Ian sends me to do the negotiations with land owners. I’ve only been turned down once - by a farmer’s wife who wouldn’t let us through because the husband wasn’t there. I’ve net a lot of strange and interesting characters…including a farmer with a gun, one in a kilt and one naked!
Esther
GI0AZA
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Hmmm. Never met a naked person while activating a SOTA summit. I did encounter one while walking a section of the Offa’s Dyke Path, though he was wearing a backpack. Does that count?
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In the old days, a drawing pin through the coax would have that effect.
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This was likely the Naked Rambler, Steven Gough, we also met him in the Scottish Borders after he had been released from Edinburgh Prison a few days previously in 2012:
73 Phil
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Or someone who really doesn’t like local area networks? Silly? But then there are loads of people who irrationally fear 5G.
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Never mind 5G - 5.5 & 6G are now being planned!
73 Ed.
Most people with 4G phones don’t actually have 4G yet but 3.9G. My phone hardware supports Wifi Calling and VoLTE but the software is disabled if you buy the cheap unlocked version from the Amazon’s of the world. I 'd need to buy an expensive network locked version to get these useful features. So my phone says 4G for the data connection but when you make a call it has to drop the 4G connection and switch to 3G to make thee call then switch back to 4G. Bah!
So I don’t want 5G ot 5.5G, I’d just like the 4G features to be enabled on the network and phone so I can fully use them 
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Just to muddy the waters more Telekom (T-Mobile if you prefer), will close down 3G services at the end of July in German regional areas, so that the 3G frequencies can be used for 5G (or so they say - it may be an equipment or mast space issue I suspect). Anyone with a 3G phone in these areas will no longer get a “broadband” connection, the 3G phone will drop back to 2G Edge communications (OK for email but not a lot more than that). The assumption is that the majority of people have 4G phones now. My Windows tablet only has 3G data capabilities, so in one hit, it is no longer a simple portable device for working away from home - I will have to run it on WiFi and have my 4G phone run as a WiFi hotspot to give it Internet access.
And how long before 4G and 2G are closed down ?
73 Ed.
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Perhaps a year ago, but now non VoLTE voice traffic in the UK is quite small. Massive push by operators in the last year to provision as many handsets as they can for VoLTE. This allows reduction in 2G & 3G carriers on 900 / 1800 / 2100 bands and refarm this spectrum for 4G. They want to switch off 3G fully before long.
Suggest your handset must be a bit of a rogue if its not VoLTE provisioned 
73 Gavin
GM0GAV
Nah,it’s a standard Moto G6 Play with a battery that lasts (well used to last) forever. But reading the forums shows that it’s a typical problem for lots of people who bought their phone unlocked rather than from their carrier. The cure is obvious, generate more electronic waste.
I’d have thought Smart Meters in the UK needing 2G for the back haul would keep 2G going for some time still.
Not long. 2G is basically shutdown outside of Europe and Africa and eventually the cost of support will outweigh the benefits. The UK will probably be the last place to drop it, but it will come down to spectrum availability (and cost-to-revenue considerations). 5G will have a lot more mast infrastructure, so 2G will only occupy a small fraction of the available tower space.
Most 5G out there is 5G radio into 4G core. The amount of 5G core out there is minimal - but it makes sense, upgrade the RAN first and then sort out your core later once your 4G RAN is on its way to being decommissioned.
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Do they only work on 2G? If so and 2G is phased out the debacle will make the failed Mk 1 Smart Meters look like a great sucess.
73,
Rod
It turns out that Three (my network provider) are a bit old school and do not enable VoLTE support on phones not provided by themselves. So if I want VoLTE I can buy a new phone from them or take my phone to another network that will support it. I’ve been a happy customer for many years but I think that may change over the next few months.