Gt.WHERNSIDE, G/NP-008 / IO94AD VHF-NFD / SOTA Campover, 06 & 07-07-13
(Iss 2 - Revised punctuation)
G4YSS (using SSEG club callsign - GV0OOO/P for 100th aniv of RSGB).
VHF-NFD on 2m & 70cm (Eleventh consecutive year for VHF-NFD on NP8).
SOTA on 160m-80m-40m-30m-2m. Unaccompanied.
TIMES:
Non-radio: BST (UTC plus 1) UOS.
Radio ops: UTC (z).
EQUIPMENT:
IC706-2G HF-VHF-UHF 100W multimode. 9-ely parabeam for 70cm. 3-ely SOTA-Beam for 2m SSB. Half-wave vertical for 4m FM (damaged - not used). J-Pole vertical for 2m FM. 80m link dipole on 5m mast for HF. Loading coils with slug tuning for 160m.
IC-E90 Quad-band 5W H/H with integral 7.2V / 1.3Ah Li-Po battery. (Not used)
VX150 5W H/H with 2.7 Ah Ni-Mh. (2m-FM Scarborough link. 5W to an omni was inadequate)
Li-Po Batteries: One 13.2 Ah (100% used). Two 9.0 Ah (99% used). Two 6 Ah (not used). 43 Ah total. (Approx 3.5kg inc paralleling harnesses.)
COOKING: Stove made from 5 pieces welding rod. Three tablets of hexamine. Fruit tin 3.3” dia by 3.5” high used as a boiling vessel. Wire end-cutters used for handling/ pouring out.
LUXURIES: Cheap (ebay) airbed (0.45kg). Plastic folding stool (1.1kg - left on site). 3 tea bags & dried milk. Home-brew voice keyer (0.18kg).
Pack weights:
Ascent: 27kg, (60 pounds) including food, 1 ltr Drinks, 1 ltr water & 2 ltr ice. (Plus masts for VHF & UHF beams hand carried -1kg.)
Descent: 19kg, (42 pounds). About 0.75 litres of ice was discarded before the descent.
85 litre rucksack inc 4kg of antennas, poles, tent etc strapped to outside.
EXECUTION:
Set off from Scarborough at 16:45 on Saturday 6th July-13.
Arrived Top of Park Rash above Kettlewell (SD 9863 7573) at 18:48.
Walking: 19:08.
Trig Point/ photos: 19:59.
Camping place / QTH: 20:05 Saturday to 17:57 Sunday.
Descent to car: 18:37 Sunday.
Drive home: 18:50 to 20:55 Sunday.
(Drive: 151 miles both ways).
After a successful camp-over for VHF-NFD on NP8 in 2011 and a good WX forecast, it was decided to overnight at the top once again. As always, the main reason was SOTA but also to enjoy the increased VHF activity that field day brings. There is always much equipment that needs hauling up but once there and settled in, apart from some discomfort it is comparatively easy.
I park at the top of Park Rash at SD 9863 7573 and the route, boggy at first, is described in previous reports. Ascent is a modest 211m (692ft) and distance is around 5.5km (3.4 miles up & down). On this occasion the road and parking place was blocked by highland cattle. I know this of old. A few years ago I came back to find my car half wrecked. This time I tried to find a place beyond the cattle grid but there was none. It was something I would come to regret later.
The QTH is a couple of hundred metres NE of the trig point. It takes well over an hour to prepare the camp and station. The 9-ely Parabeam atop a 2.2m (hand-carried) alloy tube and a modified 2m-3ely SOTA Beam supported in identical manner, were positioned either side of the flysheet near the front, so that they can be rotated with one hand under the side. There was no rain, low-cloud or cold winds forecast this year so the inner tent was taken. Just a groundsheet was used.
The 80m link dipole on its 5m mast was positioned to one side. The 2m J-Pole was lashed to a 1m carbon rod. The BNC had pulled off the 4m aerial coax on arrival so 70MHz FM operation was scrubbed which made the IC-E90 redundant.
