Well the Trans-Atlantic S2S weekend is finally here, so I have set up a thread ready for all the excellent reports of this event. Hopefully conditions will be a significant improvement on the April event. Looking forward to making many S2S contacts. 
73, Gerald G8CXK/P (aka G4OIG)
Well, I did try, but not hard enough! G/WB-005, Saturday 1st Nov, 15:40 start.
It was a last minute affair, after a lot of dithering over which equipment to take:
QMX, which only goes up to 14MHz
FT817 which covers all bands, and the T1 tuner to match it.
FT817 plus 30W amplifier, will cover all bands, but T1 wonât cope with 30W so limited antenna choice.
10m vertical with 3 elevated radials, or 40/30/20 linked dipole?
Hmmm. I took FT817, amplifier, linked dipole and 10m vertical. I was only going to put up one of the aerials, and would decide which based on the spots I could see on arrival.
Very few for 10m at the time, most on 17m and 15m it seemed.
So, of my available options, 20m it had to be. Big mistake. The spot was met with a wall of noise, and after a few minutes of trying to get everyone to stop hammering out their callsigns and listen, a big gun arrived, and started calling CQ. I did manage 3 QSOs, SM0OGQ, IU5RFA and IN3YKS - thank you!
A QSY allowed me to hear DL/HB9BIN/P, and we exchanged for a nice S2S, thanks Juerg.
Then the pileup found me again, and another curtain of lashing rain, so I called it a day.
I donât know whether any transatlantic stations called, sorry if you did and I missed you!
A useful exercise, I need to improve my aerial collection. And I did have a nice walk along the ridge, as, true to form, the rain cleared once I had packed up!
Not much transatlantic success for me and the weather was terrible with a couple of heavy bands of rain passing through.
There were several spots on 10m when Iâd done faffing with testing a home brew 23cm filter - but I only had my ground plane antenna and no dipole. I heard @M8BIA working @K2CPT I think it was, but as I tried to work him he faded away and Iâd missed the opening.
I only managed 1 other transatlantic contact, but it wasnât a S2S.
Tried some SSTV on HF and VHF but didnât really get anywhere.
Might try again tomorrow.
The weather forecast looks better for tomorrow (Sunday) here in Devon although still a chance of showers.
Iâm hoping to activate Kitt Hill G/DC-003, a drive up summit, with an 897D and 50W in the afternoon. Probably try the higher bands 10m to 15m SSB to start and see what happens. Very weather dependant so may not happen. I also had my âflu vaccination today. So far feeling fine! 
Were you at the back of the transmitter? I was in the shelter and saw your spot, I jumped up but couldnât see you.
I only had a hour so just one S2S for me with DL/HB9HXG/P.
SNAP on my way down as the first heavy shower stopped.
For my first participation, I headed to F/PE-103 with my TX-500 running 10 watts and a 5 m vertical whip.
The weather was better than expected, with the forest glowing in warm autumn colours.
After a steady climb through the trees, the summit finally appeared ahead of me. On the way up, I enjoyed some beautiful views over the valleys, a reminder of why I love combining hiking and radio.
Once at the top, it was time to set up the antenna. I replaced my usual 4 Ă 2.5 m radials with a new configuration: three groups of three radials of different lengths. The goal was to reduce the RF issues I had previously noticed on higher bands, especially 10 m, despite a good CMC.
This time I also brought my CW key to a summit for the first time. I started learning Morse code in 2024 and had managed a few chasing QSOs, but I had given up on activating in CW, mainly out of fear of the pile-up. Recently, though, I found new motivation to give it another try.
Since I arrived a bit early, I began my operation with a self-spot on 20 m, which quickly brought a good number of QSOs. Then I turned to S2S chasing, mostly around Europe. The 15 m band seemed open, so I listened there for a while and managed a few transatlantic contacts, though no S2S at first.
Eventually, patience paid off, I logged ̶t̶w̶o̶ three transatlantic CW S2S contacts with @WN3F @W4GO and @K6ARK 
As I was packing up, nature offered a perfect closing gift: a stunning Brocken spectre, hanging in the mist just below the summit.
By the end of the activation, I had logged 37 QSOs, including 14 S2S, which made it a very satisfying day on the air. It was also my first time making CW contacts from a summit, a small milestone that felt rewarding. On top of that, my new radial setup worked perfectly, with no trace of the RF issues I had experienced on the higher bands. A good mix of progress, learning, and enjoyment.
Edit: After reviewing my log, itâs not two but three transatlantic S2S. I forgot to mention @WN3F in my original post, shame on me
Tough day on G/SP-004 but pretty rewarding!
