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News February 2010
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February 2010Summits News is published on the first of each month (for registered users).
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome To The Summitsbase Monthly News.Welcome to the February edition of the Summitsbase News. Our plea for reports, articles and photographs in last month's News certainly had the desired effect with many welcome contributions coming in to us, many thanks for that;please keep them coming in. News contributions should be sent to news@summitsbase.org.uk from where they will be distributed to the appropriate members of the Summitsbase news team. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOTA Milestones This Month Chasers
Uniques Chased
Activators
Uniques Activated
Other Personal AchievementsNone to report --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit to Summit Award News The one Award given out this month went to Tony, 2E0LAE who upgraded to the Class 2 Award (50 S2S contacts. Many congratulations Tony. I do have two further Awards pending, but I have not had time to complete checking before the end of the month (one is for a substantial number of contacts). Details of these next month.Details of the award programme may be found here, while details of all of the current Award holders may be found here. Mike G4BLH - Awards Manager --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit StatisticsLies, Damn Lies and StatisticsThere has some recent discussion about the allegedly increasing numbers of “smash and grab” activations with a very small numbers of QSOs. Well at Summitbase we do not avoid controversial subjects, so we thought we would look at the facts rather than rumours, feelings and incomplete analysis. The chart below shows the percentage of activations with 5 QSOs or less in each of the main UK SOTA associations.  The chart speaks for itself. The trend is for less rather than more “smash and grab” type activations as a percentage of the total activations, so we believe this rumour can can be firmly put to bed. Of course the figure for 2010 includes less than one months activator logs and is therefore not representative of a full year. Likewise the 2002 figure is for less than a year and there were not many chasers around at the start of the SOTA programme. So let's be clear. The percentage of activations with a very small number of QSOs in the UK is reducing and not increasing. If anyone wants a specific analysis please contact us at news@summitsbase.org.uk or admin@summitsbase.org.uk and we will see if we can produce the data in a future Summitsbase News. Previous statistics articles may be viewed in the Summit Statistics Archive without wading through the archived Summitsbase news articles. The best place to discuss these statistics is the News Forum on the Summits Knowledgebase which me be found here. You need to log in to use the forums. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10/4/6m News 10 Metres No summit activity reported this month.  4 Metres (all activity FM unless otherwise stated) There was quite a lot of activity on 4m FM this month, and several reports were received from activators, many thanks for that. On February 8th, S56LXN activated Krim S5/RG-010 and made four FM contacts including a S2S with S57XX/P on Pasja ravan S5/CP-011. On the 14th he switched to Velika Slivnica S5/RG-009 and worked just S51ZG while on the 16th it was the turn of Vovar S5/KS-044 to be activated with just two stations making it into the 4m log. Bojan also made 4m FM contacts from Dovška Baba S5/KA-011 on the 25th and from Blegoš S5/CP-003 on the 27th. He also had an alert out on Feb 28th for Črni vrh S5/BI-002 but at the time of going to press no spots had been seen. Simon M1AVV made acouple of excursions early in the month. On February 10th he activated Whitfell G/LD-032 and worked G6CRV (Heysham) and G7RNX. The following day he activated Ingleborough G/NP-005 and again made two contacts, G4BLH and MW1FGQ. David 2E0DAI was active on the 12th Feb from the summit of Walbury Hill G/SE-001 and worked G3RDQ David from near Andover This is believed to be the first 4m SOTA QSO from this summit. David was out again on the 19th this time from Corndon Hill GW/MW-013 from where he worked G6NWT (Telford), MW0RHD (Pwllheli), M1DQG (Shrewsbury), the ever reliable MW1FGQ (Holywell), G3IKR (Redditch) and M0GQW (Wattlesborough) On the 13th February, several stations were active on 4m FM from different summits. Tony 2W0LAE operated from Tal Y Fan GW/NW-040 and made three contacts while Ian 2E0EDX was on Fairsnape Fell G/SP-007 making nine 4m contacts.  Mike GW4BLH (in the company of John GW4BVE and Robert GW0PEB shown on NW-042 in the photo left) activated first Cyrn-y-Brain GW/NW-043 (from where 7 contacts were made) followed later by Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042 (8 contacts). It was quite pleasant on the first summit with only a small amount of snow to be seen. By contrast, by the time the activation was carried out on the second summit, it was bitterly cold with a very strong wind blowing (and nowhere to shelter). On both summits Mike was using a J-pole suspended from the fishing pole and 20w from a 'plastic' Tait T550 (a nice lightweight rig for SOTA activations). All three summit stations managed to work each other for S2S contacts.On February 24th, Kjell LA1KHA carried out the first 4m SOTA activation in Norway from ZZZ LA/TM-049 making four contacts. Kjell kindly sent the following details about his activation and about 4m activity in the Telemark region of LA. I have a Spectrum transverter 70MHz to 28MHz for all mode work and as an exciter I use a Icom 703. But since it was nil propagation of any kind that day I brought with me my portable 4m FM rig.It is ex-land mobile radio, a Tait 5010 with 4 channels programmed, 70.375, 70.425, 70.4375 and LA calling channel 70.450MHz. At present time in Telemark all local qsos are done on this freq due to the low activity on the band. A call on the 70.450 gave an instant qso with LA6LPA Rune in Porsgrunn (QRB 10km). He use a Wouxun KG699 handheld with a whip antenna (59 both ways). So called LA6WOA Tom, he uses an ex-land mobile radio 20w to antenna (QRB 4km). Tom did not copy LA6LPA but I believe this was because he was using the short whip antenna on his hand held radio (25cm long). LA8IY Oystein called when I finished QSO with LA6WOA. He has also a 20w ex-land mobile radio but sometimes use a hand held radio and whip antenna (QRB 11km).Then I had a short QSO with Nils Cato (QRB 6km). Hw was a strong signal with his 20w ex-land mobile radio and GP. After some more calls on 70.450 FM and no answer I ended the activation on 4m from LA/TM-049. The stations active in the Telemark region are: LA1DNA Halvard home QTH JO49OH (Portable rig on 4m FM SOTA Activator) LA1KHA Kjell home QTH JO49TD (Portable rig on 4m FM, Also all mode transverter 10w and beam/ dipole SOTA Activator). LA2RT Arne JO49TC 4m FM. LA4AFA Nils Cato JO49TE 20W and GP 4m FM. LA6LPA Rune JO49UC Portable rig 4m FM. LA6WOA Tom JO49UE 4m FM. LA8IY Oystein JO49TG 20W and GP 4m FM. My thanks to Kjell for all this valuable information, and congratulations on the first 4m SOTA activation from LA. Now if we can just get a bit of propagation this coming summer, who knows, we may manage a 4m S2S contact between LA and G/GM/GW. I must get a 4.6.10m link dipole built before summer ! Kjell activated Holtankollen LA/TM-049 on the last day of the month making 2 contacts but the final 4m activation of the month fell (no pun intended) to Alex G7RNX operating from Claife Heights G/LD-053. As I missed this activation I'm not sure how many chasers got into his log.  6 Metres (all activity SSB unless otherwise stated) On Feb 10 Simon M1AVV operating from Whitfell G/LD-032 worked G6LKB and G1KLZ using 50MHz FM. Simon also operated on the last day of the month from Claife Heights G/LD-053 (number of contacts unknown at the time of going to press). Any photos or information about 10, 4 or 6m activity would be gratefully received by your correspondent via data@summitsbase.org.uk Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70cms News 70cms Unforeseen circumstances delayed this month’s report and time has just seemed to disappear, so apologies to those of you who have had to access the Summitsbase website on more than one occasion to see whether I had produced my report. Being an active activator I have found it doubly difficult to set aside time to produce the report this month, but here it is. So without further ado (and I make no apology