not map to me. Decided to go with simple formula - backpack worth n % of your body weight slows you down for n %.\nHave fun folks but please note - application is running on a free Google project so if you see \u0026lsquo;Limits reached\u0026rsquo; message you know - something on the Internet clicks too much. You (and someone else, possibly) is going to wait till the limit is being reset.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/illbeback-shasta/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSup guys I\u0026rsquo;m back and I have something for you nerdy hikers. If you\u0026rsquo;re impatient enough please feel free to skip to the bottom of the post to get the details.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFew weeks ago I\u0026rsquo;ve made an attempt to summit mt. Shasta in northern California - from Bunny flats, via Horse camp, 50/50, Helen lake, Red banks. Reached the bottom of Misery hill (4km point) and turned back.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"I'll be back Shasta"},{"content":"This is quite common nowadays to have some TLS terminatin reverse proxy in front of your REST API. Nginx is being used frequently for this purpose.\nThe problem I faced and spent some time trying to resolve is that API backing Nginx responds in JSON, but if something is wrong with the request itself or Nginx can\u0026rsquo;t reach the backend Nginx returns error page in \u0026rsquo;text/html'.\nBasically what I was trying to do is to make nginx respond \u0026lsquo;application/json\u0026rsquo; on 502 errors, when no backends is reachable and on 400 errors, when someone tries to get plain HTTP response on 443 port. Other errors are expected to be reported by API itself.\n502s were easy, you just add error_page 502 directive and location to server definition and got what you want.\nerror_page 502 @502_JSON; location @502_JSON { internal; default_type application/json; return 502 \u0026#39;{ \u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;502\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Bad gateway\u0026#34; }\u0026#39;; } 400s were a bit more trickier. Despite lot of folks on the Internet say this should work it does not:\nerror_page 400 @400_JSON; location @400_JSON { internal; default_type application/json; return 400 \u0026#39;{ \u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;400\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Bad request\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error_message\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port\u0026#34; }\u0026#39;; } you still going to get the built-in \u0026rsquo;text/html\u0026rsquo; page. What you want is error_page 497\nerror_page 497 @400_JSON; location @400_JSON { internal; default_type application/json; return 400 \u0026#39;{ \u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;400\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Bad request\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error_message\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port\u0026#34; }\u0026#39;; } this configuration works as expected. Full server definition for reference:\nserver { listen 443 ssl; server_name localhost; ssl_certificate /etc/nginx/ssl/nginx.crt; ssl_certificate_key /etc/nginx/ssl/nginx.key; ssl_protocols TLSv1 TLSv1.1 TLSv1.2; ssl_ciphers HIGH:!aNULL:!MD5; error_page 497 @400_JSON; error_page 502 @502_JSON; location @400_JSON { internal; default_type application/json; return 400 \u0026#39;{ \u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;400\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Bad request\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error_message\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;The plain HTTP request was sent to HTTPS port\u0026#34; }\u0026#39;; } location @502_JSON { internal; default_type application/json; return 502 \u0026#39;{ \u0026#34;status\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;502\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;error\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Bad gateway\u0026#34; }\u0026#39;; } location / { proxy_pass http://localhost:8080; } } ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/nginx-tls-termination-json/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis is quite common nowadays to have some TLS terminatin reverse proxy in front of your REST API. Nginx is being used frequently for this purpose.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe problem I faced and spent some time trying to resolve is that API backing Nginx responds in JSON, but if something is wrong with the request itself or Nginx can\u0026rsquo;t reach the backend Nginx returns error page in \u0026rsquo;text/html'.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"TLS termination using Nginx and application/json error handling"},{"content":"Have Ubuntu 14.04 installed on the VM I use as a programming/testing environment.\nGolang packages in Ubuntu 14.04 repo are a bit old:\ndpkg -l | grep golang ii golang 2:1.3.3-1ubuntu4~ubuntu14.04.1 all Go programming language compiler - metapackage ii golang-doc 2:1.3.3-1ubuntu4~ubuntu14.04.1 all Go programming language compiler - documentation ii golang-go 2:1.3.3-1ubuntu4~ubuntu14.04.1 amd64 Go programming language comp ... Google App Engine SDK comes with Go 1.6.3 as of January 2017. In case if you need some flexibility there is a Golang version manager. Works very similar to rvm for Ruby. Installation is as simple as\nbash \u0026lt; \u0026lt;(curl -s -S -L https://raw.githubusercontent.com/moovweb/gvm/master/binscripts/gvm-installer) In order to compile Go 1.5+, make sure Go 1.4 is installed first. Go 1.5+ removed the C compilers from the toolchain and replaced them with one written in Go. Obviously, this creates a bootstrapping problem if you don\u0026rsquo;t already have a working Go install. In order to install 1.6.3:\ngvm install go1.4 -B gvm use go1.4 export GOROOT_BOOTSTRAP=$GOROOT gvm install go1.6.3 gofmt, golint, govet A handful of useful tools to keep the code neat and correct.\ngofmt Gofmt formats Go programs. It uses tabs (width = 8) for indentation and blanks for alignment.\nWithout an explicit path, it processes the standard input. Given a file, it operates on that file; given a directory, it operates on all .go files in that directory, recursively. (Files starting with a period are ignored.) By default, gofmt prints the reformatted sources to standard output.\nGofmt comes with vanilla Golang so no installation required. Example usage:\ngofmt onetimer.go golint Golint is a linter for Go source code.\ngo get -u github.com/golang/lint/golint Usage example:\ncd \u0026lt;project_dir\u0026gt; \u0026amp;\u0026amp; golint ./... Note ... wildcard\ngovet Vet examines Go source code and reports suspicious constructs, such as Printf calls whose arguments do not align with the format string. Vet uses heuristics that do not guarantee all reports are genuine problems, but it can find error s not caught by the compilers. Comes out of box as well.\ncd \u0026lt;project_dir\u0026gt; \u0026amp;\u0026amp; go vet ./... ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/golang-environment/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eHave Ubuntu 14.04 installed on the VM I use as a programming/testing environment.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGolang packages in Ubuntu 14.04 repo are a bit old:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Few Notes on Local Golang Environment Configuration"},{"content":"Be aware Google Cloud storage sets Cache-Control:public, max-age=3600 header for all files by default. This means files are going to be cached by browsers and proxies so it is going to take up to an hour for folks on the Internet to see an update.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to decrease default max-age value to 600. So I upload blog files with -h option set now:\ngsutil -h \u0026#34;Cache-Control:public, max-age=600\u0026#34; rsync -d -r . gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt;/ If you need to update/set Cache-Control (or any other header you wish) for files already uploaded to a bucket you can use the following command:\ngsutil setmeta -r -h \u0026#34;Cache-Control:public, max-age=300\u0026#34; gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt;/ In order to prevent caching of html, xml and txt files I use the following command after I upload new version of a blog:\nfind . -name \u0026#39;*.html\u0026#39; -printf \u0026#39;%P\\0\u0026#39; -o -name \u0026#39;*.txt\u0026#39; -printf \u0026#39;%P\\0\u0026#39; -o -name \u0026#39;*.xml\u0026#39; -printf \u0026#39;%P\\0\u0026#39; | xargs -0 -I {} gsutil setmeta -h \u0026#34;Cache-Control:private, no-store, no-cache, max-age=0\u0026#34; gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt;/{} -o option allows to provide multiple extensions to find, -printf '%P\\0' gets rid of leading ./s in find results and terminates each result with \\0 character. xargs picks up results devided by \\0s (-0 option) and calls gsutil setmeta for each of the files.\nDocumentation on working with Metadata in Cloud Storage Article on Wikipedia Avoiding caching ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/google-storage-cached-static-site/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eBe aware Google Cloud storage sets \u003ccode\u003eCache-Control:public, max-age=3600\u003c/code\u003e\nheader for all files by default. This means files are going to be cached\nby browsers and proxies so it is going to take up to an hour for folks on the Internet\nto see an update.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve decided to decrease default max-age value to 600. So I upload blog files\nwith \u003ccode\u003e-h\u003c/code\u003e option set now:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003egsutil -h \u0026#34;Cache-Control:public, max-age=600\u0026#34; rsync -d -r . gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt;/\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Static Site on Google Cloud Storage: Caching"},{"content":"What time is it? Migration time! Long story short I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to play a bit with Google Cloud services and Go. I\u0026rsquo;m really impressed with the platform so far - it\u0026rsquo;s awesomely documented and super easy to use. I was impressed to the point I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to move my blog from a VPS to Google Cloud Storage just to see how it goes.\nHere is a step by step instruction\nFew pitfalls Access It makes sense to create default ACL for the bucket permitting read access to all users for all files:\ngsutil defacl ch -u AllUsers:R gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt; otherwise next time you update the blog new files will be not accessible until permissions fixed.\nCNAME DNS record The blog was hosted under domain deadunicornz.org. In order to serve it from Google storage it\u0026rsquo;s needed to create CNAME record pointing deadunicornz.org to c.storage.googleapis.com. It\u0026rsquo;s not possible because domain name should not have any DNS records but CNAME by RFC, and you can\u0026rsquo;t get rid of MX and NS records configured for your domain name.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s why we have www domain! www.deadunicornz.org points to c.storage.googleapis.com and everything works as expected except if you open deadunicornz.org without www - deadunicornz.org domain still points to VPS. To fix this I\u0026rsquo;ve changed Nginx config for deadunicornz.org on VPS to\nserver { listen 80 default_server deferred; server_name deadunicornz.org; return 301 http://www.deadunicornz.org$request_uri; } as you can see a permanent redirect deadunicornz.org \u0026gt; http://www.deadunicornz.org was configured. Note though I didn\u0026rsquo;t bother to configure SSL - first there is nothing to protect, blog is purely static and no authorization/authentication information passed to/from the site. The second reason is because Google Cloud Storage does not support SSL connections (so far?) anyway.\n404 page 404 page is not served by Nginx anymore, so I had to create a basic one and put into blog bucket to avoid displaying a default ugly error page provided by the storage. You point to your custom 404 page using gsutil web command:\ngsutil web set -m index.html -e 404.html gs://\u0026lt;bucket_name\u0026gt; -m option here specifies the object name to serve when a bucket listing is requested.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/unicornz-ascending-to-a-cloud/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWhat time is it? Migration time! Long story short I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to play\na bit with Google Cloud services and Go. I\u0026rsquo;m really impressed with the\nplatform so far - it\u0026rsquo;s awesomely documented and super easy to use. I was\nimpressed to the point I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to move my blog from a VPS to Google\nCloud Storage just to see how it goes.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is a \u003ca href=\"https://cloud.google.com/storage/docs/hosting-static-website\"\u003estep by step instruction\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"0xDEAD Unicornz Ascending to a Cloud"},{"content":"It may be quite confusing, but in git \u0026lsquo;commit author\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;committer\u0026rsquo; are separate beasts.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s imagine you have a remote Gerrit repo and you noticed your last commit has author\u0026rsquo;s email configured as foo@internal.com:\ncommit af434be3126cfbcaf450b04137d4d09cd87f8a47 Author: Name Surname \u0026lt;foo@internal.com\u0026gt; Date: Sat Dec 10 20:34:30 2016 -0800 Add more bewbs Change-Id: Idca25cc30ac8ee311ac93a962e1c2f3d3e9a3416 Gerrit expects it to be foo@company.com. So an attempt to push change request to the community repo results in error\nremote: ERROR: In commit af434be3126cfbcaf450b04137d4d09cd87f8a47 remote: ERROR: committer email address foo@internal.com remote: ERROR: does not match your user account. remote: ERROR: remote: ERROR: The following addresses are currently registered: remote: ERROR: foo@company.com Ok, we can amend the commit and reset the author\ngit commit --amend --no-edit --author \u0026#39;Name Surname \u0026lt;foo@company.com\u0026gt;\u0026#39; git log shows author\u0026rsquo;s email is correct now:\ncommit c82db34717123c9e3c31c3a330dd81059880afac Author: Name Surname \u0026lt;foo@company.com\u0026gt; Date: Sat Dec 10 20:34:30 2016 -0800 Add more bewbs Change-Id: Idca25cc30ac8ee311ac93a962e1c2f3d3e9a3416 but does push works now? Nope!