In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom! Great pleasure for me for contact ur summet G/SP-015 today…
73 es tnx for qso 
Jean VE2JCW
A pleasure for me too Jean. Always a pleasure to work North America on 5 watts!
On Thursday 18th March 2010, another after-school opportunity window arose, with a gap between finishing work and picking up a mate in Congleton. So what band did I fancy today? I decided to return to the 30m dipole I made recently with Sean M0GIA.
At the start of my walk, I chatted with a descending couple about the cottage being renovated near Cloudside. We speculated as to whether it would be a residence or a cafe, but neither of us had a clue. Continuing the ascent, the wind was strong but it wasn’t too cold. The rain was no more than intermittent very light spats that didn’t even merit use of waterproofs - more of an occasional refreshing spray really.
QRV on 30m CW, I worked 22 QSOs into 11 DXCCs: OE, HB, LA, SM, F, DL, RA, OK, G, S5, I and EU. The wind got so strong at one point that it blew the pole right over, pushing its base skidding across the summit! Just prior to descent, 2m and 70cm FM (handheld style) brought two more contacts each. All in all, quite a satisfying little sorte; many thanks to all callers.
88 more activator QSOs will bring up 10,000 from the summits.
73, Tom M1EYP
…And now it is 41 more, for I made 28 QSOs on 30m CW from The Cloud on Thursday 25th March 2010. Noticing that the SWR was reasonable on 10m, when using the 30m dipole, I opened up with a few calls on 28.008MHz CW, but unsurprisingly they weren’t answered. No other activity was heard on the band.
It was a pleasant walk up from Cloudside, but I was aware from the earlier forecast that the rain was coming. Throughout my activation I watched it edge closer from the south, tracking its progress along the ridge from Mow Cop.
The summit was busy with plenty of walkers, all interested in my activity. I had to politely correct several people who uttered the letters ‘C’ and ‘B’ at me. Some hikers were interested enough to take several photographs of my antenna before handing the camera to me to snap them at the trig point.
The rain started just as I was packing up, but wasn’t heavy enough to trouble me on the descent. An enjoyable activation, and 30m was nice and busy on my frequency, not only with chasers but with a QRMer as well. I’ll certainly accept that as a gesture of respect!
Countries worked were G, EA, LA, SM, DL, F, HB, OE, OK, OM, SP, Z3, RA, S5, 9A, I. From Reg to Russia - not a bad 45 minutes’ work! Thanks for all the calls.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom,
I noticed that you were alerted for 28.008cw earlier today but I knew I wouldn’t be home in time to give you a call. By the time I did finally arrive home you must have cleared from 30m too.
I have worked you on several bands from G/SP-015 so I am certain 10m would be quite easy, despite the cross polarisation between your 30m dipole & my half wave vertical. There is much less noise on 10m here than there is on 6m & using ssb on that band you can be up to S7 on my FT897 using only an indoor dipole.
10m is a superb band, & at the last solar maximum you needed to have passed a proficiency test in morse code in order to operate there. That is no longer necessary, and I am certain that many amateurs only licensed over the past few years will find the band just as enjoyable as I did last solar maximum
73,
Mark G0VOF
Today, Saturday 27th March 2010, and I happened to be driving along the A54 in between dropping Liam off in Congleton and picking Jimmy up in Macclesfield. No-one told me that working for Dad’s Taxis invoked a seven day contract - and that it would a sorry loss as business ventures go.
Anyway, back to topic, I was driving along and happened to glance up at the skyline - which was sunny and blue, with the distinct western prospect of The Cloud cutting an impressive polygon against it. I couldn’t resist.
Cloudside was busy as expected, but I got a spot to park the car and headed up the track. I carried nothing - other than a pencil, piece of paper and a VHF hand-portable stuffed into my coat pocket.
