So I’m off with some of my Motorcycle buddies this weekend for another trip up to Plockton. I’ll be taking my SOTA gear and hope to activate three summits. GM/SI-176 on Raasay, GM/WS-329 near Kishorn and GM/WS-345 near Arisaig on the way home. This is all weather and ferry dependent so there may be some last minute changes. I’m hoping to catch Andy MM0FMF for s2s whilst he is further north doing some GM/NS summits. I’m also trying an experiment with a 70cm LoRa tracker MM7MOX-7 to see if that works.
Hopefully the weather (terrestrial and space) is kind.
Andy
MM7MOX
3 Likes
I thought you meant McSOTA, as in McTavish, then I got it!
Have a great trip.
5 Likes
Well it is a bit of both !
1 Like
And as an activator you are also the Master of Ceremonies! 
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Managed to add in an extra hill on the journey up today. GM/WS-339. 40M wasn’t great , no qso’s, 20m came to the rescue with three qso’s, two of them s2s. One more on 2m FM into Fort William got me the point. The rest of the bearded hooligans joined me on the walk up for a break from the bikes. The weather was good today and the run up was fun.
Andy
MM7MOX
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A glorious day on Raasay today atop GM/SI-176. Weather was fabulous, blue sky and sunshine with enough breeze to keep the biting insects at bay.
Local contacts on 2m including a pair of s2s to GM7PKT on different summits. HF wasn’t great but made some good s2s despite that.
Change of plan for tomorrow, out onto Skye for Ben Aslak GM/SI-041, hoping it has a better take off for the aprs LoRa tracker which only got one ping today right on the summit.
Saw a spot for Alan MM0VPM but alas couldn’t hear him.
Andy
MM7MOX
7 Likes
Well, I’m home from our MCSOTA weekend to the West and Isles.
It didn’t quite follow the plan but was good all the same. I had planned three summits and that’s what I managed, just not exactly the ones in the plan. Friday was an extra bonus, GM/WS-339 above Fort William since the gang had opted for the Glencoe route to Plockton. The rest of the “Old gits on Tour” joined me at the top of the hill since it was but a short walk, cue lots of ribald comments about faffing…
Saturday was the trip out to GM/SI-176 on Raasay detailed above.
On Sunday I decided to switch to Ben Aslak GM/SI-041 since I realised that I would get a complete for it after QSO with Robin GM7PKT in June. The weather wasn’t quite so nice as Saturday but still looked promising when I parked the bike at the Saddle point on the road to the Glenelg ferry. I got changed and locked the bike up. (More on that later !) Bike in the foreground with Ben Aslak behind.
An hour and twenty minutes got me up to the summit, where it started to rain and got very cold. A quick change out of damp gear and into some dry stuff. a quick call on the handheld with Gordon GM4OAS on 2m then setup the dipole for HF.
The weather couldn’t make it’s mind up, one minute it was a strong cold wind so I would hide behind some rocks then it would die away and the midges would assail me. I got mobile then and sat up higher in what little breeze there was. HF wasn’t great but brought me a couple of s2s to Wales and the Welsh border, a few out to Europe on 20m and 17m then it was time to descend. The sky wasn’t blue like earlier but the Cuillins looked spectacular in silhouette.
I got back to the bike in just over the hour, a bit tired after my third hill in as many days.
Started getting changed and went to unlock the bike… The remote for the immobiliser decided now was the time for the battery to die. I don’t know if it had the buttons pressed when it was in my pocket but it was having none of my efforts to unlock it. At this point the wind died and you can guess who made an appearance in their thousands !
I carried on getting changed whilst trying to figure out how to bypass the alarm and slapping at any exposed flesh !
A flash of inspiration reminded me that the LifePo I use to power the radio was the same voltage as the remote battery. So dismantle the fob and lash up some wires to the innards and I managed to get the bike into service mode where it would start, Yay !
I made it to Broadford for petrol hoping that the garage would have a battery, they didn’t but the co-op next door had a pack of two. A hasty rebuild of the fob and hey presto. The other battery in the pack will be taped under the seat for the next time.
I made it back to Plockton where we got a cracking view as we waited for our fish and chips.
Monday’s forecast was not so good and so I cancelled the hill GM/WS-345, near Morar that was planned. We still got the ferry from Armadale to Mallaig but the cloud was at sea level. I spoke to Gordon GM4OAS who lives near the hill and he said that he couldn’t see it.
The journey home got wetter and wetter and I was seriously glad to get off the bike.
The aprs LoRa tracker had some success and I was surprised to see how far away it was picked up (North Uist from Raasay and Ben Aslak summit).
From the top of Ben Aslak I was eyeing up the adjacent hill GM/SI-054 and access route for another complete next time.
Thanks to all chasers.
Andy
MM7MOX
8 Likes
…thanks Andy for your report. Well done.
Geoff vk3sq
2 Likes