|
The Cloud, G/SP-015 - 343m ASL - SJ 904 637 - OS Explorer 268 - 1
SOTA point
My first activation of The Cloud of the year took place on the afternoon of
Monday 21st January 2008 after work.
I nearly didn't bother when I parked up at Cloudside. It was cold, windy and
wet! But I really fancied a play on CW. That soon changed when I walked out onto
the summit. The wind was fierce, and a heavy shower was homing in from the
North. A huge gust blew me nearer to the steep edge near the trigpoint than I
would normally feel comfortable. I started to extended the SOTA pole, but as I
got colder and wetter, I started packing it up again!
I wussed out. VX-7R handheld, rubber duck, 2m FM, four contacts (initiated by a
mugging from the GB3MN repeater). At least the 4th contact was a brand new
chaser, who only started working SOTAs in the last few days.
Not a good start to the Cloud-year, and even a little embarrassing that this is
the activation I will get awarded the 2008 point for! Still, there would be a
lot more bands, modes, power, antennas, radios, working conditions and operating
time thrown at this summit yet in 2008 - if the weather ever improved...!
Many thanks to the following stations:
| G6LCS/M |
Handforth |
John |
| M1CVL/M |
M60 Heaton Park |
Mike |
| M0DNA |
Whitworth |
Steve |
| G3SIQ |
A556 / A49 |
Arthur |
I was up and scraping the ice of my car by 6.25am on Tuesday
22nd January 2008. The roads were icy, especially on the country lanes
via North Rode to Cloudside, so I drove conservatively. I started the ascent
at 6.52am in darkness, but without a torch since the bright moonlight was
providing ample illumination.
It was lovely on the summit, pre-dawn, peaceful and a nice view across
Cheshire with the streetlamps of the various towns, and silhouettes of
landmarks. I set up the dipole for 40m, and sat down to make the first call.
It was a pleasant contrast to most recent times to be on this summit without
needing to shelter from a punishing wind. It was -1 degrees Celsius, but
perfectly comfortable in my SOTA fleece and Berghaus jacket.
The activation was another unspectacular one. Just one contact on 40m CW,
G4FPA - John in Sale, providing it. A SPOTlite did not drum up any further
business, so after 25 minutes of calling on 40m I packed up. A couple of
calls on 2m FM were also unanswered, so I descended and drove to work.
Thanks to John, worked on 40m CW with 5 watts:
The wind was up again on the morning of Wednesday 23rd
January 2008, but fortunately was blowing "straight on" to one face of the
topograph, rather than at an angle across it, so shelter was easy once the
aerial was in the air. Setting a dipole up is undoubtedly harder in the
dark, as you can't pick out the lie of the legs to confirm that it has all
got off the ground and such.
First contact was a massive signal from Italy, then followed Austria and
Czech Republic. No sign of DL, F, HB etc. I've had this sort of thing at
dawn or dusk up there before.
Just three contacts on 40m CW, and then 2m FM CQ calls were unasnwered. Hi
ho, hi ho...
| IK2REA |
Milan |
Ferruccio |
| OK1DAV |
Prague |
Olda |
| OE5WLL |
Traun |
Willhelm |
The wind early on Thursday 24th January 2008 was
uncomfortable, and at 45 degrees to the topograph, so that was no use
for shelter. I had to select a new operating position down in the
heather to one side of the final approach path. Setting up was made a
little easier due to the fact that the wind was in the direction of the
third guy line, and acted as a resolving vector - ie it all stood up
with just the pole and the two dipole legs. I did peg out the third guy
to protect against a momentary lapse in the wind, but I think it was
unnecessary.
Again, my signals were refracted into Central Europe, and my 8 contacts
were made up of OK (2), OE (2), HA, OM and DL (2). Good fun and good
practice. I enjoyed it this morning. I was cutting it fine by the time I
had packed up, so I didn't call on 2m.
Thank you for the contacts and the spot.
| OK1AUP |
Ricany |
Vaclav |
| OE3KAB |
Muenichsthal |
Karl |
| OE6DK |
Knittelfeld |
Horst |
| DL6UNF |
Guben |
Frank |
| DL8UP |
Coburg |
Herbert |
| HA4FY |
Szekesfehervar |
Janos |
| OK1AOV |
Hradec Kralove |
Jiri |
| OM7OM |
Slovakia |
Milan |
Good intentions to continue my CW practice were
dampened by the sound of the wind howling around my street when I
left the house at 6.20am on Friday 25th January 2008.
Suddenly, setting up a 40m dipole antenna on the fishing pole (in
fact setting any antenna up at all) seemed like a bit too much
trouble.
My good intention to maintain the early morning exercise regime was
not dampened however, so I drove to Cloudside, climbed The Cloud
G/SP-015 (without a rucksack) and activated with a 2m handheld and
rubber duck! It was a nice walk, even if I did have to miss
out on my pre-work CW fix for activation number 525. Thanks
to:
| M0SGB |
Bury |
Steve |
| G1BDU/M |
Wigan |
Alan |
| G6LCS/M |
Pott Shrigley |
John |
Getting one's rucksack, water, soup, clothes, boots, coat, batteries
etc ready, even for some local activations, is time-consuming work.
Doing it times three is exhausting stuff. At least Jimmy sorted out
his and Liam's clothes which saved me a job, and also put the
SOTAwatch Alerts on for me.
But the job was done, and I was flopped down at my PC in the shack,
late in the evening, with the last can of Stella in the house, and
looking forward to a bit of SOTA for the next day. Five points
would be a relative bumper haul for me these days! Jimmy would cop
for seven. He was amused when putting on the Alerts that we were
scheduled to do SP-013 at 1300 and
SP-015 at 1500. I suggested that we get
up at 0200 and do SP-004 at 0400, and have
a rest in between. His amusement suddenly ended abruptly; I can't
imagine why.
Well, we had a good day. The main objective was to
see if Jimmy could activate on 40m using SSB, QRP and SPOTlite. The
answer was yes, although it didn't work out on the third summit of
the day. Dusk was approaching though, there were no gaps between the
contest stations, and they themselves could no longer hear our QRP
as the skip started to get longer. But considering that we wanted to
test these working conditions in order to have a better chance of
qualifying Kisdon G/NP-026 (and
others with poor VHF take-off) the next time we go there, it was
good to confirm that we could either nominate a frequency (or be
spotted) on SOTAwatch via
SPOTlite, or answer the contest stations if an event was on. This
all worked fine before 4pm.
.JPG)
.JPG)
Time was getting on after the first two activations
on Shining Tor G/SP-004 and
Gun G/SP-013, and we were at least an hour
behind our published SOTAwatch Alerts schedule. Straight on with the
ten minute drive across to Cloudside, and up the steps to the
summit. We set up the dipole and dropped the feeder into the "hole",
which provided excellent shelter. Unfortunately, it was a waste of
time, for the skip was now lengthening, and the contest was
dominating. Jimmy now found that he couldn't make himself heard in
answering the contest stations, and the strongest of those were now
from Russia and Ukraine, as opposed to the earlier Belgium and
Germany. I was called by Fritz DL4FDM on CW, but the QRM rendered
things impossible there too, and the QSO was not completed.
In the end, we admitted defeat on this one and packed the HF antenna
away. We then activated in rapidly failing daylight by the trig
point using the Yaesu VX-7R handheld with RSS, so all on 2m FM.
Overall, a good day, rounded off with a good meal with the XYL up at
The Highwayman at Rainow - now more of an a la carte restaurant than
a pub, but still serving Thwaites Lancaster Bomber - heaven!
