Fraser: Sorry I couldn’t work either you or John from my /lP location (I did nip out to listen and try) but good effort persevering on the S2S contacts. Ample vindication of the old saying:“If at first you don’t succeed…” etc.
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Saw your 2m spot (via Ken @GM0AXY) from Glas Maol today Viki. An easy chase from my work at Westhill. By the time I’d got out to the Land Rover, you’d already gone up to 70cms.
Pah!!
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M6BWA’s ankle is having a day off so M0JLA is trying for several small uniques/completes.
73,
Rod
M6BWA Sorry Fraser about zipping to 70cm so quickly but, especially here, I tend to grab any 2m around and then rush to 70cm to see if any of them can/will get me on 70cm. Don’t spend very long on this and return to 2m (475 in this case I believe) and then 500 for another go at waking people up. The ones I find are very helpful and friendly but not many seem to have 2m fm!
May try to concoct today some details of my contacts so far if I can cope with this keyboard. Ankle is up on a bucket and asking why I have been up 4 Munros* in the last couple of days, (Answer - Glenshee parking is 660m and there are almost no tussocks and stiles - and (on the west side) there are lovely flowers, golden plovers and ptarmigan. Yesterday few flowers but hares and nearly stepped on on a fluffy baby grouse! * Got to check if Cairn of Claise 1064 is on the list! (PS It is!)
73 Viki
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M6BWA
A brief summary on the 2m/70cm section of our (with M0JLA on HF) Scottish trip so far which has not gone quite as planned back last November when the accommodation was booked. Sprained ankle end of January then became tendonitis apparently and I have recently started treatment and exercises but this affected which summits I could attempt - especially on Mull. but we also hit bad weather with high winds and much rain. This improved at our second base near Pitlochry when we even had to give up a second small summit as it was too hot! When planning I had decided to work only 2m and 70cm fm and only beg a contact on HF if I received no replies at all. The only time this happened, on Airds Hill N of Oban, this strategy didn’t work as M0JLA failed completely as well so that was a complete ‘no show’ so the only achievement was finding the best way up as we descended! (Hint - even better is not to bother at all!)
On the drive up
GM/SS-289 2M - 5, 70cm - 4 White Hill gates now locked, we met the farmer
GM/SS-120 2m - 12, 70cm - 8 Cairn Table Had to shut down on the callers, no more time
Oban
GM/SS-279 2m - 4 , 70cm - 1 Kerrera Island Lovely walk, a s2s enabled me to qualify
2 failed attempts GM/WS-346 Airds Hill (no contacts) and GM/SS-159 Bhein Ghlas ran out of time and dry weather
Mull
GM/SI-153 2m - 4, 70cm - 2 'S Airdre Beinn Good route and lovely summit
GM/SI-101 2m - 2, 70cm - 1 Beinn na Drise Pleasant but sodden at the end
GM/SI-106 2m - 2, 70cm - 1 Beinne Buidhe Conditions bad, no HF left quickly
(My grateful thanks to Colin GM0HBK and Gordon GM4OAS on Skye and at Mallaig)
Pitlochry
Failed attempt at GM/CS-107 Drumcroy Hill. New deer fence with a gate in but no way (except over it) to reach the summit that we could find.
GM/ES-028 2m - 4, 70cm - 2 Monamenach Dry! 70 mins to get the 4th contact
GM/ES-035 2m - 4, 70cm - 5! Mount Blair Using a filter for 2m.
GM/CS-116 2m - 4, 70cm - 1 Hill of Persie - So hot we gave up on the second hill.
GM/CS-030 2m - 10, 70cm - 3 Carn A Gheoidh Included 2 Munros on the walk,wanted 4 on 70cm!
GM/ES-012 2m - 7, 70cm - 5 Glas Maol Called for 70 mins then went to 2nd Munro, Views!
THE END so far (23 June)
Still one more day to go near Pitlochry then 2 nights near Carlisle and a brief dash to Low Fell if the ankle is OK, and drive back to the Welsh borders on 28 June.
