Great! So pleased it all worked out!
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Well done Viki and thanks Rod for the Sark contact. Enjoy the island…we did when we took a bus ride around most of it. No doubt you’ll tick off a few historic sights over the next few days😁.
73 & 88
Allan
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Congratulations Viki! Glad all worked out on the radio front for your Channel Islands adventure. It was good to work Rod yesterday when you were on GU/GU-001. Lots of QRM at my end, but we made it! Enjoy the rest of your trip & 73 both!
Matthew M0JSB
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As those who have been reading this thread will know, we (M6BWA and M0JLA ) travelled to the Channel Islands in mid September to see some of the sghts and to activate the 3 SOTA summits on the islands. I (M6BWA) was very much hoping to use my usual Yaesu VX7-R handy along with a dipole to get VHF and UHF contacts. A quick glance at the (probable – some activators have been since since!) statistics before our arrival showed that it might be a challenge trying to get 2m fm contacts on only 5w.
GU/GU-001 Le Moulin (Sark) 109m 17 activations (5 in 2024), 403 QSO, mostly 20m, 40m, 30m, 2m - 5, 70cm – 0. Activated by MU/AD5A/P the day after our visit!
GU/GU-002 Guernsey Airport 107m 21 activations (6 in 2024) 364 QSO, mostly 40m, 20m, 30m,
2m – 9, 70cm – 0. Activated by MU/AD5A/P and GU0MFR/P 5 days later.
GJ/JE-001 Les Platons,Jersey. 26 activations (7 in 2024) 552 contacts mostly 20m and 40m, 2m – 15, 70cm - 0
I therefore asked for advice on the Reflector and, as usual, got many useful ideas which I followed up. I contacted both the Guernsey Amateur Radio Society and the Jersey equivalent but I was unlucky that the Jersey contact was apparently away on holiday during our visit. Despite further efforts I made no contact with any other Jersey members either before or during our visit. This was a complete contrast to the Guernsey club which is obviously very active with a good website, weekly Club meetings in St Peter Port and a 2m fm net on a Tuesday night ( I joined in on our last night) and also PMR (Thursday night.) I corresponded with Adrian GU0VLG before arriving and he worked hard to remind the members of our presence during our visit. By the time we arrived in Sark on the Sunday, he was on holiday in Jersey with his family but he took his handy with him and was my first contact. I suspect he also contacted other members when I was struggling and was responsible for the next 3 calls some 30 mins later!! Many tx Adrian and it ws good to meet you.
We arrived by ferry from Poole
in St Peter Port, Guernsey after a smooth crossing (despite the change in departure time) and admired the skyline with of various churches and a rather handsome Victoria Tower on the right.
We were staying on the sandy north coast of Guernsey at Vazon Bay near Cobo. The high ground in Guernsey is in the south but it was only a short drive to GU/GU-002 Guernsey Airport. Most activators find a side road to park and activate but I wanted the very highest spot I could find so used the high grass bank between the road and the actual airport.
which was overlooked by houses
and with a good view of the oil tanks and planes taking off. I could watch the traffic going past and the bus passengers could see me clearly but no-one seemed to take any notice.
Rod was content to get out of the cold wind and chose a more discrete spot
but it wasn’t long before he was visited by an airport security man who reported our presence to the air traffic control. Fortunately my efforts at publicity meant that our visit was expected and he was reassured that our activities did not pose a threat to the airport in any way! To my delight, after about 10 mins, I was answered by MU0ZVV and soon recorded the first 70cm QSO on the Channel Islands! I had erected my usual white waterpipe dipole but also a slim jim on a fishing pole to get some extra height which I needed on the other islands as the ferries specifically excluded radio equipment in hand luggage and it was difficult to disguise my bundle of white 1m poles. (I had been offered Rod’s folding dipole which was only half the length but it was a rather unwieldy bundle of ½m poles to achieve the height I needed.) After this activation I left my dipole in the car and used the slim jim all the time for 2m and the RH770 for 70cm if needed.
It took another 40 mins of calling (and watching the traffic) before anyone else responded, I took down the dipole and was advancing on the fishing pole when a voice was heard GU0GUX, Koos … which was followed by 2 more call signs (GU0VPA, GU0LVG) in swift succession. The troops had been rallied by someone! The first caller, Koos in Cobo on the north coast wanted to try for a 70cm contact but he couldn’t hear me on the telescopic RH770 . Rod picked up the bundled dipole, connected the coax and held the (slightly hefty) package as high as he could – 52/52. Unfortunately my camera wasn’t to hand to record the scene! 2m – 4, 70cm – 2. Rod had managed only 5 contacts (4 20m and 1 on 80m) in his secluded spot but it was two happy activator who went off to Petit Bot Bay in the sunshine and watched the locals swimming.
