I am planning on Heading down to Arthurs seat this Sunday. Just awaiting on confirmation from the Ranger Service that I can activate. I will be taking my 817 and plan on working 20-40M and 2m. Does anyone have any recommendations on erecting poles on the summit. I believe you are not aloud to have any ground stakes of any kind. I can either use my AX2 which is a severe compromise or EFHW in an inverted L with a sand or stone bag to hold the end down.
The summit itself is rocky and not suitable for guys. There are also too many people around for a safe HF activation using a traditional HF wire antenna. 2m FM activation using a hand held is easy from there. Some have activated HF from the grassy side slopes using bushes as shelter and to get a little privacy.
I’ve done it twice now, as detailed in this thread. Further down I explain how I got around the guy problem.
Happy to confirm that permission was granted within two hours of sending the email to rangers@hes.scot I did phone them as well
The weather is supposed to be overcast turning to Mist. At least it will kill some time while the girls are watching Wicked at the Playhouse.
I sat on the slope on the northern side of the hill and used a pole mounted Slidewinder vertical antenna with two 5m long radials running out towards the north-north-west and west-north-west to maximise the signal towards the States. The pole was guyed and I used standard aluminium wire tent pegs. I took care how I set out the antenna and had no trouble with anyone tripping over the radials or guy wires. Using headphones helped minimise the questions and I was only approached while I was setting up. Overall a brilliant experience despite my concerns that it might all go wrong.
There is no objection to guying or pegs. I specifically sent through a photo to clear this with them and I took a copy of the correspondence with me. Be Prepared - Scouts Motto. .
.