First to answer the call on 2m FM were the AAV family en route to holiday in DC and SC land. In between Mr AAV and Mrs AAU was newly licensed daughter Caroline - so adding callsign M6CLF/M was a highlight of the activation.
Four other North-West based stations were worked on 2m FM, in the middle of which a couple approached the summit with the chap carrying a pole. It was Tony 2E0LAE and XYL Elaine. After a brief natter while Tony was completing setting up, I headed off down to the car, where I worked Tony on his 2m SSB frequency.
A nice sunny day; I hope tomorrow is as well, as the weather forecast is promising.
Tom M1EYP
I haven’t been doing early-bird activations of The Cloud on my way to work for some time. This is because a mate of mine in Macc got a placement in Congleton as part of the final year in his social work degree, and asked me for a lift in every morning. As obsessive and ritualistic as I am, even I couldn’t turn a mate down, or impose the condition that he had to go for a walk on the way!
But his placement has finished as of yesterday, so today, Tuesday 30th March 2010, I planned to rise with my alarm at 5.45am BST and go out for a dawn stroll and a play on 20m. As it was, I was awake, Gerald-fashion, at 5.15am, so cancelled the alarm clock settings so as not to disturb the rest of the family who had all already finished for the Easter holidays.
I made myself a cup of tea and a microwaved Ginsters Cornish pastie for a pleasant breakfast while watching the early BBC news. The it was the familiar drive through the dull misty lanes as day was breaking over East Cheshire.
I may have still been asleep mentally, because I arrived at the trig point but had barely noticed the walk! The thick clag was morphing into very light drizzle as I set up the MM20, and hunkered down beneath the topograph in shelter of the wind.
I was QRV on 14.015MHz CW, with a self-spot, at 0555z, but business was slow. Things moved along gradually with six Ukrainian stations and three Russians calling in. Eventually, around 7.30am local, the first non-UR/RA of the day - YO2BF - was worked, followed by the one and only known SOTA chaser that called in. This was HA7UG. It was nearly time to pack away, but not before a highlight with which to end the activation, with station 4K4K (Azerbaijan) worked.
I nearly unleashed the handheld after packing away, but time was marching on and the rain was getting heavier. As such, I decided to descend and go to work! Many thanks to all callers (although there is probably a maximum of one of them reading this hi!).
Tom M1EYP
Wednesday 31st March 2010 and it was another early rise for another early activation. After the alarm went off at 5.45am local, I was in the car by 6am and switching between 106.1 Rock Radio (Manchester) and 909 BBC Radio 5 Live. At 6.30am I was ascending up The Cloud G/SP-015 in rather heavy snow, and by 6.50am I was set up and calling CQ.
I conducted the entire activation in the warmth and comfort of the bothy bag today. As well as the snow and sleet, there was a sharp breeze with an icy bite across the summit. Inside the bothy bag, I was warm and oblivious to all the outside weather, and set for a comfy cosy activation!
7.032MHz CW began promisingly with 11 contacts and 8 DXCCs worked between 0550 and 0611. However, after then things were very quiet. A self-spotted attempt on 7.155MHz SSB came to nought other than an Italian station calling blindly - and a German station pointing that fact out to him! Neither worked me.
Returning to 7.032MHz CW, DL6UNF was added to the log, but that was the lot for today. I soon realised the incredible benefit of the bothy bag as I completed packing away, and I rediscovered just how cold and damp it was outside.
DXCCs worked today were DL, ES, HA, I, OM, S5, SM and SP. Thanks to all callers.
Tom M1EYP
Thursday 1st April 2010, and I eventually felt like the fool on the hill. It started as a good morning though. Everything went to plan - the alarm, the 5.45am get up, the bowl of cereal with a taste of honey, the outward drive, the ascent and the set up. My fitness is definitely getting better. Even the weather was dry. It was bitterly cold though, so again I deployed the bothy bag on Cloud summit. In fact I couldn’t wait to get inside it and warm up!
