6 Sota summit weekender!! (part 1) G/SP-010 Winter hill. TP0701 Rivington 4/9/24

 Ok, ok I know the 4th september wasn't a weekend day. I did however have this planned for the weekends adventures, its just I was working in the area, and I managed a dinner time finish..  the weather was decent so I thought what the hell! 

My plan was always to ascend from the Belmont side, the path seems to be a decent balance between steep and walkable! 

If im honest, it looks alot worse than it actually is the path is well made and in reasonable condition, and I was soon on the top.

once up top, You arrive at the tarmac service road for the transmitters and swing to the right  a few more 100 yards walk, and you will find the trig point, The Trig isnt named after the hill, and is called Rivington TP0701. this seems to cause much confusion amongst trig enthusiasts and baggers alike!

the feelings of antenna inadequacy over, I set to activating. given the fact it was an opporunist activation, i had none of my usual kit, infact I ascended in steel toe work boots, and a luminous yellow work coat! this meant, it was the handheld a Nagoya rubber duck, and luckily the SOTAbeams filter for 2M band! Game on!

Got on the air for 1330bst 1230utc and quickly got M0CQE - Paul in the log. followed by 7 more QSOs giving me 8 in the log. but a storm was brewing and threatening rain, so I decided to quit while I had a chance of getting down in the dry! so I headed for the car, quick selfie and away back to the car!

A great activation for a weekday afternoon, as usual thanks to all the chasers without you guys we couldnt do what we do!

To be continued in part 2!

Alan

The Fear - Kinder scout G/SP-001 TP6378 (the Edge) 8/6/24

With hog roast weekend nearing closer, and fancying a piece of the S2S action, I spoke with my good friend Andy M7BOA and we decided to have a go at Black Hill (G/SP-002) this was, however, despite my posting an alert going to be the subject of a Denby Dale RC Field day station, that was announced with a week to go to activation day… Denby dale were very polite about it by the way, but We decided to step aside and re-plan for another summit. so plans were changed, and alerts altered! we decided in G/SP-001 Kinder Scout!!

Now, many of you will remember, last time I attempeted Kinder Scout, I ended up throwing myself in a gully on Ashop moor and having to be rescued by mountain Rescue with a smashed leg! this is something that weighed heavily on my mind, in more ways than one, its what kept me off the hills for most of 2023, and left me with a feeling of unfinished business… but this also stirred a new feeling in me, something I have never experienced going onto the hills… The Fear! but with a week to go at this point, I put it to the back of my mind and we made our plans…

The plan was, myself and my lad William would go via the route I came a cropper on 18 months ago. Snake pass summit, over Ashop moor and up the corner of Kinder, then follow the path along towards Kinder downfall, turning left just after Sandy Heys, to activate at the trig poinf at SK077893 - The Edge! for this walk i Reckoned about 1 hour and 20 mins (big mistake, more later) And after the activation follow the same route back. Andy M7BOA was travelling by train and was going to Solo up from Edale via Grindslow and Crowden tower, accross the downfall then meet us at the trig, with a return straight down the P/Way via Jacobs ladder and Upper Booth. All we needed now was the weather!!

the morning of the activation was upon as, and with an early start to collect William from his Mum’s we were up at snake pass head for around 0800, we were met with a heavy mist and wet weather with poor visability and miserable conditions, now if i hadnt read the mountian weather reports and knew it was going to clear up, at that point the activation would have been off, we agreed to re-asses the weather the other side of Ashop moor before we made the ascent onto Kinder! now i reckoned on half an hour for Ashop moor, its fairly flat going on stone slabs, and with the fear hanging haevily on me we gingerly set off along the slab pathway that was literally my downfall last time…

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The slabs are endless and punishing made more so by the conditions, but we were soon past the gully I came a cropper on, pausing for thought as we went it was at this point the fear ws at its wost, but i gingerly stepped accross the gully, and made it to the other side safely… just like that the fear lifted, like a weight coming off me, I finally felt free of the curse of 18 months ago! at that we pressed on, in pretty horrific conditions. Driving rain and a proper wind chill mader this feel like a winter bonus activation, I kept having to remind myself we were in June! But slowly, and thankfully the cloud began to lift and we could see the Behemoth that is Kinder Scout looming out of the mist.

