G4YSS Activation Report for G/NP-017 Fountains Fell on 22-10-26
Iss-1 Pse Rprt Errors
Activation of Fountains Fell G/NP-017-4 on Thursday 22nd October 2026
QRP on 2m-FM & 4m-FM
QRO on 15m CW, 40m SSB, 2m-SSB/ FM
Unaccompanied
All times: BST (UTC+1) UOS as ‘z’
EQUIPMENT:
FT817ND HF/VHF/UHF 5W Transceiver
MX-P50M, 50 Watt HF Linear Amplifier (RX fault again)
Link dipole for 40m & 20m (30m & 15m) on a H/B 5m Alloy-CFC mast
HRB 11.1V/ 5 Ah Li-Po (No9) battery (95% discharged)
RM TC150V, 50W Linear Amp for 2m-FM/ SSB (modified) 0.54kg inc leads
H/B 6-ele Yagi for 2m, 510gm (basic design by M0UKB/ DK7ZB)
Guying Kit for mast and Yagi combination
ICOM IC-E90 4-Band/ 5W VHF H/H (6-4-2-70) inc BP217, 7.4V/1.3Ah Battery
J-Pole vertical for 2m-FM
Backup (not used):
Overlander 11.1V/ 2.2 Ah Li-Po (No6) battery (new £21)
UV-3R 2-Band, 2W-FM H/H (top pocket)
Other:
Garmin GEKO-301 GPS
Umbrella – large (also used as a stick)
Pack weight:10.89kg (24.0 pounds) inc Primaloft jacket
INTRODUCTION:
Fountains Fell has been in my mind all summer. It’s one I’m still be able to do post Achilles, proven last year. Long gone are the days of packing multiple SOTA’s into one day. One is sufficient which means I can do an extended multi-band activation, weather permitting. It’s still a long way to drive though, for just one activation.
For a while I entertained the idea of changing the route by approaching via the Pennine Way from the east, even deriving a set of waypoints and uploading them to my GPS. The access is 2km N of Malham Tarn but at 4.7km versus 2.6km, it’s quite a bit further. What’s more, you start lower at 385m instead of 425m ASL. In the end the familiar won-out, as it so often does.
We’ve had a great summer but it ended and latterly a few commitments and a holiday in PA intervened. I’d been looking for a reasonable day for a while and this was it - the day before Storm Austen was due to roll in. Coincidently my son Phil G0UUU and his XYL were on a short break in Skipton, so there was every chance he would be able to chase the summit. They’d done an activation of NP28 just days before.
ROUTE (again):
Park on the grass at Blishmire cattle grid SD 8531 7233 (425m ASL). Head up the Pennine Way and through the gate at SD 8549 7218. Follow the PW as it turns left at SD 8585 7197. An option is to go straight up from here, following the left side of wall. It was ever my preferred route but it’s very steep, so no more. Continue east up the PW. At SD 8666 7213, after making almost all the height required, it turns sharp right. Stay on it and climb the wall stile at SD 8678 7201. At SD 8681 7192 leave the PW to take the grass track on the right.
A good path, boggy in places, goes all the way to the summit cairn via SD 8678 7188, passing a low building on the way – an ancient coke oven at SD 8672 7180 built in the early C19. This is fenced as are some of the more dangerous disused mine shafts. The path winds around a bit but is easy to follow to the summit. However the following waypoints define it in case there’s deep snow cover and/ or low-cloud or darkness: SD 8671 7176; SD 8661 7168; SD 8655 7166; SD 8652 7162 and SD 86445 7160 to the cairn at SD 8641 7157.
EXECUTION:
I set off from Scarborough at 08:22. There was no point in going early due to rain showers forecast until mid afternoon. I use a Garmin NUVI-2597 Satnav but it always wants to go via Malham and Malham Cove – a tedious albeit picturesque way. Some time ago my son showed me how Google Maps can be used for navigation so they were employed today with the fastest route A64, A1M (N), A659 and A65 (103 miles). It did ‘dip out’ near Skipton however, having lost internet but journey’s end was at 11:16.
