G4YSS: LAKES WEEK 2013. Four LD SOTA`s - 4 days; 03 to 06-June-13
G/LD-004; G/LD-005 & G/LD-008; G/LD-003 (Plus WOTA`s LDW-015 & LDW-034).
SKIDDAW; GREAT GABLE; BLENCATHRA; HELVELLYN plus Skiddaw Little Man and Green Gable. (160m from LD4; LD8 & LD3). 9,700 feet of ascent, 22 miles walked, 36 SOTA points, 4 activating days.
G4YSS using GX0OOO/P; solo except for LD5.
All times BST (UTC plus 1 hr) unless stated otherwise.
EQUIPMENT:
HF QRO: ICOM IC706-2G with lightweight panels & CW key in mic.
HF QRP: FT817ND without internal batteries.
Antennas:
Link dipole No1: 80m thru 20m on a 5m CFC mast with 1m end sticks.
Link dipole No2: 80m thru 20m with adaption for 2m, 17m & 10m. (Skiddaw only).
Home-Brew tuneable loading coils for 160m.
Half-wave vertical J-Pole for 2m-FM. (LDs 4, 5 and 3). Vertical SOTABEAM for 2m-FM. (LD8 only). Horizontal SOTABEAM for 2m-SSB. (LD8 only – nil QSOs).
Batteries (excluding 4m):
2 x 6 Ah Li-Po for HF/ VHF QRO on LD4 and LD8.
2 x 4.4 Ah Li-Po for HF QRO on LD3.
1 x 4.5 Ah Li-Po for HF/ VHF QRP on LD5.
2m FM on WOTA LDW-015: IC-E90 with 5W to rubber duck.
2m FM on WOTA LDW-034: FT817ND with 5W to Home-Brew Half-Wave Vertical J-Pole.
4m FM: ICOM IC-E90, 4-Band H/H to 2m duck, extended for 4m and 1.3 Ah integral Li-Po.
INTRO:
This activation report relates to our annual five-night break in the Lake District with the usual walking group assembled from Worthing, Birmingham and Scarborough. I was invited to join this group back in in 2002. Accommodation was at the Sandon B&B in Southey St, Keswick (GBP38 pppn - GBP35 in 2012). Evening meals were to be had in various places in Keswick but they did not come cheap. A little more than GBP20 for two courses including a drink and 10% tip was fairly typical. Doubled up for the XYL, that represents some considerable sum especially for a Radio Amateur and Yorkshireman.
Group leader David Barnes of Worthing devised the routes based on Lakeland Walker Magazine. This year the walks were toned down somewhat due to the size of the party, their advancing age and mixed abilities. This meant fewer high ground routes and thereby fewer SOTAs. In fact the routes took in no SOTAs at all. There were just four full walking days. Regrettably, I only walked with the group on one of these days (LD5 on 4th June) and that was just for the first half of the walk. Thanks to the B&B`s WiFi facility, advanced alerts could be made each day.
Operations were limited by breakfast time (8am) at the Sandon B&B in Southey Street, Keswick and evening meals in the town; some of which had to be booked as early as 6pm for such a large party (12). In addition to time considerations, the usual problems of distance & ascent versus pack weight also came into the equation when deciding equipment, though none of the walks done by any of us this year could be considered overly demanding. In the event QRP was used on just one activation (LD5) and the two WOTA`s.
The WX was reasonable for walking if a little on the warm side but cloud and the cooler mountain air generally came to the rescue during the activations. On the 3rd, ever-present low-cloud limited the temperature on Skiddaw`s summit ridge to 11 degrees C. On later days the mercury did not climb much above 13C at 3000 feet but it could be unpleasantly warm when excercising vigorously at lower levels in zero wind. In the benign weather, pack weight could be reduced a little due to lighter/ less clothing.
Summit wind-speeds ranged from 5 mph to zero which made flies a problem on all four summits. On Skiddaw, multitudes of tiny spiders joined in to cause additional irritation. Good visibility combined with plenty of sunshine made for excellent views and good photography apart for at the summit of Skiddaw. There were significant numbers of walkers in the mountains but numbers were by no means overwhelming and everyone was friendly. In fact I have never had more visitors to the station than in these four days and that was especially true of Helvellyn. I walked with a miniature DAB receiver; BBC World Service being the station of choice this year. Commercial stations such as Smooth 70`s do not cover hilly areas so well and there was Cricket in 5-live-SX on only one day.
