Hi Mike
Saw your spot for 70cms yesterday but I was a good 30 minutes from the summit of Carnedd y Filiast and out of radio contact. Ah well would have been a nice s2s. FYI I went on 20m yesterday…nothing heard even with the linear in-line…plenty of other contacts in the log from other bands though. Thanks to all the chasers over the last three days, some even getting me from all 4 summits. Reports up on the blog over the next few days. http://gw4vpx.blogspot.co.uk/
73 Allan
Hello Allan. Many Thanks for your input to this “Saga”, which has become, (for me), a very interesting insight into the views of Sota participants.
Thanks also for the Great QSO’s over the last few days. It was a pleasure for me to speak with you. The lack of HF DX has the advantage of more Very Fine Activators on the VHF Bands. A great pleasure for me and I am sure, all other chasers.
73 de Paul M0CQE.
Saw your spots and took a listen for you when I was out on DM/BW-078 Römerstein but couldn’t hear anything from you - shame it would have been nice to have a S2S and give you a few points for a change (this was a 10 pointer summit I was on). Only managed two hard fought contacts on 20m - 40m was “buzzing” though - quite literally, some stations sounded like they were in motor boats!
Later in the morning from Teck DM/BW-695 20m was far better but with hardly any background noise, which also seemed a little odd (but I shouldn’t complain). Deep QSB on both bands from both summits - so I think the CME hitting the Earth at the time, might have had something to do with it…
73 Ed.
Hi Ed, to be honest, when I left home and saw the SFI up and the K index down, I would have bet my house on working Ernie VK3DET, especially with the good HF take-off from Titterstone Clee. How wrong I was.
Only one German station finished in my log, so it comes as no surprise you couldn’t hear me. Once again, big signals from France, so the skip seemed to be running short again.
73 Mike
And here is the magic of that CME as filmed from VK7. Not by me of course. Magic…
Compton
Might be another one on its way.
Compton
Condx good in Europe at the moment (11:00 UTC 31/05) - 10 & 6m open and 20m signals strong but with deep QSB - often happens before the next solar storm hits!
Ed.
Quick activation and band conditions report G/SP-013 Gun 31/10.
I’ve been following the Sporadic E maps for a couple of weeks and so with nice WX and a few hours to spare this afternoon, I took a drive up to my local summit to try and work the 10m band.
If there’s one band where the Antron-99 reigns supreme, it’s 10m.
My first port of call was 10m FM and it was a struggle, sadly, no contact was completed,
A look at 10m ssb showed more promise with a run of 19 contacts, about half of them SP. It was at this point, I took a look at 20m ssb where 22 contacts were logged, the best of it Vermont…Clearly, no SOTA records would be set today!
It was at this point, I decided to give VHF a miss and go “all in” with one last call on the 10m band. Another run of contacts was completed on ssb, only this time some DX was logged, the best of it Brazil and Puerto Rico.
With the threat of rain looming, I chucked the towel in.
20m was hard work this afternoon. The 10m band is coming up well short of what it was a few years ago, with the bucket loads of DX this band is capable of producing, a distant memory.
It may well be time to have a rethink, I noticed the 6m band was producing DX into JA from EU, yesterday.
Thanks to all the callers …
73 Contacts for the activation…
22 contacts 20m ssb.
51 contacts 10m ssb
73 Mike
2E0YYY
Very short report, G/SP-013 Gun Wednesday 07/06/2017
With a break in the WX and a couple of hours to spare Wednesday afternoon, I took a quick drive up to my local summit G/SP-013 Gun, to see what state the 10m band was in. Just two antennas were carried, the ultra reliable Antron-99 CB antenna and an X-200 colinear for VHF/UHF. As it happens, I never used the colinear.
After setting up the A-99, a self spot on the10m FM band, produced just 11 contacts, nevertheless, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Spain, Poland and even one call from England were logged. Sadly, no DX on FM today.
My next self spot was for 10m ssb, where I worked quite a pile-up, with the Germans really booming in.
After about 90 minutes, I decided to take a look at 20m ssb and I found the going a bit slow. 14 contacts were logged before I decided to give 10m ssb one last call.
Again, I ran into a pile-up with the German chasers dominating the band and my one and only bit of DX, Brazil, making the trip.
Sods law, it started to rain fairly heavily and I was forced to abandon the activation.
This was a fine afternoons radio, with the 10m band showing some very nice contacts, although, still a very long way from its best.
130 contacts logged for the activation, with Germany producing more than 40 of them.
14 contacts on 20m ssb.
105 contacts on 10m ssb
11 contacts on 10m fm.
Thanks to all the callers.
Mike
2E0YYY
Great job Mike. I was on The Cloud G/SP-015 at the same time, and was really jealous when it was time for me to go and you were continuing your activation.
Conditions on 6m and 10m were there, but not spectacular I found. Significantly better than the customary silence on those two bands of course! I used my 6m-10m trap vertical with groundplane - which also performs adequately as a 2m antenna, so it was nice not to have to open/close any links or use an ATU.