Thanks to the following stations, worked on 2m FM with 5 watts:
| 2E0DTO |
Wigan |
Eric |
T, J |
| G0RXA |
Cheadle |
Nigel |
T, J |
| G4XEE |
Meir Park |
Derek |
T, J |
| M0FAZ/M |
Leek |
Faz |
T, J |
| M0EOT |
Sandyford |
Bert |
T |
4pm Sunday afternoon, 27th January 2008, and
Jimmy's moaning, groaning and general self-pity had Marianne
stealing yet more of my Jim Beam, which was a Christmas present
from my mum. "Can't you take him out for a walk or something?
He's driving me to despair" said my exasperated wife.
I bundled Jimmy into the car and hatched a plan as I drove. We
would need torches to cover the inevitability of walking in
darkness. We preferred a mostly sheltered route, having been
blown mercilessly around our local hills the previous day, and a
route short enough to do in an hour or so, but long enough to
walk the stress out of Jimmy M3EYP!
We headed through Congleton and onto Timbersbrook. I parked on
Tunstall Road, at the botton of the steep Eastern flank of The
Cloud G/SP-015. We ascended the steep muddy steps at the first
stage, and made a mental note not to try and descend them in
darkness! Then there was an access track to follow around, and
then a choice of four paths through the wood and out onto the
summit. I never normally approach this way, so this was good fun
- and a better walk, all things being equal.
What with the impromptu nature of the decision to come out for a
walk, I hadn't alerted, and my phone was charging up in the car!
Nonetheless, my experience told me that early evening on a
Saturday or Sunday was typically a busy time on 2m FM in this
area, we would have plenty of contacts, one of which could well
be a chaser who then spotted us. Alas not. The band was silent
except for the GB2RS newsreader warming up on 145.525MHz; not
even the repeaters were in use.
A few calls on S20 eventually brought up fellow Maxonian Andy
M1BYH, following whom we both spoke to Kath M1CNY. No-one
tail-ended, and there was no further response on S20, so we
stood up from our trig point perch and commenced our descent.
The torches were now on, necessarily so we could see where we
were putting our feet. Soon it was completely dark, and we
enjoyed the views of the lit-up towns in Cheshire as we curved
around the edge of the escarpment.
The walk back through the woods, down the track and eventually
the road, was good fun and a welcome breath of fresh air and
stretch of legs. And it worked. Jimmy was good company,
significantly cheered up and expressed how much he had enjoyed
his little outing. Until he got home, when seemingly at the
flick of a switch he reverted to Mr Misery Guts. I tried!
Thanks to the following, worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts:
| M1BYH |
Macclesfield |
Andy |
T, J |
| M1CNY |
Sandbach |
Kath |
T, J |
On Monday 28th January 2008, it was an
'on-the-way-home-from-work' visit, with four HB and three DL
stations worked on 40m CW. I SWLd John GX0OOO/P on
Fountains Fell G/NP-017 on 80m
SSB, but only had a 40m antenna with me, so didn't try to
call in.
I then self-spotted my QSY to 40m SSB, and called for ten
minutes on a clear frequency. However, I couldn't solicit a
response, even with the self-spot. A final call on 40m CW
brought F5MPS, and after packing away, I worked a couple on
2m FM with the handheld. Quite a satisfying activation.
Thanks to the following stations, all worked with 5 watts of
power:
| HB9CGA |
Embrach |
Ulrich |
40m |
CW |
| HB9BHW |
Illnau |
Hans |
40m |
CW |
| HB9AAQ |
Hag |
Fred |
40m |
CW |
| DL3JPN |
Oberlungwitz |
Steffen |
40m |
CW |
| DL2DXA |
Dresden |
Bernd |
40m |
CW |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
| HB9CKV |
JN46RQ |
Hans |
40m |
CW |
| F5MPS |
Toulouse |
Mic |
40m |
CW |
| M0OBW/M |
near Middlewich |
Dave |
2m |
FM |
| M3VVP |
Wilmslow |
Roger |
2m |
FM |
Tuesday 29th January 2008. I went up to
try a microwave test with Richard G3CWI/M, who was
parked near to Gun G/SP-013, but
not activating. I set up the homebrew "G3CWI 10GHz
Rover" WBFM radio, and managed to receive some CW from
Richard's SSB narrowband set. Richard was then able to
confirm he could hear my 10GHz audio, but not in a way
he could make out what I was saying. This was as
expected, for he hasn't added the facility to demodulate
received WBFM yet. When he does, we hope to be able to
work S2S between his 10GHz narrowband and my 10GHz
wideband sets, but cross-mode: Me receiving Richard's CW,
and transmitting back WBFM voice.
All interesting stuff, and we are getting closer to it
really happening! Anyway, to record an activation, I
exchanged reports with Richard on our 2m FM talkback
frequency, and then called CQ on S20 - just one further
station replied.
We drove back towards Macc on the A523, finding that the
Royal Oak, Queens Arms, Harrington Arms and Fools Nook
Inn were all closed. We ended up halfway between
Macclesfield Town FC's ground and the twon centre at the
Albion Hotel, where the Robbie's Unicorn was on top
form. The following stations were both worked on
2m FM, the first using just five milliwatts, the second
on a more typical 5 watts:
| G3CWI |
Gun Moor |
Richard |
| 2E0BKW |
Leek |
Gareth |
I actually had the good sense (and
was tired enough) to go to bed at 10pm the previous
night. So it was with great surprise that I was more
tired than usual upon my 6am alarm on the morning of
Wednesday 30th January 2008. Perhaps it was
the grogginess after 8 hours of deep sleep. In any
case, I immediately fell back asleep! I awoke again
later and assumed it was more like 7am and I had
missed my pre-work activation opportunity. I was
both surprised and enthused by the fact it was
actually 6.09am!
The weather was very cold, but dry. I usually find
that operating on the CW paddle keeps my right hand
warm, but it got very cold very quickly today, and I
had to warm it back up in my pocket between some
QSOs. The QSOs were OH, DL, DL and OM - quite slow
going today, but nice to get the OH and OM in. In
fact the OM station has called in before as well.
Hopefully OM will join the SOTA fraternity sometime
in the future.
At around 7.30am, I heard a very weak call from
HA4FY, with some parts disappearing completely in
QSB. I called back a couple of times, but I think he
was hearing me even less than I was hearing him. One
that got away. Three calls on 2m FM (S20) at
7.45am were unanswered, so I commenced my descent,
and drove to work. Thanks to all callers:
| OH6MM |
KP13IQ |
Ole |
| DL6DQI |
Dresden |
Tom |
| DL6UNF |
Guben |
Frank |
| OM7OM |
Slovakia |
Milan |
The last day of January 2008 produced a very satisfying activation.
There was a couple of inches of snow down across the summit, but it was quite
powdery and didn't drench the boots and socks when wading through the heather
with the dipole legs. A very strong westerly wind was hitting the hill, and
carrying a significant windchill factor with it, so it set up just before the
summit at the foot of the final few steps to get shelter. This meant that one
leg of the dipole was strung out a few centimetres to one side of the path and
parallel to it, the other leg out into the heather, and the guy out towards the
steep edge beneath the trig point.
