MW Big Weekend - Big Report!

[M3TMX]

I’m not one to usually write activation reports, but as this was a HUGE weekend away purely for SOTA, it felt rude not to put one together…

Day 1 - Saturday 29th August 2020 (Birmingham to Maenclochog)

Hirfynydd GW/SW-017
After packing most of the kit the night before, I awoke at 5:30am and hit the road at 5:45am. It took me just over 2 hours to travel down then M5, M50 and A465 to my first parking spot on the Roman Road at Banwen. Hirfynydd was one of 3 remaining GW/SW uniques left for me to activate, so it made sense to tick this one off on the way over to Pembrokeshire.

The start of the walk

Strava Route Card

The route was rather straightforward - stick to the byway all the way to the summit. There was a small shortcut that I opted to take to avoid the double back at the start, but other than that, it was an easy stroll up to the activation zone. As I walked along the crest at the top, I was hoping to see the fence/wall that borders the trig point, but this seemed non-existent, so I walked about 50m past the crest, before hopping into the grass. This was perfectly timed, as the summit was buried within the branches of a pine tree. I took my obligatory summit selfie, before heading back to the byway, where I set up the HF and 2m antenna.

Summit Selfie!

All set up on the side of the byway!

The HF gear has been a recent addition to my SOTA activities, as I felt it was necessary in order for me to successfully activate the more remote summits. It’s also enabled me to have more fun on the summits, working into Europe and getting more S2Ss. Hirfynydd would be the first of many summits in which I would qualify on 20m (8 contacts), 40m (6 contacts including a S2S with DL6FBK/P) and 2m (5 contacts) within half an hour. This was made even more enjoyable by the epic early morning views of the western Brecon Beacons.

Looking out over the Eastern Brecon Beacons

After the contacts dried up on 2m, I packed up the gear and headed off the summit, getting back to the car in 30 minutes. A great start to what would be a great weekend!

Mynydd Cynros GW/MW-034
Mynydd Cynros offered many routes up, but I kept it very straightforward, using the small car park opposite the abbey in Talley, where there is space for up to half a dozen cars. From there, I was initially going to walk North up the road, before joining the path West and then South through the forest, but as luck would have it, I found a shorter route directly from the car park.

Start of the route

Heading up the Red Route!

There are 3 routes on offer that weave their way through the Talley Woodland, of which the red one is the longest and hardest one. This one also travels West and joins the main path just by the Access Land wherein the trig point lies. OS Maps doesn’t highlight this as a PROW, but you can see which tracks I took from the routecard below.

Strava Route Card

I also found that there was no direct access from the path to the Access Land, however there was a small path in the triangular field adjacent to the Access Land that ran parallel with the fence line, which stopped at a gate next to the summit. Not quite the route I’d set out to do, but it did the job just as well!

All set up!

The wind had picked up since my last activation, so I was feeling the chill as I set up the antenna and settled into the activation. Nevertheless, the activation was smooth, with 7 contacts on 20m, 4 on 40m and 7 on 2m, including S2Ss with 2W0IXM/P in North Wales and Allan GW4VPX/P on GW/SW-005 in the Brecon Beacons, who would become a huge asset across the weekend. There was the threat of rain in the air as I switched from 40m to 2m, but it never materialised. Due to the nature of the weekend, I had only accounted for an hour on each summit, including setting up and packing down, but after having too much fun on 2m, I overran slightly, which meant I had to make up time by bounding down the hill. My bag was lighter than usual, as the small hills didn’t require me to carry everything I needed for the day, so I was able to do a few gentle jogging spurts on the descent to make up the time, getting back to the car in a mighty 15 minutes.

Pen-crug-melyn GW/MW-036
From Talley, it was a 30 minute drive along the B4310 to the small pull-in at the Y junction with the path to the summit, where there was just enough room for 2 cars. I had a quick bite to eat at the car, before setting off on the very short 0.5km walk to the summit, which I could see from the car!

I can see the trig from here…

Strava Route Card

The route takes you through the farm, before doubling back to get to the summit via a small gate. This summit was very windy and I was rather concerned as I set up the mast, placing it within the summit itself for a different setup.

