Christmas Quiz 2014

It’s that time again! The traditional, sometimes annual, occasionally interesting and inevitably controversial Christmas Quiz will go live sometime between 1st December and, well, Christmas.

This year we are breaking with the previous format, and inviting everyone in the SOTA community to submit one (or more) quiz questions. So if you would like to have a question considered for inclusion, please email it to:

tommyread@hotmail.com

We can’t promise to include every question, and MT editorial decisions are final, but as we want the quiz to include at least 50 questions, we are looking to use most received contributions.

Questions that require a bit of puzzling/thinking about/working out are especially welcome, as opposed to those that might require a simple “lookup”.

So, start writing and submitting folks!

Note: please don’t submit a question by replying to this thread - send to the email address above!

Some excellent questions received this afternoon and this evening. But we still need more.

More info above.

The quiz is now being compiled. Many thanks to all that have submitted potential questions. Please continue to submit questions, as the quiz won’t be published until next weekend. See the first post in this thread for the email address to send them to.

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SOLVED 1. 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13. Why is the number 12 missing from this list?

SOLVED 2. Is it possible to submit the same SOTA activation in both the SWL and Chaser sections, after hearing then working it?*

SOLVED 3. You are driving a Eurostar train from London to Paris. The time is 1200 UTC and you can hear Bob F5HTR/p calling CQ SOTA on 14.280MHz SSB. You lose the signal until you emerge from the tunnel, but hear him again, much louder now on 7.032 MHz, this time on CW. You are using a Yaesu FT-817 with a vertical antenna, the train is travelling at 125mph and the bandwidth is set to 3kHz with AGC in the off position. Using the information given, what is the callsign of the person driving the train

-4. What are the complementary distinctions of G/LD-002 and G/LD-038?

SOLVED 5. Only two activators have activated all 17 originally listed Mourne Mountains (GI/MM) summits. Who will be the next to record this feat?

SOLVED 6. How many valid summit names can you find using the letters “SUMMITS ON THE AIR” ?

SOLVED 7. A Countdown Special. The numbers you have to work with and the number of VALID summits in each of the English regions (e.g. SP = 16). Using these numbers and the operands add, subtract, multiply or divide get as close as you can to the number 2015.

SOLVED 8. All but two Scottish Island SOTA summits are in the region GM/SI. So which Scottish summits are on islands, not part of the Scottish mainland and not in GM/SI?

SOLVED 9. On which SOTA summit is there an annual live performance of the 80s rock hit “68 Guns”, by the original artiste?

SOLVED 10. How many English and Welsh summits are on islands away from the mainland?

SOLVED 11. How many summits are named after flightless birds?

-12. If M1EYP was 1st, M0HGY was 2nd some 8 minutes later, while MI0JST and GI4ONL were equal third 1,428,728 minutes after that, then who is fifth?

SOLVED 13. One English SOTA summit is the occasional location of a double sunset; an extremely rare phenomena. Which summit; and when?

SOLVED 14. What is the closest SOTA summit to Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch ?

SOLVED 15. Which famous scientist would you associate with SOTA for two different reasons, and what are the reasons?

SOLVED 16. What SOTA summit would you find in front of tubular bells?

SOLVED 17. On what SOTA summit are you most likely to meet the S.A.S.?

SOLVED 18. English summit G/LD-002 has never been activated for SOTA. Why? Can you name the others in the same predicament?

SOLVED 19. Which is nearest to a SOTA summit? The Houses of Parliament (UK) or the Senate (US) - name the summit.

SOLVED 20. Which Premier League football ground is nearest to a SOTA summit?

SOLVED 21. What is Great Britain’s Easternmost SOTA summit?

SOLVED 22. What is the most common fish to appear in English summit names? How many times does it appear?

SOLVED 23. Here is a scene from the classic British film “Clockwise”. What SOTA summit is in the background?

SOLVED 24. Which currently valid summit reference contains the largest prime number?

SOLVED 25. What summit in Great Britain is most isolated from any other?

SOLVED 26. What is the highest summit in the VK5 association and who are the traditional owners of those lands? ‘

SOLVED 27. What dubious distinction links GM/CS-017, G/NP-014 and GW/NW-034?

SOLVED 28. Before Mount Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

SOLVED 29. Mount Everest (8848m) is connected by a ridge to Lohtse (8414m). The ridge drops to 7804m. What is the prominence of Lhotse? What is the prominence of Mount Everest?

SOLVED 30. Andrew and Mike are two keen SOTA activators. They resolve to see which one of them can score the most points in 2015, winter or summer bonuses not being counted. Andrew can only activate once on a weekend, either Saturday or Sunday. He is fortunate enough to live in a mountainous region where there are many 10 point peaks. He plans to activate a different 10 point peak each weekend. Mike is retired and can activate any or all weekdays, Monday to Friday inclusive. However domestic arrangements prohibit any activation on weekends. He too lives amongst a multitude of peaks but by some stroke of nature they are all 2 point summits. The only impediment to him activating every week day, holidays included, is the need to celebrate his wife’s birthday which includes a long lunch and a prohibition on activating a peak that day. Who will score the most points? Assume no cancelled activations and no failed activations.

SOLVED 31. Which are these popular summits?
(a) Night Sir No
(b) Ethanol Knoll
© Humane option
(d) Red News Hi
(e) Meagre Tor

SOLVED 32. Which SOTA summit, that shares a name with the original compiler of the British 150m prominence list, is furthest west?

SOLVED 33. Two summits have four consecutive letters of the alphabet in alphabetical order in their name - which two?

SOLVED 34. Identify these SOTA summit building sites:
(a)
(b)
©

-35. What’s the summit?
Pendle Hill – 7354 – 6982 - Shining Tor - Sheep Rock Mountain - Jones Mountain – 2166 - 6982

SOLVED 36. Which Welsh summit is nearest to Sodom?

SOLVED 37. What is the link between Dr Seuss and SOTA?

SOLVED 38. Describe the terrain of the saddle between Ben Nevis GM/WS-001 and its parent peak.

SOLVED 39. How many English and Welsh summits have part of a golf course in some or all of its activation zone?

SOLVED 40.

This topic is closed, so replying with answers is not possible. The answers (and discussion) thread will be opened sometime on (UK) Christmas Eve, December 24th. This is to allow all parts of the SOTA world to have an opportunity to have a good look at the quiz before answers are posted. We are now much more global than previous years, and so need to avoid spoilers being posted before some people have even woken up!

When the answers thread is opened, the format will be as in previous years. Answers may only be posted as replies to that thread. Any discussion about the content may also take place on this thread. (There are hopefully some interesting concepts to stimulate some chat).

ONLY ONE ANSWER IS PERMITTED PER POST. If you have answers for several questions, you must make a separate reply for each one.

If the crossword clues are difficult to read, simply click on the image and a bigger version will open up.

Many thanks to Ron VK3AFW, Richard G3CWI, Mike G4BLH, Mark G0VOF, Don M0HCU, Martyn M1MAJ, Roy G4SSH, Mike VK3XL, Andy MM0FMF, Ian VK5CZ and Gerald MW0WML for contributing possible questions. (Apologies to anyone I’ve omitted). Please don’t answer your own questions chaps!

Enjoy - and Merry Christmas!

Tom M1EYP and the SOTA Management Team

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