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News June 2010
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June 2010Summits News is published on the first of each month (for registered users).--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Welcome To The Summitsbase Monthly News.Welcome to the June edition of the Summitsbase News. 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 AchievementsMilos, S53X, has become the first Mountain Goat in Slovenia. Gerald, G4OIG, has reached 300 unique activations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summit to Summit Award News Three Awards have been given out this month. Jack GM4COX gains the Intermediate Award (250 S2S) and is only the fourth person to do so. Caroline M3ZCB and Walt G3NYY have both upgraded to the Class 1 (100 S2S) Award. Our congratulations to all three participants. 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 StatisticsAs the UK 5MHz licence Notice of Variations expired on the 30th June and operators have had to reapply for permission to operate on that frequency, the Summitsbase Team though it was appropriate to look at the activity over the years. The graph shows the number of QSOs in activator logs each year. The 2010 statistics only cover the first 5 months of the year  It is interesting to see the growth in the number of QSOs as SOTA operators realised the potential of intra-UK working on HF with low power on this frequency. 5MHz use peaked in 2007 with nearly 15,000 QSOs in activator logs. The final stages of solar cycle 23 took its toll and this, combined with the increasing internationalisation of SOTA, encouraged activators to move to other frequencies. Hopefully next year 5MHz reliability will be restored and the number of QSOs will begin to increase again. 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 There were some excellent short skip conditions from time to time during June and many activators were able to take advantage of these conditions. On June 1st SC4CCC/4 Mario was on Hovfjället SM/VL-004 and his activation coincided with some very good conditions enabling him to make an impressive 45 contacts on 10m SSB, many of them with well known chasers. On June 3rd, this time operating as LA/DC7CCC/P Mario activated Nyfjellet LA/HM-042 and made eight European contacts on SSB. Andre F5UKL activated Sommet d'Errozaté F/PO-183 on June 4th and using CW only made eighteen contacts on 28MHz (including several UK chasers). On the 22nd, again using only CW, Andre activated Salle de Bassia F/PO-142 this time making nine contacts, but again with several chasers in the log. Lutz DL3SBA activated Burg DM/NW-229 on June 5th, but clearly conditions were not as good as only two contacts were made on 10m SSB. Conditions were no better later the same day when he had moved to Bermershausener Höhe DM/NW-217, again only two contacts on 10m SSB. However by late afternoon on Ebschloh DM/NW-199 conditions appear to have been better because six stations made it into the 10m log. Lutz made one more excursion during June on the 13th when he activated Höhe Schöndelt DM/NW-221 making just four contacts on SSB. Phil G4OBK was also out activating on the 5th. The summit in question was Bishop Wilton Wold G/TW-004 and Phil seemed to fair much better than Lutz by making 59 contacts on 10m. Perhaps the secret lies in the mode used, i.e. CW. plus perhaps the fact that it was an epic eight hour activation. June 5th also found DK1BN activating on 10m. Walter was operating from Kandrich DM/RP-193 and he made five CW contacts. Tom M1EYP had a dabble on 10m CW on the 6th from his usual location on The Cloud G/SP-015 and was rewarded with six contacts. On June 20th Steve G1INK begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting activated White Hill G/SP-006 and made sixteen contacts on SSB. Incidentally, it seems rather strange not to have worked Steve on 28MHz operating from DL this June (Steve is usually /P in DL around the time of the Friedrichshafen show, but not this year). June 6th found S57PZ on Mladi vrh S5/CP-006 from where he made 2 ssb contacts. There were also spots during the month from S57AX on Črni vrh S5/CP-036, TK/HG4UK/P on ZZZ TK/TK-065 and DO1DJJ/P on Weisstannenhöhe DM/BW-014. No doubt I missed quite a few others too.  4 Metres (all activity FM unless otherwise stated) First some late news from the end of May which just missed the May News. David 2E0DAI was active on 4m during the last three days in May. On the 29th he activated Cliffe Hill G/SE-014 and worked G3VPS (East Grinstead), on the 30th Wilmington Hill G/SE-011 and worked G1LEO, M0RLE and G4RUL, all in Eastbourne and on the 31st David was on Ditchling Beacon G/SE-006 and worked G4ZCS/M (Burgess Hill) and 2E1FET (Haywards Heath). June has been a very busy month with lots of activations on four metres. On June 4th Geoff G4WHA activated several Wainwrights (but not on four metres) but in and amongst he activated High Street. In an Email to Summitsbase News Geoff wrote:- "I have attached some photos which I took when I was on High Street on Friday 4th Jun 2010. The one on High Street is my 4m J-Pole connected to my Icom IC-E90. I made 4 contacts on 4m. These were G6LKB, G4BLH/M, G0TDM & G4RQJ. The weather was superb and High Street was one of 7 summits I did that day, the other 6 being for WOTA."  Geoff went on to say:- "I don’t know whether you are interested in any WOTA pictures (Editor - Yes we are interested in all summit activations, not just SOTA) but I have attached two which were taken on Kidsty Pike LDW-046"". The picture shown below shows Harter Fell in the background which was Geoff's first summit of the day. {  Many thanks for the report and the photographs Geoff. Dave MW0MYA/P was on Drygarn Fawr GW/MW-003 on June 6th and made a credible five contacts, M0RHV/P, G0BWC/P, MW0CXH, GW0GV and G0OIW/P (Wouxun to Wouxun !!). On June 6th Rob G4RQJ/P operating from Whernside G/NP-004 made eight contacts on 4m FM, G4CPA, G4BLH, G6LKB, G8ALB, G1CCL, G1CXE/M, 2E0CSG and G4OBK. Rob and Audrey were out again on June 13th this time operating from Wild Boar Fell G/NP-007 and Rob worked G4BLH, G0TDM and G7RNX. On June 20th Rob operated from Nine Standards Rigg G/NP-018 but unfortunately no 4m contacts were made. John G4YSS activated several summits duting June using the club callsign GX0OOO/P. On June 18th John (accompanied by Hazel) was on the summit of Whernside G/NP-004 from where he worked six stations on 4m FM, G4CPA, G4BLH, G6LKB, M3ULV, G1KLZ and G6MZX. The photographs below were taken during this activation ( photos courtesy of John G4YSS).  The four metre antenna that was used can be seen in the photographs below.   