Hmmm. It shouldn’t bend like that…

As per the previous summits, I started on 20m, working 7 QSOs in quick succession, including S2Ss with DB7MM/P and HB9GKR/P in TF land (not the first time I’ve worked him S2S too!) A quick nosy on 2m brought Allan for another S2S on Fan Fawr, but also directed me to Vikki MW6BWA/P, who was on Fan GW/SW-006. Hilariously, when I found her on 70cm, she was informing a contact that she was looking for me too! I announced myself, much to her surprise and then QSYd back to 2m once we’d made the contact on 70cm. It turns out the purpose of her trip out was to get me on both this summit and the next to tick off 2 SOTA Completes, so I was pleased to her her out with that. Unfortunately, I struggled to get Rod MW0JLA/P, sat on GW/SW-007 on 2m, which worried me if I was to get Vikki from the next hill. Nevertheless, even though I was ahead of schedule, I said I wouldn’t leave the next summit until I had worked her or had tried my hardest to work her. I then moved back to 40m SSB, where Rod was able to work me, albeit with difficulty, along with 4 other contacts to qualify on this band. A return to 2m brought a further 2 contacts, so I packed up slowly and made the 5 minute walk back to the car.

Brandy Hill GW/MW-037
A 40 minute drive along the A40 and A478 brought me to the radar tower at the top of the summit. I had a quick dash to the summit, hidden away within the station itself, before returning the car and grabbing the gear to set up.

Found you!

Footnote - I do not like this type of hill. Very low in height, parking next to a tower on an unclassified road never seems to bode well for me and this one was no different. In a similar experience to G/TW-005, I just about squeezed the antenna onto the side of the road, but it just took so much effort. Then, on 20m, I called for about 15 minutes, achieving only 1 QSO with Derek 2W0FLW. A switch to 40m brought 2 more QSOs with regulars Manuel EA2DT and Quique EA1DFP, plus Derek, but I was really struggling with that 4th QSO. Even turning to 2m brought me no luck. At this point, I was feeling rather down, but I wasn’t going to give up. I was, however, going to take down the antennas I switched the FT-818 to the rubber duck and started disassembling the beams, but about halfway through - joy! CQ SOTA CQ SOTA this is MW6BWA/P! It was Vikki - a very scratchy Vikki, but a Vikki nevertheless - on GW/SW-007. I picked up the radio and held it aloft to get as much height as possible and, sure enough, the 4th and final QSO was made. Another SOTA Complete for Vikki, a completed activation for me - result! I finished packing down the remaining equipment and headed off for the 5th and final summit of the day.

Mynydd Carningli GW/MW-033
My drive from Brandy Hill would take me along the A478 and B4313 and directly past my camping spot for the night in Maenclochog, so with some time to spare (despite spending over an hour on Brandy Hill), I quickly popped into the campsite to claim my spot and say hello to the people at Westland West Campsite. Alas, the managers weren’t on site, so I pitched my tent and put my cash through the door (agreed over email in advance) and then continued on to the parking spot on the Eastern side of the summit along the cul-de-sac road.

The sun makes it look quite menacing…

Strava Route Card

Following the directions on the Summits page posted by GW1BXX, the walk to the summit was steep, but straightforward, but the wind was buffeting me quite harshly as I reaching the rocks at the top. I knew this summit would be challenging, as I was a lot closer to the coast, but the views more than made up for it.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

With no-one else around, I set up on a flat spot on the northern side of the summit and called on 20m, despite the band not being that active. No contacts, so I switched to 40m, where I made 2 QSOs. The mast was being blown around something awful by this point, so I was having to hold it between my legs to stop it moving around so much. Another change to 2m brought local and regular Frank MW0OFA, followed by Kevin GW8ANC in the nearby town of Newport. Amusing point of the day - his shack faced the summit and a colleague he was with at the time had a pair binoculars, so I grabbed the H/H and stood on the highest bit of rock and waved. They could see me! They then also saw my antenna disappear as the wind took it down behind me. No matter - I’d qualified and was already done with HF. A 5th and final QSO with Allan GW4VPX, who had arrived back home, completed the activation, so I packed up and set off for the 15 minute walk down the summit, but not before enjoyed the spectacular sunset over the majestic Pembrokeshire coast.

What a way to finish the day!

