Hi all had a good contact with Matt g8xyj today he was on MW 001 Pumlumon Fawr A distance of some 50 miles under flat conditions back to my home in south Shropshire ,not earth shattering but my best to date , so tar to Matt ,here i have 10 watts /16 element not big but good enough ,and both flat side on fm made a change to use 1.3 anyone else tryed it out on the summits …cheers Al
In reply to G7RHF:
Hi Al, I’m glad Matt made it onto MW001 today, I’d say it was a tad windy! I noticed his alert, but I don’t have 23cm - your contact was pretty good going.
I was down your way on the Clees :o)
73s
Adrian
G4AZS
In reply to G7RHF:
both flat side
Rolls eyes in despair.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Firstly many thanks for the kind words Al! Made worth carrying the 11 ele up, instead of the usual OIG Quadruple Quad! Next week should be easier, a bit closer to home I think with the hills around Knighton in our sites!
Roll eyes over in despair - I don’t really understand that comment Andy?? Can you explain?
Matt
In reply to G8XYJ:
Flat side is a CB expression.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Well I am sure many Amateurs have come through the hobby that way Andy!
Ultimately does it really matter that some of the terms have crossed over!
Seriously though, Al clearly enjoyed his contact today and asked a genuine question, have people used 23cm much?
As my Granddad used to say, If you’re not going to say anything nice why say anything at all!!
I, like many others are in need of chasers on 23cm, surely comments like that on a public reflector will only do harm, ultimately meaning that dedicated chasers like Al will leave this niche part of the hobby.
I do apologise if the above comment has offended anyone, but why post unless you are going to be positive. (I realise the irony in this as ultimately in this post I am not being positive)
73 Matt G8XYJ
In reply to G8XYJ:
Ultimately does it really matter that some of the terms have crossed over!
Yes. You wouldn’t use cricketing terms to describe football. So why use CB expressions in amateur radio. It’s not cricket!
It’s not even a particularly useful expression anyway. No matter which way you orient a Yagi, it is flatside. Think about it. I can lay a Yagi flat against the ground or flat against a wall.
Flat as applied to a Yagi describes its own relative shape, essentially significantly wider than high. So which polarisation is flatside? Can a Jaybeam Multibeam be flatside too like a Yagi?
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Fair point Andy
However I still feel the rolling eyes comment is not required!
Anyway not to worry, a good contact was had by Al and I, surely that is the most important point!!!
73
Matt G8XYJ
In reply to MM0FMF:
I have nothing against CB, I got a CB license when it became legal in this country and enjoyed many interesting contacts before the infection of lunatic behaviour spoilt it for me. I also know some fine operators that crossed from CB to ham radio. The thing is that whilst some might find Andy’s attitude pedantic, I have to admit that I hadn’t got the faintest idea what “flatside” means until the ensuing discussion made it clear. So really, Andy has a point, use the language of CB in CB and the language of AR in AR, and that way we will communicate better - and that is largely what we are - communicators!
That said, I will now put on my Moderator hat and say that CB/AR squabbles have no place on this reflector, they are OT and if necessary the thread will be closed.
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
OK, to keep it separate from my last post, if you look in the database, and follow this chain: View Results > Activator Roll of Honour > Association > year 2012 > band 1240 MHz > All Modes, you will find that last year there were sixteen activators on 23 cm in the mainland UK.
73
Brian G8ADD
Good to work u today Matt and thanks for fighting my corner this type of answer doesnt suprise me at all …how I refer to how my beam is orientated is up to me very disappointed by all this but u do get a few inderividuals don’t u ,I can say now close your thread I won’t waste my time on here again …
In reply to MM0FMF:
Flat side is a ** expression.
That explains why I didn’t know what it meant.
I still don’t.
73,
Walt (G3NYY)
In reply to G7RHF:
Hi Al
I have been reluctant to seriously activate a summit on 23cm because it appears to be the exception, rather than the rule, to be able to “qualify” a summit with 4 contacts on 23cm unless you are in a 23cm hot-spot or happen to be on when there are others on summits.
The number of chasers with suitable set-ups seems to very limited and unless you are in their range (and they are on) contacts are going to be very sparse. Looking at the leading 23cm activators logs I do wonder how many times they have tried to alert/spot/call and have had no replies.
