I just had time to activate Goseland Hill SS-203 today. Condx damp slight drizzle in about 25 mph wind. Started walking 1545z so getting dark when setting up at 1615z. Ran FT-857 at 50 watts for 25 mins on 40m = 32 QSOs. My suspect 8 AH Tracer lithium battery performed well. It was suspect after my last activation in Scotland. It went low voltage before it should have, it seems now it wasn’t fully charged that time.
Thanks all for being brief and the spotters. Lighting turned on when switching between CW / SSB as I couldn’t see the radio or logbook then. None QSOs with OE7FMJ and G0TDM, incomplete SSB exchanges due to QRM. Usual 40m countries worked G OM OK EA2 ON LA SP HB9 OH9 PB2T in CW and G PA SP ON DL on SSB. Quite safe getting down in darkness, easy heather moorland so no problem.
Will do a few more summits I hope this week. I am on holiday though and not on a full SOTA trip so my time on summits will be short.
I will alert on the day after seeing the WX forecast and deciding where we are going walking and sightseeing.
Pound land
Head mounted LED lights £1 there brill strap to head and you can adjust angle of light too. still got mine when had to do electrical cabin dead testing in side cabins and the light ain’t brill these came well in handy hands free too.
Hi Karl
Will stick with my Petzl headlight thanks and Varta led torch. Leaving hotel near Biggar soon for Cairnpapple Hill. ETA 1130Z. Quick call on 2m FM with handheld first then 40m set up.
Not a bad activation today with 48 QSOs in a 40 minute period of operation. From the car park to the trig on Cairnpapple Hill SS-254 is less than 10 minutes walk, making it one of the easiest summits to get to in the region.
I had only 1 QSO on 2m FM with Jack GM4COX and only 4 stns wkd on 7032 CW, G4SSH G4ASA G4OOE EI2CL. It dried up so when 3 CQs showed a blank a change to 7115 SSB brought in 23 stations in just 12 minutes, leaving me time for one more band slot. So I went on 14062 CW to add 20 more QSOs, best DX with VE2JCW AND CU3AA.
Weather looks grim for tmw, so we are off to Glasgow for the day in normal tourist mode. Thursday and Friday don’t look much better, I am hoping to visit Black Mount and Broomy Law, summits close to the hotel, so we’ll see…
Hello Phil,
Thanks for the summits.
The weather down here in SE UK is forecast to be storms over the next few days ~ see what happens.
Enjoy Glasgow and hopefully catch you on the next one.
Night night
Mike
Phil,
Thanks for Goseland Hill.
Sorry I missed the s2s with you on Cairnapple. You were on CW when I set up, so I just carried on with 60m as usual and only later saw that you had been on 40m ssb but had moved on by the time I changed to 40m ssb.
I will try to catch you again as the week progresses and also in a couple of weeks time.
Hoping to go up SS-158 Black Mount this PM for a quick activation on 40m band. I would like to also visit Broomy Law SS-209 if any daylight left, but doubtful, so this is not alerted.
73 Phil
Some problems on SS-209 Broomy Law TONIGHT due to proximity to PMR cabins asnd masts, causing my FT-857 to malfunction, making it partly inoperable. I did complete 15 QSOS in the end on 30 and 40m in 20 minutes. There was no short skip so only the further out G Stations made QSOs and mainland EU. The activation was completed by Petzl headlamp in full darkness by walking up the access track from Brownsbank Farm.
Earlier the skip was good all round on Black Mount, and I worked 43 QSOs on 40m CW/SSB in 28 minutes. Thanks to all for being brief, this really helped to maximise the number of QSOs made in the limited time available, which also meant I got back to the car before it went completely dark, and allowed me to do a second activation and get washed, changed and back to Biggar for a pub meal with my XYL by 8.00pm when The Crown pub stopped serving food.
We are heading home tomorrow so no further activations until I am in South Wales later this month.
We’ll go back to Yorkshire in the morning via Peebles, for a look around, never been there, and then Go Outdoors Penrith to pick up a pair of North Ridge boots, just reduced in price, so I went for click and collect tonight to bagsy those before we went out to the pub. I bought some Mammut winter boots there before Xmas but tried the North Ridge (own brand) 3 season ones on then. They were very comfotable, so at £77 down from £110 they are a real bargain. A friend has a pair and is pleased with them.
If you’re in Peebles, I can recommend the butchers for good pies for elevenses/lunch, I can’t remember the name but it’s on the right hand side as you head down the high street from the Esso garage/Edinburgh road.
Good job getting some activations in, in some less than optimum wx.
Can recommend the Village Inn in Arrochar and the Pit stop diner, also Fyne Brewery have a posh visitor centre a few miles the other side of Rest & be thankful. Dare I take a guess at the Claymore Hotel?
ps will be in the Borders region for a week starting Feb 7.
ttfn.
I use a simple inverted vee link dipole. I have a few different combinations. The one this week is for 40/30/30m. Currently using phono plugs for the links, they seem OK, have tried otherr connectors. I use plastic soffit board for insulators and the centre feed piece - simply drilled to taper fit on top of a 6m or 5m fishing pole, no tape required. Coax is the thin stuff, RG178 or 179 can’t recall. I went over to more flexible but thicker insulationed wire last year and find it great. Bought on ebay in rolls of red and black. The sort of wire used for test leads on multimeters.
Everything will need drying out when I get home, last activation tonight was in light rain. Operating in the dark in the right circumstances was surprisingly easy to do on that type os summit. I’ll certainly be doing some more in the dark…
Two items lost this week - a pair of fingerless thinsulate gloves on Cairnpapple Hill value £4. Another pair now on order… Top cap from my 6m short type fishing pole was lost on ascent of Goseland Hill - value unknown. I need to contact the sellers to see if I can get a replacement. Lesson learnt - from now on my rucksack top goes over the pole as a ‘keeper’ for the top cap or drill a small hole in top cap and secure to side of pole with tape and shrink sleeving which I know some activators already do.
No Steve, it’s a Lochs & Glens Coach holiday so no car when we get there. They own the Loch Long Hotel so we are staying there. Will be back home on Feb 7th to work you as a chaser. Good choice the Borders, great place to come for winter SOTA if you don’t mind gambling n the WX.
Yep, just the one Jonathon - thanks to the tighter drink drive limit now in GM. The 5p carrier bag law now also…did a fair bit of shopping in the sales in Glasgow and Edinburgh… Spent 20p on bags before we got wise to it. Not such a bad idea though…off topic hihi
I’m sure you’ve already considered it, but here we go … Ben Arthur ( The Cobbler) & Beinn Narnain are possible on foot from Arrochar, also Beinn Ime if you have energy to spare.
I’m jealous already !