for skipping the “Trends” section - well, we all know what is going on, don’t we?), this is the activity that has taken place since last month’s report. UKThere are now a total of 10 entrants in the 70cms table for England covering the first two months of 2010 and a number of well-experienced activators have put on logs this month. For me the most surprising was Peter G3TJE who made his second appearance on the band since he started activating. This was on 26th February when he was on Garth Hill GW/SW-034 and he concluded his activation with a contact with Paul G3SDH on FM. Myke G6DDQ made a return to 70cms FM, working Mike G4BLH and Brian G4ZRP from Longridge Fell G/SP-014 on 5th February. Simon M1AVV made his first entry for the year from Whitfell G/LD-032 when he worked David G6LKB on FM. Further south, Richard G3CWI continues to champion 70cms and made 2 contacts on CW from Gun G/SP-013 on 3rd February. The use of SSB on the band does appear to be growing in the UK. The main activator using the mode is Gerald G4OIG, though Tom M1EYP puts an entry into the 70cms Activity Contest each month from The Cloud G/SP-015. On 9th February he made 45 contacts on SSB, 2 on FM and a further 2 on CW. Also using SSB has been Alan M0DDC with 4 contacts made on the mode from Botley Hill G/SE-005 on 7th February. Keith G8HXE also made 9 SSB contacts on the same day from Foel Fenlli GW/NW-051. Gerald G4OIG has carried out 16 activations so far this year and has made contacts on 70cms on every one. His preferred mode remains SSB, but increasingly CW has been used to good effect to work people over obstructed paths. It continues to be hard work to qualify the summits specifically on 70cms with generally only 1 or 2 contacts being made each activation. However, there have been exceptions. An extended stay on Red Screes G/LD-017 on 31st January allowed him time to make 4 contacts, 3 of which were on FM, the most unusual being with Kevin 2E0VEK/M who was walking his dog in the park quite some way south in Nelson in Lancashire. A lot of contacts have been at low signal strengths, S1 or S2, but nevertheless some excellent contacts have been made. Unexpected successes were the 3 contacts made from the obstructed summit of Moel Cynghorion GW/NW-030 on 12th February, one with Mark G0VOF from Y Garn GW/NW-037 on 20th February and another two on CW with Mike G4BLH and Phil G4OBK from Harter Fell G/LD-028 on 1st March. The effectiveness of CW on the band has been clearly demonstrated by these contacts. Last from the UK, but certainly not least, I can report on the first 70cms activity from Scotland in 2010. John GM8OTI activated Scald Law GM/SS-125 on 12th February and made an excellent 4 contacts on SSB. No doubt John and others will be out using the band on the summits as the weather improves. SloveniaFM continues to be the mode to use in Slovenia where interest in using the band remains at a high level. Most of the main 70cms activators use the band from their homes and this provides an excellent support network for those out on the summits. An average activation may well include 6 or 7 contacts on the band – by comparison in the UK it has been a good day if an activator makes 4 contacts, with the average being just 2 when contest activity is taken out of the equation. I started to look at the database and had to undertake an update and make a final check before finalising this report. It was evident that some activators had been delayed in uploading their logs to the database, such has been the level of activity in Slovenia. I suspect that some still have not managed to get all of their activations online. This month there are also a number of new-comers to SOTA and / or 70cms activations and perhaps I should start the detailed report with them. Martin S59MP placed 5 logs on the database, 4 of which were for activations carried out in January, one being the double summit of Stol S5/KA-001 / Hochstuhl OE/KT-063 on 21st January when 11 contacts were made on 70cms. On 8th February, he activated Dobrca S5/KA-023 and made 7 contacts from the summit. Martin is currently placed 4th in the 70cms table for 2010. On 30th January, Lovro S50LD and Maja S52MBL activated the summit of Vrh Staneta Kosca (Rašica) S5/CP-031 each making 2 contacts. Lovro was out again on 21st February on Sveti Jakob S5/CP-026 with 4 contacts on 70cms in the log. Before I get onto the more regular activators, I must just make mention of S55SZ who has submitted logs for Veliki Snežnik S5/BR-001 on 16th January and Debela pec S5/JA-029 on 24th January, these activations having been carried out with Danilo S56SFZ and Franc S52Q. I have seen alerts for this trio during February, so I suspect that more logs will be online in due course. Delays in getting logs uploaded to the database is one issue that I have to work around. Another is a change of callsign. I think that I am fairly safe in saying that Rozalija S56RRT now holds the call S55TR. Rozalija carried out two activations with Ivan S57TI during February. On 25th they were on Mrzlica S5/BI-004 when they made contact with S57MB/P on S5/KS-025 and two days later they activated Gora Oljka S5/KS-051 and had another S2S, this time with S59MP/P on S5/KS-020. It is good to see some of the 2009 activators carrying out activations this year. Kostja S56KM activated Trstelj S5/BR-023 on 7th February and made 3 contacts. Darko S57AX and Jurij S57AJJ were on Vrhovcev gric S5/CP-010 the same day and they each made 7 contacts including an S2S with Sergey S51ZJ/P on Tošc S5/CP-013. Sergey made 7 contacts that day and a further contact from Vrh (Debeli hrib) S5/CP-034 on 21st February. 7th February must have been an excellent day as Bojan S56LXN was on Velink S5/KS-048 from where he made a single contact on the band. The following day Bojan actaivated Krim S5/RG-010 and made 2 contacts. The next outing was on 25th February on Dovška Baba S5/KA-011 with 5 70cms contacts in the log and two days later Blegoš S5/CP-003 was activated with 6 contacts made. I have already mentioned Franc S52Q. On 31st January he activated Tolsti vrh (Kriška Gora) S5/KA-017 and I had to check the log twice as there were 10 contacts made on 70cms – oh I wish! On 8th February Franc was on Tošc S5/CP-013 making another 6 contacts including an S2S with S56LXN on S5/RG-010. Two activations were carried out on 21st February – Slavnik S5/BR-012 with a single 70cms contact in the log and Velika Vremšcica S5/BR-013 with 2 contacts. Another also previously referred to is Boris S57MB. He activated Uršlja gora S5/KS-018 on 4th February and made a single 70cms contact. On 7th February he was with a new entrant to the 2010 70cms table, Mladen S57PY. They activated Skorno S5/KS-062 with each of them making 3 QSOs on the band. On 25th February, Boris activated Boskovec S5/KS-025 and made S2S contacts with S57TI and S55TR on S5/BI-004. Milan S58MU was active during the latter part of the month. On 21st February he activated Vrhovcev gric S5/CP-010 making 2 contacts. Then on 28th February he made 5 contacts from Pasja ravan S5/CP-011. Just one place below Milan in the 70cms table is Andrej S50TA. He activated Altemaver S5/CP-001 on 27th February and made 4 contacts. Another one with a single activation during February is Marjan S51RU who activated Veliki Slom S5/GS-010 on 14th February with one made contact on the band. Marjan S56JAZ was also a single summiteer with Špilk S5/KS-043 activated on 28th February and 4 contacts made. I am always impressed by the size of the logs submitted by Slavko S53XX. Two of his logs this month have featured 70cms contacts. On 8th February he activated Kokošinjca (vrh 1401) S5/JA-068 and made 4 contacts on the band and 27th February the summit was Plece S5/KA-027 with another 6 contacts made on 70cms. These activations were spread across four bands – 40m, 30m, 2m and 70cms which takes quite a lot of time and effort. So what of the top runners in this month’s table? Currently lying in 3rd position as I write, Marko S57MS made three activations when he used 70cms. On 31st January, 3 contacts were made from Velika Slivnica S5/RG-009 on 27th February 2 more 70cms contacts were made from Gora (Sveti Ahac) S5/RG-038 and the following day Sveti Lovrenc (Gora) S5/TK-021 was activated from where 2 more contacts were made. Marijan S56IAA placed three entries on the database for February. On 7th Slivna S5/BI-018 was activated with 3 QSOs made on 70cms. Then on 25th February 6 contacts were made from Dovška Baba S5/KA-011 and two days later the ever popular summit of Blegoš S5/CP-003 produced 6 QSOs on 70cms. Topping the table is Danilo S56SFZ. I rather suspect that there are more