UHF Fun Day 27/03/2011

In reply to 2E0XTL:

Well I’ll do my bit to keep it near the top … :wink:

The weather forecast is beginning to look OK (not that I believe any of it until I can see the rain coming in - or not - on the radar) so I’m hopeful that I’ll be down in Galloway and up - probably - Cairnharrow GM/SS-191. I’ll alert once I’m a bit more sure!

Happy to try FM or SSB on 23cm - though I’d guess those in G/NP, G/LD and GM/SS are more likely to be S2S contacts that those in G/WB but it’s worth a try. Will also have 70cm, but only 5W on both bands. Will have the 15-ele for 23cm and either 6 or 12-ele for 70cm, depending on what I feel I can carry. It will be interesting to see if I can make 23cm contacts with chasers in my old home patch of the Red Rose County!

Of course the top of Snowdon / Yr Wyddfa is LOS from Cairnharrow!

73
John GM8OTI

In reply to GM8OTI:
Hi John
I might be on 23/70 but like you alert when I see the WX. My son is in a badminton competition so if he gets knocked out Saturday then I might be about on the Sunday!
Catch you this spring/summer at some point anyway:)
73
Robert GM4GUF

In reply to GM8OTI:
Hi John

WB to SS may be hard work I feel! Still it may be worth trying! We may be lucky and reflect off some aircraft near Manchester!!

I am taking a limited setup due to lack of funds for anything a little larger HI!! Still the 817 and 5 ele on 70cms should be O.K.

Speak on Sunday Fingers Crossed

73 Matt 2E0XTL

In reply to 2E0XTL:

Just a reminder to everyone placing alerts: (UK centric, people in CET zones are used to doing this)

Alert time is UTC and the clocks go forward to BST this Sunday. Please make sure that your alert time is correct and takes this into account.

i.e. if you will be on-air at noon local time (12:00BST) then you should put the alert time as 11:00.

I know we can all add and subtract 1, but you would be surprised the number of silly mistakes made when you have to tweak the alert just before you leave the house!

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to MM0FMF:
Andy,

Thank you for the reminder; some of us are pretty hopeless at getting times right even in mid-season.

Rod

In reply to MM0FMF:
Im guilty as charged :slight_smile:

Adrian

and me…

Alan M0DDC

In reply to 2E0XTL:

However I
find aiming at Cheltenham to be a superb idea! 4 SOTA chasers on this
band, the brilliance of the Cheltenham Mafia!!!

73 Matt 2E0XTL

We do what we can! ;o)
73 Graham G4FUJ

We do what we can! ;o)
73 Graham G4FUJ

Who’s the Don Graham??

In reply to 2E0XTL:
:ROTFL:
Don’t think there is one Matt - we’re democratic community!

Cheers,
Graham G4FUJ

Looks like there will be a good turnout for this one.

Looking forward to a few S2S and promoting activity on 70cm. I will put out a general CQ call after playing ‘search and pounce’.

73 Chris 2E0FSR

In reply to 2E0FSR:

My chosen summit, Hart Fell SS-037, is true optical LOS to Cairnharrow SS-191/John GM8OTI and Ben Donich SS-027/Roddy 2M0IOB & Bobby GM7GAX. So that should be 2x S2S. That’s halfway to qualification already!

It’s also LOS to the follow G summits: Cold Fell, Cross Fell, Nine Standards Rig, Great Shunner Fell, The Calf, High Street, Great Mell Fell, Blencathra, Skiddaw, Pike oF Blisco, Scafell Pike, Grassmoor, Pillar and Dent.

Phil G4OBK is doing Grassmoor but I don’t know if he has 70cms with him.

Probably 3 times as many GM summits are LOS too.

Andy
MM0FMF

In reply to MM0FMF:

Well that went well :wink:

Hart Fell SS-037 qualified with 70cms GM S2S contacts

GM8OTI/P SS-191 432.200 USB (optical path)
2M0IOB/P SS-027 433.500 FM (optical path)
MM0TAI/P SS-015 433.500 FM (optical path)
GM4COX/P SS-025 433.475 FM (as there was a big pileup on SU20 now!)

Now if we can guarantee some Es for 4m/6m fun day I’ll be a happy bunny.

Andy
MM0FMF

The good news and the bad news. All contacts made with my Yaesu FT-817ND using 2.5W into a SB270 Sota Beam.

