Apologies for suddenly going QRT on GW/NW-054 on 10m this afternoon - after 2 hours my battery had had enough and went flat just after exchanging reports with @YO6CFB
There were some exotic stations on FT8 around lunchtime. 7Q6M and P4OAA I think were DXpeditions given the multiple streams they were running on each cycle - I struggle to manage with 1 at times.
A summit to summit on FT4 with @G4TJC was a nice surprise (followed up later on 2m FM)
Here’s a Father Ted style “this antenna is close, that one is far away” photo:
It took about 15 minutes to set up the antenna due to a combination of the cold/wind and still being half asleep: I put the antenna on the pole upside down so had to take it down and start again, only to find it was upside down again and was right the first time. I also managed to snap the guying ring in the process hence the more wonky than usual pole.
Ah, Moel-y-Parc transmitter. Good old GB3MP (Miss Piggy) 2m repeater was on that mast. ISTR that the antennas for it used an old pair of surplus feeders originally installed for another purpose by the site owners. The result was the antennas were about 140m up the mast. On a mast with a base at 350m. So 490m ASL meaning MP had a significant coverage area. The downside being it was plagued with jamming and freaking most of the time It only need a sniff of enhanced propagation and stations from Dumfries to Stranraer could access it. Also for sometime I think it had some modified Pye transmitter that used a QQV 6-40A valve (tube for left pondian people).
It’s been moved now and has a modern set of cavities and equipement and is a shadow of it’s former self. Probably much more sensible coverage for a repeater. But not as entertaining as it was in the 90s
Today in the cairn, I found a handy rock with a hole in that is a perfect fit for the mast. We would have stayed longer on 20m, but some 8A0 station came up on the freq we were using and it seemed that most of the EU appeared trying to contact them… Nic had frozen fingers too and she’d made enough contacts with her new 2E0 callsign to qualify the summit, so it was time to leave!
I depleted my stock to zero by going out in rough weather too many times. I now only use the excellent SOTAbeams rotating guy rings regardless of whether I am deploying a 2m beam or just an HF wire. Never had a failure since.
Well done on the 2 hour activation Pete - looks like you need a spare battery. After a couple of shortened activations due to battery issues, I now always pack a spare 2AH battery regardless of how long I’m intending to be on the summit.
I know
I usually take 2 smaller LiPo packs but yesterday took the single, bigger LiFePO4 battery.
I used the 2 small ones on Moel Gyw last weekend and was able to quickly swap over after the first one went.
they got kicked off the transmitter site by a rediculous rise in the “rent” at one time it was peppercorn rent then they went to wanting £1000s a year almost overnight! AFAIK the GB3MP antennas are still on the tower! the money that Arquiva wanted to remove them was eye watering! it was popular for the IQ0s to play around on, sadly… but also hosted some great nets included the sausage and scouse on a weekday morning! Ham radio certainly lost out when it all got closed down due to ofcom pulling the plug due to the repeater abuse…
Its thankfully back in opeartion but sadly a shadow of its former self, and bill cant now receive it in cumbria so that killed the Sausage and Scouse once and for all… such a shame!
I intended my usual circular route (slow up from the forest, down by the scramble and steeper descent). A passing younger person had turned back from Mynydd Drws-y-Coed due to extreme wind. I thought I’d give it a go (halving the distance back) but very soon realized her advice was well-founded! It was a bit of a fight even to walk back across the summit plateau to return to the forest. The wind must have picked up just as soon as I dropped the mast. Lucky!
It only need a sniff of enhanced propagation and stations from Dumfries to Stranraer could access it. Also for sometime I think it had some modified Pye transmitter that used a QQV 6-40A valve (tube for left pondian people).