logs to come, but those submitted include one for Porezen S5/CP-002 on 29th January with 2 contacts made and another for Tolsti vrh (Kriška Gora) S5/KA-017 on 1st February containing 6 QSOs on 70cms. Maybe I am not the only one that has been busy! In all my information says that 49 activations have been logged in Slovenia during which 70cms FM has been used. As I said, I suspect several activators are behind in getting their logs online and the total is somewhat higher. Perhaps the total number of 70cms activations per calendar month could form the basis of a study relating to the use of the band – something for me to consider…… when I have time! GermanyGerald DL1DSR has joined Stefan DL9TX in the 70cms table for 2010. His activation of Papststein DM/SX-045 on 24th January produced 2 contacts on FM. It is to be hoped that interest in the band will increase as the weather conditions improve. AustriaChristian OE1CWA is the first entrant in the Austrian 70cms table this year. He activated Steinerne Lahn OE/WI-007 making 4 contacts on FM. Signing offSo once again apologies for the late report. As can be seen, Slovenia remains the main area of activity on 70cms with 24 activators having made entries to the 70cms table so far this year. Just how much activity there is can be seen from the fact that only 2 of the 24 were not active in February. Will there be a challenge from the UK – well, I’m not going to put a bet on, but I certainly hope that there are a few more handhelds will be switched to the band and a few more antennae erected during the coming months. My usual best wishes to all readers for safe activations, particularly for safe travel to and from the summits and also on foot during the ascents and descents….. and keep thinking – 70cms, but then if you are reading this, maybe I am preaching to the converted! 73 to all, Gerald, G4OIG --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Microwave News 23cms The first day of the month found Gerald (with Paul G4MD) G4OIG/P on the summit of G/LD-037 Little Mell Fell from where Gerald had just one contact on 23cms, namely Geoff G4WHA/P. On February 11th, Simon M1AVV operated from the summit of Ingleborough G/NP-005 and worked G4BLH and MW1FGQ. On the morning of 13th of February, Mike GW4BLH/P activated Cyrn-y-Brain G/NW-043 and worked John MW1FGQ, Andy G1HBE (Dukinfield) and G7IEI (Westhoughton). Although Ross G6GVI was on frequency, regrettably contact could not be established. In the afternoon, Mike moved over to Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042. This time he did manage to work Ross G6GVI (Bolton), plus MW1FGQ and G7IEI again. On both summits the rig used was an Icom IC-12GE just on the RD.   The two photos alongside show the Icom IC-12GE 23cms only handheld that Mike G4BLH often uses. The battery packs for this rig are standard Icom/Nabishi NiCds (the 4m handheld that Mike uses is a Nabishi so the batteries are interchangeable between the two rigs).  3cmsNo news to report this month. Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK NVIS Propagation News February 2010 UK NVIS Propagation ReportIonospheric & Solar Data Last month I reported the monthly mean solar flux gradually creeping up from 70 in September to 77 in December. Well the trend has continued. The figure for January was 81 and in February it was 86. I think we can be fairly certain that the new solar cycle is well under way. The flux was in the mid 70s for the first 5 days in February but things warmed up with a jump to 88 on the 6th and a peak of 96 on the 12th. Since then the flux has been gradually falling but it is still in the low 80s as this is being written. There was x-ray flaring activity on 10 days in the month with mainly C class flares, but there were M class flares on the 8th and the 12th, with a flare on the 12th reaching M8.3. Geomagnetic conditions have been generally quiet with the A index between below 10 thoughout the month except for the 15th when it reached 14. The K index was 3 or below throughout the month except for a couple of very brief excursions to 4 at times on the 2nd,15th and 16th. So what did the small increase in solar activity mean to us in practice? Well 7MHz has been usable for intra UK propagation from the 8th of the month onward. At times even the shortest UK paths were workable as the F2 critical frequency (foF2) rose above 7MHz. Here are the figures: The mean mid-day foF2 for February as measured by the Chilton ionosonde was 6.35MHz, which is a tremendous jump from January when it was only 5.26MHz. The highest mid-day foF2 was 7.85MHz on the 15th and the lowest was 5.33MHz on the 2nd. Remember these are the figures for the ordinary wave and the reflections of the extraordinary wave, which is somewhat weaker, are about 600kHz above these figure, so 7MHz would have been usable in the middle of the day for intra-UK throughout most of the month but perhaps with noticeable QSB. The above foF2 figures exclude the 12th when there was a very high absorption level at mid-day due to the M8.3 x-ray flare which occurred about 1120 utc. The ionosphere all but disappeared from view on the Chilton ionogram and signal levels would have been reduced up to our 21MHz band. Was anyone tricked into looking for faulty antennas or equipment around that time? In the past year or so I have warned that the occasional good 7MHz intra-UK conditions we experienced were NOT a sign of increasing solar activity and a cause for celebration. They were in fact as a result of sporadic E type propagation and not propagation via the F layer. This month the good 7MHz conditions WERE via the F layer and ARE a sign of increasing solar activity, in fact there was no sporadic E visible at all on the mid-day ionograms in February. In the coming month SOTA activators will find that 3.5MHz signal levels reduce during the day due to increased D layer absorption. Activators using QRP will be most affected and might find it hard to overcome the every increasing urban noise levels at the chaser end of the link. 5MHz will return to being the reliable workhorse frequency and should be the frequency of choice especially for QRP activators as summer approaches. 7MHz will provide good intra-UK propagation at times and should not be forgotten, but flux levels are not yet high enough to make it reliable on the shorter paths. Let's see how this solar and geomagnetic conditions translated into actual reports on 3.5MHz and 5MHz. Did SOTA activators discover that 7MHz was open intra-UK and use it to good effect? Over to Dave M0MYA. Activators This month has been a busy one for NVIS and it is reflected in the reports. Between the 4th and the 18th (inclusive) there were 15 consecutive days of reported NVIS activity and I have received reports covering 64% of the month. Bear in mind that these figures are based on the reports of a small handful of contributors and a close scrutiny of the database may make them look even more impressive. First out on the hills this month was Carolyn GW6WRW/P and Helen MW0YHB/P on the 6th with an activation of Craig y Llyn GW/SW-010. Carolyn started out with 30 contacts on 40m, mostly long skip, followed by another 2 on 80m, yielding fair signals with QSB. Helen then took up the mic and to work a further 14 callers on 60m, all with good signals. By 1231, the pair were on top of Tor Y Foel, with Carolyn gaining 27 QSOs on 40m, all continental, before a QSY to 5MHz yielded 12 contacts with good signals. Helen then completed 24 contacts on 80m, before wrapping up the activation at 1351, but not before getting two S2S in the log. At 1548 Carolyn and Helen had made it to the top of Mynydd Llangorse GW/SW-015 for their last activation of the day. Starting out on 60m, Carolyn enjoyed 18 QSOs, mostly at very good signals, before Helen finished off with 21 contacts on 80m as the skip started to go long into Europe. On 80m and 60m a fan dipole up at 5m was the order of the day, while a full ¼ wave vertical was employed for 40m, all fed with 50W. A glutton for punishment, Carolyn GW6WRW/P was out again two days later on the 8th, this time at the other end of the country on Foel Goch GW/NW-039. Starting at 0950 and running for almost an hour, Carolyn started out on 80m for 14 QSOs with fair to good signals, followed by a largely European 23 contacts on 40m. Carolyn notes that she used the fan dipole on all bands, and that the WX was not pleasant being well below zero with wind chill. The next day on the 9th saw John G4BVE/P on top of Cleeve Hill G/CE-001 at 1245, where he started out with 10 QSOs on 5MHz. All outgoing reports except two were 5/9. A QSY to 3.5MHz yielded another 7 QSOs, all of which were 5/9 bar one. John notes that this was an opportunistic activation during a trip to Gloucester. On the 11th John was back on home turf with an activation of Corndon Hill GW/MW-013 at 1300. John only managed 4 QSOs on 60m, but feels that this is most likely due to lack of activity as all stations gave him a 5/9 report. The activity on 80m was even worse with only 3 QSOs, again all with good signal strengths. 