Decided to make an early start in order to catch the /M stations on their way to work/skool run. Bad move as the wx was pants. Never mind! Trudged up to the summit only to find myself soaked with that 'orrible fine misty rain that drowns everything. To make matters worse, I caught one of my trainers on a rock and the upper, parted company with the sole…just my luck
As the WX was so foul, I went with the Wouxun H/H for 2m, on the collinear, as I didn’t really fancy getting the FT-857 soaked. Plenty of chasers about and I was kept busy for just over 3 hours.
As this was supposed to be a 15m activation and the WX had cleared up, I went qrx to set up the Antron-99 for the 15m band. It was clear from the start, with no sea water and the band not as good as last Fridays Llandudno activation, every contact would have to be earned
Called SV1BHF to see how the band was and he gave me a good signal report. I put out a CQ and G6LUZ came back to my call. He was followed by W2QE, who is virtually CW only. Thanks to G0RXA for the contact, the spot and putting me on the cluster. There was a total of twelve UK stations worked on 15m.
Other contacts included Japan, USA, Lebanon, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, Russia, Indonesia, South Africa, A61LL The President of the UAE and some other European stations…Oh and thanks to Karen for the S2S from G/SP-003.
Total of 86 contacts for the day.
Nice to meet Andy M0FMF and Brian G4ZRP on the summit. Thanks to Andy for the loan of your H/H to make the S2S with Karen.
Well done on 86 contacts Mike, a little bit less than your usual tally but still a good 36 better than my best Hi!
The weather started off a little bit pants today, but not as bad as Monday when I got seriously soaked on the way home from work. It has been a long time since I have had to kit up with full waterproofs for an 11 minute journey home on my bike, even when I set off in sunshine!
I had a similar footwear experience to yours in Mud cavern in Gaping Gill in my potholing days, although only half of the sole of my left boot parted company with the upper. It was travelling to the Yorkshire Dales to go under the hills, that really got my interested in going up them with a radio instead, although that was before the birth of SOTA.
On one my last ascents of Ingleborough back in the 90’s, one lovely crisp morning at about 7AM, I ran into a strangely dressed man wearing headphones & waving a UHF yagi around. It turned out he wasn’t a radio amateur, but a 934MHz CB enthusiast. Maybe he went on to become an amateur when the powers that be finally decreed that you could no longer use 934MHz gear. Maybe he’s a SOTA activator or chaser? He certainly didn’t have any interest in 27MHz CB so maybe one of the many VHF/UHF only activators?
Well done on 86 contacts Mike, a little bit less than your usual tally
but still a good 36 better than my best Hi!
Cheers Mark. The 15m band was hard work although the real killer was leaving my reading glasses on the front seat of the car. There was no way I could self spot. Lesson learnend though… I’m going to pick up a pair of those cheap readers that cost a couple of quid, weigh nothing and leave them in the rucksack.
The weather started off a little bit pants today, but not as bad as
Monday when I got seriously soaked on the way home from work.
There was one of those persistent winds, so I spent the whole day behind the dry stone wall at Michaels seat,
I had a similar footwear experience to yours in Mud cavern in Gaping
Gill in my potholing days, although only half of the sole of my left
boot parted company with the upper.
Yeah, having virtually no sole attached to your boot, makes for an interesting decent.
On one my last ascents of Ingleborough back in the 90’s, one lovely
crisp morning at about 7AM, I ran into a strangely dressed man wearing
headphones & waving a UHF yagi around.It turned out he wasn’t a radio > amateur, but a 934MHz CB enthusiast.
Wonderful kit the old 934MHz rigs (probably would have interested Richard G3CWI). Just far too expensive in its day to really catch on. It is now highly collectable and when 934MHz kit which is in good condition does appear on the market, it makes big money.
86 is a good total, don’t knock it
Had worse days, Mark
Must admit, finding ZR6DG, in the Kruger National Park from a SOTA summit was a real thrill. Barely heard a peep out of ZS on 15m from the home qth for at least a couple of months. BTW Mark, I’m still planninig to do Freeholds Top, once thers’s a decent day, hope to work you from there.
“Must admit, finding ZR6DG, in the Kruger National Park from a
SOTA summit was a real thrill”
Apologies Jack, I probably worded that badly. It should have read “it was my first contact with a ZS from a UK SOTA summit”. He told me he lived on a private nature reserve in the Kruger National Park. I’m 99.9% certain I’ve worked him once before from my home QTH. Because I was using M6MMM from G/SP-004 and not 2E0YYY, he probably didn’t realise we had worked before.
Great activation.
