Hi Ed
Very commendable working in those conditions! We just had the usual East Yorkshire rain - hi hi!
73
Nick
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The current commercial arrays are not a patch on what they were in the past. Everything is getting replaced with fibre leaving radio for the hard-to-fibre areas.
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Thank you for our first S2S Joe. Long time overdue!
No, I donât think so. There wasnât much noise on 15 m or 10 m. Iâm sure the KX-2 filters are up to the job. I used a sotabeams filter on my handheld and that made a notable difference
Yes. I didnât check his location. So, no California then. However, I had my first SOTA QSO with a Canadian, so a small win.
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It was a rainy day on HB/ZH-003 (and also HBFF-0308), but I still wanted to do this activation. It was also so planned long before. I took my KX3/10W with Inv-L (2 masts). I was active from 13z to 16z. Despite the rain it was really fun. I worked a total of 21 transatlantic QSOs on cw, eight of them s2s and two p2p (park to park WWFF). When nothing was going on I was entertained by a cat who always wanted to play with the radials 
⊠Thank you all very much 
.
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CAT controlled radio?
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I was joined by Eric AD6VT, his YL Lesley, and dog Sage for an activation of Red Mountain W7A/CS-018 in Northern Arizona. We got a late start to avoid the coldest part of the morning but it was still chilly.
We set up two independent stations. My first QSOâs were not until almost 1630 UTC so I may have missed some Trans-Atlantic opportunities, But the log began with some great S2S including @G4AZS on 12m cw from G/WB-005. Shortly after that, I worked @EA2GM on 10m cw from EA1/AT-314. Many other nice 10m contacts including chasers from France and Spain. A bit later I worked @EA2GM again but this time on 10m ssb. The high bands were hopping with additional EU DX from Spain and Germany on 17m. It was a lot of fun to work the pileups and also some nice S2S into VE2.
Final tally was 19 S2S, 8 Trans-Atlantic DX, and 64 total qsoâs in my log during two hours on the air. Iâm not sure yet what Ericâs results were but I know he also had a great time.
Thanks all and see you on 10!
73,
Keith KR7RK
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I was planning to activate High Willhays (G/DC-001), but the weather forecast for Dartmoor was for rain and winds gusting up to 50mph! I thought better of it and opted for Staple Hill (G/SC-004) - only a short easy walk from the carpark, and the summit sheltered by trees. I used my âbigâ end-fed inverted L for the first time - 28m long, help up by a 10m telescopic pole, which was also supporting a slim jim for 2m. The rig was an FT818 with 5W.
I could hear NA base stations on the high bands, so I started spotting and calling first on 10m, then 12m, but got no replies. Then on 15m I was called by two EAs, and then nothing. I then reverted to my standard activation pattern, and tried 2m, working G6TEQ. Next I tried 20m, and had a good run of 13 EU QSOs, including 5 s2s.
I then checked the higher bands again to listen for NA SOTA stations. I could hear KF7NP on 10m, but he could not hear me. I then found VA2MO, and successfully completed my first ever transatlantic s2s. This was followed by a second s2s with AJ2I. It was getting dark at this point, and I really should have started packing up. However I thought I would have a quick go calling CQ, and this brought a third transatlantic s2s when I was called by VA2EO.
I packed up quickly in the fading light, and walked back to car park feeling very satisfied!
Bob G0KYS
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Hello Martin, hello Dave
thanks for your activation in the rain which allows our S2S QSOs. G/SP-004 seems to be very famous, 1042 activations until now.
73, Ludwig
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GM everyone,
i was very happy about the outcome of the QSOP, with 17 QSOs and 7 S2S. I was glad i brought my Icom-7100 with me, usually i have my QCX-mini 20m. 15m worked very nicely for most of the morning. Thanks all for chasing and the S2Ss, and thanks Eric Va2EO for lending me your antenna!