On June 22nd John was on the summit of Great Gable G/LD005 and made three contacts G4WHA/M, G0TDH and a summit to summit contact with Gerald G4OIG/P om Dufton Pike G/NP-027. On the same day John also activated Pillar G/LD-006 making five contacts G6MZX/M, G6LKB, G4WHA/M, MW1FGQ & G0TDM. On June 20th G4OIG/P activated Knott G/LD-023 and worked G0TDM, GD0NFN and GM4WHA. Gerald comments:- "The activity on 4m was poor. I was certainly expecting more on Sunday, but it seems the Father's Day barbecues won the day!". On the 22nd Gerald was on Dufton PikeG/NP-027 and worked John GX0OOO/P on Great Gable G/LD-005 for a summit to summit contact plus G4WHA/M and G0TDM/M on Beacon Edge near Penrith. 2W0XTL activated Plynlimon-Pen Pumlumon Fawr GW/MW-001 on the 18th and worked M0MYA and MW0BYS (Milford Haven). Steve G1INK/P made a brief (running out of time) appearance from White Hill G/SP-006 on the 20th working 2E0CSG, G4BLH and Les G3PUO. Stephany G1LAT/P activated Calf Top G/NP-022 on the 11th makimg four contacts. On the 15th she was on Wild Boar Fell G/NP-007 this time making five contacts and it was Great Shunner Fell G/NP-006 on the 22nd June from where she made just two contacts on four metres, G4WHA and G0TDM. Our friends in Slovenia were also active on four metres during June with S57PZ activating both Koprivnik S5/CP-005 and Mladi vrh S5/CP-006 on the 6th and made 5 FM contacts with other S5 stations from both summits. I believe that there were other four metre activations from S5 during the month, including S57XX on Mali Golak S5/TK-003, Suhi vrh S5/TK-009 and Altemaver S5/CP-001, Komen S5/KS-019 but not all 70MHz activations were 'spotted' and trawling through the entire database too find them is far too time consuming. I therefore have to rely on 'spots' or on receiving direct information (thanks G4WHA, G4YSS and G4OIG).  6 Metres (all activity SSB unless otherwise stated) There were some excellent conditions on six metres during June with stations from all over Europe being heard. Keith G8HXE in an Email to Summitsbase News reports:- "I did a quick activation of Ruardean Hill G/WB-021 on the 4th of June whilst on a few days holiday. Tried 2 metres, both ssb and fm but only managed three contacts (all FM) but then switched to 6 metres and managed to work SP3OCC on ssb. Used 2.5 watts into a half wave on 2 metres and used a dipole on 6. On the 5th I made a quick activation of Mynydd Egpynt GW/SW-018. Managed one contact on 2 metre ssb with G3CWI/P but once again 6 metres came to the rescue with another 4 ssb contacts - MW0ZZK, G5WQ/P, G5FS/P and G7RIS/P. It's a good job I had taken the 6 metre dipole as otherwise I can't see me having qualified either summit using just 2 metres." Darko S57AX was very active on the band during the month with activations from Veliki Javornik S5/BR-005 (5 ssb contacts),Velika Slivnica S5/RG-009 (4 ssb contacts), Velika Vremšcica S5/BR-013 (4 ssb contacts) and Jerebikovec S5/JA-036 (8 ssb contacts) to mention just a few. S57PZ was active on the 6th from Mladi vrh S5/CP-006 making just 4 contacts. Robin GM7PKT continues to be the 'lead' activator on six metres with several activations during the month. June 6th found him on Ben Hiant GM/WS-294 working stations in F, 9A, IZ and OE on SSB (5 contacts). On the 20th Robin activated Buachaille Etive Beag - Stob Dubh GM/WS-079 and really struck gold on the band with a collossal twentytwo contacts on SSB from all over Europe. Later the same day Robin moved over to Buachaille Etive Beag-Stob Coire Raineach GM/WS-096 and made another four contacts on SSB (including EA6/MM0DLL/P). Robin was also active on six metres from Buachaille Etive Mor-Stob Dearg GM/WS-044, Sgor Gaoith GM/ES-009 and Stob Binnein GM/SS-002 later in the month. Gerald G4OIG also gave six metres a try this month and on the 20th from Knott G/LD-023 managed to work G0TDM, this being achieved by using the 4m 'Slim Jim' antenna. I'm not sure if Gerald was using the same antenna from Binsey G/LD-041 but he made eight contacts on SSB including 9A, EA3, EA6, S5, I, and OE. Tom M1EYP had a large number of six metre contacts (42) on the 22nd from The Cloud G/SP-015. I seem to remember there was a contest or activity evening on six metres on that date. Conditions were good and Tom made contacts into G, GW, GI, GM, SK, DL, OH, YT, OK and OE using mainly SSB but with some CW 'thrown in' for good measure. No doubt I missed quite a few other activations, but without reports I can only rely on what I see on the 'spots'. It would be nice to get some reports and photos about six metre activations. How about it please ? Any photos, reports or information about 10, 4 or 6m activity would be gratefully received by your correspondent via news@summitsbase.org.uk Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 70cms News 70cms Another busy month leaves me feverishly slaving away over a very hot word processor, with the temperature still above 20C at 21:00 hrs local and it is very humid. I’d rather be on a summit. I find that it is more of the same this month, with the regular activators making the bulk of the contacts on the band. Slovenia now has 41 activators, 2 more than the combined UK total. These two countries remain the hot-bed of 70cms activity, but this month there has been a significant increase in activity in Germany and for that reason I start this month’s report with their activations. GermanyReporting in date order, I am pleased to report that Lars DL8WJM joined the 2010 70cms table in the SOTA database with an excellent 14 contacts on FM from Kahleberg DM/SX-003 on 6th June. This shows that there is a considerable amount of activity to be tapped into on the band given a prominent location reasonably close to towns and cities. However, Kurt DL8DZV managed just a single contact with DL2HSC from the same summit on 26th June. Georg DL9NCI carried out one activation on 12th June from the summit of Schalke DM/NS-008 when he worked DL0SHL and DK0FW on SSB. On 27th June, Thomas DL1DVE activated Großer Picho DM/SX-037 and worked 9 on FM. The following day, Joerg DO1DJJ worked DL6MK on SSB from the summit of Kandel.DM/BW-009. SloveniaAs time is short to get this report out, I am having to use tables to report on the high level of activity from Slovenia. All activations have used FM and I have shown S2S contacts where they have been indicated in the logs. Of course not every activator records S2S contacts on the database, so a number may be missing. I have cross-checked logs where it has been possible to do so, but again not everyone is up to date with their logs. The table is in the order shown in the database and shows those activators that have recorded 70cms contacts during June. S56SFZ Danilo 01-Jun Košutica S5/KA-008 / Loibler