GREAT WHERNSIDE, G/NP-008, 704m (2310ft), 6 pts for SOTA. 19:59 Saturday 6th July to 17:57 Sunday 7th July 2013. 19 Deg.C/ 10C overnight. 5 mph west wind dropped to zero overnight, reappearing at 04:10. Sunshine both days; overcast for a short time on Sunday pm. No low-cloud. WAB: SE07. LOC: IO-94-AD. Intermittent phone coverage (EE).
It soon became evident that the 102 km VHFM link back to Roy G4SSH at Irton (Scarborough) was going to be unreliable with 5W to an omni on 2m FM, so I attached the 13.2 Ah Li-to the IC706 and used 50W to the omni for the requesting of spots from then on. This meant shuffling aerials between omni vertical and 3-ely horizontal (which would catch me out me later). A lot of QSY`ing of frequency and mode was also necessary but the arrangement gave much better copy at the Scarborough end.
Index to operating 2013:
Times (UTC)
Saturday – NFD & SOTA:
- 144.050 CW – 1 QSO at 20:35z. NFD.
- 145.425/ .400 - 11 QSO`s from 20:39z. NFD/ SOTA.
- 1.832 CW - 5 QSO`s from 21:32z plus 2 from 22:00z. SOTA.
- 1.843 SSB - 3 QSO`s from 21:46z. SOTA.
- 144 SSB - 2 QSO`s from 22:20z. NFD.
- 144 CW - 1 QSO`s at 22:30z. NFD.
Sunday – NFD & SOTA:
7) 144 SSB - 2 QSOs from 02:31z. NFD. 8) 1.832 CW - 2 QSOs from 06:08z. SOTA.
9) 3.557 CW - 2 QSOs from 06:15z. SOTA. 10) 1.843 SSB - 1 QSO at 06:31z. SOTA. 11) 144 SSB - 22 QSOs from 06:51z. NFD.
12) 145.300 FM - 1 QSO at 08:27z. SOTA S2W.
13) 144 CW - 1 QSO at 09:33z. NFD.
14) 145.425 FM - 1 QSO at 10:08z. SOTA G4GWC Ron.
15) 144.050 CW – 1 QSO at 10:16z. NFD.
16) 145.425 FM - 4 QSOs from 10:22z. NFD SOTA S2S. 17) 144 SSB - 1 QSOs at 10:31z. NFD.
18) 432 SSB - 14 QSOs from 10:41z. NFD. 19) 432 CW - 3 QSOs from 11:11. NFD.
20) 145.300 FM - 1 QSO and eyeball at 12:10z. (2E0CVB/M) NFD.
21) 144.275 SSB - 3 QSOs from 13:01. NFD 65 to 67 & SOTA S2S. 22) 144.270 SSB - 19 QSOs from 13:30z. NFD/ SOTA.
23) 10.119 CW – 29 QSOs from 14:19z. SOTA. 24) 145.400 FM - 1 QSO at 14:56z. SOTA. 25) 7.032 CW – 10 QSOs from 15:06z. SOTA.
26) 7.136 SSB – 25 QSO`s from 15:25z. SOTA.
