Congrats Neil on chasing the 1000 points. I imagine most of these will be STS’s, but noticed you were /m today when the ‘Big Guns’ were out in GM land giving away a barrel load of points. Well done, next stop Mountain Goat.
Roddy 2m0iob
In reply to MM3WWV:
Ahh, I miss all the fun again, anyway good job Neil, always nice to have a chat on the summits and hope to catch you from a few more.
Iain, SM/MM3WJZ
Many congratulations Neil. Hope to make an S2S QSO with you before much longer when I’m up in the Border country. From all the wet weather up your way of late, I wonder whether I should bring my inflatable dinghy with me on my next trip.
73, Gerald G4OIG
In reply to MM3WWV:
Congratulations Neil on gaining Shack Sloth! After 2.5 years of chasing I am still not a sloth!! Claiming points for VHF/UHF only has hindered me somewhat!!
Still only about 100 points to go!
73
Matt G8XYJ
Congratulations Neil on achieving the Shack Sloth.
Jimmy 2E0EYP
In reply to G8XYJ:
Well done Neil.
It is always a pleasure to work you from home or S2S. Hope to catch you again soon.
Matt,
Keep going. I managed to get my shack sloth and 100 unique summits using only 2m FM so it can be done.
73
liz.
In reply to M6EPW:
Thanks Liz
You live within range of LD and NP! Hence why you have qualified so easily!!
Most operators up there use FM unfortunately 2m FM does not travel well to WB land from up North!! I have no vertical polarised beam for FM but If only people would use SSB then I could use my horizontally polarised beam and 100 watts to get up there!!
73
Matt G8XYJ
In reply to G8XYJ:
I was about to say that Matt. You’re just far enough away to make a lot of the LD/NP activations quite hard work to copy if the activator is using small antennas/handies etc.
A small vertical beam fixed to the North may make a huge difference. Or a pair of vertical HB9CVs, one pointing NW to LD and one pointing NNE/NE to NP. Might be just enough of an improvement to be worth the hassle.
Neil, well done on your Shack Sloth. Mountain Goat next. (If it ever stops raining long enough to activate anything).
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to G8XYJ:
I rather suspect Matt that, like me, you do a large proportion of your chasing while activating, i.e. S2S contacts. You will certainly manage it that way, it will just take longer - my main chaser log is 144MHz and up. Bizarrely I just looked at it and the database read:
You are a Mountain Goat with 1239 points.
Mountain Goat achieved on 17-Jul-2010
You are a Shack Sloth with 1239 points.
Shack Sloth achieved on 03-Jan-2010
Not sure what kind of omen this is!
73, Gerald G4OIG
HF chaser record as G4OIG/HF - thankfully not 1239 points!
In reply to G4OIG:
HF chaser record as G4OIG/HF - thankfully not 1239 points!
It’s time you updated it as well 
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
Well indeed Andy!
My colinear is good, but we all know being able to point the RF and squirt it into a specific area is the way forward!
At home I have the 5 ele at about 20’ and with it I have worked every nation in the UK on 2m SSB (in the contests) as well as DX across the continent when the band is open. For SOTA I have worked Mr OIG on LD several times! So clearly I can get up the Stretton Valley and across the Shropshire/Cheshire Plain!
I am moving out the family home soon and plan to erect a bigger rotator and have a 10 ele horizontal for 2m and the same for 70cm! However I was just going to stick a colinear on top for local FM! However it would be nice to have a beam for Vertical on 2m!
However there lies the problem
- Vertical Beams are unslighlty (neighbours)
- You have to get the Coax out the way by a good 1/4 wave
- If you mount on the end of the beam then the assembly becomes unbalanced
- If you mount in the middle of the beam then an insulated pole is better!
Clearly I should go for T and K brackets at the Apex of the house with the rotator on top with the beams at about 30’! However with the gap between the T and K is not being used, thereforer I could mount a vertical antenna an point it North, however for the money it does not seem worth it.
Horizontal for SOTA, it has been discussed till the cows come home, but it would make life so much easier!!
Your thoughts please
Matt - Sorry for the Thread Hi-Jack!
In reply to G8XYJ:
Hi Matt,
Most of my summits have been from the few GI and GD activators or GM (very limited number of summits), LD and NW.
About the only time I ever manage a contact for NP or SP is if I am out on the fells activating myself - even then it is quite rare to get them, even with the j-pole I now use unless the activator the other end is using a beam of vertical such as Mike 2E0YYY or there is a rare lift on 2m. The Lake District may have some advantages but a lot of the LD Sota’s are difficult, if not impossible to work from as a result of the layout of the fells.
Colin (M0XSD), my partner, will vouch for how frustrating that is. He keeps trying to get Little Mell Fell from home. Quite a few summits relatively close by are very difficult to work.
Even from home I don’t use anything fancy, just a simple small dual band yagi (3/5 element) mounted on the chimney stack the size of a TV antenna.
Don’t even have the advantage of height as Frizington is only about 150m ABSL.
Keep trying, you will get there. 
73
Liz
In reply to M6EPW:
Hi Liz
All noted, Beams are the way to go!
I think the main reason for the 2.5 year delay is the fact that I work all day so miss any weekday activations and am so busy at the weekends!!
I bet if both Colin and you had a Horizontal beam for 2m, then if anybody activated Little Mell Fell on 2m SSB, you would stand such a better chance. Try SSB if you can, it travels so well over both short, but more importantly long distances!
73
Matt G8XYJ
Well done, Neil.
Mostly STS which makes it better !!
Mountain Goat next I presume ?
Bobby GAX
Well deserved sloth award after all the high milage you have put into your activations and chasing.
Look forward to the next summit to summit contact.
ps-Hurry up and get that blog up to date!
73
Graeme…
2M0GIL
Thanks folks for the comments. It has been a long time coming.
As Bobby says, about 60% of the points are from Summit to Summit contacts.
The last several weeks I have not had the ‘opporchancity’ to venture on to the hills to do any activating so I had the rare chance of being a real sloth and sitting at home waiting patiently for the other activators to wander on to 20m so I could pounce and grab a point or two.
I always try and look for a S2S contact while activating and sometimes it can be a struggle to get ‘in’, a few hundred miles on mostly 2m FM with 5 watts trying to get the attention of the activator in Englandshire while they have a hoard of chasers piling in with more power can be a long experience. S2S contacts in GMland are a lot easier – up here we try not to miss each other at least on VHF.
It is always a pleasure to work all the regular activators and chasers and to work a few new ones now and again.
Roddy, this ‘Big Gun’ will be back in just under two weeks so you better have your radio charged and pencil sharpened.
Gerald, it would be good to get 2m S2S sometime, let me know when you are up next.
Matt, keep going, I never have much luck on 2m ssb so don’t use it very often but if you fancy a few GM chaser points I will try again.
Liz – you always brighten up a miserable activation. 
Cheers Jimmy always good to get you when are up this way.
Iain the troops are missing you, Andy someday, Ehh!
Graeme, I will honest, just so many things on my to-do list that I have a new list that starts ‘Do the To-Do list’
Cheers to everyone and may all you chasers for ever have a comfy seat and all you activators have a dry one.
Neil 2M0NCM