I’ve waited 20 years to capture a brockenspectre on camera and finally I got a selfie with mine 
Full report on all the 2m fun and games to follow.
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Right… I have something to eat and a few glasses of a nice Malbec…
Tomorrow Monday, Alan MM0VPM is off to play 13cm from Malcolm’s Mountain (Ben Challum GM/CS-021). I’d like that as a complete and on 13cm too. So a number of the usual GM13 fools are prepared for Alan’s adventure tomorrow.
I bought an ex-Wifi commercial 13cm antenna a while back and his much more “go” than one of my homebrew antennas, it has 2dB more gain which is worthwhile. It’s a quad patch antenna (2 patches in series for a 100Ohm antenna in parallel with 2 in series, so 50OHms overall). It’s a wee bit out of band so the SWR is 1.4 not 1.1 but I can live with that for 15dBi gain. However, it’s designed for permanent outdoor installation so it is made from a big piece of 20swg mild steel and hence it weighs a ton. I bought a Dremel drill stand and re making the earth plane was the first job. So the mild steel has gone and we have some 1.25mm single sided FR4 PCB instead. A weight saving of 450g. I thought I should try this before using it for chasing Alan.
Now it came to pass that a damn great big high pressure has settled over the NW of the UK resulting in some spectacular tropo openings. I’ve seen lots of 3cm and 23cm reports plus 2/70 tropo reports so I thought…“get up a hill you slob and try 2m and 13cm”. So I hoofed it up Scald Law. I was pumped full of adrenalin seeing the tropo spots and it took me 42mins car to trig point.
Equipment was IC-705+4200mAh HobbyKing LiFePo, 2m flowerpot made from RG-174, SG Lab trasnverted, quad patch for 13cm, RG-400 feeder, 3x21700 LiPo pack, 5m Decathlon pole, cables and stuff. The new antenna was immediately very noticeably lighter. Talking to a guy on the way I was told there was a 30km hill race around the horsehoe summit ridge with 150 or so runners. I needed to be at the top for uWave paths so I made sure I was clear of the tracks and decided I just do VHF and up if possible.
As I was setting up, some marshals arrived and one wandered over…
“Is that short wave radio?”
“Yes very short wave, 13cm.”
“Oh you know there is a hill race on?”
“Yes, that’s why I am here and not where your colleagues are.”
“OK well there be lots of people…”
I interrupted with “Well as long as they keep moving and don’t stand around in the beam they’ll be absolutely fine. But I wouldn’t stand where you are for much longer 'coz you never know what the effects are.”
I struggled to keep a straight face and said bloke ran from my gear to his colleagues. There was much pointing at me and shaking of heads. I didn’t laugh openly but inside I was in pain 
OK, on the air, 2m SSB and Don GW0PLP in Cardigan Bay was seriously loud. Aha… tropo then. I worked some more 2m SSB then flipped to 2m FM where there were lots of scratchy signals…tune about and I got ready to call CQ when up on 145.500 popped “CQ CQ CQ EI3LH CQ CQ.” I couldn’t believe it. I went back and Ian didn’t clock it was me at first. Then when he realised the call I heard, without the use of radio, Ian’s jaw hitting the ground. A very easy 705+flowerpot to basic FT65+rubber duck QSO. That was quite jolly… 337km plus or minus. There were GM, GI, GWs. Interesting FM QSO with MW3YNK in Colwyn Bay, GW4HMR in Bangor, GW1OFA down near Don GW0PLP. Lots of fun and games.
I managed a single QSO with Jack GM4COX on 2320.200 to prove the antenna etc. was working and there were plenty of spots on KST for 3cm and 23cm but nothing for 13cm 
But the system works OK. And it’s soooooooooo light now
Back on 144.300 and 144.333 (I started warming it for Gerald @G4OIG when he gets here soon). I had a long chat with Ian G6DDN (what a great CW suffix) on 144.333, effortless. And again with Don but whilst I could copy his chum 2W0JMK, he could hear me above his noise.