To be continued
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@GW4VPX Allan and I wondered if working right by the airport terminal might be a problem. So we wandered along to a field boundary a couple of hundred metres away and out of obvious view from the airport. No one came to see us.
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Well done Viki, particularly in respect of achieving the 70cm contacts. A well deserved “First” after all the effort that you have put into the band over the years.
This seems unnecessarily restrictive. I can understand not operating on the ship, but to restrict the transfer of personal belongings that present no risk to their operations or to the public to my mind is not acceptable. After all, we are allowed on planes with our radio kit.
73, Gerald
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I think it is the bulk of equipment that contest, IOTA or similar groups have taken for setting up a big station that has caused the ferries problems in the past. If everything will go into a rucksack there is no crisis.
73,
Rod
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Indeed there shouldn’t be. Sounds like a travel pole will help avoid inquiry. 
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It was the ferry from Guernsey to Jersey (and back) which was the first potential problem. We travelled as foot passengers and, having found this warning on the Sark ferry (which is rather small and has a great problem with people trying to take camping equipment on the passenger ferry so they beg that people send it on the cargo ferry and the items are available at the other end when you disembark. This of course, costs extra but it does mean that both camping and bulky radio gear can reach the island) I looked for it on the Condor ferry and found basically te same warning. We were entitled to hand in luggage (which went in a small cargo truck), with the correct label or it would arrive in St Malo, but I didn’t fancy handing over my rucksack with bundle of poles on the outside - or trying to wrap the poles so they went as a separate package. It was obviously impractical to have the poles with us in the standard saloon seating - so the fishing pole seemed to be the answer. Obviously if you have a car you don’t encounter this problem which is how the dipole reached Guernsey Airport. Presumably the same problem would occur on boarding an aircraft so how do activators cope?
Thank you for the comments on 70cm. there are certainly times when I wonder why I took on this crusade to ‘bring 70cm to the masses’ - and it does backfire occasionally when I qsy to ‘my’ 433.475 frequency and find it in use!! I am most indignant. 
73 Viki
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I missed all your activations as I was in France and too far south on the west coast to reach you. 
So I still don’t know if it is possible to have a 2m FM QSO from the Channel Islands to South Devon. I’ve reached Normandy on 2m SSB, southern Scotland with 2m CW and once northern Spain on 2m FT8 so I think if conditions are right it might just be possible. Inevitably, such conditions are rare I think when the propagation Gods open up a channel across the Channel so to speak. 
I shall look out for any more 2m activations in the CIs.
As an aside, I know your 2m dipole works, we’ve had a couple of QSOs at least in the past, but the coax seems to run back down very close to the lower element. A typical 2m dipole has a stand-off from the mast. That would be difficult to do with a flexible mast but if you took a short bit of pvc pipe, say 500mm long, attached the dipole to one end you could then then run the coax to the other end, either in the pipe or outside. By trial and error then find the point of balance and drill a hole at that point of just the right size for the pole to fit through so it is held at the right height. I think this might improve performance over your current design, perhaps not a lot but every little helps as Tesco say.
John
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Channel Isles Pt 2 Jersey
The next day we took the afternoon ferry to St Helier, Jersey as foot passengers and staggered in the hot sunshine (Jersey is reckoned to be 2C warmer than Guernsey) to the Norfolk Hotel. The walk was enlivened by my attempts to learn morse from
the NATO alphabet granite blocks lining the quay on the left of a resting M0JLA. The letter on each block was also
depicted in lights and flags as well as dots/dashes. Has anyone spotted anything similar elsewhere?
After an early breakfast on Thursday we hurried to the bus station (with buses hiding behind sliding metal doors – another new experience) and took a crowded bus to GJ/JE-001 Les Platons – according to the driver… (BTW for anyone else using buses on the islands, the stops can be difficult to find as they are often just a line and ‘BUS’ painted on the road so difficult to see from a distance.) After some discussion we walked further down the road and took a second rough track which soon took us into the undergrowth we’d been warned about
Rod, as usual, tucked himself down into a hollow to escape the cold wind (a feature of our trip) and
had a beautiful view but he was working too hard to appreciate it with 21 contacts on 20 and 40.
