Hi all,
Just a quick heads up: the mid-week madness resumes tomorrow evening with Kevin @MW0KXN and myself GW4BML both in the chair, stuffing our faces with cakes, working top band 160m and 80m for a good laugh from two South Wales SOTA summits.
Please find summit details and times below:
It would be great to work some of the SOTA community again 
73, Ben & Kev
Since its some time since I last tried 160m I just checked the rig, I’m pleased to say that the local noise has gone down by an S point! I’ll be there with my boots blacked!
Hi Ben, will be chasing from home, bit too snowy to do Burnhope Seat in the dark with an unreasonably long antenna.
Can’t make this one sadly - work intervenes - but hope to be around for the next one. Midweek Madness is always fun. Take care and have a good activation. 73 Mike
Blimey and Brave… the clocks haven’t even gone back yet. I’ll be on 160m looking tonight Ben & Kev - I like getting the top band chaser points.
The RSGB 1st 1.8 MHz Contest was OK last Saturday night, I was CW Unassisted using the callsign G4BP (Scarborough ARS). Short of UK staitons taking part though, but thank heavens for the PACC Contest. There were plenty of Netherlander stations to work!
73 Phil G4OBK
They went back in October!
Oh yes, they surely did!
Midweek Madness on GW/SW-009, Mynydd Troed
Ben, @GW4BML, gave me a call earlier in the week and suggested a mid-week night-time activation of Mynydd Troed and Mynydd Llangorse. With fond memories of our mid-week madness adventures of the last couple of years, I agreed and Ben set the publicity machine into motion. Whilst I was packing my gear, I put a call in to Vikki, @M6BWA, on GW/SW-012, Coety Mountain. Vikki asked if I had the Welsh cakes ready. I was rather taken aback when Vikki said for me not to bother with 70cms today, that shopping for Welsh cakes was more important!
A pleasant journey took me from dusk in Cardiff, through sunset, with darkness falling as I arrived at the saddle between the two hills. It was a beautiful evening: It wasn’t raining, it wasn’t blowing a gale, and the moon was just setting over the hill.
Ben arrived and in no time we were making our ascent on the steep, and treacherously muddy, direct path up Mynydd Troed, at break neck speed. Many a SOTA activator has come a Cropper on this hill.
Mynydd Troed has a cratered summit with numerous sink holes, or shake holes. We touched the trig point and chose a hollow to the West side of the summit, largely sheltered from the ENE wind. Those who know me well will be surprised to see that we didn’t bother with a shelter: It was surprisingly pleasant, and we were both well wrapped up. It did start to get cold a the wind picked up later.
The full sized 160m dipole is a huge antenna. We erected the 7m centre pole and marched in opposite directions. Ben’s head torch looked a long way, away as I pegged out my end, about 100m meters away from Ben, or half a furlong for those who prefer imperial units.
Ben kicked off the proceedings with 80m SSB. We shared the microphone for the first four contacts. It was clear that there was a big pile up so I said that I would let Ben continue alone. I immediately regretted this as more and more friends called in who I wanted to talk to, and I kept telling Ben to say hello from Kevin, FOMO. The pile up on 80m ended with a mysterious call of ‘2m next please’. There were six stations waiting for us on 2m FM, the highlight for me was talking to Joe, @MW7JPU, for the first time having chatted with him in Bletchley Park earlier in the year, shortly after he gained his licence. Top band was like a role of honour of the UK SOTA celebrities. One surprise was Josh, GW5NIC, who called in using a stock proof fence as an antenna and managed 44 report. Matt, @MW0KAX lost most of his antennas in the recent storms, but managed to call in by tunning up a short vertical. It just goes to show that good enough is good enough. The band seemed to be getting more difficult as we proceeded, with a deep fade, but it was a success.
Josh’s station!
Thanks to Ben and all those who stayed up late to give us a call.
Kevin, MW0KXN and Ben GW4BML
Thank you both for an enjoyable chase on both HF bands…cracking signal from you on Top Band. As always a great report and photos.
Thank you.
73 Allan
Well done both, was really great to get you on ssb and CW, certainly given me the kick up the backside I need to get these antennas back in the air…can’t risk missing the TOP BAND madness and dont think the 2016 is very efficient up there (or down there more accurately 
) and really good to hear @GW4BML from a summit again. Thanks both.
Thanks both for going out, sorry I couldn’t be up a hill this time, but I really enjoyed following the action. I really didn’t expect to hear you on 160m, let alone work you!
My home doublet is about 24m long, and 7m above ground - not ideal.
The usual HB Zmatch doesn’t tune on 160.
Once I had worked you on 80m, and heard that you were quite busy, I rummaged in the junk box for a coil, variable capacitor and a handfull of clip leads, and lashed up a basic tuner.
The noise level on 160 was S9 plus, and a cq call only got one hit on RBN from G4IRN’s skimmer, 9 miles from my QTH! After a few tweaks I tried again - same result. But then I heard Gordon @GM4OAS calling me just above the noise, and we managed a QSO 
thanks Gordon, that was really appreciated!
Soon after that, you spotted on 160, and were both soon in my log FB!! Hi fives and Welsh cakes all round 
Thanks both good to get you on both 80 and 160 (and just running 10w from the Elecraft too…). On one occasion, hopefully in the not too distant future the wx might play well enough to activate from Burnhope Seat (G/NP-003) or Great Knoutberry (G/NP-015) and join in properly! Yesterdays excuse was fresh snow / sleet making getting to the start difficult… 73. Paul
Thanks for producing a really enjoyable report, Kevin, and well done to the two of you!
kudos for attempting this in the dark!
Thanks both for the chase, I’m still quite new to SOTA so I am very grateful for the contact!
73
Joe, MW7JPU
Thanks for the great report and photos!
And thanks for being out there in the dark, handing out QSOs to the deserving 
My local noise level is fairly high, so I had to wait for your signal to come out of the noise again. Sorry that the timing was not good.
Anyway, thanks for a most remarkable contact on top band!
Antenna was a half sloper and a mini whip for diversity Rx (which turned out to be not working).
73, Roman
I was surprised to find it easier to contact you on 160m than 80m, partly due to 80m QRM but your 160m signal was stronger here. I hope for more opportunities soon!
Great report Kevin!
To come a Cropper, is a British idiom meaning to sustain a sudden and painful injury. This is a reference to the Minerva platen press, sold by Henry Smith Cropper, which was so dangerous that it was common for print workers using these machines to loose one or more fingers. Liz and I were told the story while watching a demonstration of the press at Blist Hills Museum in Coalbrookdale many years ago.
Good quiz fact. Thanks Kevin!
Great report @MW0KXN Kevin, as per normal. What a fantastic evening on top of Mynydd Troed, cold but a nice clear sky! Thanks for the tea and Welsh cakes, and most of all, the great company! We always manage to put the world right on our joint adventures looking forward to the next, but we won’t wait so long this time!
Thank you very much to all the chasers, it was great speaking to so many friends on a few different bands - I’ve missed you all!
73, Ben
GW4BML
