Bit of a fail today - my IC-705 battery was flat, so it was 2m only with the FT1XD and Spectrum Communications Slim-J. It is a bit annoying when running on external power ‘in the shack’ that the IC-705 doesn’t provide any indication - when the screensaver has kicked in - that external power is lost and it is running on internal battery. Unless anyone know of a setting I haven’t found yet?
Regardless, it was great to get out fairly early this morning and catch a couple of activators - @M3TMX Jordan doing the Fairfield Horseshoe for SOTA and WOTA contacts and @G7WKX Simon on GW/NW-032 - and some regular chasers (thanks to Douggie G7CDA, John @G0TDM and G6AEK David for providing such excellent chaser service). Simon made me feel a little bit better reporting that 20m was wall-to-wall with contest stations.
Traffic was bad from Windermere to Ambleside on my return, day-trippers when the weather forecast is good with Ambleside a traditional pinch-point. I was glad I’d got out early!
There have been a few folk comment to me that there have been less SOTA activations in the Lake District this year. Is there a way to determine total activations in a region per year? I’ve been terrible this year, being lazy and riding the motorbike during the summer, otherwise spending more time with my wife.
Brownie points adding up Mark. No harm in that. Just be ready to go when the SOTA urge hits. Better to do an activation when you really feel like it than when you are lacklustre.
Great set of photos… took me back to when I was doing the LD summits.
Nice pics & report, Mark. Btw, what bike do you ride? I confess I haven’t ridden my Bullet much in the last couple of years, I’ve been playing radio instead. 73 John
Hi John. For 24 years I rode a 2000 R1 from new, but 18 months ago I bought a BMW GSA 1250. It has been augmented with an ATAS-120A and FT-857D, combining two hobbies.
Good stuff, Mark, nice Beemer! My 350 R E Bullet is a lot less sophisticated, it’s one of the last iron-barrelled carburettor engines. Here’s a pic, hope it works, cocked up my last attempt, hence deletion.
73 John
As it happens I’m just about to list two bikes for the late Bob Wilkinson’s (G3VVT) daughter, a 1961 Triumph Tiger Cub and a BMW R60 - your bike looks very similar to the Triumph in construction. Alas I couldn’t get either started, the BMW also has substantial rust in the tank.