SP-14 Longridge Fell - AR

Activation Reports
1

Yesterday (5th Oct) the postman knocked on the door with a much anticipated parcel. Rather than the entire collection of Hawkwind on CD it was 2 brand new LiFePo 4.2Ah batteries and charger.

I had chosen Life batteries due to their better tolerance to mishandling, and also the 4S comes in at a handy 13.2 volts so no need to mess around.

I needed a straightforward summit to activate and rather than Winter Hill I chose G/SP-014 Longridge Fell. Probably not the ideal choice for 2M SSB due to the population of trees at the summit, but this trip wasnt really about DX, it was about taking all the gear and then seeing which I really needed to take.

An easy but a little boggy in places walk up from Jeffrey Hill saw me on summit and with the handie caught David MW0YDH/P on NW-006 Tryfan. Whilst setting up the 2m beam I also bagged Gerald MW0WML/P on NW-073 Mynydd Rhyd Ddu.

As well as the 3 element beam for 2m, I had brought along a makeshift dipole and tuner for HF. 12m was open and I quickly found Steve G1INK who was 59+ with me working all kinds of exotics which I could also hear. But try as I might he could not hear me. The SWR was up and down all over the place too and this was traced to the link between tuner and 817.So HF would have to wait for another day.

2M SSB, my prefered band/mode. So after orientating directions with GB3VHF, GB3ANG and the Northern Ireland beacons I gave out a CQ. My this mode on 2m is quiet these days. With no helpful conditions it was pretty slow going with 5 in the log after an hour. This was even after a spot. Got a 6th with a summit to summit with Rob G4RQJ/P on LD-52 Hutton Roof Crags which I guess is probably somewhat of a rare occurrence these days (2m ssb s-t-s not Rob on Hutton Roof).

Finished with a quick call on 2m FM with only 1 taker and packed up. Successful outing for the battery which weighs in at 483g. Means I can now set my sights on targets further afield without being limited to the handheld.

Will probably give HF a try at some point, but I will be persevering with 2m SSB and maybe a surprise attack on 70cm.

The new lightweight gear means multimode/multiband activations are now possible whilst still ascending via more adventurous routes. Hopefully will get to activate Conniston Old Man, but ascending via Low Water Beck and Brim Fell slabs (both grade 2 scrambles) before the end of the year.

Thanks to all worked today.Very pleasant in sunshine activation with very little wind.

Dig out those old 2m SSB rigs guys :slight_smile:

Regards,

Ian
G7ADF

2

Interested to know more details about your new batteries Ian. How are you connecting to the 817, what sort of size are they etc? Any photos?

We are now properly set up for 2m SSB chasing at this QTH as we have a WiMO Big Wheel 2m antenna above the roof (as well as Big Wheels for 6m and 70cm as well). My own parcel from the postman this week contained high quality 2-way and 3-way switches so that now everything can be done at the flick of a switch.

But in the meantime, Logger32 has stopped communicating with the FT-897 via the CAT cable (even though N1MM still works) and I am not getting any keying or sidetone from my Bencher paddle (but the dah paddle still puts the rig into transmit). Will this shack project ever be finished???

Back to topic, I look forward to chasing you on 2m SSB soon Ian. Horizontal polarisation I trust, to make all this effort worthwhile :wink: Now, where’s that old tape of ‘Choose Your Masques’…?

Kind regards,

Tom M1EYP

3

In reply to M1EYP:

The batteries are Zippy Flight Max 4S 4200 Life. In terms of physical size they are about 1/3 the size of an FT-817 or about the same size as a case for a pair of glasses.

The charging connectors are 5mm bullet connectors but the charge lead from the charger has 4mm banana plugs on the other end so I cobbled together using an old box and some screw on post connectors a small power distribution box.

Most of my gear in the shack is bare wire into the power supply so the post connectors mean I don’t have to change everything about.

Maybe one day I will convert everything to powerpoles but having received the batteries on the Saturday and the sun shining on the Sunday I was eager to get out:)I will put a pic up somewhere when I get round to taking one.

I always try to use horizontal polarisation but if people request vertical ssb then I’m willing. If it helps drum up interest then why not. Could be useful for those with ssb capability but only a white stick antenna or the like.

Ahh Hawkwind, one of my top 3 live bands I’ve ever seen. Not the best players or singers, but for pure entertainment in the show cant beat them.

Ian
G7ADF

4

In reply to G7ADF:

Hi Ian - sorry not to hear you on Saturday but in my defence to Stateside stations were all very strong signals.

Fine on the lifepo4 batteries, I use these now & would never go back to slabs. I have 1 x 16Ah & 1 x 24Ah which allow me to run the ft857 at full power for hours on end. I used the 24Ah battery once for over 3 hours & according to the built in fuel gauge it was still at over 50% capacity when I got home.

As for Hawkwind - one of my favorite bands. I saw their 50th aniversary gig a few years ago at Buxton Opera House. Their bass player Mr Dibs lives about 100m from me (we also have Graham Clarke ex Gong living here, he does a few shifts bar work in the Beltane bar!)

73 & we`ll get a 12m s2s soon.

5

In reply to G1INK:

sorry not to hear you on Saturday but in my defence to Stateside stations were all very strong signals.

You were easily workable on SS-187 on Sunday Steve. Not loud but clear, probably 31. I could hear you calling and calling but you couldn’t hear me. I expect you were running more power which is why you couldn’t hear me.

