G4YSS Activation Report G/SP5, SP8 & SP2 on 05-03-15
Issue-1
GX0OOO/P on:
G/SP-005 Pendle Hill
G/SP-008 Boulsworth Hill (Lad Law)
G/SP-002 Black Hill
2m-FM QRO
All times UTC.
G4YSS - Unaccompanied.
Equipment:
Kenwood TM702-E; 25 Watt 2m/ 70cm Mobile.
Home-brew vertical J-Pole for 2m. Two-section short aluminium mast.
Icom IC-E90 Four Band (6-4-2-70) H/H in reserve (not used).
One 6Ah Li-Po Battery for all three activations (77% depleted.)
Pack Weight: 8.1kg (17.9 pounds) inc 250ml water.
INTRO:
The target was intended to be a handful NPâs but todayâs mountain forecast was better for the SP region. MWIS indicated âno rain and summit temps of around 3 degreesâ Winds would be 25 mph for the Peak District and 35 to 45 mph, combined with possible drizzle and low-cloud for the Yorkshire Dales. These summits are more or less between the two regions, though SP2 is on the Derbyshire border.
I have been suffering from sore throats and latterly bronchitis through from mid October albeit with a couple of three week gaps so I had no desire to get wet through with drizzle and low-cloud combined with wind chill. Another minor consideration was the fact that I did these three last winter so planning would be reduced along with the report afterwards. Every little helps.
I didnât mind that they were just 2-pointers. Only the bonus interests me at present but it was with regret that once again, I chose 2m-FM only activations. To try and balance a little of that out and help a few extra chasers make it into the log, I took 25 Watt capability with me; though I ended up using 10 Watts most of the time.
The down side to adding SP2 at the end is the tortuous route that must be followed from SP8 through seemingly endless small towns and villages that bar the way. It works out at 39 miles and upon firing it up, the satnav stated â1-hour.â In reality, with all the delays and roadworks etc, it takes 90 minutes. Thank goodness I no longer have to do it with a map, a home made route sheet and a GPS intended only for walking.
EXECUTION:
I left Scarborough for the 94.5 mile drive at 04:33, arriving via York & Harrogate at the start of the route, Barley Lane by 06:42. It was just past daybreak and the WX was fine if somewhat blustery.
SP5 ROUTE:
From Barley Lane at SD 81451 41617, you walk WSW up the farm track to turn right onto a footpath at SD 80963 41335, passing through a gate at SD 80892 41358 which gives access to the hill proper. From there itâs steeply up a stone cobbled path via SD 80801 41395 to the lip of the ridge at SD 80625 41798. Itâs then just a matter of turning left and following a gentle, though boggy path along the flattish top, to the summit (SD 8046 4141). Starting at 06:59 and helped by steps, the short ascent took 29 minutes. Some care was needed on the upper sections where melting snow over ice created a minor hazard.
I hesitated for a while at the wall, looking longingly at it in the hope that some respite from the cold wind could be obtained for the duration of the activation. Sadly Murphyâs Law states that nine times out of ten the wind shall blow precisely down the wallâs length. Obviously that is an exaggeration but it certainly was the situation today.
I pressed on to the summit and settled a few feet from the trig. Next I tried to deploy my newly acquired windbreak but ironically, it was too windy for a windbreak! Neither would its home-brew carbon sticks penetrate the stony ground to any useful depth. With rucksack and gloves under threat from the 25 mph gusty draught, I ended up in a fight with the windbreak but eventually got it under control and rolled up. After erecting the mast and readying the station and log, the umbrella was pressed into wind breaking service. That old brolly has proved it credentials many times.
G/SP-005: PENDLE HILL, 557m, 2 pts. 07:28 to 08:19, 2 Deg.C. 25 mph wind. Overcast but no low-cloud. Slight drizzle on the descent. Small patches of lying snow. IO83UU, WAB SD84. (EE - Orange phone signal.)
145.400 FM - 16 QSOâs:
Yet again G0VOF responded to my initial CQ with a 59 report on my 10 Watt signal. Mark kindly spotted me and at the same time informed chasers of the dayâs targets; namely âG/SP-008 & G/SP-002 along with time estimates.â 2E0DIJ/M was a fleeting contact who called in at the same time as Mark and was given mobile priority. There was no time to exchange names or even a QSY to a working channel from S20, before he went down a hill and out of range. Prior to that however, reports were hurriedly exchanged making it a valid QSO.