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Ashop Moor was a huge underestimation on my part, i think the ZigZagging of the stone slabs robbed time, and added un-neccecary distance it had took us over an hour to reach the Tee junction at Mill Hill, but with the weather improving as predicted we decided to press on, cross the Col to the bottom of the ascent to Kinder, and then up the steep Scramble to the top! by this point the P/Way path has been joined by other paths coming up the hill, and its got alot busier with other walkers, which is re-assuring! we pressed on up the Charged Rocks and were rewarded with fantastic views! Notice how the clouds have gone… quite a contrast!

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By this stage we were well late for our alerted time, but making good progress on tired legs we located the fences that marked the way up to the trig, and after a bit of an awkward navigation we located the trig, sat on its plinth! by now, over an hour late, I decided due to time constraints to forget the HF, and concentrate on VHF so the Slim G was deployed and the FT4X hooked up and the activation was on!

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Straight into the S2S contacts from North wales I rapidly got the 4 needed to Qualify the activation, and ended up with 13 S2S and 17 all told, not massive, but i only had about 25 mins, as we needed to get back! I was a bit gutted not to have more time, i could have easily doubled that total I would have thought but hey ho! We needed to get back!

M7BOA (left) and myself

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Some idiot on a trig!

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The way back was relatively uneventful, just very busy with walkers till we got to Ashop moor, the slog across the moor was even worse on the way back, on extremely tired legs and bad cramps… but eventually 2 hours and 10 mins after leaving the trig we were safely back at the car EXHAUSTED!!

I really did underestimate the scale of this walk, I reckoned on an hour and a half up but it took 2 1/2 hours almost the same back… but I conquered it! I also realised I had made the same mistake the day I fell, and maybe the fall saved me from a worse fate, as I would have been benighted in a snowstorm on Kinder… not good! but it doesnt do to dwell on these things…

Thanks to everyone I worked, and the usual Chasers, without you guys we wouldnt do what we do!

Alan & William

Freeholds top - G/SP-011 TP4100 - WABsq SD92. The ONLY operator in England!

The sister in law had a pre planned visit to the Rochdale infirmary for a small procedure, that was going to take about 4 hours.... hmmmm.... Freeholds top! G/SP-011.

Its only about a 20-25 min run from the infirmary at rochdale to Sharneyford, and the start of the track up to freeholds top so it was cracking idea!.... except for 1 thing..... the weather! The hourly weather was hastily pulled up on the PC and what do you know? dry from 1300 :laughing: :laughing: its VERY unusual for the WX gods to act favourably on me, but hey.. ill take it!

The start of the walk is a nice made up track called Limers gate, in the Village of Sharneyford a couple of miles East of the town of Bacup, but be warned it somewhat luls you into a false sense of security! and I somewhat understimated the time it would take me (and my still gammy ankle) to get up the track to the trig point! further up the track its made up of huge bricks and full of holes and chunks, that in the wet made the track quite hard going in places, with water completely covering the track over for large parts, facilitating the need to either wade or find an alternative! The path veers right near the end, and climbs steeply onto the moor plateu, with the wet weather this was by far worse than the track, and "bog hopping" was the order of the day, for the final tortuous 200M to the trig!

Just as i opened the gate to the trig area, lady luck ran out.. the heavens OPENED! So a quick operation on the "rubber duck" was called for, I fired up VK portalog, spotted gave it a min or 2 and then called CQ, Quickly Paul @M0CQE came back to me, for number one in the log.... "you know my friend, you are the only operator out in England today according to the spots" he informed me! Mind you, i wasnt suprised with the weather! it soon became apparent that paul was the only person who could hear me on the rubber duck, so with the rain pouring i stuck the trusty mast and Spectrum slim G up, and made another call.... BOOM! Straight into 3 more M7ELO - John, G1JPV - Tony and G6XBF - Walt! gotta admit it was a releif to hit the 4 mark, it was more of a releif for the rain to be stopping too! I added 6 more to the log for a total of 10, that'll do!

Anyhow the descent was more of the same, bog hopping, ankle crunching fun and it thankfully stopped dry! if i go again, i might try it from Shawforth next time.. steeper, but shorter!

Oh, and im now on 20 Activator points! haha

Thanks to all the Chasers and those taking the time to read.

