6 SOTA Summit weekender (part 4). Return to Wales! GW/NW-051 Foel Fenlli 8/9/24

Sunday was upon us, and it was time to return to Wales to collect the girls from Towyn! Now I originally planned on doing a Welsh biggie GW/NW-012 Cadair Berwyn fitted the bill, a reasonably steady 8 pointer, and not too far out of the way for my return to Towyn, HOWEVER I decided against it, and went for GW/NW-051 Foel Fenlli and the intention of doing GW/NW-044 Moel Famau after it, both are accessible from ths same car park, and relatively easy, plus a good bit closer to Towyn!

I set off down to Wales, and the weather was still murky, the mountain Weather had given it clear by mid morning, so I stuck with the plan, on arriving a the top car park, the mist was thicker.... Here we go again I thought! still hopeful it would start to clear, I headed off in search of the summit of Foel Fenlli! well, the clag never cleared did it... it got thicker and thicker! I eventually found the summit cairn, and chucked the mast up..

10 contacts, 10 mins! then the rain started... balls! id activated and was off, I descended a different and shorter looking way but sill ended up like a drowned rat, I took one look at the path up to Moel Famau and thought stuff this!! and made my way to Towyn instead... and funnily enough the sun was starting to come out there! Welsh weather huh!

Anyhow, 6 activations & 9 points gained, I was happy enough with that! 

73, Alan 

First HF activation G/SP-004 Shining Tor TP5950 25/11/23

No idea why i forgot to post this one.. Anywhoo!

As pretty much all of you know by now, I have been off the mountains since my unfortunate accident on the way to Kinder Scout at the beginning of the year. Having missed pretty much all of the summer SOTA season and with my leg much improved, I have been ITCHING to get out! I also reckoned it was time to test the Little Xeigu G106 out on a proper activation…

A window of opportunity presented itself, and after spending most of the week watching the mountain weather, Saturday looked suprisingly pleasent! it also had the advantage of being a weekend when i had my son, so he could be roped in to help!

The day was pleasant and although it was cold, it was lovely in the sunshine. I couldnt have asked fr better walking conditions although imnot going to lie, I was nervous… conditions were spookily similar when it all went so wrong on Kinder! but I put this to the back of my mind as we set off up the track from the Cat and Fiddle. Now i must confess, I did cheat slightly, William was my Sherpa!

Anyhow, summit reached and time was knocking on… we were late (as usual for me) so we rapidly set up the EFHW to the summit finger post and got the G106 hooked up to the SLAB, found a peaceful frequency on 40M… chucked up a spot on SOTAwatch, gave it 2 mins and put a call out…

9 contacts later,i got wiped out by QRM and loads of stations suddenly deciding to use my frequency,sometimes QRP has its drawbacks! Either that or some people are just plain ignorant, but hey ho, I was not too dissapointed though! 9 contacts meant for the first time it was activation complete on 40M… happy days!

I left William packing up the HF gear, and decided on a quick VHF activation on the handheld with the NR770 antenna, mainly because I wanted a 10th contact for the POTA! This lead to another 7 in the log, but I soon had to call time on the activation, honestly i could have worked stations all day!

The sun was fading RAPIDLY as by now it was 1530 and i didnt fancy a walk off by head torch we gathered the gear and made our way back to the Cat and Fiddle just in time for the sun to set.. Perfect!

This is fantastic SOTA mountain I reckon ill be back to spend a whole afternoon up there in summer playing radio and making contacts. It was honestly such a fantastic feeling to be working contacts form a SOTA summit again, after the fat end of a year off the hills... Thanks to everyone for their ongoing support, and the Chasers I worked, you guys make SOTA what it is!

Till next time, 73 - Alan & William!

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

New portable setup, Xeigu G106 ironing out the problems... 01/09/23

 Not REALLY much to report, ankle is still mending, I still cant get out on the tops. HOWEVER my time hasn't been completely wasted!

Investments slowly slowly in a new HF portable kit, for hilltop operations has been in full swing, with the purchase of a Xeigu G106 QRP SDR based radio, an EFHW (End Fed Half Wave) for 40/20/15 & 10M bands. and a battery to power it all!

Anyhow, these little HF SDR radios are not without their problems, the main one seems to be breakthrough and ghosting by strong AM/MW broadcast stations...