I, of course, needed to be on the highest spot but wanted to avoid the gorse
so chose a track intersection and hoped no-one would come along (they did…). My view was also attractive…in one direction .
(my apologies for the darkness) but more threatening behind me. However I had no reason to believe that the equipment was affecting my activities in any way. I knew this summit would be challenging and I called and called and… As mentioned, I heard a French conversation but my basic efforts at calling in French were not rewarded. After nearly 30 mins I got an answer from GU0VPA, Rudie in Guernsey who had heard me calling as he passed his shack and had also spoken to me 2 days earlier. With reports 59/52 I had activated GJ/JE-001 on 2m (phew!) but I knew he didn’t have a suitable radio for 70cm. During the next 30 mins I continued to try to raise anyone else and did get a response from GJ7DNI on the local 2m repeater but somehow we never seemed to reach the same frequency when speaking directly, This was disappointing but the locals are not used to talking on 2m fm. However I did gain something else - a a rather attractive German QSL card and 2 handshakes! When calling I realised that a largeish party was advancing behind me but most stayed on a different track while 2 walkers rushed over to me (I think they had dragged the party in my direction when they saw the mast!) and held out thieir hands for a quick introduction. Thank you DL5MFW and DJ3MB, I am sorry we had so little time to talk but they were obviosly very pleased to meet another radio amateur.
After more than an hour we took down in a hurry as I thought the 2 hourly bus was imminent but I misunderstood the rather convoluted route (and temporary diversion) so no bus appeared. After a long search for a taxi firm (don’t rely on local taxi apps on either island – carry a real phone number with you) the driver eventually found us sitting on the kerb and whisked us back to our hotel where we dumped our radio gear. Having only one day on the island we quickly took a bus
to Mont Orgueil castle in hot sunshine and a wind which almost bowled us over. Our visit coincided with the highest and lowest tides of the year on the next day which provided some extraordinary sights from the bus
With a tidal difference of 10m the tide times are very important on the islands and affect the timings of the ferries from England and France and not just the smaller craft. We had watched the waves coming over the seawall in Guernsey 2 days earlier and the shore road in St Peter Port was closed on Sunday with some flood barriers still in place on Monday
On Friday we packed again and walked back to the ferry terminal
past the ‘steam clock’ and the
Jersey Liberation monument. After another calm crossing and the use of a
very smart zebra crossing we walked up the hill to the Guernsey Museum. There we borrowed a giant key, and
99 steps later admired the slightly hazy view pf St Peter Port harbour
from the Victoria Tower . The next day we did NOT take a ferry (as the Sark ferry was full when I tried to book) but found plenty to see in the sunshine yet again.
Last instalment to follow . Sorry about the touristic diversions which I can’t resist!
Viki
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Don’t apologise! Love them.
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Give me the ‘story’ over the ‘report’ every time!
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Thanks Gerald and Tom for your kind words. I hope to get to Sark very soon but have to wait for the flu to pass (thanks to the recent jab!!) Meanwhile you can see if you can spot me standing in front of ‘my’ tower!
Viki
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Activation of the Channel Ilands 3 summits in September - 3rd part.
Having returned from 2 nights in Jersey on Friday we had a ‘ferry free’ day on Saturday so took advantage of the very low tide at midday and walked to Lihou Island (see Radcom October 2024 for an account of a recent field day)… Despite visiting the shipwreck museum at Fort George
we were rather too early
so looked at the German tower, which is now in someone’s garden,
until the tide receded enough
We were booked on the morning Sark ferry on Sunday which meant there was no problem parking on the pier (and no cost as this is Guernsey – you have to pay on Jersey) and joined the queue. Sitting on top we got a good view of Castle Cornet
as we left St Peter Port and were soon in Sark where the tractor tram (aka the toastrack) ferried us up the hill (£1.50 well spent) but we refused the horse carriages waiting hopefully at the tram stop as we were aiming for Le Moulin (the mill) at the very top. We went past the very smart gold pillar box
(in honour of a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics) and soon reached the mill
with very little space to erect a fishing pole and a lot of tall trees. Rod managed to tuck himself round the back in an overgrown vineyard
but I needed permission to sit on the lawn beside the Mill. Luckily the owner, Victoria GU0BEZ,
was at home and happily agreed to let me use her lawn and we also had a long and interesting chat. Unfortunately, she was rather too close to count as a contact for me (!!) but she did give permission to go up the mill and try for contacts up there if I wished. (I did!).
I erected the pole with some difficulty
owing to the cramped conditions and started calling and immediately got answered by GJ0VLG Adrian who was on holiday in Jersey with his handy so 2m and 70cm were rapidly in the log.