\nremote: ERROR: In commit c82db34717123c9e3c31c3a330dd81059880afac remote: ERROR: committer email address foo@internal.com remote: ERROR: does not match your user account. remote: ERROR: remote: ERROR: The following addresses are currently registered: remote: ERROR: foo@company.com what the heck? The answer is quite simple - we didn\u0026rsquo;t reset committer\u0026rsquo;s email along with author\u0026rsquo;s one. Let\u0026rsquo;s check git log with \u0026lsquo;fuller\u0026rsquo; option supplied.\ngit log --format=fuller commit c82db34717123c9e3c31c3a330dd81059880afac Author: Name Surname \u0026lt;foo@company.com\u0026gt; AuthorDate: Sat Dec 10 20:34:30 2016 -0800 Commit: Name Surname \u0026lt;foo@internal.com\u0026gt; CommitDate: Sat Dec 10 20:35:24 2016 -0800 Add more bewbs Change-Id: Idca25cc30ac8ee311ac93a962e1c2f3d3e9a3416 this is the reason. You want to export GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL variable\nexport GIT_COMMITTER_EMAIL=foo@company.com and, potentially, GIT_COMMITTER_NAME prior to the rebase so committer information is being set correctly.\nFurther reading\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/git-author-does-not-equal-committer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt may be quite confusing, but in git \u0026lsquo;commit author\u0026rsquo; and \u0026lsquo;committer\u0026rsquo; are\nseparate beasts.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLet\u0026rsquo;s imagine you have a remote Gerrit repo and you noticed your last commit\nhas author\u0026rsquo;s email configured as \u003ca href=\"mailto:foo@internal.com\"\u003efoo@internal.com\u003c/a\u003e:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Git Author != Committer"},{"content":"It appears lot of my colleagues think they\u0026rsquo;ll get the name of any service in Ubuntu system autocompleted by typing service first_few_letters_of_service_name and pressing Tab button. When this does not work (and it does not work a lot) it creates a lot of confusion and rises lot of questions.\nIn Ubuntu 14.04, the script that handles completions for service command is /usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion It looks for service names as files in /etc/rc.d/init.d, /etc/init.d, and in the output of systemctl list-units --full --all\nEvery package that provides a standard daemon using upstart is required to provide a symlink in /etc/init.d by Debian policy. If you have some homegrown upstart services having only configuration file in /etc/init you won\u0026rsquo;t have them in the autocompletion suggestions.\nThere are special upstart jobs in /etc/init that as well do not have a corresponding entry in /etc/init.d. These are an exception. From Debian Policy:\n{% blockquote %} An exception to this rule is scripts or jobs provided by the init implementation itself; such jobs may be required for an implementation-specific equivalent of the /etc/rcS.d/ scripts and may not have a one-to-one correspondence with the init scripts. {% endblockquote %}\nThese exceptions do not currently work with bash-completion. However, you can use start, stop, restart and reload directly without service, and autocompletion will work. For example, sudo start shut correctly autocompletes. But you shouldn\u0026rsquo;t normally need to directly call upstart jobs that do not have a corresponding init.d entry.\nSource: Askubuntu, One more thread\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/dont-rely-on-ubuntu-service-autocomplition/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eIt appears lot of my colleagues think they\u0026rsquo;ll get the name of \u003cstrong\u003eany\u003c/strong\u003e service\nin Ubuntu system autocompleted by typing \u003ccode\u003eservice first_few_letters_of_service_name\u003c/code\u003e\nand pressing Tab button. When this does not work (and it does not work a lot) it\ncreates a lot of confusion and rises lot of questions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn Ubuntu 14.04, the script that handles completions for \u003ccode\u003eservice\u003c/code\u003e command is\n\u003ccode\u003e/usr/share/bash-completion/bash_completion\u003c/code\u003e It looks for service names as files in\n\u003ccode\u003e/etc/rc.d/init.d\u003c/code\u003e, \u003ccode\u003e/etc/init.d\u003c/code\u003e, and in the output of \u003ccode\u003esystemctl list-units --full --all\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Don’t Rely on Ubuntu 14.04 Service Autocomplition"},{"content":"Nice open source security audit tool.\nMust have for cyber security enthusiasts and paranoids alike.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/lynis-open-source-auditing-tool/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eNice open source \u003ca href=\"https://cisofy.com/lynis/\"\u003esecurity audit tool\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMust have for cyber security enthusiasts and paranoids alike.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Lynis - Open Source Auditing Tool"},{"content":"Long blah-blah-blah, you may skip to the problem description Long story short - after a system upgrade on my old EEEPC1005PE netbook awesome tile manager stopped to work with my config. I\u0026rsquo;m using some shifty library features and it looks like library from Debian package awesome-extra version 2012061101 does not keep up with awesome 3.5.6-1.\nI don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s something unrecoverable but decided to try some new (for me) window manager. Since the netbook is not very powerful quite obviously I didn\u0026rsquo;t even consider fancy ones. My two options are xfce4 and xmonad.\nXmonad because I\u0026rsquo;m quite intrigued by functional programming paradigm and settings file there is a Haskell program. I have two concerns though - I\u0026rsquo;ll have to spend a significant time configuring this window manager so I need some backup solution just in case. The second concern it that most of guides and examples available on the Internet are few years old and may not work well with the current version of xmonad.\nSo I\u0026rsquo;ve installed xfce4. And, you know, I like it so far, neat and simple thing, but not ascetic. Most of features work out of box without any additional configuration.\nProblem The only problem I have is with suspending and locking screen using xscreensaver when the lid is closed. I bet the reason is because I\u0026rsquo;m sequentially upgrading the system from Debian Squeezy and it is just full of junk pulling a blanket back and forth.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve installed xfce4-power-manager and configured it to suspend when the lid is closed and lock screen when the system is going to sleep.\nWhen I was closing lid system was suspending but the screen didn\u0026rsquo;t lock.\nIt looks like systemd intercepts lid closing signal. Well, let\u0026rsquo;s disable lid initiated suspend in systemd as suggested on the Internet:\n# vim /etc/systemd/logind.conf ... HandleLidSwitch=ignore # instead of #HandleLidSwitch=on ... reboot\u0026hellip; And xfce4-power-manager stil knows noting about the lid. Now system stopped even to suspend. I was trying to run\nxfce4-power-manager --debug with no luck - it got no signals at all from closing lid. Well, babe, It\u0026rsquo;s an opensource - no pain, no gain.\nScrew it, we\u0026rsquo;ve got ACPI to work with. There is a script /etc/acpi/lid.sh which is executed when lid changes state. By default it hands over to other managers if they\u0026rsquo;re launched (and they do not work as expected for me). I\u0026rsquo;ve just commented\nif { CheckPolicy || HasLogindAndSystemd1Manager; }; then exit fi part in /etc/acpi/lid.sh\nand uncommented LID_SLEEP option in /etc/default/acpi-support\nLID_SLEEP=true voila - everything works as it should. I don\u0026rsquo;t think changing system scripts is a brilliant idea, it is a dirty hack rather but a working one.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debian-8-xfce4-xscreensaver-lock-problem/","summary":"\u003ch3 id=\"long-blah-blah-blah-you-may-skip-to-the-problem-description\"\u003eLong blah-blah-blah, you may skip to the problem description\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLong story short - after a system upgrade on my old EEEPC1005PE netbook\nawesome tile manager stopped to work with my config. I\u0026rsquo;m using some\nshifty library features and it looks like library from Debian package\nawesome-extra version 2012061101 does not keep up with awesome 3.5.6-1.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI don\u0026rsquo;t think it\u0026rsquo;s something unrecoverable but decided to try some new\n(for me) window manager. Since the netbook is not very powerful quite obviously I\ndidn\u0026rsquo;t even consider fancy ones. My two options are xfce4 and xmonad.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Debian 8 Xfce4 Xscreensaver Lock Problem"},{"content":"You\u0026rsquo;ve probably heard about a Logjam attack on Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm Here is a post by Jethro Beekman providing some details and suggessions on hardening your SSH server security.\nFew days ago I\u0026rsquo;ve started playing around Twisted Python framework in general and Conch library which handles SSH connections in an event-based manner in particular.\nI\u0026rsquo;ve tried few SSH client examples from Twisted site getting similar errors:\n2015-07-07 14:28:45+0300 [-] Starting factory \u0026lt;twisted.internet.endpoints.OneShotFactory instance at 0x7f745500ca28\u0026gt; 2015-07-07 14:28:45+0300 [_CommandTransport,client] Disconnecting with error, code 3 reason: couldn\u0026#39;t match all kex parts 2015-07-07 14:28:45+0300 [_CommandTransport,client] main function encountered error Traceback (most recent call last): Failure: twisted.internet.error.ConnectionDone: Connection was closed cleanly. The problem is that twisted.conch.ssh.transport supports only two KeyExchange algorithms so far:\n221\tsupportedKeyExchanges = [\u0026#39;diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1\u0026#39;, 222\t\u0026#39;diffie-hellman-group1-sha1\u0026#39;] And they were excluded from the default list enabled key exchange algorithms. On my Fedora 22, Debian 8 nodes with OpenSSH 6.7 installed I have the following list by default:\ncurve25520-sha256@libssh.org, ecdh-sha2-nistp256, ecdh-sha2-nistp384, ecdh-sha2-nistp521, diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256, diffie-hellman-group14-sha1 There are few tickets with requests and proposals how to add stronger diffie-hellman algorithms support. But they don\u0026rsquo;t show any recent activity so I\u0026rsquo;m not sure this is going to be merged any time soon. Also I didn\u0026rsquo;t find anything about elliptic curve algorithms support at all.\nWorkaround Since I\u0026rsquo;m not brave nor skilled enough to dive into patching Twisted I\u0026rsquo;ve enabled diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1 algorithm support in SSH daemon settings on target nodes:\nKexAlgorithms ecdh-sha2-nistp256,ecdh-sha2-nistp384,ecdh-sha2-nistp521,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha256,diffie-hellman-group14-sha1,diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1 If you don\u0026rsquo;t want to sacrifice security you may consider generating your own moduli as suggested here:\n# ssh-keygen -G moduli-2048.candidates -b 2048 # ssh-keygen -T moduli-2048 -f moduli-2048.candidates # mv moduli-2048 /etc/ssh/moduli With diffie-hellman-group-exchange-sha1 enabled SSH connections should not fail.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/twisted-dot-conch-does-not-support-strong-key-exchange-algorithms-yet/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eYou\u0026rsquo;ve probably heard about a \u003ca href=\"https://weakdh.org/\"\u003eLogjam attack on Diffie-Hellman key exchange algorithm\u003c/a\u003e\nHere is a \u003ca href=\"https://jbeekman.nl/blog/2015/05/ssh-logjam/\"\u003epost\u003c/a\u003e by Jethro Beekman providing some details and suggessions on hardening your SSH server security.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFew days ago I\u0026rsquo;ve started playing around Twisted Python framework in general and Conch library which handles SSH connections in an event-based manner in particular.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Twisted.conch Does Not Support Strong Key Exchange Algorithms (Yet?)"},{"content":"Was playing around running multiple threads in Python. Here is a part of script launching docker_cleanup(controller_name) function in a separate thread.\nfrom threading import Thread ... threads = [] for controller_name in controllers: # Remove container if it already exists t = Thread(target=docker_cleanup, args=(controller_name)) threads.append(t) t.start() for t in threads: t.join() # Block main thread while childs executed ... it fails with the following traceback:\nTraceback (most recent call last): File \u0026#34;/usr/lib/python2.7/threading.py\u0026#34;, line 810, in __bootstrap_inner self.run() File \u0026#34;/usr/lib/python2.7/threading.py\u0026#34;, line 763, in run self.__target(*self.__args, **self.__kwargs) TypeError: docker_cleanup() takes exactly 1 argument (11 given) Quite confusing, huh? The point is that Thread() expects \u0026lsquo;args\u0026rsquo; to be a tuple. \u0026lsquo;args=(controller_name)\u0026rsquo; sends a string instead of a tulpe. Each of symbols in controller_name value was treated as a separate argument. The fix is to use \u0026lsquo;args=(controller_name,)\u0026rsquo; construction that creates tuple containing one element.