After Mark and the /M came 14 other chasers as follows: G0AKU Bob in Ellesmere Port; M0RSF Chris in Leeds; M6PXP Chris in Settle (who gave me a second spot); G8MIA Andy in South Staffs; M1MAJ/A and M3ZCB/A (Martyn & Caroline in their back garden in Blackpool). G4OBK Phil in Pickering; G7MRV/M Martin in Cumberworth; G3NPJ Alan 12 miles north of Chester; G6XBF Walt in Leeds (550ft ASL); M3RDZ Roy in Burnley; M6JFS Rich at Parsonâs Cross, Sheffield; G8VNW Nick in Threshfield and M0RES Bob in Barnsley town centre.
Martin G7MRV/M plans to do the Lyke Wake Walk in June this year for the MIND charity. This was of interest to me as I completed this walk in the 1970âs as it is on the âdoorstepâ of my home QTH in Scarborough. I donât envy Martin though. Being long and rather flat, it really is a âkillerâ of some 42 miles and it destroys the mind as well as the body!
Phil G4OBK has spent some time mending his 2m antenna and there was no signal fluctuation today. Nick G8VNW is always appreciative of VHF contacts, living in a Yorkshire Dales valley as he does.
The descent took until 08:43 followed by a 9.9 mile/ 30 minute drive to a point near Beaver Farm, Trawden for SP8, where I parked at 09:16.
SP8 ROUTE:
For Boulsworth Hill I walk from a farm track east of Trawden at SD 9256 3738. There is space for one car to park without blocking either the road or gates. I always make sure mine is touching the fence. I donât mind a few scratches, especially if itâs in a good cause and itâs one reason; though not the only reason, why I run an old banger.
The route goes east along the track towards Beaver farm, near where in 2004 I found ladders and stiles (marked then at SD 9281 3736; SD 9282 3731 & SD 9286 3712) that take you over farmland to the hill. Last year I wasnât paying proper attention and ended up walking east along the track to a gate exiting the farmland at SD 9333 3724. I then had to walk back west to climb the hill from SD 9276 3693 via the planned route. All very annoying but this year I found the first stile and all was well. To locate it, you must turn sharp right from the track at the cattle grid and follow the wall up to the right of the farm. The stiles take you through the farmland and downhill to a metalled road probably build to service the tiny reservoir.
You follow the service road as far as a United Utilities building at SD 9283 3679; skirting that to the left to find the grassy path. Just beyond at SD 9294 3664, a kissing gate allows access to the open fell. After that it is plain sailing going SE up a boggy but well defined path for a distance of 1.2 km to the summit ridge at SD 9336 3604 then a further 600m SW along a very wet ridge path to the trig point.
The start time for the ascent of SP8 was 09:22 and took 47 minutes. Stupidly I had left the umbrella in the car. I tried the windbreak again but it was no good. The carbon sticks were bending alarmingly; the wind pressure on it being too great.
G/SP-008: BOULSWORTH HILL, 517m, 2 pts, 10:03 to 10:50, 4 Deg.C. 25 mph wind. Overcast but no low-cloud. Small patches of lying snow. LOC: IO83WT, WAB: SD93. OS Trig Point No: S1540. (EE (Orange) phone signal.)
145.375 FM - 14 QSOâs:
There is never enough spare coax to get completely out of the cold wind so I sat near the trig point. The announced QRG of 145.400 was in use. Putting out a 10 Watt CQ on S20 brought in G8MIA Andy in South Staffs using 100 Watts to a 10-ely beam! He gave me a 57 report with QSB. It had been 52 from Pendle Hill. Andy was coming in at 59
After that first contact I logged: G6HMN Ray in nearby Winewall; G0HRT Rob in Southport; 2E0JCM John in Blackburn; M0MDA Mick in Leeds; G0VOF/M Mark H/H near work; G8VNW Nick in Threshfield near Grassington; G4WHA/M Geoff in Penrith; M6RUG Dave in Crewe; GW7CEA Dave near Wrexham; M1MAJ/A and M3ZCB/A (Martyn & Caroline in Blackpool); G6XBF Walt in North Leeds and G6LKB Dave in Ulverston. Incoming reports ranged between 34 (M6RUG) and 59. Many of the chasers were 59 to me.
G0HRT, Robâs thin disguise was immediately spotted but did he have a heavy cold or was just a different microphone? It turned out to be a DX mic. from the MH family, which I think is Yaesu.