More stuff on the Xeigu and the setup to follow, but today i received a parcel, and couldn't wait to get out and test its contents!

Ill let the Video attached do the talking, but please visit www.radio-stuff.com if you like the EFHW and the Filter! Thanks! 

73 - Alan - 2E0JWA

SOTA GW/MW-037, Brandy hill. Its good to be back, even if only in a small way! 17/06/23

A call off one of my Nieces on Thursday, in somewhat of a panic, and me being the only driver in the family led to a 480 Mile round trip from my QTH in Oldham, to Pembroke… and back!

Anyhow, Leaving my Niece and her Daughter to attend to their important family business in Pembroke, I had a couple of hours to kill. Now, as im sure by now, you all know the saga of my leg… well, its still not right, certainly not up to loads, and according to my physio I need to keep walking to around the 10 min mark, tops! and avoid rough ground… yea… I know… BUT I am Walking! so little victories, and all that! This lead to me spotting Brandy hill, Handy for Pembroke, easily accessible, a fair chance of a VHF operation… PERFECT!

I drove right up to the Gates of the compound, chucked up the Slim G, with the usual combination of the FT4XE and the Sotabeams bandpass filter… Spotted (sorry, i used the wrong prefix on the spot) and called… this lead to three calls… MW3DLA - Aled, 2W0DSP - Andrew & 2W0JMK - Mark… then the worst thing… SILENCE! 1 more call needed, repeated calls produced nothing, and i was starting to get seriously disheartened! Then it hit me… re-spot, and in the comment section I wrote “need 1 more to qualify!!”. Well, it did the job! 2 more calls and I was done… GW4VPX - Allan & GW8XMW - David. you chaps saved the day, Many thanks!

Not terribly exciting im afraid, and photos of not alot! but its still good to be back in the game, even if its only in a small way!

Thanks everyone, hope to catch you all on the air soon

Alan - 2E0JWA

Time for Something a little different, but familiar! Parks On The Air! POTA......

 First, a leg update... 

Still healing, I can weight bear on it now, to a point.. so its an improvement! need another operation yet to remove 2 of the screws, then the battle to fitness begins proper! so still no SOTA sadly....

And that NICELY leads me to POTA! Originally an American activation scheme, and the name is exactly what it is! operating in National park areas.... For more info, www.parksontheair.com is where you need to start.

Now unlike SOTA, POTA can be operated from the car, perfect if you have smashed your leg to bits like me, so once i was registered on the site, and realising this weekend was a special event weekend I decided to have a go. I live on the doorstep of the Peak District National Park (G-0048) so a short drive was perfect to a spot just over the border into West Yorkshire.my usual "car radio" is out of action, so I decided to take a chance on the trusty FT4X handheld connected to the car antenna, turns out this was a good decision! Now, POTA can be hard work, you need 10 contacts to qualify a park, so 2M was a gamble.. but its what I had so off we went!

I got parked up, and slowly, slowly over the next hour I made 13 Contacts! Leeds, Bradford, Merseyside and North wales INCLUDING a SOTA chase was all managed. with my puny 5w handheld! and to top it off, I got 2 Awards! 

1 for activating, and 1 for hunting due to a Park to Park! happy with that like :) 

Anyhow, parks on the air, great programme especially if you unable to SOTA or HEMA... also nice to run alongside SOTA and HEMA, as many of the summits are within various park areas.. so its win win! I will be doing some more hopefully over the next few weeks, so we'll see if i get anywhere!

Till next time 73.... Alan 

HEMA #2 G/HSP-015 Idle Hill (Werneth Low)

 This is actually my second attempt to activate Idle Hill (Werneth low) G/HSP-015 the first being an utter fail due to the vicinity of other transmitters in the area swamping the radio.. since then I have purchased the SOTAbeams bandpass filter an amazing pice of kit that makes the previously impossible, possible! hahaha

Anyway, we rocked up here after we completed the 6 trig mission, as we were in the area! now, this is where things get interesting.. we had been operating from the vehicle due to my broken leg, HOWEVER the HEMA rules are similar to SOTA in that all activations must be "human powered" so, to ensure I was sin the spirit of the award, I abandoned the car, walked about 30 yards on my crutches and activated /P off the handheld. 5 contacts!

Not as busy as I was hoping, but got some experimentation in with filters and antennas ETC, and that was a worthwhile thing to do... Was starting to get pretty cold after 20 mins sat on a rock..

