Last Monday we (M6BWA and M0JLA) set off for our usual short December jaunt to the Clwydian hills (not knowing they were on the brink of becoming famous as the possibly the next new National Park) with some reservations about the amount of damage that had been done by Storm Darraigh - especially by fallen trees. Our first goal was the Horseshoe Pass above Llangollen and we were unsurprised to be flagged down, just after crossing the bridge, to be told that the road was blocked and we’d have to go round to the other access. No, it wasn’t a fallen tree but a lorry that had started up the slope and expired in the middle of the road, thus blocking it completely. Back through the 20mph Llangollen and onto the rather interesting (very narrow and a bit winding) road marked ‘No HGVs’ as they wouldn’t have got past the first bend. We arrived a bit late at the closed Ponderosa cafe (‘might re-open in Spring’), changed in the cold wind and scuttled up our respective hills (we like s2s!). Me to the left Moel y Gamelin (GW/NW-042) and him to Cyrn-y-Brain (GW/NW-043) where we arrived at roughly the same time. As we were tight for time and the wind was cold, I hoped to avoid erecting the dipole and thus I huddled down with the VX7-R and RH770 telescopic aerial. Within 10 mins I’d bagged 5 2m and 7 70cm contacts including s2s with Rod on both bands. This was going well, but the high masts on the second hill (usually death to 2m fm)
seemed rather far away as I walked back into the wind and over the little hillocks before the descent to the pass, the car, the cafe and the next hill.
Up this hill I went more slowly (into the wind and I’m not fit) and decided that the small shelter was facing the wrong way, as usual, so sat on the outside and started erecting the dipole and getting out my essential black and yellow Sotabeam filter.
This usually deals with the interference from the mast on 2m but, unfortunately I haven’t yet found a 70cm filter and this is getting more of a problem throughout the UK. Rod had arrived on Gamelin and we managed a quick contact on 70cm but 2m was proving awkward, as expected. It took me some time to unravel the filter and long coax, not helped by, thanks to my cold hands, tangling slightly with the stones on which I was sitting. I was just surveying the filter which I hadn’t yet plugged into the dipole when the message came from a (cold and somehat impatient) M0JLA ‘How much longer are you going to take to fit that (slightly impolite adjective omitted) filter?’ The reply came more swiftly ‘Quite some time as the coax is in my left hand and the filter in my right. They seem to have parted company…’ Rod went strangely quiet -
and wondered how I was managing to actually hear what he was saying from 2+ miles away in a strong wind! Well, of course, this longish piece of wire
was acting as an aerial (so why did I normally bother with the dipole and all the rest of the paraphenalia??) - or my ‘long piece of wet string’ that had been quoted to me when a contact was particularly strong and often not from very far away.
I duly logged this as a 2m contact (51/51) and decided there was no way in which I could rejoin the filter to the wire so I got on with trying to make 4 2m contacts with any combination of stick aerial, RH770 and dipole. As expected, this was not successful (I could hear none of the replies) and only spoke to MW1DSB in Denbigh who was near enough to cut through the interference. As the problem was that I couldn’t hear the chasers but they could hear me, they followed me to 70cm (not ideal but I could hear something between burst of ‘mast’) so I chalked up 7 70cm contacts in about 10 mins and the hill was qualified on 70cm if not 2m. While I was sitting there the summit was visted by 2 Open Reach vans - the first of which stopped dead at the sight of me sitting on my heap of stones - and I somehow felt he was trying to decide whether I was the cause of whatever problem was causing them to hurtle up the hill but he eventually drove off.having filed me as yet another of life’s mysteries (aka ‘oddballs’). Once i realised that I wasn’t going to make any more 2m contacts I packed up quickly and marched back down the hill (wind behind me!) to the car and thermos.
Rod discovered we had enough kit between us to make an alternative fitting for the filter but we were not then expecting to visit another be-masted hill. On Tuesday it was the well known pair of Foel Fenlli (GW/NW-051 and Moel Famau (GW/NW-044) with the the Penbara Pass and car parks between. Was the road going to be open? Well there was no notice at the turn - but a large red 'Road Closed Ahead about a mile further on. After some thought we turned round and found the alternative access from the other end which is much narrower but no-one else was moving in this area and the car park was reached - totally empty and a familiar red sign at the end of our usual road. Hello - there were a couple of cars in the (free) layby behind the sign and it looked as if they had come up the usual route. Anyway we booted up and went our separate ways (those s2s again!) and i chose to ascend Foel Fenlli first as it is rather steep and I want the easier walk later. The wind was brisk again and some minor fallen trees had been pushed aside but a lot of water had come down the path and even toppled a small leafy tree just off the path. Up to the ramparts by a good flights of steps. The path had been improved since my visit last year and some heather cut (on a 10 - 15 year rotation according to a Ranger I met later -primarily for the benefit of the black grouse which are found there). On to the cairn, up with the dipole (too cold for photos until I get out of the wind) and 16 contacts (9 at 70cm - a popular frequency for local chasers) in 25 mins which was very pleasing.
Pictures and more to follow tomorrow I hope.
