Hi all, My name is Don GW0PLP near Aberporth in the county of Ceredigion on the West coast of Wales. My QTH is sited at 650ft asl and looks out across the Irish Sea. I am well sited for VHF contacts to EI,GI. I have over the years on 144mhz worked all the county’s in Ireland except County Monaghan which seems to be hard to find on that band. I have looked on the Summits ref page and I think the county is split between IE & IN I may be wrong as I’m new to Sota. Can anyone point out a couple of summits in County Monaghan that I could look out for activation. I have been laid up for the last month or so with a leg injury so have been unable to do much. So I have used the time to chase SOTA which I have enjoyed. When I’m in the shack I’m always listening on 145.500mhz & have picked up many summits this way. I would like to thank all the activators for there dedication time and effort in providing the summits to chase & of course all the behind the scenes guys that keep this site running smoothly. Well Done.
Hi Don
You were in fact my first 2m FM QSO from GI/CA-003 Carrigatuke in Co. Armagh. I was really surprised to work you at 273km, only using a H/H with external SlimJim at the trig. Another QSO on 2m FM was from EI/IE-003 Tonelagee in the Wicklow Mountains.
A good source to find a summit’s location is the SOTA Mapping project http://www.sotamaps.org/ just enter the association (EI or GI) and zoom in to see county boundaries. Does not look there are any SOTA in Co. Monaghan though.
Hope to work you next time I’m over in Wales or Ireland.
73, Phil ON4TA
Eshbrack 365m is the highest point in Co. Monaghan. This is not a SOTA summit, but it is visited on the walk-in to Slieve Beagh GI/SW-004. So look out for alerts for this one too, as cooperative activators might make a sked for you.
Thanks for the feedback and advice which are gratefully received here. If anyone is out and about in Ireland or Wales I usually monitor 145.500 when in the shack.
Just checking on the IRTS callbook, which lists just 13 EI’s in County Monaghan… There may be a few more unlisted, but probably not too many. Factor in the lack of 2m activity in general and you can see why it’s a difficult one.
Sorry, but a belated welcome to SOTA from me. Thanks for helping me out by spotting me on a number of recent activations. Looking forward to many more contacts and maybe a joint activation when you are fit and well.