Hi All,
I have done some changes to the driving directions for Southern California.
So here is the latest and Greatest
73 de ke6hpz Glenn
Goleta State Beach
This location has a good shot to the Baja gang. It is DM04BK, and we parked
right in the parking lot of the Goleta State Beach. In the Santa Barbara
area, take the 217 highway south from the 101 highway, about 1.9 miles. Get
off the freeway where it says Goleta State Beach, and cross over a bridge
and you will be entering into the beach parking lot. Turn right, and go
about a ¼ of mile down the parking lot till you find a place that has no
trees in the way, and shoot over the water. (N34 25' 0.6" W119 49' 58.2")
Summerland (Santa Barbara) Lookout park
To get to this location, get off at Evans Street in Summerland, near Santa
Barbara. You can try working from the park which is on the south side of
the freeway, but there are trees in the park, and we found that parking lot
was full. For those that have to work out of the back of their trucks this
place didn't work. So, we found a better spot, still on the South side of
the freeway, just .2 miles east of the park. Get on the southbound on-ramp
to the 101 freeway, which runs beside the freeway. Right before the on ramp
enters the freeway there is a small road the will break off to the right.
This is Finney St, and it goes over the railroad tracks and goes into a
parking lot. From the parking lot it goes east down the hill. We just
pulled of the side of the road, and worked Baja. This spot is DM04ek (N34
25' 09.1" W119 35' 46.1") I used an 11 element 440 beam to get into Signal
peak, or one of the San Diego machines.
Ventura (Grant Memorial Park)
To get to this location from North bound 101 get off at California St.
There is no South bound off ramp for California St. Get off of the next
exit (Harbor blvd, or Seaword Ave) and get back on the North 101 freeway and
get off at California. Head up California (N) till you hit Poli Street
(California Tee's into Poli). Turn Left onto Poli, and turn right on the
next street, which should be very small street.(Brakey St). It winds
through some houses, and climbs up the hill. You will come to a four-way
intersection, of small roads on the hill. Take the left or lower road a
couple of hundred feet down the road, to a turn out. The location is DM04ig
(N34 17' 05.3" W119 17' 41.3") at 300 ft above Sea Level.
Point Mugu
The operating position of Point Mugu is right next to the very huge rock.
On the east side of the Rock there is a parking lot. It is on the south
side of the road. So you can't turn into the parking lot going north bound
on the 1. Only the southbound traffic can turn in to the parking area. So
if you are going North on the 1, continue pass the rock, and turn into the
parking lot on the North-west side of the rock, and come out of the parking
lot and head south on highway 1 to go around the rock, and go to the other
parking lot. The location is DM04lc (N34 05' 13" W119 03' 43") I have
found that this location is blocked to DL29cx, and DM10xl by Catalina
Island.
Point Dume
Point Dume itself has a bunch of No Parking Tow away signs. So I set up on
the South side of the road a couple of miles North-West of Point Dume.
There is a large dirt pull off that worked great. Its location is DM04na
(N34 02' 09.8" W118 51' 27.4") I was also able to work people on PV across
the tip of Point Dume. Catalina Island gets a little bit in the way when
the Baja guys are in DL27.
Las Floras Canyon
Somewhere near Las Floras Canyon Road at Highway 1. Stay in the Floras
area. If you go too close to Malibu, you will be below 10 miles to the
Point Dume location. If you go too close to Topanga Canyon you will be
shooting through PV.
PV North and South
The easiest way to get to PV is to come in from the 110 freeway. Get off at
PCH (Pacific coast Highway) Highway 1(N33 47' 26.1 W118 16' 55.0). Go West
3 miles on PCH, and turn left on to Crenshaw (N33 47' 31.6" W118 20' 00.6").
Go 3.4 mile on Crenshaw up the hill. Turn right on to Crest (N33 46' 07.4"
W118 21' 50.1"). Go 1.6 miles on Crest. Go through Hawthorn Blvd, 150
feet. Pull off to the side of the road, and this spot works Frazier and
other north locations. Its location is DM03ts (N33 45' 41.2" W118 23'
39.8), and it is 874 ft above Sea level.
For the South location, Turn around from the North location, and turn right
(South) and go 1 mile down Hawthorn Blvd. The location in on the south side
of a divided road, so pass up the location, and make an U-turn at the
Salvation Army driveway. Head up the hill to the vista point. There is
parking for about 4 cars here. This spot points south to San Diego, and
Baja very well. This location is DM03tr (N33 44' 53.3" W118 23' 39.4")
It is 535 FT above Sea Level.
Huntington Beach
Huntington Beach talks good to Baja. During the middle of the day it might
be hard to find a parking spot. PCH (Highway 1 ) runs along the beach for
miles. To get down there, exit the 405 freeway at the Golden West exit and
head South 5.6 miles down to PCH. So if you can get into one of the
parking spots, just point out to Baja. Metered parking DM03xq. The
Huntington Pier is DM03xp (N33 39' 17" W118 00' 16.2"). Take Beach Blvd
south off of the 405 about 5.8 miles to get to PCH.
Signal Hill North and South
To get to Signal Hill you have to exit the 405 Freeway at South Cherry exit.