MONDAY 03-Jun-13: SKIDDAW G/LD-004 & LDW-015 Little Man.
Intro:
The vast slag heap that is Skiddaw is still a firm favourite with me and Englands easiest ten-pointer too. I took the quickest route; 76 minutes from the high car park to the SE at Underscar. The gradient doesnt vary too much and that lends itself to a steady non-stop slog. In fact very steady, taking only short steps but nevertheless breathing hard. SOTA ascents never seem easy to me; in fact I routinely question why I`m punishing myself to that degree just to put a radio station on top.
This ascent was made with more cargo than planned. While unpacking the rucksack at the summit, I found that Id brought twice the battery power than was needed. An 8.8 Ah Li-Po had been added to the pack before leaving Scarborough but this fact had been overlooked. I then packed two 6 Ah Li-Pos that morning making a total of over 20Ah! It amounted to almost a kilo I need not have carried.
To escape from other walkers, I set up the HF station at a point about 30m north of the trig and slightly down the side which overlooks Ullock Pike; not that I could see it! The intention was to activate VHF later on from the south end of the summit. It came as no surprise when I phoned Roy G4SSH and he told me that band conditions were poor; they had been for a couple of weeks.
SKIDDAW, G/LD-004, 931m (10 pts). 11:09 to 15:26 (HF & VHF). Low-cloud, 11C. Wind 5 mph max. (IO84KP, WAB: NY22) Orange phone coverage. IC706-2G QRO.
3.557 CW - 5 QSO`s:
80m preceded 40m in case the skip was long on the latter. With the rig set to 40W, I worked five UK stations starting with Roy G4SSH. The band was not properly open and reports were in the range 229 to 559. At the end, the power was increased for G4FGO.
3.724 SSB - 7 QSO`s:
100W of SSB brought in 7 stations but this took almost 20 minutes. Distances worked ranged from Lancashire to Cornwall with reports from 33 up to 55 with a 58 and a 59.
1.832 CW - 1 QSO:
Try as I may, I could not log more than one station but Brian G4ZRP was new to Top Band SOTA. Frank G3RMD called me between 11:03 and 11:14 UTC but didnt hear any of my many responses or calls though I suspect he was responding to my CQs. Both stations were 519 to me but Brian must have had the lower noise level.
7.032 CW - 21 QSO`s:
Out of 21 worked there were only three were G stations; which justified the use of 80m earlier. Countries worked were as follows: G, ON, DL, PA, OE, OK & HA. Reports were good with many around 579. I used 50W at first with 100W to bring in the final six. The session took half an hour.
7.130 SSB - 12 QSOs: As far as I know M0ZVR/P, Barry in Helston was anon-chaser.After he responded to my short CQ however, we had an interesting conversation about his Poldhu special Marconi station. Equally interesting was G4VFU/ MM Carl on a catamaran 100 miles out from Norway. Where I was sitting, the wind had died to almost nothing. It cant have been much better in the North Sea either; Carls speed was given as7 knotts.Seasoned chasers then began to call in. The ratio of G to overseas stations was 5 to 1; EI3EG and DK7ZH providing the overseas QSOs. Power was 100 Watts with the first 6 Ah Li-Po going flat after the third QSO. Because of a slow start, the session took half an hour but I was in no hurry today.
18.087 CW - 2 QSO`s:
With far away chasers in mind I thought I would have a try on 17m. Despite an advanced alert by G4SSH, just two non chasers called me; UR0FW and UY3IR. 70W was used for these.
18.130 CW - 1 QSO:
Just N4ZC Roger in North Carolina. Roger could barely hear my 100 Watts to a dipole. The bands above 18 MHz didn`t seem to be open.
