Great Chaser Behaviour

On Monday I completed an activation of Waun Rydd GW/SW-004 & Tor y Foel GW/SW-013 activation report available [here][1].

A pleasant point of note about this activation was the behaviour of all the chasers whilst I was on Tor y Foel. Having started to work the pile-up on 40m I was called by Pete GW4ISJ/P on 2-fm from Pen y Fan GW/SW-001 for a S2S. I quickly advised those calling on HF that I had a S2S on 2m and requested they standby. On return from 2m to 7-ssb I put out one call and continued with the pile-up. After all the recent bad press some chasers have received it was a real pleasure to work such a well mannered and patient bunch of chasers – thank you.

73 Glyn
[1]: http://www.g4cfs.co.uk

7 Likes

Hi Glyn

Thanks for the link and the report on your blog…mmm I think I’m on the good side of 60 :slight_smile: also I think you’ve pinched my office…a nice little indentation :slight_smile:

73 Allan GW4VPX

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Hi Glyn

Thanks for the report, and for the S2S. Minor point, though, I was running 5W from an FT817, not 40.

I think the difference in activity is down to location. There seem to be a relatively high number of Amateurs active on 2m FM in range from many North Wales summits.
Also, Gyrn Moelfre is a nice steep sided “pointy” summit, giving good VHF take off in all directions.

73
Adrian
G4AZS

Nice to work you Glyn from a bitterly cold Pen y Fan.
I hadn’t realised that you were working 40m. I had very intermittent network connectivity and when I received the spot I just hoped for the best and put out the blind call.
More astounding was the follow on call from Adrian straight after. He was so loud and clear that I thought he was standing next to me. A very decent signal at 70 miles to NW-049.

Glad you enjoyed Waun Rydd. It’s one of my favourite SW spots.

73
Pete

Hello
Vy gd !!
I like your report
Wales is one of my best travels
73
alain

Great to get the S2S Adrian. Must have been my ears misleading me I thought I heard to say to the previous station that you were running 40W - it certainly sounded like it at my end.

Great to get the S2S from Pen y Fan Pete - I agree about the temperature, my fingers froze when I was on Waun Rydd. It was relatively warm on Tor y Foel. I noticed from your blog that you and Allan have similar wind shelters which looked very interesting. Where did you get them from?

Catch you both again very soon

73 Glyn

Its still possible to get 2m contacts in the “Green Desert” area of NW, which is always reassuring…

Not many people realize the scale of this, I was initially surprised !

Jonathan

2 Likes

Hello Glyn,

Thanks for another summit and thanks for the good press for chasers, we mean no harm most of us.

I know some would like to strap them to trees, apply rusty croc clips to the most sensitive parts of their body and then flay them with broken squid/roach poles and then strangle them with broken dipoles made from flimsy wire. :wink:

Big storm hit for awhile - sun, then wind gusts to 60mph, sleet and rain and then sun here in East Sussex.

I hope to hear you next time - now off for evening meal.

Cheers
Mike

and that’s just for sending their callsign twice!!!

1 Like

Is Mike’s call sign N1GHT then? :thinking:

Glyn,
Quite a few people have asked the same question!
We’re both using the little UST Base Tarp.
This is only a small tarp (fits in your pocket) and is unusual in that it’s a diamond shaper rather than the more traditional square. It means it can only really be pitched in a diamond fly format but sometimes as a lean-to.

Diamond Fly (single support)

Lean-to (with 2 walking poles)

While it’s not as versatile as a larger square tarp, with multiple attachment points, it does the job for activations. With 6 titanium pegs it weighs in at 250g. I wouldn’t have survived any length of time without it on 001 or 005 unless I used my bothy bag (which is heavier and less convenient and weighs 350g). It pitches in less than a minute, in fact it takes longer to put away than pitch!

Normally pitched using one of my walking poles which I normally always carry.
I like the Tarp because, as long as the visibility is good, you are still sitting outside and have view of the place you’ve made an effort to visit. I also find you tend to get tangled up in a bothy bag and you get a cold back as you are not isolated from the side of the windbreak. They both have their uses however.

I intend to do a real time pitching video to show just how easy it is to deploy. Maybe next week, wx permitting.

I bought mine through Amazon although there are other sellers.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ultimate-Survival.../dp/B009A2JVFO
UST make several other tarps like the tube and hex which may be better in some cases (and of course there are many other tarps of all sizes available)

Here’s a few seconds of video, both inside and outside the shelter of the tarp.
Audio is raw undoctored from the camera so you can appreciate the calmness out of the wind, in comparison to outside in the wild.

73

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The Mountain Laurel Designs Dog Tarp is 5 x 5 feet, six ounces, and $55 US. That is the same size as the UST Base Tarp, half the weight, and I have no idea what either one costs in the UK. The UST Base Tarp is $21 from Amazon in the US.

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=122

I have an MLD Speedmid tent and it is very well made.

wunder

Looks good.
The UST tarp comes in at 8oz with 6 titanium pegs plus guy line.
It’s currently $30 US in the UK with free shipping :slight_smile:

I’ve had one of these UST Base Tarps in my pack for over a year now. I picked it up at Wally World (WalMart) for about $12 US. First thing I did was to get rid of those heavy steel pegs and replace them with some MSR groundhogs I had laying around. I think I have more $$ into the pegs than I do the tarp :wink:

WG0AT did a nice video on it about a year ago too: Wind Shelter TARP including PART 2 - YouTube

I see now that the price had doubled compared to what I paid ;-(

Todd KH2TJ