\nWorks this way:\nfrom threading import Thread ... threads = [] for controller_name in controllers: # Remove container if it already exists t = Thread(target=docker_cleanup, args=(controller_name,)) threads.append(t) t.start() for t in threads: t.join() # Block main thread while childs executed ... ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/python-threading-n-of-arguments/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWas playing around running multiple threads in Python. Here is a part of script\nlaunching docker_cleanup(controller_name) function in a separate thread.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003efrom threading import Thread\n...\n    threads = []\n    for controller_name in controllers:\n        # Remove container if it already exists\n        t = Thread(target=docker_cleanup, args=(controller_name))\n        threads.append(t)\n        t.start()\n    for t in threads:\n        t.join()  # Block main thread while childs executed\n...\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Python. Threading. Function() Takes Exactly X Arguments (Y Given)"},{"content":"Recently hit quite an annoying bug in vmbuilder, tool that allows to build Ubuntu based virtual machines.\nWas trying to build a VM using the following command:\nvmbuilder kvm ubuntu --suite trusty --flavour virtual --arch amd64 --mem 8192 --rootsize 8000 --dest /var/lib/libvirt/images --libvirt qemu:///system --hostname new-host --user jenkins --name jenkins --pass \u0026lt;jenkins_user_password\u0026gt; --addpkg openssh-server --addpkg git --addpkg acpid but kernel installation failed with the following error:\nUnpacking linux-image-virtual (3.13.0.53.60) ... , stderr: grep: /proc/cpuinfo: No such file or directory This kernel does not support a non-PAE CPU. Quite strange because host does support pae:\nroot@kvm-host:~\\\u0026gt; cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep pae flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx lm constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl aperfmperf pni dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm dca lahf_lm dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority {% blockquote Bug on Launchpad https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/vm-builder/+bug/1037607 Link to the bug description, not closed at least by May 26, 2015. %} kernel package now looks for /proc/cpuinfo in order to check for PAE support (since PAE support is going away in Quantal). I think this is failing because /proc doesn\u0026rsquo;t exist in the environment that vmbuilder is using. {% endblockquote %}\nGuys in the thread propose to install an additional kernel as a workaround by adding \u0026lsquo;\u0026ndash;addpkg linux-image-generic\u0026rsquo; to the command. Well, this works:\nvmbuilder kvm ubuntu --suite trusty --flavour virtual --arch amd64 --mem 8192 --rootsize 8000 --dest /var/lib/libvirt/images --libvirt qemu:///system --hostname new-host --user jenkins --name jenkins --pass \u0026lt;jenkins_user_password\u0026gt; --addpkg openssh-server --addpkg git --addpkg acpid --addpkg linux-image-generic Build finished successfully and I see newly built VM now:\nroot@kvm-host:~\\\u0026gt; virsh list --all Id Name State ---------------------------------------------------- - new-host shut off ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/ubuntu1404-problem-with-vmbuilder/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRecently hit quite an annoying bug in vmbuilder, tool that allows to build Ubuntu based virtual machines.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWas trying to build a VM using the following command:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003evmbuilder kvm ubuntu --suite trusty --flavour virtual --arch amd64 --mem 8192 --rootsize 8000 --dest /var/lib/libvirt/images --libvirt qemu:///system --hostname new-host --user jenkins --name jenkins --pass \u0026lt;jenkins_user_password\u0026gt; --addpkg openssh-server --addpkg git --addpkg acpid\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut kernel installation failed with the following error:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003eUnpacking linux-image-virtual (3.13.0.53.60) ...\n, stderr: grep: /proc/cpuinfo: No such file or directory\nThis kernel does not support a non-PAE CPU.\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Ubuntu 14.04 Problem With Vmbuilder"},{"content":"So boys and girls, I want to show you something. Few photos taken there 38° 15′ 0.5″ N, 122° 24′ 38.9″ W.\nFirst photo\nDoes this place look familiar to you? No? Maybe if you see the hill a bit closer?\nSecond photo\nStill no luck? Try to imagine this place without grape vine, barbed wire and portable toilets installed. Same place from other point:\nThird photo\nOk, I do have a spoiler for you. {% spoiler It\u0026rsquo;s a place where a photo was taken that later became a default Windows XP wallpaper, Bliss. %}\nCarpe diem, boys and girls. Everything we touch will perish so don\u0026rsquo;t waste your time waiting. Do whatever you\u0026rsquo;re postponing - visit places, meet people. Live.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/sic-transit-gloria-mundi/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSo boys and girls, I want to show you something. Few photos taken\n\u003ca href=\"https://tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=\u0026amp;params=38_15_00.5_N_122_24_38.9_W_region:NL_type:landmark#Photos\"\u003ethere 38° 15′ 0.5″ N, 122° 24′ 38.9″ W.\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure class=\"annotated-image\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"/img/180415_bliss_0_hu_1240a3486ec2fd72.webp\"\n         srcset=\"/img/180415_bliss_0_hu_1240a3486ec2fd72.webp 600w\"\n         sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 800px, 80vw\"\n         width=\"600\" height=\"450\"\n         alt=\"First photo\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"\u003e\n  \u003cfigcaption\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirst photo\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/figcaption\u003e\n\u003c/figure\u003e","title":"Sic Transit Gloria Mundi"},{"content":"Discovered an interesting thing today playing around find linux command.\nThe idea was to process several files in a directory using some utility that directs output to stdout. In order to keep tracking it\u0026rsquo;s useful to have a status file with a list of already processed files.\nMy first thought was to use something like this:\n$ find . -name \u0026#39;foo*\u0026#39; -exec echo \u0026#34;Processing file {}\u0026#34; \u0026gt;\u0026gt; status_file.txt \\; -exec utility {} \\; but the problem is that all commands pulled using exec share same output channel. It means utility output is redirected to status_file.txt as well instead of stdout that is certainly not what I wanted.\nSimle command chaining using \u0026lsquo;;\u0026rsquo; or \u0026lsquo;\u0026amp;\u0026amp;\u0026rsquo; does not work for find exec directly so I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to wrap commands with sh/bash:\n$ find . -name \u0026#39;foo*\u0026#39; -exec sh -c \u0026#34;echo \u0026#39;Processing file {}\u0026#39; \u0026gt;\u0026gt; status.txt; utility {}\u0026#34; \\; In this case output redirect works as expected. Probably more elegant solution exists but who cares.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/some-notes-on-find-exec-output-redirect/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eDiscovered an interesting thing today playing around find linux\ncommand.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe idea was to process several files in a directory using some\nutility that directs output to stdout. In order to keep tracking\nit\u0026rsquo;s useful to have a status file with a list of already processed\nfiles.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some Notes on Find Exec Output Redirect"},{"content":"Wasted lot of time today trying to figure out why ssh on some server still allows to log in with password despite the fact that in /etc/ssh/sshd_config password based log in is disabled:\nPasswordAuthentication no Since the configuration is managed by Puppet I was expecting it restarts service as well. To my surprise pid file of sshd process was pretty old - Puppet, in fact, was unable to restart sshd:\n# puppet agent --debug --test ... Error: Could not start Service[sshd]: Execution of \u0026#39;/etc/init.d/ssh start\u0026#39; returned 1: Error: /Stage[main]/Sshd/Service[sshd]/ensure: change from stopped to running failed: Could not start Service[sshd]: Execution of \u0026#39;/etc/init.d/ssh start\u0026#39; returned 1: ... It appears that Puppet tried to use init.d script. I\u0026rsquo;ve found a bug submitted to launchpad - init.d ssh script is broken in Ubuntu 14.04.\n# dpkg -l | grep openssh-server ii openssh-server 1:6.6p1-2ubuntu2 amd64 secure shell (SSH) server, for secure access from remote machines Please be informed and use \u0026lsquo;service\u0026rsquo; command instead:\n# service ssh restart ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/ubuntu-1404-ssh-initd-script-broken/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWasted lot of time today trying to figure out why ssh on some server\nstill allows to log in with password despite the fact that in\n/etc/ssh/sshd_config password based log in is disabled:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003ePasswordAuthentication no\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Ubuntu 14.04 SSH init.d Script Broken"},{"content":"Was choosing a Linux distro for new workstation. Decided to try Ubuntu 14.04.2 desktop on virtual server first and I think I\u0026rsquo;ll use Fedora 21.\nI was unable to configure encrypted volumes in conjunction with LVM using Ubuntu 14.04 desktop installer. Here is an instruction how to configure it manually but, hey, I\u0026rsquo;ve heard Ubuntu is a user-friendly distro. Pity if this actually means all sharp toys are locked in a drawer. Furthermore when I tried to revert changes and remove encrypted volumes I\u0026rsquo;ve created installer just got stuck.\nI thought the problem was somehow related to the fact that I\u0026rsquo;m trying to install to virtual server. Downloaded Fedora 21, gave it a try and everything worked like a charm on a VM.\nProbably I\u0026rsquo;m trying to use it in a weird way but to me it does not look like Ubuntu is ready for desktop yet/already.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/ubuntu-14-dot-04-desktop-no-luks-plus-lvm-in-installer/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWas choosing a Linux distro for new workstation. Decided to try Ubuntu 14.04.2 desktop on virtual server\nfirst and I think I\u0026rsquo;ll use Fedora 21.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI was unable to configure encrypted volumes in conjunction with LVM using Ubuntu 14.04 desktop installer.\n\u003ca href=\"http://www.helsinki.fi/~jalaaman/lvmluks.html\"\u003eHere\u003c/a\u003e is an instruction how to configure it manually but, hey,\nI\u0026rsquo;ve heard Ubuntu is a user-friendly distro. Pity if this actually means all sharp toys are locked in a drawer.\nFurthermore when I tried to revert changes and remove encrypted volumes I\u0026rsquo;ve created installer just got stuck.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Ubuntu 14.04 Desktop No LUKS + LVM in Installer"},{"content":"I was playing a bit with applying chef cookbooks locally, without a chef server and found that version of Chef from Ubuntu repo is way too low for normal operation in local mode.\n# apt-cache policy chef chef: Installed: 11.8.2-2 date = \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Version table: *** 11.8.2-2 0 500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/universe amd64 Packages There is a bug resolved in recent versions of Chef related to the way in which chef-zero parses json files. If there is metadata.json file instead of metadata.rb in a cookbook chef-zero fails to parse this file expecting just a filename instead of full file content.\nFor example I\u0026rsquo;ve got the following error trying to apply one of my cookbooks that depends on yum cookbook:\n================================================================================ Error Resolving Cookbooks for Run List: ================================================================================ Unknown Server Error: --------------------- The server had a fatal error attempting to load the node data. Server Response: ---------------- Exception raised! #\u0026lt;Errno::ENAMETOOLONG: File name too long - { \u0026#34;name\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;yum\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;version\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;3.5.3\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;description\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Configures various yum components on Red Hat-like systems\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;long_description\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;maintainer\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Chef\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;maintainer_email\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;cookbooks@getchef.com\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;license\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;Apache 2.0\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;platforms\u0026#34;: { \u0026#34;redhat\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026gt;= 0.0.0\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;centos\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026gt;= 0.0.0\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;scientific\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026gt;= 0.0.0\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;amazon\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026gt;= 0.0.0\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;fedora\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026gt;= 0.0.0\u0026#34; My first idea was to simply install needed version of Chef using install script during initial node configuration.