Baba OE/KT-097 5 + 3 01-Jun Šentanski vrh S5/KA-029 4 including S52Q/P on S5/CP-006 05-Jun Trupejevo Poldne S5/KA-010 / Techantinger Mittagskogel OE/KT-104 5 + 2 incl S56LXN/P on S5/KS-022 06-Jun Begunjšcica (Veliki vrh) S5/KA-007 7 12-Jun Storžic S5/KA-005 5 25-Jun Stol S5/KA-001/ Hochstuhl OE/KT-063 5 + 5 25-Jun Vrtaca S5/KA-002 / Wertatscha OE/KT-070 4 + 4 S56LXN Bojan 05-Jun Veliki Travnik S5/KS-022 4 including S56SFZ/P, S55SZ/P and S56IAA/P all on OE/KT-104 05-Jun Komen S5/KS-019 2 including S57MS/P on S5/KS-033 06-Jun Jasovnik S5/KS-050 4 08-Jun Miklavška gora S5/CP-018 1 11-Jun Goli vrh S5/TK-023 1 11-Jun Sveti Trije Kralji S5/TK-025 1 12-Jun Jance S5/BI-029 3 including S57X/P on S5/CP-001 12-Jun Obolno S5/BI-031 3 including S56SFZ/P and S56IAA/P 13-Jun Mesnovec S5/JA-039 3 13-Jun Straža S5/CP-029 2 S56IAA Marijan 01-Jun Šentanski vrh S5/KA-029 4 including S52Q/P on S5/CP-006 05-Jun Trupejevo Poldne S5/KA-010 / Techantinger Mittagskogel OE/KT-104 5 + 2 including S56LXN/P on S5/KS-022 12-Jun Storžic S5/KA-005 5 27-Jun Velika Golica S5/KA-013 / Kahlkogel OE/KT-117 5 + 5 29-Jun Mali Draški vrh S5/JA-061 3 S57AX Darko 02-Jun ((s5br005|Veliki Javornik) S5/BR-005 2 02-Jun Velika Slivnica S5/RG-009 2 06-Jun Velika Vremšcica S5/BR-013 2 including S52Q on S5/KA-001 09-Jun Jerebikovec S5/JA-036 5 including S57MS/P on S5/JA-026 10-Jun Velika Osojnica S5/JA-052 2 26-Jun Košenjak S5/PK-004 1 26-Jun Uršlja gora S5/KS-018 4 28-Jun Slatnik S5/JA-035 2 28-Jun Crni vrh S5/CP-036 2 28-Jun Kravja Crna gora S5/JA-067 5 S57MS Marko 05-Jun Ludranski vrh S5/KS-033 S56LXN/P on S5/KS-019 06-Jun Mirna gora S5/RG-017 2 09-Jun Zadnjiški Ozebnik S5/JA-026 2 with S57AX/P and S57AJJ/P on S5/JA-036 24-Jun Velika Baba S5/JA-028 2 25-Jun Veliki Lemež S5/JA-027 2 including S53XX/P on S5/JA-057 S52Q Franc 01-Jun Koprivnik S5/CP-005 7 including S56SFZ/P and S56IAA/P 01-Jun Mladi vrh S5/CP-006 7 including S56SFZ/P and S56IAA/P on S5/KA-029 06-Jun Stol S5/KA-001 / Hochstuhl OE/KT-063 4 including S57AX/P on S5/BR-013 / 3 10-Jun Vrtaca S5/KA-002 / Wertatscha OE/KT-070 4 + 4 30-Jun Košutnikov turn S5/KA-004 / Koschutnikturm OE/KT-079 4 + 3 S57AJJ Jurij 02-Jun Veliki Javornik S5/BR-005 2 02-Jun Velika Slivnica S5/RG-009 2 09-Jun Jerebikovec S5/JA-036 5 including S57MS on S5/JA-026 22-Jun Šentanski vrh S5/KA-029 4 26-Jun Košenjak S5/PK-004 / Hühnerkogel OE/KT-148 1 contact from Košenjak 26-Jun Uršlja gora S5/KS-018 4 including S55KM/P 28-Jun Slatnik S5/JA-035 1 28-Jun Crni vrh S5/CP-036 2 28-Jun Kravja Crna gora S5/JA-067 5 S53XX Slavko 24-Jun Crni vrh S5/CP-036 3 25-Jun Travnik S5/JA-057 S57MS/P on S5/JA-027 S55SZ 05-Jun no log yet for Trupejevo Poldne S5/KA-010 / Techantinger Mittagskogel OE/KT-104 S57PZ Zvone 06-Jun Koprivnik S5/CP-005 6 06-Jun Mladi vrh S5/CP-006 3 S57MB Boris 27-Jun Crni vrh S5/PK-001 2 S57TI Ivan 08-Jun Brezovec S5/KS-061 3 11-Jun Uršlja gora S5/KS-018 3 S51JS Jaka 09-Jun Vrh Staneta Kosca (Rašica) S5/CP-031 1 13-Jun Govca (Govešca) S5/KS-015 4 28-Jun Grintavec S5/KS-001 2 S57XX Jure 12-Jun Altemaver S5/CP-001 S57JJ/P on S5/KA-020 S55KM Stephanie 12-Jun Komen S5/KS-019 3 S55TR Rozalija 08-Jun Brezovec S5/KS-061 3 S58MU Milan 29-Jun Goli vrh S5/TK-023 2 S52TC Marijan 25-Jun (Travnik) S5/JA-057 1 26-Jun Jerebikovec S5/JA-036 4 30-Jun Debela pec S5/JA-029 4 S50MP 04-Jun Stol S5/KA-001 / Hochstuhl OE/KT-063 2 + 2 S51TS Toni 13-Jun Govca (Govešca) S5/KS-015 4 S57X Jurij 12-Jun Altemaver S5/CP-001 8 S57JJ Janez 12-Jun Gradišce (Njivica) S5/KS-020 4 including S57X/P and S57XX/P on S5/CP-001 S52ANG 11-Jun Uršlja gora S5/KS-018 5 - first SOTA activation! Excellent! S50NV Anton 11-Jun Sivka S5/TK-022 1 A number of joint activations have taken place, with up to three people activating one summit simultaneously. Danilo S56SFZ and Marijan S56IAA are regular activation partners, as are Darko S57AX and Jurij S57AJJ. Joint activations have the added bonus of security while activators are up in the mountains. BelgiumBy way of a complete contrast, I am pleased to report on a contact that Filip ON4TA made while on his round of summits in Eire. From Silvermine Mountain EI/IE-023 he worked Mick EI5EAB at the start of his activation on 12th June using FM. USAIn a similar vein and on the same day, Tom N2YTF worked W3CCX from High Point W2/NJ-001 on 12th June. SwitzerlandI was pleased to see another log with a 70cms entry from Hans HB9CKV. This was for a contact with HB9DGK/P while Hans was on Piz Toissa HB/GR-154 on 27th June. CzechiaMarek OK9HAG was the only person to enter a log for 70cms contacts during June. On 12th June he made 4 contacts using FM from Na Beckove OK/ST-087 and on 20th June, 5 contacts were made using SSB from Liška OK/ST-016. NorwayI noted a log for 1st May when Kjell LA1KHA/P on Ramsås LA/TM-032 worked Mads LA1TPA/P on LA1TPA/P on Vestre Hoppefjell LA/TM-048. On 20th June, Kai LA3QMA worked Erling LA50NRK from the summit of Geitanuken LA/HL-027. It is good to see some activity from Norway. UKA rather mixed bag this month to report on. A late log from John GW4BVE recorded a 70cms contact with Mike G4BLH from Snowdon - Yr Wyddfa GW/NW-001 on 24th May. Michael G7LCC also posted some late logs for activations from Arnside Knott G/LD-058 on 24th May when he worked Doug G1KLZ and from Baystones? G/LD-039 on 26th May when he worked Ian 2E0CBL. 8th June saw two stations active in the 70cms Activity Contest. Tom made a total of 53 contacts from The Cloud G/SP-015 while Walt G3NYY was on Hegdon Hill G/WB-023 and made 20 contacts. Walt also used 70cms from Billinge Hill G/SP-017 on 18th June working Mike G7ING in Preston, this contact being on FM. Jim G0CQK also used FM, this being on 17th June from Buckden Pike G/NP-009 to Paul G0OPH. Tony 2E0LAE activated Kinder Scout G/SP-001 on 20th June and worked John G3XEV in Sedgley down in the West Midlands. Simon M1AVV added 7 FM contacts to the tally from White Hill G/SP-006 on 27th June, which included an S2S with 2W0GHQ/P on Great Orme GW/NW-070. Gerald G4OIG had three days away in the northern part of England between 20th and 22nd June. The first day saw 70cms action from the summit of Knott G/LD-023, with 4 contacts made on SSB and another on CW. The second activation of the day did not produce any contacts from the summit of Binsey G/LD-041 which is well screened – unfortunately Geoff GM4WHA was out at a family barbecue and unable to oblige with a contact. The following day, the first summit of Cold Fell G/NP-020 produced 2 contacts on SSB and another 2 on CW. Later in the day, Burnhope Seat G/NP-003 was activated with just 2 contacts on SSB making the log. The final day of “the tour”, saw activation from Cross Fell G/NP-001 with 5 SSB and 1 CW contacts made and then another 2 contacts were made on