.JPG)
I settled into a comfortable position after a couple of unsuccessful efforts to
do so and made my calls on 40m CW. For once, I was ahead of schedule and
recorded the first QSO at a time slightly ahead of my 1615z Alert. In 50
minutes, I made 18 contacts including DL, HB, OK, F, G and I. The customary call
on S20, 2m FM at the end of the activation produced the customary silence. So I
went home and had my tea. A very enjoyable activation. Thanks to the
following stations worked on 40m CW with 5 watts:
| DL6MGR |
Burg |
Manfred |
| HB9EAA |
Hofstetten |
Nik |
| DL0KWH |
Bestensee |
Olaf |
| DL7VKD |
Berlin |
Dieter |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
| HB9BYA |
|
Switzerland |
| DF7IS |
Kandel |
Klaus |
| OK1AUP |
Ricany |
Vaclav |
| DL4ALI |
Gotha |
Steffen |
| OK1ACO |
Ing |
Jiri |
| DH8DX |
Bad Blankenburg |
Dan |
| F7DGF |
|
France |
| OK1APV |
Dvur Kralove nad Labem |
Antonin |
| DL7UCW |
Berlinchen |
Bernd |
| OK1ZE |
Hradec Kralove |
Vaclav |
| G3WPF |
Wilmslow |
Reg |
| IZ4JMA |
Campogalliano |
Massimo |
| DL8DXL |
Laussnitz |
Fred |
Friday 1st February 2008: The 6am alarm went off
with a blast of BBC Radio 4 on 93.7MHz FM. The next thing I heard was
the patter of rain on the bedroom window. Dismay. Then I noticed I was
feeling particularly tired, and an extra hour, horizontally polarised in
my bed momentarily appealed. Fortunately, my brain gathered a
little more consciousness, and became more able to perform rational
thinking. It advised me that I didn't have to miss out on my daily
exercise regime; there was always the option of chucking on the
waterproofs and doing a low effort 2mFMHHRD activation. In fact it told
me that I could just go for a walk and to heck with the activation, but
I soon dismissed that ridiculous idea!
Driving out through Gawsworth and North Rode, the precipitation couldn't
decide whether it wanted to be blizzard, gentle snow, sleet, drizzle or
rain. It tried everything, before settling on none of the above (ie dry)
by the time I got to Cloudside.
While my head felt tired and groggy, my legs and lungs didn't, and the
restored fitness regime seems to be working. I noticed while doing daily
visits to SP-015 last year that it was doing more for my physical
consition than the considerably more boring, considerably more expensive
and significantly more pretentious gym. Before Christmas I quit my gym
membership along with a New Year's resolution to ascend The Cloud daily
- unless I was doing some other exercise, like football, squash or a
proper activation! The resolution has made it into the second month of
the year, and hope remains it can be as successful as last year's -
which was to reach sufficient competence in CW to undertake an
activation.
I reach the summit without needing to flick on the headtorch, a sure
sign that dawn is, as expected, two minutes earlier each day. I was
greet by an evil blast of very cold wind. My hands froze almost
instantly, and I regretted copping out of an HF activation that could
have allowed me to stay sheltered. Standing with my back to the wind
meant that my head was directly between the rubber duck and anyone that
was likely to hear me. Gingerly, I turned slightly to the left to give
my VX-7R a partial view of the North-West.
Just two stations were raised, both of them mobile and on the way to
work. But it was another activation (number 535) and another daily
exercise completed. I just don't tire of this hill. It is a lovely place
to emerge on top of and view the lights of the surrounding towns at dawn
or dusk. Thanks to the following stations, both worked on 2m FM
with 5 watts:
| M3LUE/M |
Astley |
Keith |
| G6LCS/M |
Poynton |
John |
On Saturday 2nd February 2008, we had a little change. We
parked on the Timbersbrook side of the hill and ascended via the Gritstone
Trail through the woods and around the northern end of the escarpment. The
change was admittedly enforced, with the approach to the Cloudside parking
area impossible due to ice on the road. Several cars tried - and failed to
get up there, resulting in a queue of gingerly reversing (and sliding)
vehicles dropping back down to the road between Timbersbrook and Bosley Wood
Treatment.
Jimmy wasn't in the mood, so he remained in the car, bagging chaser points
from Bea M3YBW/P on Stiperstones G/WB-003 (and me
later on). Liam came with me for the walk, dragging his sledge and looking
for any remaining pockets of snow to play on. I was hoping to get Bea
M3TBW/P or Carolyn G6WRW/P for a S2S with Stiperstones G/WB-003, but they
went QRT about five minutes before I reached the summit. When I did call,
Jimmy was straight in for his second chaser contact of the day, followed by
fellow MDRS club member Greg 2E0RXX/P at Gawsworth Hall (but not doing
CASHOTA!).
And that was it. No-one else wanted to reply to the calls, and in the
unpleasant cold on the summit, I didn't really want them to either! So Liam
and I set off on a different descent route looking for more patches of snow
for him to sledge on.
| M3EYP/M |
Timbersbrook |
Jimmy |
| 2E0RXX/P |
Gawsworth Hall |
Greg |
On Sunday 3rd February 2008, it was Liam and me again.
Jimmy was marching in Manchester with Air Cadets, and Marianne was
sleeping between night-shifts. We had been out at the MIDCARS 'Radio
Active' show at Nantwich, meeting up with a few friends and picking up
some adaptors, ferrite beads and such.
The approach to the usual Cloudside parking spot was now passable, so it
was the usual ascent route onto the summit. The cold wind was showing no
sign of diminishing, so we took shelter against some rocks on the north
end of the summit. Activity was again low, with just three stations
worked on 2m FM:
| G4YLJ |
Chadderton |
Frank |
| M0JVC |
Bolton |
John |
| M0OTE |
Urmston |
Daniel |
A better activation took place on Monday 4th
February 2008. It was with a sense of optimism that I left work in
bright, dry and not-so-windy weather. It was cold and windy on the
summit, but the trusty topograph was perfectly positioned to act as
my shelter and backrest.
The activation was hugely enjoyable, 24 contacts on 40m CW, with 8
DXCCs: DL, F, HB9, HA, I, LA, OK and UT. It was a pile-up right from
the first CQ call, until over 35 minutes later when I worked Ukraine
- a pleasing contact. I then struggled to work an HB station whose
CW only clipped in towards the end of the dashes, making it near
impossible to read! He eventually managed to correct the problem,
and we exchanged, followed by a final contact into OK.
I started to pack up at 5pm, and realised that it had turned very
cold indeed. I made it down without torchlight, and drove home to
the delights of a hot chorizo, feta cheese and cucumber ciabatta,
followed by Jimmy's treacle tart. Monday's is always a treat in our
house, as it is the day of Jimmy's Food Tech practical at school!
Many thanks to the following stations, all worked on 40m CW with 5
watts:
| DL6UNF |
Guben |
Frank |
| DL7VKD |
Berlin |
Dieter |
| F6DDR |
Bouxieres Aux Chenes |
Phillippe |
| HB9EAA |
Hofstetten |
Nik |
| DL3BRA |
Angermünde |
Horst |
| HA2ERO |
Szentkiralyszabadja |
Zoltan |
| F8DZY |
Sainte-Marie de Gosse |
Chris |
| I0KHY |
Rome |
Claudio |
| LA1ENA |
Stathelle |
Aage |
| OK1FGS |
Nachod |
Petranek |
| HA9SU |
Miskolc |
Kardosi |
| DF7IS |
Kandel |
Klaus |
| DL4FDM |
Bensheim |
Fritz |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
| DF2PI |
Nieder-Olm |
Suitbert |
| DL4ALI |
Gotha |
Steffen |
| OK1ZE |
Hradec Kralove |
Vaclav |
| F6ENO |
Rilly La Montagne |
Alain |
| DL2DXA |
Dresden |
Bernd |
| F8BBL |
Tresses |
Laurent |
| DH8DX |
Bad Blankenburg |
Dan |
| UT3WW |
Lviv |
Serge |
| HB9CKV |
JN46RQ |
Hans |
| OK1DAV |
Prague |
Oldrich |
On Tuesday 5th February 2008, virtually every
received signal was a huge 599. It was another very enjoyable
activation. 19 contacts, 7 DXCCs (G, GW, HB, DL, F, RN, LA) and
even a bit of life on 2m FM for once! Russia was a new one for
me from a summit.