Sly
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Yes a popular Summit. It is near a couple of Urban areas so is easy yo get to. I think Mike 2E0YYY has the most activations and then Tom M1EYP, followed by me 2E0BIA (formally M7BIA). With the price of petrol it is the closest to me so I tend to do it most weeks. Much so a lot of peoples amusement (Thank you Shane, Ben and Rob)!
Great to get you yesterday Ludwig, Dave and I had a great time, even though we were expecting the tent to blow away at any moment!
Martin 73s
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Well, Bouyed by a non -SOTA QSO from IO88BK to Barcelona on 12m a couple of weeks ago, I thought I would try the Transatlantic SOTA weekend.
I am quite new to SOTA, activating three summits so far and after a bit of research decided on Dumyat GM/SS-216 since I might be coming down it at dusk. It also overlooks Menstrie where my Grandad grew up.
The weather forecast was for rain until lunch time and then clear with some strong winds. The forecast was fairly accurate and I was glad I had taken some cover. I hadnât bargained with the low cloud and was at the top before I could see it.
I set up the shelter then the pole with link dipole set for 12m and a Flowerpot antenna on the back guy for 2m. You can just see the beacon and Trig point in the background.
On to 2m first and Stephen MM7STT got me off the mark followed by four more contacts on 2m, including a couple of regulars GM4COX and GM0VEK, and that was the activation point in the bag.
Switch to 12m and although I could hear lots of US and Canadian stations, they couldnât seem to hear me, I couldnât really find a clear frequency to spot either unfortunately.
At this point the rain eased and the wind got up, it brought the pole down !
Oh well, might as well switch the dipole links. I set up for 15m and re-hoisted the antenna.
I saw that Fraser MM0EFI on GM/SS-192 had spotted for 15m and called him up S2S , we had a brief QSO and then a slightly longer chat later on 2m. I had set the dipole up to favour the Westerly direction so I think Fraser was off one end of the antenna. I also discovered later that I had knocked the connection off the external battery so the FT818 was only putting out 2.5W at that point !
I tried a few more calls on 15m but no replies and it was starting to get colder.
Fortunately the cloud had cleared and the Wallace monument looked nice silhouetted as the sun started to set on my way down.
So no Transatlantic QSOâs but another activation point and an S2S with Fraser (MG).
Also learnt a few lessons about hillcraft which will be useful if I tackle anything higher or more remote. I need a bit more practice on HF as well.
Andy MM7MOX
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Hi Fraser,
Thanks for the S2S we had on 15m. First I heard you just above the noise, but after some minutes, your signal climbed up to 58!
Like the last two previous years, I setup on the nearby one point summit HB/SO-015, where I find my way back to the car easily, even in the darkest forest.
In total, I had 90 contacts in the log, all with 10W SSB, of which were 28 S2S (some S2S had two operators on the same summit). I made only 4 transatlantic QSOs, of which were 2 S2S: with @N1CFO and @VA2MO, both on 17m.
The weather was not bad, about 7C max., no rain and later on, there was even a bit of sun.
First I used my proven EFHW in inverted-L configuration, but waited too long to change to my 12m/10m vertical EFHW:
By the time I was using this vertical, 10m state side was getting weaker and after a few answers on 12m, e.g. one was EC8ADS, and none on 10m, I again setup the EFHW antenna and made some more contacts. So at the end, all DX were made with the 20 meter long EFHW that I also used last year.
The map doesnât show all contacts that happened at the same minute, e.g. the QSO on 12m with EC8ADS from the Canary Island is missing (a known bug). Hans KI6EAB/W4 that I already worked before, was using a remote station in Florida from his QTH in California.
To be honest, I expected a bit more S2S DX, since the propagation looked promising, but most of the DX activators I could not hear or were so weak that I didnât even try.
