Autumn in the Lakes from High Rigg

Activation Reports
1

I was at G/LD-044 around this time last year - it was chosen today as a one pointer I haven’t done, whilst leaving the SOTA’s with winter bonus until we tick past 1st December!

I didn’t think it would be disappointing - the views can be amazing from High Rigg nestled in between Skiddaw, Blencathra and Hevellyn. Today I had the FT-857, SOTABeams Band Hopper IV (with an extra link at 60m) and the SOTABeams 10m compact pole.

I setup on the leeward side which this time round was to the South of the summit. Not before I took some panoramas:

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The colours were amazing in the crisp autumn air! Absolutely stunning scenery.

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Operating Location

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Bands were working really nicely except 40m which had gone mushy with all the stations (presumably a contest was on). I did find 7.199 free but after one QSO a digital signal came up 59 and that was the end of that. Just one CW QSO with @EA2IF Guru S2S. It was too cold to attempt CW as an activator, and my location meant I was having to do the summit mobile phone dance to get a signal.

Of the six S2S contacts all were booming in except one, @2E0BIA Martin on Shining Tor who was very weak but with three frequencies tried we eventually got there - perseverance paying off handsomely!

By the end I was getting very cold and although I had spotted for POTA as well most contacts were SOTA, including @AC1Z Bob, 59 transatlantic very very nice!

Thanks to all the chasers. Mark.

