It’s been a while since I was on top of a hill with a radio, so I figured what better time than just as all of my favourite summits are going into “hard lockdown”.
There used to be a simple but very effective logsheet on the old Yahoo Groups files area. IIRC it was a PDF that was sized for A4, and when printed double sided folded to make four A5 landscape logsheets that would then go on a clipboard.
I’ve long lost my copy of the file - did the files area of the old Yahoo group ever get relocated to somewhere else, or am I doomed to fiddling around in Excel until I can get it just spot on?
By the way, I’m sending the spreadsheet source and the PDF for both my activator and Chaser log sheets - chose or change as you wish - no copyright or anything silly like that.
In the beginning I also had logbook printed sheets and clip boards. This was too bulky for me at some point.
Today I only take small thin notebooks (smaller than a postcard) and at least 2 pencils with me, which I can put into the soft case, which also contains the trx. If the cover is quite stiff and if the sheets are not that big, there is no need for a pad.
Hi Armin,
I use “write even when wet” pens but I’d love to find some computer printable paper that doesn’t dissolve when it gets wet. I know there are pads you can get, but I need just A4 sheets of paper.
All I have found so far is this:
I bought 2 waterproof notepads in early 2007. I use them when it’s too wet to use ordinary paper. I’m using A4 laser printer paper folded in half to A5 size giving 4 sides to use along with a sheet of corrugated plastic cut A5 size to support the paper other times. No printing needed, just write down time, call and reports. I note the band and summit elsewhere on the page. Even in drizzle and gentle rain, the A4 paper solution is usable if you have a large plastic bag to keep it covered. I have used the waterproof pad about 20 times in total, 2 of those when I forgot the A4 paper! A Staedtler plastic eraser will allow reuse of the waterproof pages many times over.
How wet do you intend to get Ed? I use normal printable A4 paper with my own version of your log layout (less ink required ) and while it might get a bit tatty at the edges, I have never had it disintegrate. I rarely sit out on a hillside without some kind of protective cover and that includes cover for the log. I must admit that swirling drizzle and snow is rather more challenging, but up in Scotland the rain and snow usually comes horizontally and is held at bay by whatever shelter I erect.
I did buy a pack of waterproof paper some years ago, but apart from using one sheet for test purposes, the remainder are still unused.
Orienteering maps are now printed almost exclusively on waterproof material. I think the one we use is called Tyvek. No idea how costly it is but might be well worth the additional expense for SOTA as it is for other outdoor activity.
I will ask when I get the chance.
73,
Rod
I’ve had one idea regarding the paper that I will try out - that’s glossy photo printing paper, which is available in A4 size and is not much more expensive than normal A4 paper. I’ll do some tests - the question will be whether my pens then smudge easily on the paper?
Tyvek is a waterproof/breatheable membrane used in cavity walls. On that kind of scale it is dirt cheap - the smaller the bit you buy, the more expensive it is. MYOG enthusiasts like it for making tents, tarps, Bivvi bags etc. You can buy pre-cut A4 sheets on the popular auction site for ~50p a pop in packs of 10.
Thanks @DD5LP for the files, and all for your thoughts. I suspect @MM0FMF might be on to something. Plenty of activators seem to do just fine with just a small notepad - I know G8XYJ is one of them, having seen him use one many a time.
I had a quick reply from the Club map printer.
He uses a material called Pretex which is German made and distributed in A4 sheets by a firm called BML in Romsey, UK. They currently charge £185 per 2000 sheets of A4 120gsm. A laser printer is required - ink-jet washes off! The resulting maps are pretty robust and survive pouring rain, blood and liquid mud as well as being folded and unfolded.
I am not in the market for this solution as I have a supply of compact waterproof notebooks with an unlabelled grid.
73,
Rod
Put simply - A4 is the rest-of-the-world equivalent to US letter size (and usually something created for one will scale without problems to the other) and A5 is half the size of A4 (so you can make two A5 pages from one A4 printout).
I love the “how to calculate weight/postage” from that wiki page. A0 paper is 1sqm in area. Each size is 1/2 the previous. So A4 is 1/16th the size of A0. If the paper weight is 80gsm (grams per square metre) then 1 sheet of A4 is 80/16 = 5g. and 15 sheets would be 15x5 =75g.
The Metric System has such beauty in how the units all inter-relate and how the calculations can be done in your head quite easily. (work out the weight for 15 sheets of legal paper if the weight is given in lbs/sq. ft!). Notwithstanding that, the Metric System allows us to have burgers with such elegant names as “The Royale with Cheese” instead of the functional Quarter Pound Cheeseburger.
) and while it might get a bit tatty at the edges, I have never had it disintegrate. I rarely sit out on a hillside without some kind of protective cover and that includes cover for the log. I must admit that swirling drizzle and snow is rather more challenging, but up in Scotland the rain and snow usually comes horizontally and is held at bay by whatever shelter I erect. 
