The adventure continues!
Wednesday at 04:30 found me on the road, heading for the Channel Tunnel. The journey was uneventful and, after a little shopping in Boulogne, I arrived on the summit of Mont Le Communale (F/NO-026) in plenty of time for my alerted datamode activation. The sun was just poking through the mist, and, with no breeze, it was quite comfortable despite the temperature being in single figures.
The setting-up is getting easier and faster with more practice, so I was ready to go by 09:00. I started on PSK31, having found a clear spot on 7041. All that was needed was a self-spot and we’d be in business. But no! Despite having self-spotted from here many times in the past, my attempts kept coming back as unsuccessful. Any passers-by would have been mystified to see me jumping around the field performing that strange dance called “trying to get a signal”, but every time I just got the same response. All the time I kept calling CQ, hoping for somebody to find and spot me, but the frequency remained quiet.
Eventually I looked more closely at the phone itself. It was showing a full-strength signal, but the operator that I was connected to was unfamiliar - Bouygues. Perhaps it just didn’t like text messages. I then searched my contacts list to see if I could actually make a phone call, and if there was anybody who could enter a spot for me. I found the mobile number for Andy MM0FMF, and made the call. B*&^%$!! - it wouldn’t even let me use the phone!
Whilst I was contemplating my next course of action, I glanced accusingly at the phone. Before my very eyes the connection changed to SFR. Immediately my self-spot winged its way to SOTAwatch, and my mood changed for the better. However, some forty minutes of unanswered CQs had made a dent in my battery life.
The callers now came in quick succession - well, five of them did. I was aware of a very weak caller fading in and out, but was unable to catch more than odd letters of the callsign. Eventually his signal came up at just the right moment, and my sixth QSO was completed with MW6GWR.
I then moved to 10141, self-spotted, and changed to the planned PSK63 mode. My first caller was a station on PSK31, so I didn’t find out who it was. Then came six QSOs on PSK63, which performed very well despite deeper QSB on this band.
When the frequency became quiet again, I QSYed to 14081 and switched to RTTY. This time the callers were a little unruly, with some calling repeatedly whilst I was still in QSO. However, we established some order, and I managed a total of eight QSOs before all went quiet again. A look at both watch and battery levels convinced me that moving to CW was not a viable option, so I dismantled the station and drove back to the Tunnel, now in bright sunshine.
In total I logged twenty QSOs, with eighteen different stations (Milan OM7OM found me on all three options, as always!) in eleven DXCC countries. My thanks to all, and please confirm those contacts, preferably by LOTW.
73 de Les