There was no other response for the next 30 mins but suddenly Guernsey woke up (possibly prodded by Adrian??) and within 8 minutes GU7DAI, GU0GUX and MU0ZVV were all in the log on both bands and I had qualified GU/GU-001 6965 on both 2m and 70cm. Whoopee! I dismantled everything but couldn’t resist climbing up into the mill
and called with the RH770 out of the window
– and was answered briefly by GU0GUX Koos in Cobo in northern Guernsey. Amateur radio is good fun when it works!!
There wasn’t much time to explore the rest of the island but we did reach the spectacular La Coupee elevated causeway leading to Little Sark and looked back
to the main island. There is a stripe left in the middle of the concrete roadway so that the horses can get a good grip when pulling the carts up the hill. We then used the lanes and tracks back towards the main street and I went along the coast
via Sark Henge*
and views down to the cargo harbour
which I soon visited to find it almost dry.
Our ferry was on the way
(that’s funny – we walked on to the quay on the right when we arrived this morning – that 10m tidal difference again). but there was quite a long wait to board as the Guernsey ambulance boat
had to drop someone off who was going to escort a Sark casualty on our ferry. Luckily it was yet another millpond crossing and we only got splashed when crossing the wake of the Herm ferry.
The next 2 days were spent sightseeing – the underground hospital, the German Naval Signal HQ (in the grounds of a hotel),
Castle Cornet, La Gran’mère du Chimquière, some tropical garden and eating Guernsey gache cake! On Tuesday evening I remembered the GARS 2m net at 8pm so grabbed a torch and went out into the pitch dark once I’d crossed the coast road (no street lights!). I carefully ascended the concrete seawall where I sat while I extended the telescopic RH770 aerial on my Yaesu VX-7R and heard voices! As we were on the north shore, well away from St Peter Port I was not confident that I would be heard but I was soon invited in and greeted with ‘I thought you’d left the island’. I could be heard by some of the participants but not all. It was easy to talk to the convenor, Koos GU0GUX in Cobo as he was just along the coast so I gave him a brief account of my radio activities and sent my thanks to the members of GARS. We had enjoyed our 10 day trip in super sunny weather and had certainly explored many places on Guernsey but seen little of Jersey. I was delighted by my radio contacts (but would have liked a 70cm from Jersey – and a contact into France) but we are unlikely to return as the cost, by our standards, per activation was eye watering…!
- Not an ancient site as it was erected in 2015 to commemorate 450 years since Queen Elizabeth granted Sark to Helier de Carteret, the Seigneur of St Ouen in Jersey.
To summarise on our arrival the contacts were
GU/GU-001 Le Moulin (Sark) 109m 17 activations (5 in 2024) , 403 QSO, mostly 20m, 40m, 30m, 2m - 5, 70cm – 0. Activated by MU/AD5A/P the day after our visit!
GU/GU-002 Guernsey Airport 107m 21 activations (6 in 2024) 364 QSO, mostly 40m, 20m, 30m,
2m – 9, 70cm – 0. Activated by MU/AD5A/P and GU0MFR/P 5 days later.
GJ/JE-001 Les Platons,Jersey. 26 activations (7 in 2024) 552 contacts mostly 20m and 40m 2m – 15, 70cm – 0
Our SOTA statistics were:
GU/GU-001 Le Moulin (Sark) 2m - 4, 70cm - 5, M0JLA 40m - 17, 20m -7
GU/GU-002 Guernsey Airport 2m - 4, 70cm - 2, M0JLA 80m - 1, 20m -4
GJ/JE-001 Les Platons,Jersey 2m-1, 70cm - nil, M0JLA 40m -8, 20m - 13
So it appears I can claim the first 70cm contacts from a Channel Island SOTA summit and the first qualification on 70cm of one of these SOTA suumits (on Sark - with all contacts on Guernsey or Jersey). My unexpected success in getting contacts on 2m and 70ch fm was entirely due to the help from members of the Guernsey Amateur Radio Society and, in particular, Adrian GU0VLG
on the left. Many thanks.
Sorry this has taken so long to write - and that it is just too long but congratulations to anyone who reads to the end.
Viki
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Thanks for an excellent write-up and photos, Vicki. Well done for drumming up some V/U activity! Looks like you and Rod had an enjoyable trip. It’s a lovely part of the world. Perhaps it’s time for me to make a return visit now I’m into SOTA… 
Tx. Suggest you start saving now!!
Viki
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