No one has mentioned it so I’ll ask. Was it okay - and more importantly, it’s probably too early to tell, but will we notice an increase in “ah, SOTA” comments from hiterto baffled visitors?
Our database of Marilyn summit info gets a mention so we may well get a lot of curious visitors to the site. Is the info there relevant and useful? Is some of it out of date? Do the external links still work? (I know I find many of them don’t.) What extra info would be useful?
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
Richard
I noticed your article in the latest edition of “Trail”. It packs a lot of information into a few words and I liked the photo. My 10GHz system gets a lot of interest on the hill, although I soon learned that referring to it as a “death ray” was counterproductive.
It will be interesting to see if any walkers refer to the Trail coverage.
Thanks!
73
Richard
G3CWI
In reply to G3CWI:
Hi, Richard.
I think the praise for the article goes to Nicki Giles who knocked my telephonic ramblings into some semblance of order. I think she’s done an excellent job.
As a “lightweight aficionado” myself, I might take exception to the caption though 
Anyone recognise the summit in the photo?
Like you, I attracted lots of attention when I ran 3cm from Worcestershire Beacon - but then it’s directly above RSRE (or whatever it’s called these days) and most of my visitors guessed it was 10 GHz. Impressive!
BTW the new compact 4 ele and mast got a shakedown on Claife Heights last week. It went unnoticed on the bus! Oh, and it worked on the hill as well.
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
Picked up a copy of Trail in Appleby today to have a look at the article. I like it. I think it was good & important to get the picture in too. A good introductory article.
I’m sure a lot more folks have seen someone operating than “come over to have a chat” and a bit more awareness of SOTA is a good thing in my opinion. Sure when I was on Blencathra the other week I did speak to a fair few folks who were curious as to what I was doing but it was only a small proportion of folk on the summit that day and you’d have been doing well not to notice the beam even though I was a bit away from the summit.
Mind you one chap I met on Grisdale Pike recognised me as a SOTA operator just from the pole strapped to my rucksack (I hadn’t got the kit set up at that point), he’d already met Jack GM4COX and Clive M1YAM on other summits previously.
Can’t put a finger on the summit though, give us a clue
Iain, M3WJZ
In reply to M3WJZ:
Hi, Iain.
Thanks for the comments. It was good of the MT to give the go-ahead. I’m pleased you liked it and I’ve passed on our thanks to Nicki.
The summit? It’s a popular LD summit whose “tourist path” cuts through old quarries. I think that’s given it away!
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
I’ve not seen the article or the picture yet, but I could hazard a good guess from that clue: do you have to dodge rusted steel cables?
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
Possibly
R
In reply to G4ERP:
Tease!
Now I’m going to have to buy the dam’ rag, and I haven’t wasted good beer tokens on a mag since the demise of “Climber and Rambler”!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to G8ADD:
Hi, Brian.
In that case … I’m sure you’re right.
I like Trail magazine. I suspect the one you mentioned is a bit before my (limited) hill walking time. For me, Trail carries some good technical stuff and reviews as well as route info that can prove useful. For example my DC-002 route is based on one that appeared a couple of months ago.
That brings me neatly back to my original question about summit info. Is it useful? Is it relevant? Is it still correct? Do the external links still work? Does anyone use it? (I do - extensively - along with Richard’s excellent TomTom POIs for parking.)
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
I’ve found that quite a few of the external links no longer work Richard 
Roger G4OWG
In reply to G4ERP:
Cheers Richard, sussed the summit now. You had better Wx than me, I was too busy sheltering out of the wind to pay too much attention to the summit
Summit info wise - I tend to use the OS get-a-map and usually look at any links if just out of curiosity. I tend to decide where I want to go, get a rough plan for a route/routes and then look to see if there are any Sota summits in the vicinity.
For example, having decided on a mountain bike ride from Hawes last week, I realised that the hill I was almost riding over (Dodd Fell Hill) was a Sota summit, so decided to take the kit with me, leave the bike nr the Peninne way and make a quick ascent from there to activate the summit - well it would be rude not to when I was so close!
Iain, M3WJZ
In reply to M3WJZ:
Hi, Iain and Roger.
The photo was actually from our first visit in 2006. It was just as hot last week but don’t worry, we got wet in 2007.
I’m afraid I’m very SOTA-orientated although post-Goatdom I’m enjoying the walking more and more. I still wouldn’t be doing it were it not for SOTA, though. It would be very difficult to justify the time and expense. As Frank will testify, I have to do my homework before setting out. Not very spontaneous, I’m afraid, but that’s me.
I don’t think there is an easy way to check the external links so I guess it’s down to us all individually. Maybe Roy could mention in in the next Newsletter?
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
Hi Richard
Please forward any information you would like published in the September SOTA newsletter.
73
Roy G4SSH
In reply to G4SSH:
Hi, Roy.
Thank. I’ll send you something direct.
73, Richard
In reply to G4ERP:
That brings me neatly back to my original question about summit info.
Is it useful? Is it relevant? Is it still correct? Do the external
links still work? Does anyone use it?
Summit info is definitely a useful if somewhat patchy resource. It is the first place I visit when planning a trip. I think the problem is that it is not used enough.
I have been planning a trip to South Scotland during the last two weeks in August and although most of the 56 summits I have been considering have been activated there is no information on the majority of them. So some possibly nice summits may be missed because I can not find enough information. What is frustrating is having to spend hours searching the reflector(s) for the reports that I know people have posted. Maybe we need to encourage people to post their reports to the summit info as well as the reflector and maybe we need someone to scour the reflector and add relevant reports to the summit info?
Regards Steve GW7AAV
PS Had a look at Trail in the supermarket but could not see anything. Which issue?
In reply to GW7AAV:
There is a fair bit of useful information on the wiki pages of www.summitsbase.org.uk which is always worth checking out.
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to GW7AAV:
What is frustrating is having to spend hours searching the reflector(s)
for the reports that I know people have posted.
Don’t you just put the summit ref into the search box on the reflector?
If there’s no info but I’ve recorded as activating it then ask on here and I’ll tell all I know. Hurry up though, I’m away to W9 land on business next week.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to GW7AAV:
Hi, Steve.
As yet I haven’t ventured north of the border so I haven’t had reason to investigate the GM summit info. One of my colleagues keeps telling me I should be looking a bit further up country and enthuses about the GM summits.
For a prolific activator it’s a lot of work writing up all the routes so it’s good to know that others are using them. Maybe this thread will help provoke a flurry of writing. I hope so - for purely selfish reasons when I come to look further afield if nothing else. IMHO the route details should live with the summit details. I happily acknowledge all the excellent route info I used when I started. Thanks, chaps. Unfortunatley quite a lot of this is no longer available.
Oh, and the article is in this month’s edition (September) and it’s the top third of a LH page about a third of the way into the mag.
73, Richard
In reply to MM0FMF:
Don’t you just put the summit ref into the search box on the reflector?
Apparently not! I have a feeling I’ve made this mistake before. You have to search for the summit name.
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to GW7AAV:
I found the article today whilst browsing in the supermarket! Its in the opening section of news items and snippets, I forget what that is called. Its small but perfectly formed!
Incidentally, Richard, I came accidentally across a picture of me activating that summit, Rebecca Blyth | Flickr and no, I wasn’t facing Mecca!
73
Brian G8ADD