Silence on G/SE-001 Walbury Hill

Activation Reports
21

For HF SOTA you can’t beat a simple dipole set up as an inverted V. It’s what a lot of activators use. Cut a dipole for your favourite band. No need to use thick wire. Support the centre with a fibreglass fishing pole, add some fishing line to the ends and peg out. Feed with speaker wire and a small balun at the rig or just thin co-ax. For more than one band add some links - see John GW4BVEs pics

GW4BVE on Arenig Fach GW/NW-027

Mine winds up onto a ply winder and weighs 250g. It covers 5MHz to 50MHz. I use the pole as a walking stick!

ANY shortened, coil loaded antenna is going to be very inefficient on HF and if you’ve only got 5W, you really don’t want to use 4.9W just to heat up that coil! A dipole is much more efficient.

An antenna that looks big at home is surprisingly small when you get out on the hills. The only summit I’ve activated so far where there wasn’t really room for it was Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) - it was busier than Picadilly Station on a bank holiday and I didn’t want to garrotte any grockles.

Give it a try!

73 & Good luck.

22

In reply to M6ADB:

This afternoon’s sunshine tempted me onto the hill again, for a no-notice activation…

Having had no luck previously with the HH on 2m/FM, I went armed with the FT-897, and ready to try HF.

But I had to try 2m/FM first… my first CQ was answered immediately by G0NXA in Tewkesbury, followed by M3BBF/M who had followed the QSY to S22, and gave me my first QSO with the Isle of Wight. Maybe I should QSL, and claim the IOTA point?

Two down, in five minutes - a good start!

Returning to S20, it took two CQ calls to snare G6JOV near Heathrow, again, immediately followed by M6SJC/M on his way to work near Chandlers Ford, and G7MYI in Cranborne.

Woohoo… summit more than conquered, in 20 minutes!!!

Clearly there was no need to get the HF setup out of the bag, but how about SSB? So a quick adjustment of the SB-MFD, and retune to 144.300… to answer 2E0NEY in Biddeston, who was CQing.

After 10 mins of only 2E0NEY and myself alternating CQs, 2E0NEY went QRT… just in time for me to hear a faint signal calling “CQ beaming north”. I don’t know whether he heard my response, but the next call was much clearer “CQ beaming East” - close enough for me to get a reply in, and allow Walt G3NYY/P on G/WB-022 to point right at me, for my first Summit-to-Summit.

So in summary, after all the frustrations, today I had a very pleasant walk in the countyside and:

  • had my first QSO to the Isle of Wight
  • successfully activated G/SE-001
  • had my first Summit-to-Summit

Excellent! Thanks all…

Regards
Andrew M6ADB

23

In reply to M6ADB:

Congratulations, Andrew! It was a pleasure to work you for the first time … all the better that it was a Summit to Summit!

Good SOTA-ing!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

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