I’d not been out playing SOTA at this late hour for years, but it was a cracking way to finish off the first day of my tour. I got back to the car and headed over to Fishguard to refuel and pick up some pre-ordered fish & chips (Hooked @31 - recommended!), before heading back to Westland West Campsite. It was quarter to 9 by the time I got there, so was pleased to have pitched up whilst there was still daylight! After devouring my evening meal in the car, prepping for the morning and using the facilities, I was settled down into bed by 10:30pm, although, due to the wind rattling my tent, 1am was the earliest I “think” I went to sleep…

Tent pitched prior to the final activation

Day 1 Summary -
Hills activated: 5
Miles driven (approx): 246
QSOs: 64
S2S QSOs: 10 (7 different summits)
Kilometers walked (approx): 13.32

[M3TMX]

Day 2 - Sunday 30th August 2020 (Maenclochog to Llandovery)

Foel Cwmcerwyn GW/MW-011
I awoke somewhat tiredly at 5:30am and immediately got to pitching down. With twilight providing me with enough light, I could already see the first summit of the day; my campsite was overshadowed by the mighty Foel Cwmcerwyn and it was less than 4 miles to the car park at the col of the B4329. This summit would be the only non-1 pointer of the BH Weekend and I was determined to start as the sun was rising. Once again, Pembrokeshire did not disappoint.

Not a bad way to start the day…

Strava Route Card

I followed the fence line East in the Access Land, before ascending Pen Cysti and then making the final stretch South to the summit. Beware - as you drop down near the start to Bwlch Pennant, stick to the fence line as best you can and do NOT attempt to cut the corner. I did this on my way up and got very wet feet as a result of the deep marshland.

Looking West

Looking South

At the highest point in Pembrokeshire, I was able to follow the coastline all the way from St Clears across to St David’s and then North as far as the eye could see - I could also see the campsite where I had been only a few hours earlier! The wind had calmed considerably from Saturday, so I set up the equipment and started calling on 14MHz, gaining the 4 contacts on this band from Europe - it wasn’t even half 7… A turn to 7MHz brought much better success, with a pileup and a whopping 16 QSOs! I switched to 2m as the clock struck 8am BST, and even at this time, I got 8 contacts, including to back into England. I packed up a very happy bunny and made my way off the summit in 25 minutes, avoiding the pesky bogs and with the sun very much in the sky.

It wasn’t this windy, I swear!

Frenni Fawr GW/MW-028
It was a straightforward 20 minutes to my next stop on the South side of Frenni Fawr, parking just before the T junction opposite the start of the path, where there’s room for 3 cars (or 4 small ones if everyone bunches up!). From there it was a simple case of heading straight up, avoiding the sheep in the process.

Strava Route Card

Almost there…

It was lovely up here. I had the fabulous outline of Foel Cwmcerwyn and its surrounding peaks, plus the whole Ceredigion coastline, all in one view. I set up on the Northern side, using a path post to support the mast and got going on 20m.

Looking back at where I’d just been

HF was reversed this time round, with 14MHz offering plentiful (16 QSOs, including 6 S2Ss) and 7MHz silent (1 QSO with Frank just down the road!). Frank then joined me on 2m, shortly followed by Allan, who was at home doing chores for the day. The 3 of us ended up having an unplanned natter on getting to the next summit, because there was a road closure that I wasn’t aware of. Again, and I can’t emphasise this enough, you can plan as much as you want, but local knowledge is king, so I can’t thank them enough for helping me through the weekend. 2 other locals then qualified this summit on 2m and, after an hour of activating, I called it quits and set off down the summit, passing a family of 6 not long after leaving. They’d certainly picked a good day!

Rhos Ymryson GW/MW-035
After getting back to the car, I drove back into Crymych and then North to Cardigan, where I joined the A487 and headed toward Aberystwyth, turning off onto the B4338 at the Synod Inn. Fun fact - I had been regularly tuning into Radio Pembrokeshire, Radio Ceredigion and the other Nation Broadcasting stations, as I make radio commercials for them and wanted to hear them on air. Along this particular stretch on Radio Ceredigion, I was over the moon to hear my own voice during an ad break too!