My 70cm S2S contacts today :-

M1EYO/P Alan on G/SP-002 Black Hill (FM)
GW3NYY/P Walt on GW/SW-018 Mynydd Eppynt (SSB)
2E0XTL/P Matt on G/WB-011 Bradnor Hill (SSB)
M0LMP/P Lee on G/SP-012 Easington Fell (FM)
G1OPV/P Phil on G/SP-014 Longridge Fell (FM)
G6MZX/P Geoff on G/NP-032 Sharp Haw (FM)
M0DDC/P Alan on G/NP-009 (FM)

and 2M S2S contacts today:-

G4RQJ/P Rob on G/LD-051 Holme Fell (FM)
MW0TUB/P Dave on GW/NW-042 Moel y Gamelin (FM)

The S2S on 70cm SSB were a real struggle due to QSB but we made it eventually. Thanks to GW3NYY/P Walt and 2E0XTL/P Matt for your patience. The bad news. I slipped on the ascent literally two minutes from the summit just before the Obelisk. I set up and enjoyed a good day playing radio. Then when it came to the descent my right knee had swelled up like a balloon. I hobbled off the summit in some pain.

Hope those who took part had a good day and arrived home safely.

73 Chris 2E0FSR

In reply to 2E0FSR:

Ouch! Sorry to hear that Chris - I hope your knee improves quickly.

I did listen out for you but couldn’t hear you over the noise I’m afraid.

Take care!

Karen 2E0XYL

In reply to 2E0FSR:

Hi Chris!

Many thanks to you and Neil for the S2S QSOs on 70cm. I managed 11 QSOs on 70cm. Two of these were on FM and one of them(G0IBE/P)duplicated an earlier QSO on SSB, so only 10 different stations were worked.

Very sorry to hear about your knee. I hope it heals up quickly.

73,
Walt (G3NYY)

Thanks for the wishes Karen and Walt.

For those of you who think ‘it will never happen to me’ take note. I’m built of stern stuff and who would have thought that a minor slip like that could do so much damage? I will assess the knee in the morning and decide if I need to see the Doc.

73 Chris 2E0FSR

In reply to 2E0FSR:

Sorry to hear about your mishap Chris, it is very easily done, as recent events have proved.

I hope you haven’t done too much damage!

Best 73,

Mark G0VOF

Well not as much fun as it could have been!

Allowed plenty time to get up Cairnharrow GM/SS-191 so was calling CQ on 70cm SSB 15mins before the alerted time. Listening around I heard (I’m pretty sure) Frank G3RMD around 432.220 and tried to tail end but no joy. Later heard Walt GW3NYY/P on .200 but again no QSO.

Eventually (after 40 minutes!) Andy MM0FMF came back to my plaintive CQ calls with a whopping signal - LOS of course so we had a good chat S2S on 0.5W at each end, still 59. Glad the hastily rigged beam was working well Andy - but as I noted I think I’ll have to get one built to improve my chances, I do better with homebrew rather than commercial gear!

I diverted to 23cm just to have a listen but couldn’t hear anyone on the FM calling channel. I was a bit disconcerted that I couldn’t hear the Carrickfergus 23cm beacon which I think should be easy from Cairnharrow - when I got back to Edinburgh this evening I found the transverter is still working fine, I can hear GB3EDN as usual, so I’ll have to look into the Carrickfergus issue.

I was close to giving up, with just one measly contact, when John GW3GUX/P on Anglesey got back to me - we had a good natter, he was S7 with me though I was a bit weak (running the 4W or so from the bare FT-817). A good path - 176km, a sea path (just missing the Isle of Man!), but good all the same and certainly not LOS. Much of the Lancashire / N Wales coast is much the same from Cairnharrow so I’m surprised I found no-one else. Anyway I enjoyed the rag chewing after which I gave a few more CQ calls on 70cm SSB before giving up.

I did listen off and on on 70cm FM as well, but the distance is such that FM doesn’t work that well - it’s either there or it isn’t, if there’s not enough signal there it’s just all in the noise. I didn’t hear any 70cm FM signals at all - though of course my antenna was horizontally polarised. Looking at Andy’s report I should have tried FM to the north as well - though I’m not keen on it as it runs the batteries down fast! The FT-817 battery indicator (external 4Ah SLAB) was complaining by the time I stopped. You can tell I’m not an FM fiend :wink:

I was on the summit for 2 hours so 1 contact per hour is not a good rate! I’ll have to go with a better strategy next time. Some prearranged skeds would be good - managed a 23cm S2S with Gerald G4OIG last year with no problems at all, but that was with a sked.

Sorry to hear of your injury Chris - hope everyone else got down OK.

73
John GM8OTI

In reply to GM8OTI:

Later heard Walt GW3NYY/P on .200 but again no QSO.

Delighted to know you heard me, John, but what a pity no QSO resulted. I was running 30 watts to the 6 el SOTA beam, so probably the power difference enabled you to hear me but not the other way round. Your Anglesey QSO was a nice catch.

I did not hear any GM stations, despite beaming that way quite frequently.

Better luck next time!

73,
Walt (G3NYY)