I had QSOs on 6m CW, 6m SSB, 10m CW, 10m SSB and 2m FM, all with 5 watts. The 6m propagation was all to the East - HA, OK, OM and SP, whereas on 10m there was some of this, but predominantly into DL and EA.
2m FM was as “alive and well” as ever, but the clear highlight was S2S with John GX0OOO/P on Skiddaw G/LD-004. A total of 35 QSOs and 2 SWL logs (28MHz SSB and 29MHz FM of 2E0YYY/P on Gun G/SP-013) for the activation.
Mike, you were a great signal on 29MHz FM:
This morning, Thursday 8th June 2017, I decided to nip up Gun G/SP-013 myself. I didn’t know if there would be any condx on 6 or 10, but thought I’d just throw that antenna up anyway.
I arrived at the Gun parking area, only to be greeted with it almost full up with Skoda cars, something that looked like a butty caravan, flags and a barbecue. There was a bit of space at the end of the parking between the caravan and the road, so I slotted my motor in there.
As I was kitting up, a chap walked over and sternly told me “You’ll have to move your car from there, that’s where the judge’s car is going”. Note, not “Would you mind possibly…”, but “You’ll have to…”. I had just come straight from the dentist and the part of my face that wasn’t still frozen was in rather a lot of pain, so I didn’t appreciate being spoken to like that!
It’s not normally my way to be challenging over such matters, but I’ll cite the dental pain as my mitigating circumstance. “This is a public parking area” I said, “Have you got authorisation to take it all over for your exclusive use?” I presumed they had as it all looked a proper official event. And it was, I later discovered it was the finish line for the “Skoda Queen of the Mountains” jersey in the Ovo Energy Women’s Tour (cycling).
But the bloke I had just asked the question to, turned his back, walked away and answered a call on his mobile. I waited - and waited for him to finish, but after ten minutes couldn’t be bothered waiting any more so grabbed my stuff and set off on the walk. What I did do was leave the rucksack and main gear in the car and just take the handheld for a quick 2m FM activation.
So, after making two contacts on 2m FM, I returned to my car and drove off. The judge’s car had still not arrived, although there was plenty more space on the area to put more cars if necessary. A few yards down the road, I passed another lay-by on the left that I could have moved to! It had never come to my notice before - and I felt a twinge of guilt for not shifting my car down to there. Then again, there was a complete absence of manners and decorum from the event staff member that approached me at the main parking area, and so the guilt quickly evaporated!
Well done Tom. In my opinion you did the right thing. Paul, M0CQE.
Enthused by the previous night’s bonanza on 6m, I went out with my 6m/10m trap vertical + GP antenna late morning on Friday 9th June 2017. I had to get back home to get ready and load up for a gig that night in York, so it was just my usual local summit The Cloud G/SP-015, once again!
Although I could hear bits of action on 6m, nobody seemed to be hearing me, whether I was answering a CQ call, or calling CQ SOTA myself. However, over on 10m, things were much better. On 10m CW I soon had a steady stream of callers and quickly had 18 in the log, including S2S with HB9DQM/P on HB/FR-003.
10m SSB and 10m FM did not match up to the CW, producing just one QSO each, while on 2m FM I added 4, including S2S with M0PLA/P on G/SP-004.
I ran out of time to try 10m PSK31, and went home to get ready for work.
Another short activation of The Cloud G/SP-015 on the early evening of Monday 12th June 2017. Without any research whatsoever, I went for the 6m-10m trap vertical + groundplane again, knowing that I could use it as a 2m antenna if both 6 and 10 were closed.
Well there was not a sausage on 6m, but a handful of loud signals were heard on 10m SSB. Ten QSOs were made on 28MHz, half of them on SSB and half on CW. DXCCs worked were EA, F, G, I and SV. Just one station came back to my CQ call on 2m FM.
Last minute activation of G/SP-017, Tuesday 13/6/2017.
Billinge Hill is a Mickey Mouse Summit at just 179 Meters. However, it has scored some huge DX Hauls over the years.
The plan was to work 10m FM and SSB. If there’s any action on the10m band, my Antron-99 antenna will sniff it out, however, it struggled today. The Sporadic E which had been so prevalent for a couple of weeks, seemed to have all but disappeared this afternoon
When E’s are in short supply, the 10m band can be the loneliest place on the planet. It took me an hour to drag 17 contacts out of the band. Nevertheless, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Spain, Slovenia, Austria and finally England, finished in my log
10m FM turned up a total blank.
In the end, I was forced to QSY to 20m SSB, where the going was tough to start with. DX was almost non-existent, just one Canadian contact logged. The 20m “get out of jail” band, saved the day, however QSB was the enemy…
Thanks to all the callers…
103 contacts for the activation.
17 contacts 10m ssb.
86 contacts 20m ssb
Mike
2E0YYY
Without any research whatsoever, I took 15m up The Cloud G/SP-015 this morning (Wednesday 14th June 2017). I should have had a look at the propagation - or at least taken an alternative antenna up with me (although I sort of did - see later).
