In reply to M1EYP:
What a shame that the weather stopped play. Having turned back from my aborted Foel Fennli activation I’d hopped into the car to make a dash to Billinge Hill with the handy to give you another s2s but half way there I heard Jimmy saying that you were all packing up. You can certainly rely on the British summer to put a dampener on things.
73 Chris
M1DTJ
In reply to M1EYP:
I am sorry, I would have liked to have worked more of your students, but I had my own problems. We were on the same frequency at one stage, then my mast blew down (twice). I tuned back to your frequency several times to see if I could work another student, but each time they must have been beaming in the wrong direcion.
Well done to organise such interest, and such a shame that the July weather was so unreliable.
Richard
G0IBE
The unannounced visit to The Cloud on Saturday 4th July 2009 was as a result of circumstances. After the unfortunate enforced cancellation of our planned LD weekend (another story, but the weather forecast didn’t help), we had a Saturday to “kill”. I had a few bits and bobs to pick up from work in Stoke, and with the lads in the car we continued down to Shelton for a curry lunch.
After a spot of shopping for picnic items for Sunday’s expedition, and car/gaming magazines for Liam, it was time to walk off the substantial lunch. Off to Cloudside, where it was bathed in sunshine. Why oh why couldn’t it have been like this yesterday?
As I walked into the AZ, I turned on my handheld for a nosy to see if Jimmy, already well ahead of Liam and I, had commenced operation at the summit. Instead I heard Mick M1DXQ calling on S20, and mentioning that he was on The Cloud. He wasn’t doing SOTA (and really had no interest in doing SOTA), but had headed out this way on a bike ride with his 14 year old daughter and wanted to try out his handheld on the summit.
I exchanged a few overs with him, and he asked “What’s your twenty?”. I was never a CBer apart from the very occasional dabble, but I just about recalled that particular term! I replied to the effect that if he looked back towards where he had left the bikes, that was me waving at him! He seemed astonished, as he did when I told him that this was the most popular summit in SOTA!
I tried to persuade him to put out a general CQ call, mentioning SOTA and SP-015 (I am the publicity officer after all!), but he had no interest whatsoever and just wanted to make a QSO with his mate, another M1 station down the road (OK, make that ‘failed publicity officer’).
We had a nice chat anyway, and by now Jimmy was on the far North-Western end of the summit and commencing ops on 2m FM. He only made two contacts, but seemed to be having quite a long chat with the second station. It was indeed slow going when I started on on my VX-7R. First up was a long QSO with G1ZGZ/M in Leicestershire, on 70cm FM. Then came a couple on 2m FM, and then back on 70cm to work a mum (Diana M3DMJ/P) and son (Matthew M6MHD/P). The latter was only a couple of days into his licence and was keen to work someone other than his mum and grandparents! It was another long chatty QSO (which seemed to be today’s theme), and very enjoyable.
Back down at the parking spot, we noticed that 10m and 6m were alive. The supremely strong EA2LU was easily worked on 10m CW from the car. By the time we got home, CT1HZE was booming in on 2m SSB (thanks Richard G3CWI for the tip off), and was worked 59 x 59 through the colinear in the garden.
And that was the day killed, as desired. See you tomorrow.
Tom M1EYP