I won't mention what I had for my tea, suffice to say that it is
Pancake Day! Thanks to the following stations, all worked
with 5 watts:
| F8BBL |
Tresses |
Laurent |
40m |
CW |
| F5TIL |
Taninges |
Stephane |
40m |
CW |
| DJ0GD |
Moers |
Peter |
40m |
CW |
| DL4FDM |
Bensheim |
Fritz |
40m |
CW |
| F6ENO |
Rilly La Montagne |
Alain |
40m |
CW |
| F5AKL |
Reims |
Andy |
40m |
CW |
| DL6UHA |
JO71HR |
Dieter |
40m |
CW |
| DL8YR |
Aachen |
Peter |
40m |
CW |
| DL6UNF |
Guben |
Frank |
40m |
CW |
| HB9RE |
Zurich |
Fritz |
40m |
CW |
| HB9EAA |
Hofstetten |
Nik |
40m |
CW |
| LA1ENA |
Stathelle |
Aage |
40m |
CW |
| RN1BX |
Petrozavodsk |
Nikolai |
40m |
CW |
| GW0HUS |
Halkyn Mountain |
Graham |
2m |
FM |
| G7BYS/M |
Ramsbottom |
Jim |
2m |
FM |
| M3VVP |
Wilmslow |
Roger |
2m |
FM |
| F8DZY |
Sainte-Marie de Gosse |
Chris |
40m |
CW |
| G3RMD |
Cheltenham |
Frank |
40m |
CW |
| G0VZJ |
Wigan |
Howard |
2m |
FM |
Despite a belly full of pancakes, and the
disappointment of seeing Macclesfield concede two late goals to
go down at home to Lincoln, I slept well and was up with the
alarm at 6.00am on the morning of Wednesday 6th February 2008.
Looking out of the window revealed a wet start to the day, and
that strong wind was still howling around the garden, let alone
the summit of The Cloud. So I dawdled for a while before
eventually deciding to don the waterproofs and do a 2mfmhhrd
activation.
Arriving at Cloudside later than usual, just before 7.30am, I
noticed that it was not raining and the skies were clear.
Waterproofs were not donned. The rucksack was left in the boot,
along with all my aerials.
The ascent as dawn was breaking was a joy and I felt in good
shape physically. This regime seems to be working, and has none
of the many irritations of the gym. I said hello to the man in
the yellow jacket who walks over this summit every morning at
7.40am and pushed onto the trig point.
Despite the limitations of my working conditions, five contacts
were quickly made, all with mobile stations driving to work in
the Manchester and Wigan areas. The last station in particular
was interested to find out more about SOTA, and so we continued
the conversation on the GB3MN repeater as I descended.
Many thanks to the following stations, worked on 2m FM with 5
watts:
| G6LCS/M |
Carrington |
John |
| G7IEI/M |
Blackrod |
Shaun |
| M1CVL/M |
Rochdale |
Mike |
| M3LUE/M |
M60 J14 |
Keith |
| M3LVO/M |
Glazebury |
Carl |
I didn't want to get out of bed when I awoke on Thursday 7th February 2008.
After a one hour lie-in, I hauled myself up and set off for work. I thought that
I had the time for a walk up and down The Cloud G/SP-015, even if not for an
activation. I calculated that I needed to summit by 0757 and immediately descend
in order to get to work on time. With an enforced week off from my morning
regime imminent, I was still keen to do the walk even if radio wuld not be
involved.
I reached the trig point and checked my watch - 0753 UTC. Ahead of schedule! I
put out a speculative call on 145.500MHz FM, and was immediately called by Keith
M3LUE/M, near Rochdale, and who is a regular caller to my dawn activations. That
was the only QSO as it turned out, but chatting on the GB3MN repeater during the
descent revealed a couple more that had been listening, but not heard anything.
Warrington and Penketh seems to be a bad direction from The Cloud.
So quickly off to work it was, but at least I had given out my 1,003rd chaser
point from The Cloud - if he claims it!
| M3LUE/M |
near Rochdale |
Keith |
When one wakes up for a second time in a morning, one
suspects some time has been lost. So it was on Friday 8th February 2008, and
my second awakening time put my originally intended 40m CW activation out of
the question. I still had time for a walk and a spot of 2mfmhhrd though, so
I improvised a quick breakfast of a glass of water and a slice of cheese,
self-spotted my updated working conditions and ETA, and jumped in the car.
At the crossroads just before Cloudside, the VW car was parked as usual.
This meant that the man in the yellow jacket that does two circuits on this
hill every morning would be there again, as usual. As I set off on my
ascent, there he was striding down towards me.
My first call on S20 brought Macclesfield & DRS member Greg 2E0RXX, and so I
was up and running without soliciting on the GB3MN repeater. After a few
unanswered calls, he was followed by Liam M3ZRY from upstairs in the same
QTH! I then thought I'd better check for my regulars on the repeater, and
sure enough Keith M3LUE/M was wanting to QSY for the contact.
I was halfway down the flight of steps when Mr Yellow Jacket overtook me, on
his second lap. We exchanged greetings for a second time, and I went to work
- and maybe he did too. This was my 19th consecutive daily activation
on The Cloud G/SP-015. Thanks to the following stations, worked on 2m
FM with 5 watts:
| 2E0RXX |
Macclesfield |
Greg |
| M3ZRY |
Macclesfield |
Liam |
| M3LUE/M |
Heywood |
Keith |
On Saturday 9th February 2008, I got up at the usual 6am
and within 20 minutes was on the road. I wanted to do one this morning
in order to get back in the 40 CW groove, and to complete what would be
20 consecutive daily activations of The Cloud G/SP-015.
Upon setting up, I realised that the CQWW RTTY was in full swing, and
the usual QRG of 7.032 was unusable. However, a good clear spot at 7.023
was found, so I self-spotted on here. The result was a nice run of 11
contacts (6 DXCCs - DL, HA, G, OK, OH, HB) on 40m CW. After packing up I
called on 2m FM to work MDRS member Andy G1DDU, and Barry 2E0PXW/M.
I heard Terry G0VHS from down near Weymouth nice and strong on
145.475MHz and realised there was a lift on. Maybe I shouldn't have done
HF after all; it would have been a perfect opportunity to put the new
SB270 through its paces! Thanks to the following stations, all
worked using 5 watts:
| DL6KVA |
Rostock |
Axel |
40m |
CW |
| HA4FY |
Szekesfehervar |
Janos |
40m |
CW |
| G0HIO |
Burton-on-Trent |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
| OK2QA |
Hranice |
Ruda |
40m |
CW |
| HA2ERO |
Szentkiralyszabadja |
Zoltan |
40m |
CW |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
| DL6UHA |
JO71HR |
Hans |
40m |
CW |
| DL1DVE |
Grossroehrsdorf |
Thomas |
40m |
CW |
| OH8MNM |
Ylivieska |
Rami |
40m |
CW |
| HB9BAB |
Daellikon |
Juerg |
40m |
CW |
| DK1WW |
Gummersbach |
Oskar |
40m |
CW |
| G1DDU |
Congleton |
Andy |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0PXW/M |
Ellesmere Port |
Barry |
2m |
FM |
Tuesday 26th February 2008. Back again after
our holiday in Fuerteventura! Albeit with a whimper!
I was just out for a stroll with Liam before tea, with the VX-7 and
logbook in the jacket pocket.
The first call was answered by fellow MDRS member Roger M3VVP in
Wilmslow. Second, third, fourth, fifth and subsequent calls weren't
answered! It's creeping towards Spring, but it isn't getting
any warmer up there, I can tell you!
And back up again on the morning of Wednesday
27th February 2008. And an even wimpier whimper!
I must admit, my priority is the exercise. Since I stopped the
gym, which was costing me far too much in terms of both time and
money, I resolved to do the stiff, steep but quick ascent of The
Cloud more or less daily as an alternative. I will return to
using 817/dipole/CW/SSB/SB270/SLAB etc for "decent" activations
when it gets warmer and the wind dies down, but at present it is
a case of head down, get the exercise done and take a handheld
in the coat pocket!
