We (with M0JLA and the car on Guernsey) have booked 9 nights on Guernsey from 16 - 25 September and hope to visit all 3 SOTA summits on the Channel Islands as we will visit Jersey (19/9 no car) and Sark (probably 21/9), There are lots of historic sites and also beautiful coastline but the wish for SOTA contacts is high on the list BUT I use a Yaesu VX7R 5w with dipole on 2m and 70cm.! What chance have I got of any contacts? Some time ago we checked a possible s2s to Guernsey from Kit Hill and discovered there was rather a lot of water in the way! I have searched for any possible contacts actually living on the islands but no SOTA activators or chasers are listed on the site. Can anyone help with suggestions who might be willing to listen out and give me that vital one contact (Iâm not greedy - it doesnât have to be 4!) I realise that there is a slim chance of talking to France from Jersey but donât want to rely on that. I have tried to contact the Jersey ARS but it looks as if the email and website are no longer working. Any ideas?
BTW I will accept an HF contact from M0JLA to make sure I get my âtickâ but it isnât a real one for me unless it is on my handy.!
73 Viki
Hi Viki
Guernsey ARS https://www.gars.org.gg/
Jersey ARC https://jerseyars.org.je/ has an out of date certificate but if you ignore that the site is still there
Maybe figure out when they have their nets and activate then ?
Also announce yourself a few times on the local repeaters ?
Rick
You could try dropping Nigel a line? GJ7LJJ - Callsign Lookup by QRZ Ham Radio and MU0GSY - Callsign Lookup by QRZ Ham Radio has certainly been active for WWFF so may be supportive.
Thank you for the suggestions M0TMD and M5RJC I have followed them up but, unfortunately, Nigel will be on holiday but he has put a message on Facebook (which we donât use). The Guernsey Amateur Radio Society (GARS) website seems to be in use and I hope to be in contact and have noted their 70cm repeater (but no 2m??) Any more ideas/suggestions?
At present our very notional SOTA itinerary seems to be (ignoring ferry and wx problems!!)
Tuesday 17/9 Guernsey Airport GU/GU-002 1000/1030 UTC,
Thursday 19/9 Les Platons Jersey GJ/JE-001 1000/1030 UTC (bus times??)
Sunday 22/9 Le Moulin, Sark GU/GU-001 1130/1200 UTC (ferry? Sunday lunch?!)
The times are fictional but the days for Jersey and Sark are fixed, subject to ferries. More flexibility for GU-002 as we will be staying nearby⌠As mentioned before I will be trying for VHF/UHF but Rod M0JLA will be using HF (with fingers crossed).
73 Viki
The start of your trip will overlap with the end of Martyn and my trip to G/SC: not sure if the sea path would work if we happened to be on some of the more southerly G/SCs. Getting a 2m S2S would be good and 70cms even better!
Good luck with the activations and the rest of the trip. Itâs around 40 years since we visited Guernsey (in the days when there were holiday charter flights from Cambridge Airport), but we liked the island and should go back some time.
Allan @GW4VPX and I had a recent visit to these fair islands. If you have any specific questions please ask away!
All the summits were very simple to activate.
Itâs worth noting there is an amatuer right on the summit of Sark. Allan and I missed her. But you could make contact beforehand via X.com (Twitter). x.com
That would (arguably) be of little use when activating Le Moulin GU/GU-001 (Sark). Pretty much all residential properties on Sark would be within the AZ - let alone the amateur âright on the summitâ.
Could it be argued that an amateur operating in a non-qualifying manner (ie from a residential property using mains power) may be considered as not in the AZ?
Sorry if I didnât make myself clear. But I highlighted this mostly because if you activate Sark the person who lives in the house at the summit is an amateur and apparently likes to see people. Not to get them as a chase on Sark.
She might also help out with chases to Guernsey and Jersey.
Allan and I failed to see her when we were there. I should have thought to make contact earlier. X seems the best route.
Many tx for the idea that I should contact the lady living near the summit of Sark (and owning the mill Iâm told). I heard about her from a local and sent an email last night so hope she is around. At the time I had forgotten she wouldnât count as a contact (from her garden??) and this rule might scupper my attempts to get people to give me contacts on the other islands (an uphill task at the moment) but i shall keep on tryingâŚ
Could it be argued that an amateur operating in a non-qualifying manner (ie from a residential property using mains power) may be considered as not in the AZ?
I like this idea Tom - any reply from the MT?? Tx for your ideas/help everyone.
73 Viki
The rule refers to âothers within the same Activation Zoneâ which doesnât leave much scope for such flexibility.
But it does raise the question of how the activator is supposed to determine that a caller is in fact in the activation zone. Unless the caller volunteers the information you wouldnât necessarily know.
Moreover if you do become aware that such a QSO has happened, what are you supposed to do about it? Falsify the log? There seems to be no corresponding rule for chasers so the QSO presumably is a valid chase, so it would seem very wrong to omit it from the activator log. But the database cannot possibly determine that it should not count towards the QSO total. (Obviously it only really matters if the QSO is needed to reach the magic 4).
The rule is presumably intended to prevent groups of activators from deliberately taking their chasers with them and qualifying the summit amongst themselves. But that is not how it is drafted.
Martyn M1MAJ
Well, we have arrived on Guernsey and will shortly head off to GU/GU-002.
Thursdayâs Alert time for GJ/JE-001 has been updated to 09:00 UTC.
The Alert for GU/GU-001 remains, subject to ferry etc, at 11:30 UTC on Sunday.
