Holyhead Mountain GW/NW-069 with a broken mast

Activation Reports
1

Since starting SOTA in 2017 I’ve activated Holyhead Mountain (GW/NW-069) every year as part of a family holiday (except 2020, thanks to covid) so was determined to do it again this year. The weather is very windy with heavy rain forecast so it was today or never, despite the wind. I left the family at the Breakwater Country Park just outside Holyhead where they had plenty to do, especially with the shiny new playground for my daughters.

I was soon on the summit. It was quite a struggle to get to the trig point thanks to the wind. Fortunately I could drop a little bit down to find some shelter. I started setting up the fishing pole mast. Thanks to being quite narrow and with guys and wires getting caught in the gorse I managed to step on the pole and crack it. Fortunately, I now carry a little repair kit and so I taped the break. I continued to set up the EFHW but in doing so the tension bent the mast where it was taped. My antenna wire was now on the ground, slightly raised in a couple of places thanks to the gorse and heather.

I’d read on the reflector about activators forgetting poles and still managing to work stations with the wire on the ground so I was determined to try this to save the activation. I carried on setting up my homebrew CW QRP rig and called CQ on 40m. I wasn’t getting any response so thought I was wasting my time but then I was called by GM4ZMK. This was quickly followed by regular chasers DJ5AV, EA2DT and EA4BOC. I’d qualified the summit without a mast!

My rig covers 40m and 20m and the EFHW is resonant on both bands so I tried 20m not expecting much. Again, it seemed to take longer for the first call but I was then delighted with 15 QSOs including my first Icelandic chaser (TF3Y), Tom M1EYP/MM on his cruise ship and RL8C (presumably Asiatic Russia) at 4000km, which seems pretty good for 5W to a wire on the ground.

Finally it was 2m FM. Normally I use a slim jim on the mast but I had to use the handheld. I could only raise John GW4ZPL in Caernarfon. Perhaps with more time I could have managed more but, with the family waiting, it was time to descend.

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A rather sad looking mast and antenna

Thanks again to all the chasers. Hopefully my signal will be stronger next time!

18 Likes
2

Thanks for the report and well done for not giving up and completing the activation. I never ceased to be amazed at what actually works in the field!

3

I found reception was fine when my antenna fell over but the SWR went off the scale when I tried transmitting so I stopped. But the antenna wire was flat on grass and rock with no assistance from gorse. :slight_smile:

4

Hello Richard,
Well done.
I made something like this by will last August and will put a little description on the reflector soon.
73 Ludwig

5

My homebrew rig doesn’t have an SWR meter so I don’t know what the SWR was but it’s PA should be pretty robust. I haven’t tested it into a short or open circuit but perhaps I should try that.

1 Like
6

Hey Richard,

Awesome job getting the activation done despite your mast failing.

73 De VE6JTW, Jesse

7

I managed to fix the pole simply by putting some insulating tape above the cracked bit. This means the pole is slightly shorter and the broken bit is kept inside but it should be usable (although I haven’t tested it in the field).

On the way home from Wales we stopped at Warrington Decathlon and I bought a new pole, a rechargeable headtorch and gloves, all for SOTA. The pole is identical so if I break that I might be able to mix and match the segments.

2 Likes
8

Always worth a try! Looks like a similar setup to me when I forgot the mast on Seat Sandal in the Lake District.

Wonderful to turn adversity into success rather than defeat, even one QSO might have been enough to do that - and you spread some chaser joy in the process.

Regards, Mark. M0NOM

3 Likes
9

Hello Richard,
your experience coincides with mine. Once, when I was about to pack my EFHW and the wire was in the grass, I heard a call. With no hope of success, I replied and got a good report.
73 Chris

2 Likes