145.550 FM - 13 QSO`s (VHF QTH: 14:29 to 15:26.):
At the end of a 5 minute walk to the south end of the summit ridge and deployment of the VHF station, G1OHH Sue was first to respond to a 20W CQ. After that I made a list, prioritising G4WHA/A, Geoff who has a shop to run. WOTA devotee Julian G4ILO called in from Cockermouth. Mike G4BLH struggled slightly with my signal. An S2S with Mike 2E0YYY/P on Gun G/SP-004 was achieved with 59 plus-plus reports both ways. I used a half-wave vertical and 20W but Mike was employing a 5/8 over 5/8 vertical collinear and 35 Watts. Power was increased to 50 Watts for the last two which were MD3OED (51 both ways) and Dave MW1ARM.
70.450 FM - Nil QSOs: There was no response on 70.450-FM to my 3 Watt CQs from the IC-E90 with extended duck but LD4 is not the best of VHF sites for basic equipment.
WOTA LDW-015; Skiddaw Little Man – 15:41 to 15:56:
The journey down was broken via a detour to Skiddaw Little Man. This invloved an additional 60m of ascent. In the back of my mind I thought I could remember someone activating Little Man. It could have been Nick or Phil (G4OOE or G4OBK). With just a vague understanding of its status; HuMP, WOTA or nothing, I stopped briefly and called CQ with 5 Watts to a rubber duck on 145.500. Colin M0XSD replied with a 59 report confirming a WOTA. I then worked G0TDM; G4WHA/A; 2E0MIX and G1OHH between 14:45 and 14:52 UTC on 145.550.
The walk back to the car was completed by 16:39 and I was back to the B&B about 15 minutes later.
Battery use amounted to approx 9Ah.
Total QSO`s for LD4 were 62.
TUESDAY 04-Jun-13: GREAT GABLE LD5 & LDW-034 Green Gable.
Intro:
At 10:12 seven of us started from Seathwaite walking slowly up beside the Sourmilk Gill waterfall and past Base Brown to Green Gable. As per 2011, I went off to investigate Avro Anson aircraft DJ410 which crashed 100m SE of the summit (at NY 2154 1065) in October 1942. There was no less wreckage than last time which amounts to very little. Six ate their lunch; one activated the WOTA.
WOTA LDW-034; Green Gable – 12:06 to 13:03:
Using the FT817 with 5 Watts to a vertical half-wave, I worked the following callsigns on 145.400 between 11:20 and 11:34 UTC: M0XSD; G0TDM; G4WHA/A; G6LKB; G4BLH; G1OHH; G4ZRP; 2E0XYL and G1OAE. With the interposing mass of Great Gable, Mike G4BLH and Sue G1OHH both had a trouble hearing me.
After that it was solo down to Windy Gap for the minor scramble up Great Gable (LD5). The group returned to Seathwaite via Aaron Slack and Taylorgill Force.
GREAT GABLE, G/LD-005, 899m (8 pts) 13:21 to 16:10. 15C. 3mph wind. sunshine. QRP- HF/ VHF (FT817ND). Orange phone coverage.
3.557 CW - 4 QSO`s:
After a phone call to Roy G4SSH for a spot, he was the first to work me but only with a 229 report. G3RMD and G0NUP were likewise but Phil G4OBK was as strong as ever. Evidently 80m was worth a try, even with mouse power.
3.724 SSB - 5 QSOs: After G4OBK with an easy 59, four furtherG` stations struggled into the log: G8MIA; G0RQL; G3RMD and G6LUZ.
7.032 CW - 13 QSOs: The ratio ofG` to overseas stations worked on here was 6 to 7. I logged: ON; HB9; DL and F as well as G. HB9BCB/P Heinz called me S2S from HB/BE-158. Reporting on my 5 Watt signals averaged out at roughly 459.
7.138 SSB - 3 QSO`s:
Only three stations contacted me on here: G3VXJ; M0XSD and G4RQJ. Time to try 2m?
145.475 FM - 16 QSO`s:
Dave G6LKB was one of three respondents to a CQ on S20. As per the day before an S2S with Mike 2E0YYY/P on Gun, G/SP-004 was included in the total. I think Mike must by now have a house up there. A second S2S was logged with Dave G4ASA/P on Fountains Fell G/NP-017. In addition to the ops I knew as regulars, I also worked GD0SFI in Douglas, GI4POC nr Belfast Loch and GM8OTI/P in D&G.