Sessions in detail:
SATURDAY 06-07-13:
-
144.050 CW - 1 QSO at 20:35z. NFD Ser No1:
Though this was spotted by him, Roy was the only person worked on here. Using 50 Watts to the 3-ely with vertical orientation and pointed at Roys Slim Jim in Irton, Scarborough, signals were 59 both ways. After a few CQs in various directions it was QSY to FM. -
145.425/ .400 - 11 QSO`s from 20:39z. NFD 2 thru 12 & SOTA:
S16 was in use so I set up initially on 145.425 FM, working G6XVF Walt in Leeds and unbelievably, G4OOE Nick down in Scarborough town. 50 Watts to the vertical SOTA Beam. After a QSY to .400 a further 9 chasers were worked. So as to kill two birds with one stone, serial numbers were exchanged. Don G0RQL coming in at about 55 heard me and we almost managed an exchange before mysteriously disappearing from one another. -
1.832 CW - 7 QSO
s from 21:32z and again at 22:00z. SOTA: 160m was the highlight of Saturday. Using 50 Watts for the first two QSOs and 100 Watts thereafter to the loaded dipole, the following stations were worked: M0BKV; EI2CL; GV0VOF;G4SSH and G4OOE (in Scarborough). It was dark so the frequency was a little noisy but clear of QRM. Close stations were S9 with the more distant ones S5. In response to a request from G0NUP via Roy on 2m FM, a return to 160 CW at 22:00z brought in another two stations: G0NUP Kevin in Scarborough with 229 both ways and EI/FK8IK/P Mic near Cork who gave me 579. -
1.843 SSB - 3 QSO
s from 21:46z. SOTA: Three ops made use of the SSB session as follows: Mark GV0VOF in Blackburn; Brian GV8ADD in Birmingham and Don G0RQL in Devon. Incoming reports for my 100W signal were 58; 55 and 57 respectively. I was surprised others didnt try it. This was certainly a good opportunity but noise levels can be severe on 160m especially in the cities. -
144 SSB - 2 QSO`s from 22:20z. NFD 13 & 14:
Though twelve serial numbers had already been given out to SOTA chasers on 2m FM, this is where NFD proper started. Using 50 Watts of SSB from the IC706 to a horizontal 3-ely SOTABeam; first call was to OR7B/P in JO10UJ, worked on 144.237 MHz… G3PYE/P followed from JO02CE with strong signals.
Rig Fault:
I called more stations; some of them loud but they were not hearing me. By swapping the meter from SWR to power output, I eventually worked out that the old problem with the IC706 had returned. The rig was taking off giving a full scale power reading which was not voice variable but actually no RF was being transmitted. The aluminium mesh wrapping that had solved this problem in the first place had become torn. After earthing the rig with the ground spike and pulling the mesh tight around the casing with a bungie, I had no further problems.
- 144 CW - 1 QSO`s at 22:30z. NFD 15:
MM0CPS/P in IO84BT was the last station of the day then it was into the sleeping bag at around midnight. There was little point in staying up to work SOTA chasers in the new day at 01:01 BST; 99% of them would be in bed by then and I needed some sleep too.
Sleep:
At around 11pm the light breeze dropped to almost nothing and it looked like not being too cold a night. This was important to me as in order to keep the weight down, I had dispensed with the inner tent altogether and brought my lightest sleeping bag. Despite having chosen the flatest area available, there were still a few lumps and bumps which an expensive self inflating mat would have failed to iron out but which my cheapo lilo dealt with admirably. It weighs just 450 grams and came courtesy of ebay at negligible cost. I had to take care not to snag the thin PVC an anything but it did another fine job for me after a trial on NP7 last year.
SUNDAY 07-07-13:
7) 144 SSB - 2 QSOs from 02:31z. NFD 16 & 17: Bird song woke me at 03:05 BST and I couldnt resist switching on the rig to work MW0IWC/P on 144.288 MHz. No doubt he was surprised. I wouldn`t think these stations who call all night can do very well but judging by some of the serial numbers given to me later that day, I might be wrong on that score. Turning the beam SW, I worked EI9E in IO82JG on 144.217 MHz. He gave me an honest 55, which I think was not bad for my modest setup. He was 57.
A Scan around HF at 03:00 BST.
80m: Very few signals; just USA on CW & SSB.
40m: Alive with signals.
20m: One or two USA stations only (highest band open).
After this I tried for more sleep but the breeze returned at 04:10 BST and the hat pulled down to combat daylight was hurting my eyes. At around 05:30 BST I got up and later made a cup of tea on my tiny welding rod stove, using a hexamine tablet and an empty fruit can to boil the water. I expected low-cloud outside the tent door but there was sunshine.