Head south
on Cherry Ave .8 miles and turn left onto Skyline drive, and head up the
hill. When you get to the top of the hill, and you can turn left into the
park at the top. You can work east (Heaps) and North (Frazier) and west up
the coast to Ventura and beyond. To work San Diego and Baja, you pass by
the park and continue to Southward about .3 miles on Skyline, to a dirt
field on the right, (N33 47' 54.7" W118 09' 34.1") DM03wt
El Segundo (North side of Hill top park)
To get to this park, get off of El Segundo Blvd, and head west about 1.4
miles. Turn right on Sepulveda Blvd (Highway 1). Go .2 miles and turn left
on Grand Ave. Go .6 miles to Maryland St, and turn right. Hill Top Park,
is on the left and go down the street 700 ft to the public parking structure
on the left. Go up on the parking structure. Go to the parking locations
that are marked on the map, and point between the trees.
This is the highest point that you can get to in El Segundo at a high
altitude of 176 ft, plus the height of the structure. The only thing in the
way from this location is piece of PV that is 250 ft high. The location of
the structure is N33 55' 14.7" W118 24' 25.1" DM03TW
Highway 2 overview (La Canada)
From the 210 freeway you will exit Highway 2 Angeles Crest Highway. This is
National forest area. This area requires daytime headlights, and you will
get a ticket for not having them on. Be aware that the rangers will write
you up for having a battery out in the open, because of fire danger. So
leave the battery in the vehicle, and use something else heavy to keep the
tripod from blowing over. To get there, head North up the hill 2.5 miles
and you will see a large dirt pull-off on the right. It has an elevation of
2000 ft, and it talks south. But lower Baja locations were weak to this
location. You have a large mountain right behind you so you would have to
do a bounce shot to get anywhere else. DM04vf (N34 13' 41.3" W118 11'
09.6")
De Soto and 118 Freeway
It is located just north of the 118 freeway and get off at De Soto Ave. It
has talked to both the closer and farther away Baja locations. Just find
a high spot above the freeway DM04qg (N34 16' 32" W118 35' 17") around 1300
ft elevation.
Secret site 51 ( Loop Canyon)
Secret site 51 is a great spot for talking all over the LA Basin and much
south. It is located at (N34 21' 13.4" W118 24' 58.4") DM04ti at an
elevation of 3918 feet. It takes about 30-40 minutes to get up there, from
the 5 and 14 highway spilt. To get to there, get on the 14 freeway (3.3
miles) and get off at Placerita canyon road. Turn right, and go south-east
(5.1 miles) on this road till you hit Sand Canyon Road (N34 22' 51.8" W118
24' 48.4"). Turn Right on Sand Canyon road for 2.9 miles up to Bear Divide
(N34 21' 35.1" W118 23' 33.1"). Turn right, and go up the road (3N17) (2.9
miles). You will come first to Contractors point (repeater site). Continue
down the road 1 mile to Fire camp 9. Drive slowly through the camp, and go
.4 of a mile up the hill, to the repeater site. Park on the side of the
road about 100 ft down from the gate at the repeater site. This will give
you a clear shot at Mexico, and a clear shot at Frazier. If you have a
portable rig, you can walk up to the top of the hill and have a 360 degree
view.
Whitaker Peak DM04pn
Whitaker peak is close to the 5 freeway, and it takes about 10 to 15 minutes
to get up there off the freeway. It has a good shot South. It doesn't have
a shot north. You can do a bounce shot to Frazier off one of the hills to
the east. It is located at (34 34' 56.2"
118 deg 43' 08.8") at 3646 ft. It is between Castaic Lake and Pyramid Lake.
To get there going north on the 5 freeway, get off at Templin Highway (N34
34' 20.8" W118 41' 27.6"). Go under the freeway and head north about 2.4
miles on the old road, running beside the freeway. On the left you will see
a small one-lane road. It is labeled 6N53 (N34 35' 05.6" W118 42' 56.7").
If you are going south on Highway 5 you can get to the old road, by get off
at the Brake inspection area. Just at the end of the area, were the road is
about to get back on the freeway, there is a little road that will turn off
to the right (N34 35' 03.2" W118 42' 36.8") that will take you to the old
road, in a few feet. Turn right and you will be at the 6N53 in a ¼ of the
mile. A few feet up the 6N53 there is a fork in the road. Take the left
fork and start heading up the single lane that is a somewhat asphalt road.
This road is about 1.8 miles long. You will have a microwave repeater site
in front of you, and a Gate in front of you. Look behind you on the ridge
and you will see a small dirt road running the ridge. Run up the ridge,
about a ¼ of a mile to a high spot. This is room for about 2 trucks. You
will have to do a couple point turn, to turn around, to come back down the
hill.
Frazier Peak
(N34 46' 28.4" W118 58' 7.3") DM04ms
Frazier Peak is 8400 ft mountain that has good shots all directions. There
are some trees to the South. It takes 45 minutes to get up there from
Highway 5. From Highway 5, get of the Frazier Park exit. Head west on
Frazier Mountain Road 6.9 miles. Turn left on Lockwood valley road. Go .9
mile down the road. Turn left to into the Ranger Station (8N04) Go Through
the ranger station, and head up the road about a mile up the road you will
go pass a campground. Continue up the road about 6 miles to the top of the
hill. There will be several forks in the road. There should be a sign that
points toward the fire lookout.
Any changes or additions to these locations are greatly welcome.
Glenn Allen KE6HPZ
Ke6hpz@ham-radio.com