Sorry the log is not very impressive but Fraser MM0EFI is well aware of the problems I was having - and he uses a bit more than 5w I suspect. Thanks everyone who chased me for their support.and to M0JLA who is currently on his way up his 2nd hill (out of 4??) so please listen out for him on HF on GM/ES-064.
Viki
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On occasion, yes. Lately 5 W from the handheld into my 4-ele beam or my slim-g. The big rig (ft-857D) only goes up the hill when I fancy some 2m SSB, which can be even more frustrating/rewarding eg. only 2 contacts from Mount Blair, but caught @G0RQL Don down in Devon from Glas Maol!
73,
Fraser
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Thanks for the 2m QSO today Viki and thanks for taking me first. Sorry if I was rather demanding. I was balanced on a wall and if I moved the radio more than a few cm, your signal dropped right out.
Mo had dropped me off at The Queens View with a coffee, a cake and my handheld. I waited for you while she nipped into Aboyne for some shopping. This worked out rather well - she reappeared mid QSO!
That’s my Complete for GM/CS-077 too. 
Hope you guys enjoyed your time up here and have a safe journey home.
73,
Fraser MM0EFI
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Got the log finished (such as it is!) so I can finish the statistics of my attempts on (mostly) GM summits with a Yaesu VX7 handy (and dipole or RH770) on 2m and 70cm fm.
I have already reported:
Drive up
GM/SS-289 2M - 5, 70cm - 4 White Hill gates now locked, we met the farmer
GM/SS-120 2m - 12, 70cm - 8 Cairn Table Had to shut down on the callers, no more time
Oban
GM/SS-279 2m - 4 , 70cm - 1 Kerrera Island Lovely walk, a s2s enabled me to qualify
2 failed attempts GM/WS-346 Airds Hill (no contacts) and GM/SS-159 Bhein Ghlas ran out of time and dry weather
Mull
GM/SI-153 2m - 4, 70cm - 2 'S Airdre Beinn Good route and lovely summit
GM/SI-101 2m - 2, 70cm - 1 Beinn na Drise Pleasant but sodden at the end
GM/SI-106 2m - 2, 70cm - 1 Beinne Buidhe Conditions bad, no HF left quickly
(My grateful thanks to Colin GM0HBK and Gordon GM4OAS on Skye and at Mallaig)
Pitlochry
Failed attempt at GM/CS-107 Drumcroy Hill. New deer fence with a gate in but no way (except over it) to reach the summit that we could find.
GM/ES-028 2m - 4, 70cm - 2 Monamenach Dry! 70 mins to get the 4th contact
GM/ES-035 2m - 4, 70cm - 5! Mount Blair Using a filter for 2m.
GM/CS-116 2m - 4, 70cm - 1 Hill of Persie - So hot we gave up on the second hill.
GM/CS-030 2m - 10, 70cm - 3 Carn A Gheoidh Included 2 Munros on the walk,wanted 4 on 70cm!
GM/ES-012 2m - 7, 70cm - 5 Glas Maol Called for 70 mins then went to 2nd Munro, Views!
Now adding:
GM/CS-077 2m - 8, 70cm - 3 Ben Gulabin Delightful hill, would recommend
GM/CS-094 2m - 5, 70cm - 2 Blath Bhalg Used MW0WML’s route from mast (apologies to G4OIG - wrong Gerald!!), seemed to go on for ever (very strong headwind) and many false summits. Go somewhere else!!
GM/SS-236 2m - 11, 70cm - 10 Corse Hill Had to pull the plug as cold and wet!
GM/SS-184 2m - 5, 70cm - 5 Middlefield Law Looks a doddle but long grass,bog and 50mph winds. Fled before we were blown over!
G/LD-054 2m - 4, 70cm - 4 Low Fell Had S2S with M0JLA on G/LD-054 thus he has completed (activated and chased) all current English summits. Congratulations!
