Just an explanation

Old Reflector
1

Paul and I would just like to explain our actions today on Tinto GM/SS-064 and Dungavel Hill GM/SS-165. There were two issues. Firstly the WX made for difficult operating conditions. With wind gusts up to 60mph we found it difficult to stand, let alone put up antennas. Secondly. conditions on VHF were abysmal. Due to the wind I was slightly down from the summit on Tinto. This may have affected the take off. After spending a long time to make just 3 contacts, I moved downhill to Paul’s set up to work 3 on 40m. There was no time to set up for 30m CW if indeed I could have erected an HF antenna at my position. It was a case of getting the summit qualified and getting down to a lower level and as it turned out, it started to sleet just as we left the summit.

On Dungavel the wind was just as bad despite the lower height. I worked two on 2m from close to the highest point and then two more further down the hill on 60m using Paul’s kit. As I finished, the weather suddenly got much worse, so we had to abandon further operations.

Anyone that works us regularly knows we don’t like compromised activations, but that is what we had to accept today. Hopefully tomorrow will bring much better results, but I may need to move the band order around to achieve the best results.

Many thanks to everyone that came on to try to work me. Unfortunately today 120 watts ERP was not enough.

73, Gerald G4OIG

2

In reply to G4OIG:
Thanks Gerald Glad Both of You are safe. 73s Bob G6ODU

3

Best endeavours for sure Gerald and you both did well in the circumstances. The 3 of us will be listening out for you on 2m FM tomorrow when we be in the Border country. I’ll be back home on Thursday and listening for you on Bainloch and Bengairn.

Weather wise for the borders Thursday looks better than Wednesday. The BBC have reversed their weather forecast from Sunday night’s Countryfile programme. We made the decision then to go for Wednesday and we’re sticking by it now.

All the best

Phil G4OBK

4

In reply to G6ODU:
No problem. No use suffering exposure. You did the right thing. Glad you got them done. 73 John.

5

In reply to G4OIG:

The forecast doesn’t look brilliant… (from MWIS)

Headline, The Southern Uplands

Intermittent upland gales; snow showers.

How Windy?

Southwesterly; typically 35 to 45mph, although will tend to ease in the afternoon.

Effect Of Wind?

Widespread buffeting most or all day across higher mountains. Significant wind chill.

How Wet?

Snow (rain lower areas), may set in for a few hours

Generally occasional snow showers. But particularly northern Galloway and areas toward the Lothians, precipitation may be persistent for several hours; though tending to ease in afternoon. Rain below about 500m.

Cloud on the hills?

Extensive on higher areas

Extensive cloud, rarely below 400m; and typical base 500 to 650m.

Chance of cloud free Summits?

20%

Sunshine and air clarity?

Little if any sunshine. Constant haze; widely foggy higher areas.

How Cold? (at 750m)

0C.

Freezing level

750m.

Andy
MM0FMF

6

In reply to MM0FMF:

So that will be normal weather then.

Neil 2M0NCM

7

In reply to 2M0NCM:

Well yes, normal for us. But the soft Southerners will think it’s dire. I’m sure you’re like me Neil, nearly then end of February, so no need for a coat or such!

Andy
MM0FMF

8

In reply to MM0FMF:

Aye, that’ll be all the whisky keeping you warm Andy :wink:

Karen
2E0XYL

9

In reply to MM0FMF:

so no need for a coat or such!

Andy might think this is a joke, but all the local children going for the school bus are dressed in their school pullovers (plus the usual trousers etc) but no outer jacket even when it is raining or snowing.

Not exactly hyperintelligent or perhaps they want to be candidates for the Darwin Award?

73

Barry GM4TOE
PS: for those who don’t know, I live in the highest village in the Scottish Highlands where it can snow any month except July and August!

10

In reply to GM4TOE:

where it can snow any month except July and August!

Which is when it rains! :slight_smile:

I thought Gerald and Paul may be lucky when I got up today. There was 75% blue sky and it was mild and no wind. Not at all like the predicitions. 2.5hrs later the sky is dark grey and the rain is lashing down.

Andy
MM0FMF

11

In reply to MM0FMF:

I think they are lucky, the weather radar shows that they are in a relatively clear corridor with nasty (normal) weather to the north and south of them - how lucky can you be?!

73

Brian G8ADD

12

In reply to MM0FMF:

Aye it can be a bit dreich at times for the sun worshipers. Was out on the local hills at the weekend in the tee-shirt in 6°c, started off just in time for the rain to start so decided on the waterproofs.

When it gets a bit chankin then the fleece goes on. Usually use the buff to keep the lugs warm - if their warm the rest doesn’t feel so bad.