\n# curl -L https://www.chef.io/chef/install.sh | sudo bash -s -- -v 11.18.6-1 My second idea was to simply add omnibus_updater cookbook to the base role:\n# cat roles/base.json { \u0026#34;name\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;base\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;override_attributes\u0026#34;: { \u0026#34;omnibus_updater\u0026#34;: { \u0026#34;version\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;11.18.6-1\u0026#34; } }, \u0026#34;run_list\u0026#34;: [ \u0026#34;recipe[omnibus_updater]\u0026#34; ] } Unfortunately this approach does not work very well - first you need to get omnibus_updater cookbook to the server. It\u0026rsquo;s not a big deal but adds an additional step to whole process. Other problem is that Chef client is unable to configure node within one run: during the initial run you have to execute chef-client on the node with only omnibus_updater cookbook in the run list. If you have other cookbooks in run list chef-client will fail due to json parsing bug described above. Even if everything works well omnibus_updater kills chef-client immediately after performing upgrade which makes lot of sense but once again prevents chef-client from configuring a node within one run:\n* ruby_block[omnibus chef killer] action create ================================================================================ Error executing action `create` on resource \u0026#39;ruby_block[omnibus chef killer]\u0026#39; ================================================================================ RuntimeError ------------ New omnibus chef version installed. Killing Chef run! so I decided to fallback to my first decision with installing correct version of chef-client using installer script. Having omnibus_updater in a base role run list is still a good idea - we\u0026rsquo;re locking chef-client to the particular version this way.\nAnother local-cookbook-installation gotcha. If you\u0026rsquo;re trying to install cookbooks into the directory one level above your cookbook using \u0026ndash;path option you\u0026rsquo;ll get an ugly stack trace:\nroot@ubuntu1404:~/chef-zero/cookbooks/openvpn# berks install --path /root/chef-zero/cookbooks Using openvpn (2.1.1) Using apt (2.7.0) Using yum (3.5.3) Using yum-epel (0.6.0) /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/locations/path_location.rb:70:in `expand_path\u0026#39;: No such file or directory - getcwd (Errno::ENOENT) from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/locations/path_location.rb:70:in `expand_path\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/locations/path_location.rb:70:in `relative_path\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cookbook_source.rb:206:in `block in to_hash\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cookbook_source.rb:196:in `tap\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cookbook_source.rb:196:in `to_hash\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cookbook_source.rb:218:in `to_json\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/json-1.7.7/lib/json/common.rb:285:in `generate\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/json-1.7.7/lib/json/common.rb:285:in `pretty_generate\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/lockfile.rb:150:in `to_json\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/lockfile.rb:177:in `block in save\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/lockfile.rb:176:in `open\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/lockfile.rb:176:in `save\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/lockfile.rb:90:in `update\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/berksfile.rb:426:in `install\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cli.rb:153:in `install\u0026#39; from /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/thor/command.rb:27:in `run\u0026#39; from /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/thor/invocation.rb:121:in `invoke_command\u0026#39; from /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/thor.rb:363:in `dispatch\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/lib/berkshelf/cli.rb:21:in `dispatch\u0026#39; from /usr/lib/ruby/vendor_ruby/thor/base.rb:440:in `start\u0026#39; from /var/lib/gems/1.9.1/gems/berkshelf-2.0.18/bin/berks:6:in `\u0026lt;top (required)\u0026gt;\u0026#39; from /usr/local/bin/berks:23:in `load\u0026#39; from /usr/local/bin/berks:23:in `\u0026lt;main\u0026gt;\u0026#39; The point is that berkshelf in this case actually recreates directory you\u0026rsquo;ve launched it from. The correct way is to install cookbooks to some temporary directory:\nroot@ubuntu1404:~/chef-zero/cookbooks/openvpn# berks install --path ./tmp Using openvpn (2.1.1) from metadata Using apt (2.7.0) Using yum (3.5.3) Using yum-epel (0.6.0) and then move them to your cookbook_path directory.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/chef-zero-is-broken-in-ubuntu-1404/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI was playing a bit with applying chef cookbooks locally, without a chef server and found\nthat version of Chef from Ubuntu repo is way too low for normal operation in local mode.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e# apt-cache policy chef\nchef:\n  Installed: 11.8.2-2\ndate = \u0026#34;\u0026#34;\n  Version table:\n *** 11.8.2-2 0\n        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/universe amd64 Packages\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is a \u003ca href=\"https://github.com/chef/chef-zero/issues/53\"\u003ebug\u003c/a\u003e resolved in recent versions\nof Chef related to the way in which chef-zero parses json files. If there is metadata.json\nfile instead of metadata.rb in a cookbook chef-zero fails to parse this file expecting\njust a filename instead of full file content.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chef-zero Is Broken in Ubuntu 14.04"},{"content":"As I wrote recently I\u0026rsquo;ve upgraded OS on my netbook to Debian 8. Everything was working excellent except autodiscovery of SAMBA share.\nHere is global part of my SAMBA config:\n[global] server string = %h server obey pam restrictions = Yes pam password change = Yes passwd program = /usr/bin/passwd %u passwd chat = *Enter\\snew\\s*\\spassword:* %n\\n *Retype\\snew\\s*\\spassword:* %n\\n *password\\supdated\\ssuccessfully* . unix password sync = Yes syslog = 0 log file = /var/log/samba/log.%m max log size = 1000 name resolve order = bcast host wins lmhosts dns proxy = No panic action = /usr/share/samba/panic-action %d Note name resolve order.\nI rely on broadcast SAMBA share discovery mainly for portability reasons - you just connect to friend\u0026rsquo;s home network and you see his shares, he sees your share. No mess with WINS server/lmhosts, this just works.\nUnless, of course, if you have both wicd and NetworkManager fighting for your wireless interface. For some reason after upgrade NetworkManager became active, was trying to take control over wpa_supplicant and failing because wicd is already handling this. Except warnings in log you may notice it takes longer to connect to wireless network.\nIt also was taking very long for host to appear in the list of hosts in WORKGROUP on file browser. If I tried to open problem host I was getting an error\nUnable to mount location Failed to retrieve share list from server After some investigation I\u0026rsquo;ve discovered SAMBA share was accessible directly by IP but not via host name which indicates problems with nmbd and name resolve order. Usually this issue appears when broadcast discovery is not listed first in name resolve order, but in this case the reason was NetworkManager. As soon as I remove it discovery stared to work normally and SAMBA share on netbook became accessible.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debian-8-wicd-plus-nm-equ-broken-samba/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAs I wrote \u003ca href=\"/post/upgraded-to-debian-8/\"\u003erecently\u003c/a\u003e\nI\u0026rsquo;ve upgraded OS on my netbook to Debian 8. Everything was working excellent except\nautodiscovery of SAMBA share.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Debian 8 Wicd + NetworManager = Broken Samba"},{"content":"Sometimes when VM is deleted in not-so-correct way quota counters displayed in Dashboard =\u0026gt; Project =\u0026gt; Overview may not update correctly as well.\nYou may see that number of VMs/vcpus/RAM for tenant displayed on this page does not match actual values. For example it may display \u0026ldquo;Instances used 8 of 10\u0026rdquo; while you have only 5 VMs in this tenant.\nThe problem is that there is no easy way to reset these counters. You can assign -1 to the particular counter as it\u0026rsquo;s suggested here and wait until OpenStack recalculates and resets counters. The pitfall is that OpenStack only recalculates counter value when particular user spawns/deletes VM. Counters will display 0 until each user in tenant boots/deletes VM changing -1 to actual values. You should be\u0026hellip; ehm\u0026hellip; very patient. Or recalculate and assign values manually.\nYou can use script below, it only works with counters in nova.quota_usages table, namely number of instances, number of vCPUs, total RAM. As I understand previously security group counters were stored in nova database as well, but in Icehouse they are fetched from neutron database. I didn\u0026rsquo;t dig further because I have never had problems with networking/volume counters.\n#!/usr/bin/env bash set -o pipefail DBUSER=\u0026#39;root\u0026#39; # Assuming there is a correct password for DBUSER in ~/.my.cnf DBNAME=\u0026#39;nova\u0026#39; DBHOST=\u0026#39;localhost\u0026#39; # Set number of instances, ram, core usage to 0 for all users in all tenants, otherwise end result may not be correct: mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id from instances group by user_id, project_id) as r set in_use=\u0026#39;0\u0026#39; where quota_usages.user_id=r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id=r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;instances\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id from instances group by user_id, project_id) as r set in_use=\u0026#39;0\u0026#39; where quota_usages.user_id=r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id=r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;ram\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id from instances group by user_id, project_id) as r set in_use=\u0026#39;0\u0026#39; where quota_usages.user_id=r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id=r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;cores\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; # Calculate number of instances for each of users in each tenant and update data in quota_usages table: mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id, COUNT(*) as sum from instances where project_id in (select project_id from quota_usages group by project_id) and deleted!=id group by user_id, project_id) as r set quota_usages.in_use = r.sum where quota_usages.user_id = r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id = r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;instances\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id, SUM(memory_mb) as sum from instances where project_id in (select project_id from quota_usages group by project_id) and deleted!=id group by user_id, project_id) as r set quota_usages.in_use = r.sum where quota_usages.user_id = r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id = r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;ram\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; mysql -u${DBUSER} -h ${DBHOST} -e \u0026#34;use ${DBNAME}; update quota_usages, (select user_id, project_id, SUM(vcpus) as sum from instances where project_id in (select project_id from quota_usages group by project_id) and deleted!=id group by user_id, project_id) as r set quota_usages.in_use = r.sum where quota_usages.user_id = r.user_id and quota_usages.project_id = r.project_id and resource=\u0026#39;cores\u0026#39;;\u0026#34; The script worked for me but it\u0026rsquo;s a raw SQL and I won\u0026rsquo;t be very surprised if it accidentally spawns Cthulhu or fucks your girlfriend grinding through a database. Use at your own risk and backup nova database before you start any manipulations.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/openstack-icehouse-reset-incorrect-quota-count-for-nova/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes when VM is deleted in not-so-correct way quota counters displayed in Dashboard =\u0026gt; Project =\u0026gt; Overview may not update correctly as well.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou may see that number of VMs/vcpus/RAM for tenant displayed on this page does not match actual values. For example it may display \u0026ldquo;Instances used 8 of 10\u0026rdquo; while you have only 5 VMs in this tenant.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"OpenStack Icehouse Reset Incorrect Quota Count for Nova"},{"content":"Recently participated in Chef cookbook upgrades. One of cookbooks depends on library rabbitmq cookbook =\u0026gt; 3.1\nThe problem is that recent versions of rabbitmq cookbook (after 3.3.0) rely on newer chef-cient functionality and if you have chef-clients version \u0026lt; 11.14.0 installed on nodes chef-client run will fail and you will see the following error in the log:\nundefined method `sensitive\u0026#39; for Chef::Resource::Template This method allows to prevent sensitive data from being sent to chef-client log:\nUse to ensure that sensitive resource data is not logged by the chef-client. Default value: false. This setting only applies to the execute, file and template resources.\nChef documentation\nHere is code added to Chef 11.14.0\nSo if you\u0026rsquo;re experiencing same issue you need to update chef-clients to the version higher than 11.14.0 or rollback to the previous version of a cookbook.