I monitored S20 all the way in case my son should call. Sure enough, when I was nearing Skipton and while Phil was on his way to Pateley Bridge, we did manage a useful QSO including an update on plans.
I got away walking at 11:35 in overcast and light drizzle but it wasn’t bad enough to need the umbrella or coat. With quite a heavy pack it wasn’t particularly quick - 12:22 at the cairn.
Last time I heard people climbing the dry stone wall; something I needed to do to get out of the SW wind, so I assumed there was a wall stile. This was wrong and I had to walk close to 100m back NE before I found a place to climb over at SD 8642 7163. Here there were protruding stones to get my feet onto but they didn’t go high enough to be useful. Somehow, using knees on the wall-top, I managed to straddle it and climb down the other side to reach the operating position by 12:32. This was a painful process but thankfully there was no damage to me, my clothing or the wall. Had I realised all this, I would have walked the plateau on the NW side of the wall, which by necessity was my return route. However, the path there is poor with obstacles in the form of deep cut and boggy low-points.
G/NP-017 FOUNTAINS FELL, 668m, 4 pts, 12:22 to 17:44, 8C, 15 mph SW (later S) wind. Overcast with two light rain showers and minor bursts of sunshine. LOC: IO84VD; WAB: SE87; POTA: GB-0208. Good EE Mobile signal at the summit but not at the road.
Setting up:
I tried to find the least soggy spot at the north side of the wall, eventually settling for SD 8634 7161. I was to find out later when deploying the dipole that there was standing water a few inches deep. Fortunately the good old Scarpa Ranger GTX’s kept it out completely which is more than can be said for my experiences later on while sitting or kneeling.
145.400 FM – 8 QSO’s:
After a text from Phil G0UUU/M, saying he was driving towards high ground after a visit to the oldest sweet shop in the World (my cousin Joan owned it in the 1990’s), I quickly made ready to work him. I broke out the IC-E90 and J-pole but I was to find out later that I hadn’t put the aerial together securely.
I heard a CQ from MW0IBT/M. Answering it a QSO ensued on .400. Kevin was static mobile and using 6W from an FT2900 to a 10-ele YAGI from POTA GB-1261. The exchange was only 54/ 52 though. (Mark G7SXR told me the following day that Kevin was in a high car park between two GW/NW SOTA’s). So the opening QSO was a P2P as NP17 is in the Yorkshire Dales National Park GB-0208.
M7MCG called-in from Barnoldswick. Mick was loud enough to me but Kevin couldn’t hear him at all. After we’d exchanged 73’s, I wondered why no more QSO’s followed. The discovery was still to come.
Swapping texts with Phil, after hearing nothing from him on S20 or S16, I asked him to call me again with his 50 Watts. Still nothing at all, even with my squelch defeated. This was unfathomable because he was high up on Blubberhouses Moor merely 20 miles away. His solution was to move even higher up above Greenhow; over 400m ASL. This took a while and in the interim I noticed the 900mm top whip from my J-Pole lying on top of the wall! Somehow it had fallen out which has never happened before. Seems I’d worked North Wales with just the J-match and likely the coax as well, the latter being caused by the mismatch?
With the all important radiator now in place and swapping to the FT817ND, I self spotted and got Mark G7SXR in Leeds - 59/ 54. How embarrassing this had been but Mark guessed I’d been having trouble. Then I heard Phil G0UUU/M at last. I was forced to admit to both Phil and Mark that the earlier lack of a QSO was my fault. The exchange was 59/ 57. Phil was using 50W from his ‘new’ IC7100, which we recently installed in his car; a very capable rig but one I’d rejected for SOTA work. At least now he’d got his chaser points and this was my qualifying QSO too. Phil left to put POTA GB-0208 on HF but he was to reappear again at intervals.
