m0ydh

Hello SOTA people

M0YDH is my new callsign. M0 callsigns are tricky to find from the remainder. I’d hoped for M1DEI or M0DEI which would be CW friendly but alas not on offer. Thanks to everyone in SOTA for help, encouragement and making this award scheme such a rewarding part of the hobby. I studied with Telford & District ARS and cannot praise the club’s examiner and tutor Mike G3JKX enough.

Last Thursday on Cadair Idris was the last outing for 2W0DAI/P . I gave it a good send off by cycling from home in Wolverhampton with the family over four days to get to the base of the mountain and stay at Hafod Dywyll farm campsite [just above Kings YHA and very cheap]. I can recommend the crossing of the Berwyns on the Hirnant pass for sheer cycling grit needed to get over and gorgeous scenery. We were glad to reach the summit of the pass and the family were delighted when they made sure I didn’t start riding from there towards GW/NW-032 Cyrniau Nod! The descent into my home valley was a delight. I grew up in Rhos-y-Gwaliau in the Hirnant valley so finally getting round to cycling over the pass and down towards “home” was a great feeling. I couldn’t pass the turning for Plas Rhiwaeadog - the former Bala youth hostel where we lived and my parents worked - without a look. http://www.eryri-npa.gov.uk/hafan/heritage/cultural_heritage_planning/rhiwaedog/rhiwaedog_gallery_3.htm shows that it is in peril of becoming a ruin. It’s a sad sight. Perhaps some of you stayed there over twenty years ago?
Back to the activation. We climbed GW/NW-009 by the Pony Track in fair conditions and it was my youngest son Peter’s first Mountain ascent. After lunch in the summit refuge I coaxed a last SMS message out of my phone [before the battery failed] to send a FMF spot. I’d carried a SOTABeam MFD dipole belonging to my Friday activations buddy Alastair 2E0SCZ [was M6ALR till last month - also thanks to G3JKX] rather than the beam and fishing pole. I tuned the 817 to 144.3 usb and called cq. Roger G0TRB answered the call and we qsy’ed to 144.320 for which he put up a spot. Thanks Roger. After a long period of calling CQ I finally spoke with Walt G3NYY/P who was out on Birdlip Hill. Frank G3RMD wanted to know why the signal wasn’t as strong as normal. No reflector and director on this one my friend. I now have my own MFD for future Lakeland multiple Wainwright walks. I had five calls on ssb in total. I caught Matt 2W0XTL/M on the A55 with 2m FM and rather hope we managed to exchange reports. 2W0DAI/P concluded with a QSO mostly in Welsh with Aled MW6UPH in Blaenau Ffestiniog. We packed up and descended in increasingly awful weather and arrived back at the tent tired and drenched. The rain and wind persisted for 24 hours by which time we’d ridden on NCN8 over the mountains to Corris on our way to Tre Taliesin near Borth. The activation was part of a big family adventure and Ann-Charlotte and the boys did very well covering over 150 miles with full touring luggage during five moving-on days in an 11 day cycling holiday.

On the 5MHz NoV application, is it enough to say ‘Propagation studies and portable operation’ on the reason for the request?

I can now contemplate Jamboree on the Air in October for our scout troop for which I’m assistant leader. I rather hope we can operate from G/WB-010 the Wrekin for a couple of hours. Keep it simple and SOTA! Which is better - a special event callsign or obtaining a club callsign for our embryonic scout radio activities?

73
David Holman
M6WOW / 2E0DAI / M0YDH

David,

Congratulations on the new call.

Stewart G0LGS

In reply to M0YDH:

Congratulations on your new callsign David :slight_smile:

I think you could probably flesh out your wording a little for the reason for the 5MHz NOV, and “Propagation studies using NVIS for portable operation using low power and simple antennas” or something similar should be fine.

The choice between a special event or club callsign really depends on what your troop intends to do radio-wise in the future, but for JOTA a special event call would probably be most suitable & are generally what I’ve heard other scout troops using over the years.

I hope to work you very soon with your new callsign.

73,

Mark G0VOF

In reply to M0YDH:

Llongyfarchiadau David, gobeithio dy glywed ar 5Mhz yn o fuan.