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/some-library-cookbooks-already-rely-on-sensitive-method/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRecently participated in Chef cookbook upgrades. One of cookbooks depends on library rabbitmq cookbook =\u0026gt; 3.1\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe problem is that recent versions of rabbitmq cookbook (after 3.3.0) rely on newer chef-cient functionality\nand if you have chef-clients version \u0026lt; 11.14.0 installed on nodes chef-client run will fail and  you will see\nthe following error in the log:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003eundefined method `sensitive\u0026#39; for Chef::Resource::Template\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Some Library Cookbooks Already Rely on ‘Sensitive’ Method"},{"content":"Input data: OpenStack Icehouse, glance with swift backend. Admin username and password for swift service were changed. After this requests to download some images started to fail.\n# glance --debug image-download \u0026lt;image_id\u0026gt; --file image_store_to --progress returns 500 error for some image_ids and works for other.\nin glance-api service log I see that for some reason previous user/password is still in use:\n... [glance.registry.client.v1.client]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,235 DEBUG client.do_requ est Registry request GET /images/\u0026lt;image_id\u0026gt; HTTP 200 r equest id req-71062b81-963a-41c9-b6a6-3120f2f6f60b [keystoneclient.session]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,236 DEBUG session.request REQ: cur l -i -X POST http://\u0026lt;keystone_node\u0026gt;:5000/v2.0/tokens -H \u0026#34;Content-Type : application/json\u0026#34; -H \u0026#34;User-Agent: python-keystoneclient\u0026#34; [keystoneclient.session]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,236 DEBUG session.request REQ BODY : {\u0026#34;auth\u0026#34;: {\u0026#34;tenantName\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;service\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;passwordCredentials\u0026#34;: {\u0026#34;username\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026lt;previous_user\u0026gt;\u0026#34; , \u0026#34;password\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026lt;previous_password\u0026gt;\u0026#34;}}} ... Was unable to find old credentials in keystone/glance/swift configuration - automation system updated configs properly.\nReason The problem is that glance stores links to images in its database. Link is created upon image creation and never updated so if you store images in swift after changing admin username/password you need to update entries in database manually. Some images may be cached by glance and can be downloaded bypassing authentication. That is why you may recieve 500s for some images and 200s for other.\nFix/hack Log into database (assuming MySQL backend)\nuse \u0026lt;glance_db\u0026gt;; UPDATE image_locations SET value = REPLACE(value, \u0026#39;\u0026lt;old_user\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;old_password\u0026gt;\u0026#39;, \u0026#39;\u0026lt;correct_user\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;correct_password\u0026gt;\u0026#39;) WHERE value LIKE \u0026#39;%\u0026lt;old_user\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;old_password\u0026gt;%\u0026#39;; check if there are still entries with incorrect credentials:\nSELECT * from image_locations WHERE value NOT LIKE \u0026#39;%\u0026lt;correct_user\u0026gt;:\u0026lt;correct_password\u0026gt;%\u0026#39;; If the list is empty or does not include links to swift you\u0026rsquo;re all set. Try to fetch image once againg.\n# glance --debug image-download \u0026lt;image_id\u0026gt; --file image_store_to --progress Should return 200 and fetch image to \u0026lsquo;image_store_to\u0026rsquo; file.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/openstack-glance-authentication-and-changed-swift-password/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eInput data: OpenStack Icehouse, glance with swift backend. Admin username and password for swift\nservice were changed. After this requests to download some images started to fail.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e# glance --debug image-download \u0026lt;image_id\u0026gt; --file image_store_to --progress\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003ereturns 500 error for some image_ids and works for other.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein glance-api service log I see that for some reason previous user/password is still in use:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e...\n[glance.registry.client.v1.client]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,235 DEBUG client.do_requ\nest Registry request GET /images/\u0026lt;image_id\u0026gt; HTTP 200 r\nequest id req-71062b81-963a-41c9-b6a6-3120f2f6f60b\n[keystoneclient.session]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,236 DEBUG session.request REQ: cur\nl -i -X POST http://\u0026lt;keystone_node\u0026gt;:5000/v2.0/tokens -H \u0026#34;Content-Type\n: application/json\u0026#34; -H \u0026#34;User-Agent: python-keystoneclient\u0026#34;\n[keystoneclient.session]: 2014-12-31 02:49:47,236 DEBUG session.request REQ BODY\n: {\u0026#34;auth\u0026#34;: {\u0026#34;tenantName\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;service\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;passwordCredentials\u0026#34;: {\u0026#34;username\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026lt;previous_user\u0026gt;\u0026#34;\n, \u0026#34;password\u0026#34;: \u0026#34;\u0026lt;previous_password\u0026gt;\u0026#34;}}}\n...\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"OpenStack Glance Authentication and Changed Swift Password"},{"content":"Was working on upgrading OpenStack lab from Havana to Icehouse release. It looks like it\u0026rsquo;s common problem after installation of new OpenStack service packages if you have MySQL db backend. db_sync command\n# \u0026lt;service\u0026gt;-manage db_sync returns error related to the issue with collation of some tables in database.\nFor keystone I got the following error message:\nValueError: Tables \u0026#34;region\u0026#34; have non utf8 collation, please make sure all tables are CHARSET=utf8 To fix this you should log into mysql and alter table, for keystone:\nmysql\u0026gt; use keystone; mysql\u0026gt; alter table region convert to character set utf8 collate utf8_unicode_ci; mysql\u0026gt; flush privileges; After this migration should run smoothly. In general this issue/fix applies to all major OpenStack services.\nThanks to Bruce Martins, here is his blog post.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/openstack-update-havana-to-icehouse-problems-with-collation-during-initial-database-migration/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWas working on upgrading OpenStack lab from Havana to Icehouse release. It looks like it\u0026rsquo;s common problem\nafter installation of new OpenStack service packages if you have MySQL db backend. db_sync command\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e# \u0026lt;service\u0026gt;-manage db_sync\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003ereturns error related to the issue with collation of some tables in database.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"OpenStack Update Havana to Icehouse. Problems With Collation During Initial Database Migration"},{"content":"Here is an awesome post pouring some light on using node attributes during ServerSpec tests, but I have one tiny addition. It\u0026rsquo;s useful to have node attributes supplied by Ohai, so I\u0026rsquo;d add this to the respective recipe:\n--- a/test/fixtures/cookbooks/test-helper/recipes/default.rb 2014-12-19 16:55:02.636535159 -0800 +++ b/test/fixtures/cookbooks/test-helper/recipes/default.rb 2014-11-24 20:28:35.083708281 -0800 @@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ attrs = {} + attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.automatic_attrs) unless node.automatic_attrs.empty? attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.default_attrs) unless node.default_attrs.empty? attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.normal_attrs) unless node.normal_attrs.empty? attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.override_attrs) unless node.override_attrs.empty? ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/some-comments-on-jakshis-accessing-chef-attributes-in-serverspec-tests-blog-post/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://jakshi.com/blog/2014/05/12/accessing-chef-attributes-in-serverspec-tests/\"\u003eHere is an awesome post\u003c/a\u003e pouring some light on using node attributes during ServerSpec tests, but I have one tiny addition. It\u0026rsquo;s useful to have node attributes supplied by Ohai, so I\u0026rsquo;d add this to the respective recipe:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e--- a/test/fixtures/cookbooks/test-helper/recipes/default.rb 2014-12-19 16:55:02.636535159 -0800\n+++ b/test/fixtures/cookbooks/test-helper/recipes/default.rb 2014-11-24 20:28:35.083708281 -0800\n@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@\n \n     attrs = {}\n \n+    attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.automatic_attrs) unless node.automatic_attrs.empty?\n     attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.default_attrs) unless node.default_attrs.empty?\n     attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.normal_attrs) unless node.normal_attrs.empty?\n     attrs = attrs.deep_merge(node.override_attrs) unless node.override_attrs.empty?\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e","title":"Some Comments on Jakshi’s Accessing Chef Attributes in Serverspec Tests Blog Post"},{"content":"Recently hit the problem with Chef server 11.0.12-1.ubuntu.12.04 trying to test updates for OpenStack StackForge cookbooks. stable/havana cookbooks depend on the cookbook openstack-common ~\u0026gt; 8.0, stable/icehouse depend on the cookbook openstack-common ~\u0026gt; 9.0\nSo in general if you mix cookbooks from stable/havana and stable/icehouse branches on your Chef server for testing purpose (as I did), these dependencies will be unresolvable simultaneously.\nWhen chef-client from some node queries Chef server to resolve dependencies and send cookbooks for execution this leeds to the load spike on the Chef server, beam.smp process(es) start to consume lot of CPU time. Chef-client -l debug shows that the client is waiting for reply to the POST /environments/foo/cookbook_versions request.\nThe problem is with depsolver in Chef 11.0, here is a bug. You should be able to resolve the issue by upgrading Chef server to 11.1:\n{% blockquote Chef documentation https://github.com/opscode/omnibus-chef-server/blob/11.1.0/CHANGELOG.md Changelog for 11.1.0 %} Change back to gecode depsolver\nWith the 11.0 release, Chef server changed depsolvers from gecode to an all erlang depsolver. The idea behind this was to drop the heavy nature of gecode, which has a considerable build time and large binary to ship. However, the experience of switching taught us that our erlang solution was not robust enough to solve all the dependencies that gecode could and that Chef users needed. Therefore with this release the depsolver switches back to using gecode. This switch should be transparent, but in some cases cookbook dependency resolution that was previously failing should work again.\nThe change in depsolvers is accomplished through changes to the repo chef_objects and these changes are pulled in by the updated erchef. {% endblockquote %}\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/chef-11-hangs-trying-to-deal-with-unresolvable-dependencies/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRecently hit the problem with Chef server 11.0.12-1.ubuntu.12.04 trying to test updates for OpenStack StackForge cookbooks.\nstable/havana cookbooks depend on the cookbook openstack-common ~\u0026gt; 8.0, stable/icehouse depend on the cookbook openstack-common ~\u0026gt; 9.0\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chef 11 Hangs Trying to Deal With Unresolvable Dependencies"},{"content":"I like Chef, but some aspects of its internal kitchenary are pretty poorly documented (or I\u0026rsquo;m not good enough with Chef to understand why it should behave this exact way).\nI\u0026rsquo;ve hit an annoying problem trying to fix library in a chef cookbook:\nI had an attribute assigned in attribute file vault-cookbook/attributes/default.rb:\n... default[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;] = \u0026#39;foo\u0026#39; ... and override in recipe vault-cookbook/recipes/some_recipe.rb:\n... override[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;] = \u0026#39;bar\u0026#39; ... search_node() function is called from some_recipe.rb and described in a library vault-cookbook/libraries/library.rb:\nclass Chef class Recipe def search_node(vault_name=node[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;]) nodes_in_all_vaults = search(:node, \u0026#39;recipes:vault-cookbook\\:\\:vault-member\u0026#39;) Chef::Log.info \u0026#34;Node #{node[\u0026#39;fqdn\u0026#39;]} is in vault #{node[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;]}\u0026#34; nodes_in_all_vaults.each do | node_object | Chef::Log.info \u0026#34;Node #{node_object[\u0026#39;fqdn\u0026#39;]} is in vault #{node_object[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;]}\u0026#34; # some yadda-yadda code end end end end search_node() function gets vault name and performs some actions with nodes in this vault.\n###Now the magic\nGuess if two log resource calls in library return same results for same node. Hell no!\nChef::Log.info \u0026#34;Node #{node[\u0026#39;fqdn\u0026#39;]} is in vault #{node[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;]}\u0026#34; returns\nNode node.fqdn.com is in vault bar this is ok, override works. But\nChef::Log.info \u0026#34;Node #{node_object[\u0026#39;fqdn\u0026#39;]} is in vault #{node_object[\u0026#39;vault_name\u0026#39;]}\u0026#34; returns\nNode node.fqdn.com is in vault foo override does not work because override from the recipe is not being applied to node objects found during search, they have vanilla set of attributes.