Andy
MM0FMF

6

In reply to G1INK:
Hi, Steve. Re batteries. I have a couple of LiPo batteries, 3 cell 5Ah/25-50C jobs, which are beginning to lose capacity. Perhaps I’ve mal-treated them, storing them fully charged? I’m considering 4-cell LiFePO4 as replacements. Could you suggest a source, please.

Last trip out in the caravan this week - over to near Caernarfon. Hope to activate GW/NW-022 and 030 as a double, perhaps Wednesday. Catch you all, perhaps.

Regards, Dave, G6DTN

7

In reply to M0DFA:

Dave, the batteries I use are designed to power electric golf buggies and the 16Ah is the smallest they do. Its probably too big for your requirement so youre better offf asking Ian where he sourced his smaller ones. Failing that, I`m sure Ebay would be a good place to start.

Andy FMF, thanks for the info. I run the ft857 at max power (100w) and as the batteries are giving 13.2v theres a good chance that it really is 100w. Im always pleased to work Phil G4OBK on ground wave as he`s consistantly the most distant gw contact on my activations - mostly due to Phils setup I assume.

8

In reply to G7ADF:

Hi Ian,

Sorry to hear that 2m SSB only produced 5 contacts in an hour. I can assure you that many of the regular 2m SSB chasers are still active and just as keen as they used to be. Usually my log gets into double figures in a fairly short period of time.

I would say that in my experience the level of activity on the band / mode is much reduced in comparison to what it once was. My feeling is that it is too much like hard work for many people nowadays, the easier method of operation that HF offers taking them in that direction rather than VHF. Looking at it from another angle: no Class B licence = no training or interest in VHF.

73, Gerald G4OIG

9

In reply to G4OIG:
Looking at it from another angle: no Class

B licence = no training or interest in VHF.

Thats maybe a tad harsh, Gerald! I have only ever had a G4 licence, but spent most of my formative early years on 2m or 4m SSB.

Roll forward nearly forty years to when I started activating SOTA summits, I bought an old FT290 fully expecting to find 2m SSB the most active band / mode. My first few attempts resulted in 1 contact, or none. I soon found that 2m FM was far more productive, and away from centres of population, HF was more dependable still.

I would be very happy to use 2m SSB, but while qualifying summits is my primary objective, I’m going to choose the most effective band / mode.

As I get more time, and accumulate more points, the nostalgia might be too great to resist!

Adrian
G4AZS

10

In reply to G4AZS:

I think we should have a vintage funday for 2m FM/SSB electric handbags (electric pocketbook for our left of the pond comrades).

FT-290, IC202, Liner-2, TR2200, TR2300 etc.

You organise it Adrian and I’ll find an SS summit that can see Englandlandshire and activate with my 1985 vintage 290MK1.

Andy
MM0FMF

11

In reply to M1EYP:

We are now properly set up for 2m SSB chasing at this QTH as we have a
WiMO Big Wheel 2m antenna above the roof (as well as Big Wheels for 6m
and 70cm as well).

Back to topic, I look forward to chasing you on 2m SSB soon Ian.
Horizontal polarisation I trust, to make all this effort worthwhile :wink:

Hi Tom;

I am sure that I am not alone in being interested in how you get on with the Big Wheels and the FT897 from home, perhaps you can let us know from time to time what sort of results you are getting.

73 de Ken G3XQE

12

In reply to to a few:

My LifePo batteries were sourced from Hobbyking. The website takes some getting used to, but lot of various sizes and capacities of batteries. I also obtained a Turnigy Accucell 6 for charging with and despite coming with no instructions was very easy to use after a quick google search.

The US chasers were coming strong on 12m to me too, it seems I had good receive capability but no transmit. I must get/make myself something that is something like resonant or change the dodgy patch lead between atu and rig.

I wasn’t to worried about only bagging 5 qso’s in an hour as I had planned to be on summit for several hours anyway. Also the choice of summit probably wasn’t ideal as it has a forest of trees just a few meters to the south.
Also with a beam, you need to know toughly where to point to “known” chasers. After a few activations you get to know who may be listening and which way to point to maximise the chance of being spotted.

I also have a 290Mk1 but on SSB the transmit and receive frequencies seem to be separated by about 3kc. I’ve seen this on a 290 before and think its a relatively common issue and can be overcome with the clarifier. I’d be up for a 290 day. Would my 25W amp be allowed too?

Hope to work a few of you on 2m SSB soon :slight_smile:

Ian
G7ADF

13

In reply to G7ADF:

Would my 25W amp be allowed too?

If it was vintage. Shall we say anything that is at least 25years old.

Andy
MM0FMF

14

In reply to G7ADF:

Still got my trusty old IC290H which I believe is 25w. It has great rx as well. Still got an ft790 mk1 as well.

15

In reply to G7ADF:

I also have a 290Mk1 but on SSB the transmit and receive frequencies
seem to be separated by about 3kc. I’ve seen this on a 290 before and
think its a relatively common issue …

My FT290 Mk1 has had this problem a few times. There is a trimmer capacitor (TC1) to adjust the ssb carrier generator X01 associated with Q1013. This need a gentle tweak, but due to age, its motion is anything but smooth.

Good luck

73s de Dave, G6DTN