The section from Gt.Gable to the foot of Aaron Slack ate up half an hour but I was back at the car in Seathwaite by 17:33.
Total QSO`s for LD5 were 41.
WEDNESDAY 05-Jun-13: BLENCATHRA G/LD-008.
Intro:
The group were doing Fellbarrow near Loweswater today but were not passing any SOTA`s. LD8 is near to where we stay and the walk up from the SW is uncomplicated. By 10:04, I was toiling up Blease Fell from the (free) car park just past the Blencathra Centre at NY3026 2565. This route: described in previous reports, does mean walking the full length of the undulating summit ridge in order to gain access to the SOTA summit at the east end. Without this the ascent can be made in under 50 minutes but this extra section adds another 20 minutes and 20 again when you return. There is no alternative as the activation zone does not extend to the western end.
Today I stopped short of the diminutive trig and found a nice flat bit of grass to set up close to the edge which overlooks the A66 and far enough from the top so as not to bother anybody.
BLENCATHRA, G/LD-008, 868m, 8 pts, 11:14 to 14:57, 12 deg C, 8 mph wind, sunshine. IO84LP - NY32. Orange phone coverage. IC706-2G QRO.
3.557 CW - 5 QSOs: Yesterdays pattern was repeated and after a phone call to G4SSH, Roy was in the log. G0NUP and G4OBK followed, along with G4FGO and unexpectedly PA0ALW. Power was 50 Watts at first and 100 Watts for the last three where it proved more difficult.
3.724 SSB - 6 QSO`s:
Six chasers lined up on here. Power was 100 Watts and incoming reports averaged out at around 56.
1.832 CW - 4 QSOs: With the coils fitted and adjusted I worked four stations on here with 100 Watts as follows: G4OBK; G4SSH; G4RQJ and EI2CL. Incoming reports were 579; 229; 559 and 339 respectively. This was a pleasing result for noon with less than three weeks to go to the summer solstice. The Dublin QRN must have relented! I didnt hear G3RMD this time.
7.032 CW - 26 QSOs: Only seven of the total worked on here were overseas stations as follows: F; PA; OE; HB9; DL and ON. Power was 50 Watts increasing to 100 Watts for the final eight. There were two S2Ss. HB9BHW/P HANS on HB/ZH-005 and MW6GWR/P Ricky on GW/SW-011.
7.137 SSB - 9 QSOs: 50 Watts was set on the IC706-2G. Jonathan picked up the CQ in Swindon and Carolyn G6WRW followed. I think Carolyn more often than not suffers with high noise and has trouble copying me but once again she overcame it. BestDXon here was EA2CKX Pedro whos LOC was given as IN-83-TA.
145.425 FM - 17 QSOs: This was the batterys last challenge but it was wasteful FM, so after erecting the 3-ely SOTABEAM vertically on a 3m mast, I set the power to 25 Watts. Reports were almost all 59 for mainly Gs and Ms plus two Welsh and one Scottish station. Three other summits were logged in the form of G4UXH/P Colin on LDW-142; Karen 2E0XYL/P and Bob G6ODU both on GW/NW-054 and G0HRT Rob on Fair Snape Fell G/SP-007. Last in was Dave MW1ARM aged 76 who was devising a rig-mounted shopping trolley system to overcome infirmity and enable a level of activating to suit his abilities. I wish him luck and hope he succeeds.
144.305 SSB - Nil QSO`s:
I tried some calls on here after a spot by G4SSH but to no avail. Using 50 Watts to the 3-ely SOTABEAM, I called CQ for over 5 minutes at around 13:35z to the four points of the compass, without response. This was probably because I am not generally in the habit of using 2m SSB or maybe the spot took some time to work as they can do.
70.450 FM - 1 QSO:
John MW1FGQ was logged on 70.450-FM with 3 Watts from the IC-E90 with extended duck.
The steady descent took 50 minutes to 15:47. This was early but we were booked in for a 6pm evening meal.
Total QSO`s for LD8 were 68.
