.jpg)
|
|
|
Saturday 5th May 2018 I followed the satnav to the nominal summit point on a residential street, but turned back due to lack of feasible spots for setting up and operating. A little further down the main road, I spotted the Blue Anchor pub. This is easily in the AZ, and I recalled that some activations have taken place in the beer garden in the past. I got a fresh orange juice from the bar (I was currently off the booze) and had a chat with the landlord.
I set up the 20m GP in a corner of the beer garden, using just three of the four radials so as to minimise potential obstructions. Again it was fairly slim pickings on 20m SSB, but an Italian contest enabled me to pick off the QSOs required. I was not minded to hang around.
There was only time for one more activation before soundcheck, so I now tried again to get to Detling Hill G/SE-013.
Friday 14th September 2018 - Botley Hill G/SE-005, Leith Hill G/SE-002 & Crowborough G/SE-007 Gig: Joe Longthorne Venue: Palace Theatre, Southend-on-Sea
As it would turn out, I'd only have time for one more activation after Leith Hill G/SE-002. I wasn’t sure what tactics or location to use for Crowborough. I never am. It’s a really terrible SOTA summit. I really didn’t want to set the GP antenna up - there’s just nowhere to do so that doesn’t attract disapproval from some quarter or other, be it the clearing behind some houses, the golf club car park, the covered reservoir or the pub beer garden. On the final drive into the AZ, I’d been working a station on 2m FM. I suggested to him that he might continue monitoring the frequency in a few minutes time when I would be calling on my handheld! He did - but we didn’t make the contact, despite me spending half-an-hour walking all round Crowborough!
Of course, I only needed one QSO to be able to record an activation - the number of QSOs was irrelevant as I’d already collected the activator point earlier in 2018. A good job too, as it was looking increasingly likely that I was going to be lucky to even get one! I thought I’d got a QSO when a loud and clear station came back to me, and kept giving me my report - but failing to offer his callsign. I concluded this was a pirate and started again. G8VPS in Hastings stepped up to save the day! I called QRZ? but didn’t expect anything. I was right.
With all the time taken to get even one QSO, there was now no chance of Detling Hill. Well, there was technically time to do it, but the words “London”, “M25” and “Friday afternoon” were ringing alarm bells in my head. No, best get to work! Good job I did. Traffic was really sluggish approaching the Dartford Tunnel from the south. Anyway, another splendid gig at the Palace Theatre, Southend, and another quiet and early night at the Travelodge in Basildon. Well that was the plan before one of the soundcrew produced a big box of Stella Artois in the hotel reception… Good job for the diet that I was hitting my 10,000 steps target each day while away otherwise the diet would have been shot to pieces.
The next SOTA summit would be Wendover Woods G/CE-005 (again) after the following night's gig.
|
|
|