40m came to the rescue with 27 QSOs including 12 UK via NVIS at good strengths. The 13th saw John complete two activations, starting out at 1200 on Cyrn-y-Brain GW/NW-043. A joint activation along with Robert GW0PEB/P and Mike GW4BLH/P, John enjoyed 21 QSOs on 5Mhz. By 1430 the trio were out on top of Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042, with John netting 16 QSOs on 3.5MHz. John said "All chasers gave good reports except Martyn M1MAJ in Cambridge where my signal was just not strong enough to override his local noise and give a good copy". Geoff 2W0BTR/P was out on Valentine’s Day (leaving the cat to look after Mrs ‘BTR) for an 80m activation of Fan Brycheiniog GW/SW-003, spanning from 1105 to 1143. Geoff enjoyed 18 inter-G QSOs at largely very good signal strengths, which started to peter out a bit towards the end of the activation. Carolyn GW6WRW/P, John GW4BVE/P and Robert GW0PEB/P were out in force on the 17th for two activations, beginning with Pen Llithrig y Wrach GW/NW-013. Carolyn started out on 40m at 1045, totalling 55 QSOs from a mixture of continental and inter-G contacts with very good signals. John was also active on the NVIS bands, his weapon of choice being 60m which yielded 19 QSOs. John reports; “All chasers gave good reports except Quentin GW3BV in Aberystwyth where I was only 41....strange that.” By 1430 the expedition had made their way over to Creigiau Gleision GW/NW-028, where John started out with 13 QSOs on 5MHz, all of which were good signals but there was noticeable QSB during some contacts. Carolyn carried on the activation at 1450 on 40m, with a mixture of G and European stations, but was soon QRT as it was time to get everybody back to the cars. Ten days down the line and Geoff 2W0BTR/P was out again on the 27th, this time from Craig y Llyn GW/SW-010. The 0850 start on 80m gained him 10 QSOs, with all chasers 5/9. Most incoming reports were between 5/5 and 5/9. Geoff noted heavy QRM from F-land at the start of the activation however he did manage to cling on to his frequency for the duration. Chasers The first reported NVIS chaser point scored this month was by Carolyn G6WRW who worked the “SOTA Ninja” Steve GM1INK/P who was activating Brown Carrick Hill GM/SS-260 on 5MHz. Carolyn says of her chasing this month that she experienced “mostly good to very good signal strengths” and that she “cannot remember struggling to make any of the contacts”. INKy was in Carolyn’s log again on the 5th, this time a little further south on Sighty Crag G/SB-005 with his 60m activation. John GW4BVE had a bumper crop of chaser points on the 6th, starting out with Helen MW0YHB/P with her 60m activation of Craig y Llyn at 0900. 5/9 reports were exchanged both ways. A few minutes later John and Carolyn GW6WRW/P replicated the contact, this time on 7MHz. Reports were still 5/9 both ways, but there was a little more QSB than with Helen on 5MHz. A little later on at 1315, John again worked Helen, who by now was on top of Tor y Foel GW/SW-013. This time the contact was on 3.5MHz and 5/9 reports were exchanged both ways. A lunch break’s worth later and John was back in the shack to work Robin GM7PKT/P who was undertaking a 60m activation of Sidhean na Raplaich at 1445. Robin could hear John at 5/9, while John gave a 5/4 by return. Fifteen minutes later and John was rounding off the day with a 60m QSO with Jack GM4COX/P, who was activating Hods Hill. John was still 5/9 into GM, and could hear Jack at 5/6-8, whom John noted was slightly stronger than Robin on this occasion. The next day saw Carolyn G6WRW work Richard G4ERP/P on Cleeve Hill G/CE-001 and Mark G0VOF/P who was activating ((G/SP-005|Pendle Hill)) G/SP-005. Both contacts took place on 5MHz. The 9th saw Carolyn G6WRW and Richard G4ERP/P repeat their contact of two days prior. On the 10th John GW4BVE worked Peter GW3TJE/P on 60m at 1145. Peter was activating Mynydd Troed GW/SW-009 and could hear John at 5/8-9 who gave a 5/7 by way of return. Carolyn G6WRW also worked Peter on 60m during this activation. Later on that same day, Peter made his way over to Mynydd Llangorse for another 60m activation, making contact with GW4BVE at 1400. Peter was making it into Welshpool at 5/6, while john was completing the round trip with a 5/8-9. Carolyn was also lucky enough to work Peter from this summit too. Carolyn got another three in the log on the 11th, starting out with Richard GW4ERP/P on Mynydd Llangorse GW/SW-015, and followed later in the day by Richard again, this time on Tor y Foel GW/SW-013. The final contact of the day was John GW4BVE/P who was activating Corndon Hill G/WB-013. All contacts took place on 5MHz. The next day Carolyn worked Paul GW4MD/P on Yr Aran GW/NW-019 on 3.5MHz. The 13th was a good day for S2S for John GW4BVE/P who started out on Cyrn y Brain NW-043 at 1215 with a QSO with Barry GM4TOE/P. The contact took place on 60m at 5/8 reports were exchanged between John and Barry who was on The Bochel. Dave MW0MYA managed to sneak in at 1218 for a 5MHz QSO. Dave could hear John at 3/7 to 5/8 while John was getting Dave at 5/8 to 5/9. A few minutes later and John was in QSO with Walt G3NYY/P on top of Seager Hill. Walt could her John’s 5MHz signal at 5/9+ and was making the return journey at 5/9. A little later on at 1445, John had moved on to Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042 which yielded an 80m S2S with Robin GM7PKT/P on top of Beinn a’Chrulaiste GM/WS-146. Robin was making it into North Wales at 5/5, while John was getting back at 5/8. On the 14th, John worked GW0PEB/P who was activating Moel Eilio GW/NW-022 on 5MHz. The contact took place at 1040 and Robert could be heard in Welshpool at 5/7, with John receiving his customary 5/9. At midday John M0JDK/P was on top of the South Pennines on Kinder Scout G/SP-001 for a 60m activation. John ‘JDK was 5/7 at GW4BVE, while John ‘BE was again at 5/9. The 14th was a busy day for Carolyn G6WRW who logged four summits on 60m, starting with Rob G4RQJ/P on Lord’s Seat G/LD-033, followed by Andy MM0FMF/P on Trahenna Hill GM/SS-143. Later on in the day she worked Stuart G0MJG/P on Pendle Hill G/SP-005, finishing up with GM0XXP/P on Beinn Ime GM/SS-006. The 15th saw Carolyn G6WRW working Robert GW0PEB/P on 60m during his activation of Moel Cynghorion GW/NW-030. The next day saw a repeat performance, this time with Robert on top of Yr Aran GW/NW-019. There was a change of operator and DXX entity on the 17th when Carolyn GW6WRW/P worked Steve G1INK/P on Shillhope Law on 7MHz. The contact was an S2S from the top of Pen Llithrig y Wrach. Two days later on the 18th Carolyn G6WRW has another 40m NVIS contact, this time with Tony G7OEM/P who was activating Easington Fell G/SP-012. Later on in the day Robert GW0PEB/P cropped up again in Carolyn’s 60m log from the summit of Moel Hebog GW/NW-014. Onwards now to the 20th when Dave MW0MYA worked Steve G1INK/P at 1145 during his stint on 60m from the top of The Cheviot G/SB-001. Dave could hear Steve at 4/8 (due to local noise) while Steve issued a 5/7 by way of return. Not bad for 2.5W. Brian G8ADD and Roger G0TRB were both audible at 4/8 in North Wales. A little later on and John GW4BVE worked Robert GW0PEB/P and MW0GWP/P on 5MHz at 1242. The pair were activating ((gwnw051|Foel Fenlli) GW/NW-051 and were audible in Welshpool at 5/7, with John receiving a 5/9+. At 1307 Geoff 2E0BTR worked ON9CBQ/P on 7MHz and continued to monitor for a further 20 minutes after signing, noting that he could hear G4WSB, G3OHC, G4ELZ, G6LKB, MM1HMZ and G0TDM all at 5/9. Ten minutes later and John GW4BVE was working Robert GW0PEB/P and MW0GWP/P ON 80m, who by now had made it over to Foel Fenlli GW/NW-051. John could hear the expedition at 5/7, receiving a 5/9 for his own signal. John rounded off his day at 1345 with a 60m QSO with Robin GM7PKT/P on top of Beinn a’Mhonicag GM/CS-101. Robin was 5/3 into Mid Wales, with John getting back at 5/8. Carolyn G6WRW finished off the month with a pair of contacts on 5MHz, the first with Richard G4ERP/P on Cleeve Hill G/CE-001, followed later on by a QSO with Robin GM7PKT/P who was on top of Beinn a’Mhonicag GM/CS-001 at the time. That's it for this month and this. Thanks to Carolyn G6WRW, John GW4BVE and Geoff 2E0BTR for contributions. Please send any reports and snippets for the March report to nvis@summitsbase.org.uk. Discussion can take place on the Miscellaneous Forum on Summits Knowledgebase. 