TIME CALLSIGN BAND MODE RST RSR OPERATOR SIG REF
12:47 GI4SZW 80m SSB 59 59 Jim
12:49 2E0AGB 80m SSB 59 59 Allan
12:49 G4IPB 80m SSB 59 59 PJ HODGKINSON
12:50 MW0OFA 80m SSB 59 59 Frank Hearne
12:51 PE1RMO 80m SSB 59 57 Jan Keus
12:51 G0FEX 80m SSB 59 59 KEN PORTER
12:51 M0BKV 80m SSB 58 58 Damien
12:52 G4OOE 80m SSB 59 59 A.R.N. (Nick) LANGM
12:53 GW6OVD 80m SSB 59 59 Mal Clee
12:53 GM4WHA 80m SSB 55 44 GEOFF HARPER
12:58 M0NPT 40m SSB 59 59 Abdel
13:02 HB9DHA 40m SSB 59 59 Reinhard (Ray) Sieg
13:14 EA2IF/P 40m CW 579 559 Op. Guru . SOTA EA2/NV-145
13:19 HA7WA 20m SSB 59 55 Viktor Szota
13:20 IU1KGS 20m SSB 59 55 Carlo G
13:20 SV2FLM 20m SSB 58 58 LAZAROS SARRIS
13:21 EA1DHB 20m SSB 59 59 Ricardo Pena
13:21 IU3GKJ 20m SSB 59 59 Riccardo Bolognesi
13:22 EA2EX 20m SSB 59 59 PATRICIO DE PRADO
13:22 CT1DIZ 20m SSB 59 33 JOSE ALEXANDRE CARL
13:22 EA2DT 20m SSB 59 59 Manuel
13:23 EA4IS 20m SSB 59 57 César J. Correal
13:23 F4WBN 20m SSB 59 59 Christian SAINT-ARR
13:23 DD0VE 20m SSB 59 59 Ralf Mantyk
13:23 UA3AHA 20m SSB 59 59 Vladimir Владимир И
13:24 HB9LAN 20m SSB 59 59
13:24 SQ9BQW/P 20m SSB 59 59 Wojciech Plebanczyk SOTA SP/BZ-078
13:25 YU2DVD 20m SSB 59 55 Dragan Veselinovic
13:26 DL2KL/P 20m SSB 59 59 Klaus Lindner SOTA DM/BM-349
13:27 OE6STD 20m SSB 59 58 Horst Thaller
13:27 OE/DD6TT/P 20m SSB 59 59 Benedikt (Ben) Muel
13:28 IW0HQC 20m SSB 59 59 VINCENZO LIBURDI
13:29 HB9VAB 20m SSB 59 59 Rod
13:29 9A6Z 20m SSB 57 59 IVAN ZAGOREC
13:29 EA4HIH 20m SSB 55 55 Reiner Wandler
13:30 DL5MFL 20m SSB 59 59 Mathias Staab
13:30 IV3BSD 20m SSB 59 59 Edi Bonifacio
13:31 SQ9JXS 20m SSB 55 59 Piotr Stanik
13:32 SQ9MDF 20m SSB 59 59 Leszek
13:32 SQ9NOT 20m SSB 59 59 WIOLETTA
13:33 OH3GZ 20m SSB 59 59 JUKKA " Jack " KOVA
13:35 DK8PL 20m SSB 59 59 YL Petra Christin L
13:35 HB9IQL 20m SSB 59 59 Fritz Simon
13:36 SP9HZX 20m SSB 59 59 Andy
13:38 S57S 20m SSB 59 59 ALEKSANDER ZAGAR
13:38 G0LWU 20m SSB 41 51 Andrew Charles Scar
13:40 HA5MIG 20m SSB 59 59 Nemes Zoltán
13:41 S52CU 20m SSB 59 59 Mirko Curk
13:42 DL8DXL 20m SSB 59 59 Fred Grimm
13:42 OE6RCD 20m SSB 58 57 ROLAND ROBIC
13:42 HB9BHW 20m SSB 59 59 Hans R. Buerki
13:43 EA3Y 20m SSB 59 58 Manel Lopez Sanchez
13:43 OE6TTF 20m SSB 59 57 Eric Leser
13:44 AC1Z 20m SSB 59 55 ROBERT W DANIELS
13:44 OE5JKL 20m SSB 59 58 KARL JAEGER
13:45 EB5TT 20m SSB 59 58 Frank
13:45 IN3ADF/P 20m SSB 59 59 Markus Schrott SOTA I/TN-342
13:47 M7BIA/P 20m SSB 33 44 Martin Shakeshaft SOTA G/SP-004
13:49 S57ILF 20m SSB 59 55 FRANCI LOGAR
13:49 DL/HB9EAJ/P 20m SSB 59 58 Stephan Schmid SOTA DM/BW-854
14:03 G3TQQ 60m SSB 59 59 J . DAVID ( DAVE )
14:05 G0RQL 60m SSB 55 59 DON ROOMES
14:05 G8ADD 60m SSB 59 59 Brian Alfred Carter
14:07 M0WPS 60m SSB 45 55 Wayne Phillips
14:08 G6PJZ 60m SSB 59 59 Andy Clift
14:10 G4PWD 60m SSB 59 59 Mike
14:11 G0FVH 60m SSB 59 59 DAVID. S. DOLLING
14:12 GM0AXY 60m SSB 59 59 Einar Kenneth (Ken)
14:24 CS7AMJ 20m SSB 55 55 Carlos G Belfo
14:25 F5TIL 20m SSB 59 59
14:27 EA1FIC 20m SSB 59 59 Roberto Fernandez
14:29 HB9BTI 20m SSB 59 59 Peter Lenz
14:31 IT9ETC 20m SSB 57 55 DANILO (DAN) CONTIN
14:31 EA2DDG 20m SSB 59 59 Jose Maria Gonzalez
14:32 EA2CCG 20m SSB 59 59 Joaquín Montoya Jim
14:32 NT2A 20m SSB 59 55 GENNADY MOSHKOV
14:32 IU2HEE 20m SSB 59 59 Marco Barzasi
14:33 SP9TKW 20m SSB 59 57 Marek Klimczyk
14:33 IK3DRO 20m SSB 59 59 Gino Scapin
14:33 F5MDY 20m SSB 59 59 Nicolas NOLHIER
14:34 EA1GKP 20m SSB 59 57 JUSTO HERRERO ALONS
14:34 HB9CKV 20m SSB 59 58
14:34 OK1PFH 20m SSB 59 59 Jan Drlik
14:35 DD6DO 20m SSB 59 33 Stephan
14:35 IW2OBX 20m SSB 59 57 Roberto
14:36 S57NJM 20m SSB 59 59
14:37 F4IVI 20m SSB 59 53 Jerome REYTINAT-HAR
14:38 UR4PWC 20m SSB 57 59 Club Station
14:38 I2QIX 20m SSB 59 59 LORENZO INNOCENTI
14:40 SP5NZF 20m SSB 57 57 Jakub Rusiecki
14:40 IU1BOT 20m SSB 59 59 Lorenzo “Vash” Gian

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Photo Album

25 Likes
2

40m CW around 1130 (need to check log) was manic, I’ve not heard 40m this busy for a while.