Alan

Battling Gun - G/SP-013 - TP3538 29/03/24

My lovely Wifey decided that she wanted to go to Bingo, with her pal and wanted to be dropped off in Manchester near Belle Vue at 1715… given that it was now 1500 that didnt leave me alot of time. So a plan was hastily formed to have a quick trip up the Gun, i should be able to drive there, activate, and get back to the car before we lost complete daylight. and given its a fairly straightforward half mile wander up a well defined track a headtorch descent wasnt the end of the world! the weather had been fairly decent here all day, and so I reckoned the going would be ok, with no major issues!!

Quick activation gear was packed, and the Girls dropped off to (try) and win us some money I was on my way to the Gun! G/SP-013. all was well, as I passed through the town of Macclesfieldbut as we drove up the Leek road, the heavens OPENED! proper biblical rain… ooooohhhhh i was chatting with my mate on 4M FM at the time and distinctly remeber saying “if this doesnt clear up soon, im calling it off” anyhow, as quickly as it started was as quick as as it stopped, with warming spring sunshine and blue skies behind it, I decided to press on.

As I arived at the parking area, I could see the remnants of a hail storm settled on the road, but it was fast dissapearing, but there was ALOT of water on the road… i had a quick look at the track and the bottom bit by the gate was a quagmire, but the rest form this position looked easy going, so the gear was grabbed and off i went! Quagmire was an UNDERSTATEMENT it was a horrible wet mud pit that tried to suck my trekking poles into its black depths, but after some careful footwork i was accross and on the track proper. Now this was to be the HARDEST virtually flat 1/2 mile i have EVER walked, the mud and water was constant and never ending, and what should have been a 10 min bounce to the top turned into a half hour battle with the bog!! however, i would come oput triumphant!

Mud, Mud, Glorious Mud…

Anyhow, the twighlight was fast approaching and in the distance in incoming squall, I needed to do this and do it FAST! I chucked the roach pole up on the trig point, whipped the Slim G up on it, and cracked on… 10 contacts in 11 mins, that’ll do!

Everybody loves a Slim G!

Selfie time!

With the rain spit spotting as i packed my final bits, and donned my head torch we were off to do battle again! unsuprisingly things hadnt improved much, but the descent was slightly quicker (about 20 mins) than the ascent! after again crossing the mud pit of doom, I was elated to be back at the car! gear packed and off to find food…

Muddy…

Great little evening out, and ill be back on the Gun, i can see it being a great little spot on a nice summers evening in the dry!

Thanks to all the Chasers, with a special mention to Paul @M0CQE First in the log, and for later checking I was down safe by whatsapp. thankyou buddy!

73 all, till next time!

Alan

21 & 29/10/23 - A BOTA completion, and a bonus trig to trig..... B/G-0944 Crossland Moor and TP2622 Crossland heath.

 Unfortunately due to "life" I haven't been as active as Id hoped on activating the bunkers, i am quite lucky here, that I am within half an hours drive of several bunkers, but settled on the one at Crossland Moor, Huddersfield as my first one.

The Bunker is located in front of the Huddersfield Observatory, and has sadly been demolished, or rather the surface features have been, I'm unsure if the bunker its self is still underground. 

Anyhow, the bunker rues stipulate an activation is allowed within 1Km of the bunker site, and this one affords a nice easy Layby where you can sit in the car and fill yer boots! 

I first activated the Bunker on the 21/10/2023 on HF, using the little Xeigu G106 and an EFHW on 40M, but I ROYALLY messed up my timing, Worked all Germany weekend and the usual big station contesters were making life VERY difficult, with my little 5W QRP station! I persevered and with some internet assistance managed 17 calls, including a few into France and Belgium, but sadly short of the 25 needed to qualify a bunker as activated. I gave up in the end, as the band conditions were worsening by the second... 

Now this is where the rules work to an activators advantage, you dont have to do all 25 qualifying contacts in 1 session so I planned a return at some point...

I returned on the 29/10/23, I did take the HF gear, but planned on doing the activation on VHF, using the car antenna and the usual FT4XE handheld, I made a start calling on the 2M calling frequncey, but calls were slow! I needed 8 to qualify the bunker, and boy did I struggle!

The first out of the bag was G6XBF - Walt and then M7GDE - Andy K in Kippax, north Leeds. who proceeded to text his radio friends and DX groups he knew of to try and get me over the line, Thanks Andy!

