Will be off to GM/SS this weekend and was wondering what 5 MHz is like at the moment as I haven’t had time to listen for a few weeks now.
Will be taking the FT817 but is it worth taking/setting up the 5 MHz dipole ? or should I just chance it on 2m/4m FM with a whip (possibly 2m SSB with a beam). Looking to activate what I can between Abington and Edinburgh but not decided on summit(s) yet - but probably nearer to Abington.
No chance of arranging an antenna for any other HF bands between now and the weekend.
Will be taking the FT817 but is it worth taking/setting up
the 5 MHz dipole ?
You’ll be 200+ miles North of where you normally live. So whilst you might not have made any contacts to your home area from home on 5MHz, you’ll stand an excellent chance from that part of GM.
or should I just chance it on 2m/4m FM
with a whip (possibly 2m SSB with a beam).
If you want to qualify the hills I wouldn’t rely solely on VHF.
but probably nearer to Abington.
Another activation for Tinto coming up!
Email me if you want route/summit info for that part of the world. mm0fmf AT hotmail.com (do the obvious).
In reply to G8HXE:
Just a thought, replace the feeder of the 5 megs with some twin bell wire or flex and tune it as a doublet, giving you all band capability.
Signals from Scotland on 5 have been reasonably strong this week except for GM4YSS in the far north, who was weak today. This might have been due to the sporadic E that was about today. 6 was open lunchtime, and I carry a couple of lengths of stiff wire with crocodile clips to extend the 2 metre dipole to resonance on 6.
Will try to keep an ear out for you. We are going to Northamberland at the weekend and I hope to do a couple of days activating in the GM/SS area during next week. As usual I will be seeking qualification of the summit on 2m SSB (or FM if I have to) and then I will also be playing on 5MHz, hopefully picking up those unable to catch me on 2m… could be the majority!