- 1.832 CW - 2 QSO`s from 06:17z. SOTA:
Though I had alerted it the day before, this session was preceded by a call from Roy on 2m FM and the all important spot. With hindsight 160m this early was a cruel mistake which will not be repeated another year. After keeping chasers up late to do Top Band the night before it was asking too much of them to get up at 7am on a Sunday morning. This was thoughtless on my part and furthermore pointless because daytime conditions were more or less established by that time. That said, congratulations to G4SSH and GV0VOF who were the only stations logged. Apologies to anyone who got out of bed and still failed to hear me. That would have been worse still.
Notwithstanding the above, 160m conditions must have been better than the bright sunshine penetrating the front of my tent would had led me to believe. Roy and I exchanged at 589/ 569 and Mark at 599 both ways with 100 Watts. Unfortunately Kevin G0NUP who had got up specially and was in touch with Roy on 2m, couldn`t hear me. Popping out to reconfigure the dipole onto 80m for him was no hardship. After a night in the tent, I badly needed to stretch my legs.
-
3.557 CW - 2 QSO`s from 06:15z. SOTA:
Scarborough stations G4OOE and G0NUP were duly worked with 100 Watts and good reports. This was followed by another trip outside to the dipole. -
1.843 SSB - 1 QSO at 06:31z. SOTA:
Mark GV0VOF answered my CQ and we were able to have a nice chat at 58 both ways. There were no tail-enders after this. -
144 SSB - 22 QSO`s from 06:51z to 09:33. NFD 18 thru 39:
This was quite a lucrative session of NFD working but it spanned over two and a half hours including several breaks in between. In the middle of this I had an S2W on 2m FM (see below). The technique was simple enough. Start at the lowest occupied frequency, finish at the top and try to work all who could be heard in between. The only trouble was that much time was wasted because I could work very little for the first half hour. I had forgotten to reconnect the beam after linking through to Roy with the vertical Omni. Not only that but for some reason I had the power down at 15 Watts. The trouble with camping out and getting little sleep is that you are far from alert.
A selection of stations worked are as follows:
M0NFD/P in IO94MJ near the Lion Inn at Blakey Ridge NYM. My son Phil G0UUU had worked this group when we had set up on Jacobs Mount, Scarborough the day before. After this I worked PA1T in JO33; DF0MU in JO32; MW1LCR/P in IO82; G7HAH/P in IO93 (Hornsea Club). G3WIM/P in IO91; G5MW/P in JO01; G5RV/P in IO90; DL0GTH in JO50; GM0FRC/P in IO86; MM0CPS/P in IO84 and OL7C in JO60. The majority of it was done with 50W to a 3-ely horiz and the first battery; a 13.2 Ah went flat after 9 QSOs, whence the second battery; a 9Ah was connected to the 706.
-
145.300 FM - 1 QSO at 08:27z. SOTA S2W & NFD 29:
In the middle of the SSB session my VX150 H/H, hooked up to the vertical and monitoring S20, suddenly came to life.CQ WOTA from 2E0XYL/P on LDW180; listening on 145.300.Karen had slept in the car to get an early start on her expedition but remarked that she,Wasnt moving very quickly today.She wasnt the only one! I wasn`t moving at all but still sweltered in a tent even at 2,300 feet. This was in spite of the fact that the tent sides were now turned up with pegs threaded into 40cm canes and a sunshade had been rigged using my fleece tied to the outside. The sun really was beating down and there was so little breeze that I was being bitten by small midges. Apparently the same thing was happening on LDW180 but although I had no insect repellant, I did have plenty of ice and water to revive me, a sunshade and a nice little buffet to sit on. Reports were 56 each way in a contest exchange. -
144 CW - 1 QSO at 09:33z. NFD 40:
This was my only GI of the day. GI4GTY/P was worked in IO74 using CW on 144.192 with 50W to the beam. NFD QSO`s in CW take much more time than SOTA ones. -
145.425 FM - 1 QSO at 10:08z. SOTA G4GWC Ron:
My friend Ron; a member of Scarborough Amateur Radio Society called me from Pickering on 145.425 FM after I`d spoken to Roy to arrange a CW sked for Kevin G0NUP. Ron was coming in at 53 and 25 Watts from me resulted in a 55 report. -
144.050 CW - 1 QSO at 10:16z. NFD 41/ SOTA:
Using 50 Watts to my omni vertical half wave, I just managed to work G0NUP in Ayton near Scarborough. Reports were 229 both ways in a contest exchange. At one stage I thought I was going to have to resort to the beam repositioned vertically but I got my NFD point from Kevin in the end. -
145.425 FM - 4 QSO`s from 10:22z. NFD 42 thro 45, inc SOTA S2S:
This session was an attempt to stop the moving target and get some SOTA chasers in by asking Roy to post me on a fixed frequency of 145.425 FM. This time I used 25 Watts to the omni but only managed to log four stations: Ian 2E0GBA/M walking with a handheld 5 miles NE of Bilsdale Mast on the NYM was the first. Next in were M3HUG in Darlington and M3XAC Alan in Stockton.