Continuing with 5W, QSO’s were made with four more stations: M1DHA Alan in Barnoldswick; G4BLH Mike in Clitheroe, who had S5 of local noise; G7COD Andy in Gargrave, who’d worked me on NP8 in August and G7WAW David also in Barnoldswick.
Some History:
I was interested when David G7WAW told me that his first chase was provided by me from G/LD-011 High Street on 24th June 2002. He remembers me explaining to everyone what SOTA was all about, a thing you regularly had to do in those days. It could also be quite hard to get 4 QSO’s but activity, especially on 2m-FM with the possibility of a lightweight station, gradually increased and later boomed, notably around the Lake District and other mountainous areas. How different it was in June 2002 when SOTA was only 3 months old. David didn’t even enter our QSO. He likely didn’t know how to?
SOTA has changed out of all recognition but back then there was only England and Wales. I was quite inexperienced myself. It was only my fourth activation and David’s was my 20th SOTA QSO all told. There was no universal access to the database, which was kept by the founder John G3WGV. You entered your summit and QSO’s into an Excel spreadsheet he provided for you then sent a copy back to him. When he’d added your activation into his database, he’d email an updated copy of your log back to you for overwriting.
Other services were available such as league tables etc. but the reflector was just the basic Yahoo. I’m proud to say I still have that Excel log and it’s bang up to date too! It’s extremely useful even now. From it has sprung several others telling me different things. I wonder if I’m the only activator left using this original document? I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
70.425 FM – 1 QSO:
Phil G0UUU/M called in at the end of the 2m session and we made a plan to try 4m-FM. I had just 3W available from the IC-E90 to an extended 2m-band rubber duck but Phil’s IC7100 runs 50W on 4m. He swapped his 2m-band 5/8 for a 4m quarter-wave with a 3/8” UNF thread for the mag-mount and we soon had contact at 59/ 53. I have to operate while standing up for 4m which makes logging difficult plus a lot of wind noise but despite a spot from Phil, there was nobody else to log. Phil put out a 50W CQ also without success.
I flicked up to the calling channel of 70.450 to give a call before abandoning the effort altogether but at least there was one in the log and Phil had chased his first SOTA on 4m. He has activated on the band once a few years ago and done many a UKAC on 4m too.
21.061 CW – Nil:
This has been the home of DX for the last few activations. I self-spotted and called CQ for 6 minutes with 50W to the 40m dipole. 13:30z may have been a bit late for this band?
7.144 SSB – 17 QSO’s:
Without any particular plan, apart from I didn’t need to get up and swap any links, I checked the WAB net on 7.160. There was just loud splash so I knew there was no chance of a net. After two failed attempts to find a clear space that I almost self spotted, I finally found a one. You have to be quick and check occupancy one final time before pressing send.
Stations Worked:
G0HRT Rob in Milton Keynes; G0FEX Ken in Blaby; GM5ALX Alex - Aberdeen; M0MDA Mick in Leeds; G4FKA Geoff – Coalpit Heath; GI0AZA Esther in Londonderry (K4) strong with very clear audio; ON7ZM Jean Pierre - Goesnes; M6EAM John – QTH Christchurch; G0FVH David in Poole Dorset and M1AOB Richard at Holdsworthy. Thanks for the colourful QSL via email, received during the activation. Richard also alerted Don G0RQL.
Next G0UUU/M Phil at 400m ASL, west of Greenhow (POTA GB-0208) and DL9NCI Georg in North Bavaria. This is where the linear started playing up again as it had on PA/PA-006 in September, so I had to start hitting it. Received audio was going up and down a hundredfold. It became slightly difficult but it would have been impossible on a band with miniscule signals. At least almost all stations on 40m were good and loud, with transmissions unaffected. I have a spare amp so I should use it and get the duff one mended.
Continuing on: G0RQL Don - Holdsworthy; G4NAQ Clive in Clevedon, N. Somerset; M0XOF John in S. London enquiring about my QTH in detail; M7MCG/P Mick P2P POTA GB-1630 and GI0BFD Alwyn in Co Fermanagh ‘QSB.’