At the start

Upon reaching the lay-by on Northern side of the summit, I noticed a sign on the gate where I was to start my walk. Strange, I thought - this wasn’t mentioned by any previous activator reports. The gate was closed, but not locked, so I went through and wandered up towards the top. I then set up the radio with the rubber duck and found Jimmy MW0HGY/P on GW/MW-005, shortly followed by Tom MW1EYP/P. He had activated Rhos Ymryson summit earlier this month and, unlike his activation last year, he informed me that the sign was a new addition. Drat, I thought - this doesn’t bode well. I worked Frank MW0OFA, who was also on frequency and then called CQ, hoping Allan would be available. He appeared shortly afterwards and said that he knew the farmer and that activations weren’t a problem, but would ask about the recent addition of the sign. Not wanting to stay on the summit and cause any issues, I opted to leave HF and head back to the car. I do apologise to anyone hoping to work me from this one and shall leave Allan to look into this further.

My little mascot helping activate!

Hafod Ithel GW/MW-029
It was a good 45 minute drive through the back lanes and winding B roads to get to the next stop, parking on the grass just after the cattle grid next to Llyn Eiddwen. As I was not stupidly ahead of schedule, I kicked back with my luck before heading up to the summit. This was a short walk up in Access Land, so there were a few different paths - I chose to take an angle up to the summit and avoid doing anything too steep. Again, I was hugely rewarded on this one with incredible views and perhaps even had the best activation of the trip.

At the parking spot, looking at the lake

Strava Route Card

Enjoying the weather up here!

Personally, I just get a buzz from sitting on a summit with a view of the sea, but this one was in a league of its own. I could follow the coastline all the way from New Quay to Porthmadog, and then on to Bardsea Island at the end of the Llyn Peninsula. I even got to activate with Snowdon on the far distance, which was truly remarkable, given the distance between the summits.

Snowdon is just on the left of the trig…

I made 6 contacts on 20m and 5 on 40m, including S2Ss with Steve G5ZX/P and Mark 2E0FTU/P on G/SB-001 (after some persistence!), before turning to 2m, where I got 7 QSOs, with Gillian 2W0OVW/P and Phil GW4HQB/P, giving me my second consecutive day of a S2S with GW/NW-009. During my chasing of The Cheviot, a couple appeared on the summit and were very interested in what I was doing, so I happily gave them a quick overview in between my QRZ shouts. I also worked Tom and Jimmy, who were on their way to GW/MW-005, as Allan had given them some advice on how to activate it, so when I finished the activation, I slowly packed away the HF gear, as I was ahead of schedule and didn’t mind hanging around to work them S2S. After 20 minutes, it turned out the route they wanted to take was blocked, so they estimated it would take them an hour to get to the summit. I had about an hour and a half to get to my next summit, so it would be tight, but possible. The race was on!

Crugiau Merched GW/MW-021
The route to my next summit took me back the way I came, heading along the B4337 and then the A482 through Lampeter and on towards Llandovery, turning off onto the single track road at Pumsaint. My target was the very large passing place near the chapel, as described by Jimmy the week previously during my research phase and verified by Allan when chatting to him on Hafod Ithel. From there, the start was pretty straightforward, going round the church and on to the old quad route until it becomes a path.

Strava Route Card

It’s amazing what you can find!

Slowly losing the path…

After that, it became more of a challenge, but I used the contour lines on the map and the small paths to guide me up to the summit. I did make a wrong turn at one point, but this was quickly rectified. Upon reaching the trig point, I set up quickly and found Jimmy calling CQ on 2m, so was able to get both him and Tom in the log for a S2S. Success! I then proceeded to make a further 4 QSOs, before heading to HF, which was very quiet. 10 minutes calling on 14MHz resulted in no responses, with a further 10 minutes on 7MHz yielding 2 contacts into Spain - Manuel EA2DT and Ricardo EA1DHB. I was getting a little bit cold and tired, so I signed off and made my way back to the chapel in 25 minutes, where I would then return to the A482 and on to Llandovery Caravan and Camping Park for my overnight stay.

Last activation of the day!

I was the final person to arrive for the night and the owners were lovely, asking me about my walks and telling where the best place to dine was (The Kings Head for those who are interested). They even went ahead and reserved the cleanest shower for me whilst I pitched my tent and showed me where to charge my radio battery, much to my relief (I needed a clean and a battery top up, as I wasn’t fully convinced that my battery would last the 3 days!).

Tent all pitched up!

Once I was sorted at the campsite, I walked the 10 minutes into town to get some food, but at 9pm on a BH Sunday, everywhere was full, so I had to resort to the local takeaway joint, which was a shame, but I just wanted food and my bed. I lay to rest at 10:30pm, hoping to get a good night sleep and feel fresh and ready for the final day.

