The wx was too good to resist today so I alerted for 4m and 2m FM on GW/NW-044.
Arrived at the summit just before 11:00 and set up the 4m vertical on a fishing pole lashed to a fence post.
Steve GW7AAV was straight back from the initial call and kindly spotted me. Next was G7RNX in Dalton in Furness followed by MW0RHD and MW3CYU, both in Llangybi on the Lleyn Peninsula, not a good direction from NW-044.
Final call from G4ZRP on the Wirral.
Nothing else doing on 4m so down with the antenna up with the 2m vertical.
First in was MW0IDX/M followed by a string of seven callers.
The final caller, Tony G6ORS, asked if I wanted to try another band and suggested 70cm. I was using the dual band Kenwood TH-F7E but the only antenna available for that band was the rubber duck, aka dummy load!
I had been operating sitting down leaning against the fence but stood up to gain a bit more height for the antenna. I was using a fist mike so could move the rig around to get maximum signal strengh. Found an optimum spot and we exchanged reports.
I then planned on going back to 2m but was immediately called on 70cm by M3ZJF in Crewe. He was a good strong signal so I sat back down and worked him easily with the rig about 0.5m above ground.
From the same position I was then called by G0DBE in Liverpool who was very pleased to work me as I was his first ever contact on 70cm!
Next was M3UHG in Skelmersdale and finally G4NTT in Leigh.
So a totally unexpected end to the activation and apologies to anyone looking for me on 2m because it was now 12:35 and I was starting to feel chilled!
Excellent stuff Ron. Pleased to see you out and about again.
Don’t entirely discount rubber ducks - they do work to some degree on the higher bands where their physical size is not so compromised. The best I’ve had was Ian GW8OGI/P on Tal y Fan NW-040 fully readable with my Standard C710 sitting on the ground on that well-known high spot, Billinge Hill SP-017… errm, 23cms of course!
Pleased to have you down as the first “true” GW activator to use 70cms this year. A few of us have managed to sneak past border control to borrow some of your summits for the day - hope you don’t mind
I’ve done many 70cm ssb activations in contests but never seriously bothered with fm.
Any recommendations for a suitable ‘strap to the pole’ vertical antenna?
On the hills I use a wire Slim-Jim on 2m and I am told the 2m version works well on 70cms but I have never tried it on an analyser to see if it is truly okay.
Tnx for the 4m contact, you were 5/9 on both 2/70 as you might expect but you seemed to have enough people trying to work you and I have worked that hill once or twice before so I did not call in again.
I must admit that I just turn the dual band yagi vertically polarised when I use 70cms FM, though quite a few contacts have been made with it still horizontally polarised from the SSB / CW session. I always try a call with it still horizontal as many areas have zero 70cms activity and it isn’t worth messing about changing it over, particularly as 70cms FM comes at the end of an activation and my mind is thinking about getting warm again on the descent!
At home I use a vertical made from sections of RG-58U tie wrapped to a piece of timber mounted in my loft space. It would be easy to construct a version with the coaxial mounted inside upvc overflow pipe and with a couple of pipe clips it could be mounted directly on the pole.
I look forward to report your activity in the Summitsbase 70cms news.
For 2m I use a feedline vertical. This is made entirely out of coax and is based on a coaxial sleeve antenna but instead of using a sleeve a coaxial choke is used made from a few turns of coax on a 35mm film cannister.
I can’t find any reference to it on the web.
I got the design from an RSGB book titled ‘Practical Projects’, edited by M5ACN, pages 94, 95.
If you are interested I can email you a scan of the article if you have no local access to the book.
In reply to GW4EVX:
Thanks for that info Ron, yes if you dont mind doing that for me that would be great, my address is adrian dot young at live dot com
Thanks again, and well done on the tri-band activation
