I had to listen carefully because 119 is a rare report. But we did it. No external speaker yet, just the internal speaker and it was very windy so it was difficult to hear a weak signal.
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Such low level reports were discussed some years back with no real conclusion on the matter… just a load of different opinions. Some thought 119 to be an impossibility. I think it is more common to give such reports on VHF / UHF / Microwave frequencies, but given a low noise level at the receive location it should apply equally to HF.
Incidentally Andy, I was really surprised you weren’t using headphones. I always have used on-ear headphones since I started out in SOTA to help winkle out the weak ones. I guess years of listening to white noise for faint replies during VHF Field Day and similar contests made it de rigour for operation in the field.
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Never worn them when I used FT 817s as the audio output there is louder than a Motorhead concert. I have a pair I use with my QCXs but they don’t go very loud with the KX2. I need some lower impedance phones.
I’m not sure to the true meaning of 119 either but we both were able to exchange an unusual report so it was more like the 4 digits exchanged in a SSTV contest QSO. Whatever it was the exchange was good enough to exchange something different to the run of the mill.
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I’m just catching up with this. A great read of a fabulous adventure. Then I got to this bit:
And an image jumped into my mind that I can’t shift.
(That’s Jack and Victor from the BBC Scotland show Still Game) which @MM0FMF and @G4OIG clearly still are. Very.
It gets better. 
Because who was going to steal wet shoes on the wrong side of the river?
Brilliant report. Well done chaps. 
Best thing I’ve read on here all year. An absolute classic day out.
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I grew up in Liverpool. You learn if it’s not nailed down and secure then it will be gone when you come back 
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Knowing my luck someone might pass by and think the trainers had just been left and decide to take them away thinking they were doing everyone a favour by cleaning up the environment… and like Andy, I live in a place where we lock our doors 24 hours a day, even when we’re in the house!
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Fabulous reports from both operators that has convinced I will never complete the GM/SS line south of Glasgow/Edinburgh to the English Border… what a day!
73 Phil G4OBK
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Great report and photos.
One small suggestion for safety. Mountain Training has a few things to say about river crossings on the Mountain Leader course…
First one is - don’t do it unless you must. (Well you had little choice).
Second one is - always undo rucksack waist belts and slightly loosen shoulder straps. If you fall in you can get rid of it more easily. The danger is it pins you face down in the water as it is a buoyant object on your back. You can also possibly swing it off your shoulder and use as a flotation device if you start to get carried away.
I know it all sounds a bit melodramatic but there is a lot of danger in river crossings… even one that is fairly shallow and relatively narrow.
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These are the same things David G0EVV sent in a PM Gerald #2. We did have all the belts undone on our way out, Gerald #1 looks to have his waist band fastened in the return shots but we were a little more au fait with what we were doing. However you are right and you are not being melodramatic, river crossings are inherently dangerous and you can drown in a few cms of water.
What I’d like to think is that whilst the distance and elevation gain is not really that much, this shows that two blokes with the following characteristics:
- 25 years diabetes and excess weight
- 6 years post heart attack, stenting and bypass surgery
- combinded age of 132 years
- nearly 100 years combined pre SOTA inactivity
can actually get out in not brilliant weather and climb hills, cross a big stream, activate on 5 bands and enjoy it profusely then an awfully large number of people who don’t think they are fit enough should also be able to activate simple hills in good weather. And enjoy it too!
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Oops, familiarity breeds contempt… my fault entirely. Smack hand! I am suitably chastised. 
We did spend a considerable amount of time on our ascent analysing the flow rate, depth of the stream and the structure of the stream bed to ensure that we crossed at the safest point that we could find. As Andy said in his write up, using our walking poles we had three points in contact with the stream bed at all times. It went very well, much quicker than I had anticipated and I suppose I relaxed too much on the return crossing. If faced with the need to cross a stream in the future I will hopefully recall this failing and not repeat the error. 
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Absolutely!
Heck Gerald. I’m absolute NOT trying to “chastise”!
Your expertly executed river crossing (using poles and spare footware) just gave me a chance for a bit of wider education.
Top job!
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I was thinking about this earlier today and realised that’s not quite true as far as I am concerned. I’ve always been fairly keen on climbing hills. I recall climbing Langdale Pike with my father and brother when I would have been 7. We always were an active family. My teenage years were spent walking in Derbyshire many weekends throughout the year and I learned to rock climb under the instruction of Peter G3YCT. Not every outing was enjoyable… Helvellyn I found to be a drag, but a walk over Cadair Idris from north to south with a friend in the mist was most enjoyable. Until we had children, my XYL and I climbed quite a few hills, including Snowdon from Llanberis. We couldn’t afford the train and we sat at the summit eating our sandwiches in the mist… it was August!
Once we had a family we had to organise our walks to suit the children. I was never fit enough to do what Ben GW4BML has done and carry my daughter up hills. It wasn’t an option anyway when we had two children. As a family we were often out walking hills like the Cheviots or cycling the undulating Northumbrian lanes. In between holidays, I continued to go for walks whenever I had time, usually managing 4 miles during my lunch hour and then eating lunch afterwards as I sat working. Not ideal, but still it sufficed. When I got interested in SOTA, these lunchtime bimbles certainly got more frequent and more focussed.
What I think this shows is that while I wholly agree with the statement that "an awfully large number of people who don’t think they are fit enough should also be able to activate simple hills in good weather", it does take willpower to make it happen.
And in response to Gerald’s comment…
Rest easy, it was me doing the chastising… I am (and will remain) my biggest critic. As I often say, “if a thing is worth doing, do it well; if not, then don’t do it at all”.
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