Thank your lucky stars you didn’t have to log them onto the database,
Walt!!!
Tee hee! I’ve just been looking at your logs for the 19th and the 20th. Most impressive!
I did an analysis of the log for the 19th. Almost 50% of the 68 stations worked were in IO83 square; 13% were in IO93; 7% were in IO92; 6% were in IO84. The remaining 24% were elsewhere.
What this does demonstrate is something I have suspected for quite a long time … that the preponderance of activity on 2m FM has moved away from the South East and the Midlands and is now very firmly centred on the IO83, IO93 and IO84 squares. The level of activity you have encountered from these squares on weekday afternoons is nothing short of phenomenal! I don’t hear that amount of activity on 2m down here in IO81 in six months!
You’re not using one of my home brew dipoles
I have a 3 el SOTA-beam and a SOTA MFD.
Give me a shout on 2 Metres this Saturday Walt? I’ll be on Shining Tor
all day, I’m going for 100 contacts and will be taking a 12 and 9 AH
SLAB with me.
I’ll look out for you if I’m out and about. I can work nothing on 2m from the home QTH. If the WX is not too cold, I may do a summit in IO82.
Anyway, very well done on your recent activities, and good luck in making the 100 QSOs on Saturday!
Shining Tor all day? Try calling WFF GFF-014 as well as SOTA G/SP-015 on HF and you’ll make far in excess of 100!
Walt - I agree. IO83 has been the epicentre of VHF activity throughout the ten years I’ve been licensed. Nowhere else is quite like it.
There was, however, one occasion when the majority of my QSOs in a Tuesday night activity contest were into IO81. Mind you, I was on Dunkery Beacon G/SC-001 at the time!
There was, however, one occasion when the majority of my QSOs in a
Tuesday night activity contest were into IO81. Mind you, I was on
Dunkery Beacon G/SC-001 at the time!
I don’t think there are as many active stations in IO81 as the number of IO83 stations Mick worked in one afternoon!
No doubt about it Walt. I know a chap that takes weekend trips to the wonderful North West from London just to do some VHF amateur radio.
It’s the same story in the Tuesday night contests, with huge numbers of IO83 stations on each week. Thankfully, the contesters further out have latched onto the rich pickings available and now turn their beams inwards more readily. The new rules help too of course!
Thankfully, the contesters further out
have latched onto the rich pickings available and now turn their beams
inwards more readily. The new rules help too of course!
Rich pickings indeed, Tom! Especially when you and me are no more than a 25 minute drive from the South Pennines and the almost overwhelming advantage of 1500/1800 Feet elevation and can point our beams in all directions. The Southern Counties such as Essex and Kent, are really up against it.
hi mike
you had a great couple off day on the tor and gun working you from home in south cumbria and gummers how which i had a relaxing 22 contact on ssb and fm ,best contact london g2bof david and phil g4obk in pickeringon on ssb,
as you know mike sometimes 4 contacts and that enough when the wx is bad which ???more often it is.your dipole worked well, your lucky to get a very low swr because of a balanced 75ohm dipole to unbalanced 50 ohm coax .try checking it with a analizer and a half wave or {multy half waves}+ vol factor.on the other hand{ if its not broke dont fix it} .more power to your legs
In reply to 2E0YYY:
Hi Mike
I heard you down here in Swindon (IO91)for a short while yesterday at about 13.30 peaking at 55. It was my dinnertime, so I was sat with my FT-60 going into a Sandpiper 3 El. Delta up on a homemade tripod mast about 12 foot up. Location was Wroughton Airfield (about 190m ASL) and a great take-off to the West, North & East if you forgiven the pun! Put in a couple of calls to you, but you drifted away, although I heard brief snatches of your QSO’s for a while after that.
Put in a couple of calls to you, but you drifted away, although I
heard brief snatches of your QSO’s for a while after that.
Oh well, another day!
Hi Jonathan
I’ll be on Shining Tor from about 9AM tomorrow (Saturday). It’s about 800 ft higher than the Gun and should be much easier to make a contact. I’ll do about an hour on 2 Metres SSB first, then go to FM, and perhaps another spot of SSB after lunch.
I’ll be on Shining Tor from about 9AM tomorrow (Saturday).
The airfield is my work QTH so to speak, so unfortunately I won’t be up there tomorrow. I’m going to aim to operate from there 2 or 3 times a week during my lunch hour, so hopefully I’ll catch you at some point Mike. Good luck for your activation tomorrow though, I’ll keep my fingers crossed for a 100 QSO’s for you.
Give me a shout on 2 Metres this Saturday Walt? I’ll be on Shining Tor
all day, I’m going for 100 contacts and will be taking a 12 and 9 AH
SLAB with me.
Sorry I missed you on Saturday, Mike. I see you braved the cold weather.
It was far too cold for me! I got up at 7:30 am, took one look at the frost on the car, and went back to bed!
Sorry I missed you on Saturday, Mike. I see you braved the cold
weather.
It was far too cold for me! I got up at 7:30 am, took one look at the
frost on the car, and went back to bed!
No problem, Walt, Perhaps we can catch up at one of the rallies?
