These continue to be available, and include a detailed PowerPoint presentation, demonstrations of equipment and a Q+A session. The next one - if anyone is interested - is Bolton Wireless Club on Monday night, 12th July 2010. Contact the club itself for further details.
And if you want me to do a radio club talk about SOTA at YOUR radio club, please get in touch. I have other talks about Offshore Pirate Radio, Northern Ireland and the Pennine Way available also.
73, Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
We could maybe discuss further offline Tom, but if yourself and Jimmy wish to visit our club in Inverness when your up this way, you will be very welcome.
Adrian
Maybe, but got to be careful not to lose goodwill from the non-amateur radio 50% of my family! What is your meeting night?
My email is good at QRZ.com
Tom M1EYP
Reminder - SOTA talk at Bolton Wireless Club tonight. Another at Stockport Radio Society next week, Tuesday 20th July.
Tom M1EYP
Stockport Radio Society tonight. Warrington ARS on 31st August.
Tom M1EYP
Inverness club on Wednesday 25th August was a good night - fine club and a decent turnout.
Tonight the SOTA talk rolls on to the Warrington club with an 8pm start. I’m sure non-members/interested gatecrashers would be made welcome - they usually are at ARCs.
The SOTA talk will be on at Preston ARS in the next couple of months, date TBC.
Tom M1EYP
SOTA club talks booked for this year are as follows:
Thursday 31st March - Preston ARS
Sunday 10th April - SOTA stand at the Norbeck Show, Blackpool
Wednesday 20th or 27th April - Wirral ARC (not confirmed)
Tuesday 31st May - Forest of Dean ARG, Ruardean
Thursday 23rd June - South Cheshire ARC, Crewe
Monday 11th July - Bolton Wireless Club (talk about the Pennine Way)
Tom M1EYP
Wirral date now confirmed as 27th.
List is now:
Thursday 31st March - Preston ARS
Sunday 10th April - SOTA stand at the Norbeck Show, Blackpool
Wednesday 27th April - Wirral ARC
Tuesday 31st May - Forest of Dean ARG, Ruardean
Thursday 23rd June - South Cheshire ARC, Crewe
Monday 11th July - Bolton Wireless Club (talk about the Pennine Way)
Tom M1EYP
SOTA talk at Chester added. Offshore radio talk at Stockport to be added soon. The last few days have been crazy, with the bookings flooding in!
List is now:
Thursday 31st March - Preston ARS
Sunday 10th April - SOTA stand at the Norbeck Show, Blackpool
Tuesday 19th April - Chester & DARS
Wednesday 27th April - Wirral ARC
Tuesday 31st May - Forest of Dean ARG, Ruardean
Thursday 23rd June - South Cheshire ARC, Crewe
Monday 11th July - Bolton Wireless Club (talk about the Pennine Way)
Tom M1EYP
Stockport talk added:
Thursday 31st March - Preston ARS
Sunday 10th April - SOTA stand at the Norbeck Show, Blackpool
Tuesday 19th April - Chester & DARS
Wednesday 27th April - Wirral ARC
Tuesday 17th May - Stockport RS (talk about Offshore Pirate Radio)
Tuesday 31st May - Forest of Dean ARG, Ruardean
Thursday 23rd June - South Cheshire ARC, Crewe
Monday 11th July - Bolton Wireless Club (talk about the Pennine Way)
All talks about SOTA unless stated.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
… and at the risk of hi-jacking Tom’s thread, if anyone is in the Swindon area this evening I’m giving a talk on SOTA to the Swindon & District Radio Club.
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
… and at the risk of hi-jacking Tom’s thread, if anyone is in the
Swindon area this evening I’m giving a talk on SOTA to the Swindon
& District Radio Club.
Just joined the SDARC a couple of weeks ago Richard, so your talk will be my first visit to one of the club nights. Looking forward to it!
73
Jonathan
M6HBS
In reply to G4ERP:
Well done Richard on the excellent talk at Swindon DARC last night. Very informative. Some very good pointers for when I finally get into the hills with a radio.
73
Jonathan
M6HBS
…Still marvelling at your fully packed 13kg Rucksack!
In reply to M6HBS:
Hi, Jonathan.
Good to meet you all yesterday evening and thanks for inviting me along. I enjoyed it and I hope you all did - despite the latish finish. In my defence, I’m claiming it was due in no small part to the number of questions you were all asking!
I just checked and yes, the rucksack you saw weighed under 13 ½ kg at the start of my 2010 South Downs Way walk and that included everything - my tent, food etc, HF and 2m via the FT-817.
Thanks again, Tom, for your slides which formed the backbone of the talk.