If it gets a bit too cauld then walk faster!!

Hope them souls got it the good side of “Jings, crivens and help ma boab” weather.

Neil 2M0NCM

P.S. missing those hills, must get out more :frowning:

13

In reply to G4OIG

Gerald - this is all the weather information we need up here in Glasgow:

You’d better check it out before your next trip.

Pleased to have made it into your log twice yesterday, and am particularly pleased with the 2M CW QSO with you on Dungavel. This was a SOTA first for me. You are a better man than I braving that weather!

Mike GM0OAA

14

In reply to G4OBK:

As Paul told you yesterday, we did call you on 145.500 and 145.300, but conditions weren’t up to making it across to your side of GM/SS. Not sure what you were using at your end Phil, but we only tried with our handhelds. Maybe we should have deployed the main 2m set up, but time was not really on our side.

In reply to MM0FMF:

Thanks for the MWIS view Andy - the forecast was about right. The showers ran end to end at times, though we did see some sun from Hods Hill and considerably more of it yesterday. The wind remained quite strong (but not up to Tuesday’s standards) and had a real bite to it. Generally on the summits it was 2C with windchill in the mornings and 5C to 7C with windchill in the afternoons. All fine when its not driving the wet / wet and solid stuff at you!

In reply to 2M0NCM:

So that will be normal weather then.

Well Neil, you will think that as you live near the coast. Obviously it’s the sea blowing in all the time… :wink:

In reply to GM4TOE:

…… the local children going for the school bus are dressed in their school pullovers (plus the usual trousers etc) but no outer jacket even when it is raining or snowing.

Yes Barry, it happens down here as well. It’s a national disease based on the misnomer that it’s not “cool” to have a coat. :wink:

In reply to G8ADD:

I think they are lucky, the weather radar shows that they are in a relatively clear corridor with nasty (normal) weather to the north and south of them - how lucky can you be?!

Brian, the radar is telling lies… it must be located south of the border and programmed to make light of the weather issues that the Scots have to endure!

In reply to GM0OAA:

…… and am particularly pleased with the 2M CW QSO with you on Dungavel. This was a SOTA first for me. You are a better man than I braving that weather!

I must apologise for not offering CW from Tinto when you said you wouldn’t enter the SSB contact in the database… it should have been an easy suggestion, but it obviously got blown away by the wind! Mike, I will try to remember in future… I did say try!!!

Apologies to those awaiting my presence on 2m SSB from Hods Hill on Wednesday afternoon. I was on later than planned after dabbling with 18MHz and 24MHz. Colin G4UXH was the only contact on 2m SSB from there. Also apologies to those awaiting my presence on 10MHz yesterday from Bainloch Hill. It was a case of either 10MHz or 18 + 24MHz - I chose the latter. There wasn’t time to do both.

Oh and if anyone wonders what time I got home… 00:20 hrs this morning!

73 all, Gerald G4OIG

15

In reply to G4OIG:

Many thanks to all for the comments. We had a brilliant time despite the weather :slight_smile:

Unfortunately dealing with whatever the weather throws at us is part of life… When due to work commitments etc. expeditions have to be booked months in advance, and the costs for each one runs to several £hundreds, not to mention the precious annual leave consumed, we just have to go and make the best of it.

Be assured that we do carefully study the forecasts running up to the expeditions and prepare ourselves, both in terms of equipment and alternative itineraries, for what the weather might do and the primary concern is our own safety.

Having said that, we often find that the forecasts are considerably more pessimistic than the actual weather turns out to be, and we have had many excellent days out when, if we’d heeded the forecasts, we’d have stayed at home!

73 de Paul G4MD (currently planning the next expedition in the expectation of some good weather towards the end of May…)

16

In reply to G4OIG & G4MD:

Well done both and so grateful for the Chaser QSOs with you both on Bengairn yesterday. I get very few SOTA Completes from the Chaser side - I have been waiting for Bengairn to be activated for some years. Glad I was at home when you were there. Had you done it on your last Borders raid I would have missed you as I was working that day when you postponed it.

2m FM was pretty poor from the south eastern side of GM/SS. Qualifying on two out of the three summits was too much to ask with the screening from the Cheviot ridge south and the lack of SOTA Chasers in the Newcastle region. However I am surprised we were not heard with 40 watts and a vertical at about 10 feet AGL by stations around Edinburgh, maybe some terrain was in the way? Nick G4OOE had his FT-817 in his sack and dipole and Terry G0VWP had a 5m pole so we went on 40m to make several more contacts on two out of the three summits.