73 John GW4BVE & Dave M0MYA --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CW Report Monday Feb 1st brought a slow start to the week with Walt G3NYY being the only CW activator out and about. Walt was out again on the Tuesday, as was OK1DWF, S53X, F6HBI and F5UKL from the previously activated summit of Pena Plata F/PO-231. Tuesday also saw the start of several days of activations of GM summits from Mike GM0DSP/P starting with Cairn Pat GM/SS-281. On Wednesday there were just two CW activations, Mike GM0DSP, this time from Knockdolian GM/SS-267 and Richard G3CWI who tried his CW out on 70cms from Gun G/SP-013 and made two contacts. Thursday, again just two CW activations, GM0DSP from Brown Carrick Hill GM/SS-260 and Kurt HB9AFI. On Friday we had 3 CW activations, G0DSP, HA7UL and HA4FY.  The weekend of Saturday/Sunday February 6 and 7th was relatively busy. Richard G3CWI was out in North Wales and carried out two activations and Norby DL/LX1NO operated from the previously unactivated summit of Höhe Nusbaumer Hardt DM/RP-465. HA5TI carried two activations over the weekend which were from Nagy-Hárs-hegy HA/KM-025 and Dobogó-ko HA/KM-005 (see the picture on the right courtesy of Pista HA5TI) and there was also CW activity from G, GW, S5, Z3, OK, HB and DM. Alain F6ENO was also out activating La Tête d'Oréac F/AM-330 (at a height of 2088m). A video of his activation may be found here here.The week commencing Feb 8th saw fairly low levels of activity on the weekdays. HA7UL, S57XX and S53XX (activating the 'virgin SOTA summit' of Kokošinjca (vrh 1401) S5/JA-068 were the only CW activators out on the Monday and only Walt G3NYY activated on CW on the Tuesday. Wednesday saw 2 CW activations (GW3TJE & GM4COX), Thursday 3 (F5LKW, G0HIO & HA7UL again) while on Friday the 12th, the only CW activity was from Gerald G4OIG on 70cms from Moel Cynghorion GW/NW-030. However things livened up on Saturday 13th with 6 CW activations (LA, Z3, OK, G, S5 and F) and Sunday 14th brought 11 CW activations with S57XX activating two summits that day Tinijan S5/BR-033 and Kaštelir S5/BR-034. Just the two activations on Monday 15th, both from Jurg HB9BAB. The first summit Hengst HB/LU-020 does not appear to have been previously activated. The second summit that was activated Brienzer Rothorn HB/OW-010 is one of those summits which on my previous visits to Switzerland (in my pre SOTA days) I have often considered ascending via its wonderful cog wheel mountain railway, operated with steam locomotives. Unfortunately other summits have always beckoned. Anyway, I digress. Jurg was to have a busy week with more activations to follow. Tuesday 16th was very busy for a weekday with no less than eight CW activations from HB9AFI, HA2VR, HG4UK, ON/LX1NO, G3NNY, M1EYP, M0GIA and including one from a relatively new activator Martin DF3MC who carried out the first time activation of Seefelder Joch OE/TI-440.  Martin was another busy activator during the week. Wednesday 17th saw Jurg DL/HB9BAB activating three summits, Les F/G3VQO two summits and Martin DF3MC one summit and Thursday 18th found Kevin GW0NUP operating from North Wales, and yet again Jurg HB9BAB and Martin DF3MC were busy activating, Martin from another 'new' summit Teufelstaettkopf DL/AM-008.Martin sent an Email to the Summitsbase News team in which he writes:- " I started SOTA activity only a few weeks ago - it very soon became my favorite activity in Ham Radio.The information that you provide in summitsbase have been very valuable for me - and it also was entertaining to read all the news and stories. Please find enclosed some fotos that I took on the various summits." Thank you for your kind words Martin. The three photos here are some of those that Martin sent in from his activations earlier this year.   Friday 19th was very quiet with on Tom M1EYP active on CW from Bishop Wilton Wold G/TW-004 and Saturday 20th was little better with only three CW activations. However, the deluge began on Sunday 20th with loads of CW activators out and about including Martin DF3MC again, Kurt HB9AFI, HA4FY (2 summits), OE5EEP (2 summits), Zoli F/HA5CQZ and other activators in DL, GM and S5. Even Andy MM0FMF was heard on CW operating from Ben Chonzie GM/SS-015 (good on yer Andy, I have yet to pluck up the courage to 'take on' a CW activation). The last Monday in Feburuary found Zoli F/HACQZ operating from first La Rochette F/AB-520 followed by Fort de Montavie F/AB-588 with Ian MM0MXW and Eric F5RGY also out activating. On Tuesday 23rd, Zoli was still activating in France and Feri HA7UL was also out. However planned CW activations by Phil G4OBK had to be cancelled because of LiPo problems and snow drifts while on Wednesday 24th the only CW activation was from Walt G3NYY. Walt continued his activations of G/WB summits on the 25th and there were also activators out in HA, HB and OE. Zoli F/HA5CQZ continued his activations of F/AB summits on Friday 26th from Pic de l'Oeilly F/AB-462 and on the same day Peter GW3TJE activated two GW/SW summits. The final weekend of the month was relatively quiet on the Saturday with activity from Norby DL/LX1NO, Slavko S53XX, Panos SV1COX, and Gerald F6HBI who activated a 'new' summit Ubac du Bas Thorenc F/AM-467. Andre F5AKL and Alain F6ENO spent several hours on the summit of Mont Sinai F/NO-042 trying CW and PSK and using several bands. Sunday brought activity from Z3, S5, OE, and G and also from OK4DX operating from two previously unactivated summits, first Hůrka OK/KA-024 followed later by Rozhledy OK/KA-019 and not forgetting Kjell LA1KHA still moving Holtankollen LA/TM-049 steadily up the '50 Most Popular Summits' list (currently in 34th place but about to move up again !!) Many thanks for the response to last month's request for photographs and information about CW activations. Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contest AlertHF wise we have plenty of potential interference problems on the bands this coming month with a contest on each weekend. VHF wise (in the UK) we only have two contests to deal with, although each presents an opportunity to use some of our more neglected bands. Why not get out there to operate 4 metres or 70 cm ?, you can be assured of contacts from the contest participants. VHF/UHF contests are a great time to operate using some of the quieter bands, and from some of our more remote summits, as the chance of qso's is so much greater. Once again, if you experience any problems with contests not mentioned then please let us know and I will be sure to put them in the list next time. The same goes for VHF/UHF contests outside of the UK - if they cause a potential problem to a significant number of SOTA participants then let me know. Good health to everyone and keep safe on the mountains. 73 for now, Keith G8HXE. Specific Dates and Times for contests in March HF Contests Sat 6th at 0000z until Sun 7th at 2400z ARRL International DX Contest 160/80/40/20/15/10 metres SSB Sat 13th at 1000z until Sun 14th at 1000z RSGB Commonwealth contest 80/40/20/15/10 metres CW Sat 13th at 1600z until Sun 14th at 1600z EA PSK31 Contest 80/40/20/15/10 metres PSK31 Sat 20th at 0200z until Mon 22nd at 0200z BARTG HF RTTY Contest 80/40/20/15/10 metres RTTY Sat 20th at 1200z until Sun 21st at 1200z Russian DX Contest 160/80/40/20/15/10 metres SSB/CW Sat 27th at 0000z until Sun 28th at 2359z CQ WW WPX Contest 160/80/40/20/15/10 metres SSB VHF/UHF Contests Sat 6th at 1400z until Sun 7th at 1400z RSGB 144/432 MHz contest. 144/432 MHz SSB/CW Sun 14th 1000 - 1200z 70MHz Cumulative contest #2 70 MHz all modes Keith G8HXE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly InterviewMonthly Interview This month's interviewee is chaser : Phil G4OBK  Q: How old-ish are you?A: 57 Q: Which City/Town IRL Locator is your home QTH? A: Home QTH is in Pickering IO94OF. We have lived in this house since 2000. I am a Lancastrian by birth now domiciled in North Yorkshire. I came to live here after my job moved here in 1993 and North Yorkshire is now my favourite county. