In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom
I did try looking for you but we were probably beaming in totally the wrong directions at the time.
I’ve now decided that I have to find a better location as I’m limited to the NE from where I park and know your direction is difficult.
Pete I did hear you a couple of times but wasn’t able to find you cq-ing.
I did do as well as the previous contest… must do better.
Carolyn
In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom
Took the opportunity of a late shift at the works QTH to have a go at giving a few points away, did hear you pouncing a few times but never managed to catch you CQ’ing. Sadly rain and the consequent requirement for a “work break” drove me down from my lofty perch atop the silos we have just installed at about 2100 
Was amazed at the activity though, seemed to be at least two stations on each frequency, and was pleased to work a few SOTA regulars and hear a good few more. Will definitely have a more serious go on some of the forthcoming contests and hope to work you in them soon.
73 de Paul G4MD
In reply to G4MD:
Hi Paul G4MD,
I can’t quite remember which station it was, but I heard somebody working GW4MD/P which did throw me a bit. I think I was beaming about 200 deg from IO83SS & could just detect your signal, although not readable by any standards. I think I was the other stations next contact so I wonder if you heard me? Maybe with our antennas better aligned we could have worked?
This was my first 144MHz activity contest for some time, & my first using computer logging which makes the whole process so much easier.
Hi Peter G3TJE,
I do occasionally scan through the CW portion of the bands during the activity contests but have only rarely come across stations calling CQ. The exception, as Tom mentions is Graham G3ZOD who operates only CW during the 50MHz contests using 25 Watts from Stockport. In previous years he would be my only CW contact, but as the local noise I suffer from on that band has changed since last year I can no longer hear Graham at all. However, during the last 50MHz AC though I used a dipole in a bedroom positioned to null out as much of the noise as possible & I could occasionally hear Graham calling. I did call him but in the rapidly rising & falling QSB I could not hear enough to have a complete QSO.
There are stations who do call using both modes on the same frequency & I would recommend that method. In previous contests I have been able to detect a station calling on SSB but was unable to read them, but once they switch to CW they become fully readable, so putting the odd CQ out using CW in the USB passband of your chosen QRG is certainly worth a try.
Hi Tom,
It was very nice to work you on Tuesday night, as I have mentioned earlier I haven’t been active in the 144MHz AC’s for some time. I am hoping to be active more often this year, as well as in the 50MHz AC & occasionally the 432 MHz AC.
I hope to work you next Tuesday on 70cms.
Thanks & best 73,
Mark G0VOF
In reply to G0VOF:
Hi Mark,
Did hear you working two or three stations, about 44 with me but with 2.5W from the '817 on it’s internal battery into an SB3 we might have struggled to make a contact. I was in IO83WK, not GW. Will be going better prepared next time, so perhaps catch you then!
I’m severely tempted to risk the key and give G3ZOD a call in the next 6m session. Doesn’t sound like I’d have to worry about breaking a pileup 
73 de Paul G4MD
In reply to G4MD:
Hi again Paul,
I was beaming about 40deg the wrong way for you & didn’t realize you were in IO83WK. With that being the case I would say we could certainly work as I am not too far North in IO83SS. There is a bit of high ground to get over but 2m SSB should manage that OK.
50MHz may be a different matter though.
Best 73,
Mark G0VOF
Tuesday 13th March 2012 and the third 70cm UKAC of the year. I was early due to dropping Liam off in Congleton at 6pm, so completed the ascent in daylight. The headtorch had to be switched on for the set-up though.
There was a light breeze across the summit, and the temperature dropped from quite mild to quite cold as the night drew on. Conditions were up, and I made 70cm SSB contacts into GU and F. However, I got nothing in GM, and missed anthing in IO64 or IO94. However, the S2S with G4VFL/P on Ditchling Beacon G/SE-006, also giving me IO90 was pleasing.
Because I was early, I also hung the 30m dipole from the mast, and spent half-an-hour on 10MHz CW before the contest. This netted 26 QSOs, before I changed antenna feeders at 1950 ready for the main event.
