With the clocks going forward here at the end of March, it officially signalled the start of “being able to do more daft stuff after work” season, and with all the other daft possibilities came the thought of trying to nip out after my day’s employment was done to try and get some Central Belt-adjacent SOTA summits. A perfect test case for this would be Dumyat (GM/SS-216), as it’s round about an hour’s drive from Glasgow, and a fairly straightforward ascent from a car park that cuts about half of the height from sea level.
So sure enough, a swift walk home from work (top tip: Slayer’s 1986 classic Reign in Blood on the headphones is a great way to make yourself walk anywhere quickly in less than half an hour), sling a bunch of stuff in a rucksack and hop in the motor, and before I knew it, I was at the foot of Dumyat’s main path. The day’s weather had been pretty excellent thus far, but the forecast showed I was on borrowed time, so I was under a bit of pressure to get up and make the activation pronto before the conditions turned, and sure enough, as I gained a wee bit of height, I could see some weather forming above the Gargunnock Hills to the west.
Although the wind was beginning to pick up, conditions on the way up were mostly pretty pleasant, with good views right along the Forth Valley. There’s a very well-worn path from the car park at NS 813 980, and a few more spicy-looking direct alternatives from Blairlogie and Menstrie, but it’s all very straightforward with not too much brain engagement required.
The last wee stretch to the summit was noticeably steeper, but once that wee pull was complete, it was just a case of negotiating the many and varied monumental erections dotted around the summit to find a suitable spot for activating. I opted to use the memorial bench in honour of mathematician Michael Simpson, being just down off the busier summit promontory, and having a nice spot to sit and operate with a good view, even if I was taking the brunt of the wind on that side of the hill.
With a minor bit of detangling required, I quickly got the 4m fibreglass pole up with the Slim G and plugged it into the trusty FT-270. As soon as I powered on, I caught an outgoing 2m CQ call from @GM4RAH in Balerno, and just as quickly as we’d arranged to QSY, the wind got the better of my guying, and my antenna was now lying pretty hopelessly along the ground. Luckily however, I had the Diamond RH-770 close to hand and I was able to fling that on and re-establish contact for the first in the log. I didn’t bother trying to re-rig the pole and Slim G, the RH-770 would get me through the rest of the activation without any bother.
It wasn’t really much of a night for hanging around and taking in the ambiance, so once I got my fourth contact in the book (thanks @M0RTO), it was time to get packed up and back down the hill before the weather arrived from the west. Sure enough, a wee bit of jogging on the downhill leg back to the car park got me back just about in time to avoid the rain starting.
Gear notes: after hearing @MM6YSH Yasha’s reception difficulties a few weeks previous, I took the FT-270 for this one just to make sure. Out of curiosity, I did try to listen into another couple of operators chatting on the FT-65 as I was descending, and there was a very distinct pattern of RF interference splatting over the top of their conversation. I couldn’t quite work out what it was, or where it was coming from, but it was certainly periodically obliterating anything heard on the FT-65, without really having much effect on the FT-270.
The Diamond RH-770 has also proven itself to be a really handy bit of gear as well, I certainly had no trouble making contacts across the central belt with the wind getting the better of the Slim G and pole setup. It’s not quite as good as the Slim G in performance terms, but it’s nice and easy to whip up pronto when required. The legit Diamond one is absolutely Rolls-Royce compared to the £7 Aliexpress copy I’d previously used - I’ve not done any RF comparison, but mostly in the way that the Diamond glides when telescoping open, compared to the scratchy wrestling match of trying to get the clone opened out.
Strava route: Log In | Strava
Activation log: Sotadata3
I’d love to add one to my kit, but the price is a tad bit of a turn off. I’d hope it’d perform a lot better than my underwhelming-on-2m SRH-771.
