GM/SS-064: Tonto on Tinto

MM1ROS · 21 March 2026 23:35

It had been a pretty big week for me - I’d passed my Full Licence exam on the Monday night, got a new callsign on Wednesday morning (as well as making a bit of a dog’s dinner of trying to get it changed on here… sorry!), and spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday cursing my full-time job as I looked out the window at all the sunshine that I was missing out on. I had places to be on Saturday lunchtime, so figured a good option would be to get out of Glasgow in the morning for a wee scoot up Tinto (GM/SS-064), one I can often see in the hazy distance from the city, and see how many times I could get myself tongue-tied between my new callsign (MM1ROS) and my old one (MM9ROS).

The track up Tinto’s a bit more like a poorly maintained motorway than a hill path in places, but thankfully it made for a very straightforward ascent, other than a few bits where some tractor tyres had churned up the track near the bottom. I was up from the car park to the summit in a wee bit under 50 minutes, meaning I was well ahead of my intended schedule and could relax and enjoy the sun.

After climbing on top of the large burial cairn at the summit for the mandatory tap of the viewpoint marker, I decided the best activation spot would be at the trig point to the west which would keep me clear of the constant stream of folk out for their walks, and give me a nice desktop to sit the logbook on. The day’s rig would be the Yaesu FT-65 plugged into a Spectrum Slim G on a 4m fibreglass pole.

Before even shouting CQ, I tuned around 2m and managed to catch Tom @M1TJM out on Nine Standards Rigg G/NP-018. It’s always nice to start the day with a Summit-to-Summit, but this was my first ever contact out of Scotland (SOTA or otherwise), and a then distance record of around 155km, which I was pretty happy with on a 2m handy.

However, there must’ve been some pretty useful lift on for the day, and I managed a grand total of five S2S contacts across some reasonably decent distances across Scotland, England, and even right into Ireland, for a 333km contact with Dave @EI3IXB on Tonelagee (EI/IE-003) in the Wicklow Mountains. Also there were Craig @2M0LXX, Tony @M9OUD, Paul @M7CUW and an honourable mention to Jordan @M3TMX who shouted out from the non-SOTA summit of Whinlatter Top.

I could gladly have hung around a lot longer, but I was growing increasingly aware of my obligations back in Glasgow, so I had to bring the mast down and start making tracks back to the car. Of course, just as I was beginning my descent, I heard a CQ shout on 145.500 on the short whip which I’d attached to the front of my rucksack, so I had to make a short scurry back up into the activation zone, stick the RH-770 on and just get that last one in the book.

Now all we need is more of this sunny weather please?

I almost forgot to mention - perhaps one of the weirder things I’ve seen out on a hill path (other than the hallucinations towards the end of the West Highland Way Race), a tiny Land Rover crawling its way up the track. I was half expecting a tiny @MM0EFI to pop out and do a tiny Youtube video…

VK3SQ · 21 March 2026 23:57

…thanks Ross for your activation report; and with great photos. Congratulations for achieving the Full Licence exam too.

Geoff vk3sq

M1TJM · 22 March 2026 07:15

Hi Ross - thanks for an excellent activation report. That was a very enjoyable read, and now I want to walk Tinto!

It was so great to get you ITL for the first time. There were some excellent contacts to be made yesterday and you certainly made them! Big congrats on that EI contact Working QRP using just a handheld really is all you need on a good day. I’m a big fan of those Spectrum Communications Slim-G antennas - I was also using one.

Nice one on the new callsign too. Welcome to the M1 club - MM1ROS has a great ring to it!

All the best, and hope to catch you on another summit very soon. 73, Tom - M1TJM

M1BUU · 22 March 2026 07:37

The M1 club used to be quite small, especially on CW.

Will you be designing badges? Will we get a quarterly magazine?

73, Colin

M1BUU (issued to me originally in July 1997)

GM5ALX · 22 March 2026 07:59

Congratulations!

I know that one too well. Looks like you did manage to catch some good weather before next week’s misery sets in

GM4LLD · 22 March 2026 09:28

For a lovely day it looks deserted which is always nice. It does get so, so busy.

Tinto, 1 month previous.

G4OIG · 22 March 2026 09:50

Many congratulations on the new call Ross. Certainly a day to remember with all those S2S contacts and one not spoiled by inclement weather.

Tinto is the most notable hill, seemingly in view from the M74 almost from the border to Glasgow. When I did get to activate it, it was blowing a hoolie and 2m was dead, even with 25 watts and a 5 element yagi. I had to use HF to qualify the summit, with the same thing happening on Dungavel later in the day. Not my favourite activations. I’m really pleased you will have much better memories of your day on the hill.

73, Gerald

M0JSB · 22 March 2026 16:36

Thanks for a great report, and congratulations on passing the advanced exam! Nice that you were able to celebrate by working some dx S2Ss on 2m!

73, Matthew M0JSB

MW0WML · 22 March 2026 17:50

Great report! Congratulations on the Advanced pass and Full Licence.

73
Gerald

GM4KNU · 22 March 2026 18:09

Ross well done on the licence and great report on Tinto. Hope we can get more S2S contacts now better weather is on the way

73

Archie

MM0EFI · 22 March 2026 18:23

That would be a more satisfying and less expensive endeavour than running real ones.

Congratulations on the MM1

EI3LH · 22 March 2026 18:41

Great report and snaps and well done on the exam pass!

MM1ROS · 22 March 2026 18:51

Thanks a lot Geoff!