In the 70cm contest, I made 66 contacts into 14 multipliers, plus the DX into France. Sadly though, it doesn’t look like my year in the UKACs this time, after my “clean sweep” in 2011! Maybe I set down a challenge - and others have definitely risen to it - fair play! I appear to have been beaten by (mainly SOTA known) rivals G4ODA, MW6OXO/P, M0TWC/P and G3TJE/P, so my beating of my usual main rival G4HGI was little consolation.
After the contest period ended at 2230z, I tried again on 30m CW. There was DX in the form of a strong Brazilian, but he was working split and I couldn’t break his pile-up. All my CQ calls on 30m, despite self-spots, remained unanswered this time, so no further contacts were made. I packed away all the kit and donned the rucksack.
Just prior to commencing the descent, I gave a call on the 2m FM HT, making one final contact. This took the QSO total for the night to 93.
73, Tom M1EYP
Tuesday 28th August 2012 was the 6m UKAC night. I reckoned on having enough points “in the bag” to be able to comfortably close out the series victory in the AL (10 watts and under) section. Therefore, I felt able to ignore Merryton Low, and return to the much preferred G/SP-015.
I was pretty last minute in setting up, and as usual, three running clubs converged on the summit at about 7.50pm BST. Then a family arrived who were very interested in what I was doing. And then it was 8 o’clock - contest time!
The conditions were pretty rubbish with QRN, QSB and other inconveniences. I managed a mediocre 54 QSOs into 11 multipliers for a possible 3rd place finish. I will keep a careful eye on scores next month to decide the November strategy, as there isn’t a December session in 50MHz this year.
I got some funny looks as I entered the Harrington Arms at Gawsworth on the way home. It turned out that police had been in the village asking after a hairy 6ft+ man who had been walking around Bosley…
Tom M1EYP
Tuesday 2nd October 2012 was the 2m UKAC night. In contrast to 6m, I had long since given up any hope I had of retaining my title this year on 2m. This in mind, there was no need for me to visit the non-SOTA summit of Merryton Low, so I simply went out to take part, and did so from The Cloud G/SP-015.
This probably was responsible for my 3rd place finish, as opposed to an expected 2nd had I gone to Merryton Low. Sixteen UK multipliers from all corners of G, GW, GM, GD and GI were worked, as well as ‘DX’ contacts with F1VNR/P and F8BRK.
So my dominance in this series is well and truly over, but I remain competitive in the division! The Harrington Arms at Gawsworth was visited en route home for snacks and beer, always enjoyable.
Tom M1EYP
And it was back to the summit of The Cloud G/SP-015 for the 70cm contest on Tuesday 9th October 2012. Cold it was as well! Similar to 2m, I was out of the running to retain my 70cm series title, so I coule relax and enjoy the SOTA activation also.
I thought I had done rather well on the night, with 60 QSOs into 16 UK multiplier squares and DX into Northern France. However, this was only sufficient to gain me 4th place on the night. An overall position of 2nd in the AL (10 watts) 70cm UKAC series for 2012 now appears to be mathematically inevitable.
Pie, pretzels and beer were enjoyed at you-know-where after descent.
Tom M1EYP
At least on Tuesday 23rd October 2012, I was back to chasing a series win. The 6m UKAC had proved a happier hunting ground this year than the 2m and 70cm series, and I was out to close in on securing victory in this penultimate session.
I had a comfortable position in the standings after nine events, so I was happy to go up my local SOTA summit rather than the ever-disappointing non-SOTA Merryton Low. After setting up the 6m delta loop, I had a nosey around the CW end of the band, and enjoyed a quick CW contact with Brian G0JCQ prior to the contest.
In the contest, I managed 59 QSOs into 13 UK multipliers, which was a little on the disappointing side. The lack of GD, F, IO80, IO74 and IO75 in my submitted log were expected to be costly.
I didn’t feel like beer or supper. I just felt like bed, so I went straight home!
Tom M1EYP
Well the results are now in for this session, and the cumulative on the series so far this year. And the pleasing news is that, with one session to go, I cannot be caught in 1st place. So even though I have been unceremoniously dethroned in the 2m and 70cm series, I can still claim to be ‘top dog’ in 6m - with an FT-817 running 5 watts and a delta loop, on a SOTA summit! I will probably venture out onto a SOTA summit for the November session, just for the ‘craic’.
