Staying near Sauchen, near Aberdeen, I escaped the holiday cottage on 21 June 2022 to try & achieve my first GM activation. Fraser MM0EFI had alerted for Brimmond Hill nearby, so I chose this summit on his recommendation.
I started the walk from the north west, at the highest point on the B993 between Torphins & Millbank, OS ref 650048, What3Words sank.dean.purified. At height of 298m shown on the OS where a forestry track starts.
I parked in the layby, but there is a parking area behind off the road. In fact, the track is good enough to drive a mile up the track to the rough edge of the forest at OS650037, arose.stables.famous. A mountain biker’s car following me had gone straight there, it would have saved me two miles walk in total had I done the same!
The path leaves there & gradually ascends with the trees getting thinner until it is just moorland. Easy walking for most on a rough path, but I was off colour today, so went slowly with several stops.
At a bend in the path at about 460m, a narrow path goes to the right to a small cairn/pile of stones at 667033, basics.declining.wept. As this was well within the AZ, I based myself here. (Alternatively follow the original path until it meets another track, turn right, head SE & veer off for the actual summit of 471m.)
The Slim Jim was erected at 5m on my pole & tried to contact Fraser MM0EFI, but he was having bad QRM from the masts on Brimmond Hill GM/ES-086. However a full contact was made eventually for a S2S on 2m. I was using my old Kenwood G71TH handy with an external Pacer LiFePo battery.
Meanwhile Viki MM6BWA/P was calling from GM/CS-030 near Glenshee, & another S2S resulted on 2m. However despite several attempts, we couldn’t manage a QSO on 70cm, & she failed to qualify on that band with only 3 QSOs. A quick QSO with her other half, Rod MM0PLA/P gave me three contacts.
Weather cloudy with a mild breeze, fabulous views across the Don valley & towards Deeside.
That’s where things ended as three incomplete QSOs followed, 2 @ /M at Aviemore & Dunrobin & a GM4 somewhere. So no point today, but at least I had my first GM activation plus 8 S2S points. On the descent I remembered that I hadn’t spotted myself! That might have pulled in another QSO or two, but never mind. Spot yourself before setting up is my new motto!
So on balance a good activation, but as 2m seems a bit of a desert, hf gives better results as the database for this hill shows. (As a postscript Elaine, my XYL, & I drove up the track the next day to look at some interesting wild flowers.) John GM0MHF.
) without resorting to HF.
. On Orkney & in Pitlochry we started putting a ‘setting up spot’ on while we/I faffed around sorting the antenna etc (Nic doesn’t faff; it’s just a man thing apparently…) . Then we could sit down and find an actual frequency, if necessary. It seemed to help the chasers prepare/tune up on the correct band etc.