I got a few more in the log, and then spoke to Paul, M0AIA/P who was at a trig point, we got talking and he mentioned there was a trig near to the bunker! A golden opportunity for a trig to trig... he helped me over the line with my last 3 contacts, and a change of antenna to the slim G helped AGAIN to get the last couple in the log, happy with 25 uniques, it was tick tick... bunker activated! 

Trig point TP2622 - Crossland heath

Bunker done, I was off to the trig point, its literally a few mins walk from the road, Paul had kindly agreed to hang around for a trig to trig. so i made my way over with the handheld, and called "trig to trig, trig to trig 2E0JWA/P" and we did it! A VHF trig to trig TP2622 Crossland heath to TP3676 Haw Cliff Top .. had a little QSO from the trig, and with the light failing and the temperatures dropping rapidly I made a dart back to the car!

A really nice trig point, in a picturesque location made a nice end to the activation.
Special thanks to the Bunkers on the Air crew, for setting up and managing a fantastic scheme, long may it continue! Andy K M7GDE for Rallying the troops and Paul M0AIA for telling me about the trig, passing some of his calls to me so I could get over the line, and for hanging around so we could get the trig to trig. Sometimes I am humbled by the amateur radio community's willingness to help others and keep the spirit of amateur radio alive..

Till next time 73s - Alan

Bunkers on the Air - A new Scheme for Radio Hams!

 Lets talk about Bunkers on the air...

As far as i can work out there was a previous incarnation of this programme, and they are NOT in any way connected. the following s a completely NEW award scheme Skilfully put together by A small dedicated team and will be starting as a one month event from the 1st to the 31st of October 2023! 

I will hopefully activating both on VHF and HF from 2 or 3 locations for this event as I think its great! The scheme is based around the former Royal Observer Core nuclear war observation bunkers stationed all over the country, all the details of which can be can be found on the Bunkers on the Air website! you can also find the rules, how to log and links to the Facebook group on the link..

The long term plan of the BOTA MT is to open up the scheme and expand its operating locations to other fortifications from WW2, the cold war ETC ETC.....

Good luck to all operators operating the event, and I hope to work some of you!!

73 - Alan

Broken leg vehicle assisted 6 Trig day! with a bonus HEMA.. 26/02/23

Getting pretty peed off stuck indoors with my smashed up leg, Duane (2E0DIJ) came up with a plan to activate 6 vehicle accessible trig points around Greater Manchester! as plans go, this wasn't a bad one, and obviously I was well up for it! a date was set for the 26/02/23 and we were off! 

WAB Trig #18 TP1071 WABSq SJ79 Barton Moss

First of the day, Barton Moss located up a private road near the AirField, we decided forgiveness was easier then permission and rocked up activate the trig!

 Me Making a dash on sticks for the trig! 😂😂

Anyhow, this one is a leaner, and is slowly toppling... 

1 contact made, 2E0LMD Anne in Heald green! (Anne and her partner Mark feature quite heavily in this story). as i was completing the contact the landowner came along to ask what we were up too (fair enough) he was a sound fella! good to have a natter matey! 5 mins later, we were off to the second one of the day..

WAB TRIG #19 TP2030 WABSq SJ78 Castle Hill

Interesting trig this one, being in view of the runways at Manchester Airport.

I absolutely promise you, there is a plane landing in this pic! 

Quick fire contacts with M0XMX/P who was up on the Gun G/SP-013 performing a SOTA activation (bonus chase FTW), 2E0LMD Anne (again, told you!) and M0CQE Paul in Oldham. Duane made his contacts separately, and with that we were off again.. no messing around with these! 

WAB TRIG #20 TP3640 WABSq SJ88 Harrison Pit

Not an easy one to locate this one, we had to use the Trig FindAR app to help us, its below road level in a field, but not to worry! we could operate well within the 30M limit from the car... slightly dodgy parking so no messing with this one, quick in and out smash and grab job! 😂😂

Quick contact with Mark this time, in Heald Green.. 2E0LKC, and off we went!