I was about to be QRV on 30m CW at 0550z (6.50am local), but noticed the high SWR. Checking all the usual things like which antenna connection I was set to and which band I had selected just confirmed that my station was configured correctly. Something was amiss though, and further experimentation indicated that resonance was somewhere nearer to the 40m band.
It was far too cold to be inspecting and maybe repairing the antenna, so I tried a speculative self-spot for 7.032MHz CW and called CQ. A reply came from F6CXJ and I wondered if I would get back to him, but good reports were exchanged both ways. That was the lot though, and it was obvious that while a QSO was possible on 40m, the system wasn’t hearing much and probably wasn’t putting much out. It wasn’t the best day in the life of the new dipole, which had been faultless until now.
No chance of my logbook being back in the USSR now, so I resorted to the handheld. Calls on 2m FM were unanswered, but admittedly these were from my sitting position inside the bothy bag! So, the end, and because I packed away early, I had some extra slack time which I put to good use by calling at Pittshill Oatcakes and picking up a bacon, sausage, mushroom and cheese double oatcake for breakfast - delicious! I thanked the girl in the shop as I saw her standing there, and completed my commute down the long and winding road to Tunstall.
Closer inspection revealed no obvious problems with the antenna, so I’ll have a proper look when Sean M0GIA has the time to help. I’ll drop him an email when I get home. I’m sure we can work it out. Being embarrassingly clumsy, I only undertake such tasks with a little help from my friends. You won’t see me using a soldering iron!
Tom M1EYP (18)
In reply to M1EYP:
I got ten!
73
Brian G8ADD
PS Look at the braid in the coax plug! Just a thought.
In reply to G8ADD:
This boy got 18. Sorry Tom got no reply to his call on 30m it must have caused him misery…
I will have to stop doing these quizzes but I don’t want anyone to think I’m a loser. They probably do but if so let it be.
Roger G4OWG (6)
In reply to G4OWG:
I am not a number, I am a free man
Rob
G4RQJ
In reply to G4OWG:
I am not a number, I am a free man
Number six.
As for Tom’s, I could only get 12.
Bob G6LUG
I am not a number, I am a free man
Number six.
How appropriate: Run to the hills!
In reply to M1EYP:
Having read your report I thought you can’t do that. It was the same yesterday. This boy is never going to get up that early in the morning for SOTA, although a Norwegian would. It seems that you are on The Cloud eight days a week. Anytime at all that I log onto SOTAwatch, when I get home, there is another spot! I keep thinking you can’t do that, but you really got a hold on me, so I should have known better. Please, please me and tell me why you have this obsession with that summit. Anna another thing, it was relatively quiet up there 'til there was you, but that don’t bother me, I’ll cry instead!
73 de Les, G3VQO (16)
In reply to G3VQO:
Only 14 Les - you used one twice and misspelt a word in another 
Do you want to know a secret ?
Anyway off to watch recording of Country File (well Julia to be exact)
Roger G4OWG (2)
In reply to G4OWG:
well Julia to be exact
Not blonde therefore her score is the same as Norway: “null points” !
Andy
MM0FMF
Grrr. Richard’s quote in the pub afterwards was “I made way more than that on 2m” when I mentioned my decidedly mediocre 15 QSOs on 40m. So 3 = “way more” these days. Furthermore, while I was kicking myself for not availing myself of the information that 40m was not in good shape, it transpired that Richard already knew, yet failed to disseminate while I was umming and arring between 20m and 40m in the car.
I got my own back later though. I was telling Richard how Marianne picked 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th out of five bets on last year’s Grand National. He assured me that we wouldn’t pick the winner again, and placed a £10 wager to that effect. However, we both did (grateful thanks to Don’t Push It + A P McCoy, backed at 22/1 even though its SP came in to 10/1), and are about to spend a modest portion of our £90 profit on a Weston Balti Raj take-away for tea!