Hwyl

Robert G0PEB

In reply to M0YDH:
Congratulations on your new call David and well done on completing your family cycling holiday. Given the weather conditions, you all did rather well. You were quite a good signal, from NW-009, into Cheltenham on SSB, but obviously not quite as strong as when using a yagi. It was a pleasure to make the contact with you.
73,
Frank

In reply to M0YDH:

Congratulations on the new call David. I’ve updated you in the SMS server’s valid users file so you’ll spot under M0YDH now.

Some people collect special event callsigns which would make that better than a club call, Personally, I normal expect to hear an operator who can’t operate when I hear a special event call! :wink: A club call is forever unlike nearly all special event calls. Due to the fact callsigns aren’t recycled, an older call for your club will add gravitas in some people’s eyes. Obtaining an older call either requires the current holder to relinquish it or you’ll have to raise it from the dead. Literally!

5MHz NoVs: I’d be surprised if anyone at OFCOM reads the application. You could put down you wanted to study hydrodynamic expansion on naturally occurring long chain polymers in the presence of RF fields and it would get approved. (That’s wrapping chewing gum on an antenna for those that don’t know!) Certainly, in my view, SOTA ops on 5MHz is more in keeping with the mindset of the experiment than those who use it for skeds on a quiet band or those who have websites proclaiming the DX they have worked!

One last thing… now you have the full license, get on with the Morse. Don’t faff about for years like I did but get stuck in now. I’m much more relaxed now about activations as the chances of not being able to get 4 contacts in SSB or CW on 80/40/60 or 30m are much less than just having SSB on the first 3 bands. I’m still rubbish, I go to pieces when 2 people call and I don’t practice enough. But I can recognise some people by the way they send now and when each QSO is complete I have a silly smile on my face. It’s just so much fun!

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to M0YDH:

Excellent News David, I knew you would do it!!

Well done on the cycling holiday also, so sorry I missed you!

Not been on radio much since not being able to go up the summits and medication is not being nice to me!!

Will be good to work you soon!!

Best 73

Tony

In reply to M0YDH:

Congratulations on your shiny new callsign David.

A Special Event callsign is only temporary, for a maximum of 28 days, although you can renew at intervals.

A club call will be permanent and you will have the added advantage of being able to use one of the club call regional indicators MX, MC, MH, MN, MP, MS and MT, should you wish, which will attract many more customers.

You can still apply for a Special Event Call for special occasions.

Good Luck

Roy G4SSH
Chairman
Scarborough Special Events Group

In reply to M0YDH:

David

Oh no; I have only just got used to your “old” new callsign. Congratulations - but be aware that I will once again have no idea who you are the first time we have a contact.

73

Richard
G3CWI

PS Loved the activation account. Bicycles are very useful for SOTA.

In reply to M0YDH:

Congratulations David,

I am very envious of your new callsign! Mike is a superb tutor and I am looking forward to enrolling on to his next class for the advanced licence course! Will have to wait till the cricket season is over!

Cheers for the QSO on the A55 even though it was brief!

Will catch you on a hill soon, I’m hoping to get into the beacons soon or the berwyns!

Matt 2E0XTL

In reply to M0YDH:
My congratulations as well, David.

I would pad out the NoV application (well, that’s what I did!) with something like antenna experiments and developing rapid deployment methods. 5 megs on its own is sufficient justification for getting the Advanced licence, much more significant than the extra few dB of the higher power level that becomes available to you, it really is an interesting band with a population of good operators. Usually the Nov takes less than a week to arrive.

73

Brian G8ADD

Many congratulations on your new personal call, David! Not quite as memorable as your previous one; I shall have to learn it. I feel privileged to have been one of your last contacts from 'DAI ! Good activating as 'YDH !

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to M0YDH:
Well done David, All done now!
There is a Yahoo group for JOTA (JOTAskedbook)I was involved in JOTA last year with my sons scout troop which I enjoyed very much.

I applied for a 5 mhz NOV which as Brian said arrived in about a weeks time, Portable low power operating as well as NVIS mobile experiemnts were some of the things I put on my application.

Not until after I got my full call I decided to learn cw properly which was when it was pointed out that I had a good call sign for cw, all the dahs then all the dits then ends in a single dah! I looked forward to chasing you on cw with your new call sign. Sean M0GIA

Congratulations David on getting on full licence and congratulations on getting your intemediate licence.

Jimmy M(M)3EYP

Well done David…Congratulations!

Great achievement

John