\nSo if you want to avoid pitfalls keep your attributes in attribute files/roles/environments, not in recipes.\nJust to be clear, mentioned issue appies to Chef 11, didn\u0026rsquo;t test on other versions.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/chef-attribute-overrides-in-recipes-is-a-bad-idea/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI like Chef, but some aspects of its internal kitchenary are pretty poorly documented (or I\u0026rsquo;m not good enough with Chef to understand why it should behave this exact way).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;ve hit an annoying problem trying to fix library in a chef cookbook:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chef: Attribute Overrides in Recipes Is a Bad Idea"},{"content":"I\u0026rsquo;m playing with OpenStack and decided to bring up a testing environment on my home Debian computer.\nI\u0026rsquo;m using KVM virtualization, launching VMs as non-root user and hit an issue not described in official documentation.\nDespite my user was a member of kvm and libvirt groups, I was unable to check networks/VMs created by root.\nThe point is that if you don\u0026rsquo;t define exact connection uri:\n$ virsh -c qemu:///system \u0026#39;list --all\u0026#39; you should have LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI environment variable set, or you won\u0026rsquo;t connect correctly using\n$ virsh list --all command, the only thing you\u0026rsquo;ll see is an empty list. Add the following line to your ~/.bash_profile:\nexport LIBVIRT_DEFAULT_URI=qemu:///system to resolve this issue.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debian-libvirt-non-root/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m playing with OpenStack and decided to bring up a testing environment on my home Debian computer.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m using KVM virtualization, launching VMs as non-root user and hit an issue not described in official documentation.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Debian, Libvirt, Non-root"},{"content":"Just read an interesting Doug Ireton\u0026rsquo;s blog post about Chef patterns and antipatterns.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/chef-patterns-antipatterns/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eJust read an interesting Doug Ireton\u0026rsquo;s \u003ca href=\"http://dougireton.com/blog/2013/02/16/chef-cookbook-anti-patterns\"\u003eblog post\u003c/a\u003e about Chef patterns and antipatterns.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Chef Patterns and Antipatterns"},{"content":"Sometimes it\u0026rsquo;s needed to assign some proxy header depending on some variable value. But proxy_set_header does not work with \u0026ldquo;if\u0026rdquo; cause (at least didn\u0026rsquo;t work with nginx 1.4.1). So the following construction won\u0026rsquo;t work:\nserver { listen 80; server_name blah-blah.com; set $mobile_rewrite do_not_perform; # Here is a condition variable # check http_user_agent and determine mobile browsers if ($http_user_agent ~* \u0026#34;(android|bb\\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|netfront|oper a m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino\u0026#34;) { set $mobile_rewrite perform; } if ($http_user_agent ~* \u0026#34;^(1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\\-(n|u)|c55\\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\\-5|g\\-mo|go(\\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\\-(m|p|t)|hei\\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\\-c|ht(c(\\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\\-|\\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\\-w|m3ga|m50\\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\\-g|qa\\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\\-[2-7]|i\\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\\-|oo|p\\-)|sdk\\/|se(c(\\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\\-|shar|sie(\\-|m)|sk\\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\\-|v\\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\\-|tdg\\-|tel(i|m)|tim\\-|t\\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\\-|m3|m5)|tx\\-9|up(\\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\\-|your|zeto|zte\\-)\u0026#34;) { set $mobile_rewrite perform; } location / { if ($mobile_rewrite = perform) { # THIS WON\u0026#39;T WORK!!!!1111oneone proxy_set_header X-MOBILE-LAYOUTS this_is_passed_as_header; } proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; proxy_set_header Host $http_host; proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true; proxy_pass http://upstream_app; proxy_redirect off; } } there is a workaround though, we can use \u0026ldquo;map\u0026rdquo; module to merge two variables and assign header correctly.\nhttp { map $mobile_rewrite $mobile_rewrite_cond { # Just an extract with \u0026#34;map\u0026#34;, you should have other assignments in \u0026#34;http\u0026#34; part too default \u0026#34;\u0026#34;; do_not_perform \u0026#34;\u0026#34;; perform \u0026#34;this_is_passed_as_header\u0026#34;; } } server { listen 80; server_name blah-blah.com; set $mobile_rewrite do_not_perform; # Here is a condition variable # check http_user_agent and determine mobile browsers if ($http_user_agent ~* \u0026#34;(android|bb\\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|netfront|oper a m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\\.(browser|link)|vodafone|wap|windows (ce|phone)|xda|xiino\u0026#34;) { set $mobile_rewrite perform; } if ($http_user_agent ~* \u0026#34;^(1207|6310|6590|3gso|4thp|50[1-6]i|770s|802s|a wa|abac|ac(er|oo|s\\-)|ai(ko|rn)|al(av|ca|co)|amoi|an(ex|ny|yw)|aptu|ar(ch|go)|as(te|us)|attw|au(di|\\-m|r |s )|avan|be(ck|ll|nq)|bi(lb|rd)|bl(ac|az)|br(e|v)w|bumb|bw\\-(n|u)|c55\\/|capi|ccwa|cdm\\-|cell|chtm|cldc|cmd\\-|co(mp|nd)|craw|da(it|ll|ng)|dbte|dc\\-s|devi|dica|dmob|do(c|p)o|ds(12|\\-d)|el(49|ai)|em(l2|ul)|er(ic|k0)|esl8|ez([4-7]0|os|wa|ze)|fetc|fly(\\-|_)|g1 u|g560|gene|gf\\-5|g\\-mo|go(\\.w|od)|gr(ad|un)|haie|hcit|hd\\-(m|p|t)|hei\\-|hi(pt|ta)|hp( i|ip)|hs\\-c|ht(c(\\-| |_|a|g|p|s|t)|tp)|hu(aw|tc)|i\\-(20|go|ma)|i230|iac( |\\-|\\/)|ibro|idea|ig01|ikom|im1k|inno|ipaq|iris|ja(t|v)a|jbro|jemu|jigs|kddi|keji|kgt( |\\/)|klon|kpt |kwc\\-|kyo(c|k)|le(no|xi)|lg( g|\\/(k|l|u)|50|54|\\-[a-w])|libw|lynx|m1\\-w|m3ga|m50\\/|ma(te|ui|xo)|mc(01|21|ca)|m\\-cr|me(rc|ri)|mi(o8|oa|ts)|mmef|mo(01|02|bi|de|do|t(\\-| |o|v)|zz)|mt(50|p1|v )|mwbp|mywa|n10[0-2]|n20[2-3]|n30(0|2)|n50(0|2|5)|n7(0(0|1)|10)|ne((c|m)\\-|on|tf|wf|wg|wt)|nok(6|i)|nzph|o2im|op(ti|wv)|oran|owg1|p800|pan(a|d|t)|pdxg|pg(13|\\-([1-8]|c))|phil|pire|pl(ay|uc)|pn\\-2|po(ck|rt|se)|prox|psio|pt\\-g|qa\\-a|qc(07|12|21|32|60|\\-[2-7]|i\\-)|qtek|r380|r600|raks|rim9|ro(ve|zo)|s55\\/|sa(ge|ma|mm|ms|ny|va)|sc(01|h\\-|oo|p\\-)|sdk\\/|se(c(\\-|0|1)|47|mc|nd|ri)|sgh\\-|shar|sie(\\-|m)|sk\\-0|sl(45|id)|sm(al|ar|b3|it|t5)|so(ft|ny)|sp(01|h\\-|v\\-|v )|sy(01|mb)|t2(18|50)|t6(00|10|18)|ta(gt|lk)|tcl\\-|tdg\\-|tel(i|m)|tim\\-|t\\-mo|to(pl|sh)|ts(70|m\\-|m3|m5)|tx\\-9|up(\\.b|g1|si)|utst|v400|v750|veri|vi(rg|te)|vk(40|5[0-3]|\\-v)|vm40|voda|vulc|vx(52|53|60|61|70|80|81|83|85|98)|w3c(\\-| )|webc|whit|wi(g |nc|nw)|wmlb|wonu|x700|yas\\-|your|zeto|zte\\-)\u0026#34;) { set $mobile_rewrite perform; } location / { proxy_set_header X-MOBILE-LAYOUTS $mobile_rewrite_cond; # This supposed to work proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr; proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for; proxy_set_header Host $http_host; proxy_set_header X-NginX-Proxy true; proxy_pass http://upstream_app; proxy_redirect off; } } More info, also check map nginx module docs.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/nginx-conditioned-proxy-set-header/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSometimes it\u0026rsquo;s needed to assign some proxy header depending on some variable value. But proxy_set_header does not work with \u0026ldquo;if\u0026rdquo; cause (at least didn\u0026rsquo;t work with nginx 1.4.1). So the following construction won\u0026rsquo;t work:\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Nginx, Conditioned Proxy_set_header Assignment"},{"content":"We use SyslogLogger gem in order to forward rails application log to system log.\nin rails Gemfile:\ngroup :production do gem \u0026#34;SyslogLogger\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;~\u0026gt; 2.0\u0026#34;, :require =\u0026gt; \u0026#39;syslog/logger\u0026#39; end in config/environments/production.rb\nconfig.logger = Syslog::Logger.new \u0026#34;rails_application_name\u0026#34; The problem was that logs actually were forwarded to syslog, messages and user.log and sent to remote server and written to syslog, messages and user.log there. I was asked to make things DRY(ier).\nThe issue was caused, of cource, by some nasty *.* patterns in rsyslog config. If you\u0026rsquo;re experiencing similar issues, check /etc/rsyslog.d directory which contains rsyslog configuration files. Make sure you have separate config file for your application and it has higher load priority, for example:\n# ls -l -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 98 Jan 2 16:36 40-rails_application_name.conf -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 1605 Dec 10 2010 50-default.conf rules in 40-rails_application_name.conf will be checked first. Contents of 40-rails_application_name.conf file on rails application server:\nif $programname == \u0026#39;rails_application_name\u0026#39; then @@your.logging.server.ip.com:61514 \u0026amp; ~ Note \u0026ldquo;\u0026amp; ~\u0026rdquo;, it means log entry will be sent using TCP to your.logging.server.ip.com:61514 and won\u0026rsquo;t be processed further. This was missing and entries were forwarded to local log files. If you do need to log to the local file, don\u0026rsquo;t add \u0026ldquo;\u0026amp; ~\u0026rdquo;.\nrules in 40-rails_application_name.conf file on log server:\n$ModLoad imtcp $InputTCPServerRun 61514 if $programname == \u0026#39;rails_application_name\u0026#39; then /var/log/rails_application_name.log \u0026amp; ~ Now logs are stored correctly.\nHere is a complete guide for those who needs more details regarding rsyslog configuration.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/rsyslog-log-to-remote-server/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eWe use SyslogLogger gem in order to forward rails application log to system log.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ein rails Gemfile:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003egroup :production do\n  gem \u0026#34;SyslogLogger\u0026#34;, \u0026#34;~\u0026gt; 2.0\u0026#34;, :require =\u0026gt; \u0026#39;syslog/logger\u0026#39;\nend\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003ein config/environments/production.rb\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003econfig.logger = Syslog::Logger.new \u0026#34;rails_application_name\u0026#34; \n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe problem was that logs actually were forwarded to syslog, messages and user.log and sent to remote server and written to syslog, messages and user.log there. I was asked to make things DRY(ier).\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Some Notes Regarding Rsyslog and Remote Logging for Rails Apps"},{"content":"Several days ago I decided to clean up drawers in my desk at home and, of course, found several artifacts: old Univercity notes, Parker pen I was presented by my sister several years ago and some ATmega8A AVR microcontrollers.\nI had several vacation days and caught a cold. So I couldn\u0026rsquo;t help but installed Atmel Studio and CodeVisionAVR to play with LEDs a bit.\nThere is far more information/examples for gcc-avr compiler/Atmel Studio than for CodeVisionAVR compiler. That\u0026rsquo;s why I wrote code in Atmel Studio.\nI\u0026rsquo;d rather use only Atmel Studio, or, even better some Linux soft like avrdude but I have an old and poorly supported AVR910 programmer based on STK500 as far as I remember. The only program I was able to flash controllers with AVR910 was CodeVisionAVR.\nHere is very good starting guide.\nLet\u0026rsquo;s start I\u0026rsquo;ve decided to extend common \u0026ldquo;Hello world\u0026rdquo; microcontroller project (blining LEDs) with interrupt usage.\nThe goal is to have blinking LED, which can be switched on or off immediately, at any time on its cycle. That is why interrupts are utilized. Timings are not critical, so we\u0026rsquo;ll use internal 8 MHz oscillator and change microcontroller fuses configuration respectively.\nYou can find poorly drawn project circuit below:\nCircuit\nBlocking capacitor is 10 uF because it\u0026rsquo;s the only capacitor I had, don\u0026rsquo;t mind. Button SW connected to 4th pin of controller, it\u0026rsquo;s the first external interrupt pin.\n10 kOmh resistor is a pull-up resistor for reset pin (here should be logical 1 unless we want to reset microcontroller). 470 Omh resistor limits current via LED.