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. Q: When did you become a licensed ham? A: 1982 – I came in straight as a Class A licensee as HF was my main interest. I started as an SWL in 1968 but gave it up as a hobby in 1970 when I joined the RAF. I came back to it in 1980 and decided I needed to transmit. It took me 5 months at 30 mins per day with a Datong Morse Tutor to learn to receive Morse at 12 WPM which was necessary then to gain the Class A HF ticket. Within 12 months I was up to 20 WPM and taking part in all the CW contests which really improved my receiving speed. Q: Which parts of amateur radio interest you most? A: Working DX on HF and VHF on any mode. I take part in the ARRL DX Challenge, working all countries on the ten amateur bands 160m-6m. After 28 years chasing countries new ones are hard to come by so SOTA fills in the gap very nicely. I think the SOTA Management team do a great job by providing us with some great objectives at no cost to the participants. I get a real buzz operating when the conditions are disturbed, Aurora especially, VHF Sporadic E and grey line conditions on 40/80m/160m. I still occasionally tackle contests on HF and VHF and have been the RSGB HF Contest Champion four times, although these days this is not my main interest in amateur radio as it once was. I remember taking part in the CQWW CW 160m Contest as multi-op at GW3YDX (Ron of Vine Antennas Ltd) with another now prolific Chaser – none other than Reg G3WPF. I think that was around 1985. Q: Are any of your family members licensed Hams? A: No, but I hope to interest my XYL Judy to sit her Foundation test one day. She could walk it after a short course of instruction I am sure, after living with the hobby for the last 15 years since we met! Q: Describe your Chaser operating conditions i.e. rigs, tuners, power, battery/mains, CW keys/paddles, microphones, amplifier, antenna systems etc? A: This is a long answer…as a Chaser my armoury is quite extensive. On HF I use an Yaesu FT1000MP MkV (200w version) fitted with narrow CW filters in both IF’s and also in the sub receiver. For DX work I use an Acom linear amplifier. On VHF CW/SSB/DATA I have a Yaesu FT-847 modified to cover 4m, I have a rare Microwave Modules linear for 4m which produces about 75watts from the 8w of mucky RF from the modified FT-847….An Acom amplifier serves me well for 6m DX work. I have an old KLM 2m solid state PA and that gives me almost 150w on 2m. On 2m FM I have a Kenwood TMG-707 which I never use on 70cm….I made a substantial investment in antenna’s when I took early retirement from my full time job in 2005. HF Antennas: On 160m at present I have a ¼ wave inverted L , on 80m a 3/8 wave inverted L both fed against around 5000 ft of radials. For 60m I use a dipole at 12m. On 40/30m I have a DXD4030-1 rotary dipole at 21m, a 40m ¼ wave GP, a 30m ¼ wave GP. For 20 through to 10m I use the 11-5 Optibeam, and 11 element yagi up 18m with a Prosistel rotator on and HD 18m high Versatower. All antennas are fed with Ecoflex 15 and are resonant, however if I want to work SSB on 80 and 160m I use an old Dentron MT-3000A ATU as my antennas are resonant at the CW end of the bands. VHF Antennas: 6m/4m Vine Antennas 4N6 5+5 duoband yagi. 2m (Horizontal) 11 ele Vargarda Yagi. 2m Vertical 5 ele Yagi by DL4KH. 70cm 20 ele Yagi by DL4KH. These are on a 40 foot Tennamast and are turned by a Yaesu G1000SDX rotator apart from the 70m yagi which is on a pole on my single storey shack and turned by a G-450C rotator. . Ancillary equipment: For logging I use Logger 32 (Freeware by K4CY) interfaced to a microHam Microkeyer interface for CW/DATA. For RTTY (FSK) and PSK AFSK) I use the software built into Logger 32 program. I use the excellent ADI2SOTA software by F6ENO to import my QSOs into the SOTA Database (Thank’s Alain). On CW I use Bencher Twin Paddle Keys and have done since 1983. For SSB I have Heil boom mike headsets with the HC-4 inserts in use which explains why my audio sounds rather “toppy”. Q: Which is your favourite country/region/s to chase SOTA ? A: Any and all. The beauty of SOTA is there is activity most days. With SOTAWatch it is possible to do other things around the place and still keep in touch with who is on the air. Q: What are your preferred modes/bands of transmission? A: 1st CW 2nd DATA 3rd PHONE Q: Do you ever go /P to chase SOTA? If so, where? A: I only recall doing this a few times. Once when I was /M at Elvaston Castle Rally a few years ago. Also when I was at the NARSA Rally in Blackpool last year when Tom M1EYP passed me the microphone to work G3CWI/P on LD-008 Blencathra. That was a rare event as I recall Roy G4SSH was also speaking into the microphone to Richard as well! Q: What is your best SOTA DX, or do you not bother about DX? A: Yes, I like to work SOTA DX and hopefully there is plenty to look forward to as we start the upward sunspot climb of Cycle 24. Best SOTA CW DX was with KI6NN on W6/CD-013 Teutonia Peak on 20m which was the first ever W6-EU SOTA QSO I believe. On SSB the best DX has to be with KI6J on W6/CT-037 Cahuenga Peak last December on 20m. Q: What is your record amount of QSO's/points in a single day’s chasing? A: I can’t answer that one without spending hours sifting the database. Perhaps someone else would like to tell me! (over to you Mike) Q: Do you ever activate as well as chase SOTA? A: Oh yes. I fit the activating in with my interest in walking and my holidays. I have activated in England, Scotland, France, Belguim, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. Strangely enough I still have to activate in Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. I hope to aspire to the Mountain Goat Award and have great admiration to those who have achieved it. I reckon it will take me another five years yet though. Q: Besides amateur radio do you have any other hobbies or interests? A: My other interests are current affairs, walking (I am Chairman of Ryedale Walking group, we have 60 members), cycling, going to the theatre, watching live music, watching Coronation Street on TV, climbing Wainwright Fells and activating and chasing WOTA. I also work in court as a Magistrate and I am the Secretary to the North Yorkshire Branch of the Magistrates Association (we have 400 members). I am a member of several ham radio clubs: RSGB, ARRL, Chiltern DX Club, UK Six Metre Group and Scarborough Special Events Group. Also The Wainwright Society, National Trust, English Heritage, North York Moors Railway, Civil Service Motoring Association and the Institute of Advanced Motorists. Q: Please feel free to add any additional information or comments here A: DX wise I have worked and confirmed all 338 Current DXCC Countries with 239 worked on 160m. In 2008 I was presented with the ROTAB Trophy by the RSGB for my outstanding and consistent DX work. Many thanks to Phil for the photograph and the interview. Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit of the MonthFan Brycheiniog (GW/SW-003) Fan Brycheiniog (also known as the Carmarthen Fan) is part of the Black Mountain (Y Myndd Du) range in the western-most section of the Brecon Beacons National Park and at 802m/2631ft it is the highest summit in that section.  It is often impossible to predict what impact a hill has on the emotions and senses. Many hills are seen so regularly they become imperceptible; others are always noticed and stand out. When approaching a hill to climb, they either have the “wow” factor or are just “another” bump. Fan Brycheiniog, to me, seems to have the ability to be either depending on its mood and prevailing conditions. There is suitable parking at the starting point for the walk to the hill (SN855223) on Bwlch Cerrig Duon. From here the full extent of the ridge that will be climbed can be seen. As with many mountains they have their moods and ambience. I climbed this hill twice within a few days and the contrast I found could not have been more striking. The first time the weather was gray, wet and very windy (far too windy for my antennas) and bleak, but only a week later conditions had changed to bright, clear, very cold and stunning.  From the parking there are a number of footpaths that head in the general direction required. The only real obstacle is the River Tawe 1.2 km away with the paths disconcertingly sloping gently down towards this minor challenge. There are plenty of crossing points but all need care especially if it is in spate. The next section is on boggy ground with no real discernable tracks that can be seen as you climb up; as always they seem to be obvious on the way back. A good spot to take a break is at SN832213 by the beautiful glacial lake of Llyn y Fan Fawr. From here it is possible to look back at your now very distant car, to admire the surroundings (which have spawned many stories and legends) and contemplate the final steep climb to the summit.  