Day 2 Summary -
Hills activated: 5
Miles driven (approx): 105
QSOs: 79
S2S QSOs: 14 (10 different summits)
Kilometers walked (approx): 12.6

[M3TMX]

Day 3 - Monday 31st August 2020 (Llandovery to Birmingham)

Pen y Garn-goch GW/MW-016
Nope. Didn’t happen. I was up and down all night and as a result, woke up at half 5 with a stinking headache. Never mind! I collapsed the very wet tent (it was a cold night, so there was a lot of condensation) and got on the road at 6:10am for the half hour drive along the A483 through Llanwrtyd Wells and along the farm track through Bwlchmawr to the start of the forest track, where there’s room for a couple of cars.

Strava Route Card

Not a bad morning in Wales

This track is reflected on the OS Map as a white line that zigzags through the forest, so the path up was pretty straightforward for most of the way. Once the track ends and reveals a turning circle, I walked on for about 50m along a smaller path and then turned left into the woods. This brought me right out at the trigpoint area.

It’s quiet in the trees…

I’ve never been a fan of woodland activations, but I felt the turning circle back on the track had some good clearance, so I headed back to make sure it lay within the activation zone. The map showed it was close, but my OS Map App and Garmin Watch revealed the height as 470m, so I was satisfied and set up the antenna to activate as the sun rose in the sky.

Oooooh, now that’s better!

As I experienced yesterday morning, the early starts favour 7MHz, so I called here first, making 6 contacts. A quick trip to 2m resulted in a nice QSO with Josh M0WYP in the valley and further calls on 14MHz brought 3 more stations from Spain. After faffing around with the height checking, I’d spent about an hour on the summit, so I signed off and headed off and back to the car, reaching the road in 25 minutes.

Mynydd Eppynt GW/SW-018
A 15 minute drive took me to the viewpoint on the B4519 on the fringes of the activation zone of Mynydd Eppynt and back into GW/SW land. This was the 2nd SW unique I wanted to try and activate on this trip, as it lay conveniently in line with the other MW summits I planned on doing today and would give me 1 remaining summit to activate in the SW region. I wanted to head towards the summit, but due to the restrictions in place, I only went a few paces and set up next to a footpath sign post.

In the activation zone, but not in the danger zone!

It was nice and calm on the summit, despite being rather exposed, but less so on the HF bands, which had become busier, even though I’d only been on an hour previously! 40m was chosen, as it was still early doors, and that brought in 12 QSOs in 10 minutes - a cracking effort in such a short space of time! A change to 20m added 5 more contacts to the log, before it dried up. A few more calls yielded no results, but more surprisingly, neither did 2m - in fact, this summit was the only one throughout the whole trip where I failed to raise a single contact on 2m.

Carneddau GW/MW-023
From Mynydd Eppynt, I headed back to the A483 and made my way through Builth Wells, before turning off along another single track road. My target was the 90º left hander that met with a farmers driveway and the start of the path up Carneddau. This was a tight, tight spot where I just leave my car without obstructing anything (anything bigger than my Fiat Panda would struggle!)

It’s a tight squeeze!

Strava Route Card

From here, it was a simple walk into the Access Land, where a clear path guided me up to the col between the first two false summits and on to the true summit, where I found a tiny cairn. With only a few off-road cyclists around, I opted to set up near the cairn and activate looking across at Aberedw Hill, my next target.

A small cairn for a small Perry!

All set up

20m was much more open this time round, with 8 QSOs in the log, including 3 S2Ss. John GW4TQE/P chased me on this band and I returned the favour by following him to 2m, where I found him working S2S with Karen 2W0XYL/P and Neil 2W0TDX/P, who, like John, were also in North Wales. I called in, hoping of working all 3 of them, to which John kindly gave me the frequency brief to work Karen and Neil. Allan GW4VPX/P, who was out on GW/SW-003, then found me and we QSYd. From there, I worked 5 stations, including Rod MW0JLA/M (it was nice to speak to him clearly compared with the struggles we had on the Saturday) and Paul MW0PLA/M walking up GW/SW-041. He explained that he’d be about half an hour, so I said I’d hang about and get him S2S when he was ready - besides, I still had 40m to do. Unfortunately, I was unable to raise a QSO on 7MHz, so I packed up my gear and left the H/H out to complete the S2S. I called Paul just after 11am BST to see how he was doing, but as we about to make the contact, I got caught out - the battery on the Baofeng H/H died! I plunged back into the bag, grabbed the radio and rubber duck, connected the internal battery and called Paul back - sorted! In all honesty, I hadn’t charged it for donkeys and I rarely use it these days, so I was very impressed with how long it had lasted. With the S2S completed, I left Paul to activate and re-packed the gear.