Many calls on 15m CW produced a RBNHOLE spot - but no chasers. The entire CW and SSB expanses of the 15m seemed to be silent - but the PSK and RTTY frequencies seemed to be quite busy.
My first call on 15m PSK31 brought an easy QSO with Yuri UT5QBC - but there was to be no further action as 21.070MHz then fell as silent as the rest of the band!
I left my Palm Code Cube on beacon mode, pumping out repeated CQ calls while I checked up on emails and Facebook on my phone. I enjoyed relaxing in the warm sunshine for an hour or so, barely interrupted by my radio, save for a couple of QSOs, both with G stations.
My “alternative”, as usual, was 2m FM from my handheld. Despite the low effort approach (sat on the floor and just using the rubber duck), six contacts were made on this band.
Lovely day - though a rather lower pollen count would have been nice.
As part of my work, I’m required to make regular visits to Llandudno and so, I usually take the opportunity to activate GW/NW-070 Great Orme. On Thursday, I had a meeting arranged for 1000 local time and so I set the alarm clock for 0400 local time, to see if I could work some DX.
When I arrived at the car park, I was greeted with a very strong wind, nevertheless, I made my way up to the fence and as per usual, bungeed the Antron-99 to a post. I was unable to get the antenna on more than two poles, the wind would not allow it. So I was stuck with a short antenna. A self spot was sent and my first contact followed within seconds.
There was no sign of any VK/ZL action, however, I was still a little early. A few more EU contacts were made and then I recived a call from Rig HI8RD in the Dominican Republic at 0620z.
At 0653z Lewi LA4CIA called in with a very rare Aeronautical Mobile call for a SOTA activation. Lewi was flying his Boeing over Germany and was a great signal. I carried on with the EU calls, before having to go QRT at 0830 local time, in order to make my appointment.
With my appointment dealt with, I made a return to The Great Orme, in order to meet up with Mario MW0GQY who was visiting from Germany. While Mario and his wife went for a coffee, I set the station up and when Mario returned, he rattled off plenty of contacts on 10m ssb/cw. Mario had to return to his hotel and so I decided to carry on where I left off on the 20m band. There were plenty of takers, however, DX was very thin on the ground, with just one Canadian station making the trip. By now the wind was really howling and it was getting late, so I decided it was QRT time.
The 20m band was playing funny games, with some interesting short skip into GM as well as the Island of Lewis and Cornwall. Plenty of French stations logged too.
In terms of radio, Great Orme is probably one of the best summits in the UK. The take-off is superb and it has provided me with shed loads DX and DXCC’s, including all of the Continents, (six in one day, a couple of years ago) as well as, /Portable, /Mobile, /Pedestrian Mobile and yesterday, the very rare, /Aeronautical Mobile call. Not too many summits can boast these type of stats.
Thanks to all the callers.
146 contacts logged, all 20m ssb.
Mike
2E0YYY
Well done. The A/M contact is a rare beast. Mind you at 30,000 ft. they have good ears. 
Cheers.
Mike
Band conditions and quick report on my activation of G/SP-004 Shining Tor, Sunday 02/07/2017
A couple of years ago, a trip to G/SP-004 Shining Tor, at about 0630 local time, would have produced a log book full of DX on the 20m band.
Sadly, all in the past.
For the uninitiated, G/SP-004 Shining Tor is capable of producing huge hauls of contacts on both HF and VHF and I consider it along with Great Orme, a “must do” for every activator at some time or another.
This morning, I arrived at the trig point at about 0520z and was QRV on 20m at 0555z. A look along the band told me everything I needed to know, DX was going to be very hard to find.
My very first call was a s2s with Stavros SV2RUJ. The going was pretty slow, nevertheless, I stayed put on the band for about an hour.
As luck would have it, I had taken the X-200 colinear, for 2m fm and I put that up and did some rag-chewing for about 90 minutes. Then I went back to HF trying the 10m band.
I was surprised to find 10m in better shape than I expected, even working Michael M0MDA up in Leeds, and a run of EU contacts. I couldn’t resist a return to 20m and a further run of contacts were logged including a few summit to summits. A really sweet contact with Dov 4Z4DX in Israel was logged, Dov was working with just one watt!.
My final throw of the dice was 17m. This band has done very little for me recently, however, today it threw up 21 contacts, including an s2s with Marco S57MS.
As I was about to pack up, I noticed Sylvia OE5YYN and Peter OE5AUL were activating OE/ST-562 and made a s2s call…Many thanks Sylvia and Peter. Tuning up the A-99 for 40m, a single contact was made with one of the Worked all Britain members, Peter MM3PDM/M in Peterhead.
In terms of DX, this activation was about as bad as it gets, however, every cloud has a silver lining…
141 contacts logged for the activation, 8 summit to summit.
68 contacts on 20m
23 contacts on 10m
21 contacts on 17m
28 contacts on 2m
1 contact on 40m
Thanks to all the chasers…
Mike
2E0YYY
Mike,
I was listeniing on 20m from home in VK2 on a 40m loop antenna. Occassionally I could hear some words. Certainly not enough to work anyone but they were there. Digital or CW may have worked.
Compton