What does all this prove? It reminds me that it is very difficult to get 2m and 70cm contacts in parts of GM-land with a sparse population - but I get overwhelmed when close to the cities!! However I never had to resort to HF to get the vital contact to activate the hill (not quite true this as I would have used HF on Airds Hill but M0JLA had no luck either!!) So not many points from the 3 week expedition but 15 uniques, 4 Munros, a few otters and a tick on the bucket list as I heard (but not saw) a corncrake on Iona after a long search. Last, but not least, the dratted ankle seems stronger on its return but possibly still some months to go. Thanks everyone for your help and advice. (There might be some photos eventually!)
Viki M6BWA
4 Likes
You may find that you and Rod are in contention for the Andre Saunders GM3VLB SOTA Island Award.
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I’m glad you got your tick! Its a shame they have become so rare. I remember my first time on Skye, over fifty years ago, we were camping at the Glen Brittle site and they were craking loudly from a field just up the glen - all ruddy night in the twilight! In waltz time, too - crake crake pause, crake crake pause, it took a couple of nights before we could tune them out and sleep properly despite the daytime exertions and a jar or two at the Sligachan.
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Well done on your activations over the last few weeks. I managed to get Rod on HF on a good percentage of summits so thank you Rod and congratulations on completing (activated and chased) all the English summits. I think I’ve chased them all but a long way from activating. Looking forward to a few s2s with you both over the summer with somewhat reduced distances
73 & 88
Allan
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Thanks Andy for drawing my attention to this award but I am not going to prepare a space for it on my ‘trophy shelf’ as my 3 activations with a total of 12 contacts won’t put me very far up the rankings! I shall be interested to see the results in due course. Great shame that Kerrera Island doesn’t seem to count as a SI - however the ferry is fun with a maximum of 12 standing passengers and a cost of £3.40 … return of course!
Viki
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Unfortunately this is not quite true as Hensbarrow was moved from DC-004 to DC-008 once the waste tip that loomed over the trig point was deemed stable. Too far to go to re-activate it without some other incentive. Perhaps a bit more coast path sometime. Anyhow, if I do make the effort someone will remeasure another hill and I will be back to square one as happened with Rhinog Fach 
Edit This also happened with White Hill which replaced Hightown Hill not long after we activated it.
I will try to do my summary sometime - but the grass has gone on growing …
In the meantime, thanks to all the chasers and apologies both for the brevity of some of the HF activations and the number of no shows. Weather, slow progress and exhaustion take their toll.
73,
Rod
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Puts you 3 further than me!
Wrong Gerald, I think.
The route suggested on the summit link is from MW0WML - Many thanks, Gerald - it winds around all over the place but is good underfoot most of the way. Does not waste much height gain, either.
73,
Rod
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Having reached 500 Uniques on Windelstraw Law, [GM/SS-087] in 2020 my target for 2022 was 500 Completes. Activating some more of the Scottish hills I have already chased looked like a good idea - current score 481 so 19 summits to activate in about 3 weeks. Perfectly possible, even in Scotland and so is proved. Just - but not the right 19.
I was sure I had chased White Hill, GM/SS-289, and Cairn Table, GM/SS-120, but they were obvious choices to do anyway on the way north.
On Mull the weather limited successful activity. Beinn na Sreine, GM/SI-061, and Coirc Bheinn, GM/SI-055, were the obvious choice for a good day out when the cloud was down on Ben More and the forecast generally poor. I could do this while Vicki, MM6BWA/P, was taking gently on a pre-booked wildlife tour. We both had a really good day as the weather improved although I could have done without the heavy shower that caught me by surprise on Coirc Bheinn just after I had spread out all the gear on the summit. Beinn na Sreine was a bit damp underfoot but the wild flowers were gorgeous - not very varied but absolutely everywhere. I stopped briefly at the car while crossing the road. A long drink, a change of water bottle and a few Ginger Nuts for extra energy took only a minute or two and then I was off up Coirc Bheinn. The legs were very reluctant but the going was good on the slightly firmer ground. The crags added interest and I waymarked my crossing points on the GPS to ensure that I found a fairly safe spot to cross each one when very tired on the descent. I kept on looking ahead and thinking that I was nearly there - a glance at the GPS repeatedly shattered the optimism in a way I have never experienced before - just tired I assume. Not a great day for radio; nor for scoring Completes.