Though hed walked up, Dave GW8NZN/P on the summit of NW/NW-001 tried giving me ataste` of Snowdon when he transmitted the sound of a steam locomotive chugging the last 100 metres into the summit station. Unfortunately his signal was as much in white noise as as the audio and his efforts were not rewarded. All four exchanges included NFD serial numbers and locators.
-
144 SSB - 1 QSO
s at 10:31z. NFD 46 (S2S?): A return to SSB brought in just one station. It was the same trouble as before; I still had 25 Watts to a vertical and couldnt work out why turning the beam had zero effect. However this was the first appearance of the Goole Club with G0OLE from IO93PX which just happened to be a SOTA Bishop Wilton Wold G/TW-004. They were quite a distance from the summit but only 10 metres down, so unless they were using a generator, it would count as an S2S. I spoke to Richard who I remember from previous years. I have an affinity with Goole from where came some of my recent ancestors. -
432 SSB - 14 QSO
s from 10:41 to 12:33z. NFD 47 thro 64: Traditionally I QSY to 70cm about noon and its a blessed relief. I dont have to comb a scruffy pencil-written log with NFD entries mingled with SOTA LF and HF QSOs, every time I hear a station. I know I cant possibly dupe because its a new band.
Though I can only muster 20 Watts from the IC706, I do have 9 elements available on here which means more attention to the beam heading but a better chance of working stations. I normally work into PA at least once on 70cms but I managed it twice this year with PA6NL in JO21 and PI4GN in JO33.
The rest were UK stations and I logged JO01 (G5LK/P; G3RCV/P & G0FBB/P); JO02 (G6IPU/P); IO80 (G4BLA/P) and IO75 in the form of GM8CLY/P. There were three 70cm CW QSOs and one eyeball/ QSO on 2FM in the middle of this session (see below). I dont think my QSO rate could have been much slower.
-
432 CW - 3 QSO`s from 11:11; 12:20 and 12:28. NFD 55, 62 and 63:
Here was G0VHF/P in CW from JO01PU on 432.169 MHz. Over an hour later, I worked two more on 70cm CW: G8BNE/P in IO92 and G8LED in IO92. I find the NFD exchange unfamiliar in CW and am therefore much more likely to muck it up. -
145.300 FM - Eyeball and QSO with 2E0CVB/M at 12:10z. NFD 60:
I heard the rustling of grass by the side of the tent. Sheep dont usually come within 150m of me on Great Whernside but I thought Id found a tame one in pursuit of my sandwiches until…I hope Im not disturbing you.` Looking out of the tent door I saw a man carrying a Handheld which I recognized as an FT60.
Crawling out of the tent, I met David 2E0CVB; a Huddersfield chap who had climbed up from Starbottom with his XYL. A general chat about radio and in particular what I was doing there, made a welcome half hour break. The sun was briefly absent so standing outside in an albeit very light breeze, was somewhat reviving. I thought of offering David a cup of tea but I only had a small bit of hexamine left and no clean cup. When hed rejoined his companion at the trig point he gave me a call and we completed a 200 metre QSO on 145.300 with full contest exchange. David didnt need to tell me what LOC square he was in.