We wrapped it up about half 3, happy with the afternoons achievements... 6 Trigs, and 1 HEMA!

Again, a HUGE thankyou to Duane 2E0DIJ Chief planner, Driver, equipment carrier ETC ETC 😂😂 and of course the Chasers! it was fun, as usual!

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

SOTA in the dark! G/SP-015 - The Cloud. Trig #14 TP6366 WAB sq SJ96. 23/10/22

 SOTA in the dark?? Well.... the wife decided herself and her niece wanted to go to play Bingo and I dropped them off at the Bingo hall around 1715 (BST). all dropped off, i sat in the car and pondered what to do with myself for the next 3 and half or so hours till the needed collecting! Anyhow, I had all my portable kit in the car so decided to have a go at a SOTA in the dark! 

I needed an easy hill, one that wouldn't get too technical, could be done fairly quickly and preferably one I wouldn't have to put the antenna up! only 1 fitted this bill.... The Cloud! so off I went... just a smidge over an hours drive to get there after a satnav fail I was in the parking area at SJ907633, follow the track up the hill to the steps on the right, and follow your nose to the trig! now, let me talk about them steps.... They are HORRIBLE in my opinion, each step is a different height and shape from the previous, and its damn near impossible to get a rhythm going on them, and they seem to go on FOREVER! anyway, once up the steps its a well defined marked path for about 6 or so mins walking up to the Trig and Viewing area...

 No sparkling photography today, handheld night shots off my phone! Sorry!

*A quick important note about this summit* 

It is located on National Trust land, and sometimes the patrolling wardens do get funny about radio hams chucking big daft antennas and elaborate setups up on their hill! Permission is recommended if not discretion is a must! Keep it simple folks :)  that said I went up at 1900 on a dark Sunday night, i didn't reckon on there being an issue, and there wasn't 😂😂 

Didn't bother chucking the antenna up, went for a handheld activation.. spotted on the app and then called CQ.... Nothing.... UH OH!! this surprised me considering the views and the area's i was potentially transmitting over!

I had a pause, and decided to let the spot do its "thing" as i sat there, a HUGE lightning storm caught my eye to the east, over the hills.. I later found out it was over Leicester and it looked spectacular!

Ok, time for another CQ.... THANK THE LORD! there was life... first call 2E0LKC-Mark in Heald Green followed by his wife 2E0LMD-Anne. a quick recall produced 2E0NRL-Ethan in Sandbach and then finally 2E0DIJ-Duane in Prestwich. PHEW! Activation complete! WAHEY! few more CQs came to nought and the lightening storm appeared to be on the move and getting brighter, so a quick exit was decided upon. Ascend - Activate - Descend all done in 40mins perfect! so I hit the car, and headed back to the Bingo hall to collect the girls and arrived back with time to spare! Short and sweet, the plan worked!

As usual thanks to the chasers for the dedication to be listening at 1900BST on a Sunday night and coming back to me. 

Till next time 73 for now and cheers! Alan

Trig #13 Brown Edge TP1702 WAB sq SD90 24/09/22

 A DOUBLE Trig day! That rarest of days.. After Trig #12 we had a look at Brown Edge, its essentially overlooking the small town of Mossley adjacent to the large cross that stands over the village, just inside a farmers field! 

we parked at SD96202 03074 and took the public footpath just up the lane to the left, this leads you up a track into a field and you can see the trig at the top of the hill we just sort of winged it from there!

The farmer (im assuming) has re-painted the trig to look like the George cross, and I like it! 

Anyway, all calls hand held again due to my earlier forgetfulness.. Calls were VERY difficult, infact I thought the radio was dead TBH.. after 20 mins of calling I had Zero to show for it. I was about to give up, and had a sudden thought... DUANE! I knew 2E0DIJ was out and about so I jumped on the phone, turns out he was over Pendle direction in the car. he gave a shout on his car radio and BINGO! we were on, the day was saved!! 1 contact, trig activated.. Duane, you are a lifesaver! 

im not sure what it is about Saturday afternoons, they always seem hard work when trying to activate... 

The mighty FT4XE

Thanks for reading! 

