Laters…
Good 57 - 59 contacts with both G4TJC/P (Black Hill 107 Km) and M1EYP/P (Kinder Scout 120 Km) using 144 MHz C4FM digital voice. Simon fitted a filter to the front end of his radio on the summit. RX was suffering blocking - understood to be from a nearby commercial transmitter he thought. Success in the end!
73 Phil G4OBK
Thanks Phil.
Phone reception was bad but some SMS and in the end a call from GW4VPX relaying a message from 2E0XYL got through, saying others were replying. So it wasn’t just midweek inactivity. I was hearing 70-cm repeaters fine, so it wasn’t a fault in the antenna system. That left one thing - de-sense.
I felt a right fool for not realising sooner. I’ve not been affected their before but I did hear another op with the same problem not long ago. I guess I used the FT817 before but this time it was an FT3. Once I installed a band-pass filter those signals I couldn’t hear at all were end-stop.
I finished with 6 C4FM QSOs plus 13 on FM.
At one point I had a visitor. A hawk (a kestrel I think) perched awkwardly on the top of my Slim JIM. We stared at each other for a minute before it flew away.
The sun had set by pack-up time so my walk back was by the full moon and head torch. Still, the 228-m high Holme Moss transmitter mast provided a good reference, even if it had been the source of my earlier troubles!
With me doing a maths teaching job in Glossop at present, it was only going to be a matter of time before I succumbed to a walk up Kinder Scout from the Churnal side. A beautiful Autumn evening and the first day of the October DV flavour was plenty enough incentive.
I left work in Glossop and parked up at Churnal a couple of miles out of town and uphill. This road is on my daily commute. Disaster - I’d brought my walking clothes to change into - but forgot my boots. There was only one thing for it - Liam’s wellies, which had been left in the boot of my car!
It was a splendid walk. Up in bright warm sunshine with terrific clear views, and down by torchlight and moonlight with the city lights of Manchester stretching out along the horizon.
I met two sets of first day Pennine Way walkers on the way down.
I set up in the vicinity of the 624m trig point. Station was Yaesu FT70D handheld into a SOTAbeams SB5.
Good fun on air. 24 contacts made on 2m, with 12 on FM and 12 on C4FM. Two C4FM S2S were made thanks to Simon G4TJC/P on Black Hill G/SP-002, and Stuart G1ZAR/P on Bardon Hill G/CE-004. Great turn out from both activators and chasers on C4FM for a midweek evening.
The operating spot on G/CE-004 Bardon Hill yesterday evening.
I chose to operate in the clearing behind the bench as last DV challenge in March, the bench suffered less interference that at the trig point.
Perhaps thing have changed, as 2M suffered accross the band, and I could not get a 'phone signal, which has never been a problem before.
Only 2 contacts on DV, but at least I tried.
Forgot head torch, so didn’t stay to long.
As I heard you working a 2E0 station immediately before our S2S QSO on C4FM, I take it you didn’t work Simon @G4TJC on G/SP-002 then?
Looks like I was the only one of the three of us not to suffer desensing!
I heard you, Stuart, whilst Phil & I were in QSO. We missed the S2S unfortunately 
Must figure out this GM thing.
WX over the coming days does not look promising. Plus Covid restrictions of course…
Desensing cannot occur if no sense was ever present in the first place.
I agree. I think the 624m trig on Kinder is relatively RF-quiet. But I suspect you didn’t mean that.
Anyone out tonight? I’ll be off out shortly for an evening C4FM session.
Will look for you Tom but doubt I’ll hear you , but good luck anyways
Another good evening on VHF and Fusion.
The Cloud G/SP-015
2m FM: 8 QSOs
2m C4FM: 20 QSOs
Possibly heading into the West Midlands tomorrow. With waterproofs…
The Cloud G/SP-015 got yet another airing on C4FM today, but with a different call sign to usual! 9 logged for 2m DV, and Helen, M0TMD, had a run on 2m FM. We had a “what’s that?” question from a passer-by. I thought they must surely all know by now. 
DV Flavour Chaser update:
No copy on you yesterday (Sunday) on SP-015 Simon @G4TJC . Probably too great a distance to the far reaches of North Yorkshire for C4FM on 2m to overcome.
Tom - worked Tom using DV on his handheld and rubber duck from TW-004 on Sunday morning also nothing heard from Tom on TW-005 later, albeit I wasn’t monitoring the usual channel and was just watching for a spot whilst working the usual suspects on HF. I cannot recall any spots, maybe was a change of plan or just no spotting.
This morning I had to go out from 0850-0945 local for painting materials for a decorating job. Came home to see a C4FM spot at 0915L from Tom @M1EYP on Blencathra. Shame I missed you Tom - I can work 5 watt stations who are using a beam from Pickering on Blencathra usually. Never saw an alert or I would have taken a standby.
73 Phil
Thanks for trying, Phil.
I’m vaguely thinking of taking a turn up Kinder one evening if work and WX allow. 50:50
(Might have to downgrade that having just checked the forecast!)
Nothing heard here Simon on DV although I knew Helen was ‘there’ on FM and heard the occasional chaser going back to her. I’m waiting for the bigger 2m beam to arrive so who knows what new contacts I’ll make up North, however, it will be too late for the DV challenge.
73 Allan
Late in shack due to other work on - 1310z missed you on Great Mell Fell Tom. Think you would be QRT by then. G0VWP Terry in York with beam reports nothing heard.
73 Phil
What we need now, I think, is a thread about the flavours challenge rather than one full of reports and operational comments. How did it go? What could have been done better? What should we do next year? That sort of thing. The MT is always listening!
Hi all
About 60m in the next “Flavours” Challenge ?? After plenty and gorgeous “local” band and mode !
I know all countries haven’t 60m allocation (OE, VK) but all ham haven’t digital Trx, only 37 DV chasers and 24 DV activators in the world in 2020 (2 OE or no VK) … try to work JA on 160m (JA allocation) will be also a challenge for SOTA station …
What is the MT thinking about that ?
73 Éric
Digital voice mode is available to all. Whether individuals choose to acquire the equipment is another matter. The current week has so far been brilliant with loads of C4FM simplex QSOs on my activations. Loads of chasers worked on the mode, and several DV S2S too.
I think 60m is a good shout. It is available in many more countries than it used to be, but certainly not all. As such, maybe it could be added into the LF Flavour, making it 160m/80m/60m?
In reply to G4OBK:
I used only HH + RD on High Rigg, Great Mell Fell and Little Mell Fell. But I used the beam on Blencathra and Hallin Fell (pointing East), so surprised not to get you and Terry on those.
Great day out with decent wx in the Lakes. Five summits all qualified, with DV QSOs made in every activation.
The problem with 60m is not only that some countries don’t have access to it, but that there are countries with large ham populations that do not have access to the “international band” or have access to just part of it, for instance the USA still only have five channels, one of which falls in the international band. I would suggest that a 60m flavour be delayed until the FCC see sense!