\nProject code:\n#define F_CPU 8000000UL // Set microcontroller frequency to 8 MHz #include \u0026lt;avr/io.h\u0026gt; #include \u0026lt;inttypes.h\u0026gt; #include \u0026lt;util/delay.h\u0026gt; #include \u0026lt;avr/interrupt.h\u0026gt; #define BUTTON_PORT PORTD #define BUTTON_PIN PIND #define BUTTON_BIT PD2 #define BUTTON_DDR DDRD #define LED_PORT PORTB #define LED_BIT PB0 #define LED_DDR DDRB #define DEBOUNCE_TIME 25 #define LOCK_INPUT_TIME 250 volatile uint8_t led_is_on = 0; // volatile and global variable - can be overridden in interrupt call void init_io() { LED_DDR |= _BV(LED_BIT); // set LED_BIT as a digital output LED_PORT |= _BV(LED_BIT); // LED is off initially BUTTON_DDR \u0026amp;= ~_BV(BUTTON_BIT); // set BUTTON_BIT as a digital input BUTTON_PORT |= _BV(BUTTON_BIT); // turn on pull-up resistor MCUCR \u0026amp;= ~(_BV(ISC00)|_BV(ISC01)); // clear ISC00 and ISC01 bits so interrupt is triggered on low level GICR |= _BV(INT0); // enable int0 interrupt sei(); // enable interrupts } ISR(INT0_vect) { if (bit_is_clear(BUTTON_PIN, BUTTON_BIT)) { _delay_ms(DEBOUNCE_TIME); if (bit_is_clear(BUTTON_PIN, BUTTON_BIT)) // debounce pushed button { if (led_is_on == 0) // override LED state variable { led_is_on = 1; } else { led_is_on = 0; LED_PORT |= _BV(LED_BIT); // Immediately switch off LED } _delay_ms(LOCK_INPUT_TIME); // add lock time so LED state is not changed several times while key is pressed } } } int main(void) { init_io(); // configure input/output pins and interrupt while(1) { uint8_t SaveSREG = SREG; // save interrupt flag. Actually, disabling interrupts it\u0026#39;s an overkill in this particular case as led_is_on variable is 1 byte long, and read operation is atomic. Interrupts should be disabled if you\u0026#39;re performing non-atomic operation like read operation of 16 or 32 bit integer in 8-bit microcontroller. cli(); // disable interrupts if (led_is_on == 1) { SREG = SaveSREG; // restore the interrupt flag LED_PORT \u0026amp;= ~_BV(LED_BIT); // LED on _delay_ms(200); LED_PORT |= _BV(LED_BIT); // LED off _delay_ms(200); } else { SREG = SaveSREG; // restore the interrupt flag } } } I\u0026rsquo;ve changed frequency of internal oscillator from 1 to 8 MHz. Here is a good fuse calculator. Fuse is treated as \u0026ldquo;programmed\u0026rdquo; if its value is \u0026ldquo;0\u0026rdquo;. The issue is that different programs show \u0026ldquo;0\u0026rdquo; state in different ways and you may program your microcontroller to use external clock source. Check cheatsheet and docks, maybe you should start from here You can check correct fuses config for this particular case in CodeVisionAVR below:\nFuses\nThe resulting project ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/atmega8-button-interrupts-led/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eSeveral days ago I decided to clean up drawers in my desk at home and, of course, found several artifacts: old Univercity notes, Parker pen I was presented by my sister several years ago and some ATmega8A AVR microcontrollers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eI had several vacation days and caught a cold. So I couldn\u0026rsquo;t help but installed Atmel Studio and CodeVisionAVR to play with LEDs a bit.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"ATmega8 Blinking LED and Interrupts"},{"content":"After the recent system upgrade of my Debian x64 home desktop I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed Skype started to make creepy buzzzzzzz sound or no sound at all. The issue is caused by the new version of pulseaudio, 4.0. The workaround is to set environment variable PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30:\n$ PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30 skype \u0026amp;\u0026gt;/dev/null \u0026amp; Here is a thread devoted to this issue.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debian-jessie-skype-pulseaudio-4-0/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eAfter the recent system upgrade of my Debian x64 home desktop I\u0026rsquo;ve noticed Skype started to make creepy buzzzzzzz sound or no sound at all. The issue is caused by the new version of pulseaudio, 4.0. The workaround is to set environment variable PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e$ PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=30 skype \u0026amp;\u0026gt;/dev/null \u0026amp;\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"http://community.skype.com/t5/Linux/Sound-in-Debian-unstable-64bit-broken/td-p/1718524\"\u003eHere is a thread\u003c/a\u003e devoted to this issue.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Skype + Pulseaudio 4.0 in Debian Jessie/testing Buzz"},{"content":" Why unlock using flash drive: Because you don\u0026rsquo;t have keyboard or monitor connected to your RPi, do you? Information: I was using Pezz\u0026rsquo;s gist, which helped me a lot. Thank you very much, Pezz. Why Arch linux: because I wanted to try Arch, default kernels of Raspbian and Pidora lack(lacked? Maybe already have) needed encryption modules. SD card preparation Download Arch linux image from here: RPi downloads\nOn your desktop check list of devices:\n$ ls -lah /dev | grep sd brw-rw---T 1 root disk 8, 0 Aug 11 15:43 sda brw-rw---T 1 root disk 8, 1 Aug 11 15:43 sda1 brw-rw---T 1 root disk 8, 2 Aug 11 15:43 sda2 brw-rw---T 1 root disk 8, 3 Aug 11 15:43 sda3 brw-rw---T 1 root disk 8, 4 Aug 11 15:43 sda4 Now insert SD card into card reader on desktop, and check list once again. You\u0026rsquo;ll see a new device we\u0026rsquo;ll write Arch linux image to.\nAchtung! You should write image to device itself, /dev/sdb, for example, not to partitions like /dev/sdb1, if there are any.\nWrite image to SD card:\n# dd bs=1M if=archlinux-hf-2013-02-11.img of=/dev/sdb That\u0026rsquo;s all folks, insert SD card into RPi, connect network cable and power supply. RPi should start to blink its LEDs and load.\nPreliminary RPi configuration RPi should get IP address from router via DHCP.\nYou can scan network for the new device:\n# nmap -sP 192.168.1.0/24 Starting Nmap 6.00 ( http://nmap.org ) at 2013-08-24 10:09 EEST Nmap scan report for DD-WRT (192.168.1.1) Host is up (0.0029s latency). MAC Address: 00:56:D2:E3:1D:3C (Unknown) Nmap scan report for Net_host (192.168.1.98) Host is up. Nmap scan report for android-9548dffb92e3904f (192.168.1.121) Host is up (0.10s latency). MAC Address: 68:9C:5E:B7:43:8F (AcSiP Technology) Nmap scan report for homepi (192.168.1.137) Host is up (0.0026s latency). MAC Address: B8:27:EB:EA:5F:DE (Raspberry Pi Foundation) Nmap done: 256 IP addresses (4 hosts up) scanned in 3.24 seconds 192.168.1.137 is an IP address we need. Log into RPi from desktop using login/password root/root:\n$ ssh root@192.168.1.137 Change hostname:\n# hostnamectl set-hostname here-your-hostname-goes I\u0026rsquo;m using RPi as a server only so I\u0026rsquo;ve assigned minimum memory to GPU RPi is able to load with, 16Mb. Also I\u0026rsquo;ve commented all strings related to dynamic memory management:\n# vi /boot/config.txt #gpu_mem_512=316 #gpu_mem_256=128 #cma_lwm=16 #cma_hwm=32 #cma_offline_start=16 gpu_mem=16 Network configuration By default RPi gets IP address via DHCP, we\u0026rsquo;ll assign a static IP:\n# cp /etc/netctl/examples/ethernet-static /etc/netctl # vi /etc/netctl/ethernet-static Description=\u0026#39;A basic static ethernet connection\u0026#39; Interface=eth0 Connection=ethernet IP=static Address=(\u0026#39;192.168.1.137/24\u0026#39;) #Routes=(\u0026#39;192.168.0.0/24 via 192.168.1.2\u0026#39;) Gateway=\u0026#39;192.168.1.1\u0026#39; DNS=(\u0026#39;192.168.1.1\u0026#39;) Disable default settings:\n# systemctl disable dhcpcd@eth0.service # systemctl disable dhcpcd # systemctl disable netctl-ifplugd@eth0 Enable static IP:\n# netctl enable ethernet-static Update system, install some packages may be needed in the future.\n# pacman -Syu # pacman -S rsync vim mkinitcpio Cross fingers and reboot:\n# shutdown -r now Preparations for root partition encryption I\u0026rsquo;ve used the same approach as Pezz suggested: We have two systems, one we had by default which can be used in case of fuckup, and one - encrypted.\nCreate new partition in unallocated part of SD card:\n# fdisk /dev/mmcblk0 Welcome to fdisk (util-linux 2.23.2). Changes will remain in memory only, until you decide to write them. Be careful before using the write command. Command (m for help): n Partition type: p primary (1 primary, 1 extended, 2 free) l logical (numbered from 5) Select (default p): p Partition number (3,4, default 3): 3 First sector (3667968-61863935, default 3667968): Using default value 3667968 Last sector, +sectors or +size{K,M,G} (3667968-61863935, default 61863935): Using default value 61863935 Partition 3 of type Linux and of size 27.8 GiB is set Command (m for help): w The partition table has been altered! Calling ioctl() to re-read partition table. WARNING: Re-reading the partition table failed with error 16: Device or resource busy. The kernel still uses the old table. The new table will be used at the next reboot or after you run partprobe(8) or kpartx(8) Reboot RPi so it sees new partition table:\n# shutdown -r now Encrypted partition configuration Create partition, assign password:\n# cryptsetup -c aes-xts-plain -y -s 512 luksFormat /dev/mmcblk0p3 WARNING! ======== This will overwrite data on /dev/mmcblk0p3 irrevocably. Are you sure? (Type uppercase yes): YES Open partition:\n# cryptsetup luksOpen /dev/mmcblk0p3 root Create filesystem:\n# mkfs.ext4 /dev/mapper/root Mount:\n# mount /dev/mapper/root /mnt Copy root filesystem to encrypted partition:\nAchtung! /mnt/ should have trailing slash otherwise you\u0026rsquo;ll have wrong directory tree.\n# rsync --progress -axv / /mnt/ Check kernel version:\n# uname -a Linux homepi 3.6.11-16-ARCH+ #1 PREEMPT Tue Aug 20 19:25:48 CDT 2013 armv6l GNU/Linux Modify /etc/mkinitcpio.conf and make sure there is a string:\nHOOKS=\u0026#34;base udev autodetect modconf block keyboard encrypt filesystems fsck\u0026#34; Generate initrd:\nAchtung! Please be careful with the part after \u0026ldquo;-k\u0026rdquo;, if initrd is generated for other kernel system won\u0026rsquo;t load. You should re-generate initrd after kernel upgrade. This basically means after each Arch system upgrade since partial updates are dishonored.\n# mkinitcpio -k 3.6.11-16-ARCH+ -g /boot/initrd Modify /boot/config.txt and add to the end:\ninitramfs initrd 0x00f00000 Modify boot cmdlint file /boot/cmdline.txt:\ncryptdevice=/dev/mmcblk0p3:root:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/root initrd=0x00f00000 Up to you if you want allow-discards or not, your choice.\nBe sure to leave the \u0026ldquo;ro\u0026rdquo; option there.\nNow add the following to fstab, edit /mnt/etc/fstab and ensure:\n/dev/mmcblk0p1 /boot vfat defaults 0 0 /dev/mapper/root / ext4 defaults,discard,commit=120 0 1 Root partition key-authorized mount configuration As a key we\u0026rsquo;ll use secret.txt file in the root directory of flash drive:\nConnect flash drive with the file to RPi and get UUID of partition with the file:\n# blkid /dev/sda /dev/sda: LABEL=\u0026#34;FLASH_DRIVE\u0026#34; UUID=\u0026#34;B714-B30C\u0026#34; TYPE=\u0026#34;vfat\u0026#34; Mount filesystem to get access to the file:\n# mount /dev/disk/by-uuid/E614-B25B /mnt Add file to keys allowed to unlock root partition:\n# cryptsetup luksAddKey /dev/mmcblk0p3 /mnt/secret.txt Unmount:\n# umount /mnt Modify /boot/cmdline.txt by adding\ncryptkey=/dev/disk/by-uuid/B714-B30C:vfat:/secret.txt File should be similar to the following one, option order matters, RPi won\u0026rsquo;t boot if some options are misplaced:\nipv6.disable=1 selinux=0 plymouth.enable=0 smsc95xx.turbo_mode=N dwc_otg.lpm_enable=0 console=ttyAMA0,115200 kgdboc=ttyAMA0,115200 console=tty1 cryptdevice=/dev/mmcblk0p3:root:allow-discards root=/dev/mapper/root cryptkey=/dev/disk/by-uuid/E614-B25B:vfat:/secret.txt initrd=0x00f00000 rootfstype=ext4 elevator=noop rootwait Reboot.\nNow, if everything is fine, your RPi should automatically mount root partition and boot if it sees key file on the connected drive. Otherwise you will be prompted for a password for encrypted root partition.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/raspberrypi-root-partition-encryption/","summary":"\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhy unlock using flash drive: Because you don\u0026rsquo;t have keyboard or monitor connected to your RPi, do you?\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eInformation: I was using \u003ca href=\"https://gist.github.com/pezz/5310082\"\u003ePezz\u0026rsquo;s gist\u003c/a\u003e, which helped me a lot. Thank you very much, Pezz.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWhy Arch linux: because I wanted to try Arch, default kernels of Raspbian and Pidora lack(lacked? Maybe already have) needed encryption modules.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"sd-card-preparation\"\u003eSD card preparation\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDownload Arch linux image from here: \u003ca href=\"http://www.raspberrypi.org/downloads\"\u003eRPi downloads\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOn your desktop check list of devices:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e$ ls -lah /dev | grep sd\n\nbrw-rw---T   1 root disk      8,   0 Aug 11 15:43 sda\nbrw-rw---T   1 root disk      8,   1 Aug 11 15:43 sda1\nbrw-rw---T   1 root disk      8,   2 Aug 11 15:43 sda2\nbrw-rw---T   1 root disk      8,   3 Aug 11 15:43 sda3\nbrw-rw---T   1 root disk      8,   4 Aug 11 15:43 sda4\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eNow insert SD card into card reader on desktop, and check list once again. You\u0026rsquo;ll see a new device we\u0026rsquo;ll write Arch linux image to.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"RaspberryPi with Root Partition encryption, unlocked using a flash drive"},{"content":"I like Chef very much. Opensource version, of course, lacks some features of Enterprise Chef, for example there are no push-jobs.\nImagine you\u0026rsquo;re using opensource Chef to deploy some web application using deploy_revision resource. It tracks some branch in git repository and if there are changes it deploys. The problem is that chef-client runs hourly by default and I don\u0026rsquo;t know a person who is patient enough to wait for deploy for an hour. You can, of course, run chef-client manually, but this would kill the idea of using Chef, won\u0026rsquo;t it?\nMaybe not the best solution for this issue, but working (please read/modify script before using, it\u0026rsquo;s actually an erb template, which should be populated with git repository):\n#!