WAB TRIG #21 TP3920 WABSq SJ88 Hill Top Farm

Another one up Private farm tracks in this case, you have to go through the farms yard.. tried to call to request permission, but no answer.. so like last time we went for it! We got busted in the farms yard, but the guy was sound and allowed us to continue 😄 another one where we had to use the TRIGFINDAR app, buried in a hedge just off the track is the trig... again, the 30M rule was used here, I think we were 16M away from the trig point. not wanting to block the farms track, it was fast again... 2E0LKC - Mark in heald green was the contact! less tan 5 mins on this one.. time to go again!

WAB TRIG #22 TP4668 WABsq SJ98 Marple Ridge

Spectacular spot, plenty of altitude... could have played radio up here all day, but the pillar is on someone's drive in a cul-de-sac.. 

the usual quick call and we got 2W0JYN Stephen in Rhos, nice and strong full scale too! fantastic! and with that, the curtain twitchers were starting, so off we went again!

WAB TRIG #23 TP6798 WABsq SJ99 Werneth Low

Located in a gatehole Just off Cowlishaw Road, this was to be the last one of the day. usual quick call and Mark 2E0LKC replied.. job done!

6 trigs in just over 2 hours... and my 20 activated certificate too! Fabulous day out.... good company and some right laughs! 

But, you said there was a bonus HEMA?? I did! and for that you will have to wait till tomorrow evening.. sorry! [NB - Post will be 1700 on the 03/03/23 - Alan]

Thanks as usual to the chasers, its great fun working you all, and a special thanks again to Duane 2E0DIJ for being the driver and photographer!

Cheers, till tomorrow! 

Alan - 2E0JWA

Kinder scout G/SP-001 - Failed SOTA & a mountain rescue - 2/1/23

Fancying a winter bonus activation, I fancied a crack at the biggest summit in my local area. G/SP-001 Kinder Scout 4 points plus a 3 point winter bonus so a worthwhile 7 point total. I originally had the thought of doing it between Christmas and new year, but my missus catching Covid put paid to that, so a replan was devised for the bank holiday Monday 2/1/23.

The Weather on the morning of the activation day was fantastic, sunny, warm (ish) a lovely day for a SOTA activation! a plan was formulated to solo the trip, going on to Kinder Plateau along the Pennine way from Snake pass summit, and activating the trig point at SK 07698 89370 - TP6378 The Edge. this trig is well within the AZ for the SOTA and would have the added bonus of ticking me off a trig too! kit prepared, and a last check of the mountain weather report.. bright and sunny, clouding over late afternoon and a small chance of snow after dark... that'll do! I planned on being off the hill by 1600 latest, so was satisfied this would be a pleasant activation. 

I parked the car on Snake summit, did a SOTA activation alert, and set off. the path is well marked on stone slabs laid by the national parks service to reduce erosion to the local pathways. these stone slabs, would prove to be my literal downfall! the going was good, and although the slabs were damp, the temp was around 6 degrees and there was no sign of any ice I reckoned on about 50 mins to cover the 3 and a bit miles to the trig the path crosses several gullies, and the stones slabs form little bridges across the gullies. Placing my foot on one such slab, I felt my left leg crumble from underneath me and in that split second it dawned on me, id hit the only patch of black ice on the whole path! BALLS by this point im upside down, on my back doing a dying fly impression wedged in the gully by my backpack. this was the point the pitfalls of soloing a walk on the moors become very apparent! I knew there were others in the vicinity so I shouted and whistled for help managed to extract myself from the straps on my rucksack and luckily people appeared to help me. they rolled me from my precarious position back onto the path, it was then the pain in my leg hit me, and I realised I was in ALOT of pain from my Left leg and now in quite serious trouble.

So, here I am, lying on the cold floor I cant move due to a busted leg and people are trying to help me, this led to the 1st problem.. poor mobile signal! I could get a GPS NGR but no one could dial out, not to worry I thought... I have radio! Now, I need to get something off my chest here, I could hear people calling on S20 I called mayday and my callsign.. but yet my calls went IGNORED! SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, WHY WOULD YOU IGNORE A MAYDAY CALL???? really, why? honestly, its been nearly a month since my accident, and this is STILL really eating at me...