SSB from Dufton Pike G/NP-027 later in the day. The activation from Cross Fell included an S2S with John GM8OTI/P on Cairnharrow GM/SS-191, one third of a three band S2S. Last, but not least, Alan MM0XXP activated Stob Binnein GM/SS-002 on 12th June and worked Dennis MM0DNX in Glasgow and Billy MM3VYU in Carluke, both contacts being made on FM. Signing offWell, first I must apologise for the tabulation of the report for Slovenia. Activity in that country has reached such a level that it is hard to report everything that has been going on and I am finding myself more and more time-limited month by month. I am somewhat reluctant to reduce the Slovenian section to a “highlights” report as I would be sure to miss what was important to someone. However, assuming that the level of activity is set to increase, then something will have to be done. I have received no suggestions or comments on the report so far, so maybe now is the time make another request for ideas. So once again I extend my best wishes to all activators for safe activations, ascents, descents and travel to and from the summits. Particular thanks to everyone who has made the effort to support the activators that use the band. 73 to all, Gerald, G4OIG --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Microwave News Gerald G4OIG (accompanied as usual by Paul G4MD) made another foray 'up norf' during June. On the 20th the activation was from Knott G/LD-023 with just Geoff, GM4WHA/M near Annan, making it into the log. Gerald did not manage any 23cms contacts during his activations on the 21st, but on the 22nd June Gerald activated Cross Fell G/NP-001 again working Geoff G4WHA/M on Beacon Edge near Penrith but also making a summit to summit contact with John GM8OTI/P who was on Cairnharrow GM/SS-191. Some photographs of John's portable 23cms set up can be seen below (( Photographs courtesy of GM8OTI).   John comments about the photograph on the right taken from Cairnharrow "The view towards Cross Fell finally cleared locally, though Gerald was still in the clag 117km away".  The photograph to the left shows "the 23cm station with 2m talkback station packed up ready to go back down the hill. Heavy. Must get some LiPos ...".John uses a Yaesu FT817 to drive a homebrew transverter which produces about 400mW output. A very detailed description (including photographs) of its construction may be found here on John's excellent website marwynandjohn.org.uk The 15 element yagi antenna for 23cms is also homebrew and further details of its construction (which will certainly be of use to some of our fledgling 23cms activators) may also be found at this page on the same website marwynandjohn.org.uk If you click on any of the photographs it will take you to the higher resolution version. I must say that I have nothing but admiration for John in successfully building a 23cms transverter, no mean achievement. My thanks to John GM8OTI for his photographs and for the information about his website. Gerald G4OIG also activated Dufton Pike G/NP-027 on the 22nd working G4WHA/M and G0TDM/M on Beacon Edge near Penrith. Geoff G4WHA did operate on 23cms from High Street G/LD-011 on June 4th. A qso was attempted with Mike G4BLH/P on a local high spot from where he has worked High Street before. However, although Mike could hear Geoff very weakly from time to time, unfortunately contact could not be established.  3cmsNo known summit activations this month, but I am aware that Ian GW8OGI has been out portable again with his 10GHz equipment and has had some considerable success. Mike G4BLH --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK NVIS Propagation News June 2010 UK NVIS Propagation ReportIonospheric & Solar Data I reported last month that there had been no dramatic increase in solar flux levels and unfortunately the report is the same this month. The mean flux in April was 76, in May 74 and in June it was 72. The highest level in June was 76 on the 12th and 13th, when there was flaring activity, and the lowest was 68 on the 6th. Geomagnetic conditions have also been relatively quiet, which is good news for propagation, however there was some disturbance mainly due to the influence or coronal holes around the 3rd,4th,16th and 27th. The K index peaked briefly at 5 (storm level) on the 4th.. The mean mid-day utc F2 critical frequency (foF2) in June was 5.42MHz, which was about the same as May (5.3MHz). The highest foF2 was 5.8MHz on the 12th and the lowest was 4.28MHz on the 27th. The foF2 figures do not paint the picture of UK NVIS propagation this month as the primary propagation mechanism was likely to have been via the E layer. In fact the F layer was completely obscured to the Chilton ionoonde by blanketing sporadic E at mid-day utc on 9 days and on other days the reflections from the F layer were weak due to absorption in the lower layers. An examination of the Chilton ionograms around the middle of the day also showed that the E layer propagation was very variable with intense E layer reflections on one ionogram then 10 minutes later they had all but vanished. Of course the result is QSB. There was significant sporadic E visible on the Chilton mid-day ionogram on 12 days in June but there was sporadic E activity nearly every day. On many days intra-UK propagation will have been possible on on 7MHz via the E layer and on some days, for example on the 11th when the vertical incidence reflections were above 15MHz, intra-UK communication would have been possible on 14MHz and possibly higher bands. So overall this month NVIS signals have been very variable with high levels of absorption at times and high QSB levels due to the varying E layer ionisation. During the summer months activators should use the highest frequency possible to reduce the effect of D and E layer absorption. 3.5MHz will be difficult, particularly for QRP operators, in the middle of the day and 5MHz may be better. Keep and eye on 7MHz as that band may support intra-UK paths in July more often than you expect. Over to Dave for his reports from activators and chasers. Activity Reports Activators Dave G6DTN was kind enough to send in a “back catalogue” of his activations since he was last in touch, dating back to early April. As the QSO tallies were presented in a very quantitative way it is possible to observe the changing state of conditions since that time. Dave has been getting out around North Wales a lot as well as a foray into South Wales around the Whitsun holiday and started off doing a roaring trade on HF, using 20W into a stepped dipole, usually aided via a self-spot or a spot from a kindly chaser. Dave has also been enjoying his stints on 40m, which has worked in a manner that is inversely proportional to 80m: back in April, 80m was netting a good many inter-G contacts, while 40 was bringing in those from farther afield. As the weeks ticked by the inter-G available on 80m gradually began to tail off a little (though by no means entirely) while 40m started to open up for the shorter paths. On the 4th Dave was up on Cadair Berwyn GW/NW-012 for a multiband activation, working eight stations on 80m, all in the UK as well as four on 40m, two of which were inter-G. A QSY to 20M brought in another two UK chasers as well as a further 20 into France, Switzerland, Germany, Russia, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria, Israel, Spain, Norway and Iceland. From this point on Dave found the balance for UK contacts was beginning to tip in favour of the higher bands, starting with his next trip out on the 17th to Moel Eilio GW/NW-022. 