Richard G(W)3CWI and I will attempt a DX S2S using C4FM (Fusion) later this morning. He will be on Great Rhos GW/MW-002, and I will be on The Cloud G/SP-015. Both of us will have Fusion handhelds and MFD antennas.
It goes without saying that we would both very much welcome any other calls on Fusion. We will both probably do some analogue FM as well, but digital is the priority.
So if you’re about this morning, and have Fusion capability, let’s have a SOTA C4FM QSO party!
Hi Tom
If you and Richard manage the S2S in C4FM and FM (analogue) let’s us know the differences that you felt up the summits, please (intelligibility, etc).
Thanks and GD activations.
Pedro, CT1DBS
Friday 23rd March 2018 - The Cloud G/SP-015
I’m afraid not. We didn’t make contact on either C4FM or FM. I did make an easy S2S with Phil GW4HQB/P who was on GW/MW-001 - and indeed Richard GW3CWI/P made the S2S with GW/MW-0001 as you might expect from GW/MW-002! But between GW/MW-002 and G/SP-015, neither of us could hear the other one.
A total of 8 QSOs made with the FT70D handie. 6 on 2m FM and 2 on 2m C4FM. I had carried the FT-817, battery and 20m GP up, but it was pretty windy on the summit, and I decided I couldn’t be bothered.
Mow Cop and Long Mynd both look like they would spoil the fun a bit.
Highly likely that was the problem Andy. Given how strong signals were both ways between MW-001 and SP-015, yet zero both ways between MW-002 and SP-015, I expected there must be a blockage, even though I haven’t analysed the path yet.
Richard did initially suspect that mast near him were desensing his rig on RX, but we were in Messenger contact at the time, and I asked him to start transmitting while I listened. I could hear nothing my side either, and there are no QRM issues on The Cloud.
Pity I didn’t see your post earlier, could probably have increased your C4FM count.
I recall failing on 2FM up on Great Rhos in the early days of SOTA. On this occasion I did manage 5 contacts. It’s a plateau type summit and they are often rather disappointing.
Later on Wapley Hill I only managed 2 contacts but one was Fusion with Matt G8XYJ. Matt experimented by sending me a photo on C4FM. To my surprise the FT2DR displayed it nicely in monochrome. I wasn’t expecting that. We joked that FB messenger would have been quicker but on the plus side Matt’s photo now cannot be used to influence any election results. Wapley is a lovely hill so lounging around in my chair was no hardship.
But a surprising number of people nonetheless manage to make contacts from such summits on 2meters:
Great Rhos:
and Wapley Hill:
Nice charts for this perspective of view.
Vy 73 de Markus, HB9DIZ
Yes nice charts Rob. Really brings out the overall perspective of the summit ‘workings’! Though saying that the charts don’t appear to include the current overall Activation tally?
(;>J
In what sense?
Indeed. Surprisingly few.
702 QSOs across a 16 year history suggest that most 2m activators do little more than scrape together 4/5 contacts, as Richard did!
OK, but as a proportion of those QSOs made from those summits, surprisingly many were made on 2 meters.
I’m not so sure. You’d have to compare the proportions with those for other GW and G summits. I expect that 39.5% and 49.3% will be relatively low.
That’s a different thing altogether - you’re now comparing different summits. I’m just talking about one summit and note that a good proportion of QSOs from that particular summit were made on 2 meters.
I mean, 40% and nearly 50% are fairly high quotas in anybody’s book.
Of course, this will also reflect the types of equipment actually taken to the summit, but nonetheless the numbers are meaningful in themselves.
That’s precisely what I’m disputing. I’m not convinced they are. I reckon most other G and GW summits would have significantly higher percentages of 2m QSOs in their records, indicating that - as Richard infers - these are less-than-optimal locations for VHF.
That’s a fair enough comment - looking at the pointiest of the GW/NW summits, the numbers are around 80% or higher for 2 meter contacts.
But these numbers will also very likely reflect the relative unwillingness of operators to haul HF stations to the tops of these summits (or of setting up such stations when there), and the relative ease of throwing a HT in the rucksack before the climb.
But 40% and 50% are still showing us that 2-meter contacts from the 2 summits mentioned above are not only possible, but actually make up the majority of contacts made from those summits. .
Well Rob taking a couple of ridiculous slants on GW/MW-002 - was the total of 1777 QSO’s todate - made over 10 Activations (average of 178 QSO’s Activation - phew!) or 445 Activations (4 QSO’s per Activation - hard going!)?
Just some thoughts - hi! But still like the chart layout.
(;>J
Well, here are the activations on GW/MW-002 from the last couple of years:
so an average of roughly 15 or 20 per activation.
We can also see that when activators on this summit have made 2 meter contacts, they were each making an average of ~ 7 QSOs on that band.
I’m off up The Cloud G/SP-015 shortly. I’ll be QRV on C4FM from my handheld. Might not be enough to get me to Seat Sandal for Allan G4VPX - but you never know!
Fusion-ready chasers - switch yer rigs onto 144.6125MHz!
