Pre-Easter Benelux Countries activations

NIck G4OOE and I are embarking on a mission next week to SOTA Complete Belgium and Luxembourg. We start on Saturday morning after leaving the ferry in Zeebrugge with ON-027 Pottelberg. From there we plan to make an anticlockwise circuit of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Maastrict area of The Netherlands to take in PA-002 and PA-003. We will also activate the border summit of F/NO-047 on Saturday, and if we have time on our last day, two German summits on our way back to Europoort where we will catch the ferry back to Hull.

Nick will be taking care of 40m CW and SSB whilst I will take care of 30m CW, 20m CW and SSB. If Nick is still working the 40m band and I have worked 20m down to nothing and there is free time I will try calling on the 17m band. Operating time on each summit will be a maximum of one hour to accommodate the number of planned activations.

After hearing ON6ZQ working split succesfully a few weeks ago on CW, listening up 1 KHz ± we will also be operating the same way. So please do not call us on our transmit frequency on CW as we will not be listening there. We will check our TX frequency for activity before we start up and close down on that band. On SSB we will transmit and receive on the same frequency.

73 Phil G4OBK

3 Likes

Looking out to meet you and Nick again!

Great stuff Peter - we’ll see you Sunday then…

Phil

Will be listening for you.
Let alone the many that will be calling back no doubt.
The LX is going to be so desirable for many like myself.

Plus thanks again for making this trip may the propagation gods be kind.

karl

Hi Phil
SOTA ON/ON-027 is also valid for the WWFF program as ONFF-318

Would be interesting if you submit your log in the WWFF program too ?

73 44 Danny ON4VT

Well what a fantastic day we had today, much better than yesterday…

Good weather, improved condx on HF and great company meeting up with Belgian Association Manager Peter ON4UP and Franz, ON9CBQ who made a special effort to meet us at out hotel in Bastogne, Belgium tonight. Guess who bought the drinks? (Generous Belgians!).

Slightly sozzled now but able to write this…

Our day started with ON-019 and 3 summits after that on LX-004 we finished. I am now SOTA Complete Luxembourg.

Between us today we made 331 QSOs on 40m, 30m and 20m in CW/SSB. Working split on CW when required really paid off… and I got 179 QSOs out of a single 7 AH LiFePO4 battery and there was still at least 25% left at the end! That battery ran an FT-857 at the 30 watt output for the 179 QSOs.

Two Pics of us in the restaurant tonight with ON4UP and ON9CBQ, and of Nick and I after I went QRT on 20m SSB with Nick G4OOE who was still on 40m SSB then. Nick even worked Geoff 2E0NON on 40m SSB, quite an achievement that!

73 Phil

v

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We have been overwhelmed on this trip to the Benelux by the hospitality of the radio amateurs we have met.

Yesterday we were activating on ON/ON-006 and F/NO-047 - one of the soon to be deleted (I understand) border SOTAs. We were paid a visit by Christophe ON6ZQ who gave us a present… a box of the finest Belgian Chocolates.

Picture is of ON6ZQ presenting G4OOE with our chocolates.

73 Phil

4 Likes

If you go down to the woods today.
Your in for a big surprise.
And its certainly not a teddy bears picnic. :open_mouth:

Gents, big thanks for running through Luxembourg yesterday. Well happy working both Sota,s thus gaining another country association.

Karl

Great signal into IO93 yesterday (Sunday) Phil. Was very pleased to work you on 30m. My XYL went shopping so I had a short time to play in the garden with my youngest son and the FT817.

I was actually targeting GI4ISJ/P on GI/AH-001, but was made up that you came up on 30m with a good signal at around the same time. I did work Pete shortly after yourself on 40m, so it was a good morning’s work!

73, Colin M1BUU

Thanks to Colin and Karl for the feedback. :smile: We had another great day finishing off on the highest point in Belgium - Signal Botrange ON-001. Good to visit again, this time without the mosquitoes and midges of June…

Total QSOs for both Op’s over the five summits today was 360. A very successful day, and we are staying in Viviers, Belgium, tonight in a large corporate hotel. We cannot afford the exorbitant price of the breakfast, so we are on for an energy bar breakfast and an early start tomorrow, please be aware. The plan has been updated on the alerts and we will consider what to activate on Wednesday tomorrow night.