- 144.275 SSB - 3 QSO
s from 13:01. NFD 65 to 67 & SOTA S2S: Back to 2m SSB for the final push. Now was the time to find a QRG and sit on it. For one thing I could cope no more with the time consuming task of checking through the disjointed log to avoid the potential for embarrassment every time I called someone but mainly I wanted to provide a fixed target for SOTA chasers. After a couple of QSOs on 144.275, I called Roy on 145.400 for his spotting services.
Voice Keyer:
This was the perfect time to try out the new home-brew voice keyer I had knocked up. Home-brew is possibly stretching a point as the circuit board had come from China via ebay for the princely sum of 1.89 GBP including P&P! All I did was put it in a plastic box with a speaker, three AAA batteries and a couple of switches. My attempt to feed it directly into the IC706 Microphone via a potential divider had failed, mainly through a lack of time and determination. Afterall I am retired now. With the self contained unit I had ended up with, I would just need to press the mic onto the microswitch on the front of the box, while pressing PTT and let it happen. That way I could use it on any rig. It sounded a bit muffled to my ear but seemed to work and I got contacts without wearing out my larynx, which is what matters in the end.
Away went the voice keyer, CQ Contest - CQ SOTA; Golf Victor Zero Oscar Oscar Oscar Portable. Stations worked on 144.275 SSB with 50 Watts to the 3-ely were G4BEE in IO83; G3BPK/P in IO85 and an S2S with GW4EVX/P on GW/NW-051 in IO83JD.
- 144.270 SSB -
19 QSOs from 13:30z. NFD 67 to final 86/ SOTA & S2S:
After a brief QRT to connect the third battery (another 9 AH Li-Po) 144.275 had become active so I moved to 144.270 checking the frequency carefully before calling CQ without success. While my back was turned asking Roy to spot this QRG on SOTAWatch, G0OLE had arrived precisely on the chosen channel. I went to find another spot but when I returned, theyd gone. 144.270 turned out to be a good channel and with the beam initially turned SSE, there started a steady trickle of responses to myautomaticCQs from SOTA chasers and NFD stations as follows:
M0MDA; G6ODU; M0HFC/P; G4ASA; GV4OWG in various squares. G4NBS, GV8NEO and G1ARU/P were all in JO02; MV0XLT Kevin in Gargrave who I havent worked for a while; G4BLH Mike and Roy with 2V0OOO. Then followed GM4JR in IO85FB; G0NES Don; Bob who gave me both G4VCJ and GV6CGY was in my square IO94. M1LOL/P and GV7ROY came next. GM4YEQ/P on SOTA GM/SS-119 gave me an S2S. Finally at 13:59 I gave the final serial number (86) in a difficult exchange with a YL op running G4TCU/P from IO82. As we finished, the radio clock flicked to 14:00 and the band went abruptly quiet. It was all over for another year and I suspect I wasnt the only participant who was ready for a rest. The rest lasted all of 15 minutes.
- 10.119 CW – 29 QSO
s from 14:19z. SOTA: 30m was put forward by Roy in answer to my question,Any suggestions?` 10.118 had a SOTA running so I nudged up a channel and Roy spotted it. In fact this session turned out to be one of the highlights of Sunday. Far from throwing a tired mind into turmoil, the change of mode to CW seemed to rejuvenate it.
There was quite a pileup but it was ordered and gentlemanly. Apart from Mark GV0VOF who was close in, it was soon evident that there was no short skip. No matter, 30m was running to the intended target of Europe and I could try 7 MHz if there was time at the end. ON4FI opened proceedings on 30m with a 579 report of my 60 Watt signal and he was followed by apparently grateful chasers in the following countries: DL; F; OK; HB9; EA (and G4SSH near the end hearing me 229.) The final station worked on 30m was our old friend Frid, DL1FU who is a keen chaser of OOO often proving that it can be done on 80m CW.