From the lake there is a diagonal climb up the steep slope which brings you out on the ridge at Bwlch Giedd. A final ridge walk takes you to the top. The summit has a trig point and a shelter (which provides a welcome respite if the weather is inclement) and is a stunning vantage point to see the Brecon Beacons. On my second visit the early morning sunrise lit up the mountain side in beautiful hues of reds and oranges (something photographs cannot fully convey) which seemed even more intense with the additional brightness of the white blanket which adorned the flanks of the mountain. The clear blue skies overhead promised a superb day and indeed there was a marvellous view all around from the summit.  This has been a mountain which I will visit again, with or without radio equipment, as it has stayed in my memory as being such a varied and enjoyable walk, regardless of the conditions. Carolyn G6WRW --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Equipment - Used and AbusedIt's small, costs quite a bit, but is very handy - The Inka PenWhen you need to write something whilst out enjoying the great outdoors it's more often than not a fairly tricky affair. As mentioned on many occasions in U&A we don't enjoy the best weather in the British hills, but like many readers we do spend a lot of our spare time acquiring kit to help protect us from the elements, well this time I am writing about a special bit of kit that always travels with me, the Inka Pen. No matter where you are or the kind of environment you are in, hot, cold, dry, wet the Inka pen WILL write. Designed by Greg Adelman nearly 16 years ago for the US Space program, it is designed to write in all types of conditions and from the conditions I have used mine under I tend to support the marketing bumf that this really is a write anywhere, anytime pen. If you take part in SOTA its great for logging your activations, and works really well in conjunction with Xstream water proof paper pads.  It can write at any angle, but I don't see myself being on the next Shuttle flight to warrant this as a buying tip, but just the fact it is capable did sway me when I clicked on the "Buy Now" button. I have had my Inka Pens for about 2 years now, I bought 2 of them, one is in my rucksack the other fastened to my keyring and it has never let me down, from writing down the details of a minor traffic accident (oops) to writing in the damp logbook of a Geocache, it writes smoothly and evenly. At the moment CPC are selling them at a discounted price, they are not cheap at £12 each but a quality item and a handy one too. Lee M0LMP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo Of The MonthThe winner this month is a photo by Jack GM4COX GM/SS-165 Dungavel Hill  Submitted by Jack himself, and quite rightly so, it came with the comments shown below, but before that I would like to congratulate Jack on the capture of a wonderful image, everything just seems to have fallen right, the Sun, clouds, and time of day. Superb lighting and the Sun's colours are so rich and saturated if just a tad blown out and over exposed, but the shadows created give depth and contour to the snow covered ground. Almost bang on the intersection of thirds is the piece of dark rock to give foreground interest. The inversion seems to be a continuation of the snow and looks so natural, my favourite image of the year so far ! Here are the comments supplied with the image; Thought you might be interested in the shot of a recent activation on GM/SS-165 (one of my local summits). The sun was just setting hence the dramatic 'yellows'. The temp on leaving the car in the morning was -11C reaching a 'balmy' -7C on the summit around lunchtime, with freezing mist lying in the valleys below. Accessing the summit proved interesting in that it normally takes me about 20 mins but this particular day it took over 1.5hrs, with waist deep snow in some of the gully's. I was up chasing S2S spending some 4hrs in the sub-zero temps. Fortunately there was no significant wind. Note the knocked over trip-point lying in the snow. In the far distance is GM/SS-056 (just off centre left). You can just see a couple of little pimples indicating the CAA ray-dome & PMR tower. Once again a fab image Jack !! Lee MØLMP --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other NewsWrotham 2m Beacon Closes DownAfter fifty years of operation, the 2m beacon GB3VHF closed down permanently from its site at Wrotham on February 15th. However, the news is not all bad and you can find out more from the beacon website www.gb3vhf.co.uk . --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January & February Activation Report by G1JTDNew Year’s Day gave us the opportunity to blow the cobwebs away with a brisk walk up our local hill on the Lancashire side, Pendle Hill G/SP-005. Parking at the dry ski slope gives a steady ascent and being later in the afternoon (having struggled to find somewhere open for lunch) we had the summit pretty much to ourselves. The recently constructed “beardy pole” (so named by M3XJV’s better half – don’t ask!) was put to good use and sufficient contacts made it in to the log on 2m FM. The SOTA Fun Day was upon us and my “whatever the weather” alert gave me some cause for concern. Snow was coming down but we’d become quite adept at winter driving so off we set. The trout farm at Kilnsey provided a welcome (albeit expensive) breakfast sandwich and we perched the car on top of one of the lesser snow drifts in the car park at Kettlewell. The walk to Hag Dyke was hard going – I think they call it “post-holing” – where your foot breaks through the snow crust leaving you up to your knee every step – exhausting. The snow on the rocks behind the Scout hostel provided an interesting cornice to overcome – Meg, our little white dog, now 14 years old, needed a helping haul and once beyond this point we were all glad of solid ground underfoot, rather than the often wet bog-trot to the top. Establishing ourselves at the trig point, rather later than we had anticipated, we simply pushed the SOTA pole into the snow and with the 2 element beam made 26 contacts.   January 9th saw us tackling Ingleborough G/NP-005 for what turned out to be the most extreme walking so far this year. Well equipped, including crampons, we set off from Newby wishing we had some snow shoes. Progress on foot was slow going and we became gradually more envious of the people with skis and snowboards – quite the winter playground. The summit was achieved but visibility was poor due to the strong wind blowing the snow. Any exposed skin was quickly chilled by the icy blast so this was going to be a very quick one. Despite having had the IC-e90 in an inside pocket, it was just too cold to coax anything more than 0.5W out of it. 15 minutes was as much as we could bear and with 7 contacts in the log we were off. The photos above ( courtesy of Richard G1JTD) show (left) Richard and Alf, and (right) Dee, Alf and Meg on Ingleborough. A selection of uneventful excursions in the interim included Buckden Pike G/NP009, Stiperstones G/WB003 and Brown Clee Hill G/WB002 with a mix of 2m and 60m contacts. Pen-y-ghent G/NP-010 on the 24th January saw us making the summit at around 14.00. Another outing for the “beardy pole” – an aluminium tube with a bnc socket attached to allow the rucksack mounting of a telescopic half wave, gave us a mini pile-up. In total 24 contacts in just less than 30 minutes with the greatest distance being Telford at about 100 miles – conditions must’ve been favourable. Friday evening, 29th January, was the date of my better half Dee’s “girl’s night out” so having dropped her off and my prayers for a clear night having been answered; I set off up Cracoe Fell G/NP-032 sans dogs in the moonlight. Betrayed by my optimism it took longer than I thought to get to the top but walking by moonlight is a rare treat and very rewarding. A completely different perspective can be gained from a hilltop at night and comes with my recommendation. Dee’s back had been giving her a spot of bother – I’m assured it had nothing to do with dancing on tables on the night out, and after some persuasion we chose Fountains Fell G/NP-017 as an easy route to get back in the hills on the 7th February. Again a good selection of 2m contacts for which we are always very grateful. The following day, a slight detour gave an opportunity to pick up Titterstone Clee Hill G/WB-004 on a journey down south. The last time I’d activated this summit in December (in rather a hurry) dusk had been falling by the time I’d done, it was misty and the disused quarry had all felt somewhat sinister. The appalling interference from the masts and radar station had only contributed to my despondency. What a difference this time, a bright sunny day, a light dusting of snow, a few minutes to the summit and a pleasant sheltered spot with half an hour’s operating