Hauled my sorry backside up to Oxen Craig with my new IC705 and a Slim Jim for 2m activation. It was blowing about 30 to 40kts on top which meant a rather short stay. Not one QSO. I think Aberdeenshire is a VHF desert 
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Nice day for a hike Chris…
If you’d let me, @2M0WNA , @GM4JXP and @MM0RFN know about it, we would have tried for a QSO. I happen to have my hand held and kx2 in the car today (Westhill).
Without arranging skeds on here, whatsapp, twitter and the local email group, I rarely have 2m success around Aberdeenshire. With advance notice, success is often guaranteed, even from remote summits. The email group is on groups.io if you want to join it.
Nth-East-GM-HF-Chatter-Box-Net@groups.io | Messages
If you want to, a few of us have a whatsapp group. You’re welcome to join if you plan on doing more portable ops this year. DM me.
Oh, there is a 2m net on 145.550Mhz every day. They are always happy to help a SOTA activator.
Here’s what can happen when the stars line up:
73, Fraser MM0EFI
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Hi Chris and welcome to the SOTA family. I echo all that Fraser @MM0EFI said above. While 2m and 70cm are not as active SOTA-wise in this part of the world as in some others, a bit of judicious alerting can work wonders, as I have found on many occasions. Sorry to miss you this time but looking forward to getting you in the log again soon from your next activation. 73 Mike 
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Thanks, chaps; I will join the group and buy a portable HF antenna! It was fantastic weather so not a wasted walk. I’ll PM you Fraser.
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Sorry to hear your visit went unrewarded but you had some lovely views as we can see. I visited this hill on 14 May 2023 in the middle of a 2 week tour of the Aberdeenshire and Angus hills. During this time I received a fantastic amount of help and support from Fraser, the Aberdeen Group and various other amateurs in the area who had heard of my visit by internet, grapevine and just twiddling the dial. I was also operating on 70cm (on a Yaesu VX-7R max power 5w) which was viewed with some incredulity but they were all willing to ‘have a go’ with some superb results (including Wick on 70cm). With this track record and alerts posted the day before I got 7 contacts on 2m and 8 on 70cm. Without all this help I would have expected to have little or no luck as most locals had got used to not hearing anything on these bands so didn’t bother to keep monitoring.
Next time, remember to do your ‘advertising’ and alerting - as I am doing now as I am warning Fraser and others in the area who read the reflector, that we are currently planning to visit again in May 2024 (possibly a week earlier than last time) but haven’t got the bookings confirmed yet. Start re-erecting your 70cm masts now please so they can be tested before our arrival!! Hope to talk to you then Chris and good luck.
73 Viki M6BWA
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Welcome to the wonderful addiction of SOTA!
Make it yourself. Much cheaper and far more satisfying.
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Looking forward to it!
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MAKE a portable HF antenna.
EDIT: Richard beat me to it!
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I thought you were slow in responding!
I’ve had a stressful week so was sat like a zombie binge watching Griselda on Netflix on the big telly. I resisted the urge to open up the booze cabinet at 1.30pm 
Really I should have been out up Scald Law as the WX was not bad. I’ll do it tomorrow I think if it will be dry.
Hi Chris,
Yes, think that will pay off handsomely!
Hi Chris,
Unfortunate that you didn’t get any qso’s today. Lots of good advice on here though.
I managed to coincide a tour of some GM/NS summits with Viki (MM6BWA) last May which helped a lot.
Andy
MM7MOX
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Hi Viki,
Thanks for the advance warning about your GM tour this year.
I’m hoping to go back up to Sutherland this spring and will try to overlap with your visit again.
Andy
MM7MOX
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Hi Andy,
I’m hoping to get up a hill myself tomorrow, perhaps Penvalla (GM/SS-145), maybe talk to you from there unless you are CW only.
Andy
MM7MOX
OT:
- Do you have an expected time?
- Maybe a bit gusty so I will take the manly strong pole.
- And Penvalla would be a complete so a microphone would be in the bag.
@MM7RVC Chris, I’m not sure how much radio/electronics experience you have. But you should make yourself a link dipole first. If you search on here you’ll find designs and ideas. That’s not because it’s the best or worst or anything other than the easiest to build and have work well. Once you have made and used one for a while you can start on antennas that require more experience to build and skill to make work well. I’d make your dipole for 10/15/20/40 & 60m. (You can’t use 60 till you get a full licence but that will be something you’re already working towards.)
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I built an aeroplane, does that count? I’ll take a look, thanks for the advice. I’m studying for the intermediate at the moment.
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Did you do any soldering? I know a guy who is a whizz stripping and rebuilding bike engines but he doesn’t know which end of a soldering iron gets hot. 
Good man, have a 
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Excellent news Viki. Welcome back… Looking forward to working you on 2m and 70cm again (and Rod on HF too, of course). Maybe even a face-to-face meet up with some of us north-east stalwarts? 73 Mike
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Hi Andy,
I’ve alerted for 1230 but it may be closer to 1300 since I have to walk the dog before I set off for the hill.
Hopefully not too windy tomorrow.
Andy
MM7MOX
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Tx everyone for the positive response to the warning that we (with M0JLA) are reappearing (fingers crossed) in the Grampian region in May 2024. Accommodation now booked 4-11 May near Aboyne and 11-18 May near Aberlour - the same places as before. This has the disadvantage that we have already activatted most of the obvious and close summits but there a few uniques still out there (Brimmond Hill - if Fraser will sign our pass!) and some Pictish stones and castles to visit. We also expect to book a few days (1-4 May?) near Kirriemuir I think.
Mike, MM7MWL, a face to face sounds interesting but I doubt you will have time after looking at your QRZ site but here’s hoping!
73 Viki M6BWA
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