Cheers, Alan - 2E0JWA

Trig #12 Slack Hall TP6012 WAB sq SD90 24/09/22

 Probably the second closest to my house and to my shame, I've only just done it 😂😂

Anyway, dragged the boy up there as we had a few hours to kill before i took him home to his mum.. Funny trig this, it seems so pointless! add that to the fact its buried in a hedge and tricky to spot its a bit of a PITA! accessible via Austerlands cricket club if its open, the trig us in the back hedge.. I accessed from the other side off  Back 'Oth Low Road park at the last houses and follow the tracks across the top of the quarry.

Trig located, I went 100% hand held (rookie mistake, I forgot the roach pole to mount the antenna on) we called, and called, and called, and called.. i was about to give it up when a call saved the day! 2E0LKC, Mark in Heald green followed by his wife Anne 2E0LMD.. day saved and 2 calls.. trig Activated!

Buried in the hedge

Some Curious Bovines!

Cheers Alan - 2E0JWA

Trig #11 Moss Moor (White Hill) TP4930 WAB sq SD91 29/08/22

 After the success of Standedge a few days before i had been trying to persuade Duane, 2E0DIJ to come try a trig point, and after some procrastination he agreed to come out! we selected Hare Hill, as its a fairly easy walk, and an area Duane is familiar with as he normally works /P DX from up there just not quite at the trig!

Anyhow, park in the car park at the top of the hill off the M62 Jnc 22, cross the road, and follow the Pennine Way.. EASY!

I set up my usual setup on the Trig, and Duane set up to the side. I went first to give him an example. Sadly not as many calls as a few days before, ended up on 4 M6DSV Shaun was the first into Bury and qualified the Trig. A fairly uneventful hour out, playing radio with a very good friend and his dog Maverick, Thanks Duane 😊

Some piccies

Fantastic afternoon, Cheers. Alan - 2E0JWA

TRIG #10 Standedge, TP6152 WAB sq SE01 27/08/22

 Another local one, stuck for something to do with my Son and my Niece I chucked them in the car "don't worry kids it only a little walk" now my lad loves a walk, my niece not so much.. infact if she has to do something physical away from WiFi for more then 5 mins, panic starts to set in!

Anyhow, this one is an old favourite, its above the village of my birth and childhood till the age of 20 - Diggle! its easy too, park the car where you can near Brun Clough Resr (the car park was closed at the time of activating) and follow the well marked paths to the Pennine way, keep following and you will find the trig.. EASY! 

Just look at them happy smiling faces! 😂😂

Anyway, we soon got the roach pole up and the antenna, and started calling, calls were thick and fast with a nice mini pileup M0ALA was the qualifying first call, QSOs were mainly into Lancashire and Yorkshire the FT4XE doing the business on 5W into the flowerpot antenna. the best call was G1PHN, Clee Hills near Ludlow.. I couldn't believe it! 120 miles on 5W into a home made antenna... the quick session ended with 10 calls and 1 very happy operator!

Anyhow, a great couple of hours out, with some amazing contacts!

Cheers, Alan - 2E0JWA

Trig #9 Hare Hill, Walney Island - Cumbria. TP3619 WAB sq SD26 24/07/22

 Each year I have a short break with the XYL up in Cumbria at my parents place on Walney Island. This is the 2nd highest spot on the island (Beacon brow is the highest at 21M ASL), located at far south end, and is a MASSIVE 16M ASL!! 

Its a bit of an odd place as there is a tower of unknown use on the site, I've hears several uses or the tower given over the years, from a radio beacon for shipping, to a light for the docks and military uses related to the large gun battery located at the south tip of the island. There is also a few local tales of the local Hams climbing it to attach portable antennas! 

Anyhow, some pictures...

Note the tower of unknown use, and the fire beacon stand, with he trig in-between

The FT4XE all hooked up and ready to go!

Anyway, I could have picked a better evening for it, it was grey, and threatening rain.. but I was there so I had a go! no sooner had I chucked the antenna up, it POURED down so i hurriedly called CQ on S20!

it took ages to get a response, in the end i was begging.. "cmon, there MUST be someone listening, I only need 1 contact to qualify the trig.." anyhow, to my surprise it worked! 2E1RAN, Rick in Clitheroe came back to me, music to my ears! the usual info was passed, and happy I de-rigged and made for the car...

Possibly a better trig for those using HF this one! but glad I ticked it off the list.

Cheers, Alan - 2E0JWA