I have a certain fondness for Chanctonbury Ring, G/SE-009 as it’s the first summit I activated for SOTA. I like to pay a visit one once a year. A kind of SOTA pilgrimage for me.
I spent a couple of hours there in glorious weather this morning making 52 QSOs. In some ways though it felt like a rather unusual activation. I kept having a nagging feeling that something was missing. What was it?
Was it the lack of rain? Perhaps it was the absence of windchill? Or did I miss telling myself off for not bringing an extra layer or two to stop myself shivering during the activation? It could have been the lack of amusing comments from passers-by along the lines of the usual, “caught any fish yet?”. Who knows? Something didn’t feel right!
Joking aside, what I really wanted to say was a big thank you to everyone who called in this morning. You all played your part in what was for me a hugely enjoyable and uplfiting morning playing radio in perfect weather on a lovely hillside. It really couldn’t have been better. One of those activations where the trials and tribulations of real life seemed to melt away. Thank you!
Speaking of the passers-by, I actually had some very pleasant conversations about amateur radio with the few that I encountered. They all seemed to agree that it was pretty amazing that you could make contacts with people in many countries (and potentially around the world) with just a bit of wire on a lightweight pole. Nice!
73 all!
Matthew M0JSB
