Brandy Hill, GW/MW-037 - 205m ASL - SN 213 133 - OS Explorer 177 - 1 SOTA point            

SOTA road trip, Day 2 - Sunday 2nd August 2020

From Rhos Ymryson GW/MW-035, it was a bit of a drive south towards St Clears and then west out to Brandy Hill.  I was now able to relax as my evening accomodation had been secured.  Nonetheless, I wanted to make the most of that by having a good night's sleep and relaxation.

I managed to make three QSOs in 25 minutes on 17m FT8, culminating in a surprise contact with KP4 - Puerto Rico.  However, the 17m band then seemed to close abruptly, leaving me stranded, and with little prospect of being able to "get out of jail" with a 2m FM handheld contact!  The 20m FT4 frequency - 14.080MHz - seemed to be loud and full of activity listening through the 17m antenna.  I knew the VSWR would be far from optimal - but could I force a qualifying contact through the non-resonant aerial?  The answer was yes - in fact i worked USA and Italy on 20m FT4 - and I could get to my accommodation.

I drove to the Baltic Hotel in Pont Yates, armed with a bottle of cider I'd picked up earlier in a petrol station.  A welcome shower and good rest in a proper bed was just the ticket, ahead of kicking off again in the morning on Mynydd Llangyndeyrn GW/SW-039.