-
145.400 FM - 1 QSO at 14:56z. SOTA:
A quick 50 Wattadmincall to G4SSH on 2m FM via the vertical antenna was heard by Dave G6LKB and we exchanged at 57/ 56. -
7.032 CW – 10 QSO
s from 15:06z. SOTA: Was this going to be asbig` as 10 MHz I asked myself. Traditionally it should be bigger but 40 had been behaving consistently badly of late. Even so, with a spot from Roy and 50 Watts; later 100 Watts to the dipole, I managed to work G4SSH; EI2CL; DJ5AV; G4ZIB; G4WSB; I2CZQ; DL2EF; OE5EP/P; MW0FML and EA2DT. -
7.136 SSB - 25 QSO
s from 15:25z. SOTA: A final call to Roy on 145.400 got me a spot on 7.136 SSB. I was quite pleased that SSB turned out to be popular and towards the end it gave the Gs a chance too. Eighteen from the 25 worked were located in the UK and since it was almost time to go, I put on the full 100 Watts. Overseas stations worked were: DK9ES; PA2NJC; EA2CKX; EB2CZF; EA2DT; DG0JMB and DL3SBA/P Lutz S2S on DM/HE-568. Was this the famous Lutz who I have heard mentioned so many times by Roy and who owns amountain mutta dog called Benny, I wonder? If so, I`m truly honoured!
Tony G3LOJ called in from Kirkbymoorside. He used to be the chief inspector at an aircraft company there and we were colleagues for years until we both retired. At first he failed to recognize me disguised as GV0OOO/P but we managed a brief chat.
This QRG was now worked dry and just as battery number three was about to go flat. For that reason I didn`t call Roy but plugged in the DAB radio and got on with the dismantling of the station. This took an hour but the time flew by with Andy Murray making history at Wimbledon. Fantastic. A man walked past and I was able to inform him of the unbelievable. So for me the first Brit winning Wimbledon for 77 years will ever be associated with the summit of Great Whernside.
I had to bury about 1kg of leftover food and I left about 0.75 litres of Ice melting in the sunshine. The handy folding buffet, which had made life more bearable, was committed to a tomb under a pile of rocks ready for next year. The can of sardines deposited there in 2011 had split and the smell was truly disgusting. This and a ropey looking 500ml bottle of drink were removed as toxic waste.
I was back at the car by 18:37.
Battery utilization:
A total 43 Ah of Li-Pos were 72 % depleted. I.e. 31 Ah used from the available supply; leaving 12Ah. The IC-E90 was not used. The VX150 was used only for 2 QSOs.
VHF-NFD discussion:
Eighty Six Serial numbers were given out for VHF-NFD contacts. Most were on 2 & 70 SSB with some 2m FM. Band conditions were better than in most previous years for NFD but strangely seemed worse on the 2m FM link-back to Roy in Scarborough. For simplicity I increment the serial numbers regardless of band, and dont concern myself with the bureaucracy of submitting a contest entry. It would be pointless because of limits to the quality and quantity of equipment that can be carried up to 2,300 feet single-handedly. Not only that, I take too many food, tea &ache` breaks.
For the 11th year in which I have taken part, operating was gentlemanly and hassle free. Time and effort was taken on the part of serious participants to get the exchange correct and confirmed. I often threw in the SOTA Reference and sometimes the summit name with the LOC in case any one wanted it and also remembered to turn the beams north now and again to give our GM friends a chance.
There was only minor interest in the location but I think I can claim the highest QTH in the country each year. Great Whernside provides good radio paths up and down the east side of the Pennines relatively unhindered. It`s simple to climb from a 1500 foot parking spot and the huge area of grass on peat makes it easy to install a moderately comprehensive station plus overnight accomodation, as was required this year and in 2011.
Mobile phone coverage is unreliable to say the least but I did manage to send and receive texts on an EE phone, though some got stuck in the outbox.
