Tomorrow MI0JST and myself hope to activate GI/SM-001 & GI/SM-004. This will be first time HF activations on both these summits so I expect quite a few chasers would like to bag them. In order to give as many chasers as possible a QSO I would appreciate a short reply here if you hope to work either stations stating your preferred band & mode.
I will be on or near 7.030 CW QRP with an inverted V and JST will start on 145.5 FM with 50 watts to a 5 ele yagi and if that proves dead he will probably QSY to 14.200 SSB running 50 watts to an inverted V, (he can also be QRV on 7.150 SSB or 21.200 SSB)
Hopefully we will have GSM signal to self spot when QRV, if not can someone please do the honours if you hear us.
So until tomorrow 73 & good chasing from GI4ONL & MI0JST (Victor x 2)
Well, that’s another one in the bag. Thanks to all those chasers who took the trouble to give us a call. Unfortunately the climb took a bit longer than expected due to some very icy slopes trying to mimic mini glaciers! From around 500M up there was significant fresh snow which made the going a bit heavy and occasionally treacherous as it concealed the ice. On reaching the trig point we quickly erected the tents followed by the aerials, my 40 Metre dipole and JST’s 5 ele yagi, no easy task in a strong SW gale. The temperature was -3.5 and, coupled with the windchill, kept the desire to remove gloves to a minimum. An hour of these conditions was all we could endure! Packing up was a good decision because we had only just started our descent when we were attacked by a buddimg blizzard. Trying to get the gear sorted now would have been nigh on impossible, but at least the snow and wind was on our back making it slightly more bearable. If we thought the climb over the ice was difficult on the way up, going down was “interesting” in places making our walking poles worth their weight in gold. On reaching the Land Rover we had a hearty, if somewhat hasty, meal before setting off for GI/SM-004.
Conditions had improved enroute and we were optimistic but this was soon changed to pessimism early on in the trek when the arctic weather returned. Trust me, tired legs, the prospect of coming back in the dark and horizontal snow soon thwarts the desire to activate another summit. Reluctantly we decided to call it a day, returned to the car park and headed for home. As GSM signal is virtually non existent in The Sperrin Valleys, it was some time before we could spot our decision, so apologies to all those watching for information on this activation.
That’s it until the next time, 73 Gi4ONL & MI0JST (Victor squared)
I did hear Victor (JST) call clearly on S20 and QSY to .525 but then he disappeared. Whether he beamed away or conditions changed I don’t know. I tried calling later and I thought I heard him call back way down in the noise but I might have imagined it. Sadly that one got away but I hope to work you in the future, maybe even S2S.
Thank you for the contact Victor. Chasers appreciated the summit that you DID manage, in spite of difficult conditions. You were running so late on the first because of the weather and it was getting dark, so we really did not expect the second SOTA
In reply to G4SSH:
Thanks for the comments folks and congratulations to Roy for being the first entry in the log, (there’s a surprise). Incidentally, as soon as I tried writing I realised both my ballpoint pens had frozen, hence the pause until I found a pencil in the rucksack!
Karen, I will duly chastise Victor for beaming away from you but hopefully you will be able to work him on future activations.
Pens are a liabilty. Pencils, sharpened both ends, are the solution. Work in all weathers and when it snaps you can flip to the other end. Take a few with you. If you snap them all you can always sharpen them with your penknife.
In reply to MM0FMF:
Too right Andy, this is a steep learning curve but hopefully I am getting there. As I also found out yesterday it’s a good idea to bring glasses when you can’t read the display on the 817 without them - doh !!