Aberedw Hill GW/MW-022
The weekend had gone pretty well thus far (except from my woes on Brandy Hill), but I was to be challenged on this one. I had a 25 minute drive back to Builth Wells and through Aberedw to reach the long cul-de-sac road where I was hoping to park the car. This was to be a challenge, as my main parking spot felt like the car would be an inconvenience and my secondary spot was waterlogged. With little options left, I drove back along the road to Blaenmilo Farm, where I met the family of four working away. I enquired if there was any way I would be able to leave my car with them and they very kindly pointed to a space out of the way, as there would be trucks and tractors moving around all day. From there, I was able to walk back along the road and then make the ascent.

Strava Route Card

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Once I had made my way through the field into Access Land, I quickly found myself in some bracken. This bracken was HUGE! I could just about make out the path on the floor, but I had to fight through quite a bit of heather and eventually made it through. From there, I started to climb the contour lines round until I could make out the two summits. My target was the trig point on the far side and, upon reaching it, sunk to the floor and had a breather before setting up. My legs had taken a bit of a beating from the heather - I chose the wrong day to wear shorts!

We made it… just!

A quick glance at the Spots showed Allan, still on GW/SW-003, calling on 20m, so I quickly tuned in to the frequency to hear him CQing. He was very surprised to hear me come back to him! After the S2S, I found my own frequency and raised 9 further QSOs, including a further S2S with Stephan DD6DO/P in France (after many repetitions of his callsign - sorry Stephan!). A switch to 20m brought in 6 more contacts, before jumping to 2m, where I found Rod. I also got to speak to Vikki, as she knew it was hard to get out from this hill on 2m, and I thanked her again for the qualifying contact on Brandy Hill. Derek 2W0FLW popped up for #3 and Allan said his farewells to make it #4 and a S2S on 2m. From there, I retraced my steps back to the bother of the bracken and on to the farm, thanking the family again before I left for the final summit of the BH Weekend.

The Begwns GW/MW-025
Fighting with the bracken had wiped me out, but thankfully, this final summit was an easy one. A half hour drive back to Aberedw and then along the B4567 and B4594 brought me to Painscastle, where I headed South to the parking area within the Access Land on the hill itself. From there, I followed the obvious path to the summit, which you could see from the parking spot.

Looking straight at the summit

Strava Route Card

This summit was rather busy, but this was expected, due to the ease of the summit and the great views you get of the Black Mountains. Upon reaching the trig point, I set myself south of the peak, where the bracken had been freshly cut, and got going for the final time.

The final activation

2m has always been my go to band, so it felt right to start here. 9 QSOs were made, including Rod, still /M and a few English regulars who I’d not spoken to all weekend. HF was somewhat anti-climatic, with only 1 contact on 14MHz and 2 on 7MHz, but I was still really happy, as I had achieved what I’d set out to do - activate all 15 summits. After packing up, I made sure to visit The Roundabout (a little enclosure next to the trig point) before heading back to the car and making the 2 hour drive back to Birmingham, where I treated myself to a hot shower, a cold drink and a delicious takeaway!

Day 3 Summary -
Hills activated: 5
Miles driven (approx): 152
QSOs: 76
S2S QSOs: 11 (7 different summits)
Kilometers walked (approx): 14.16

Overall, it was a hugely successful and almost seamless 3 days, with the best weather and views I’ve had for a long time and a lot of S2Ss across Wales and Europe. I have to express my gratitude to Allan GW4VPX and Frank MW0OFA for their useful knowledge and on-air companionship across the weekend, as well as to Jimmy M0HGY and Tom M1EYP for their activator tips prior to the trip.

Next up - a return to the Brecon Beacons to complete the SW region!

Success!!

