True, but there is the occasional Ar to look out for. I’ve even had a phone Ar contact into GM on six, it sounds like severe laryngitis!
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Gun is fair game. No regular contesters on there. Sure, you might find my signal a bit wide from over the valley, and also M1MLM/P if he’s up Merryton Low, but certainly not “OOB”.
I RX’d the CQ calls from SM5EPO and OG3B on CW, and replied to both several times, but I wasn’t making the trip back. Just 50 QSOs on a fairly quiet night. No DX. Squares worked were IO64, 70, 71, 74, 80, 81, 82, 83, 91, 92, 93, 94, JO01.
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Well I had an MSK144 QSO on 6m with a chap in the same grid square as me last night, however I suspect that no meteors were harmed during the QSO.
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I had a QSO on an FM satellite once with a neighbouring ham who lived a massive 270m away from me. 
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Seems to be lots of EA3<>PY2 F2 or such stuff happening. And an aurora too!
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That’s nice…
Meanwhile on The Cloud…
Had a go a cobbling connections back together, but failed to make it work. Managed five QSOs on 0.5 watts on the nearly flat internal culminating with a S2S to John G4YSS/P on Pen-y-ghent G/NP-010. Then that battery had had enough too!
Been one of those weeks. Young girl smashed into the back of my Dacia Duster on Saturday. Was still OK to get me to my gig Saturday night but now gone off to mechanics appointed by her insurers - who advised yesterday that my motor is a write-off. Wish I’d had the car valeted Saturday morning as I now fully expect to be right royally ripped off.
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Sorry about the car, Tom, I hope they gave you a loaner to get to gigs.
I listened tonight with a 40m long doublet, not having anything appropriate at the moment, and heard several UK stations. I didn’t call anyone, an S7 noise level is a bit discouraging(!) and doesn’t bode well for next year.
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Now fixed and tested. The Powerpole patch cable that is, not the gigmobile, sadly!
Yes Brian, I am currently driving a rather entertaining Ford Puma with Direct Line picking up the bill. The leap in tech from my 2016 Duster is astonishing. It KNOWS when to have the lights on - good job as I can’t find the manual way of switching them on and off! Same for the windscreen wipers. It KNOWS what the speed limits are on any section of road, and with the LIM function switched in, I am prevented from speeding - cool.
As disgruntled and annoyed as I am about my dear Duster, I do suddenly find myself rather fancying an up-to-date set of wheels.
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What a night to come home early too. Northern Lights in full swing here and have been for over three hours. I’m back out (at my old /M SOTA chasing spot on Charity Lane as it happens) viewing the light show - but wish I’d still been on G/SP-015 when it reportedly peaked at 9.30pm. And wish I’d taken advantage of any interesting condx on 6m!
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Just come in to warm up, the lights were completely overpowering the glow of the street lights, and I am fairly sure that STEVE put on an appearance. Better than the big display earlier this year and perhaps the reddest I’ve seen the sky since my childhood, umpty years ago!
Of course the bands will be in a poor state again in the morning…
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A rubbish photo from my iPhone7 which is too old to have night mode:
A good photo copied from Louise (wife of Greg @M0TXX )
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When the cold drove me in at 0130gst the whole sky was lit up except for in the south up to about the height of Saturn, something like 20deg I guess. At one point there was a coming together of beams of light overhead, like being in a giant circus tent, IIRC they call that a corona,and with diffuse patches of light coming and going quite rapidly. I was torn between going to bed or checking for auroral signals on six and two but I regret to say that bed won, my shack is the spare bedroom and even with headphones any operating would risk waking the house!
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