For (a not so fair) comparison, 6 days before I tested my setup at HB/BE-108 when the CQ WW DC contest was going on. In 10 minutes I worked 6 DX stations:
Back to the North-Atlantic event:
While tuning around on 10m, I heard Herbert @OE9HRV having a QSO with Phil @G4OBK. Phil was just above the noise level but very well understandable, and Herbert was very good copyable, even his direction was behind my summit. Herbertâs Hentenna (PDF) and his 100W are really amazing, since I can hear him most of the times over ground wave, when Iâm activating in Switzerland, Germany or France. Not only on 10m, but also on other bands.
73 Stephan
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Well done Andy. Great to work you on 15 m and have a chat on 2 m later.
I hadnât spoken to anyone on HF SSB for about 10 years until I started doing SOTA in 2021. Iâd forgotten everything I knew about operating, propagation, when to use what band, the solar cycle etc. The solution is to just get out there and do it!
I can see from your photo why there were few GM stations on hills yesterday. The weather was pretty dire.
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Nice one Stephan!
Weâll not start the antenna argument again! This week, whilst activating, I have worked US stations on 15 m SSB using:
- 10 w into an inverted V EFHW
- 35 w into a 15 m delta loop
I always say, itâs the band conditions and not the wire (a lot of the time). 
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This!
Propagation is much more important than the antenna.
73 Stephan
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I was really surpised yesterday by all the European S2S contacts ! great conditions and and I only used 17 and 10m. Iâll be there next year for sure !
73 Eric VA2MO.
http://va2mo.blogspot.com/2022/11/5-nov-2022-mont-du-grand-morne-593m-2.html
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The weather dictated my choice of summit for this event. I was going to get wet, but how wet and would I be struggling to put up an antenna in tghe strong winds that were forecast? I selected a range of summits across Scotland and finally decided to activate Cat Law GM/ES-044 as it offered a well graded track access and had the benefit of stone shelters at the summit.
Setting out at 0605z, it took 3 hours and 40 minutes to drive to the parking spot which was 175 miles / 250km from my base in northern England. There was heavy rain for the last part of the journey, but it had reduced to drizzle when I arrived. Nevertheless the rain slowly got heavier as I ascended and with the increased wind speed as I gained height, it was not exactly pleasant at the summit. The ascent took me 1 hour 26 minutes - not quick, but I did have 13kg on my back.
After an inspection of the three summit shelters, I elected to use the smallest one as my tarp would spread across most of the top to give me some protection. I was keen to keep as dry as possible as this was the first outing for my newly acquired KX3. In hindsight, while this was quite a comfortable position, it was a poor choice as far as making Trans-Atlantic contacts were concerned. I would have been better setting up a tarp shelter further north on the fence line. In the shelter I was too far back from the edge of the hill in the north-west direction.
I used some of the rocks at the summit to create a support for my pole which worked well, but my choice of antenna was not in step with recent band conditions. I deployed my 20 / 17m vertical, but much of the DX action was on the higher frequencies. I did have a newly constructed 10m delta loop with me (untested), but I did not get around to deploying it on account of the weather. Setting up the vertical took long enough as it coincided with the worst of the weather.
It was 1230z when I was ready to go, but on key down the KX3 would not key properly, staying on transmit for around a second, producing a continuous tone which overrode anything I sent on the key. I suspect it was something to do with the damp atmosphere. Anyway after half an hour of faffing around without discovering a clear reason for what was happening, the problem went away. I started on 20m CW at 1300z with an EU S2S followed by calling CQ and a run which netted me 18 contacts in as many minutes. These were mainly around EU, but the run included an S2S with Scott N1AIA and a NA chase by John K8LJG in MI. Before moving to 17m, I bagged another EU S2S.
On 17m SSB I had a pleasant S2S with Erik N1CFO. A quick switch to 15m followed and trusting the misatch would not be too great for the amplifier I was using, I gave Fraser MM0EFI a call⊠he was only 40dB over 9 with me. 15m seemed to be the place to be at the time and Eric VA2EO and James KK1W were soon in log on CW for two more Trans-Atlantic S2S. I grabbed another EU S2S before putting out a CQ call, but that produced just 6 contacts, though one was with Alfred WX1S who was a huge signal. When the run dried up, I grabbed 3 more EU S2S on CW.