Power output was 50W, reduced to 30W half way through. Outgoing reports were all 59 except two and they were 57. Apart from a 53 from Aberdeen, 54 from Georg, a 44 from ON7ZM (an ex Antarctic op) and two 57’s at the end, I was getting back 59’s. Esther gave me 59 but briefly reduced that to 39 due to local QRM or QRN. I asked her about Ian GI0AZB but he was busy in the garden.
144.290 SSB – 4 QSO’s:
It took the best part of an hour to pack away HF and set up the 6-ele beam for 2m SSB. First it has to be assembled, then mounted horizontally on the two lower aluminium alloy/ carbon mast sections with a plastic conduit section added above for when the antenna is turned vertical.
It was windy which made guying necessary. For this I have a home-brew guying kit with a centre that fits over a mast section with three guys and three tent pegs. The big problem was the wall. It was catch-22. It had to be near the wall so I could rotate it but then I could only use a peg on one guy. The other two had to be tied into the wall top. I tried wedging them between heavy stones but they kept slipping. The wind was blowing the whole issue and the resulting setup continually looked ‘drunk.’ This caused most of the delay and was very frustrating but tenacity won in the end.
By 15:00z, all was ready and I was hoping for greater success than my last 2m-SSB activation in the Netherlands - zero QSO’s. Before starting I checked the compass and placed two unused mast sections crossed over on the grass to make a compass rose properly orientated. It helped significantly.
I also sorted out my sitting arrangements. After 3-hours my sit-mat had sunk below the water table which had overrun it and soaked through my trousers. As can be imagined, this had been causing a significant distraction along with the associated reduction in morale. An armful of sphagnum moss gathered and placed underneath the mat made things more bearable for the remainder of the activation but every time I had to get up, I got wet knees.
After a self spot, promising 50W to N-E-W & S, I called CQ and immediately logged Mark G7SXR in Drighlington who gave me 41 in exchange for 57. I think my signal improved after a minor rotation. Next Phil G0UUU/M paid a visit with 59/ 55 (I was 51 with 5W). We were cross pol of course. The VHF linear has improved after my mods but according to Phil, (who recorded me) the audio was still poor, though just about usable.
G6AEK called in giving me 56 on 50W and 52 with 5W. Dave – QTH Poulton-le-Fylde in IO93MV was a full 59 but no doubt cross-pol also. He’d said ‘North of Blackpool’ but I remembered where he was as we’ve worked before.
M0KOV was my final SSB contact. This was Steve in Wetherby - IO93HX and the exchange was 58/ 52. Did we have time to test his IC706? Yes, sure we did. Amateur radio is about testing things. He sounded completely different with a much cleaner audio making him more readable. Steve told me he’d had an Achilles problem that had been keeping him off the mountains. Snap (excuse the pun). He mentioned CW which I took to mean he’d like a QSO so I checked 144.050. Strange as it may seem, it was occupied! We agreed on 144.052 and QSY’d.
144.052 CW – 3 QSO’s:
On here Steve M0KOV was 589 with 559 coming back. It wasn’t my first 2m-CW QSO, I had one with Roy G4SSH and a couple of others from LD1 years ago but it was the first for a very long time. Steve said his CW was bad and warned me about it but it was absolutely fine.
Phil G0UUU/M didn’t miss this one either - 589/ 559. ‘Tnx fer all QSO’s today, 73.’ Phil really was putting that ‘new’ IC7100 through its paces. In between times, he’d also more than qualified on POTA. You need ten in the log for that.
Last in was G7COD Andy in Gargrave 589/ 599. Further CQ’s on here and back on 144.290 SSB produced nothing further but I was grateful for what I got.
145.400 FM – 6 QSO’s:
This was in addition to the 8-QSO QRP J-pole session almost 4 hours earlier. The difference was the equipment. Now I had 50W to a 6-ele, which by now was mounted vertically.
