In reply to G0PEB:
Pete,
How did the RM20 test go today ?
73
Robert G0PEB
Hi Robert.
Yes, pleasantly surprised!
I wouldn’t say I had a monster pile up, but I qualified the summit easily on the 400mW including a Transatlantic with Jean, VE2JCW, so that makes it a roaring success.
I ended up using my full arsenal, RM20, MTR and ATS4 for 52 contacts with some decent DX. Obviously not everyone was CQWWing!
There’s a short write up and stats at
73 Pete
In reply to M1BUU:
so I think it will reappear in a slightly different form.
maybe he’ll do a 24Mhz one!
Pete
In reply to M1BUU:
Hi Colin,
Thanks for the update.
Will be interesting to see what happens ref the SW+ series. Hope the event at Rishworth went well.
I’ve recently been looking at the HiMite cct diagram … hoping I might be able to cobble something together to get 24Mhz going. Any thoughts on the matter ?
73 Robert G0PEB
In reply to G4ISJ:
Pete,
Thanks for the Blog link, excellent. You had great time on the summit yesterday. Well done.
I can recommend trying out a SCAF sometime . It made a big difference positioned in the audio line of my RM20. New England QRP club do a tidy little unit.
73 Robert G0PEB
Looks like we are all set for the Mighty Mite weekend. Any preferences for a date?
73 Richard G3CWI
In reply to G3CWI:
Weekend of 9/10 Nov, mainly because I stand a chance of being available.
I have a spare rockmite by the way, if anybody would like to borrow it.
In reply to MM0GYX:
In reply to G3CWI:
Weekend of 9/10 Nov, mainly because I stand a chance of being
available.
16/17 suits me much better!
Pete
In reply to G4ISJ:
Any time in November will suit me. Am looking forward to it.
73 Robert G0PEB
In reply to G0PEB:
Hope the
event at Rishworth went well.
I really enjoyed the Rishworth event, I feel it’s just about the only opportunity I get to mix with people who enjoy the things within amateur radio that I do, I don’t fit in exactly but it’s close enough!
The lectures were very interesting; one about spy sets, a great one by Paul M0XPD about using the Arduino in QRP rigs and lastly a very entertaining presentation by Colin G3VTT about AM broadcasting from ships out at sea.
I met a number of SOTA people including Mickey,2E0YYY and his assistant Dave G4ASA once again keeping the amateur community supplied with batteries. It was nice to catch up with Brian G4ZRP and Jack GM4COX, and also to meet Walt G3NYY for the first time. I had a nice chat with Colin G8TMV at the Buildathon event on Friday night discussing rigs from KD1JV.
I’ve recently been looking at the HiMite cct diagram … hoping I
might be able to cobble something together to get 24Mhz going. Any
thoughts on the matter ?
I attempted to build a HiMite for 18 MHz but I didn’t manage to get it stable enough. I think I messed up with the layout. I now have a Tektronix 465 scope to call my own, so I should have another go at it, possibly by reclaiming the components and starting from scratch with betters isolation between stages.
I don’t see a reason why that it should not be possible to run a HiMite on 12m. I’d recommend N4ESS as a source for crystals, he seems like a good guy. Apparently his crystals are fundamental but it might be worth firing off an email to confirm. http://www.expandedspectrumsystems.com/prod4.html
I’ve been listening to the SolderSmoke podcast and I’ve been rather taken in by Bill’s 17m SSB rig home brew project, I think my next challenge will have to be a home brew phone rig.
73 Colin
In reply to M1BUU:
I met a number of SOTA people including Mickey,2E0YYY
Great to meet you again, Colin…
and his
assistant Dave G4ASA once again keeping the amateur community supplied
with batteries.
Assistant!!!
What have you done, Colin, I told Dave, it’s a 7 year apprenticeship to become my Assistant!
Now, he’s going to be demanding wages. ;-)))
I wasn’t supposed to be at Rishworth this year Colin, but Kevin G3AAF couldn’t make it. Kevin called me and asked if I could take over his tables, as he had another commitment. Kevin would have been missed at Rishworth this year. He’s been trying to convert me to the microwave frequencies for ages but I’m not sure it’ll appeal to me.
Anyhow, last week, we finally agreed a deal over few pints at Galashiels. We do a joint SOTA activation with some 10 gig. Mind you, it should be fun and games when I hand him the mic for the 20m part of the activation, I’m almost certain, he’s never worked above 4m 
It was nice to catch up with Brian G4ZRP and Jack
GM4COX, and also to meet Walt G3NYY for the first time. I had a nice
chat with Colin G8TMV
Great to see Brian, Walt, Jack and Colin too.
73 Mickey
2E0YYY
In reply to 2E0YYY:
I’m almost certain, he’s never worked above 4m
Obviously you are wearing the wrong specs Mike. From where I’m standing, it should said be that he never worked below 4m.
73, Gerald G4OIG
P.S. Don’t look down the waveguide, you’ll not see anything and possibly never will again!
In reply to G4OIG:
In reply to 2E0YYY:
I’m almost certain, he’s never worked above 4m
Obviously you are wearing the wrong specs Mike. From where I’m
standing, it should said be that he never worked below 4m.
LOL, posting at 0130 hrs is not a good idea…
P.S. Don’t look down the waveguide, you’ll not see anything and
possibly never will again!
On the plus side Gerald, I shouldn’t need a 22Ah SLAB
73 Mike
2E0YYY
One person for a specific weekend. One against it and one indifferent. Any other opinions or should I just go for it?
73 Richard G3CWI
In reply to G3CWI:
.
Go for it, Richard. My RM is dusted-off and now coupled with an audio filter.
Bring it on!!
Elliott, K6EL.
In reply to G3CWI:
Just go for it, happy with what you pick.
73,
Ian, mm0gyx
In reply to G3CWI:
Just go for it Richard. All set and waiting for it to happen.
73
Robert G0PEB
I hope to be in a position to play SOTA in the coming weeks, so all being well I’ll be joining in the fun. My next activation is to be next Sunday for Remembrance Sunday. I think a RockMite might be the rig of choice. 
73, Colin
MIGHTY MITE WEEKEND
The first Might Mite weekend will be held on the 7-8th December 2013. The aim is simply to get on the air and make SOTA contacts using Rock Mites or Rock Mite clones. Chasers and activators are equally welcome.
SOTAbeams will provide a little trophy for the person who publishes the most interesting account of their activities over the weekend here on SOTAwatch.
73 Richard G3CWI
In reply to G3CWI:
I’m looking forward to it, my 20 and 40 RMs are working spot on, I would never of thought that this little radio would invoke so much interest worldwide, trawling the web there is a huge amount of info out there. I just hope I’ve got the correct crystals, can anyone tell me what is the most popular? Or is there to be set frequencies for SOTA contacts?
Cheers John M6BLV (the loud one)
In reply to M6BLV:
John the crystals vary a bit of course but the front end passband is about 10khz so it’s not so much of a problem, unless you tinker with audio filtering etc. A RM to RM will be a challenge but we’ll see. What freqs do you have there?
73,
Ian