EI/GI trip & 250 uniques

Old Reflector
1

And we will travel through G and GM to get there! Operation from three of the four DXCCs will probably be no more than 2m FM mobile though.

We are off to the south west shore of Carlingford Lough, Co. Louth in the Republic of Ireland. But EI SOTAs will not be in the plans, even though a few are handily placed from our holiday accommodation. This is because I have a ‘pact’ with Jimmy that we don’t do new uniques without each other, especially after the massive effort we both put in to synchronize our records!

But where we are staying is very close to the EI/GI border, so we hope to do some activating in GI/CA - County Armagh (bandit country) and GI/MM - Mourne Mountains.

The holiday dates are 24th to 29th October 2010, and from the 25th, Jimmy and I hope to continue our routine of early get-ups to bag a morning SOTA activation before reporting back to the rest of the family. On one of the days, we hope to do a more significant two summit traverse type walk in the Mourne Mountains.

As usual, days/times/summits on the alerts will be guidelines only and very flexible. Bands/modes are likely to be 40m CW, 40m SSB and 2m FM. We will endeavour to self-spot consistently to confirm summit ref and working QRG. I have been trying to email the GI AM Colin, but suspect I have an out-of-date email address.

The first activation we do on the trip will be the 250th activator unique for both Jimmy and myself, so the company of many chasers would be particularly welcome for that one.

73, Tom M1EYP

2

In reply to M1EYP:

“We are off to the south west shore of Carlingford Lough, Co. Louth in the Republic of Ireland. But EI SOTAs will not be in the plans, even though a few are handily placed from our holiday accommodation. This is because I have a ‘pact’ with Jimmy that we don’t do new uniques without each other, especially after the massive effort we both put in to synchronize our records!”

"Jimmy and I hope to continue our routine of early get-ups to bag a morning SOTA activation "

Im lost Tom - surely its possible for you & Jimmy to do an EI summit without compromising your “pact”

3

In reply to G1INK:

Im lost Tom - surely its possible for you & Jimmy to do an EI
summit without compromising your “pact”

Jimmy is an M6 - no CEPT recip rights.

Colin G8TMV

4

In reply to G8TMV:
ok - ta

5

Hi Colin and Steve,

I am an M3 not an M6 but M3 and M6 are both classed as foundation licences and I am not allowed to operate in EI or any other country outside the UK until I get my full licence.

Jimmy M3EYP

6

In reply to M3EYP:

I am an M3 not an M6

Oops, sorry.

I am not allowed to operate in EI or any other country
outside the UK until I get my full licence.

Well I hope you manage to find the time to study for it (and presumably the Intermediate first) soon.

Colin

7

In reply to M3EYP:
You can operate in LZ with an M3 callsign.

MM0FMF/M
Dalwhinnie

8

Hi Colin,

I will be going for intermediate licence first then the full licence.

Jimmy M3EYP

9

In reply to M3EYP:

I will be going for intermediate licence first then the full licence.

And the Morse last or will you do that whilst studying for the others?

:wink:

Andy
MM0FMF

10

In reply to MM0FMF:

And the Morse last or will you do that whilst studying for the
others?

If his Dad has anything to do with it he will be doing the exam in morse!

Colin G8TMV

11

A note that the next activation undertaken by M1EYP & M3EYP will be our 250th activator unique. Myself and Jimmy are both on 249 uniques, and we’re heading off to Ireland in the next hour. We are staying in EI, but as mentioned above will only be activating on the other side of the border in GI.

The next activation - and our 250th unique - is likely to be either Sunday afternoon or early Monday morning.

Tom M1EYP

12

And we’re back, late on Friday night after a long journey that began at 05:45 BST in Omeath, Republic of Ireland.

The main facts and figures are as follows (detailed activation reports in due course):

Sunday 24th October: GI/CA-001 Slieve Gullion, 4 points
250th unique for both M1EYP and M3EYP. Late afternoon walk. Got out of the Forest Park Drive just before the gates were locked at 7pm!

Monday 25th October: GI/CA-002 Camlough Mountain, 2 points
Only the 2nd and 3rd activations of this summit after Bill G4WSB. Early morning expedition, ascent by bright moonlight!

Tuesday 26th October: GI/CA-004 Croslieve, 1 point
Jimmy M3EYP claims the first activation of this summit. Early morning outing, but later start of 6am BST get-up.

Wednesday 27th October: GI/MM-006 Slievelamagan, 8 points
Big walk of 9 miles and 2000ft of ascent. GI/MM-003 Slieve Binnian omitted due to lack of time (and energy). All day outing - first hour of walking in darkness.

Thursday 28th October: GI/CA-005 Tievecrom, 1 point
Liam joins us for this one. Only the 2nd and 3rd activations of this summit after Bill G4WSB. Very difficult approach - would be interested to compare with how Bill tackled it. Tom M1EYP claims the first activator completion of the GI/CA (County Armagh) region. Late afternoon outing, back at car just before rain and dusk.

Friday 29th October: GI/MM-010 Slieve Croob, 4 points
Liam with us again. Very early (ascent by headtorch) activation en route north to Larne for ferry.

Final scores: 20 points, 6 uniques.
M1EYP - 156 QSOs: 4 x 80m CW, 1 x 80m SSB, 151 x 40m CW
M3EYP - 25 QSOs: 2 x 80m SSB, 23 x 2m FM

Many thanks to all our callers and spotters - your support was greatly appreciated.

Tom M1EYP

13

BTW, going back to the earlier point, Jimmy has found a way for him to activate an EI summit. There are a couple of summits in the EI association that are close to the GI border, such that part of the AZ falls in GI!

Tom M1EYP

14

Activation report and some good photos now online for the first SOTA of the GI trip - Slieve Gullion GI/CA-001.

http://tomread.co.uk/slieve_gullion_ca-001.htm

Tom M1EYP

15

Activation report and photos of Camlough Mountain GI/CA-002 now on my website - a really enjoyable activation where we ascended by moonlight and watched the sunrise from the summit.

http://tomread.co.uk/camlough_mountain_ca-002.htm

Tom M1EYP

16

Activation report and photos of Croslieve GI/CA-004 now online as well. This was the last remaining unactivated summit in the County Armagh region, and the glory was claimed by Jimmy M(I)3EYP.

http://tomread.co.uk/croslieve_ca-004.htm

Tom M1EYP

17

Slievelamagan GI/MM-006 now added. This was a full day’s walking in the beautiful Mourne Mountains, and there are lots of photos on this page.

http://tomread.co.uk/slievelamagan_mm-006.htm

Tom M1EYP

18

The final County Armagh summit - Tievecrom GI/CA-005, now added.

http://tomread.co.uk/tievecrom_ca-005.htm

Tom M1EYP

19

The final activation of the trip has now been added - Slieve Croob GI/MM-010.

http://tomread.co.uk/slieve_croob_mm-010.htm

The photos are quite nice and certainly capture the early morning light (or lack thereof!)

Now all six GI activations from this trip are on the website, it is possible to navigate through them in chronological order - by clicking on the links near the end of each activation report. Go to:

http://tomread.co.uk

…and select Slieve Gullion GI/CA-001 (the first SOTA activation of the holiday) in the SOTA index.

Enjoy. (And if you do, please sign the guestbook).

73, Tom M1EYP

20

In reply to M1EYP:
Thanks for reports. Considering the propagation conditions, I was very pleased to hear you and feature in three logs.
73 de Mike, Ei2CL