So, as it turned out, just one 2m FM contact - Keith M3LUE/M -
today, but mainly my own fault, because I spent most of my
summit time involved in a very interesting natter about Diego
Garcia/British Indian Ocean Territory on the GB3MN repeater.
I was up to the dizzy heights of three QSOs
for the activation, early morning Thursday 28th February
2008. Keith M3LUE/M was there again, tail-ended by
Peter 2E0IFF/M. A surprise then was GW0DSP, who I thought
had given up on the early mornings, but of course there was
another dawn activation for him to chase today. Mike kindly
said he would let John G4YSS / GX0OOO/P know that I would be
on for another 5 minutes for a 2m S2S contact to Old Man of
Coniston G/LD-013. Then I remembered that the clock on my
VX-7R was 5 minutes slow, and I had to descend right away...
I should have waited. I hit traffic in Chell and was late
for work anyway. Thanks for the calls on 2m FM, 5
watts:
| M3LUE/M |
Walkden |
Keith |
| 2E0IFF/M |
St Helens |
Peter |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
And back down to scraping the bottom of
the barrel with a single contact on Friday 29th February
2008.
Guess who? Keith M3LUE/M. I think he might be getting
the bug; he was asking me all about my forthcoming GI
SOTA trip and on what bands/modes/antennas he might best
be able to work me.
It was grey and murky today, but remaining dry. It was
rather cold, and rather windy. The man in the long boots
and yellow jacket was already coming towards me on his
second lap as I was ascending, so I must have been on
the late side. However, with no-one calling me at all
after Keith, I was slightly ahead of schedule on my
descent, and made it to work on time.
The behaviour of the yellow-coated
knee-length leather-booted man, who appears on The
Cloud summit just after dawn every morning had
gained my interest. I had ascertained that his
descent route was the standard one down to Cloudside
parking area, but noted that his car was always
parked by the crossroads just north of the summit.
He always appeared from that direction, so what was
his ascent route?
The other day, I noticed a stile and National Trust
sign right by that crossroads, and a vaguely trodden
path heading steeply and muddily uphill from it. I
had to find out for myself.
This morning, Saturday 1st March 2008, Jimmy, Liam
and I had some time to kill before taxiing the youth
of Macclesfield to the football match, so we decided
to follow in the footsteps of the yellow coat and
the leather boots, and see how one could emerge onto
the rocky summit of The Cloud from down below.
Whether Mr Yellow Coat undertakes his regime at the
weekends I have no idea, but his car was not there
when we arrived at the crossroads between Bosley and
Timbersbrook (SJ902640)- not really surprising as we
approached midday. We skipped across the road and
climbed the stile, enthused by the prospect of a
completely new and completely different ascent of a
very familiar hill.
We began with a haul up a steep and slippery grassy
bank, ducking under low-flying tree branches as we
did. As the ground levelled off slightly, and the
trees cleared, we could see that this was a very
different way to ascend The Cloud. Immediately ahead
of us was a vertical tower of rock, reaching high
above our heads, more like an approach of
Ingleborough G/NP-005
from Chapel-le-Dale. Either side of us were steep
boulder fields, more like the experience of the
final climb on
Great Gable G/LD-005. Behind us were the vast
and far-reaching views across Cheshire, the viaduct,
Jodrell Bank and the hills of the Peak District.
After only a few minutes, my car was just a visible
silver speck some distance below our feet.
The route now followed a narrow stone stairway,
increasingly steep, and increasingly deeply cut into
the hillside. The trench was taller than Liam at
times. At the top of this section appeared to be an
ambiguous T-junction. We took an educated (and
ultimately correct) guess at "left", and contoured
around the rocks followed the indistinct track. We
were soon proven right when the route curled round
and began to ascend steeply once again. This became
rather scrambly, and our hands were frequently down
on the grass and rocks as we hauled ourselves up
several large pulls. The rock formations suddenly
looked more familar and we realised we were one pull
from the summit escarpment of The Cloud. Jimmy and
Liam started to competitively jockey for position
ready for a final sprint to the trig point.
This was a very satisfying and interesting ascent.
It took about 15-20 minutes longer than usual, with
an extra 250 feet or so of vertical ascent. It is
probably the most interesting route I have tried
yet.
On the summit, we huddled behind the trig point to
avoid the worst of the strong north-westerly wind,
and used the Yaesu VX-7R to make the activation.
Despite the limited working conditions, we made
contacts from all over the North West and Midlands
in a half-hour stay on summit.
The descent route was the standard one down to the
Cloudside parking area, but then was necessarily
extended by walking down Tunstall Road back to the
crossroads. A pleasing 75 minutes work overall, and
now it was back to Macc to pick up the other two
boys that were coming to the football with us.
Many thanks to all the stations that worked us, all
on 2m FM with 5 watts:
| M0JDK |
Swadlincote |
John |
T, J |
| G3NPJ |
Heswall |
Alan |
T |
| M3UVD/M |
Little Hulton |
David |
J |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
T, J |
| M0TKS |
Stoke-on-Trent |
Theo |
T, J |
| G4FUJ/M |
Birmingham |
Graham |
T |
| G3CWI |
Macclesfield |
Richard |
T |
On Sunday 2nd March 2008, I can
report that I ascended from Cloudside with Jimmy
and worked Eleri MW3NYR/P for S2S contacts to
Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042.
The weather was bright and sunny, a bit chilly
and a bit windy. Liam remained in the car, using
the FT-817 as a receiver and monitoring our
activity, successfully following us around the
2m band as it turned out. This was for the
benefit of my friend and his son who were also
in the car. We had all been to Waterworld in
Stoke-on-Trent for a few hours of wet fun. Jimmy
and I failed in our bid to tempt any of the
three of them to accompany us to the summit!
| MW3NYR/P |
Moel y Gamelin NW-042 |
Eleri |
T, J |
On Monday 3rd March 2008, I
dropped in on my local summit on the way
home from work. Already, there is no danger
of having to rely on torchlight, so the
whole thing was much more relaxed.
This time I went for the 40m CW activation,
and had a really good time with 15 contacts
and 8 DXCCs - F, HA, S5, DL, HB9, G, UY and
GW. Plenty of people (and dogs) were passing
over the summit during the operation, and
wanted to know what I was doing. Thanks to
all the callers:
| F9KP |
Pouilly-Sur-Saone |
Paul |
| HA5TI |
Budapest |
Bischof |
| S51WO |
Ravne
na Koroškem |
Sam |
| DL8YR |
Aachen |
Peter |
| HB9EAA |
Hofstetten |
Nik |
| DL4FDM |
Bensheim |
Fritz |
| G3WPF |
Wilmslow |
Reg |
| DH8DX |
Bad Blankenburg |
Dan |
| F5AKL |
Reims |
Andy |
| UY6IO |
Ukraine |
|
| DL3HWO |
Raguhn |
Herbert |
| DL1FU |
Biedenkopf |
Fred |
| F8BBL |
Tresses |
Laurent |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
On Tuesday 4th March 2008, I
did a pre-work hit with a
morning-fitness-regime fast ascent, three
quick contacts on 2m FM (with the handheld),
and down again (and onto work).
| G4VXW |
Leigh |
Robin |
| G0MNY |
Astley |
Keith |
| G0MXR |
Lymm |
Geoff |
I originally alerted for
a 2m FM activation for the morning of
Wednesday 5th March 2008, fully
intending to march from Cloudside to the
summit and bag a few quick contacts on
my handheld. However, I was awake by
just after 5am, and wide awake by 6am
after lying in bed wondering what to do!
So I changed my alert to 40m CW and
brought it forward half-an-hour.
It was very cold (-2 degrees) and crisp
on the summit as I set up. Mr Yellow
Jacket was seen on both of his laps, as
I called CQ endlessly on 7.032MHz. In
over 30 minutes of operating, I made
just four contacts; pretty slow going!