Dave G6LKB seemed pleased to bag the SOTA, the WAB square and the trig point. The latter had a serial number plate which was painted blue with lettering picked out in white. I think someone must have been going around painting the trig points. I noticed this one and later the one on SP2 were both clean and very white.
A blustery descent in the south-westerly wind was completed by 11:21 which put me the better part of an hour ahead of last yearâs schedule. The tedious 39 mile drive to Holme Moss through Hebden Bridge, Mytholmroyd, Luddenden Foot etc etc followed. This took up one and a half hours to 12:57.
Last year I went from the A635/ Pennine Way layby but today I thought I would give the infamous south-eastern approach from Holme Moss mast a try. Itâs a long time since I walked this route. In fact it was August 1977 and I have completely forgotten what itâs like. Several bad reports from SOTA ops made me avoid it last year but I do remember carrying an aluminium casting in the form of a nose wheel yoke belonging to one of a pair of crashed Gloster Meteors (1951) from well beyond Black Hill to the road at Holme Moss, so it canât have been that bad. The item, wanted for a museum, was heavy and I carried it around my neck all the way.
SP2 ROUTE:
The path wasnât easy to find and I lost it in short order after straying too far to the right towards the imposing radio mast. At SE 09199 04246, I was surprised to find a 1m high conifer, stunted by the wind. The ground was rough in places but I found sections of quad track here and there. I wonât use them again however; having found the path on the way back, I will follow that in future. The last part was via the correct path and I was able to back-track it on the return and tie it down using the GPS (see below). I reached the trig point (GPSâd last year at SE 07816 04683) in 36 minutes which compares favourably with 43 minutes for the northern route ascent last year. One reason for that is ascent. 269m for the northern route and approximately 65m from Holme Moss.
The path was GPS marked on the return but the waypoints listed here are in order from Holme Moss: Leave the roadside (free) car park (more a large layby) at the stile - SE 09615 03704 then follow a boggy path through: SE 09552 03716; SE 09450 03762; SE 09279 03928; SE 09135 04140. The path veers towards the deep gully to your left and then starts to follow its lip going via SE 08988 04252; SE 08881 04370; SE 08662 04576 until it crosses the stream at the head of the gully (Heyden Head) - SE 08431 04754. Here the loss of altitude is insignificant.
After the crossing, the direction changes from NW to W and it is followed to the summit, much of the time in waterlogged gullies via: SE 08293 04691; SE 08149 04741; SE 07947 04721 and SE 07848 04697. It is not such a bad route after all. I half expected bare black peat but the area is well âclothedâ with grass and in places, heather. I have experienced much worse but thereâs always that danger of turning an ankle on tussocks.
G/SP-002: BLACK HILL, 582m, 2pts, 13:41 to 14:24. 4 deg.C. 30-35 mph wind. Part overcast, no low-cloud. Small patches of lying snow. LOC: IO93BM, WAB: SE00. (EE (Orange) phone signal.)
145.400 FM - 9 QSOâs:
As on SP8, I had planned to activate short of the summit proper but force of habit drove me up to the trig for the third time today. There was nobody around and in the windy conditions prevailing, that was unlikely to change, so I set up in the lee of the trig pointâs stone built plinth. It was still very draughty but the scant advantage it gave would suffice for the short time I expected the activation to take. I had to use stones to weigh down my gloves and sit mat etc. In winter I always put on a Primaloft jacket for the activation but I donât walk in it, making a point of removing it for the descent.
The antenna was erected just beside the trig which I suppose resulted in a bit of screening. I had not changed the 6Ah battery used for the other two summits, so elected to start on 10 Watts with the intention of 25 Watts near the end.
A CQ on S20 brought in G6CHD Paul in Wigan with 59 both ways. After this came: G6XBF Walt in Leeds. G0VOF/M Mark had taken the trouble to install himself on a high spot near Darwen. Then came G0OHY Arthur in Worsley; G0RLN Keith in Pontefract; 2E0LKC Peter next to Manchester Airport; G0UXC also Peter 10 miles east of Liverpool; M0MDA Mick in Leeds and M6AIA Andy in Dewsbury.
25 Watts were used for the final four stations including at least two CQâs on S20. Incoming reports were mainly 56 to 59 with a 51 from G0UXC revised upwards to 58 due to a âlazy meter.â The exchange with Mark G0VOF was 56 both ways, proving it was worth the trouble of relocation.