First in at 15:42z was Mark G7SXR with 59 both ways after I’d beamed him in. NP17 overlooks Leeds pretty well anyway. Mark managed to drum up some support for me using a local contact group. It was quite successful as follows:
G6SBR David in Burnley, Lancs - 59 plus a lot both ways; M0ALA Andy north of Barnsley 59/ 55; G0PMJ Dave at the highest part of Darlington 59/ 54; G6MKQ Geoff in Accrington using an FT500D to an X50 and finally M0PVA Mick in Clitheroe who I worked on 145.375 after I’d announced QRT. You just sneaked in Mick. He’d been following me round all day but never quite caught up until it was almost too late. We had a brief chat to 16:18z then I had to go.
Time was now of the essence. It would be dark in an hour and there was a lot to packing up to be done but it helped that the the HF dipole was already in the rucksack.
Descent:
The walk down was in light drizzle but really just spits and spots. I kept to the NW side of the wall to cross the plateau which was reasonable at first but the grass path was poor and lumpy with a deep transverse cut, actually the upper reaches of a beck, that was hard to avoid.
The car can be seen from the higher reaches of the PW but after you round the RH bend it disappears behind terrain, if you forget to look while high up, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was missing. By the time I got back to confirm the car was where I’d left it, the time was 18:22 and it was dark.
The Drive Home & M0XLT:
The 2hr-45min drive home to Scarborough went via Stainforth, Settle A65, A59 and A64, arriving at 21:15. Somewhere up by Long Preston I heard a broken up CQ. The car radio and two navigation devices making noise didn’t help resolve it but I heard, ‘MX0YHA - Hello John, it’s Kevin M0XLT.’ We had an interesting 20-minute QSO on a range of subjects, which enhanced an otherwise boring journey. I enquired about the club-call and was told it comes from Nottingham a long time ago with a purpose that is self explanatory.
SSEG QSL Cards:
Kevin mentioned the Scarborough Special Events Group (GX0OOO) and Roy G4SSH. He has most of the set of colour QSL cards that we issued for events between 1987 and 2024 and I was hoping he could scan one or two that are missing from my collection, namely No’s: 45-46-52. I have an image of the front of 45 but not the reverse. Maybe someone else reading this can help?
I found some cheap petrol on the A59. Harrogate Tesco’s at £1.68/ ltr. It was the same price at Sainsbury’s 5-miles further on, then I remembered I’d planned to run the tank down for the forthcoming MOT. It avoids possible tank leak detection – not that there is one, I hope!
QSO’s: 39 comprising
QRP:
8 on 2m-FM
1 on 4m-FM
QRO:
0 on 15m-CW
17 on 40m-SSB
4 on 2m-SSB
3 on 2m-CW
6 on 2m-FM
ASCENT & DISTANCE:
Ascent 246m (807ft) / Distance 2 x 2.6km (3.3 miles in total)
Start point at 425m ASL
Distance driven: 199 miles
Walking times:
Ascent: 47 min
Descent: 38 min
Summit time: 5hrs-22min
Chronology (BST):
08:22: Left Scarborough
11:16: Arr. Blishmire cattle grid (via A64, A1M(N), A659, A65 - 103 miles)
11:35: Walking
12:22 to 17:44: G/NP-017
18:22: Rtn’d to Car
18:30: Drove for home
21:15: Arrived Irton, Scarborough (via Settle A65, A59 and A64 - 96 miles)
COMMENTS:
There was a weather window of sorts; a moderate breeze, 8C and three or four light showers. Seems I had Fountains Fell all to myself for the afternoon. It was quite a heavy carry but it’s not a vast distance. The several different bands and swapping from HF to VHF made for a lot of work. All this seemed to take forever and then all this gear, spread over the summit, had to somehow end up back in (or on) the rucksack. However, it was worth the effort and I had a great time albeit a somewhat damp one. There was standing water in places but my boots kept it all out. Everywhere else was merely a bit soggy but due to sitting down for hours, I ended up that way too. The umbrella came in handy for one of the heavier showers but otherwise it merely doubled as a walking stick.
