Apologies to everybody who was waiting for me to turn up on HF today from Fan Nedd GW/SW-007. Conditions were not very ‘activator friendly’ with 50mph + winds and horizontal rain (was worse than forecast…I should have learnt by now . I put up the dipole as low as possible but one arm went ‘ping’…repaired it then the mast collapsed. I hasten to add that the XYL was safe in the bothy bag and smiling to herself. Back into the comfort of the bothy bag I pulled the FT817 from it’s ‘dry bag’ and plugged everything in…I don’t think it appreciated being out today as the display was pulsing ‘bright to dark’…no RX then when I pressed the PTT there was a TX Err showing…I switched on and off a few times, unplugged the battery and pressed a few buttons…no joy…works now that I have arrived home. Post mortem shortly.
Anyway, attached my 2m ‘cable tie’ dipole to the pole and called out on the FT270. Within 6 minutes I had qualified the summit and a spot from my friend Roy GW6DGU who didn’t make my log, couldn’t hear me but was having spot info relayed from another friend Don GW0PLP who did make my log A big ‘thank you’ to all those who made my log and took the time to respond to my frantic calls Long live 2m.
There are a few new reports on my blog http://gw4vpx.blogspot.co.uk/ and there will be something up for today some time later this evening.
Hello Allan,
Well you got there in the end
Very good that the radio worked ok when you got home. It will be interesting to know
what the PM shows. I suppose the PA would have folded right back if the antenna had fallen.
Night night from windy East Sussex, just a mild 20-30MPH! Very good that Roy DGU and Don PLP were a good support team
Night night.
Mike
It’s stories like this that make me think how glad I am to have got the 1000!! This time last year I was constantly watching the weather waiting for any slight chance to get up a 2 pointer and maximise the bonus points!
You’re a brave man Allan, glad you and Val were both safe (most importantly).
I picked up a second hand VX170 on eBay for £24, couldn’t believe my luck, look forward to taking it with me on my forthcoming spring time activations. Still love the story that Geoff 2E0BTR told me, he left his VX170 on the car roof whilst packing up his other kit, and whilst it was still on the roof, drove off the parking space for G/WB-004, got to the main road with it still on the roof and then hit the A4117 at 55mph, to see if go falling off in his rear view mirror. After stopping is car he went to find it and it had a slight crack on the bottom of the metal casing, but switched it on and it was fine!
I have heard stories of Andy FMF using it as a tent peg hammer, for £107 brand new, you really cannot go wrong!
That’s a cracking deal Matt, well done. I have one which I have used and abused for a few years in the hills. Been dropped and bashed and doesn’t have a mark on it. Now use it as a back up to my newer VX-8. Both great VHF radios
Taking a second rig is essential in my book. I had to rely upon my little Standard C710 last July as I had left the 817 switched on and flattened the batteries. Even though it only produces 1 watt, I was able to qualify the summit.
Well done keeping a level head Allan. I hope that the XYL didn’t smirk for very long… after all we are supposed to be professionals, aren’t we?
Yes, I always carry the FT270 and of late using it for 2m s2s often neglecting to call and give 2m chasers the chance to get the summit…putting up the HF dipole and the 2m dipole in winter conditions tends to be a chore when you are in a hurry to have a fairly quick activation…saved me today though.
I still can’t figure out why the 817 decided to play up today, whether it was a mismatch or whatever…I’ll sort it out over the next few days.
XYL is very supportive and we had a good laugh after I qualified the summit
Hi Allan - we are out on the summits in 3 weeks time, 25th to 27th to be precise. Hope that the winds abate before then. I was almost blown off the hills on Monday when I activated a couple of HuMPs. One gust split the guying ring into three pieces and I only had a 2m dipole mounted on the three lowest sections of the pole at about 3m. HF would definitely been courtesy of a ground mounted dipole, but I decided to call it a day after a session on 2m SSB and FM.
. I put up the dipole as low as possible but one arm went ‘ping’…repaired it then the mast collapsed. I hasten to add that the XYL was safe in the bothy bag and smiling to herself. Back into the comfort of the bothy bag I pulled the FT817 from it’s ‘dry bag’ and plugged everything in…I don’t think it appreciated being out today as the display was pulsing ‘bright to dark’…no RX then when I pressed the PTT there was a TX Err showing…I switched on and off a few times, unplugged the battery and pressed a few buttons…no joy…works now that I have arrived home. Post mortem shortly.
