I still do not understand why those winders cost so much. And it’s not SOTAbeams, everyone who sells them charges a fortune for them.
As a bike ride activation this summit is OK.
1 Like
They are the dog’s danglies though. It’s the bags that I think are expensive.
Yes they are good. But I have a medical condition that means I have great difficulty taking out my wallet and opening it. No problem when it comes to Malt or cars with hundreds of bhp more than you really need. But for useful things like that well I’ve made my own (badly) out of corrugated plastic sheeting. I have 2 genuine ones I acquired for nothing and they are better than my home made ones.
2 Likes
You mean being Scottish and/or living in Scotland? I live in Yorkshire so have a similar affliction.
Yes, it’s my Scottish genes… McLevi’s 
TBF I was born within the sound of the Kop singing and of Scottish, American, Cornish & English descent. My great grandmother was from Ireland (before it was split) and I was hoping I could use that to get an Irish and hence EU passport after the big split. Sadly not.
… to be fair my Band Hopper IV bag just keeps going and going, been very impressed with the durability.
M.
Yes, apart from the writing wearing off, mine are doing well too. The cost is actually low when you consider that the largest financial and environmental cost of SOTA activating is petrol/diesel.
I spent years scrimping on everything, and it continued into Amateur Radio until I realised that I’m too old to have the luxury of time for failed activations, blown finals etc. So I now try to be economic whilst buying high quality products.
SOTABeams stuff falls into that bracket for me.
Mark.
3 Likes
The winders they now sell are nowhere as good as the original ones that SOTA Beams sold (back in the day). Solid perspex, but of course heavier. I got plenty - all in different colours. Still going strong and they hold more wire than the lighter ones now sold.
2 Likes
I agree with Richard. They are larger than many other winders and with a better shape (bigger in the windings direction – good for figure of 8 winding). I attached them to the 2-3m of antenna wire end cords and peg them to the ground. Their bright colours help me find them in the grass / heather and act as a warning to walkers. Worth a few bob extra.
The bag for my SOTAbeams linked dipole has also lasted for ages. I’ve a collection of homemade wire antennas on winders now and reckoned it’s time to lash out on a second SOTAbeams bag to share between them. I also treated myself to 3 of those nice pegs.
I know it’s profligate, Andy. Funny thing, some of my radio chums who say I’ve spent a lot on amateur radio [e.g. KX2, Cha MPAS Lite] go on fancy foreign holidays and cruises – but they don’t count that.
1 Like
£2.95 for a piece of plastic is a bit steep.
For nylon stuff sacks I have bought a number from these people. stoptous on eBay I have placed orders with them and had them delivered with 36hrs of placing the order . Including during lockdown! One of their bags hold my Gortex jacket tied to the top of my rucksack. After 10 years in the daylight it has faded a little but not physically weakened. A decent price, a quality item and helps support a small UK business.
When I was on Corse Hill I recovered a length of the special coax they use there !
I don’t know if it is Windmill to Substation or to connect the substations to ??
Corse Hill was an easy summit and no problem on VHF/uWave.
73 de
Andrew G4VFL
1 Like
That looks like the 33kV cable you bury in the ground. They had offcuts when they dug my road up to lay the cables from a windfarm. Something they did 4 times. Dig road, bury cable. Then dig it up and bury a new cable. Repeat 2 more times. Last time there was a big pile of offcuts so I saved a few. Mrs. FMF asked what use I had for them and I said I wasn’t yet sure. I think I have 6ft length and two 4ft lengths.
1 Like
If you found it at the summit it might be from the now-dismantled weather radar station that used to be near the trig point. You can still see the concrete base. Apparently, it was moved elsewhere to allow construction of the wind farm.
Photo of the radar station shown here (trig point on the left) …
1 Like
I’d put it down mainly to the relatively high investment needed to produce an injection plastic mould and the probably low production volumes of these winders, so the investment needs to be recovered over a relatively too small number of parts.
It’s the problem of being a minory (UK and some few EU SOTA activators) in a minory (radio hams).
I always wind my SOTA antenna wires in an 8-shaped form but I just make it with my hand and fingers, so I’ve never seen the need for those plastic winders…
So one thing less to carry, worry about and pay for.
73,
Guru
2 Likes
They’re not just sold to or produced for radio amateurs though.
Guru, we’re wasting our time trying to persuade Andy with our cogent arguments. He’ll quibble over a few quid on a nice winder then spend a king’s ransom on whisky and old cars. Besides, he answered the question himself when he said the two genuine ones he inherited are better than his homemade corrugated plastic sheeting [patent pending?] ones.
Big hands or small antennae Guru? 
. We always used to wind the punch tape for the radios like that at sea. A very effective way of keeping such material tidy and tangle free
1 Like
Both, I’d say…
The black on the left is 10m long and the half white half brown on the right is 14m long but thinner wire.
I lately use an even smaller antenna, which is an OCF with the longest leg being 7m and the shortest 2.1m, so even easier to wind up in my hand.
This is the hand I use for winding those wires:
Just 23 cm from the thumb end to the ring finger end.
I repeat, I’ve never seen the need for any of those plastic winders.
73,
Guru
4 Likes