On Belling Hill we ran 75 watts from Nick’s higher power Yaesu FT-7900 radio, but it made no difference. It was a useful excercise though all the same to see what could be worked on a weekday in the winter months on 2m FM. Our best contact was with Derek 2E0MIX in Whitehaven 71 miles / 115 Km from Rubers Law SS-210 with 55 / 52 reports. We were running 40 watts to a vertical dipole then.

On SS-197 Hownham Law we made two QSOs on 2m FM with:

Derek G1ZJQ (Cramlington) and Jim GM7LIN (Galashiels). We then reverted to 40m SSB.

On SS-210 Rubers Law, a nicely formed summit with prominence all round, we made it with five contacts on 2m FM with:

G7MFN Ian (Sunderland) 2E0MIX Derek (Whitehaven)G0KNW Ken (Nr Morpeth) GM4COX Jack (Law, South Lanarkshire) and Derek G1ZJQ again, in Cramlington.

The last one SS-244 Belling Hill with poor prominence, was a dead loss on 2m. We had a half QSO with a mobile station on the M74 and then nothing. Reverting to 40m CW and SSB we made plenty of contacts between us using 5 watts from the Ft-817. If anyone is in any doubt who you worked check our logs. Despite identifying every QSO it was apparent that some chasers got a little confused as to who was transmitting back to them, but we knew who we were working…

Looking forward to returning to the area to do some more in the springtime, with HF gear on board for sure!

73 Phil G4OBK

17

In reply to G4OBK:

Hi Phil,

It was a real pleasure to work you from Bengairn and give you the Complete. It’s an excellent summit that deserves more attention - Gerald identified a very convenient route up from the Screel Wood car park which while being a bit longer than the “traditional” route from the SE gave good parking and a large part of the walk on charmingly varied and well graded forest tracks. Likewise Terry G0VWP from Bainloch - he deserved the Complete after fighting through the forest!

Sorry we didn’t make it on 2m FM. Really not the mode for this area! Look forward to catching you from some more of these summits in the future - after the Completes myself!

73 de Paul G4MD

18

In reply to G4OBK:

Hi Phil,

Many thanks for the run down on operations from the Border summits. Well, it looks like smacked hand time for me. I really should have made more effort at my end with around 22W and a 5 element available, especially as I have a preamp on receive. I also run Rucksack on the mobile phone, so it would probably have been possible to see when you were QRV and on which frequency. I guess it is down to me being guilty of trying to do too much during an activation within a limited period of time.

A quick check of my logs for those summits was quite revealing (29/07/2010). Looking at the VHF/UHF side of the activations (I ran an HF band as well), I worked the following:

Hownam Law SS-197: Time (2m SSB) 1005 – 1019 BST

Don G0NES, Graham G4JZF, Don G0RQL, Lawrie G6XLL, Roger G0TRB, Bob G6ODU, Tony 2E0LAE, Steve GW7AAV, David G2BOF and Derek G1ZJQ.

Rubers Law SS-210: Time (2m SSB) 1624 – 1639 BST

Don G0NES, Graham G4JZF, Tony 2E0LAE, Bob, G6ODU, Geoff G6MZX, Roger G0TRB, Steve GW7AAV, Don G0RQL and Ron GW4EVX

Belling Hill GM/SS-244: Time (2m SSB) 1832 – 1853 BST

Don G0NES, Don G0RQL, Bob, G6ODU, Roger G0TRB, Tony 2E0LAE, Steve GW7AAV and Geoff G6MZX

I also activated Linton Hill GM/SS-263 the same day between 1100 and 1121 BST (2m SSB)

Jim GM0CQK/P on Hownam Law (also 70cms and 23cms), Don G0NES, Graham G4JZF, Don G0RQL, Roger G0TRB, Bob G6ODU and Tony 2E0LAE.

I think the summits have potential given a bit of ERP and the use of SSB rather than FM.

As for the Edinburgh lads – well rumours of them being on 145.800MHz have been rife in the past. I did try the frequency from Tinto on Tuesday, but with no response, so they may not be around nowadays. I certainly had their help to qualify Houseden Hill on 2m way back in 2006, but that’s history! :slight_smile:

73, Gerald G4OIG

19

In reply to G4OIG:

well rumours of them being on 145.800MHz

AM of course. You can bring the 800AM users out of the woodwork if you pretend to be the ISS.

:wink:

Andy
MM0FMF

20

In reply to MM0FMF:

Ah a fundamental mistake. Thanks for the reminder Andy. I had forgotten about it being an AM frequency. Of course the AM that the 817 produces is a very weak version of the mode. Give me a pair of EL34’s modulating a QQVO6/40A any day. Not exactly a summit-friendly solution… until I win my first million that is and I can hire a helicopter to drop the rig in. :wink:

73, Gerald G4OIG