144 MHz Backpackers

Who is going out for the 144 MHz Backpackers Contest today? It is from 0900 - 1300 UTC. The Practical Wireless 144 MHz QRP contest is also on today … power limit 3 watts, and it is from 0900 - 1600 UTC.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

I’m looking forward to my garden being refreshed by a full day of sustained rain, not a good day for /P operation!

73

Brian G8ADD

Not me, because it is Liam’s birthday. Plus missed session 1 and likely to miss session 4.

Shame, because the weather for sessions 1 and 2 has been bobbins. I tend to do well in BP sessions when the wx is poor - years of SOTA /P experience starts working to my advantage in such conditions!

Maybe next time (session 3), or maybe next year.

Tom M1EYP

In reply to M1EYP:
I have had a scan around the band and worked only 2 GW stations giving them IO84 square. Nothing else heard. Very quiet. Wx is fine here in S.Lakes.
73 David
g6lkb

I have found and worked 12 /P Stations so far, including three in GW (All on SOTA Summits, but one is in Car) - some of them I have spotted on the DX Cluster, one on SOTAWatch.

Stewart G0LGS

In reply to G6LKB:

I have had a scan around the band and worked only 2 GW stations giving
them IO84 square. Nothing else heard. Very quiet. Wx is fine here in
S.Lakes.

Well, I braved the elements and went out to my local /P location in IO91BX. (Non-SOTA).

Despite the atrocious weather, tropo condx were quite good. I worked 107 stations in the contest, including 48 portables! Best DX was ON4POO in JO20DP. I worked MI0AYR/P, but no GMs. Total 6 DXCCs and 17 Locator squares. M0EUK/P was worked in IO84 square.

4 valid SOTA activations worked (that I know of), plus one in a car which didn’t count.

Rain was continuous throughout. As I write this at 6 pm BST, it has just stopped raining for the first time today!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:
Well done Walt and very brave of you going out in that weather.
Final total here : 4 squares in 4 qso’s. Best dx IO80.

Also 17 WOTA’s and 6 SOTA’s plus one in a car which didn’t count :slight_smile:

Not a bad day.
73
David g6lkb

In reply to G3NYY:

107 stations

That’s not a bad score. Probably makes up for the rain.

Rain was continuous throughout.

Well I had a few drops of rain in Glen Isla (near Spital of Glenshee) for about 5 mins and it was overcast most of the time. Later on the wind got strong but it was never terribly cold/windy/hot/wet. Despite heavy cloud I have still sunburnt my head, it looks like cooked lobster.

John GW4BVE told me about the rain. MWIS suggested I’d be OK but John suggested it was near. Still, I knew I should get out before it came, in fact I drove back home before there was a heavy shower. So for once the WX has blessed Scottish activators. My youngest is at the Download Festival at Donnington. However, he had enough of the rain there and has decamped to his grandmother’s house near Ashbourne, to warm up and dry out. I can only assume that he has seen System of a Down or he’d still be in the rain. And mud.

Anyway to make up for the fact I haven’t got to listen to his music second hand here’s a jolly song by them http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmt3dr9XYQ

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to MM0FMF:

Anyway to make up for the fact I haven’t got to listen to his music
second hand here’s a jolly song by them
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmt3dr9XYQ

Nice. My kind of stuff.

In reply to G3NYY:

Good to work you again Walt, an excellent signal in JO01. Locals apart, at G0UTT/P you were at times the loudest station on the band.

Our 3watts on the Essex coast managed to get to the MI station but a GD and a GM were ‘got-aways’. Despite heavy rain and wind, we heard a surprising amount of long-distance stuff.

73s
Alan M0DDC/G8AQO

In reply to M0DDC:

Good to work you again Walt, an excellent signal in JO01. Locals
apart, at G0UTT/P you were at times the loudest station on the band.

Our 3watts on the Essex coast managed to get to the MI station but a
GD and a GM were ‘got-aways’. Despite heavy rain and wind, we heard a
surprising amount of long-distance stuff.

Thanks, Alan. I didn’t realise it was you at G0UTT/P! A lot of water under the bridge since our days at G3PAD! I had the slight advantage of running 10 watts (in the Hill Toppers section). Also, my new /P QTH in IO91 is exceptionally good towards JO01 … no high ground between us anywhere on the path. Not quite so good to the North, though. I have yet to work a GM from there.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

Ok Walt, yup, a fair time since G3PAD and many of the members are now sadly SK. I’ve got some old B&W photos of our G3PAD VHF field days in the 60s that you might be interested to see at some time.

Cheers
Alan G8AQO

In reply to G3CWI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJmt3dr9XYQ

Nice. My kind of stuff.

Really? You always struck me as more of a Brahms and Liszt fan, Rich.
:wink:

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

In reply to G3CWI:

Nice. My kind of stuff.

Really? You always struck me as more of a Brahms and Liszt fan, Rich.

Walt (G3NYY)

No but maybe he needs to be Brahms and Liszt to enjoy it.

I don’t mind thrash metal but there is nothing clever about playing at 200 MPH you just have to take the right chemicals. Personally I prefer Wagner and Liszt or Clapton and Hendrix and for desert some Jam and Clash.

Steve GW7AAV

In reply to GW7AAV:

some Jam and Clash.

Ah … now you’re speaking my language! If you have the Jam’s first single, “In the City”, look at the back of the sleeve and you’ll see my name on it.
:slight_smile:

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

In reply to G3NYY:

I chickened out of going up a summit as the weather looked as though it might be iffy (though in fact it wasn’t bad until later). I was just on for a couple of hours and had only 11 contacts from IO74, the best DX was IO80. The JO stations I could hear couldn’t hear me.

Used 2.5 (hah! more like 2) Watts into my 5-ele DK7ZB at 10m agl on the Spiderbeam pole, at a site steeply overlooking the sea at 50m asl. Have entered the PW contest for a change!

Conditions not terrible but not wonderful either. I must admit when a station came on from Staffordshire using 400W beaming to GM to give us some points, you could tell the difference - he was certainly 59+ whereas most were much much weaker.

Fun anyway - it made a change and I was able to evaluate the site for possible future use.

73
John GM8OTI