[F5JKK]

Hi Jordan @M3TMX
Thanks for all unique summits you give me this WE
See you soon
73 Éric

[M6BWA]

Super report and piccies Jordan. I don’t know how you managed to keep going but Perry obviously helped!! Delighted by the 2 completes you gave me and sorry you had to hang about on Brandy Hill to get me but you did know I particularly wanted that one. As I only chase from summits I had to find a day when someone was activating that rather low and obscure hill - and then ascend a hill I thought would be within range and, preferably, while they were still at the top. Bingo - it worked and made up for the rather perishing cold wind which was very penetrating - but did help push us back down to the car once we (M0JLA) had met up from our separate summits (GW/SW-006 and 007). We hadn’t had the foresight to book fish and chips and decided to drive back home to Hereford rather than join a very slow queue in Talgarth that looked as if would never move. How did you manage to get that super dry and often sunny weather - even if the wind was a drawback?? BTW I’ve still got about 4 more MW summits to chase but I don’t know whether you have done them all or not??!!

73 and tx Viki M6BWA

[G6PJZ]

Great report and trip. Well done Jordan

[F4VPX]

Good job guys,I like Allan’s callsign

73’s Filipe
F4VPX

[RX9WT]

It’s just a SOTA marathon!
Fantastic result, Jordan.
Well done.
73
Vlad
RX9WT

[GW4VPX]

Hi Jordan

Your photos have finally appeared on my phone .
Seriously though, thank you for an amazing three days of chasing, and s2s. The 20m s2s contact made me jump as you were booming in and I thought it was a rare bit of DX . Your Aberedw experience made me chuckle as I can remember seeing Gerald MW0WML disappear in front of me leaving only the top of his antenna pole as we both struggled through the bracken…nice summit though. We must do a joint activation when your down this way again although I think I’ll have to meet you on the summit as I don’t think I’ll be able to keep up with you on the ascent .

73 Allan GW4VPX

[M3TMX]

Hi Viki,

Energy bars and the glorious weather played its part - although I was just really lucky with the latter! I had no issues hanging about on Brandy Hill - it was just the lack of contacts that was frustrating. I too am looking at SOTA Completes as I go, but trying to chase them can be harder than activating, especially when you add in the S2S element! Glad you were able to get me from both though and that you had a successful day out Just a shame I struggled with Rod

The reason for ordering in advance was that most places weren’t taking walk-ins, so I knew I’d have to pre-order. Conveniently, I could send it in as I was driving off Mynydd Carningli and arrive just in time via a fuel stop!

RE MW Summits - I’ve had a gander at the ones you’re missing and you’ll be pleased to hear I’ve not done them yet - I’ll let you know as and when I do them, but I doubt it’ll be any time soon!

73s,

Jordan M3TMX

[M3TMX]

Hi Allan,

Glad you can see them now!

You’re more than welcome - I had a wonderful time and, as I said many times on air, you live in a gorgeous part of the world. Let’s face it - I was anything but rare DX during that weekend It was a lovely hill at the top, but I’d probably go from the village if I was to do it again - longer walk in, but more parking and less bracken!!

I’ll drop you a message and we can sort something out; I would love to do a joint activation sometime - socially distanced though!

73s,

Jordan M3TMX

[MW7SRA]

Looks like you had a great time and were lucky with the weather too!
Thanks for the write up, both interesting and useful. So you’re on the radio here, I’ve must have heard you loads then, commuting up and down the coastroad to Aberystwyth.

[M3TMX]

Hi Sara,

You’re welcome Yes, luck did play quite a bit into it! I’m working my way through the Welsh hills, so if you didn’t hear me, I’m sure you will soon!

73s,

Jordan M3TMX

[MW0IDX]

Great activation report and some nice photo’s too. Well done Jordan!

[MW0WML]

Great reports! Fantastic to get so much done in 3 days.

73
Gerald
MW0WML

[GI0AZA]

Great reports Jordan, love the photos and great to get a contact wlth you- maybe check your dates???

[M3TMX]

Hi Esther,

Likewise - great to work you S2H! Whoops Dates now amended - thanks for the spot!

73s

Jordan M3TMX

[MW0OFA]

I wish I had your energy Jordan !! It seemed like every time I came back into the shack you were on a new summit !. I got tired and I was only chasing. Your best DX was working me on 40m from Frenni Fawr of course.

73
Frank.