So, I’m guessing that from Thursday the 5th of November, us G ops are no longer allowed out on the hills, or does SOTA count as our exercise?
It’s annoying, as I was just getting back into SOTA, having changed jobs recently and having more free time (mid week)
Can and Worms, springs to mind!!
I expect that the detail will follow along shortly. Hopefully it will be clear at that stage.
Climbing hills is certainly exercise. This lockdown in England is not the same as the previous one. This time the benefit that exercise provides for one’s mental wellbeing has been recognised, even to the extent that we are permitted to meet one person from outside our household to exercise with.
As far as I understand it, travel for the purposes of exercise will be permitted, but let’s be realistic here. I do not see it will be acceptable to live in Kent and travel to the Lake District to climb a hill. We need to take responsibility for our actions and keep it local. More guidance may, or may not, be forthcoming on the Government website.
All in all, I see no reason for SOTA in England to be suspended, but ultimately that is a decision for others.
Yes [we already discussed this before] … providing of course you are taking all the social-distancing measures. Prudence would suggest you don’t travel a big distance to your SOTA location.
It is probably pointless speculating ahead of the detail, which will be published imminently. That said, if we’re going to have pointless discussion anywhere, the most traditional home for that is surely the SOTAwatch Reflector just before winter bonus season.
I think Gerald is probably on the money here. This lockdown has more context than the first. One example of that is schools staying open, because it is perceived to do more harm than good, overall, to close them. I anticipate a similar stance regarding outdoor recreation.
I also concur with Gerald that for reasons of responsibility and proportionality, that local travel for SOTA could be socially acceptable, whereas travelling from one end of G to the other for SOTA might not be. Like I said though, it’s all pointless speculation right now.
After Guy Fawkes Night, I will only be driving long distances for new 2020 Challenge multipliers if I am concerned about my eyesight and feel the need to test it…
I have said this before - you never know when an accident might happen on the hills. The NHS however at this point is nearly at capacity, and also with so many ambulance drivers off with Covid 19 or in isolation do we want to divert resources from the ill just because one of us fell on an activation and broke a leg/ankle whatever? If you feel you have to activate use common sense and go to local summits that have decent trails ie lessen the risk but still get your exercise. Travelling to the other of the country and doing 3 summits per day is not on. No unnecessary travel is allowed in NI so Ian and I have not been out since those regulations came into place.
There is certainly a sense of what is socially responsible and socially acceptable. We mustn’t get any of that confused with the actual (yet to be announced) rules though.
The Government have posted some guidance already in regards to the new Lockdown restrictions in England which will start from Thursday 5th November. However this isn’t the full guidance as of yet and they are looking to post the full guidance around Monday 2nd November. Looking at this guidance, it states that you can do outdoor exercise and it makes no mention of any travel limit, but you must not stay overnight away from your home. I think this means that you are able to make day trips to your local SOTA summits. I think things will be a bit more clearer once the full guidance is published.
Jimmy M0HGY
Hi Jimmy,
Hope you’re fully recovered and thanks for providing the link to the guidance.
As you say still a bit “holey” but it does say (Section 11 - Travel) that
“You should avoid all non-essential travel by private or public transport”.
There follows a (non-inclusive) list of permitted exceptions, but none of them relate to travelling to take exercise.
So looks like we’re back to personal interpretation for the moment - just how essential is that SOTA activation? Hopefully there will be clearer official guidance available by 5th November…
73 Paul G4MD
It was (eventually) established in the previous lockdown driving into the countryside to take exercise was permissible. The greater amount of context in this lockdown makes it highly unlikely that this will not be the case this time.
We’ll see what the detailed guidance says of course.
Here in VK3 we learned that you must make the Rules clear and take action against the smarties who try various ploys to get around the Rules. Even so there are too many people who do not comply with simple things like wearing a mask properly. The virus isn’t going to go away and regular lockdowns are not going to be acceptable especially as the population is tiring of the loss of freedom. Just how we live with it without a vaccine is a work in progress. A pragmatic solution might not be good for those of us past 70 but it isn’t off the books.
BTW I miss Guy Fawkes Night. I’m hoping SOTA will be possible here soon.
73
Ron
VK3AFW
Hi Paul,
I am a lot better now, but still experiencing some symptoms. Today is also my official last day of self isolation.
I agree that the guidance posted so far is unclear in regards or whether or not you go out and do a SOTA activation as part of your exercise. Hopefully we will have more clearer guidance by the 5th November where we will be able to interpret whether or not a SOTA activation will be allowed for exercise.
Jimmy M0HGY
Very well put Esther, add to that if we don’t drive, we avoid the (small) possibility of a car accident, which may also require medical attendance and care afterwards. No matter how good a driver you are, there are always other incompetent, drunk or on-drugs drivers on the road that can “spoil your day/life”.
73 Ed.
im sorry but if they force golf clubs to close when its perfectly covid safe thing to do outside they are yet again clueless!
The trouble with that argument is that it can be taken too far. For instance my one and only trip to A&E came as a result of an accident whilst gardening, so should I give up gardening? Most accidents in the home take place in the kitchen, should we avoid the kitchen? In these abnormal times we should cling to as much normality as we can manage. Enjoying the hills is good for physical and mental health, we should continue as much as possible.
The key here is to follow the rules as they are. We should avoid interpreting the rules to any extent, whether that be to our advantage or disadvantage.
Interesting Brian - my only visit to A & E came about due to Amateur Radio. This will make you cringe… In 2000 I was installing an 18m high HD 3 section Versatower, whilst winding the winch for raising the tower the wire rope became tight as it was trapped around the bottom pulley nearest the ground. Wearing a pair of standard gardening gloves I stupidly attempted to ease the wire rope back onto the pulley rather than outside of it. After slackening the wire off the side of the pulley to get it in the pulley channel it grabbed my fingers, trapping them in between the wire and metal pulley causing a crush injury which needed medical attention immediately. I had to call my XYL over to wind the winch and release my fingers, before going to A&E 18 miles away. Although I was only wearing gardening gloves the doctor thought they saved me losing two fingers. Moral of the story - if you are working on your aerials in the home QTH during the pandemic, choose your day carefully and take extra care!
73 Phil
Agreed - during lock down try to avoid giving the health system extra work, whether an accident at home or on the roads or on the hills, the risk of them happening should be avoided!
Stay safe everyone 73 Ed.
FB Ed. I’ve decided I will prune my apple tree, but not today even though sun is shining at present. I’ll wait for a wind free day!
DX Condx on higher HF is good today,. The 10m band is open to Asia, at least it is if you are using FT8, the newness of the mode after using it for nearly 3 years hasn’t worn off yet!
73 Phil
Shall we all go to bed at 6pm just in case Ed @DD5LP?
That’s nice about the 10m band Phil @G4OBK - but not much use to me on the first day of the LF Flavour! Especially with the slight risk that SOTA may be off limits from Thursday (though I don’t expect that).
First time back in my car and out on a hill for me, post Covid 19 illness, this morning. Very slow going, but made 33 QSOs using FT8, CW and SSB modes.
Saw other stations calling Jirka @OK2OP on WSJT, but I couldn’t RX Jirka myself to attempt a FT8 S2S. I didn’t see any SOTAwatch spots for Jirka so I don’t know for sure if he was activating or what summit it was. I did see the spots on 80m SSB for Jürg @HB9BIN (HB15SOTA) and Karl @OE5JKL but didn’t hear any sigs. I did hear chaser Esther @GI0AZA wrapping up a net and tried to call her, but I don’t think she could hear me.