3.5MHz brought in 3 inter-G QSOs, with two more on 40m and a further two on 20m as well as a good handful of continental stations. By the time the 24th arrived Dave was up on top of Arenig Fawr GW/NW-011 where he had a quiet start on 80m with three contacts, in ion the UK. A QSY to 40m netted him 28 QSOs, with a colossal 19 being UK stations. Further up and 20m was open for 19 QSOs, 4 of which were in the UK. John GW4BVE has been having a good time of it out in the hills during the month of June, starting out with an activation of Glyder Fawr GW/NW-003 on the 3rd. Says John of the day: “Brilliant but hard walk over Glyder Fach (not SOTA) with Pete M0COP begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Only had QSOs on 5MHz and 14MHz although I did call CQ on 28MHz for some time. 5 MHz was quiet with only 7 QSOs. There was a lot of QSB on signals and some chasers were getting a strong signal from me and others less strong, but R5 reports were exchanged with everyone except Geoff G6MZX. I was pleased to work Jim GM0CQK/P on Corra Bheinn GM/SI-045.” John was out again on the 12th, for a two activation trip up Arenig Fach GW/NW-027 and Mynydd Nodol GW/NW-048: “Arenig Fach was another super walk with Pete M0COP and we managed to avoid most of the heather hopping. Conditions on 5MHz were fairly good with 20 QSO, most of them the usual suspects at good signal strengths. It was good to have a summit to summit QSO with Adrian MM0DHY/P on Ord Ban GM/ES-074 and with Dave G6DTN who was giving his shiny new 5MHz NoV its first outing. Conditions on 3.5MHz were not as good and only 2 chasers were worked, but of course this was now the middle of the day. The ascent of Mynydd Nodal GW/NW-048 was heather hopping torture. 17 chasers, all the usual suspects, were worked on 5MHz including MW0MYA/P operating from Holyhead Mountain GW/NW-069. Conditions were still OK on 5MHz and most reports were good except for those chasers with very high noise levels.” Clearly feeling energetic despite the hot sunshine, John was out for another two on the 17th: “An easy ascent of Black Mountain GW/NW-041 in stunning weather with Pete M0COP. 5MHz conditions were atrocious with only G3RMD worked on ground wave despite many CQ calls. G4BLH and G3RMD were worked on 7MHz but I am not sure what the propagation mode was for these contacts. G0NES was worked on 28MHz but this was almost certainly direct and not via the ionosphere. It was great to meet Peter G3TJE, who arrived on the summit just as we were packing up. He activated on 7MHz CW before we walked down to Gospel pass together. 5MHz conditions had slightly improved by the time we reached The Begwns GW/MW-025 and 5 chasers were worked at good signal strengths. The sporadic E was in good form as EI/ON4TA/P on Maghera EI/IW-045, G4OBK, G4JZF, G3RMD and G2BKZ were all good signals on 7MHz. We didn't spend too much time on this summit as we had promised ourselves a beer on the way home. A pint of Hook Norton on freeflow in the Roast Ox at Painscastle finished off the day.” I would like it to be noted that I feel John is particularly lucky in this aspect of the activation; following our recent activation of Ruardean Hill Geoff 2E0BTR proudly presented me with a very hot cup of tea and what he termed a “sludge bar”. I’m not sure what it was, but it tasted like melted chocolate rather than real ale. Martyn M1MAJ has also been active on the NVIS bands this month and has the following to say about it: “I was activating between 17th and 25th June. 5MHz contacts were generally few and quite difficult around the middle of the day; those activations which were done mid to late afternoon fared rather better. Sometimes I was getting as few as 2 contacts on 5MHz but generally it was more like 8 or so. QSB was much in evidence, with repeated calling often allowing a quick exchange of reports at the peak. I only tried 3.5MHz once, by request, but got only one contact. In general, 7MHz and 14MHz were working rather better, both providing many short skip contacts.” Dave M0MYA has had a sprinkling of contacts on the NVIS bands from the tops throughout the month of June, starting with Holyhead Mountain GW/NW-069 on the 12th. Following qualification on 4m a QSY to 60m brought in just 4 contacts including the previously mentioned S2S with John GW4BVE/P. Aa with almost all QSOs Dave had this month, QSB was rapid and heavy (especially at just 5W into a dipole), which Dave attributed to shifting clouds of Es. On the 19th Dave was out again at the other end of the country, on top of Mynydd Troed GW/SW-009. A notoriously bad spot for VHF, it yielded nothing on 4m and Dave was fortunate to encounter a window of opportunity in the very unstable conditions on 60m, hurriedly getting four contacts into the log before everything went flat again! Conditions were even worse in the afternoon from the summit of Mynydd Llangorse GW/SW-015, with most reports given by chasers at 3/3. Geoff 2E0BTR received a tip off that the Forest of Dean Amateur Radio Group were going to be attending the Ruardean Hill Fete in the AZ of Ruardean Hill G/WB-0214 on the 27th. The group are based in the adjacent social club (the more eagle-eyed activators will have noticed the collinear on the roof) and put on a fine outdoor display of equipment and manpower for the perusal of the general public, demonstrating a wide variety of bands, modes and techniques. Particularly impressive was the “mobile shack” of Clive 2E0SMF, an ex-millitary light Landrover, running 24V electrics and a suite of clansman radios in the back covering HF and up into VHF – the photos are well worth a look. Of course, despite the elevation, none of the contacts made by the station qualified for SOTA so it was seen fit for Dave to take along his SOTA kit and get on air. At around 1600z a leisurely 6 contacts were had on 60m with rapid and heavy QSB and large