Tuesday 13th November 2012 was the penultimate 70cm activity contest of the year, and I conspired to make the evening into a comedy of errors. After driving to Cloudside, I started packing my rucksack and donning hat, headtorch etc. I got the pole, the Aircell feeder, the cable ties, the boom. But where were the 70cm elements?
I couldn’t find them anywhere. I telephoned Jimmy at home to see if he had any idea. He advised me they were in the shack, in the box that we had taken to the RSGB Convention. Fortunately, I had gone out very early, with a plan to try a bit of 10m before the contest. Therefore, I could make the decision to drive back home to pick up the 70cm elements, while feeling rather cross with myself.
But would I learn? No! I arrived on Cloudside for the second time. One hour on the road to get there from Macclesfield by now! I made up the 70cm beam at the car, to carry up with me. I marched up the track at a good pace and continued the momentum with a rapid and lung-busting ascent of the stairs. As I reached the National Trust sign, it dawned on me that I hadn’t thought to put the guying kit in my pocket or pack.
So back down to the car it was. By the time I got to the summit, I had driven from home to the parking spot twice, and climbed the hill twice! Pathetic! All-in-all, I was QRV by 2015 UTC, so not too bad. I was soon underway working lots of IO83 stations.
My final contact was number 055, all 432MHz SSB, at 2214 UTC. Locator squares worked were IO64, 72, 74, 82, 83, 84, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, JO01, 02, plus ‘DX’ into IN99. The highlight of the night, undoubtedly, was working Rob G0PEB/P for a S2S, a new multiplier, and lots of km points. Rob was on St Boniface Down G/SE-008, and to work that from The Cloud G/SP-015 with 5 watts on 70cm was satisfying to say the least!
Tom M1EYP
Thursday 15th November 2012, and an early alarm clock setting for 5.30am. I was on the road before 6am, and hurriedly tuning away from the dreadful Vanessa Feltz on BBC Radio 2 to the much more bearable Wake Up To Money programme on BBC Radio 5 Live.
I was parked on Cloudside by 6.20am, and that required a headtorch ascent of The Cloud G/SP-015. In fact the set-up too demanded illumination as did the first 20 minutes or so of operating. It was 20m CW that was the band/mode combo of choice, and the groundplane vertical (MM20) was deployed.
On this occasion, the QSO rate was rather slow. Just 12 QSOs were made during 26 minutes on 14.017/14.016MHz CW. I misplaced my 'phone so I was unable to monitor whether the RBN skimmers had found me, but with G0VOF and OM7OM in the log, I assumed that they had!
With things still going very slowly after 0710z, I elected to pack away as opposed to press on for another half hour. The slack time was used to order and indulge myself in a sausage, cheese, black pudding and mushroom double oatcake from Mrs B’s Oatcake shop in Tunstall.
And then I went to work.
Cheers,
Tom
In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom,
Yes, I had got out of bed on time this morning & after checking SOTAwatch I saw the RBN spot. I could hear you equally well on both my 80m loop & 10m vertical so as the 80m loop tunes more easily on 20m I gave you a call on that.
Thanks for the chaser point, in addition to the contact on 432MHz on Tuesday night 
Thanks & best 73,
Mark G0VOF
There were certainly a couple of ID107 fails on Saturday night, 17th November 2012. Mssrs G3CWI and M1EYP were both found out for not doing their homework.
It was a super clear evening with only mild breeze. The night sky was stunning, and Orion was balancing on the Eastern horizon such that I was unsure whether I was looking at the star at the botton corner of that constellation, or a car/house/lamp on Merryton Low.
Richard was doing 80m SSB and CW using a dipole, while I was on 20m with the groundplane vertical. Sadly, Richard had not researched the contest activity in advance, while I had not bothered to check how propagation was developing during the day.
I heard a belting 599 signal from ZV7O (Brazil) on 14.010MHz CW, but he didn’t hear any of my calls. I could just about hear some of the Americans that were calling him, but no workable signals from my point of view. I tried some long periods of CQ calling on both 14.059MHz and 14.012MHz CW, but got absolutely nothing. No signals were heard on the SSB frequencies. I had kind of assumed that 20m would be open at this time, without actually bothering to check!
