Hi Guys just back from activating Will Neck and Staple Hill and what a day it has been!
Some people forget their radios, mics, aerials or morse keys - today I forgot my phone. Not an issue I hear you say but it is when I don’t wear a watch and rely on my fone for the time. I was having to keep asking stations what the time was so I could keep a half decent log. Not that there was much of a log to write. Radio conditions where appalling at the very least although I did manage to qualify both hills. What made it worse was having to revert to good old fashioned SOTA without self spotting (no fone). I was also having to revert to good old fashioned tuning up and down the bands looking for stations as I had no access to Sotawatch (no fone). I didn’t realise how much I used my fone on an activation - scary.
Anyway back to the title of this topic - I had been working a steady flow of European stations on 40 CW when I was called by Mirko S52CU/P for S2S QSO. Unfortunately as soon as he finished calling me the whole world started calling him!!! WHY OH WHY do certain chasers never listen to the frequency before opening their stupid mouths. It was obvious that Mirko was calling me because he included my callsign in the call and added S2S!!! For at least two of the stations this is not the first time I have heard them doing this, though this was the first time it has happened to me directly. Fortunately Mirko called me again and we were able to get the S2S QSO complete.
On Sunday I activated Mynydd Eppynt, GW/SW-018, on 40m CW. First, I was berated by a Dutch chaser who took exception to the fact that I had worked a DL station before him. He seemed to think that Dutch stations should always be given priority over German stations! A little later, my attempted QSO with a Welsh station was QRMed by another Dutch station (an FOC member!!!) who tuned and diddled on top of us, then called me repeatedly. When I declined to answer him, he started a lengthy CQ call on the frequency. Needless to say, he did not go into my log.
As for conditions … yes, they have been abysmal since Monday afternoon. There was a magnetic storm with a K index of higher than 6. It is only just beginning to subside now. Despite that, I was lucky enough to work John, GM4YSS/P, on Ben Nevis this morning. He was on 5.300 MHz, first on CW then on SSB. Thanks, John! A nice 10-pointer on an almost-dead band.
Yes, I also had a station today asking “are you a SOTA station” several times then clearing off when I asked for his callsign. Seems we are attracting some ‘Trolls’
Managed to work John on The Ben when he was on 7.160Mhz SSB, one of 5 S2S’s today.
That’s a new one on me Glyn, but several times I have been thrown off the frequency by chasers calling the other station on my frequency when I have just completed an S2S. On those occasions I have just moved up a couple of kHz and called CQ again. On CW the RBN soon directed the chasers that wanted to work me to where I was. I have learned over the years that on CW the path of least resistance is probably the best and least time wasting.
Ha, you ought to try out activating non-SOTA hills such as HuMPs. It is something you have to get used to. Some people are getting very picky as to who gets into their log, assuming they keep one of course!