Not sure if I am out tomorrow. I have a lot of kit to dry out!
Martin
I had a good afternoon on my local summit Rombalds Moor G/NP-028. Radio conditions werenât as good as hoped. Although, for once, Kp was low so was the sunspot count. There was rapid and deep QSB.
The forecast was for rain and wind in the morning but with it dying out around lunchtime. I set off at 11.20UTC (itâs a walk from home) and it was windy plus a couple showers, but not too much. The forecast was right as it didnât rain again and the wind died down during the activation. For once Yorkshire might have had the best weather here!
I took my homebrew QRP CW rig and set up my 10/12/15m GP. It has one radial for each band and the radiator has crocodile clip links so itâs easy to change band. I set up for 15m and immediately worked @WN3F followed by a couple of EA summits. A CQ call brought several EU chasers and also a US S2S - I kept asking for the summit ref and eventually got there. I did call him again later just to be sure.
I worked a total of 6 US, 2 VE and 3 EU S2S. All were on 15m except for one repeat on 10m. I also had a few contacts on 12m but no S2S. At the end I tried the 17m GP but only a single EU caller. I was disappointed not to have more although I wasnât expecting any S2S.
I kept warm with lots of layers but the feet still got cold!
Worked a few S2S this morning around 1430z. from W2/NJ-008,Albeit very bad reports of RFI, I guess thatâ what I get for lugging my 857 out and trying to do a little QRO. Used my 40m efhw, trying adjusting Mic gain and Proc levels and reducing power and changing bands, but no dice. I was pretty close to one of the inverted V legs and Iâm guessing thatâs what it was in the endâŠ.. Thanks to @OE/OM1ALT/p , @HB9EAJ@s57s,@s57s, and @F4WBN for their patience and trying their best, despite my awful audioâŠ
Hi,
Just a quick note to confirm I did a joint activation of EA2/NV-092 with my friend Javi, EA2GM.
It seems we werenât the only to use a tent: that saved the day from the constant rain!
Iâm just putting all the gear off the rucksack to let them dry.
Iâll get back later to add a report, but we are happy we logged a number of S2S and DX today, thanks all!
73 Ignacio EA2BD
I donât know why I made the same mistake: when I eventually got the tarp and groundsheet done (despite the strong wind trying to blow them all over the hillside) and after all the extra faff of cabling this rarely-used QRO setup away from the shack [FT857, ext. ATU], I suppose that I was keen to get started.
Luckily the rain has stopped before arrival (and stayed dry) and I felt pretty snug under the tarp. But my activation time came to an abrupt end after about 45 minutes when I realized how cold I had become. Too engrossed in the radio. I should have learnt my lesson from a previous occasion and layered up at the start, wore my alpine hat and drank the hot coffee during not after the activation. Wise men know itâs easier to keep warm than try to get warm again once youâre already cold.
What a fun and productive day here! We enjoyed nice weather in Maryland and Iâm sorry for rain experienced by many of our friends across the pond.
W3/CR-007 is fairly near parking, about half a mile walk up around 300 feet of vertical ascent, so I brought the âbig ironâ Elecraft K3, lightweight furniture, and two antennas for a pack weight of around 30 pounds.
After enjoying a quick view from the summit I set up just on the northeast side of the peak out of the way of fall foliage peepers and hoping to get some directivity towards Europe.
First I used my newly-built âPERformer (Portable, Elevated, Resonant)â quarter-wave vertical based on the KJ6ER design. The elevated tuned radials are much less lossy than a small number of radials on ground. Iâd marked a 17â telescopic whip for different bands and put together a pair of elevated radials with spade terminals to change effective length and adjust resonance - these were about 90 degrees apart pointed northeast (you might be able to see the orange wires). With the K3 at 80W power I saw 15m spots from RBN stations in Europe of 30 to 40 db which impressed me! But this type of antenna makes it tough to chase: after being spoiled using multi-band antennas I didnât want to get up and change bands only to perhaps learn that the activator had gone away or was inaudible. All of my contacts before 1430Z were with this antenna.
After that I switched to my Aerial 51 404-UL off-center-fed dipole thatâs served me well in previous S2S events. It tunes up on all of the HF bands I wanted and itâs a joy to chase S2S with it.
At times I fear that running QRO plus the receiving noise at my site made me a bit of an alligator (big mouth, no ears). I appreciate the persistence from those who kept trying to make the contacts.
By 1600Z my 12 Ah LiFePo4 battery was essentially depleted, so I packed up. A bigger battery next time!
My total was 63 QSOs with 15 trans-Atlantic S2S plus a few S2S in North America.