A single call on the handheld brought in Les M3OUA for a 2m FM contact, so a contact was made, and therefore an activation had taken place! I started to pack up and noticed that Richard was doing the same. I couldn’t see much, but could tell that his pole was no longer up, and that his headlamp was moving about, presumably winding in the 80m dipole legs. It turned out he had only made one contact as well, with Mike DJ5AV on 80m CW.
There was certainly a temperature inversion taking place, as it was about 4 degrees warmer on the summit than it was in Macclesfield when we set off. 2m would have been a wiser choice one suspects. I suggested a beer in the Harrington Arms on the way back, but Richard declined, citing an early get-up for some car-booting at Chelford. Let’s hope he sold lots of stuff and made it completely worthwhile missing a decent pint.
For myself, I made it worthwhile by getting home in time to watch my favourite TV programme - Match of the Day.
Tom M1EYP
Another torchlit nightime activation took place on The Cloud G/SP-015 on Tuesday 27th November 2012. There was no reason to do so, as I was already mathematically certain of winning the 6m UKAC series in the Low Power section. However, I fancied an activation, and racking up some points for the Tall Trees Contest Group.
The weather forecasts had promised a clear and dry night, so I was a little miffed to be commencing from Cloudside in a very light drizzle. This did not last long though, and the rest of the night was dry save for a few seconds of sleet around 9.45pm. Yes, it was pretty cold!
Well, the contest itself was not exactly the best. Numbers were down, conditions were down, signals were down. QSB was up. In fact it was phasing in and out in long ten minute cycles, which made it very annoying if you just missed a particular station! This happened to me with GI4SNA, usually everyone’s ODX in IO64 square, so I made a mental note of his QRG and returned to get him ten mnutes later!
The final tally was a meagre 43 QSOs into 12 multipliers. Three QSOs were in CW, the rest SSB. Heard but not worked were IO74, IO81 and JO01. No DX was heard at all. There was, as usual, a healthy represenation of well-known SOTA activators and chasers taking part, and a good turn out from the Tall Trees Contest Group.
My final score of 48,324, while way down on my average, is currently the leading score in the AL section, so who knows, I may just get another 1000 normalised points in my tally.
A fun activation as ever, rounded off with a pint of Tom & Berry Ale at the Harrington Arms, and a Spearings pork pie. And to take away (for my log-entering supper), a bottle of chocolate Old Tom and a bag of Guinness flavour crisps (yes, really).
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
Hi Tom,
I did listen out for you but nothing heard here:( but considering I only use my End Fed rather than a yagi, I’m not surprised.
I did manage to work 2 different counties though, Scotland GM4JR and Northern Ireland GI4SNA, so I think that makes a final score of 446 (only slightly behind you overall:S, but this was my first entry in the Contest).
Hopefully I got my Logging right and I will be ready to do better next year.
73,
Colin
M0XSD.
One of the hidden benefits of falling asleep in the middle of Match of the Day on a Saturday night, is that I wake up raring to go well before 7am on a Sunday morning. I knew I had to run Jimmy to the radio club at 9.45am, so that gave me plenty of time to activate The Cloud G/SP-015.
It was -8 when I set off in the car on Sunday 2nd December 2012. There was some ice in patches on the lanes, but nothing that caused a problem - or so I thought. I kitted and gloved up on Cloudside and commenced the very familiar walk up.
My spirits lifted upon attaining the summit, for there out before me was a crisp, clear and sun-drenched view of the frozen Cheshire Plain. It was quite magnificent. Furthermore, there was not a breath of wind on the summit - a rarity indeed.
I took advantage and set up so I could sit near the edge with a wonderful view. It was very cold, so I wonder if I would need some “glove breaks” in my operating. But I found that both my hands warmed up gradually throughout my CW operation and were quite comfortable by the time I switched to SSB at 0852 UTC.
Prior to that, from 0824, I made 20 QSOs on 20m CW, into DXCCs DL, EA, HA, LY, LZ, OE, OK, OM, RA and YO. On SSB, it was just four contacts into EA, G, I and OM.
By the time the crowd of early dog walkers were on summit, the rising sun was partly covered by cloud, and they had missed the best of the views. A very enjoyable morning’s work!
There were a couple of tricky moments as the ice on the roads in Bosley and North Rode suddenly became much more difficult to negotiate at -4 than they were at -8 a little earlier. Still, I got through, and got home safely.
Tom M1EYP