But I still got my exercise, the views
and the CW practice! Zilch response on
2m when I did switch to the handy, so
off to work. Thanks to the
following worked on 40m CW with 5 watts:
| DL4FCK/P |
Jena |
Gerd |
| DJ8MT |
Wolfsburg |
Udo |
| DL2DXA |
Dresden |
Bernd |
| F8QE |
Yvon |
Lyons |
On Thursday 6th
March 2008, I set off out for work,
nice and early, with my new 80m
dipole antenna. Unfortunately,
I didn't have anything with which to
cut the cable tie, so it ended up
being a 2m FM handheld activation!
| M0SGB/M |
Heywood |
Steve |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
With the cable
tie cut, and the multi-tool
restored to the rucksack pocket,
I set off from home on Friday
7th March 2008 at 0615. I was
parking on Cloudside at 0638,
throwing on the rucksack,
loading the coat pockets with
phone, handheld, logbook and
biro, picking up a fishing pole
and setting off on the ascent.
With the 40m dipole, I know
virtually the blade of grass
adjacent to which each dipole
leg or guy is pegged. I allowed
a bit more time this morning, as
I knew the pegging points would
be different. As it was, the 80m
dipole seemed to go up very
easily, with the extra lengths
(or my estimation of them)
posing no problems. However, as
I was lifting the roach pole
into position, that did cause a
problem - the third section from
the top buckled and snapped in
half! Not good. I was really
looking forward to this
activation. However, I was not
to be beaten so easily!
I took a couple of minutes to
weigh up the options. The height
of the pole below the breakage
would have been too low, with
much of the length of the dipole
legs barely above the ground. I
removed the top two-and-a-half
sections by "completing" the
breakage and then tried to
thread them back through from
the base of the pole. My idea
worked, and there seemed to be
enough on the frayed broken
areas for them to lock together.
I fully expected the pole to
break again when I tried to
stand it up again, but
amazingly, it didn't, and I sat
down to my radio, just ten
minutes behind schedule.
My first CQ call produced a
pile-up, and all seemingly
beginning with "dah-dah-dit",
very strange on my ears after
being used to the chorus of "dah-di-dit,
di-dah-di-dit" that normally
greets me! I was impressed that
virtually all of the people that
have publicly coveted this
summit on 80m CW had 'put up'
and were in their shacks to call
me.
I occasionally glanced nervously
at the SOTA Pole, listening to
its creaking and wondering if it
was going to come crashing down,
but it lasted the activation. I
completed the CW activation by
responding to a request from
Quentin GW3BV for a repeat of
his report, and then Mike GW0DSP
asked if I was going onto SSB. I
initially said "Yes QSY 3.605",
but then glanced at my watch to
see it had turned 0730. With a
slightly longer pack-up to do
than normal, there was no slack
time, so I had to apologise and
cancel the SSB intentions. This
was something I would do shortly
though, needing to see if the
workable QRG range of this
antenna would extend into the
lower parts of the SSB section,
so that Jimmy could use it from
GI three weeks later.
Nice activation, in nice crisp
cold and sunny weather, and nice
to get a run of G/GW stations on
HF. Ten contacts - 5 x G,
2 x GW, 1 each of OK, ON, DL.
Thanks to Richard G3CWI for the
loan of the 80m dipole, thus
enabling me to experiment with
this band/mode far earlier than
I would have been able to
otherwise. Thanks to the
following callers, all on 80m CW,
with 5 watts:
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
| G3RMD |
Cheltenham |
Frank |
| G0AZS |
Aylesbury |
Marc |
| OK1AOV |
Czech Republic |
|
| G3XXR |
Huddersfield |
Roger |
| GW3BV |
Aberystwyth |
Quentin |
| ON4ON |
Dadizele |
Danny |
| G4OWG |
Rawdon |
Roger |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
| G3RDQ |
Stockbridge |
David |
Yet again on
Saturday 8th March 2008, I
was wide awake at 0525 hrs,
well in advance of my alarm
going off. I set the alarm
not to go off after all and
went downstairs. I dawdled
for a bit preparing my
Pennine Way presentation
for the Macc club, due the
coming Monday, and scoffing
a bit of breakfast. And
then, of course, off to The
Cloud G/SP-015.
I heard the wind howling
around as I parked up and
set off with a little
trepidation! It was not too
bad in fact on the summit -
but I sat with my back to it
all the same. The 80m dipole
went up in the same position
as yesterday, but without
the inconvenience of trying
to use a broken pole - I
took the unbroken one today!
Kicking off just after 0735
GMT, it was slow going to
start with. Eventually Roger
G4OWG answered on 3.558MHz
CW, followed by another 8
minutes of silence. At least
I then had a run of seven
further contacts on CW
before tuning up to 3.604MHz
SSB. Alistair GW0VMZ started
a run of just four contacts,
following which three more
were completed back on CW.
In total, 15 contacts this
time, with six DXCCs - G,
GM, GW, ON, OK, F. It
was pleasing to note that
the 80m CW/SSB combo was
viable without antenna
adjustment.
A few calls on 145.500MHz FM
produced nothing, so I
descended to the car and
drove home. I arrived home
still before any of the
other three had arisen from
bed! Many thanks to
the following stations, all
worked on 80m with 5 watts:
| G4OWG |
Rawdon |
Roger |
CW |
| G0MJG |
Crosby |
Stuart |
CW |
| F5NEP |
Chamarande |
Lionel |
CW |
| OK1AOV |
Czech
Republic |
|
CW |
| G0AZS |
Aylesbury |
Marc |
CW |
| ON4ON |
Dadizele |
Danny |
CW |
| ON3WAB |
Wakken |
Peter |
CW |
| G3RDY |
Stockbridge |
David |
CW |
| GW0VMZ |
Merthyr
Tydfil |
Alistair |
SSB |
| G6MZX |
Thornton-in-Craven |
Geoff |
SSB |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
SSB |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
SSB |
| ON5AG |
Mol |
Francois |
CW |
| GW3KVX |
Llansantffraid |
Dick |
CW |
| GM0AXY |
Edinburgh |
Ken |
CW |
I got up
at 6am as usual on
Sunday 9th March 2008,
for a dawn raid on The
Cloud G/SP-015. However,
I just kept enjoying
myself, and it ended up
as a whole morning
activation of nearly
four hours!
I took the SOTA Beams
RSS antenna for 2m FM
from the VX-7R, and that
certainly enhanced that
side of things. I
rotated between 2m FM,
80m CW and 80m SSB, with
at least two runs on
each band/mode
combination.
