2026 SOTA Challenge (Part 6)

[G8CPZ]

@G8ADD

I’m hoping that in the next few months we will get at least one decent tropo opening

A few years ago I had an unexpected tropo ducting experience one bright sunny morning from a modest Wainwright hill in the Lakes using my 5W 2m FM HT & RH770 with two stations on the English south coast. I probably won’t be checking tropo ducting charts to decide whether or not to go activiating, but with the 2026 Challenge I hope to repeat that 2m experience with a similar modest setup with SSB or CW.

Summer Solstice Activations?

You might be lucky and very surprised as I was last Tuesday early morning activating a “Wainwright” (Wainwrights on the Air scheme). With just my 5W 2m FM HT and a Diamond RH770 half-wave telescopic whip on a small summit (193m ASL) in the Lake District I expected to work the usual local and regional chasers but - thanks to tropospheric ducting - I was called by not one but two stations (M0GQJ and 2E1KJB) in the Isle-of-Wight 250 miles away. Both were 5/8 signals to me.