THURSDAY 06-Jun-13: HELVELLYN G/LD-003.
Intro:
The group were walking from Martindale today. I couldn`t see an easy way to put on Place Fell so I chose Helvellyn and another solo sortie.
I had done LD3 with William from the Swirls lay-by in 2008 but apart from that, most of my activations in this area combined Helvellyn with three other summits, walking from Patterdale. This time I chose a start point which was new to me. The drive down from Keswick to the end of Thirlmere and the Wythburn C of E Church car park took under 20 minutes.
This is a council Pay and Display car park but that was the bad news. The good news was that when I arrived, the ticket machine was not working. I added my car registration to the other complaints scribbled onto a scrap of paper Sellotaped to the coin slot and set off walking in hazy sun at 09:48.
Route from Wythburn Church:
The path leaves the car park (NY 3244 1362) via a gate and passes initially through trees to cross a track junction at NY 3269 1363. The trees are left behind at around NY 3282 1353 and the path becomes paved a little higher up. After that its gravelly. The route is quite steep but easy to follow via: NY 3292 1363; NY 3318 1364; NY 3322 1342; NY 3335 1337; NY 3369 1353; NY 3391 1389; joining the Dollywaggon - Helvellyn path at NY 3429 1446. From there the Helvellyn shelter can be seen; provided it isnt misty. If you carry a DAB receiver like I do, it cuts-in as you rise through 500m ASL at around NY 3329 1352. A few feet are lost on the ascent, just before the top junction.
I set up right at the top and only about 15m from the trig point. This is a luxury reserved for summer but summer, when combined with a popular summit such as Helvellyn, has its disadvantages in the form of a steady stream of curious visitors. Not that I`m knocking visitors. I always welcome them and try to reward their interest with a good explanation but my CW is bad enough without added distractions.
HELVELLYN, LD-003, 950m, 10 pts, 11:21 to 15:12. Mostly no wind, 11 deg C. Thick cloud base about 100m above the summit. Brief hazy sunshine at 1pm. IO84LM – NY31. IC706-2G QRO.
3.557 CW - 8 QSO`s:
The 80m stalwarts: G4SSH; G3RMD; G4OBK; G0TDM; G4FGJ and G0NUP were logged. G0NES and EI2CL joined them. 100 Watts made this easier and in some cases possible.
During the final few QSOs I was visited by a man with a badge on his shirt which read,LAKE DISTRICT VOLUNTARY RANGER.Like at least a dozen other passers by that morning, he was interested in the station; as I was in his status. I asked if it was he who ascended daily throughout the winter to record and photograph summit conditions.Not now, but in the 1990s. Years ago he had stood in for a ranger who had fallen down the precipice a few feet from where we were standing, fracturing his pelvis. Tony explained that he was now in his 70th year and only worked part time. What a job! This is only the second time that I have met a ranger or warden and I must say it was a pleasant experience.
I didnt advertise 3.724 SSB and didnt appear. Apologies to the ones waiting there but I assumed that I could bring in the G`s later on 40m, which is more or less what happened.
7.032 CW - 25 QSOs: 50 Watts throughout brought in tenGStations and callsign areas as follows: DL; ON; HB9; PA; OK and F. There were two S2Ss: DL2XL/P Heinrich on DM/RP-404 and MW0IML/P Barry on GW/NW-020.
7.145 SSB - 26 QSOs: With 40 Watts transmitted, 26 stations responded in about 30 minutes. It was brisk at first but tailed off as it does, to less frequent QSOs with weaker stations at the end. The vast majority of stations worked on here were UK based and reports were generally good. After a poor start to the week, I think this was the best day for inter-G conditions on 40m. However, you can`t have everything and overseas callsigns logged were limited to PA1MV and EA2CKX. The single S2S was provided by MW0KCB/P Darius on GW/NW-003. Close-in stations such as Bob G6ODU and Sue G1OHH managed to get through at the end, albeit with some difficulty. With hindsight I should have tried 20m for the Europeans but time was becoming tight.
1.832 CW - 2 QSO`s:
Using the coils fitted in the 80m dipole at the 40m break points and 100 Watts from the IC706-2G, I managed to work G4OBK and G4SSH. Incoming reports were 579 and 339 respectively. It seems that the Dublin QRN was back!
