Activation : GM/SS-040 : The Brack : 04-Nov-2025

[GM7STP]

Summary of Activation

• SOTA Summit: GM/SS-040 : The Brack : 788m : 4 pts
• Activation Date: Tue 04-Nov-2025
• Callsign used: GM7STP/P
• ALERT : 12:30 UTC : WX dependent / time approx.
• SPOT : No SPOTs ! … my apologies to all Chasers !
• Equipment : for 145-fm :
  · Rig: Icom ID-52 handheld / 5W
  · Antenna : Spectrum Comms Slim-G 2m
  · Mast : Sotabeams Carbon 6 mast (… snapped ! )
• Successful QSOs :
  · On 145-fm : 145.500 MHz, etc : QSOs = 4.

Setting Up :

Arriving at the summit at target ETA of ~12:00, had a bite to eat and then began to setting up. The Brack summit has a trig point on mainly rock with some grassy patches nearby. Here’s where the fun starts … I decided it would be a good idea to strap my Sotabeams telescopic mast to the trig point pillar, as this seemed to be the best location height-wise. With the bottom of the mast held with a bungy, I began setting up the guy lines.

With a couple of guy lines in place I was fixing the third one when the Sotabeams mast suddenly creased down to a 90 degree angle over the trig pillar before breaking completely ! It was a little breezy but there must have been too strong a gust of wind for the poor little Sotabeams Carbon 6 mast! See Photo-002.
A minor inconvenience ! I then proceeded guying up the remainder of the mast with Slim-G attached all ready to go. See Photo-003.

After sorting out connections I was almost ready. Just needed to SPOT myself on Sotawatch3 … but didn’t have my password to hand ! So with time getting on and the summit still covered in wet cloud I decided to just start operating without a SPOT. Hence my apologies to all Chasers looking out for a SPOT from The Brack !

Operation on 145-fm :

By about 13:00 UTC/GMT I was QRV and calling CQ SOTA with the Slim-G connected. Nothing heard so after about 10 minutes I switched to the rubber duck instead.

Within 5 minutes I got my 1st QSO from Peter @GM0VEK over near Kirkintilloch; 145.500 QSY 145.400. Peter kindly stayed on frequency to allow me to reconnect the Slim-G … all checked OK. Peter was also my 1st QSO on Beinn Dearg GM/SS-207, Aug-2025.

With no SPOTS, for my 2nd QSO back to 145.500 then 145.400 with Craig @MM7BQP in Cumnock.

My 3rd QSO followed shortly after with Stuart @M9STM /M in Port Glasgow.

My 4th QSO followed about 5 minutes later with Ross @MM7JQD /P who was in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow; CQ on 145.500 then QSY to 145.475. My congratulations to Ross on becoming licenced recently and for his first SOTA activation on Duncolm GM/SS-222.

With my four QSOs on The Brack, I happily packed up and headed down back to the car.
The XYL was very happy to head back to the car too !

Overall a very successful activation. Very enjoyable QSOs.

BTW here’s an interesting Reflector posting :

Trig points and poles

I’m new here. I had allot of issues trying to quickly strap a pole with cord to a UK trig point in the wind last week. It would not stay put just slid over, scratched up my pole and so i had to move the pole and just guy it. Not sure what people advise ?. This week, i’ve used an old trick and covered the bottom of my pole in an old bike inner tube, giving it protection and grip. But need a better way to secure it.

Upon reflection … providing me with some very useful words of experience !

Background stuff : Route & Photos :

Route Start : Forestry Commission Coillessan Glen Car Park on the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way.

Route Finish : Summit : The Brack : Refer to SotaMaps GM/SS-040 at 788m.

Distance to Summit : 4.7 km over elevation of 787 - 110 = 677m approx.

Wx : Low cloud which didn’t clear at all on the summit. Poor visibility, no view at all.

Route:

From Coillessan Glen car park follow the track / path along the Loch Lomond and Cowal Way all the way up to the Cairn after about 3km, as shown on the OS map. Then follow the path to the right towards The Brack (Note: from the same cairn the path to the left leads on to Cnoc Coinnich GM/SS-046). Continue to follow the path to the right, passing a very small lochan, then taking the south west ridge approach to The Brack summit.
Note: the OS map shows the trig point at 787m, noting that the trig point height is at 787.6m (ref. S8764); i.e. 788m as given by SotaMaps for GM/SS-040.
Return route taken from the summit was the same in reverse, passed the very small lochan to the Cairn then back down to the Coillessan Glen car park.

“Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2025”

OSMaps-GM7STP-GMSS040-01.jpg : Route: Coillessan Glen Car Park to The Brack

“Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database rights 2025”

OSMaps-GM7STP-GMSS040-02.jpg : Route: Car Park to Cairn passed the very small lochan on to The Brack

Photos :

Above: Photo-001 : At the Cairn looking to the path to the right towards The Brack (in the cloud!)

Above : Photo-002 : My Sotabeams Carbon 6 mast snapped in two !

Above : Photo-003 : Me by the trig point on The Brack … not much of a view !

Above : Photo-004 : Very small lochan about half-way along the path on the way back to the Cairn.

A great day out successfully activating The Brack !

Thanks for all the QSOs.

Replacement section for my Sotabeams Carbon 6 mast ordered up already,
hopefully ready for my next SOTA adventure.

73 Peter GM7STP

[G0MHF]

Ooh, the Brack, that takes me back. Easter 1964, staying at the original Ardgarten Youth Hostel with a school party. We climbed the Brack one day, with some snow around, from memory. Great report, Peter!

Happy days! 73 John

[G4OIG]

Excellent report Peter. The route description you provide will be useful when (if) I get around to activating this one. I must plan an outing in that area.

It was a pity about the pole. I hope you can get it fixed. I have no experience of carbon fibre poles as I use glass fibre ones and have never any such issues with them, even when used to support my 2m 5 element yagi in strong winds.

Hopefully work you sometime when I’m north of the border.

73, Gerald

[GM7STP]

Sounds like you had a very memorable day out on The Brack … in the snow !
I wonder which route you took ? Same as my SOTA route or the more direct route ?

I have done The Brack a number of times before following the more direct, steeper route, starting from the main Ardgarten Car Park by the A83, following the track then onto a steep path up through the woods and on up to the larger lochan before a final steep path up to the summit. One of my favourite Corbetts. Maybe one for the winter bonus points !

73 Peter

[GM7STP]

The Route: It’s worth mentioning that the forest to the south of The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way shown on the map above has recently been cut down. So the view from the gate / stile which was at the edge of the forest now looks like this:
… view looking back down Coillessan Glen :

The Pole : the replacement part for my Sotatbeams Carbon 6 mast arrived:

and the mast is now fixed and fully functional again !

Yes, certainly hope to catch you when you’re next north of the border.

73, Peter

[G4OIG]

@GM7STP

It’s worth mentioning that the forest to the south of The Loch Lomond and Cowal Way shown on the map above has recently been cut down

So not the protected route it once was. I’ll make a note for future reference.

[G0MHF]

Hi Peter, unfortunately it was sooo long ago, I don’t remember what route we took, assuming I even knew it. I did look at a diary I kept for 1964 & we went up the hill on the 10 April, my comment was that it was fairly easy, cloudy on the summit but the descent was treacherous! I may have imagined the snow in hindsight.

3 days earlier we had climbed Ben Arthur aka The Cobbler, my comments being that it had been hard, but the views from the top were great! I have no memory of this at all. I have only one memory which could be from either climb of looking out over a valley & having an almost mystical experience-oh, & a dog following our party up the hill!

Three years later, in summer 1967, a school mate & I had a camping trip to the Ardgarten campsite & we climbed The Cobbler a couple of times. I remember cooking a Vesta beef curry & rice on the summit on a camping gaz stove!

Happy days, 73 John

[MM9ROS]

Hi Peter, sorry I hadn’t stumbled on this sooner! It was a nice surprise being out on my lunchbreak and managing to catch you out on a hill with my handheld!

Ross (ex MM7JQD)

[GM7STP]

Hi Ross,
Welcome to the Reflector and congratulations on your MM9 callsign
Yes is was good to catch you down there in Glasgow from The Brack.
Hope to catch you again, maybe even as a S2S.

73 Peter
GM7STP