It was a happy coincidence that my weather window coincided with son Philip (G0UUU) and his XYL Bev’s 5-day break in Skipton. Phil was able to work me on all bands from a high point near Greenhow, except for 21 MHz (no mobile whip for that band). It really made my day as it almost seemed like a joint activation. This was the next best thing but I must praise Bev for her tolerance and flexibility. Not only did she put up with all this radio chat and a POTA activation, she had also accompanied Phil on an activation of G/NP-028 and its trig point a few days earlier. They did G/TW-004 on the drive back home too.
2m-FM:
It was great to get some QSO’s in SSB with CW was an unplanned bonus. As far as I could tell, we had flat band conditions. The 5W QRP session was as expected; all QSO’s within a 60km circle except for MW0IBT at twice that distance. I worked him before I discovered that my J-pole’s top whip had fallen out! However, I think Kevin’s 10-ele had a lot to say about that particular QSO.
Three hours later I returned to 2m for an SSB/ CW session using 50W and my 6-ele. It could have been a different world but to be fair it really wasn’t. Apart from two QSO’s with Barnsley, I could have worked everybody with the earlier setup. Had there been anyone listening further away, provided they’d had good working conditions, my station could have worked them. I know this because in the UKAC contests, it’s been proven.
For the final session it was back to vertical polarization with the beam and FM, which at 50W is brutal on the battery. Once again it’s likely that all stations could have been worked with more modest equipment. Was it worth the effort of lugging up and assembling the more capable station? On this occasion possibly not but I could perhaps have helped the situation by providing timely alerts. Trouble is, I have something of a problem with alerts.
On another note, I have done quite a few VHF evening contests from SOTA’s with much better results but there’s a catch. Unless you want to pack up at 10:30 pm and walk down in the dark, you have to stay the night which means adding the weight of camping gear and extra food, water etc. I certainly have a wealth experience for that but unfortunately the years march by.
The VHF linear I use is leaving something to be desired. It’s great for FM and better for SSB since I modified it with a PTT but Phil played me a recording he’d made after the event. On SSB it sounded like I was speaking through a thick woollen scarf. FM is OK and Phil said CW was too. Is it clipping? Phil suggests we try it with the FT817ND’s mic gain reduced.
4m-FM:
It’s never easy to get QSO’s on here, especially with 3W and a set-top aerial but Phil G0UUU/M was sufficiently within range for me to get a 53 from him. However, he also reported a high level of wind noise which was wiping me out at times. Thanks Phil, you saved the day on 4.
15m-CW:
I tried but the propagation just wasn’t there. Phil G0UUU/M was working into the USA on 17m using a 1m long home-brew mobile whip at around the same time but my dipole doesn’t cover 17.
40m-SSB:
The top scorer by far. Great conditions and versatility in that it covered UK and the near EU. 20m was going to do the rest of EU until it was cancelled due to the linear playing up but also for a lack of time.
THANKS to ALL STATIONS WORKED and the SOTA spotting app, Andy G7COD and Phil G0UUU/M for spots.
73, John G4YSS
Photos: 1113-1224-1518-1520-M1AOB QSL-1530-1549-1643-1741-1748-1757
Above: Approaching the parking place. Pen-y-Ghent (G/NP-010) with it’s head in the clouds but that was temporary
Above: Summit of Fountains Fell G/NP-017 with Pen-y-Ghent behind
Above: Activation on HF
Above: This QSL card from M1AOB arrived just 10 minutes after working him! Thank You Richard.
Above: Ready for 2m-SSB/ CW
Above: 6-ele horizontal for 144 MHz SSB. Pen-y-Ghent and a distant left Ingleborough G/NP-005 in the background
Above: 6-ele vertical for 145 MHz FM. Unfortunately the mass balance point and therefore coax are very close to the driven element in this config. The top mast section is PVC
Above: A parting shot just before sunset
Above: The poor path on the NW side of the wall with trouble ahead in the form of deep groughs. Coke oven is on the right in fading light
Above: Back on the Pennine Way descent path.