145.425 FM - 17 QSOs: This session was worked with 25 Watts to a half-wave J-Pole until the battery began to decline, at which point 10 Watts was selected. G0TDM was first up but I let a Dave G6LKB/M go first in case I lost him. One or two whod had difficult passages on 40m reworked me on here to make sure of it. One such op was Barry MW0IML/P on GW/NW-020. Sue G1OHH told me of a moonlight hospice charity walk that she was due to go on. (Envelope in the post).
70.425 FM - 4 QSO`s:
With 3 Watts from the IC-E90 to extended rubber duck: G4UXH Colin; G0TDM John; MW1FGQ John and G4WHA/A Geoff. I had to move around the summit a little to get the final QSO of the holiday at 14:11z. Geoff was weak at first but 59 in the end. All other reports on 4m were 59 too.
The descent via the reciprical route took 60 minutes to 16:12. Thankfully I hadn`t been ticketed for failing to pay and display due to the faulty machine.
Total QSO`s for LD3 were 82.
In Conclusion:
With summit durations limited by meal times, the most comfortable method is one day one summit. A shower within 20 minutes of stepping off the mountain seemed like the height of luxury when normally a wearying 3 hour drive must be faced. Apart from passing close to LD5, Davids routes didnt include any SOTA`s this year but I have put in a request for Scafell Pike next year, which seems to have been taken seriously. Fingers crossed.
Great Gable was activated off the back of a group-walk to Green Gable but on three of the four available days the group and I went our separate ways. They seem to have got used to the pattern by now and accept it even though they do find my behaviour in particular and amateur radio in general, mildly eccentric. I cant really argue with that but my take on it is that the costs of staying in Keswick seem to have increased in a non linear fashion this year and I have aduty` to get my own version of value for money. That means mountains; the bigger the better.
Without spots from G4SSH life would have been much harder and I am extremely grateful to Roy for his unstinting support in answering numerous mobile phone calls. Without Roy and phone coverage on all summits activated, there would only have been the alerts which were put on via Wi-Fi at the B&B.
The WX was very kind. Driving around at valley level it felt too warm and sunny for slogging up big hills. In some ways it was but conditions were never too bad at 3000ft despite there being little and often zero wind. Thankfully low-cloud protected the entire activation on Skiddaw and thick clouds hovered just above Helvellyn to keep the temperature down. There was no rain all week – not bad for the Lake District but there were a lot of flies on the summits.
The policy as usual was to target as many chasers as possible from close-in and out as far as Central Europe at least. That said I did have a go on 17m from LD4 but it wasn`t a big success.
The week before, Roy G4SSH pre-warned me that band conditions were poor but HF worked reasonably well as conditions picked up, especially with QRO. My thoughts that the lower bands would be a waste of time at noon in summer were unfounded. 80m operation proved possible from all four summits even with QRP. 160m CW excelled itself from LD8 with 4 QSO`s including EI2CL and delivered at least one QSO from two other summits, though there was no SSB operation on the band. G4ZRP was initiated into 160m SOTA chasing despite a less than optimal antenna. In that respect he is in much the same situation as the majority who SOTA chase on 160. With just 5 Watts available LD5 saw no 160m operation.
The two 11.1V, 6Ah, 30C Li-Pos, purchased in March were SOTA tested twice with good results. These cost GBP38.83 each including P&P direct from Hong Kong and weigh 450gm each. They were tested on receipt using a headlamp bulb. Both supplied 4.8 Amps for 60 minutes down to 10.6 Volts. This correlates with the 4.4 Ah examples from RCM which tested out at 45 minutes. These batteries weretoo cheapbut when I tried to buy some more the price had risen to GBP83.83 each which is way too expensive. I assumemy` price was a typing error on their part and they are attempting to recoup their losses. Some hopes of that!
A big thank you to G4SSH for the SOTA spotting service. Thanks to all chasers and the spotters: G4SSH; G0TDM; G4BLH; G6CRV; ON4FI; M0XSD; DL1FU; G4WHA; G4OBK and EI2CL. As always, your help in making this a successful trip was much appreciated.