I was expecting similar numbers of QSOâs when compared with the earlier two summits but in fact there were fewer callers. I finished with 25 Watt CQâs on .400 and on .500 but went QRT without making double figures.
Final Descent:
The walk down took 34 minutes to 14:28 but I didnât rush as there were a lot of waypoints to be captured as well as photos when the sun appeared briefly for the first time in the day. I was also tempted to look for the Fairy Swordfish wreck which I had visited at Heyden Head at SE085046 in 1977 but it was the gullies that had collected most of the snow, which would have made it hard to find. That and the fact that there was precious little of it last time I saw it put me off. Also, I was now so far ahead of schedule, if I got my skates on, I could be home before the rush hour. In fact, if thereâd been another summit available, I could have slotted it in and still got back at a civilised time.
I saw a nice Mountain Hare on the return. It was losing itâs white winter coat. There were also a few noisy Red Grouse and the sound of generators coming from the base of Holme Moss Mast.
The 99 mile drive home via the A628 Barnsley Road, M1 and A64 took from 15:08 to 17:08. The traffic was reasonable. The MP3 retransmitted into the car radio on 87.5 MHz, kept me company again and a total of 243 miles were driven in the day. I canât remember getting home from a SOTA expedition this early; in fact just in time for evening meal.
QSOâs:
SP05: 16
SP08: 14
SP02: 9
Total: 39
Battery Utilisation:
6Ah Li-Po - 77% discharged (tested) for 35 x 10 Watt and 4 x 25 Watt QSOâs.
Ascent & Distance:
SP05: 287m ascent/ 3.6km. Times: 29U, 24D.
SP08: 287m ascent/ 5.5km. Times: 47U-31D.
SP02: 65m ascent/ 4.8km. Times: 36U, 34D.
TOTAL: 639m (2,096ft) Ascent - 13.6km (8.5 miles walked).
Times: 1hr-52 min of ascent; 1hr-29 min of descent. Total: 3hr-21 min at 2.5 mph ave.
Activator points: 15.
Good DAB reception in most areas.
Chronology:
Left Scarborough: 04:33
Arr. Barley Lane (94.5 miles): 06:42
Walk for SP5: 06:59
SP5: 07:28 to 08:19
Rtn. Barley Lane: 08:43
Drive 9.9 miles via Trawden: 08:46
Arr. Beaver Farm: 09:16
Walk for SP8: 09:22
SP8: 10:03 to 10:50
Rtn. Beaver Farm: 11:21
Drive 39.2 miles to Holme Moss: 11:27
Arr. Holme Moss: 12:57
Walk for SP2: 13:05
SP2: 13:41 to 14:24
Rtn. Holme Moss:14:58
Drive Scarborough 99.4 miles: 15:08 to 17:08.
Distance driven: 243 miles.
OBSERVATIONS:
The MWIS WX forecast was about spot on. No low-cloud, almost no rain, temps of 2 to 4C and fairly high winds.
This was a quite an easy day with just 2000 feet of ascent and 8.5 miles walked. What made it seem more were the drives between summits. The one band, one mode approach from the Kenwood TM702-T 25 Watt FM Mobile was a winner though chasers further afield wonât see it that way.
There were no S2Sâs and I was surprised by this until on returning home, I saw the meagre number of SOTAWATCH spots for the day.
In theory at least, two pointers should be the most efficient way to pick up winter bonus. Sometimes I wish there were a few more of them in NP & LD.
Buying a lightweight windbreak and going to the trouble of modifying it for quick deployment, seemed like a good plan at the time. In fact a lot of strength is required to erect it in winds over about 10 to 15 mph. Though I havenât given in yet, it is somewhat disappointing though possibly itâs just a matter of working out a better technique.
Thanks to ALL STATIONS WORKED and to the spotters: G0VOF; M6PXP and G8MIA.
17 down, 7 to go.
73, John G4YSS.
(Using GX0OOO/P; Scarborough Special Events Group Club Call)
PHOTOS:
Above: The G/SP-005 Trig Point and H/B two section VHF mast. (Poor quality photo in dull condx)
Above: G/SP-008 Trig & VHF Activation
Above: G/SP-002 Trig & VHF Activation
Above: G/SP-002/ Holme Moss âpathâ showing wet gullies.
Above: G/SP-002/ Holme Moss path. The better sections below the Heyden Head crossing point
Above: G/SP-002/ Holme Moss path. Closer to Holme Moss.