Aye, they’re handy beasties! I had been tending to go to the RH-770 as my SOTA antenna of choice lately, and although it was working pretty well, I could definitely pick a few more waves out of the air with the Slim G.

Aye, good to catch you there, and hopefully a repeat of something similar soon!

I mean, I do work in an art school, we do have a badge maker, and the summer is usually a pretty quiet time of year. Watch this space

I was just feeling like I was getting used to some nice weather, and then it all has to go and disappear on us again. Still, I saw my first lambs of the season on my run today, so that’s a nice spring-like sign.

It’s all just deceptive camera angles and timing. It was moderately quiet when I kicked off about 9-ish, but it was positively hoachin’ with folk by the time I headed down at the back of 11. Had to try my hardest to resist the mandatory “it’s like Sauchiehall Street up here” chat.

Looks pretty magic in its own special way!

Yeah, I think good weather and magic conditions definitely helped that one a lot! I guess Dungavel’s a bit trickier on 2m being somewhat in the shadow of Tinto.

Thanks Matthew. I was pretty happy to get 155km to @M1TJM for starters, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to beat 333km with a 5w handy and an omni antenna any time soon!

Thanks a lot Gerald!

Aye, unfortunately still stuck at work during the week, so I was sad to miss your activations on Thursday and Friday - I had been hoping to try and get you on my lunch break, but I reckoned the hills you were on would be a bit optimistic to make contact with a handy into central Glasgow. But aye, it’s getting to the time of year where maybe some evening activations locally might start being an option too!

Maybe, but since when’s that stopped anybody round here?

GM4LLD · 22 March 2026 19:37

There was significant amounts of snow and ice. The boggy bit had huge sheets of ice a few cms thick. By the time you got to the first bit of climbing I had to put on crampons!! I did think crampons was maybe over the top for Tinto but I got up with no drama and I saw lots of people sliding and trying to find routes through the sheet ice. Worst problem was a lot of the path was covered with 5-6cm of clear ice with another few cms of snow on top. The snow was a good 20cm at the top and consolidated enough that it would mainly support my vast bulk!

I’d used my Grivel Spiders a few days previously on Scald Law and they worked well but, and Gerald @MW0WML will agree here, coming down the steep parts of topmost paths I felt seriously exposed trusting the Spiders alone. They actually worked but it was a significant degree beyond my comfort zone. I should have used the crampons not the Spiders. Fraser @MM0EFI will tell you that people often wait until it’s too late to put crampons on. Thinking back now, I’d rather people snigger and think I’m over dressed when they see me on wee hills with crampons than be laying in a gully with a broken leg waiting for the rescue services.

p.s. Well done on the upgrade to the licence.

MM1ROS · 22 March 2026 20:05

I know what you mean - plenty of people think it’s an “easy” hill on account of having to do less than 500m worth of climbing up what’s usually a fairly simple path, but you’re still over 700m at the top, and that’s well within the kind of range where you can expect solid ice coverage at any time.

Yup, I know that feeling from using my wee running microspikes out on the Lomond Hills a few weeks back - they were easy enough on the flat stuff, and even going up the wee summit lumps, but coming down on them was a bit of a different matter altogether.

I think the thing’s usually that there isn’t always a big defined line where the ice starts, it tends to start in patches and form in wee damp hollows - I’ve been caught out by wee frozen-solid puddles on otherwise dry and clear paths before. I have also been known to stick the crampons on for crossing completely unnecessary solid snow patches just for a wee bit of rigging practice and the sheer fun of it!

Thanks, and apologies again for the user error on the contact form

MM6YSH · 22 March 2026 20:05

Congrats on the new callsign - sorry I didn’t notice it in your comment on my report.

Looks like a cracking day and a good activation. That antenna has me interested now - would you recommend it for 2m HT portable ops?

MM1ROS · 22 March 2026 20:20

Thanks, and no hassle at all, it’s only one digit different to the old one!

Aye, absolutely! I think it’s quite a popular option around those parts. Rolls up pretty flat and doesn’t weigh much, so I usually tend to keep it in a plastic bag in the wee elasticated bit on the outside of my rucksack. All that and only £25 or so from the auction site (I got mine with a BNC connector, as I find it easier to connect and disconnect with gloves on).

I just use a wee 4m fibreglass pole from Sotabeams to hang it from, but there are plenty of other fishing poles and the like that would probably be good too.

My usual antenna collection on the hills is a Watson WHXX-270 1/4 wave whip for sticking on the radio while I’m walking up, a Diamond RH-770 telescopic whip if I’m travelling light or just want something to deploy quickly, and then the Slim G if I’ve got the time and inclination to stick a pole in the air.

MW0WML · 22 March 2026 22:18

Absolutely Andy. The debate on microspikes had raged back and forth. Personal opinion here, microspikes are for flat or non serious terrain where the hazard is a slip and fall, not a slide.

If it’s steep enough and icy enough that you are going to slide, you really should be in crampons and carrying an axe for self belay, or if that fails, self arrest.

Anyway, what’s that idiom about “bottoms” and opinions… everyone has one… etc. But that’s my twopennath for what it is worth.

MM1ROS · 23 March 2026 10:48

That’s certainly in line with what Mountaineering Scotland are advising in terms of gear to use.

G4OIG · 23 March 2026 14:11

Well, having worked as far south as Don G0RQL in Devon from most of the summits south of the Central Belt and a good number north of it, I was amazed that I had such a struggle. I’d obviously upset the propagation gods.