1 Like
3

It was great to work you. Thanks for the perseverance, in my attempt to get another S2S I even tried moving my dipole 90 degrees! From running North South to East West. Great views today but bitterly cold on G/SP-004. Love the images.

1 Like
4

Thanks for the contact and the complete Mark - you had a stunning signal on 80m and the weather looks amazing!

5

Great photos Mark. Well done for the activation. :+1:

Cheers :beers:

73 Geoff vk3sq

1 Like
6

Hi Mark,
it was great work you S2S today. Signals were really booming. I used a self made Bandspringer midi tossed in a tree abt. 13 m high for our QSO.
Looking on your very nice pictures I get jealous. I had no sun, foggy, misty weather, a bit of rain, 3 degree celsius, nearly no vision.

CU next time on the Bands agn.
vy 73 de Klaus, DL2KL

2 Likes
7

Well done Mark!

It was a cracker of a day in the Lake District. My wife, Fiona, went to meet her sister in Skipton for a rare opportunity to catch up one on one without any distraction from kids. I’d had my freedom day yesterday to do SOTA from Pendle Hill, so today I took the kids to Ambleside for lunch in the Apple Pie cafe and then to do some ‘Herdy’ spotting-

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:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Beautiful views on the hills on my drive to and from Ambleside.

73, Colin

3 Likes
8

Great pictures Mark! The weather looks fabulous, and the landscape colour from the sunshine is amazing. Thanks for sharing.

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9

Mark, thanks for such an interesting report! I have probably never seen such expressive photographs. And pictures with reflections of radio waves are very informative. This is a great job. I only regret that my callsign was not on the long QSO list.
73
Vlad

2 Likes
10

Wow… what stunning photos and colours! I’ve only recently started /SOTA and my locations havn’t been anywhere near as stunning as High Rigg. Btw, which software/website do you use to generate those 3d log reports?
73, Lea M0XPO

11

Hi Lea. Google Earth images and the table of contacts are generated by my ADIF Processor.

Although I tend to use the ‘auto’ facility on Google Photos which enhances colours and adds a bit of ‘pop’ I can honestly say in this instance it looked like the photos in reality. Beautiful scenery!

Photos were taken using a Redmi Note 10 Pro phone camera and a Panasonic TZ-70 camera.

Mark.

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12

Stunning photos Mark, methinks you know a bit about photography as the use of colours and shadow.
Exceptional signal and audio from you so thanks for the contact
Stay safe. Best 73 Allen

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13

The SOTA monster is coming to get us…

3 Likes
14

Reminds me of the contortionist I watched recently in the Circus of Horrors! A human spider.

Always love seeing your photos and graphics Mark.

1 Like
15

Hi Mark,
Thanks for the qso and the report with wonderful landscape pics!
From G sota activators, I rarely receive nice signals like yours from High Rigg.
Cuagn
73

1 Like
16

Spectacular photos, absolutely beautiful. I’ll be back home north for good once I get the chance of retirement!!

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17

Sshh. Mark doesn’t like us to use the R word :grin::grin:

2 Likes
18

very weird… for 1st time since march 16th 2020 had to go to office for face to face meeting with colleagues as vid conferencing not up to job. Nobody was very keen so we got a 3course lunch bought for us so we would go. Now we’ve been sat in darkened office trying not fall asleep whilst working. :slight_smile:

We have a Christmas day out on Dec 3rd in Edinburgh… Whisky Tour then meal then drinks. Should only cost me train ticket there and back. Last time we did thus in 2019 I thought would need a new liver. Then a few days vacation to use and then Christmas break. Then I start a 4 day pre-retirement week in Jan. Then “so long and thanks for all the fish” in October 2022. And that’s the end of working full time.

Only mentioned retirement once. :wink:

4 Likes
19

Instead of the R word I will be using the P(art Time) word instead. I have noticed a strong correlation between rubbish weather and days “off”. This Friday 35MPH winds, a feel like temperature of -5 and snow showers. Andy - Don’t take Friday’s as your R day you will be stuck with one pointers and bad weather… Paul - partly R’d… ( Didn’t mention retirement once - oops )

1 Like