In all, I made 52
contacts, broken down as
follows:
2m FM: 30
80m CW: 14
80m SSB: 8
Very enjoyable, thanks
to all callers, all
worked using 5 watts of
power:
| G4BLH |
Brierfield |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
| M0EIQ/M |
Oldham |
Dick |
2m |
FM |
| G3CWI |
Macclesfield |
Richard |
2m |
FM |
| GX3SBL/P |
Stafford
Castle |
Trevor |
2m |
FM |
| G8HXE |
Flixton |
Keith |
2m |
FM |
| G0BPU |
Ipswich |
Michael |
80m |
CW |
| G4CPA |
Crosshills |
Geoff |
80m |
CW |
| MX0BCQ/A |
Crosshills |
Geoff |
80m |
CW |
| ON4CAP |
Oostkamp |
André |
80m |
CW |
| F6GEO |
Le Quesnoy |
Michael |
80m |
CW |
| G3CWI |
Macclesfield |
Richard |
80m |
CW |
| G0AZS |
Aylesbury |
Marc |
80m |
CW |
| G3HKO |
Scarborough |
Des |
80m |
CW |
| G0RQL |
Milton
Damerel |
Don |
80m |
SSB |
| M0JDK |
Swadlincote |
John |
80m |
SSB |
| M3YHB |
Kidderminster |
Helen |
80m |
SSB |
| G6WRW |
Kidderminster |
Carolyn |
80m |
SSB |
| GW0VMZ |
Merthyr
Tydfil |
Alistair |
80m |
SSB |
| M1MAJ |
Cambridge |
Martyn |
80m |
SSB |
| G1DDU |
Congleton |
Andy |
2m |
FM |
| GW7AAV |
Connahs
Quay |
Steve |
2m |
FM |
| G4ZRP |
Wirral |
Brian |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0PXW |
Ellesmere
Port |
Barry |
2m |
FM |
| G4ZMR |
Nantwich |
Martin |
2m |
FM |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs
Quay |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
| GW4EVX |
Mold |
Ron |
2m |
FM |
|
M1YAM/P |
Cross
Fell
G/NP-001 |
Clive |
2m |
FM |
| M3SFN |
Bayton |
Geoff |
2m |
FM |
| G0IMK |
Clows
Top |
Nigel |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0RCS |
Black
Hill, Pendle |
Scott |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0BLL |
Blackburn |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0ZLD |
Black
Hill, Pendle |
Zo |
2m |
FM |
| EI7CC |
Dun
Laoghaire |
Pete |
80m |
CW |
| G4OEC |
Holford |
Mac |
80m |
CW |
| G3GXQ |
Leeds |
Wally |
80m |
CW |
| G4BLH |
Brierfield |
Mike |
80m |
CW |
| G4WSX |
Chichester |
John |
80m |
CW |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
80m |
CW |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
80m |
SSB |
| GW7AAV |
Connahs
Quay |
Steve |
80m |
SSB |
| M3ZRY/M |
Poynton |
Liam |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0RXX/M |
Poynton |
Greg |
2m |
FM |
| G8JIT |
Blakeley |
John |
2m |
FM |
| M3EYP |
Macclesfield |
Jimmy |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0NHM |
Warton |
Nigel |
2m |
FM |
| M3NVJ |
Mossley
Hill |
Colin |
2m |
FM |
| M3WID |
Widnes |
Jim |
2m |
FM |
| M3XMC |
Wigan |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
| M3LMP/P |
Black
Hill, Pendle |
Morgan |
2m |
FM |
| G0GAL |
Telford |
Eric |
2m |
FM |
| G0RXA |
Cheadle |
Nigel |
2m |
FM |
| M0OML |
Stafford |
Trevor |
2m |
FM |
The
Monday 10th March
2008 activation took
place on the way
home from work, and
saw a return to 40m
after my illicit
weekend in the
company of 80m.
On arrival at
Cloudside, it was
calm, cold and
looking like it
could rain, heavily
and any moment.
However, it was not
raining, and a for
few minutes sat in
the car pondering,
the rain still
didn't start. So I
picked up the
fishing pole as well
as the rucksack and
set off with the
intention of doing
HF.
Just
seven-and-a-half
paces into the
ascent, and the rain
started. However, it
was just a light
drizzle that didn't
seem to be getting
my trousers
particularly wet, so
I pressed on without
adding a further
waterproof layer.
The rain abated as I
strode out of the
wood on the final
climb to the summit,
but I noted a very
heavy downpour just
half-a-mile to my
left (south west)
and figured that
this would need to
be a 2m FM only
quick activation.
I reached the
summit, and noted
that it still wasn't
raining. The shower
to my left was still
a constant half mile
away, and moving
slightly around to
my south. It
appeared there would
be a decent chance
of the rain avoiding
me, so I set up for
40m CW. A pleasing
run followed with
DL, GW, HB and OH
included in the 11
contacts. There was
then a break of 15
minutes while I
packed the HF
station away,
followed by six QSOs
on 2m FM with the
handheld. The rain
did eventually
arrive while I was
on 2m, so a sharp
exit was made once
the mini-pile-up was
cleared.
A satisfying
activation; thanks
to all callers. It
was the start of a
satisfying evening,
with tea at my mum's
(her homemade
moussaka, followed
by Jimmy's rhubarb
crumble, and then
Jimmy and I
presenting a talk
about the Pennine
Way down at the
MDRS.
Thanks to the
following stations
worked:
|
DL4FCK |
Bavaria |
Gerd |
40m |
CW |
|
DJ5AA |
Dresden |
Joachim |
40m |
CW |
|
HB9BYZ |
Thunstetten |
Peter |
40m |
CW |
|
DL2DXA |
Dresden |
Bernd |
40m |
CW |
|
DL4CW |
Stetten |
Bernhard |
40m |
CW |
|
DH8DX |
Bad
Blankenburg |
Dan |
40m |
CW |
|
HB9CGA |
Embrach |
Ulrich |
40m |
CW |
|
DL3JPN |
Oberlungwitz |
Steffen |
40m |
CW |
|
OH3GZ |
Riihimaki |
Jukka |
40m |
CW |
|
GW0DSP |
Connahs
Quay |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
|
DH0DK |
Braunsdorf |
Bernd |
40m |
CW |
|
GW0DSP |
Connahs
Quay |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
|
2E0PXW |
Ellesmere
Port |
Barry |
2m |
FM |
|
G1NVY |
Prescott |
Ken |
2m |
FM |
|
G4ZMR |
Nantwich |
Martin |
2m |
FM |
|
M3RZV |
Tarporley |
Roger |
2m |
FM |
|
G1ECI |
Wigan |
Jack |
2m |
FM |
I was up with
the 6am alarm on
Tuesday 11th
March 2008.
However, I
remembered that
I had promised
to print out
Jimmy's English
Literature
coursework from
the PC and leave
out for him to
take to school.
Hence I was a
little later
leaving then
normal.
I was fairly
efficient with
everything
though, and was
QRV on 40m CW
from The Cloud
by 0722 UTC. Six
stations - 3 DLs,
plus GW, SM and
YU were worked
before 7.032MHz
fell silent. I
sent 'QSY 2m FM
in 10 mins' and
packed away the
HF station. A
call on the
handheld before
descending
brought up two
CQ stations.
I began my
descent and
switched to
145.650MHz GB3MN
repeater for a
natter. Oops!
Two mobile
stations
expressed their
disappointment
that I hadn't
called them on
the repeater
during the
activation and
invited them to
QSY to simplex!
I promised them
I would not snub
them next time!
|
GW0DSP |
Connahs
Quay |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
|
DL1AWC |
JO50HQ |
Wolf |
40m |
CW |
|
DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
40m |
CW |
|
SM6EQO |
Molndal |
Hakan |
40m |
CW |
|
YU1HQR |
Sabac |
Tesla
Radio
Club |
40m |
CW |
|
DL2DXA |
Dresden |
Bernd |
40m |
CW |
|
GW0DSP |
Connahs
Quay |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
|
GW7AAV |
Connahs
Quay |
Steve |
2m |
FM |
I was not up
with the 6am
alarm on
Wednesday
12th March
2008.
I rolled
over and had
another 30
minutes. I
think I
subconciously
realised the
storm
outside and
realised
that HF was
not an
option.
However, I
had no
intention of
abandoning
by morning
exercise
regime or
curtailing
my current
run of
consecutive
daily
activations,
so I set off
in the car
just after
6.45am.
BBC Radio 5
Live was
reporting
the closure
of the
Thelwall
Viaduct
(M6), the
Humber,
Severn and
Britannia
bridges, and
a late
inspection
ahead of the
Cheltenham
Festival. It
did seem a
bit breezy,
but nothing
major - but
I couldn't
help but
notice that
the majority
of wheelie
bins on our
road were
horizontally
polarised.
In fact, it
wasn't the
breeziness,
but the
occasional
gusts that
were the
problem. A
few of these
battered the
side of my
car as I
drove along
the country
lanes to
Cloudside.
The initial
ascent of
The Cloud up
to the
National
Trust sign
was fairly
well
sheltered
and
comfortable.