Once we moved to the general Glenshee area the scoring rate improved along with the weather, the length of the walks and the radio. Apart from the day I was sent off do do SOTA while Vicki rested her ankle. I really should have remembered that in Scotland big hills are (in general) easier than little ones. Perhaps it was tiredness from doing GM/CS-030 (Carn a’Gheoidh) and GM/ES-012 (Glas Maol), each along with a nearby Munro on the previous two days but I found GM/ES-058 (Meall Mor) and GM/ES-064 (Creigh Hill) such hard work that the day target of 4 hills rapidly became 3 and then 2. The radio was not great either. It must have been the terrain and not just tiredness as we managed GM/CS-077 (Ben Gulabin) and GM/CS-094 (Blath Bhalg) on the two final days before heading south.
More shortly
73,
Rod
4 Likes
Indeed, that summit has not even got anywhere near my radar. After Viki’s comments, my thinking was that it might never ever get there! However Rod, from your comment it seems the route might have some redeeming features, though Fraser didn’t have the best time up there. Certainly might be worth a punt in the WB period with 5 points on offer.
73, Gerald
Yes, but in snow you would never be able to follow the path.
The car parking is good but the road is not great. We used it several times because we were in Kirkmichael and needed to get to Pitlochry and vice-versa so doing the hill when passing seemed sensible.
I was thinking more like frosty conditions - solid ground, but the path clear to see. Of course, I should be so lucky! 
The log - somewhat mangled by the copying process which evidently needs more practice.
Date Call Summit Comp QSOs S2S Pts Bands
1 2022-06-07 MM0JLA/P GM/SS-289 (White Hill) 10 1 60m, 40m
2 2022-06-08 MM0JLA/P GM/SS-120 (Cairn Table) 16 2 60m, 40m
3 2022-06-09 MM0JLA/P GM/SS-279 (Carn Breugach) 21 1 1 60m, 40m
4 2022-06-12 MM0JLA/P GM/SI-153 (S Airde Beinn) C 18 1 60m, 20m
5 2022-06-13 MM0JLA/P GM/SI-061 (Beinn na Sreine) 10 2 60m, 40m
6 2022-06-13 MM0JLA/P GM/SI-055 (Coirc Bheinn) 9 2 60m, 40m
7 2022-06-15 MM0JLA/P GM/SI-101 (Beinn na Drise) 25 1 60m, 40m
8 2022-06-16 MM0JLA/P GM/SI-106 (Beinn Bhuidhe) C 1 0 2m
9 2022-06-19 MM0JLA/P GM/ES-028 (Monamenach) 7 1 4 60m, 40m
10 2022-06-19 MM0JLA/P GM/ES-035 (Mount Blair) C 17 4 60m, 40m
11 2022-06-20 MM0JLA/P GM/CS-116 (Hill of Persie) C 12 3 1 60m, 40m
12 2022-06-21 MM0JLA/P GM/CS-030 (Carn a'Gheoidh) C 27 2 6 60m, 40m
13 2022-06-22 MM0JLA/P GM/ES-012 (Glas Maol) C 27 2 8 60m, 40m, 20m
14 2022-06-23 MM0JLA/P GM/ES-058 (Meall Mor) C 9 2 2 40m
15 2022-06-23 MM0JLA/P GM/ES-064 (Creigh Hill) C 5 1 40m
16 2022-06-24 MM0JLA/P GM/CS-077 (Ben Gulabin) C 19 2 4 60m, 40m
17 2022-06-25 MM0JLA/P GM/CS-094 (Blath Bhalg) C 22 1 2 60m, 40m
18 2022-06-26 MM0JLA/P GM/SS-236 (Corse Hill) C 5 1 60m, 40m
19 2022-06-26 MM0JLA/P GM/SS-184 (Middlefield Law) 7 1 40m
19 11 267 14 44