73, Richard
Cheers Richard,
But the Powerpoint was far from all my own work. The original version was made by John G3WGV, added to by me, and then significantly enhanced by Marc G0AZS. No doubt you have embelished it further. And if indeed you have, an email of any extra slides you have done would be most welcome 
Just thinking. One of my 2011 bookings for the SOTA talk is FODARG at Ruardean. I don’t mind doing this one, and we have it down for a two-day trip for myself and Jimmy (in the school holidays) who will be co-presenting with me. But if this is more on your “patch”, and you are available (date in the thread above), maybe you want to take this one?
73, Tom M1EYP
Two events added:
Sunday 6th February - SOTA stand at the Radio-Active rally, Nantwich
Monday 14th February - Macclesfield & DRS (talk abut the Pennine Way)
Thursday 31st March - Preston ARS
Sunday 10th April - SOTA stand at the Norbeck Show, Blackpool
Tuesday 19th April - Chester & DARS
Wednesday 27th April - Wirral ARC
Tuesday 17th May - Stockport RS (talk about Offshore Pirate Radio)
Tuesday 31st May - Forest of Dean ARG, Ruardean
Thursday 23rd June - South Cheshire ARC, Crewe
Monday 11th July - Bolton Wireless Club (talk about the Pennine Way)
All talks about SOTA unless stated.
Tom M1EYP
Nantwich today went really well. After a couple of rather quiet and boring years there, I hadn’t intended exhibiting at this year’s show. However, an email arrived from the organisers last week saying that my table was reserved! I didn’t have any other plans, so decided to go along and put the SOTA stand on anyway.
And I’m glad I did. The show was much better this year, with a good attendance and everyone in a positive mood about amateur radio. Furthermore, Jimmy M3EYP, Edward M6NSR and myself enjoyed a constant stream of existing SOTA participants visiting the stand, as well as many other interested amateurs.
It was great to see everyone, and we will be back at this show with the SOTA stand next year. But the next one is Norbreck/Blackpool. This is the main SOTA meet of the year, and last year, the stand was four or five deep across its length with visitors. Many of these were existing SOTA activators and chasers - the purpose of the stand isn’t so much to inform and advertise about SOTA anymore - everyone knows all about it! But the opportunity to have a focal point for everyone to meet up at the main North West radio event is always a successful one. (And the stand is even better at Norbreck, because Rob G4RQJ and Audrey run it with us, together with their extra displays, quizzes and cakes!).
Look forward to seeing everyone then. My thanks to Edward for manning the stand for a period today, and particularly to Jimmy for the same, and for his work in setting up and taking down all the displays.
Tom M1EYP
A reminder that the next SOTA club talk is at Preston ARS this evening.
Tom M1EYP
Progress was good up the M6 from Stoke-on-Trent after work, so I figured I could - just about - shoe-horn in an activation of Longridge Fell G/SP-014 ahead of my talk to the Preston ARS. I had done such a stunt previously, ahead of my SOTA talk to the Marches ARS, working many of the members from Hope Mountain GW/NW-062. Unfortunately, this time there was no guarantee that I would actually squeeze the activation in, so no advance notice was sent. I just hoped that some of the Preston members would be monitoring S20.
I didn’t have an OS map with me, but the route from the parking spot to the summit is very straightforward and simple follows a wall to the top. Getting to the parking spot was a greater concern, because I did not have the JimNav with me, so it was just me, my memory, and my road atlas.
Fortunately these served me well, and after exiting the M6 at J31A, I paused to consider the driving route only twice en route to the parking spot. I kitted up, taking the 2m SOTA Beam and WASP mast kit. The ascent was an enjoyable walk of about 20 minutes to a nice summit not visited for a few years.
I bedded down by the trig point, using it to shelter from the westerly wind. It was difficult to keep the beam pointing west because of this. I worked eight stations on 2m FM, including just one Preston member that I would meet later.
I had carefully calculated my “stage times” for the evening, and managed to find my way to the Lonsdale Club in Preston by 7.45pm. The talk was well received, and I was delighted to be presented with a good bottle of Speyside single malt as a thank you from the club, a well-appreciated gesture!
The drive back down the M6 saw me home at 11pm, so not the mega-late-night I had feared. Another enjoyable activation (aren’t they all?) and evening spreading the word of Summits on the Air. Next stop Norbreck! Thanks to all the chasers that called.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
At 3PM I was hoping to get my normal month end routines finished early enough for me to catch the train to Preston, but sadly with some other routines I had to run I didn’t finish work until 7PM. With my bike in the garage for its annual service & MOT the best that public transport in this part of the world can offer would not have got me to Preston club in time.
It would have been nice to catch the talk & say hello Tom, but I’m sure it will happen a some point.
I hope Preston ARS made you welcome 
Best 73,
Mark G0VOF