Not on 6m but did manage to work an EA in Madrid on 2m FT8 with 20W using my amazingly sophisticated home setup of a 3 ele beam electrical taped to a fishing pole and stuck down the umbrella hole of a garden table. 906miles (1458km)
Does that count?
Ian
4m Ebeneezer Goode’s now open for business apparently.
Thanks for the CW QSO yesterday by the way Carlo!
…and on Saturday.
…and the other 6 times this year. 
72! 
YVW, it was with 1W btw, since you had such a good signal it was worth trying.
1 Watt!? 
I thought I was doing well with somewhere around 3 Watt to 4 Watt! I was giving my new to me KX1 a test drive using just the 6 x internal AA batteries.
Antenna was Le Slug Rouge, 8 radials, LDG Choke. I switched between it and my KX2 as the KX1 doesn’t last very long on AA’s it seems.
Field report if anyone is interested:
Saturday was just nuts. I hadn’t even finished calling CQ and I got a reply. 1 hour solid pile up which made me nervous so I kept messing up my keying. Thanks for all the QSO’s this year and keep up the fantastic QRPp work! I might try QRPp when I get a little braver!
NOTE: Seeing reports of 2m E’s now. I can’t get out /P today alas. Gutted. VHF/UHF my favourites. 
Monday afternoon it was. Having a second consecutive day of sunshine, I was given no option but spend another few hours on the beach. Naturally, I am not going anywhere without a radio I said. No poles, no tripod, just my SOTA 30/20m linked dipole, FT-857 and a battery.
An okay setup for RX only, but it wouldn’t be me if I wouldn’t try to TX for an experiment sake.
I’ve made few CQ calls on 20m for reversebeacon checks and then went on to 30m after seeing @S53XX/P spot for 30m
Although SWR was way over 3:1 on both bands, I’ve got Slavko in the log with 559 and some RB reports on 20m.
A risky affair for Yaesu PA I have to admit, but good for an experiment 
Yesterday on GW/SW-038:
I heard reports that 6m was open again today, but I checked every time I was out operating and heard nothing.
I managed a 6m ssb qso to IU1QMU from GM/NS-089 today, 1662km so I’m very pleased with that.
I was running 5w from my FT818 into a home made flowerpot antenna.
Summit height 590m asl with a good take off all round.
Hopefully it will still be working tomorrow from Ben Hutig GM/NS-132.
Andy
MM7MOX
Looks like the E’s restaurant has closed for the night. Hopefully more action is due this week.
Great to see folks getting some QSO’s!
Of course that is true - I’m surprised you had to state this obvious truth. It was one of the questions in my foundation exam taken some 15 years ago. but it is the first time I have seen it on the Reflector..
I have just found this fascinating thread after returning from a 3 week VHF/UHF lowly hills of Scotland tour. On each one I have asked for 70cm and got some restrained enthusiasm round Girvan where I picked up a small band of chasers but generally struggled to get any response at all let alone a 70cm contact. The last hill on Saturday was Rubers Law GM/SS-210 not far from Hawick (and Melrose etc) when the final haul after 40 mins or so was 3 activators on Mickle Fell within seconds, Fraser and Mo on a car rally near Duns after a further 30 mins or so then a lone 2m POTA in Edinburgh.. Where are all the ‘real’ Scottish amateurs?? Oh yes, I forgot to mention that his was, apparently on ‘443m Alive’ day - oh yeah?? Can’t blame it on the heat wave - we didn’t stumble across the sunshine until driving south from Carlisle the next day - and Hawick is 10C cooler than Hereford today. .Please keep the 70cm fm flag flying!
73 Viki
Fair play Viki! We keep fighting the good fight and keep the VHF/UHF flag flying high!
It amazes me that 70cm appears to be the runt of the litter so often. I just try to make it a habit that no matter what kit I have with me, usually the FT-65 and RH-770, I will always call out on 2 and 70. Even if shouting in to the void. At least it is making an effort.
There’s (in my very humble and very much novice opinion) this unexplainable element of real joy when a contact comes through on either 2 or 70, particularly the latter. 70cm can throw up some real surprises, just as much as 2 meters can.
The best part of it all is just how accessible VHF and UHF are to everyone, at an incredibly affordable entry price point too.
You don’t need an IC-52, an FTX1 or that £700 Kenwood handie. A Quansheng or similar will do the job for €20-€40 or so. A little modification later and you have an HT all moder! Another €25-€50 for a genuine Diamond RH-770, or make your own Slim G, Moxon, Cubical Quad and so on, stick it on a yard broom pole or whatever you have to hand and you’re off and running!