I hope Vicki will be able to make at least the essential one contact on 2m FM on each of them - nothing like being optimistic but there are many other attractions here anyway.
Hoping for lots of HF contacts - the aerial is optimised for 40m and 20m so I doubt I will try any other bands.
73,
Rod
Major geomagnetic storm earlier now K=6 A=19. K was 7 earlier.
Hope HF works enough for you.
20m improved in the last 30 mins
Post from MU6BWA/P, Vicki.
Wow! After 20 mins of calling on 145.500 from the grassy embankment beside Guernsey airport GU/GU-002 I heard a reply from a rather surprised MU0ZVV. He was pleased to actually hear someone when he turned on but not half as pleased as I was! 
We also managed a 70cm contact without difficulty as I had a slim jim on 2m and my usual dipole for 70cm. Job done - but was I going to get any more?? 35 mins later I took down the dipole but continued calling on 2m whilst winding up the guys and tying the poles into neat bundle. Last call, last call⌠GM0GUX came in on 2m and was willing to try 70cm âŚbut I couldnât QSY as I heard GU0VPA and a rather faint GU0VLG. That was 4 call signs on 145.500 (they donât find it necessary to move off the calling channelâŚ) and Rod M0JLA had packed up and come over to see why I hadnât taken down. this time it was GU0GUX at Cobo on the North coast who wanted a go at 70cm so I got out the RH770 and I could hear him but he obviously couldnât hear me. So we unpacked the dipole hastily, slotted as many of the poles together (without the guys) and, a human hand held it aloft as high as possible - and the 2nd 70cm was recorded. Phew. It was with great delight that I started packing it all back together again and heartily thanked the local Guernsey amateurs who had finally woken up 30 mins after my alert time and decided to have a brief contact.
Now we have a (probably bumpy) ferry to Jersey tomorrow and a rather windy try at Les Platons GJ/GJ-001 on Thursday when I really will struggle as my Guernsey contacts are either not available or canât reach Jersey so please have another listen for me at 0900UTC (buses permitting). This will be followed (ferries permitting) by Sark GU/GU-001 at 1130 UTC (Sunday lunch) in the wind and rain according to the forecast. Hey ho - BUT I have got one in the bag. Whoopee 
73 Viki
Thanks for the thought Andy. Just enough - 4 contacts on 20m with some difficulty. ZERO on 40m - s5 noise. I do like to get more than four QSOs - so in desperation I tried 80m which is not much good with a 40m & 20m EFHW. Initial SWR exceeding 4:1 as expected but the T1 brought it down to 1.2:1 followed fairly quickly by a faint whisper from M0BKW. Reports exchanged as he could hear me quite well. Nothing more so time to pack up and see why MU6BWA/P was still at work. See above 
I hope HF improves a bit for GJ/JE-001 on Thursday.
73,
Rod
Brilliant news Viki!
Tx Gerald. Even better news from GJ/GJ-001, I got one 2m fm contact from Rudi on Guernsey GU0VPA 
That was my second summit activated. Also found a GJ on the repeater but not simplex - also a German QSL card and 2 handshakes but that is another storyâŚ
Tomorrow, Sunday, is Sark (the choppy crossing weâve been told) GU/GU-001 at 1130 UTC so keep those fingers crossed for me - but I have been warned by Rudi that he may not be allowed to leave the dinner table!
73 Viki
Previous post was from MU6BWA/P, Vicki.
HF conditions had improved a lot by 19th September as I discovered fairly rapidly once I had set up. This was more of a challenge than I expected when we found ourselves near the radome at Les Platons, GJ/JE-001, surrounded by dense gorse in every direction. No doubt more comfortable locations exist but the need for maximum elevation for 2m FM dictated that we were at the highest possible point. We even found a large rock which may be the summit marker.
I left Vicki there, wandered off down a minute path and found that bracken had displaced some of the gorse. Guying the mast was an unpleasant experience but the seating was fairly comfortable.
40m was very noisy so I started on 20m - 13 contacts were in the log before things went quiet. Going over to 40m without much hope I found that I could work incoming 58 signals easily. As sharing the frequency was not working very well I announced a move down a bit, tried a few calls and was found almost at once by Karl, 2E0FEH. However, it was downhill from there and after 8 contacts I could hear incoming signals but pick out only the odd character from the callsign. Apologies to all who could hear me but did not get a useful reply - I just had to keep repeating that incoming calls were there and audible but quite unworkable. Many thanks to all who tried.
Sark, GU/GU-001, is scheduled for Sunday lunchtime, weather conditions permitting - sorry but the ferry times are not negotiable, especially at the present as the spring tides are huge.
73,
Rod
Nice write ups both.
Iâve never seen tides like it.
This was the change at the Guernsey end from when we left for Sark vs when we came back about 5 hours later.
See red line marks where the landing stage was on departure at 08:30. This picture at 13:30.
From M6BWA Viki
Bingo! Trip to Sark (flat calm out) today. After a lot of help from locals (tx Adrian and Victoria) on GU/GU-001 I got 4 on 2m fm AND 4 on 70cm! From just 4 chasers - 1 on Jersey, 3 on Guernsey. Activated just beside the mill and also went up to the top window of the mill with a RH770 telescopic antenna out of the window and spoke to Kos, GU0CUX on Guernsey again. Rod M0JLA was very busy on 40 and 20m. Back on Guernsey again now and need a rest then to England on Wednesday, No more radio scheduled - just some sightseeing and resting!
73 Viki M6BWA