Because of my home location to chase I either have to go to the high spot which I use for contesting or be on a summit which coincides with an activation; even then I have to remember to take a radio which covers 23cm.
So far my best contact has been a summit to summit with Karen (2E0XYL) last year who was on Y Lliwedd (GW/NW-008) with me on Mynydd Sylen (GW/SW-036) a distance of 90.5 miles (146Km). The antenna I used was a home constructed 14el Yagi with an Alinco DJ-G7.
I may be tempted to take my 23cm transverter out with me when I redo some of the NW biggies so it would be nice to know if there are chasers that have SSB capability?
Carolyn
In reply to G6WRW:
Sorry Carolyn, FM only and only portable set up DJ-G7 with r/d or Diamond x-5000 which I sometimes use at home - certainly ok to work the NW biggies.
It was indeed a nice S2S contact from Y Lliwedd. We worked a similar distance approx 141km from Blencathra to Brian G4ZRP at his home QTH. 99% of the time I carry the DJ-G7 when activating so if anyone would like to try please ask.
My PC is with the techies at present so I can’t check my personal log unless I connect the back up external HDD, but I can say I put out a 23cms call from most summits and there have been quite a few with no response - some of them unexpected! I sometimes don’t call from surrounded 1 pointers unless I know there is a chaser nearby or out activating.
Look forward to some more 23cms S2S with you.
Karen
In reply to G6WRW:
Yes ssb and cw here but only “vertical polarization” with a Diamond x7000.
In reply to 2E0XYL:
Hi Karen,
Its interesting that youre using the Diamond X-5000 /p. This antenna is becoming quite popular amongst activators. You are the fourth activator that I`m aware of that uses this particular antenna. Have you used it on VHF or UHF from a summit?
It appears, activators now seeing the big advantages of a colinear over a beam. OK there’s a small amount of hassle needed to erect this type of antenna, OTOH, none of the the hassle of turning it though.
After more than 150 activations with various colinears, I can normally get the double/triple 5/8 up and running in about 15 minutes
The given gain figures of the Diamond X-5000 seem respectable for a antenna of a manageable 1.8m length when working /p (maybe a little shorter when broken down?)
4.5dBi (144MHz), 8.3dBi (430MHz), 11.7dBi (1200MHz)
At £140 pounds, not a cheap antenna though…
73 Mike
2E0YYY
In reply to G7RHF:
Please don’t over-react, Al, we’re really all friends here, it’s a good place to waste a little time and I act as long stop to stop things from getting anywhere near as raw as they do on eham or the zed, places where you really need a thick skin despite the strong moderation!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G6WRW:
…it would be nice to know if there are chasers that have SSB capability?
Yes indeed. My transverter weighs 2kg, so some chance of it getting used needs to be on the cards before it gets into my backpack!
As for flatside antennas (instantly understood despite no experience of CB), most of my 23cm FM QSOs have been horizontally polarised. Only rarely have I had to turn the quadruple quad on its side - that is horizontal in order to produce vertical polarisation. 
73, Gerald G4OIG
In reply to G6WRW:
Hi Carolyn
I may be tempted to take my 23cm transverter out with me when I redo
some of the NW biggies so it would be nice to know if there are
chasers that have SSB capability?
Like Gerald, I tend to take 23cm when I know there will be a good chance of a contact. My choice is for 23cm SSB if possible (to save the batteries), but I’m happy to do FM as well. By default I would use the normal conventions for horizontal and vertical polarisations, but am happy to switch polarisation - my portable 23cm beam is mounted so I just have to twist it to get the polarisation needed!
I’d be keen to try for some S2S contacts between GW and my summer haunts in Dumfries and Galloway; I’m often there from March onwards so will look out for your proposed activations and try to get up summits that would be suitable.
73
John GM8OTI
In reply to G7RHF:
Hi Alan,
I agree with you, it does not really matter how you refer to the orientation of your beam. I am therefore sorry you have had issues on here and have to tell you the same individual gave me hassle last year too!
But don’t let it worry you, keep smiling and ignore them. After all it is only a hobby, a great hobby at that and I for one will not be pushed out of SOTA activations by such comments!
Keep smiling buddy and look forward to seeing you at the Hereford club on Friday.
Simon
2E0CHV