QSO`s:
LD4 Skiddaw on 3rd June:
5 on 80m CW; 7 on 80m SSB; 1 on 160m CW; 21 on 40m CW; 12 on 40m SSB; 2 on 17m CW;
1 on 17m SSB; 13 on 2m FM; Zero on 4m FM
Total LD4: 62
(WOTA LDW-015 Skiddaw Little Man: 5 on 2m FM)
LD5 Great Gable on 4th June:
4 on 80m CW; 5 on 80m SSB; 13 on 40m CW; 3 on 40m SSB; 16 on 2m FM;
Total LD5: 41
(WOTA LDW-034 Green Gable: 9 on 2m FM)
LD8 Blencathra on 5th June:
5 on 80m CW; 6 on 80m SSB; 4 on 160m CW; 26 on 40m CW; 9 on 40m SSB; 17 on 2m FM;
Zero on 144.305 SSB; 1 on 4m FM.
Total LD8: 68
LD3: Helvellyn on 6th June:
8 on 80m CW; 25 on 40m CW; 26 on 40m SSB; 2 on 160m CW; 17 on 2m FM; 4 on 4m FM.
Total LD3: 82
Timings (Excel Spreadsheet):
June SOTA SUMMIT Ref:G/ Pt. Time (BST) With:
3rd Underscar Car Park-295m 09:53 Solo
3rd SKIDDAW - 931m (HF nr Trig) LD-004 10 11:09-14:24 Solo
3rd (2fm QTH to South NY260286) LD-004 14:29-15:26 Solo
3rd Skiddaw Little Man 865m (2fm-5QSO`s) LDW15 15:41-15:56 Solo
3rd Underscar Car Park-295m 16:39 Solo
Bands 80, 40 & 17cw/ ssb; 160cw; 2fm QRO
June SOTA SUMMIT Ref:G/ Pt. Time (BST) With:
4th Seathwaite-125m 10:12 Group
4th Base Brown Group
4th Green Gable 801m (2fm-9QSO`s) LDW34 12:06-13:03 Group
4th GREAT GABLE - 899m LD5 8 13:21-16:10 Solo
4th Aaron Slack/ Stockley Bridge Solo
4th Seathwaite-125m 17:33 Solo
Bands 80cw/ssb; 40cw/ssb; 2fm QRP-5W
June SOTA SUMMIT Ref:G/ Pt. Time (BST) With:
5th Blencathra Centre Car Pk-285m 10:04 Solo
5th BLENCATHRA - 868m LD-008 8 11:14-14:57 Solo
5th Blencathra Centre Car Pk-285m 15:47 Solo
Bands 80-40cw/ ssb; 160cw; 2-4fm QRO
June SOTA SUMMIT Ref:G/ Pt. Time (BST) With:
6th Thirlmere Church Car Park-190m 09:48 Solo
6th HELVELLYN - 950m LD-003 10 11:21-15:12 Solo
6th Thirlmere Church Car Park-190m 16:12 Solo
Bands 80-40cw; 40ssb; 160cw; 2-4fm QRO
Distance; Ascent; Walking times:
LD4 (Underscar): 10.6km/ 726m (inc LDW15); 2.3hrs walking/ 7.3hrs gross.
LD5 (Seathwaite): 8.9km/ 830m ascent; 3.6hrs walking/ 7.8hrs gross.
LD8 (Blease Fell): 7.9km/ 643m ascent - 2.2hrs walking/ 5.9hrs gross.
LD3 (Wythburn): 7.7km/ 764m ascent; 2.6hrs walking - 6.4hrs gross.
Total Walked: 35.1km (22 mls) with 2,963m (9,721ft) ascent.
10.7hrs walking at 2.06mph ave.
4 days - 4 SOTAs - 36 pts - 253 QSO`s.
Miles Driven:
131 miles Sca-Keswick - A66.
57 miles B&B to SOTAs 154 miles Keswick-Sca via Lakeland Plastics. Total: 342 miles in XYLs C4 Picasso Diesel.
73, John
(G4YSS using Scarborough Special Events Group Club Call GX0OOO/P.)