73 and thanks for the contacts,
Roy WN3F
F4LEK, thanks so much for the S2S and the wonderful report. You did great with the key. I will post a full report once I download the logâŠ
I started my day early, departing San Diego, California around 3:15 am local time to drive 2 hrs 15 min to the Josephine Peak (W6/CT-025) trailhead just North of Los Angeles. With over an hour until sunrise, I started hiking by headlamp, my pack heavy with an Elecraft K3, 12 Ah battery, 25 ft mast, and homebrew 10 m and 15 m Moxons. The hike follows a dirt road up about 6.5 km and 600 m of elevation gain to a small summit that drops away steeply in all directions. Ara (N6ARA), Mark (KD7DTS), Di (KO6BTM), and Devin (W6DVN) were about 40 minutes behind me which meant I would have time to set up my station and operate a bit before they arrived.
This would be Markâs (KD7DTS) Mtn Goat summit, so not only did I want a big station to have a decent shot at EU S2S, I also wanted Mark to have a chance to run it and have some fun.
I arrived at the summit just before 7 am local time and quickly began setting up the station. With no cell reception, I could not check for spots, and had to either tune around to find stations, or begin calling CQ and let RBN do itâs magic with my alert.
I began calling on 15 m, and quickly F4WBN returned with a booming S9+ signal. A few minutes and a couple of contacts later, OK2PDT picked me up, also with a strong signal. Then after another US chaser, I could hear an S2S station starting with EA calling. Eventually, I pulled EA3GNU out of the QSB and managed my first EU S2S of the day.
Interestingly, a shortwave listener in Netherlands heard our QSO and sent me a SWL report via email with a recording of the QSO from his perspective. Very cool!
DL2DXA picked me up next, then a string of US chasers.
I took a break and let the others operate the rig a bit before getting back on and running 10 m for a bit.
I got S57S in the log, then a number of US chasers before F4LEK returned my call Summit-to-Summit. He had a great signal to Southern California.
Tuning around 10 m SSB, I heard CN50MV calling from Morocco and worked him.
Then running on 10 m CW, I logged GW0PLP, but Iâm not sure if it was S2S or not. EA2BD and EA2GM were my final EU QSOs before we packed up and headed down the hill.
I operated for a total of about 75 minutes and managed 4 (maybe 5? if GW0PLP was S2S) EU S2S contacts and a rad SWL report from a gentleman in the Netherlands. I had 9 total EU QSOs and Morocco. I wish I could have spent more time operating, and I suspect that if I could have accessed spots, I may have been able to work more than you.
RBN data from the day shows the system was working well:
And with a 100w station and decent antenna, I am sure there were others out there calling me and trying to get through the louder stations. Iâm sorry I was unable to work you.
Thanks for another wonderful event and congratulations to Mark on earning his goat!
73
K6ARK
Adam
Definitely. You had a good signal here in EU. But QSB was definitely part of the event. I had you on your first spot on 15m, time to send s2s and reply and boom, gone, dead silent.
I am quite happy with my 21 transatlantic QSOs / 9 S2S from HB/AG-012.
In total I had 55 QSOs and 18 S2S.
ConDX were quite OK, however there was a lot of QSB, some of the transatlantic S2S needed quite a lot of patience. Special thanks to Scott K2CPT for the persistence, it took me quite a while to get the callsign complete. It was my first and only transatlantic S2S in SSB :-).
I even heard Adam K6ARK on a W6 summit, however couldnât finish a S2S with him. I heard him during a window of approx. 10 minutes with quite strong signals up to S5, but obviously there were plenty of chasers from the US who were louder than me. Once I thought he heard me, but this was exactly when battery 1 was depleted and it took me a few seconds to connect the other oneâŠ
When it started drizzling at 1600 UTC, i packed up and went home.
73 Jens HB9EKO
So, it wasnât just me troubled by QSB. It took me 3 or 4 attempts to get one callsign right I always think the other station must think Iâm an idiot. It didnât help when â on two occasions â impatient QRO EU chasers sent their callsigns over the weak station mid QSO.
The QSB was bad sometimes on 15m but working east-coast USA on 10m was better. Maybe thatâs because I was only briefly on 10m.
Same here, even when the activator repeatedly calls for the S2S station only, they keep sending their calls over and over. Very frustrating. I also heard some âmusicâ being played on the 15 m CW portion for quite some time yesterday 
That might have been interference from a broadcast station, I recorded this video last Saturday and it was from the Voice of Turkey.
Maybe, but it didnât sound like that. It sounded more like modulations produced by a synthesizer, very reminiscent of a UFO fantasy sound.