73 and thanks to all chasers for the QSOs

Phil & Nick

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Nice to catch you and Nick S2S from ON and LX.
Was disappointed to miss you on Sunday morning from GI/AH-001. I was packing up when I heard you call me but the antenna was already on the ground and wouldn’t tune! By the time I’d raised the pole again you were gone.
My little GI tour has finished and am returning home tomorrow. I’ll be back for more bog trotting later…
73
Pete

Nick & Phil
Many thanks for another five summits today, three of them new ones for me.

You certainly got a move on; I nearly missed you on the last two and as I don’t do 06:45 I expect I shall miss at least the first one tomorrow. :frowning:
Take care on the slagheaps.

73,
Rod

Hi Rod

Just rose…

Glad you worked got Nick on all five summits yesterday… You never know we may be late on ON-026 so pop into the shack as soon as you get up. We are one hour ahead of UK time.

OK Pete, I’d love to get across to do some GI summits. On the list!

We are looking forward to meeting Lutz DL3SBA today on ON-028. Hoping we get there in time… if it works out Lutz can do the SSB working from the summit and we will cover the CW.

73 Phil

hello Phil nice to make a contact with you on ON/ON-026 on14mhz CW . I could detect a voice on 14 MHz SSB but don’t think a QSO could have been made. My 7 el Log Periodic is still pointing up north from here as I am still procrastinating about forking out a bundle for a new rotator to get it turning again. It looks like you are having a great SOTA holiday.
73 de Ian …

Damn not up early enough this morning :unamused:

Oh well you folks must be clocking up some mileage.
A most unusual holiday by some standards but in y eyes its brilliant, different, visit parts of worlds never even heard of let alone been there etc.
Hope breakfast was a good un.
I get called tight, certainly would check if breakfast is included in price.

May the conditions be kind via the weather and ionosphere.

Catches you both on air real soon

Karl

QSO count down today…310 in total including a very rare one, with the President of SOTA G3WGV, John Linford, who is jointly responsible with G3CWI Richard, for what I am typing now and for creating what we do in SOTA…

My best QSO today was with VK5CZ Ian, (thanks for thread comments). I was giving up on 20m CW early morning, and I heard this slightly off freq CW signal calling me. We won’t beat that quality of QSO this trip…

High spot of the day was taking over the station of Lutz DL3SBA (With permission) on ON-028 and meeting Noah, his St Bernard dog…what a pair of characters they are. Plugged the paddle key into the TS-480, turned the keyer on and set the speed in the menu and away we went…

We departed eventually, bidding our farewells, en-route visiting a McDonalds roadhouse in Maastrict for our late lunch. We went on to park up for PA-003 (Thanks Peter ON4UP for superb parking place - shorter walk). Then part way through the activation Lutz turned up with Noah earing gifts - two German artisan beers. I drank mine…Nick driving so saving his for later. We were overwhelmed - thank you Lutz!

Tomorrow, last day I need to now plan. This is a bonus day. We have completed our initial itinerary now. We have a few options, when decided I will post alerts. Breakfast 7.00am (06z) we leave by 07z for the Ferry at Europoort, with a few summits along the way.

73 and thanks to the chasers, especially the spotters,

Phil & Nick

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With rain forecast we have decided to head north where it is likely to be showery rather than heavy, and finish off the 4 summits in Netherlands activation PA-004 and PA-005. .

Here is Nick operating on SSB using Lutz DL3SBA station with Heil Headset and PTT switch. Nick liked using this method on the formidable ON-028 summit…

Here I am operating from PA-002, last one of the day where I made 63 QSOs. Condx on 30m and 20m were very good. It did rain but not too heavily to disrupt proceedings. It was almost dark when we left the summit:

Here is Lutz’s St Bernard dog Noah on ON-028:

This will be our last posting on the trip as there is no free wifi on the Rotterdam - Hull Ferry.

73 Phil & Nick

7 Likes

Hello Phil and Nick, thanks for the summits and lovely photographs. Good boy Noah 8) A bit of soundtrack below for the ON-028 activation. Very good of Lutz to join you and lend some kit.

Cheers
Mike

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Thank’s for the nice meeting on ON/ON-028 and PA/PA-003 to Phil and Nick.
I hope, that you have enjoyed your trip to ON PA and LX country. Very nice to meet you on the hills.
Here you are operating on ON/ON-028:

And here a impression from PA/PA-003:

73 de Lutz and dog Noah

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Nick & Phil
Many thanks for the summits last week. A lot of summits in a few days!
Tks!

73,Sake