 So, here I am lying on the ground, slowly getting hypothermic due to shock and the pain in my leg. a small crowd was gathering to help me, people finding warm coverings and blankets, people off to raise help, MADNESS! but boy, was I thankful for them. my memory is a little hazy, so if you were one of the heroes who helped, thankyou! the ones I can remember were the older couple, who stuck their dog in a bivi bag with me to keep me warm, the polish couple who supplied hot tea, and all the runners who went to get mobile signal to get help! Special thanks also goes out to my friends Andy (M7BOA) and James, after I somehow managed to get a help whatsapp to them, with my NGR on screengrab and they came to meet me and sort my car and stuff...

All photos, unless otherwise stated on this post © James Smith 2023

After 50 or so mins, the angels in red coats arrived, in the form of Glossop Mountain Rescue Team who quickly administered pain medication, and packaged me in their fleece lined casualty bag while a plan was formulated with the team medic to get me off.. Meanwhile, in the background a storm was brewing.. one of the evening snow showers arriving early! so, the team survival tent was deployed...

They soon had my leg splinted, and I was loaded onto the team stretcher, fastened on and packaged up for the carry off. now this is quite cool, the stretcher is called (I think) a Bell stretcher, it was specially developed for use by MRTs and has a single wheel underneath, to roll it in a guided way, and take the strain off the team on a long carry off! great piece of kit, weird to ride on! haha

Luckily for the team, I was only about half a mile from the road, so the carry off wasn't too arduous, and they quickly got me into the back of a warm land rover, to await the arrival of NWAS to take me to hospital. Now, this is where things got a bit interesting! according to the MRT, NWAS had telephoned their duty controller and informed them an ambulance wouldn't be attending??!! so we worked out a plan to get me, in my own vehicle and James was going to drive me to the hospital... as preparations were being made.... an Ambulance turned up!

Anyway, eventually safely loaded into the Ambulance I was finally on my way to A&E, but that is a whole other story! one I may share one day, lets just say I wasn't too impressed with the care I received...

Final result is a Spiral Fracture Distal third Left Fibula, and after some messing around and an operation, its been pinned and plated, and im now non weight bearing on my left leg (so virtually immobile) till the end of February and then a decision will be made on whether or not I can start physio and gentle weight bearing... the screws and pins holding it all together are pencilled in for removal in 3 months time (so another operation) and there will be recovery time after that, so looks like the end of summer till im strong enough to get out on the tops again, and im utterly miserable about it!!

I will be back, doing something at some point when im back driving, maybe POTA or WWFF activations, in the meantime I wish to express my extreme gratitude to Glossop Mountain Rescue Team, without whom I would have been in real trouble and i would ask if anyone reading this could chuck them a few quid, whatever you can afford it would be really appreciated! I aim to do something to raise a few quid for them maybe later in the year, see how my fitness goes.. so watch this space!!

donation link for GMRT click here

GMRTs main website here

Its been pretty difficult to write this, and I have wrestled with myself for most of the month whether I should, or shouldn't do it! but reading it back to myself now, and reliving the experience I find quite therapeutic! Anyhow, sorry its a long one, I WILL BE BACK! thanks for reading folks

Alan - 2E0JWA

Worked all Britain trig #17 TP1391 - Birshaw SD90 WAB 7/12/22 Part 2

 Part 2 of my unexpected day off...

The earlier contact with 2E0DIJ led to another text message.. "do you fancy a crack at the angry farmer?" the name we gave to the Birshaw trig, as the reports on the Trigpointing UK all point to the farmer not being so keen on people visiting the trig! talk of arguments, confrontations and dogs meant setting a contact up in advance was a must, as I would have to be stealthy to avoid the gaze of the farmer and speed was essential, its position in a valley also meant that an "organic" contact would be difficult on the hand held with a rubber duck antenna! contact set up, i made off for the difficult approach to the trig, through a forest in twilight, up a steep hill and out to the Trig...

 

I gave a CQ call, and was VERY surprised when G4DEE- Tony in Bury!

Did a QSY, completed the call, Duane followed us up, so had a second one with him and then my peace was shattered by the sound a barking dog, getting louder and louder, next thing, its on to me! Oh balls I thought, quickly completing my QSOs... the hound was hotly followed by a human, I can only assume it was the angry farmer.. I didn't wait to find out! I high-tailed it for the trees and disappeared in the undergrowth before I was spotted! PHEW!

Back at the car, I caught my breath.. job done! happy I had finally done the closest Trig to my house! who would have thought trig activating could be so exciting!