And when you get a bit of lift, the surprises just keep on coming. Looking in to your logbooks later and seeing your old distance records tumble is super rewarding. My current 2m FM PB is around 450+km from a summit in Wicklow to central London, that was pretty recent too. 70cm FM PB is around 315km iirc late last year.
Don’t forget, commercial interests vultures are circling the 70cm band and nibbling at our allocations. If 70cm remains as deafening as a morgue, it will end up being taken away.
Keep it lit Viki! #M270GA
PAVE PAWS no?
I didnt do too bad 22 on Fm, 1 of SSB
Probably would have been more apart from some long natters about the tourist attractions of Much Hoole (it used to have a Little Chef) , Brass bands in parks and a whole range of other topics. There was also a number who were just sat in the garden with a handie who were thankful for the excuse not to cut the hedge
It does seem to be very regional with the NW England and Midlands being hotspots but sparse activity outside these areas. A couple of conversations about this seem to indicate that the large population centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool coupled with some easy to access high spots (drive up in some cases) lead to the enhanced activity.
That and the recent pootling about with satellites and such like:
I can’t find the articles now but there’s also some commercial interests trying to sneak a bit of the band away for their own use.
Nice! I gave it a try but came away empty-handed. Next time. 
From the 433 Alive facebook groub EI3IX seemed to find a small pocket of activity in the North West (I053LU) . Not sure how far away that would be from yourself or that with a bit of extra activity a link could be formed.
I think its a little but like the R rate from Covid (remember that). Once it starts to grow it can snowball. There definately seems to be more activity for these events now than a year ago but it is slow going.
Ah, I think EI3IX might be around the border area. That said, when there is lift on I can get all over the country, NI and ROI, with just 5w from the FT-65 and the RH-770. Minimal effort, maximum results. So not beyond the realms of possibility (until I start getting involved in 23cm…).
On a recent SOTA I got a great S2S from County Wicklow to County Mayo. 59’s both ways, crystal clear. That is a whopper East/West Coast cross-country trek. 2m though. For 70cm I’ve gotten over to Wales with the exact same setup, NI too.
In recent weeks I’ve had loads of chats with randomers who are curious as to what I’m up to. Parks, summits, by the beach and talking in to a handy or operating CW. I just try to explain what I’m doing, point them to the IRTS Web site (or RSGB, ARRL etc if they are visiting Ireland) and try and summarise all the fun stuff you can do with the hobby. Not forgetting to include SWL as well. An even cheaper way to get in to radio (non-TX of course), plus when you start talking about DX stations, the odd stuff like The Buzzer, numbers stations, USAF scramble messages, scanners, airshows, airband, even FM and MW DX you can bring them in to the hobby that way. People just don’t realise it (or probably care). But make it fun and interesting enough and hopefully some folks we talk too while out and about might just go home and look up the IRTS, ARRL, RSGB, IARU or go up to the attic and find their old kitchen radio and just give it a try. Brilliant!
When you start talking about DX, EME, Cubesats, CW, FT8, Packet Radio and all that good stuff, you can see this shift in their stance from “who’s this weirdo?” to “jaysus, that sounds really interesting, I never knew!”. Tell them you can download collectable photos from the ISS with an FT-65 and an RH-770 stood in your back yard and watch their heads explode in disbelief!
A lady recently asked why I was stood in a park holding a 7m mast and talking in to a radio. I ended up having the chats for about 20 minutes with her and the people she was in the park with. Turns out they are all involved with the scouts, girl guides etc and were not aware of programs like JOTA and YOTA to inspire the next generation to take up the mantle. It was a great conversation and all because some oddball was stood in a park holding a mast like a poor version of a Golf Sale.
We just need to keep spreading the good word and show the curious what we’re all about and the fun things you can do in amateur radio. 2m and 70cm is probably the easiest point of entry too in my opinion. It’s just 70cm needs to be glammed up a bit more!
There was an unfortunate cockup in the Challenge rules, so there is no additional incentive to operate on 70cm and thus people don’t bother. I would like to see the challenge run again but 70cm only. That might spur some of the lurkers into action!
Perhaps next month we will get some multi-hop Es which can give night-time paths to Canada and the USA. I remember a June evening opening where a W and a ZC4 were quite unaware that they were QRMing each other!
I wasn’t sure if you may get the wrong end of the stick but PAVE PAWS protects us. The AST story is bad setting precedent but is emergency only and 24hrs / sat max. More insidious is all LPD 433 stuff.