Liam was at his youth group in Congleton on Saturday 10th April 2010, which gave me a 3.5 hour window to fill in the area. On a gorgeous day, surely the best of the year so far, Richard and I ascended The Cloud G/SP-015 from Cloudside and set up our stations. I took the 40m dipole, thinking that it would give me a 15m option on this JA contest day (yeah yeah I know) while Richard went for 2m multimode using his MFD. And multimode indeed, for I understand he used FM, SSB and CW during his activation.
As mentioned, 40m was in poor shape and I limped along to 15 QSOs in well over an hour’s operating. There was a S2S involved at least with Bob F5HTR/P on F/AM-442. The QSY to 15m found the band to be closed - disappointing as it often cooperatively opens when there is a contest on 
I had been disheartened on the earlier ascent with the amount of litter seen around the summit area, so on packing away, I left out the carrier bag I had brought my egg mayonaise and tomato sandwiches in. Into this went every bit of litter I saw from the summit down to the staircase, until my eyes had become more trained and I was noticing more and more of the disgusting stuff down the side of the hill. Maybe another time for a clean up there - yuk! This hill is fantastic, especially on a cracker of a day like today; why do people have to spoil it?
There was a bit of time left before Liam was due to be collected in Congleton, so Richard and I stopped by the Coach & Horses in Timbersbrook for a spot of lunch, and pulled a couple of Dizzy Blondes while we were at it.
Tom M1EYP
I was eagerly anticipating my Cloud activation on the evening of Tuesday 13th April 2010. I had the opportunity to be on summit a little earlier, with easier set-up due to the extra daylight. I even thought I would due some 80m CW before and after the 70cm RSGB contest, so added the necessary gear to the pack.
Courtesy of the two walking poles that I would have used to support the ends of the 80m dipole, I was approaching the summit in double-quick time after a fast march up the steps. But then I realised that my 70cm elements were in the shack at home! Drat. So what did I do? I descended, dumped the 80m gear in the car with that idea quashed, and drove back home. Picked up the eles and drove back to Cloudside. A second ascent of the evening brought me onto the summit for about five minutes before the contest.
This was when I realised that the guy strings for the SOTA pole should have had some untangling attention since Jimmy used them on Billinge Hill. This took some time and delayed things further, but I was eventually on air - with good flat SWR (thanks for the temporary loan of the feeder Richard) - by 8.21pm local.
Conditions were a bit weird with stations loud and clear one second and inaudible the next, but this was also reported by many participants on the night. I got into JO01 and JO03, plus IO84 and the Isle of Man, but that was about as exotic as it got. Overall a disappointing contest evening although I did clock up 51 QSOs.
73, Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
I had been disheartened on the earlier ascent with the amount of
litter seen around the summit area, so on packing away, I left out the
carrier bag I had brought my egg mayonaise and tomato sandwiches in.
Into this went every bit of litter I saw from the summit down to the
staircase, until my eyes had become more trained and I was noticing
more and more of the disgusting stuff down the side of the hill. Maybe
another time for a clean up there - yuk! This hill is fantastic,
especially on a cracker of a day like today; why do people have to
spoil it?
Tom M1EYP
Well done, Tom. Years ago the BMC had an “Adopt-A-Crag” campaign going, whereby climbing clubs adopted climbing crags or popular summits and regularly tidied them up. The club that I am a member of took several bin bags of rubbish off Moel Siabod GW/NW-010 (Properly Carnedd Moel-Siabod!) Wouldn’t it be nice if Activators adopted the more popular SOTA summits in this way? I shall take a bin bag on my next trip!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
Wouldn’t it be nice if Activators
adopted the more popular SOTA summits in this way? I shall take a bin
bag on my next trip!
The geocaching.com group have a phrase “cache in trash out” which encourages geocachers to tidy up any rubbish around the cache site, maybe we should come up with a similar phrase S.O.T.A orientated and spread the word??
73
Adrian
2M0ETR