Once clear
of the
trees, the
fell became
a windy,
cold and
uncomfortable
place. Once
on the
summit, my
body was
thumped
backwards
and forwards
by the
incredible
gusts. I had
full
waterproofs
on, although
the rain
itself was
not too bad.
First to
answer was
Mike GW0DSP.
With no-one
queueing up
behind him,
I recalled
yesterday's
expression
of
disappointment
by the GB3MN
repeater
dwellers. I
would have
been content
to begin my
descent
immediately
with the one
contact in
the bag, but
it seems it
is now
EXPECTED of
me to inform
the local
repeater
traffic of
my
activation
so that they
have the
opportunity
to QSY and
QSO. I
waited for a
'K', put in
my callsign,
and was
greeted with
"NO! -
You're
surely not
up there
now???".
Yes, I was.
Back to
145.450MHz,
it was Steve
M0SGB/M, who
informatively
informed me
of some wind
noise across
my
microphone.
Many thanks
for that one
Steve. Then
it was
Richard
G3CWI who
was the
first of
several to
question my
mental
health. John
G6LCS/M was
next, and I
attempted to
inform him
that he was
recently my
1000th QSO
from The
Cloud. The
QRN
prevented
him from
getting any
of that, but
he did get
my report at
least.
Finally,
another
following me
from the
repeater was
regular
Keith
M3LUE/M.
For the
descent, I
returned to
GB3MN for a
chat. It
seemed they
had all
forgotten my
name and
callsign,
referring to
me only as
"The
Madman".
| M0SGB/M |
Bury |
Steve |
| G3CWI |
Macclesfield |
Richard |
| G6LCS/M |
Brooklands |
John |
| M3LUE/M |
Astley |
Keith |
Thursday
13th
March
2008.
Even
colder,
and
propagation
conditions
possibly
not too
favourable.
Either
that, or
the 80m
novelty
has
quickly
worn
off!
I made
good
time
this
morning,
being
QRV just
before
7.05am,
and was
eagerly
anticipating
a good
run on
80m CW
and 80m
SSB up
to
7.35am.
It was a
disappointing
activation
though,
with
only
three
stations
worked
on CW
before
3.557MHz
was
empty. I
announced
a QSY to
3.604MHz
SSB, but
Mike
came
back and
suggested
3.666MHz
instead,
to which
I
agreed.
I knew
the SWR
wouldn't
be as
good
further
up the
band,
but it
still
seemed
acceptable.
I called
for
quite a
long
time,
and
noticed
that
Mike had
spotted
me on
this
frequency,
but
there
were no
takers.
A quick
shout on
2m FM
brought
Mike DSP
(again)
and
Barry
2E0PXW.
I then
honoured
my
promise
not to
ignore
the
GB3MN
mobiles,
and
dutifully
announced
my
summit
presence
on
there.
Back on
my
simplex
channel,
none of
them had
made the
QSY
anyway!
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
80m |
CW |
| G0ANV |
Girton |
Daryl |
80m |
CW |
| DJ5AV |
Heiligenberg |
Mike |
80m |
CW |
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
2m |
FM |
| 2E0PXW |
Ellesmere Port |
Barry |
2m |
FM |
My timing was spot on Friday 14th March 2008, and I was QRV
on 80m CW bang on 0705 UTC. A run of ten contacts in 26 minutes ensued,
comprising four DXCCs - G, GW, OK and EI. A highlight was hearing a weak CW
call from M1MAJ. I sent a 429 report back, which Martyn successfully
acknowledged as well as sending my report to me. Well done for taking the
plunge Martyn - good to have another M1 in SOTA CW land hi!
I had noticed the previous night that John G4YSS had alerted for an early
morning activation on Burnhope Seat
G/NP-003. I noted that fact that he had alerted for 3.557MHz CW as one
of his intentions, matching my own alert, hence I was hopeful that a S2S was
on the cards. I had forgotton all about that this morning, and was about to
pack up when I noticed the spot for John on top band.
I returned to 3.557MHz CW after having no joy whatsoever on 3.666MHz SSB and
worked G4WSX. And then it all came together beautifully. The next station to
call was GX7OOO/P with John operating. A summit-to-summit contact on 80m CW
at 7.31am - fantastic!
It was my deadline to take the dipole down, so I left John the frequency,
which now had the mother of all pile ups wanting him. In it, I could pick
out the callsigns of most of the stations that had worked me a few minutes
earlier.
13 minutes later I was packed away, so I called CQ on the 2m FM handheld as
usual. Zilch. So, with a happy spring in my stride, I walked back down to
Cloudside and drove myself to work.
Thanks
to all
callers,
all
worked
on 80m
CW with
5 watts:
| G0AZS |
Aylesbury |
Marc |
| G0HIO |
Burton-on-Trent |
Mike |
| OK1AOV |
Czech Republic |
|
| GW0DSP |
Connahs Quay |
Mike |
| G0NES |
Hollywood |
Don |
| G3WPF |
Wilmslow |
Reg |
| EI7CC |
Dun Laoghaire |
Pete |
| M1MAJ |
Cambridge |
Martin |
| G4WSX |
Chichester |
John |
| GX7OOO/P |
Burnhope Seat NP-003 |
John |
I decided to put the 80m system through its paces again on
Saturday morning, 15th March 2008. All good, with lots of contacts on
3.557MHz CW, then plenty on 3.660MHz SSB. A fair bit of interest on 2m FM
after that too, including S2S with Clive M1YAM/P on
Ingleborough G/NP-005. Operating from 0834 until 1016, 39 contacts in
total. Mild, in cloud, but dry.
Summary:
80m CW: 18 QSOs, 5 DXCCs - G, GW, F, DL, ON
80m SSB: 10 QSOs, 2 DXCCs - G, GW
2m FM : 11 QSOs, 1 DXCC - G!
| M3VNB |
Wirral |
Simon |
2m |
FM |
| G0VYR |
Woking |
Norman |
80m |
CW |
| MW0IDX |
Kinmel Bay |
Roger |
80m |
CW |
| G0AZS |
Aylesbury |
Marc |
80m |
CW |
| F6GEO |
Le Quesnoy |
Michael |
80m |
CW |
| G4USW |
Barrow-in-Furness |
Bill |
80m |
CW |
| G4CMQ |
Ipswich |
David |
80m |
CW |
| G3TJE |
Highbridge |
Peter |
80m |
CW |
| ON4ON |
Dadizele |
Danny |
80m |
CW |
| G0NES |
Hollywood |
Don |
80m |
CW |
| G3WPF |
Wilmslow |
Reg |
80m |
CW |
| F4CTJ |
St Valery en Caux |
Karim |
80m |
CW |
| G4OWG |
Rawdon |
Roger |
80m |
CW |
| G3ICO |
Yeovil |
George |
80m |
CW |
| G4BLH |
Brierfield |
Mike |
80m |
CW |
| DL8YR |
Aachen |
Peter |
80m |
CW |
| G0ANV |
Girton |
Daryl |
80m |
CW |
| GW3KVX |
Llansantfraid |
Dick |
80m |
CW |
| M1MAJ |
Cambridge |
Martyn |
80m |
CW |
| G0RQL |
Milton
Damerel |
Don |
80m |
SSB |
| G1SAA |
Cambridge |
Rob |
80m |
SSB |
| GW0VMZ |
Merthyr Tydfil |
Alistair |
80m |
SSB |
| G3OHC |
Selby |
Graham |
80m |
SSB |
| M3YHB |
Kidderminster |
Helen |
80m |
SSB |
| G0BFJ |
Huddersfield |
Brian |
80m |
SSB |
| G4CPA |
Crosshills |
Geoff |
80m |
SSB |
| G6WRW |
Kidderminster |
Carolyn |
80m |
SSB |
| M3ZCB |
Cambridge |
|
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