Cheers Jack, must admit 15m is a great band. However, the Antron-99 and X-300, plus poles and 20Ah SLAB is too much weight to drag up and down summits. Won’t do that again in a hurry
Both Brian and myself were surprised to find Mike still on Shining Tor when we arrived yesterday. We’d done The Cloud and Gun on 2m FM having failed to find any 23cms takers. Trivially simple walks, 7mins car to summit for The Cloud and 14mins for Gun.
We’d stopped for a brew and slice of cake at the tearoom at the foot of Shining Tor (absolutely wonderful cake!) and then bimbled up, the longest walk of the day at 21m45secs. I’d said to Brian that I could see an antenna but he said it was the finger post. I said I didn’t think they made the finger posts 20ft tall!
We’d failed to work Mike YYY60MMM (or whatever call he was using!) on 2m on the previous summits and we had had a good scan for him as both of us wanted an S2S. So we thought he’d got bored and gone home or he was on HF. And 15m was where he was working. We did manage S2S contacts with Colin G8JSM on SP-017 and Karen 2E0XYL on SP-003. Colin was trying for maximum success by transmitting on 5 or so frequencies at the same time. You had to guess which was the real one he was listening on and which were spurii! :-o
So no S2S with Mike but we did have a good natter with him. Or we had a natter one at a time, Brian chewed the fat with him whilst I finished off Shining Tor and then handed the rig to Brian and had a chat with Mike. I’m not sure which of the ZR or VR2 calls was Mike’s 0DX but he was pleased with both. Me, I was pleased to have snaffled 3 uniques and 4 points for no effort at all especially after the struggle last week in Breadalbane.
A good time was had by all. Highlight for me being the cake in the tearoom! I have some photos of me, Brian and Mike and as soon as I have photoshopped them I’ll upload them. I had a snug fitting T-shirt on and there’s a lot of me to be snug on so I need to remove moobs and belly first
Today I have sunburn on my scalp from Gun where it was very hot and sunny in the breeze.
Both Brian and myself were surprised to find Mike still on Shining Tor
when we arrived yesterday.
You can’t keep a good man down, Andy
>
> So no S2S with Mike but we did have a good natter with him. Or we had
> a natter one at a time, Brian chewed the fat with him whilst I
> finished off Shining Tor and then handed the rig to Brian and had a
> chat with Mike.
Sorry about the S2S, I’d done one of the H/H bateries in and was preserving the other. With hindsight, I should have left it turned on monitoring the calling channel.
I’m not sure which of the ZR or VR2 calls was Mike’s
0DX but he was pleased with both.
From the home qth point of view, non were 0DX. From SOTA, activations POV, quite a few. BU, is never easy to find and he dissapeared very quickly, I was very lucky to bag him. BU, “may possibly” be a unique for SOTA UK. No doubt, I’ll be shot down in flames, probably by one of the CW boys or girls.
Nice to have a chat with you and Brian (who I met at the Telford Rally last Sunday). BTW, I take my hat off to you for standing up there in a “T” shirt!
I’m going to pick up
a pair of those cheap readers that cost a couple of quid, weigh
nothing and leave them in the rucksack.
… agreed Mike. However, my pair are not quite the same shape they were when they started out a few months ago! I think a hard case may be required or dearer specs!
BTW my sole parted company from my boot on the way up Carnedd y Filiast last year! It certainly does make walking interesting!
Tnx for the S2S - nice to work you from Ward’s Stone. Sounds like you had another good day on 15m.
… agreed Mike. However, my pair are not quite the same shape they
were when they started out a few months ago! I think a hard case may
be required or dearer specs!
LOL, great minds think alike Karen, I picked up a pair of specs from Poundland and put them into a hard spec case I had laying about. Incidentally, I couldn’t believe how thin the lenses were. Cheap lenses are normally associated with jam jar bottoms, not these. Twenty years ago, lenses this thin would have cost a fortune!
BTW my sole parted company from my boot on the way up Carnedd y
Filiast last year! It certainly does make walking interesting!
Seems that you, Mark and myself may have started a new trend, here!
Isn’t always the way, when the sole parts company from the upper, it’s on the ascent and not the decent
Tnx for the S2S - nice to work you from Ward’s Stone. Sounds like you
had another good day on 15m.
It was good fun and very fortunate, I did the activation on Friday, the band was virtually unworkable from my home qth on Saturday. Another milestone was my 2000th contact from G/SP-004 this year. My big disappointment was not getting an easily workable VU2SMN into the log. He was beaming over the North Pole, into an American pile-up and refusing to take any European calls. Never mind, live to fight another another day as they say.
BTW, if you happen take a look at my log for Friday, you’ll notice I’ve managed to book our S2S on the 15m and not on the 2m band. I’ll sort it out in due course.
No problem, Mike. I’ve already deleted and uploaded my log again to change a contact from 2m to 70cms! I was lying in bed thinking I’d entered it incorrectly and sure enough I had!