static crashes making things difficult at times. Chasers Just the two chaser reports from the shack of John GW4BVE this month. John has been busy of recent with some domestic improvements, which have included a new shack floor and new RF connecting cable with chokes on the incoming feeders! John is also waiting for his big Icom to return from the radio hospital, I am sure he is looking forward to having the whole shebang on air in the not-too-distant future. First up was Dave GW6DTN/P during his stint on 3.5MHz from the top of Cadair Berwyn GW/NW-012 in the morning of the 4th. Reports were 5/9 both ways which John has a feeling might have something to do with the fact that the summit is LoS from his QTH! On the 12th John worked MM0DHY/P on 5MHz during an activation of Struie GM/ES-084. The contact took place at 1040 and signal reports of 5/2 were exchanged both ways. Graham G3OHC has the following to say concerning his NVIS exploits in June: “A short report:- only 28 Summits worked this month, with conditions generally poor with deep QSB being the order of the day.
Also worked Wapley Hill G/WB-016; Ruardean Hill G/WB-021; Bishop Wilton Wold G/TW-004; Normanby Top G/TW-005 & Whernside G/NP-004 with some of the contacts being a struggle with the QSB, it was a case of waiting and trying to make it on the peaks, which didn't always work!” A technique which, for me, just about sums up NVIS operating procedure this June. That’s it for this month, many thanks to Martin M1MAJ; Graham G3OHC; Dave G6DTN and John GW4BVE for their reports. Please send any reports and snippets for the July edition to nvis@summitsbase.org.uk. Discussion can take place on the Miscellaneous Forum on Summits Knowledgebase. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contest AlertThe are only two HF contests listed for this month that could cause any major problems to activators and these are on the weekends of 10th/11th and 24th/25th of July. VHF/UHF wise we have contests running on the 3rd and 4th which will definitely cause an increase in activity on 70Mhz - 1.2GHz in the UK. As ever, if you think we should list any other contests, or if you have anything to contribute, then please let us know. We will be happy to receive any photographs or reports of contest activity, especially if it involves a SOTA activation. Remember that I have only listed the major weekend contests as these will be the ones which could cause the most impact to SOTA activities and that there are other mid-week ones running. Don't forget the evening 80 m club championships and the evening activity contests which may provide an opportunity to visit a summit in the long summer evenings. Specific Dates and Times for contests in July HF Contests Sat July 3rd at 1100 UTC until Sun 4th at 1059 UTC DL-DX RTTY Contest RTTY, PSK31, PSK63 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz Sun 4th July 1100 - 1700 UTC DARC 10-Meter Digital Contest RTTY, AMTOR, CLOVER, PACTOR, PSK31 28 MHz Sat Jul 10th at 1200 UTC until Sun 11th at 1200 UTC IARU HF World Championship Phone, CW 1.8, 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz Sat Jul 17th at 1200 UTC until Sun 18th at 1200 UTC DMC RTTY Contest RTTY 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28 MHz Sat Jul 24th at 1200 UTC until Sun 25th at 1200 UTC RSGB IOTA Contest CW and SSB 3.5, 7, 14, 21 and 28MHz Note that no operation will take place on:- 3500-3510, 3560 - 3600, 3650 - 3700, 14060 - 14125 and 14300 - 14350kHz. Sun July 18th between 0900-1200 and 1300 - 1600 UTC RSGB Low Power Field Day CW 3510 - 3580 KHz and 7000 - 7040 KHz VHF/UHF/SHF Contests Sat 3rd July - Sun 4th:- 1400-1400 UTC 144MHz, 432MHz, 1.2GHz Sat 3rd 1400-2200 UTC 50MHz Sun 4th 0800-1400 UTC 70MHz RSGB VHF NFD Sun 4th July 1100-1500 UTC 3rd RSGB 144MHz Backpackers Sun 18th July 1000-1600 UTC RSGB 70MHz Trophy Contest Sat 17th July at 1800 UTC until Sun 18th at 2100 UTC CQ Worldwide VHF Contest 50MHz and 144MHz Keith G8HXE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Photo Of The MonthThis month the Photo of the Month is another slightly unusual one this time by by Ruda OK2QA on the summit of Luz OK/LI-057 The photo clearly shows the wires on his antenna and is dramatically taken into the sun. Have you tried to take a photo like that?  Congratulations on being selected for the Summitsbase Photo of the Month Ruda. More photos from Ruda can be seen here. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lost and FoundNothing reported this month --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other NewsNew SOTA AssociationsThree new SOTA Associations commence activities on July 1st, namely W5 and W7 (Utah and Oregon) Regions of the U.S.A and HL (South Korea). Summitsbase wishes them every success. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UK 5MHz Notice of Variation ExpiryThe UK Notices of Variation (NoV) to UK advanced (full) class licences which permit operation on 5MHz frequencies expire on 30th June. If you have not applied for and received a new NoV in the last few weeks you must cease operation on 5MHz after midnight on the 30th June. Any operation after that date without a new NoV would be transmitting without a licence. Ofcom have been very efficient, apart from a few callsign errors, in issuing new NoVs so you shouldn't have to wait more than a few days if you apply now. Congratulations to Dave M0DFA, who has finally applied for and received a 5 MHz NoV. He gave it its first airing from home a week or so ago. We have yet to hear him on 65MHz from a summit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GD ExpeditionRob G4RQJ and Audrey are going to the Isle of Man once again and will be active from all the SOTA summits (weather permitting) on the usual bands late June/early July. Please take a listen for them. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An Award for Mike GW0DSPIt's Another First For Mike Mike GW0DSP who had been the top chaser for SOTA for quite some time decided that he had accomplished all he could as a SOTA chaser so he decided to look for new challenges to renew his enthusiasm for the hobby. Mike decided to turn his chaser's 'ears' towards the 'Luxembourg Castles Award'. Full details of the award scheme can be found here Mike actually qualified for the award over a year ago but has only just received his certificate. Hewas very pleased when his certificate arrived, to find out he was the first person to receive the award, his certificate being number 001. Mike's certificate can be seen here. There are no prizes for spotting the deliberate spelling mistake on the certificate. Mike told the Summits news team "I was really pleased to receive certificate number 001 which was mainly down to the dedication of Norby LX1NO, the most prolific activator in the Luxembourg Castle Award scheme". Mike qualified for his award using CW only. Details of the Luxembourg Castles award are here Congratulations from the Summitsbase Team. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More Exploits of a Summit ActivatorMay and June Activation Report by Richard G1JTDThe first bank holiday in May, and just for fun, not for points, we headed for Pen-y-ghent G/NP-010. We left the crowds behind us near Hull Pot and carried on towards Plover Hill. It was almost 14:30z before we arrived on the top of Pen-y-ghent and a raft of contacts filled a couple of log pages in half an hour of operating. A round trip of just over 10 miles made for a pleasant change from the usual circular route. In an effort to beat the rush we planned our first weekend camping in the Lakes for mid May. Temperatures through the night dropped to just above freezing, my normally reliable pillow, who goes by the name of Alf, decided he’d had enough by 3am and spent the next 2 hours trying to get in to my sleeping bag. Not surprisingly we were up early and once warmed through headed off for breakfast. The car park at Glenridding was uncharacteristically busy and we had to find alternative parking ahead of a fine breakfast at Fellbites. Our planned route up Helvellyn G/LD-003 LDW-003, via Swirral Edge this time, provided an opportunity to catch a Wainwright or two on the way. Saying that, we missed the first one Birkhouse Moor LDW-078, before successfully navigating our way to the top of the prominent Catstye Cam LDW-010 (pronounced Cat-sti-cam or even Catchedicam – thanks for putting me right!). Swirral Edge and Helvellyn were busy with enthusiastic fund raisers and half an hour at the summit was enough. Our chosen descent meant we could capture White Side LDW-016 and Raise LDW-012 on the way down. An evening in Keswick provided much needed sustenance before heading back to our temporary home and another chilly night, although this time endured wearing every item of clothing we had with us! An invitation to join Bob (M3XJV) and Jo the following weekend provided a welcome opportunity to return to the Lakes with close friends and walking companions. A Wainwright circuit encompassing Helm Crag LDW-201 , Gibson Knott LDW-198 and Calf Crag LDW-154 gave Bob time to concentrate on 2m whilst I battled with 4m with the Wouxun. My efforts however were in vain, a couple of tests proved conclusively that this particular Wouxun was no more, had ceased to be and had indeed expired. It has subsequently been returned to its maker and my attempts to locate its present whereabouts continue to fall on deaf (Chinese) ears.  Our nephew Will (aged 11¼) had chosen GLD001 G/LD-001 LDW-001 for a school project and having explored it academically was keen to put his new-found knowledge to the test. A campsite was booked at Nether Wasdale and Saturday dawned dry but with the tops in cloud. Will’s dad did a fine job with the bacon rolls and we were soon parked at Wasdale Head and embarking on a traditional route to the top of England’s highest mountain. It’s funny the tricks your mind can play, but it doesn’t seem that long ago that I did Scafell Pike for the first time, also aged 11! The summit was unbelievably busy (see photo left of Meg at the summit), where do all those people come from? We took our turn for photos at the trig point with clear skies overhead while the cloud hung on the ridge to the North West. Contacts, all on 2m with a half wave telescopic and the VX-8, were plentiful and the log was soon filled. Any complaints on the descent from the youngest member of our team were dealt with very effectively with jelly sweets – if only real life was so simple.A business meeting in the afternoon of the 17th in Glasgow, which would inevitably progress to entertaining customers in the evening, provided me with justification for a bit of free time in the morning. An early start and a good run north meant I was in Wanlockhead before 9am. Wanlockhead has claimed many “highest” accolades – branch railway, curling club and village, it is the highest point of the Southern Upland Way and it was along this route I was to tackle the summit of Green Lowther GM/SS-056. “Tackle” may be a bit of an exaggeration as a well maintained private road, better maintained than the road to Wanlockhead in fact, leads to the summit. If the proliferation of communications sites was anything to go by, this was going to be a straightforward activation. As the rest of the UK basked in glorious sunshine I was grateful for a bit of cloud and a breeze to keep me cool. The first major installation is the NATS radome on Lowther Hill, also the home of the GB3LA repeater, followed by the Green Hill Trough receiver station and finally the summit of Green Lowther and the NATS transmitter station. The 5MHz dipole was deployed but no replies to my calls. 7MHz seemed to be full of activity but without an antenna to suit I opted for 2m and made four contacts to qualify the activation. I must’ve disturbed a spider’s nest as I positioned the pole in the trig point, they were everywhere, and then the wind dropped and the ground erupted as the midges took to the air, time to go. Something a bit more local on the 20th and following a delicious bacon roll at the Croft Café in Clapham, we headed off from Ingleton along Kingsdale - a favourite haunt from years gone by when I was really in to caving. The gated single track road towards Dent provides good access to both the lesser visited side of Whernside G/NP-004 and our objective, Great Coum G/NP-011. A good track takes you more than half way to the top and 2m provided lots of contacts including five summit to summits. As we descended we came across what remains of an Oxford DF471 that crashed on the 29 August 1943. The plane was heading from Leeming to RAF Ford to repair a 427 Squadron Halifax that had been damaged and landed there. Speculation is that the Halifax pilot (who had completed 18 operational flights with 427 Squadron), encountered bad weather and without the benefit of a navigator decided to try and return to base. Sadly all on board, the pilot and three mechanics all lost their lives – a poignant reminder. Back in Patterdale for the last weekend in June and a much warmer weekend thankfully. The planned route meant a drive to Buttermere and after the obligatory breakfast diversion, this time to Keswick, we set off for Haystacks LDW-131 from Gatesgarth at the north western end of Buttermere. Haystacks, a modest 597m summit, was Wainwright’s all-time favourite and was to become his final resting place following a request in the closing paragraphs of his book, Memoirs of a Fell Wanderer, that his ashes be scattered by the side of Innominate Tarn.   