I did some beacon checks… GB3NGI in GI was end stop on 2m. But what impressed me was GB3VHF down in Kent was 529/539. It runs 30w into 2 3ele antennas and nether beam at Edinburgh. Onto 70cm as I had never tried the 2m flowerpot here. It’s SWR value looked OK but did it work as antenna? Yes GB3UHF (same location as GB3VHF) was 419. Now someone is having a laugh… 30W to a pair of 3 ele beams again not pointing at me and cross polarised which can give upto 30dB loss. Well GB3VHF/UHF were steady constant signals. I think my flowerpot works OK
So 27 2m QSOs with 425km to GW0PLP as ODX SSB and GW1OFA as ODX FM. EI3LH given a big Cheshire grin with his random CQ call working well. 13cm gear checked out. A Brockenspectre captured, a good time to the top. Yes a rather jolly day all round.
During the race my fellow clubmember, contesting chum and uWave chaser of my uWave SOTA activations, Brian GM4DIJ ran past at a fair rate of knots, obscene for a man that’s older than me. That’s why he didn’t reply to the “I’ll be on 13 later” messages. It takes me, a man who recently reached the age Paul McCartney sings about on Sgt. Peppers, 42-50mins to lug my lardy bulk up this hill and Brian ran up it and about 8 others in a 30km hill race. When he dies they will have to beat his heart to death with a big stick
WX was unreal. I climbed through the mist and sat in still air and bright sun for 90% of the time. The mist rose and it was good because it cooled down. Then it vanished and I was back in the unreally hot sun for a) Scotland and b) October.
A good day indeed.
Mist and proto fog bow on the way up.
At the col with Carnethy Hill looking down to the mist in the valley.
Brockenspectre
Looking to Balerno and Black Hill GM/SS-167, the mist just stops…
Brockenspectre and almost perfect Glory
Looking North as I packed up to head for home, all the mist has burnt off now.
Another selfie at the trig… looking rather pleased and I should think so.
Batteries being topped up for tomorrow.. 2.5hrs of lots of full power 2m FM used up about 45% of the 4000mAhr battery pack. That’s not bad.
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I called you a couple of times from my garden on 2m today but I guess you couldn’t hear me above all the 2m DX !
Hopefully catch you tomorrow from Knock of Crieff after getting a new tyre on the M/C SOTA machine.
Andy
MM7MOX
You were a very solid 59 and well over Andy. Didn’t cop who it was until you said “well who do you think it is!?” Our QSO was about 310km or so on 2m FM. Great stuff!
Of all the people! That was like the other day I finished building the DL2MAN Moxon, tested it on the repeater and my friend IRL who ive never managed a QSO with answered immediately. You couldn’t make it up!
My mast snapped so I had to tie the Slim G to it by the string and it held. So much activity on 2m today, everywhere you tuned was packed to the rafters.
Good work on the microwave stuff. Hope it goes well tomorrow for you all. 73. 
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Well, that was a good day out for sure!
Stunning conditions and you made good use of them.
Meanwhile I’ve been trying to pack the car without the dogs noticing….unsucessfully!
Hopefully we have a “grand day out” again tomorrow.
A
…thanks Andy, great report and terrific photos. Well done in getting a selfy with the Brockenspectre; terrific achievement 
cheers to you 
Geoff vk3sq
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A quick follow up as Alan will write up his Ben Challum exploits in his return.
After stunning sun yesterday I woke up dense mist and drizzle But by 1100Z it was much better. Not at Cairnpapple GM/SS-254 where it was dense mist. Up with the 13cm panel and 2m flowerpot, out with the 705. Alan was end stop on 2m FM on the handy never mind the better antenna on the 705. First worked on 13cm Brian GM4DIJ (who won the over-70s section in the hillrace yesterday) who was running c. 20W into 55ele and was “loud, damn loud” 59+40 on the S meter. I worked Jack GM4COX on the key for a laugh 599 each way. Then there was some ‘discussion’ on just what frequency on 13 we were using… we were all on the same one apart from Alan who QSY’d and then he was 59+30 on the meter. I could hear Alan working Roy GM4VKI out at Dundonnel but Roy QSY’d home for lunch before working me else I’d have worked 4 to qualify on 13cm on a Monday. Still 3 is OK. And I realised I’d already chased it on 13cm for an S2S last year. I’ll have to activate it again on 13cm now for the complete. (This uniques and completes OCD is all Gerald’s @G4OIG fault )
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I had my first Brocken Spectre this week, not as good as yours. It was more impressive in real life, honest 
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I have seen a few much fainter than yours but it is finally capturing one on camera which is what pleased me. Yes, I did several Klopp air punches.
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