A new feature this year was the folding plastic stool. Costing GBP 1.24 from Dunelm Mill, it weighed in at a huge 1.1kg but proved to be worth the one-way trip. The cheap airbed, which served well overnight and doubled as a cushion throughout the day, was also well worth the carry. Another way of operating is to double and lash the airbed at one end to make a low chair but the one elbow method with head unsupported used to give me a stiff neck for days. Why bother you may say but things which affect comfort become much more important with age.
My five-piece welding rod stove weighing just 0.75oz plus three hexamine tablets was invaluable in supplying me with three large cups of tea and a pot noodle. With a half tablet of hexamine on the platform and an aluminium foil windbreak I was able to boil water quickly in the leftover tin-can which was better than a pan because its lip stabilised it on the three supports. The contents were of course consumed first.
Staying overnight meant that I didn`t need to get up at 02:30 on the Sunday morning. I will admit to feeling pretty well broken by the 60 pound pack on the steep bits earlier in the ascent and had to stop frequently. I was slower than 2011. Just getting the load onto my back was far from easy and the strain ripped the rucksack. The fact that it was 8kg lighter on the way down helped immensely if only psychologically. Part of the weight difference was down to too much food which was left behind.
The two litre bottle of ice surrounded by bubble wrap was invaluable to keep food and drinks cool and in supplying water for tea. In the heat, there was a constant worry about fluids; Will I have enough? From the 2ltrs of liquid and 2ltrs of ice taken up, 0.75ltr of ice was discarded before the descent.
TOP BAND:
Operating on 160m was the main reason for staying overnight and it was all the more successful because of it. Compared with daylight conditions, propagation at 21:30z on Saturday evening was significantly enhanced enabling a better QSO count. Nonetheless, the 32 QSO`s of 2011 were not realised.
If camping over again, the morning session is unlikely to be repeated. By 7am in July, daytime conditions are largely established. Besides, it is downright cruel to expect people to get out of bed at 7am on a Sunday. If there is ever a next time I will scrub Top Band in the morning or schedule it for later on.
Phil G4OBK was leading an organised walk via Sedbergh for the weekend so couldn`t take part in the 160m activity. I listened for much of the day on 2m-FM in case he called in but missed him probably due to workload or gaps in my monitoring.
Vandalism:
On returning to the car my earlier concerns regarding the Highland Cattle were well founded. The car looked half wrecked with scratches on the sides from sharp horns, every window had been systematically licked and both door mirror units were internally destroyed and hanging on their cables. At least all the lights were intact but the mirrors flapped annoyingly all the way home and had to be glued back on later.
QSO Summary.
Saturday : 25
Sunday: 142
TOTAL: 167 QSO`s.
VHF-NFD Contest:
2m SSB: 48
2m CW: 4
70cm SSB: 14
70cm CW: 3
4m FM: Not used
2m FM: 17
Total (Contest): 86
Non-Contest / SOTA
160m CW: 9
160m SSB: 4
80m CW: 2
40m CW: 10
40m SSB: 25
30m CW: 29
2m FM: 2
Total (SOTA): 81
Ascent/ Distance: 211m (692ft)/ distance 5.5km (3.4 miles up & down).
Times: Ascent: 51 min. Descent: 40 min. Summit time: 22hrs.
Pack weight: See equipment.
Drive home: 18:50 to 20:55. This was SSEGs 11th successive VHF field day on NP8, Scarboroughs closest 2k at 63 miles line of sight and a mere 151 miles round trip by road.
Thank you to spotters: Roy G4SSH, M6VGU, G0VOF, M0BKV and DL5AWI. With so many band and mode changes, spotting was vital to success.
Thanks to all SOTA chasers and contest stations for a hard but enjoyable VHF-NFD.
Special thanks to Roy G4SSH who manned the 2m FM link and spotted my QSY`s without respite up to midnight Saturday and again from about 7am on until 5pm on Sunday!
73, John G4YSS
(Using Scarborough Special Events Group RSGB 100th Anniversary callsign; GV0OOO/P).
