March 19th 2013 was much like any other day driving my car around Macclesfield,when at precisely 1450hrs I heard a strange noise as though I was dragging a hedgehog along the road…it turned out to be Tom M1EYP scratching his beard across the microphone warning me I had entered a Sota activation area…I barely had time to speak to return the call, when from nowhere appeared 2 bounty hunters on horseback, Cool hand Liam and his Father Wild Tom Hickock…before I knew it they had lassooed me and pulled me out of the carriage and were dragging me across the shale to the place they called The Cloud.
They dismounted their steeds and kindly removed the rope from around my neck…Wild Tom said this was the first part of the initiation ceremony…the next part was to carry Wild Tom and his rucksack to the summit…what did he take me for , even the Arnold Shwarzenegger of donkey and mule world couldnt carry that weight…( and I wasnt referring to the rucksack)…Well how else could I make the approach to the cloud a little more exciting…
Ok joking aside now. May I offer my most sincere thanks to Tom and Liam for allowing me the privilege of encountering my first summit activation…the whole experience from start to finish was absolutely electric…its certainly in the top ten of things I have done in my life…the views were astounding…the whole encounter was awesome, until Tom said right Russ lets pack up and head downwards…I could have stayed there for hours. Also thanks to my first activation contact Edward 2E0NSR…My qualifying contact Mike M0XOC…My good friends Steve and Steph 2W0JYN & MW6SHJ…also to Ray G0DMV…Terry M6TMM and Mark M6CDD.
Cq Sota…Cq Sota…Cq summits on the air.
This is M6RGF/P saying thanks to all, this also includes the management team.
73 and hope to work you further down the log from another summit.
Ah the condemned man speaks! Condemned to a life of activating. You reminded me of the first activation I did (part of a club SOTA experience day) when it was all new and exciting - I stayed for 4 hours on the summit. I couldn’t stop talking about the experience when I got home - near bored the XYL to death. Well, as many will tell you, the newness wears off, but the exciting part remains. Your mind will now turn to looking for things to use up on the hills, new pieces of kit, clothing, etc, etc.
Welcome to the activating club. Out again this weekend?
when it was all new and
exciting - I stayed for 4 hours on the summit. I couldn’t stop talking
about the experience when I got home - near bored the XYL to death.
Well, as many will tell you, the newness wears off, but the exciting
part remains.
I find my interest in SOTA is very much like my interest in curry. The newness and excitement wears off but then you go for something a little ‘hotter’!
Later this year I’m hoping to do some (what I consider!) quite serious walking which I never would have contemplated when I started SOTA - just two-ish years ago on Bardon Hill.
The thrill of .making a couple of hundred contacts, followed by the
misery of logging them into the Database
Lol!
On Thursday I broke my QSO record, I had 62 contacts to log into the database, that seems tedious enough! I’m not very ‘up’ on computers so I’m not in to all this new fangled logging and up loading stuff, I still do it the old way via the SOTADATA entry form.
Russ - welcome to SOTA activating! There is so much scope for things to do so I guess you’ll have a ball. 2FM is brilliant from a hill top, the distances covered are quite amazing. I think 2FM is a good place to start.
Totally agree, Colin. Russ is lucky enough to live in the South Pennines and a few hours working from somewhere like G/SP-004, with a simple dipole, will fill his log book very quickly.
No no no. Russ will confirm that I demonstrated a much more sensible way to do SOTA - operate for about 25 minutes then pack up and clear off! It was a job to do that. Russ was so buzzing with excitement that he clearly was not feeling the cold (me and Liam were), so the responsibility to call time on the activation rested with me. I don’t do long activations…
…except quite often. Russ, regarding those longer activations we discussed - you will find them at:
My longer activations have usually been reserved for the last summit of the day when the weather has been superb - for example, The Begwyns GW/MW-025 7th July 2007 (the last of 5 summits that day) when I overstayed by an hour and a half and had to explain to the XYL why I would be late home: phone call made at 22:15 local time and I reached home at 01:00 local the next morning.
Russ, regarding those longer activations we discussed - you will find them at:
Thanks Tom…that answers the question of you camping out overnight…had a nice phone call from Mick 2E0YYY with an offer to join him on another activation this weekend…unfortunately I have family committments…had another nice phone call from Dave M3XIE…and as you can see several positive posts from other amateurs.
I will just take the opportunity to thank all the amateurs/Sotaists who have left messages on this post, and hope to catch them all on summits in the future.
Thanks again for yesterday Tom…that was better than any medicine the doctor has given me in the last 4 months…very much appreciated.
On Thursday I broke my QSO record, I had 62 contacts to log into the
database, that seems tedious enough! I’m not very ‘up’ on computers so
I’m not in to all this new fangled logging and up loading stuff, I
still do it the old way via the SOTADATA entry form.
If you don’t add any comments you could probably enter 60 contacts in less than 3 minutes.
No need to use a mouse, you can tab and use up down arrows to change every field.
It makes activation logs a snip.
I put the signal report in “Comments” as this imports directly into my real log (HRD).
That adds a couple of seconds/entry, but as 70% of reports are S599 R599, I just paste this in with Ctrl v for the majority of entries.
The QSO time increments with an up arrow.
Mode and Frequency stay the same (or can be modified with a single key press).
The only entry is a call sign.
That takes under a second (unless you’re a pecker, but that was another thread!)
So yes, one up arrow, a tab, 5 letters and a CR.
8 key presses in less than 3 secs is quite attainable I’d say!
I’ll time myself and give you a real world figure
Pete
[Edit] just entered 10 entries from yesterdays log in 27 secs, most of that trying to read my writing!
Actually, you are probably right: I am indeed a pecker and I just timed a five character callsign plus “/P” and did it in four seconds. One doesn’t realise how fast it goes!
Transfer that dexterity to another sort of key and we’ll soon have you chasing amongst the pack on 7.032MHz.
In reply to M0CGH:
I have also always wanted to do an overnighter but I’ve never actually managed it. Maybe this summer.
Tried it once - the night when G/NP-025 Thorpe Fell Top was replaced by G/NP-032 Cracoe Fell. The WX was dire - and if I say it was dire, it was dire! Almost put me off for life - the subject has been discussed with Paul G4MD several times, but we always seem to find cheap Travelodge rooms instead.