A steep climb up High Crag LDW-065 and along the ridge to High Stile G/LD-012 LDW-029 (phot above right) led to the finest views of the day. Red Pike LDW-062 formed part of the descent (photo above left - Richard & Alf) and a welcome plunge in to the cooling waters of Bleaberry Tarn for Alf and Meg. The final stretch of the walk along the shore of Buttermere led to a van serving very large ice creams – an appropriate and well-earned reward on the hottest day of the year so far. May and June stats. May and June SOTA summits - 8 WOTA summits - 15 Successful 4m contacts with Wouxun - Nil Alf & Meg’s favourite Tarn - Bleaberry Biggest ice cream for £1 (Gatesgarth) - 1(each) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Falkland Islands (VP8) Association NewsThere have been four activations in VP8 in June. The first VP8 summit to be activated was Two Sisters VP8/EF-013 on the 2nd June. The activation was by VP8DND/P (GW0VMW at home). Unfortunately Rick didn't qualify the summit and only had one 144MHz QSO with VP8VO on East Falkland. The honour of qualifying the first VP8 summit was to be Robert's VP8DMM (G0PEB at home). Robert operated from VP8/EF-006 on 16th June and qualified the summit using 17m and 20m. He followed this up with an activations of VP8/WF-010 on the 24th and 26th June making contacts with S.Africa, Canada, Romania, Russia and others. Robert was not able to alert or spot these activations due to very difficult and limited internet access. On 30th June Robert activated VP8/WF-025, despite reporting snow and 50 knot winds in the afternoon. This time he was spotted on 18.152MHz by GW4BVE but he had also been spotted on the dxcluster and was working a huge pileup of European stations. Robert was worked by GW4BVE, G4BLH/P and G4OBK from the UK and many other EU stations on 18MHz. Mike G4BLH/P worked Robert on a simple 18MHz dipole on a 'SOTApole'. Robert then moved to 14.342MHz and the pileup followed him but he did manage to find some chasers including GW4BVE, DJ5AV and G4OBK. Because Robert's batteries were a bit low he reduced power and managed to continue working G4OBK on 5 watts! Hopefully Robert will provide more details of his VP8 adventures for the next Summitsbase News. His equipment was an FT-857 powered by Chinese LiPo batteries and the antenna was a ¼ wave vertical with elevated radials. Before he left the UK Robert went to a lot of trouble to develop and test lightweight HF kit that would be capable of working EU from the VP8 summits and it obviously worked very well. For those of you that missed Robert on the 30th, he will be operational again from VP8/WF-025 again on the 1st July at 1830 utc on 18.152MHz then 14.342MHz. He is putting out a good signal so most chasers with a reasonable HF noise level should be able to work him. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GPS DisruptionThe only planned GPS disruption that we know about is the MoD GPS jamming exercises between 5th and 15th July 2010 at limited periods between 12:15 and 15:15 hrs. The jammer will be airborne approximately 10 nautical miles west of Kirkwall. Range is unknown but GPS may be unreliable anywhere around the Orkneys at these times --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Activators BewareIn 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. Be advised that yet again, there is a lot of fell racing activity this month that involves SOTA, WOTA and Summitsbase summits (Humps). Saturday 3rd July – Slieve Bearnagh GI/MM-004 race starts at 11am. Saturday 3rd July – Wharfedale Fell Race from Kettlewell 11am start, route unknown. Sunday 4th July – Narradale Race, Isle Of Man, starts 10am and includes Snaefell GD/GD-001 Sunday 4th July – Skiddaw Fell race starts at 12:30pm from Fitz Park, Keswick Saturday 10th July – Tal Y Fan race starts at 2pm from Rowen, Conwy Saturday 10th July – Wasdale 'Horseshoe' Fell Race starts at 11am from Brackenclose, Wasdale and the route includes Whin Rigg LDW-156, Seatallan G/LD-025 LDW-093, Pillar G/LD-006 LDW-008 , Great Gable G/LD-005 LDW-007, and Scafell Pike G/LD-001 LDW-001. Wednesday 14th July – Stiperstones Fell Race starts at 19:30 from Stiperstones Inn. Saturday 17th July – Ingleton Gala which includes Ingleborough Mountain Race which starts at 15:00 from Community Centre Sports Field, Ingleton. Saturday 17th July – Moel Siabod Race starts at 14:00 from Carnival Field, Capel Curig opposite Bryn Tyrch Hotel. Saturday 17th July – Pen Y Fan Race starts at 11am from Cwm Llwch car park near Brecon. Sunday 18th July – Coniston Country Fair which includes a Fell Race to the summit of Coniston Old Man G/LD-013 LDW-030 which starts at 2pm. Wednesday 21st July – Blisco Dash Race starts at 19:00 from the Old Dungeon Ghyll Hotel, Langdale, Ambleside and goes to the summit of Pike of Blisco G/LD-024 LDW-086. Wednesday 21st July – Shining Tor Race starts at 7:30pm from Errwood Sailing Club, Goyt Valley, near Buxton, Derbyshire. Saturday 24th July – Snowdon Race starts (14:00) and finishes at Padarn Park, Llanberis. Sunday 25th July – Kentmere Horseshoe Fell Race starts at 13:00 from Kentmere Village Hall. The route (if the same as previous years) includes Yoke LDW-085, Ill Bell LDW-060 G/HLD-035, Froswick LDW-077, Thornthwaite Crag LDW-043, High Street G/LD-011 LDW-025, Mardale Ill Bell LDW-059, Harter Fell LDW-048 G/HLD-028, Kentmere Pike LDW-071 and Shipman Knotts LDW-133. Thursday 29th July – Heart Of The Lakes Rydal Round is a race around Fairfield Horseshoe which starts at noon from Rydal Park, Ambleside. The route includes Nab Scar LDW-193 , Fairfield G/LD-007 LDW-013 and Low Pike LDW-172. Saturday 31st July – Ben Rinnes Five Tops Race is part of the Dufftown Highland Games. The race starts at noon and includes Little Conval GM/ES-057, Meikle Conval GM/ES-051 and Ben Rinnes GM/ES-021. Saturday 31st July – The North Barrule GD/HGD-001 Race (Isle of Man) starts at 14:00 from Ballure reservoir, Ramsey. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Injuries and IllnessNothing reported this month. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ErrataNone this month. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- AcknowledgementsThis month, thanks go to the following for their contributions to Summits News: John GW4BVE, Mike G4BLH, Gerald G4OIG, Dave M0MYA, Keith G8HXE, Martyn M1MAJ, Graham G3OHC, Dave G6DTN, John G4YSS, Mike GW0DSP, John GM8OTI and Geoff G4WHA. Apologies to anyone accidentally left out. Yet again that is 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: Saturday 31 of July, 2010 [20:31:35 UTC] by admin |
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