Ah, a pun on those awful Famous Five Enid Blyton books, Five Go Mad in Dorset, Five Go To Smuggler’s Top, Five Do Acid and Crack… you know the ones.
Anyway, Alan MM0VPM suggested we have some 13cms fun on the gm13 group. It was quite short notice for the next day but I was planning going out so why not find somewhere in likely 13 cm range and see what could be done. Like lightening, Jack GM4COX was game and some of the local Central uWavers were up for a play too. The plan was Brian GM4DIJ and Pete GM4BYF would be QRV from Edinburgh, Mark GM4ISM from Larkhall, Alan from Dun Rig GM/SS-052 and Jack from Sell Moor Hill GM/SS-211, Dun Rig would be a complete for me, Sell Moor a complete for Jack just to jazz things up. My summit was Ben Cleuch, a 45min drive but a good 2h10m walk and climb.
I had to dig out all the 13 cm gear as it had not been out since last August when we played from An Caisteal, Fiarach and Ben Challum. Also I had to charge my IC-705 and try and remember how it worked. That was quite hard till I remember it was a touch screen and all the missing functions were found. D’Oh!
Up at 7am, out at 7.55, parked up, booted and kitted out (705, EFHW, 1:49, tuner, 13 cm tvtr, cables, bowtie antenna) at 9.05am. Wow it weighs a bit compared to the KX2+HF. So it was a simple walk, I know it well. Around the houses, up the footpath, pickup the farm track, up 5 zigzags and along the reasonably straight and level track. Except in the intervening 9 years that level track has become rather steep. At the junction of tracks it’s up the stupidly steep Ben Ever or the longer less steep route via Ben Buchan. Ben Buchan won. Plod along in hard frozen track then at the top turn right and follow what is a very boggy track to Ben Buchan and round to Ben Cleuch. Not boggy today, rock hard.
About 1hr walking I’ve climbed from a little higher than the Forth Estuary, about 400m ASL. There’s not a breath of wind. Making OK progress.
2h15 after leaving I was at the summit in a noticeably strong and damn cold breeze and sat in 2-3 cm of snow. I didn’t expect anyone up here on a Thursday but in fact there were 16 other visitors. There’s no shelter here apart from the wind shelter at the trig and I don’t use them as a rule. I set up in the lee of selter to leave it free. 20/30/40 EFHW and the double double quad for 13. I wired up everything including the tvrt PTT lead… I almost brought the old FT 817 lead but remembered at the last minute to bring the 705 lead. Of course I spent another 20 mins trying make it all work and remember what the QRG for GB3CSB was. Not in the memories but it was in VFO B. D’Oh! (Again).
I called a few times on our 2m talkbacks but nothing so I texted Alan…“QRV in 5 he said”. I rang Jack and he was a bit late due to traffic. Then 2320.200 popped into life and it was fellow LRS member Brian GM4DIJ. 59++++++ each way and we were not pointing in the right directions. Shortly followed by Jack, 59+++++ each way, then Alan also 59+++++. There was quite a bit of fishing taking place as the tvtrs drifted about… no I am not bringing a GPSDO 10MHz signal up on SOTA! So that was 3, 1 more QSO to qualify on 13 cm and ta-da, Mark GM4ISM was there at 55 each way. So qualified on 13 cm, no where was Pete. Well after phone call he was actually sitting on the roof of his garage to get his new 13 cm transverter commisioned. He doesn’t have a direct path to Ben Cleuch, buildings in the way, so instead of beaming NW he was beaming SW and bouncing the signal of Allermuir Hill 2.5km to his SW. Reflections off towers, pylons or big rocky mountains is common but he was 54 with me for 2W into a grassy hill. More impressive he could hear my reflection from the same place also at 54. You can see why 13cm is a popular military RADAR band.
OK, so 5 QSOs on 13 cm mid week will do nicely. I missed out on Andrew G4VFL who was on Dent and was worked by Alan and Jack. I QSY’d to 17m for 9x CW QSO including W2WC and W4JKC then 3x CW QSO on 21m.
By then I had been QRV for 90mins (there’s always lots of faffing on 13cms getting every pointing the right way and on frequency) and I was cold in the melting snow and the wind was much stronger. It seems to take forever to packup and I walked out the same way as in to get a bit more exercise.
MM0FMF setup Ben Cleuch GM/SS-059, EFHW as inv-7 and 13cms double double quad. Most the junk is packed when I thought I should grab a photo having worked 5 on uWaves.
Looking NW, Meall Corranaich GM/CS-010, Bheinn Ghlas, Ben Lawers GM/CS-001 50 km distant), Meal Gharbh GM/CS-004. The dark lump in front of Meall Gharbh is Creah Uchdag GM/SS-022
Stuc a’Chroin GM/SS-010 and Ben Vorlich GM/SS-008
I was in no rush so it took 2hr15 up and 2hr back to the car with the odd stop, comfort break and chat to a bloke walking a completely insane Spaniel. Total 13.2 km walked and 745 m of ascent. That explains why I was quite tired. I’m sure it has grown since I was laste here… or I am older!
Thanks to Alan MM0VPM @MM0VPM for proposing a fun day. We have a few uWave minded idiots down in this bit of GM. Fraser and chums have an active chase/activator group in their bit of ES. Can I suggest you organise likewise with your local SOTA hams so you too can have fun days like we have just had in GM/SS and GM/ES. It’s SO worth the effort of organising these self-help events.
