The Usual Suspects

Activation Reports
1

Well, it seems there was something of a stampede for the summits in both G and GW this morning!

Good to see the usual suspects all heading for them thar hills.
G4ASA, M0IML, GW4VPX, GW4WSB, MW6WSB, MW0YDH, MW6EMP, M0JLA, 2W0KGQ, G6WRW, GW6OVD and myself 2E0YYY all activating summits and creating an s2s feeding frenzy…Great fun!

The WX on G/SP-017, was wet, cold and windy…Very windy :frowning:

I noticedt the SFI, was heading into the stratosphere, however, I’ve learned from bitter experience this does not always mean a DX bonanza and today was no exception.

I put up a self spot and asked if there were any VK’s listening. Andrew VK1DA, sent a spot to say he couldn’t hear me on 10m, Thanks for trying Andrew. There was a very strong Chinese station in QSO with someone and it would have been an easy copy, however, by now there were a number of G/GW stations on the 40m band and I opted to go chasing s2s instead. Many thanks to Carolyn GW6WRW/P for becoming net controller on her frequency and co-ordinating a load of s2s contacts…Well done Carolyn, great job!

It was at this point I took a look at 10m again and put out a CQ. A steady stream of callers came in including Micha 4Z1KN from Israel and rather surprisingly Bob VP8LP to let me know I had a big signal into the Falklands. The band then opened to North America and 15 contacts were logged. In between, I saw a spot for Jonathan 2W0KGQ up on GW/NW-003. He was an easy copy on the X-50 colinear. Many thanks for the summit and 10 points Jonathan, well done on working from what must have been a very, very windy Glyder Fawr.

Finally, I couldn’t resist taking a look at 10m FM. I was soon rewarded with a call from HP2BWJ in Panama.
Panama is never easy to find on SSB from a summit, however, on FM it must be extremely rare and really made my day, Other DX on 10m FM included Herm KB1RJC, Dow W4DOW, Charles AE4FZ and Donnie KV4UL in KY. Thanks guys.

Thanks to all the SOTA Activators and Chasers for making this a very nice day.

68 Contacts for the activation…

73 Mike
2E0YYY

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Hello Mike,

I thought I was excluded following my spoof video (now deleted - email me if you would like to see) of MT but it seems not now 8-;

Yes I Carolyn did a great job of S2S net control - I was listening!

" I was soon rewarded with a call from HP2BWJ in Panama."

The Panama contact is quite amazing - that location is not an easy one from home; at least for me so…

Well done & night night.

Mike

3

You will be if you don’t get some clue.

4

Mike,
well done, you were in the right place and had the right setup to succeed.
73
Andrew vk1da/2uh

5

Hi everyone

A big thank you to all the chasers and activators for an enjoyable day today despite the adverse conditions. I managed to activate GW/MW-038 Disgwylfa Fawr alone and then GW/MW-005 Llan Ddu Fawr with Mal GW6OVD/p

Although I never managed to get 100% s2s today as I was between summits and missed a few I must say well done to David MW0YDH/p and his very young son Peter MW6EMP/p for making my log on both summits (s2s). Thanks Carolyn G6WRW/p for making this possible from my first summit.

My log will be in the database late tomorrow afternoon and a report will follow over the next couple of days on http://mw0bbu.blogspot.co.uk

Happy Christmas to you all.

73 de Allan GW4VPX

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often hear you on 20 calling in to the other sotas
But do hear you now and again on 10m and have called in
when that beam is running you might hear me then :slight_smile:

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Hello all.
I agree Mike it was fun! Yesterday was the day our Peter used M6EMP for the first time. He qualified the same time as our Tom M6GGZ but lacked the confidence until now. He says he enjoyed SOTA and talking with the assorted stations especially making the S2S contacts. Thank you to everyone for welcoming him. On Moel Famau we went to the nearest fence and deployed the ground sheet as wind break in the way taught to me by G4MD and G4OIG.

Peter MW6EMP/P - First Activation on GW/NW-044 Moel Famau.

In the afternoon Peter ran up and I puffed and panted [trying to keep up with a rugby player - no go] to Foel Fenlli. We set up in the ditch of the earthworks and thanked the ancient people for their foresight in providing wind breaks to SOTA activators. Lots of contacts and the second S2S with Allan and Mal. I enjoyed wishing merry Christmas in as many languages as I could muster to all the callers. It was an end of term party cut short by dusk.

73
David M0YDH and Peter M6EMP
Wolverhampton

1 Like
8

Thank you to all the other activators who were out on the hills it is not often I deliberately go out to do s2s but with so many alerted it had to be done. I don’t think I missed anyone.

I think a thank-you should also go out to the chasers who patiently waited while the s2s were taking place; at least they knew there were plenty of us to find.

After it went quiet for me on 40 I went on to 17m for a short while until Bill (GW4WSB) and Steve (MW6WSB) popped up on a spot. Best DX on 17m was VK8GM.

It was very windy on brown Clee (not the worst I’ve been in though). My 10m vertical pole (40/17m vertical) had a permanent bend in it for the whole activation.

Carolyn

1 Like
9

Hi Carolyn,
Apologies for missing you out on the first part of my report (now amended),

Great contact into VK8 on 17m…

73 Mike
2E0YYY