on 2m providing just enough contacts – such a different experience. February 13th saw a tick against Whernside G/NP-004, typically unadventurous winter operating style with five 2m contacts and a bit of a struggle on 4m – must try harder. Likely to be February’s final activation was Great Knoutberry Hill G/NP-015 on the 20th. We parked up at Stone House on the road between Ribblehead and Dent and followed Arten Gill Lane (part of the Pennine Bridleway) up past the viaduct carrying the Settle Carlisle line. A herd of hardy cattle watched with some interest as we walked by. In less than 3 miles we were on the summit and what a view! The sky was a deep clear blue and although hazy in the distance we had a clear view all around us. The fresh snow on the top sparkled and with the trig point acting as a mast support we collected 11 contacts in 20 minutes. Walking most weekends provides opportunities to experience most types of weather and days like today are real highlights. March will see us returning to the Lake District so fingers crossed for more cold, dry and sunny days – ever the optimist! Richard G1JTD --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Falkland Islands (VP8) ExpeditionRobert G0PEB reports that he is still planning to visit the Falkland Islands VP8 but the date has still not been confirmed. Currently the most likely time is mid to late April, which of course is heading towards winter in VP8. Hopefully he is taking his cold weather gear. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HF Noise LevelsThere is no doubt that HF noise levels are increasing. Well that doesn't affect SOTA does it? Wrong, it does. The number of times you hear a HF QRP activator being given reports of 37 or 38 or even 39 is unbelievable and the reason is that the chaser's S meter is standing at S7 to 9 with no signal being received. The effect that this has is that the HF activators are gradually increasing their power levels by buying new rigs, FT857s instead of FT817s, or carrying linears up the mountains just to overcome the noise at the chaser end of the link. Of course it is not just the weight of the equipment it is also the weight of the batteries to run the QRO equipment. Has anyone done anything about their noise levels? Well very few it seems. There have been a couple of E petitions to the No.10 website on the subject. The latest one including the answer is here. The petition was reasonably well considered and worded and the response was really all that could be expected. Basically only 143 people have complained about interference cause by PLT devices. 121 have been referred to the equipment supplier and 104 have been fixed. Now if you were the Prime Minister would you consider this is a major problem and take legal or enforcement action? Of course you wouldn't, you would spend your time trying to sort out you MPs expenses claims or the billions in bonuses being paid to the employees of government owned banks. We all know that the reality is different to that being described by the response, so where does the problem lie? Well it is with you. You have not reported your HF noise problems to Ofcom so they do not know about your situation, and this has resulted in the government taking little or no action to cure the pollution we are experiencing. Where do we go from here? Well maybe you could do a bit of investigation yourself. Is the interference coming from your equipment? Turn off the mains at the main switch and listen on a battery operated HF receiver/transceiver. Has the noise reduced? If it did then find the equipment in your house that is causing the noise. When you have cured your own noise then you can either have a go at DFing the external noise yourself or just report it to Ofcom, who are obliged to investigate your complaint. Of course it won't take precedence over that inference to the airport approach or the emergency services but it will be investigated and more importantly logged. The next thing you can do is to contribute to the RSGB Spectrum Defence Fund. I am not an RSGB member I can hear you say. Well it doesn't matter. The RSGB are the only ones that are likely to be able to take on Ofcom and the commercial giants and they need your help, so please make a contribution today. The link is here. It might be uncomfortable but the problem is yours and nothing will happen until you do something to help yourself and your fellow amateurs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flickr SOTA GroupThere are some fantastic photos on the original SOTA Flickr group, including snow scenes from activations in the recent cold UK weather and even pictures of portable antennas from HL1WOU. Please add a selection of your photos to the 'SOTA' Flickr group when you upload your photos to your photostream. It is very easy and can be done in batches by dragging your photos in 'Organise and Create' and then clicking 'send to group' or individually by clicking the 'send to group' link above each photograph. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Would You Like To Try Contesting?Would you like to have a go at contesting but are not a member of a club that 'does' contesting? Don't know how to get started? Well some Summits people can help. We have formed a very small and friendly group called the Travelling Wave Contest Group. Current participants are G6WRW, G0PEB, G3RMD, G4TQF and GW4BVE. There are a couple of other people who are just getting set up and will probably be on in the March events. We are currently focussing on the 80m RSGB Club Championship, which is a series of 90 minute contests in the evenings – 2000 to 2130 clock time. They are an ideal starting point for newcomers and for people who don't want to get involved in huge and complex portable events. You just operate your own station from home but enter as a member of the team. There is an SSB, a CW and a data (RTTY & PSK31) contest every month and you just enter whichever modes you want. If you enter them all it is only 4 ½ hours per month. You don't have to be a SOTA person to join our group, just someone with a little bit of competitive spirit, a desire to improve your station and operating and a wish to be part of a friendly and helpful group. If you are interested send an email to G0PEB, G6WRW or GW4BVE. All our email addresses are on QRZ.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GPS DisruptionNo MoD GPS jamming excercises have been notified. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activators Beware.In this section we list events (usually fell races) that are due to take place on or near summits (or parking places used for summit access) so that potential activators can take them into account when planning their activations. Tuesday March 2nd - SEDBERGH 3 PEAKS Race starts at 4.30 p.m. from Lockbank Farm, Sedbergh. (Route does not take in any SOTA summits). Friday March 5th - HIGH PEAK MARATHON Race starts at 11.00 p.m. from Edale Village Hall. NGR SK124853. (Route does not take in any SOTA summits). Saturday March 6th - BLACK COMBE (G/LD-030) Race starts at 12.00 p.m.from Silecroft Village Hall. NGR SD133821. Saturday March 6th - HALF TOUR OF PENDLE (G/SP-005) Race starts at 11.00 a.m. from Barley NGR SD823403. Saturday March 6th - SLIEVE GULLION (GI/CA-001) Race starts at 12.00 p.m. from main car park, Slieve Gullion Forest Park, Northern Ireland. Saturday March 13th - SNAEFELL (GD/GD-001) Race starts at 2.00 p.m.from the Bungalow, TT Course, Isle of Man NGR SC396867. Saturday March 27th - CAUSEY PIKE (LDW-119) Race starts at 2.00 p.m. from Stair Village Hall, Newlands Valley, Keswick. Sunday March 28th - WREKIN FELL (G/WB-010) Race starts at 11.00 a.m. from Ercall Wood School, Golf Links Lane, Wellington, Telford. NGR SJ653106. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AcknowledgementsThis month, thanks go to the following for their contributions to Summits News: John GW4BVE, Mike G4BLH, Gerald G4OIG, Dave M0MYA, Lee M0LMP, Keith G8HXE , David 2E0DAI, Tony 2E0LAE, Kjell LA1KHA, Jack GM4COX, Carolyn G6WRW, Robert G0PEB, Geoff 2E0BTR, Richard G1JTD and Phil G4OBK. Apologies to anyone accidentally left out. Once more that’s it for this edition of Summits News. The Summits News Team hopes that there is something of interest for everyone. As always, your feedback, whether good or bad, is very welcome so that we can do our best to improve the Summits News for you and include any other topics at your request. Feedback or general discussion on the news can be left here. Created by: admin last modification: Thursday 01 of April, 2010 [09:37:06 UTC] by G4CPS |
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