As usual thanks to the chasers, we couldn't do this stuff without you!

Till next time, Cheers! 2E0JWA - Alan

Worked all Britain Trig #16 TP3756 - Hey Farm SD91 WAB 7/12/22 part 1

 One of my locals, and been on the list for AGES! (but not as long as Trig #17).... anyway an unexpected day off, gave me a bit of free time so I reckoned i could squeeze a couple in off my list..

Maps read and plan made, went for the direct route (and later regretted it)..

the reason for my regret?? the path after a couple of hundred yards following a stream, becomes the stream!! and here's me in my lightweight boots.. oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound!

After a VERY muddy ascent (if i ever go up again, wellies 100% needed!) you end up wondering up a sheep field, looking for the trig... 

AHHHH There it is! activation at the actual trig is difficult, as its in a mud pit, so I set up on an adjacent fence within the AZ...

I HOPED due to its great take off that an operation on the rubber duck would do the job, but sadly that wasn't to be, Luckily I had chucked the Mast and the Spectrum slim G in the bag! so, mast up... improvement none.... Balls, this is going to be a cold waste of time!

Got a text off Duane 2E0DIJ, "are you coming on the radio pal?" WINNER!! Trig activated... but, this brought in another caller Paul G6SPG in Irlam, 2 contacts.. that'll do! by this time I was positively icy, so a quick de-rig and made for the ascent, not before a quick look back to see the moon rising! 

Now, the ascent! I didn't much fancy the river bed again, so I found a longer but MUCH drier way down via the farm, if I'm honest I wish I went up that way!

Anyway, job done! onto the next... #17 - Birshaw!

Thanks to the Chasers as usual, 73! Alan - 2E0JWA

SOTA G/SP-017 - Billinge Hill TRIG #15 WAB Sq SD50 TP1362 - Billinge 3/12/22

Looked at this one once or twice, but the price of diesel has held me back recently, anyway it was my weekend to have my boy, and I had some business to attend to in the nearby town of Atherton so this fitted in perfectly with a trip to Billinge Hill.. FINALLY! 

If I am being completely honest here, I think the real reason I haven't visited was procrastination.. Anyhow, I digress!

I am fairly certain that Billinge must be the lowest summit on the SOTA programme, I honestly cant think of and havent seen another smaller. Mind you, dont be put off by its meagre 179M its a Marilyn.. Just! the walk up is pretty easy, and good practice for my boy, who, I am happy to add has finally stared training with me, for his Foundation exam!

Here he is, having just made the gentle walk up the slope to the Summit!

plenty of space up the top, but it is quite busy. Consequently daft antenna's wouldn't be a good idea! i set up on the trig, with the usual 6M fishing pole, and my NEW spectrum communications Slim G antenna!

Now, just let me take a few seconds out here... The Slim G by Spectrum Communications is an EXCELLENT piece of kit, honestly! I was previously using a homebrew "flowerpot" and while it served me well, the Slim G was in a different league, just so much quieter and less susceptible to noise.. if you want a lightweight portable antenna for £25 you cant go wrong!

Right, back to the action...... there is a large collection of transmitting towers adjacent to the summit, i would advise the use of a filter, so i deployed the SOTABEAMS 2M bandpass filter, and as usual it worked fantastically.

Trig pics, and the Flush Bracket.....

so, all setup, quick spot.. and off we go! first to bite was M0MOL-Gareth in Barrow-in-Furness with a cracking signal 5/9 across the scale! (told you this was a good hill)... ended up with a total of 14 across Lancashire, Cheshire, Merseyside and North Wales with the final call 40 mins after I started!

With that, it was time to go. but not before we had a quick look at the ROC nuclear warfare observation bunker on the way down. sadly not much of it left, and what is left has been filled with concrete!

The underground access hatch would have been on the top of this concrete block

Access Hatch from the other side, sadly missing the air vent and louvres

Extant green paint

The FSM tube, missing its metal cap

And sadly that is all that remains! I couldn't find the vent stack or the BPS tube sadly, but hey ho!

If you wish to know more about ROC posts WIKI is a good start and there is TONS of info on google!

Anyway, as usual thanks to the Chasers/SWLs and huge thanks to those who follow my ramblings!

73, 2E0JWA - Alan