There was action up on 12m and 10m, but I couldnât find any NA activators, indeed for some reason both bands seemed to be quite noisy so I decided to give 20m another try. First to call to my surprise was Colin M1BUU. In all the run totalled 13 contacts ending with a call from David EA3/N6AN/P. I checked across the band before changing the links on the antenna once again. 17m SSB produced a very enjoyable contact with Eric VA2MO. I attempted to work Mike WB2FUV on 15m CW, but was not successful in getting myself heard. So back on 17m CW I put out another call which produced a further 9 contacts including one with Tom W4JKC, but no S2S.
I was now 1620z and I was getting rather cold, so I decided to do some hunting around before I pulled the plug. I only managed one more contact, an S2S with Jean VE2JCW on 12m CW. An attempt to work Mike WB2FUV on 10m was not successful.
Reluctantly I switched off at 1640z which gave me the remaining daylight to pack up the kit, the rain now having stopped. After a quick text to the XYL and taking a couple of photographs, I set off back to the car at 1706z just as darkness fell, though I was able to make my descent in moonlight without needing my head torch.
During the activation I did take time to listen for Pete WA7JTM on whatever band he was spotted on, but I was disappointed to find that there was no propagation from my location to Arizona. I usually hear Pete, though I have not always been able to make myself heard through his pile up. In that respect, for me conditions were rather disappointing. I thought it was down to my set up, but others seem to have had similar results.
It took me an hour to get back to the car. The first 30 miles of my return journey were driven through dense fog, but as this was on narrow winding roads with very little traffic, I did not lose much time. It was 2156z when I arrived home.
So this was another enjoyable event for me with 6 Trans-Atlantic S2S, 3 NA chaser contacts and 9 EU S2S in the log of 58 contacts. Ironically the only one of higher bands that I did not make any contacts on was 10m⊠I should have deployed the delta loop. Maybe for the next event in April 2023 I will focus more on the higher frequencies.
Many thanks to everyone that made this event so enjoyable, especially those that went out in poor weather conditions.
73, Gerald
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Hi Gerald, thanks for a great report and photos. A good read. 
Geoff vk3sq
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Nearly!
M1EYP - 126 activations of G/SP-004
2E0YYY - 124
2E0BIA - 80
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What a day!!
First of all thanks for your patience, the tiny signal from the venerable FT-817 sometimes, Iâm conscious, itÂŽs very weak.
The conditions in the upper bands has been really good, specially in the long distace terms.
All in all 42 qso. 25 DX NA in total, of which there are 17 NA S2S. In this side of the pond 10 EU S2S.
S2S NA side: WB2FUV, AC1Z, VE2JCW, N1AIA, VA2EO, VA2MO, NJ7V, AB1WX, NA6MG, KR7RK, WC1N, WA7JTM, KR7RK, N3XUL, + 3 dupes.
S2S EU side: EI9KY/P, LZ1GJ/P, OE5JFE/P, F/DD6FM/P, G4OOE/P, M1BUU/P, EA7GV, S52AU/P, IW2OBX/P, DH8WN/P
I could not work several activators who gave more than respectable signals in my headphones, a pity for sure.
EA1/AT-314 has a very clear and easy path to follow, and in the very summit there is a metallic fence that helps to asure the 6m rod. For this event I mounted the triple bazooka dipole antena for the 10m band as vertically as possible, as a main aerial. On the other hand I also mounted the 21m long EFHW as support for the 20 and 15 bands, the position was very low just above some branches and bushes, but it yielded enough given the precarious deployment.
I am a true enthusiast of vertical dipoles and now that we can enjoy the growth of high band conditions I canât resist using it even more when searching long distances. Out of predictions, with the vertical dipole for 10m, I was able to work several stations on 17m even on 15m with acceptable SWR.
A day to remember, but surely the next edition will be better!
Best 73!
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