/bin/bash if kill -0 $(cat /var/chef/cache/chef-client-running.pid) \u0026gt; /dev/null 2\u0026gt;\u0026amp;1; then echo \u0026#34;$(date) Chef-client is already running, skip this run\u0026#34; \u0026gt;\u0026gt; /var/log/chef/client.log exit 0 fi git ls-remote --heads \u0026lt;%= @your_repo_goes_here %\u0026gt; \u0026gt; /tmp/git_heads.txt.tmp # populate template using Chef recipe attributes, also you may need to run git via sudo on behalf of some user who has needed keys if ! cmp /tmp/git_heads.txt.tmp /tmp/git_heads.txt \u0026gt;/dev/null 2\u0026gt;\u0026amp;1 # compare results of previous run and current one then echo \u0026#34;$(date) There are some changes in repositories, running chef-client\u0026#34; \u0026gt;\u0026gt; /var/log/chef/client.log chef-client \u0026gt;\u0026gt; /var/log/chef/client.log 2\u0026gt;\u0026amp;1 mv /tmp/git_heads.txt.tmp /tmp/git_heads.txt exit 0 else echo \u0026#34;Updating /tmp/git_heads.txt\u0026#34; mv /tmp/git_heads.txt.tmp /tmp/git_heads.txt exit 0 fi The idea is that cron is runninng this script frequently, and compares hashes of branch HEADs in given repo. If there are changes script runs chef-client and it performs deploy.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/chef-git-watchdog/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eI like Chef very much. Opensource version, of course, lacks some features of Enterprise Chef, for example there are no push-jobs.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eImagine you\u0026rsquo;re using opensource Chef to deploy some web application using deploy_revision resource. It tracks some branch in git repository and if there are changes it deploys.\nThe problem is that chef-client runs hourly by default and I don\u0026rsquo;t know a person who is patient enough to wait for deploy for an hour. You can, of course, run chef-client manually, but this would kill the idea of using Chef, won\u0026rsquo;t it?\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Tracking Changes in Git Repository and Deploy Chef + Bash + Cron"},{"content":"\u0026ldquo;find\u0026rdquo; linux utility may be very handy if you\u0026rsquo;re trying to grind large number of files. Trying to remove many files in the particular directory using\n$ rm -f ./* you may get something like\n/bin/rm: cannot execute [Argument list too long] but if you use find, you won\u0026rsquo;t hit such an issue\n$ find . -maxdepth 1 -delete Today I was asked to extract .xml files from zip archives. There were lot of zip files and lot of files with different extensions within archives.\nHere is a command I\u0026rsquo;ve utilized:\n$ find . -type f -name \u0026#34;*.zip\u0026#34; -exec unzip -B {} *.xml \\; It searches for .zip file in the active directory and extracts .xml files from them. Currently processed zip file name substituted instead of \u0026ldquo;{}\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;;\u0026rdquo; shows end of the command to execute. unzip -B stores .xml files with matching names as filename.xml~, filename.xml~1, etc\u0026hellip;\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/extract-file-with-particular-extension/","summary":"\u003cp\u003e\u0026ldquo;find\u0026rdquo; linux utility may be very handy if you\u0026rsquo;re trying to grind large number of files. Trying to remove many files in the particular directory using\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e$ rm -f ./*\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eyou may get something like\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e/bin/rm: cannot execute [Argument list too long]\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003ebut if you use find, you won\u0026rsquo;t hit such an issue\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cpre tabindex=\"0\"\u003e\u003ccode\u003e$ find . -maxdepth 1 -delete\n\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/pre\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday I was asked to extract .xml files from zip archives. There were lot of zip files and lot of files with different extensions within archives.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Extract Files With the Particular Extension From Zip Archive"},{"content":"This weekend my father complained he\u0026rsquo;s unable to write macros needed for faster Excel documents processing. He was eager to ask system administrator at work for help, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think it was a good idea. So I\u0026rsquo;ve spent several hours poking Visual Basic and Excel and made needed macros.\nWhile other tasks were pretty easy, I\u0026rsquo;ve stuck trying to remove rows with \u0026ldquo;0\u0026rdquo; in the cells of the partucular column. Here is how I made it, maybe not the best solution, but it works:\nSub row_removal() Dim del_cell As Range, cell As Range ActiveCell.Range(\u0026#34;AY1:AY29\u0026#34;).Select # Here is range selecred, relative to active cell # If cell in AY column has value \u0026#34;0\u0026#34;, we\u0026#39;ll remove row For Each cell In Selection If cell.Value = 0 Then If del_cell Is Nothing Then Set del_cell = cell Else Set del_cell = Union(del_cell, cell) End If End If Next cell If Not del_cell Is Nothing Then del_cell.EntireRow.Delete End Sub ","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/excel-remove-rows-with-0-cells/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eThis weekend my father complained he\u0026rsquo;s unable to write macros needed\nfor faster Excel documents processing. He was eager to ask system\nadministrator at work for help, but I don\u0026rsquo;t think it was a good idea.\nSo I\u0026rsquo;ve spent several hours poking Visual Basic and Excel and made\nneeded macros.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Remove Rows With 0 in the Particular Cell of Excel Document"},{"content":"Community is doing great job supporting and contributing to Debian, guys are making as-stable-as-possible product for server installs. (Actually, I have never seen live production server running Debian, lol, but I think it should work well)\nBut if you\u0026rsquo;re using Debian on local box, as me, you can find it a bit too stable: at the moment Iceweasel 10.0.12 is in stable repo, 17.0.9 in testing, 24 in unstable.\nI have lot of add-ons for Iceweasel installed and some of them (for example, Vimperator) don\u0026rsquo;t support Iceweasel 17 so I have to install Iceweasel from unstable.\nConfiguring apt pinning and adding repo There are few options: if you have balls you can upgrade whole system to unstable, but mommy says you may be screwed up. In case if you\u0026rsquo;re afraid of loosing your StarTrek porn collection due to some software gotcha you should use apt pinning to update only particular packages.\nYou can find detailed information here, there is just slightly adapted version of this guide below.\nThe \u0026lsquo;preferences\u0026rsquo; file is where the actual pinning takes place. Here\u0026rsquo;s an example:\n# cat /etc/apt/preferences Package: * Pin: release a=testing Pin-Priority: 900 Package: * Pin: release a=unstable Pin-Priority: 800 Package defaults to any, as specified by the asterisk. Pin specifies the release (testing and unstable). Pin-Priority specifies the priority level. \u0026lsquo;apt-get\u0026rsquo; defaults to something along the lines of \u0026ldquo;highest package version wins\u0026rdquo;. The above restructures this priority so that packages in testing are given a higher priority.\nThen, we\u0026rsquo;ll add unstable repo to sources list (you should use the closest mirror, of course):\n# cat /etc/apt/sources.list deb http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ testing main non-free contrib deb-src http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ testing main non-free contrib deb http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib deb-src http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ unstable main non-free contrib deb http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free deb-src http://security.debian.org/ testing/updates main contrib non-free Installing from unstable We can check now which package versions we have in different repos, for example, \u0026ldquo;iceweasel\u0026rdquo;:\n# apt-get update # apt-cache policy iceweasel iceweasel: Installed: 10.0.12esr-1+nmu1 date = \u0026#34;\u0026#34; Version table: 24.1.0esr-1 0 600 http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ unstable/main amd64 Packages 17.0.9esr-1~deb7u1 0 700 http://ftp.ru.debian.org/debian/ testing/main amd64 Packages *** 10.0.12esr-1+nmu1 0 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status Let\u0026rsquo;s assume that we\u0026rsquo;re running testing and we want to try Iceweasel from unstable. There are basically two methods for installing:\n# apt-get install iceweasel/unstable # apt-get -t unstable install iceweasel The first will not attempt to upgrade any packages on your system, so if specific dependencies are not met, the install will fail. The second method will attempt to install/upgrade any dependencies. Of course, given the above example, \u0026lsquo;apt-get\u0026rsquo; will ask you before proceeding.\nThat\u0026rsquo;s all so far, folks.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/debian-testing/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eCommunity is doing great job supporting and contributing to Debian, guys are making as-stable-as-possible\nproduct for server installs. (Actually, I have never seen live production server running Debian, lol, but\nI think it should work well)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut if you\u0026rsquo;re using Debian on local box, as me, you can find it a bit too stable: at the moment Iceweasel 10.0.12\nis in stable repo, 17.0.9 in testing, 24 in unstable.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Debian Testing, Installation Iceweasel(Firefox Fork) Browser From Unstable"},{"content":"Recently noticed surprisingly large number of alone-placed \u0026ldquo;J\u0026quot;s in e-mails from one of my colleagues. It turns out that it\u0026rsquo;s a common Outlook issue. Outlook converts smileys \u0026ldquo;:)\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;J\u0026quot;s. You can check the link for details and workaround.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/smileys-converted-to-j/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eRecently noticed surprisingly large number of alone-placed \u0026ldquo;J\u0026quot;s in e-mails from one of my colleagues. It turns out that it\u0026rsquo;s a common\nOutlook issue. Outlook converts smileys \u0026ldquo;:)\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;J\u0026quot;s. You can check the \u003ca href=\"http://lifehacker.com/5574668/get-rid-of-the-smiley-j-problem-in-microsoft-office-applications\"\u003elink\u003c/a\u003e\nfor details and workaround.\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Smileys Converted to ‘J’s by Outlook"},{"content":"Long story short: My computer at work was running Fedora 17. Wow-wow-wow, dude, you may say, seventeen? Really? Yep. It worked for my previous collegue and worked for me for a while too without any major issues. But do you know what time is it? Upgrade time!\nWhile I found Fedora pretty good distribution (I work with CentOS systems mostly so rpm-based distribution on local computer is\u0026hellip; hm\u0026hellip; yammy, I\u0026rsquo;d say) Fedora 17 is old and a bit lame so it was really a pain to find and install some soft for it. The day came and I\u0026rsquo;ve overpowered my sysadmin \u0026ldquo;don\u0026rsquo;t touch anything if it just works\u0026rdquo; habit and start an upgrade.\nWell, guys, I know Fedora 20 is coming soon, but I\u0026rsquo;m not so brave to install pre-release version and to hop over release. My goal was to obtain stable system, so I decided to perform Fedora 17 =\u0026gt; Fedora 18 =\u0026gt; Fedora 19 upgrades.\nC\u0026rsquo;mon, let\u0026rsquo;s go! Fedora 17 =\u0026gt; Fedora 18 I won\u0026rsquo;t repeat instructions in details except one: please be sure you have backup for any tiny piece of information you don\u0026rsquo;t want to loose.\nI was impressed by the number of i686 packages installed. Most of them were Skype-related, so I removed Skype prior to an upgrade.\nDuring the 17 =\u0026gt; 18 upgrade yum downloaded ~1.5 Gb of updates. Pretty serious change!\nIf you\u0026rsquo;re curious you can get list of i686 packages using the following command:\n{% codeblock %} $ sudo rpm -qa | grep i686 {% endcodeblock %}\nif upgrate breaks rpm database and rpm -qa doesn\u0026rsquo;t work you can just rebuild database:\n{% codeblock %} $ sudo rpm \u0026ndash;rebuilddb {% endcodeblock %}\nI\u0026rsquo;m using GDM display manager, guys say upgrade may break autostart for this service. You may check service status using the following command:\n$ sudo systemctl status gdm.service If service enabled it will be started upon the next reboot.\nOnce upgrade to Fedora 18 was finished I\u0026rsquo;ve installed boot loader:\n$ sudo grub2-install /dev/sda rebooted and proceed to 19. I\u0026rsquo;ve got few unpleasant moments when system complained some of fonts are missing prior to reboot and when after reboot screen freezed for a moment after login. But once I\u0026rsquo;ve logged all bells and whistlers seemed to be working properly. Even sound worked!\n18 to 19 Please be sure you don\u0026rsquo;t block screen during this upgrade because active user sessions may break (check details) and you won\u0026rsquo;t be able to re-login.\nDuring 18 =\u0026gt; 19 upgrade yum downloaded about 1.4 Gbs of updates.\nChecked and merged configs using rpmconf:\n$ sudo yum install rpmconf $ sudo rpmconf -a you may also check if there are still any rpmnew or rpmsave files and decide if you need them:\nfind /etc /var -name \u0026#39;*?.rpm?*\u0026#39; Reinstalled grub loader one more time and rebooted.\nI didn\u0026rsquo;t notice any issues related to the upgrade itself so far, but I prefer to swith layouts using CapsLock key and new default Gnome configuration tool seems to miss needed feature. Anyway I can use gnome-tweak-tool to configure Gnome as I need.\n","permalink":"https://k0ssk.net/post/fedora-17-to-fedora-19-upgrade/","summary":"\u003cp\u003eLong story short: My computer at work was running Fedora 17.\nWow-wow-wow, dude, you may say, seventeen? Really? Yep. It worked for my previous collegue and worked for me for a while too without any major issues. But do you know what time is it? \u003ca href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_time\"\u003eUpgrade time!\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","title":"Fedora 17 to Fedora 19 Upgrade"}]