In reply to GW0DSP: My experience on 2M was that it was usually relatively quiet on weekdays (many of the chasers and activators at work) - best time about lunchtime or early evening. Weekends likely to be much better as many more activators/chasers arround, and more chance of getting an S-2-S. The WX this year has been pretty dire and no doubt has prevented a lot of activations.
At present, I’m trying to activate on 40M as well as 2M - I’ve been out midweek so that there’s a chance of finding a slot on 40.
I’ve got the choice between Donnington and LD with the mountaineering club, guess which one I’ll go to? (Hint, LD009 in good weather, LD 042 in poor, what’s the pub at Loweswater like, anyone?)
Just for info, in the 1st 32.5 weeks of the year, the top 10 activators in each UK association have put on a total of 1046 summits. Now I was suprised by how big that number was.
Heck, I’ve done 3 this week myself worth 22 points and 39 this year. That’s 1.2 a week on average. I do have to earn a living in between activations!
Please Rob will you tell me where you bought your time machine. I want to use it to make sure I buy the correct numbers on my lottery ticket this weekend!
In reply to M0SGB:
Hi Tom; Regarding the postings that have been flying around,
It was that your posting said 15 minutes calling on CW with no takers, um,
Then changed over to 145mhz 30 minutes later you had qualified the summit with 4 contacts,
If you rememberer a few weeks ago, then you would have had about 10 qso’s in the log by that time, from stations up North and into north Wales,
So what’s happened to SOTA then big ummmmmmmmm.
if any one missed the reply it here!!!
Post by M1EYP on 10th July 2007 at 08:28
I was calling on 7.032MHz CW between 0540 and 0555 UTC, with no takers. I then operated on 2m FM from 0555 to 0625 UTC with four stations worked in rag chew mode. My working frequency was 145.475MHz.
Just my half pennies worth,
Steve m0sgb
Hi Brian - cant really believe youve not done your research. The Kirkstile Inn is the home of the Loweswater brewery that brew delights such as Mellbreak bitter. It has a superb view of LD-036 Mellbreak - which looks huge to say its only a 2 pointer. I should pass on the 2 hills you mention & do go for LD-036 - its still quite sought after.
In reply to G1INK:
Hi, Steve, we will be staying at Waterend Farm, Loweswater, and Gasmoor LD009 is the highest LD peak that I don’t think I’ve climbed (I may be wrong there, will know when I try it!) and I see LD042 as a nearby and relatively simple bad weather alternative but Mellbreak looks a good one to try, thanks for the suggestion - the south ridge looks the easiest, is it accessible I wonder, there are walls shown on the map?
I have no fears on the beer - particularly with your commendation, but whats the pub like, unspoiled or a grockle trap?
It was that your posting said 15 minutes calling on CW with no takers, um,
Then changed over to 145mhz 30 minutes later you had qualified the summit with 4 contacts
And sometimes I make many contacts on 40m CW and then not many on 2m FM. Personally I don’t care which way round it is. I virtually always do 40CW and 2FM in an activation, and almost always, one gets more QSOs than the other! So what? I really don’t know what point you are trying to make.
Re Melbreak (spelled wrongly on the map) I havent tried the South ridge, so cant comment. I usually park near the pub, take the track over the bridge to the SSW, once you reach the wood, the footpath goes straight on and brings you out on the open fell. There is a nice airy path up the North face that requires a modicum of scrambling, this brings you out on the North top with a further 1km to the South top which is the true summit. Nice pic at:- http://www.lakedistrictwalks.com/mellbrq.html
Re the pub, I cant answer your question as everyones view is different. Lets just say it serves tasty home brewed ale, has real fires and lets dogs in (except at peak eating times). Given the choice of this hill or Grassmoor, I`d do this one any time, I find Grassmoor a boring grassy lump - even if it is worth 8 points.
Steve.
