Tom Read - click to email meBDXC ISWL WAB SOTA RSGB IOTA - see my radio page for more detailsLiam & Jimmy

Great Orme 2011

 

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Saturday 16th April 2011 was nice and sunny, and we went for a family day out to Llandudno. We reached the McDonalds in a service area on the A55, just over the border, around 11.30am and went in for an early lunch. On reaching Llandudno, Marianne directed me to her favourite parking spot, at the end of the road that the Empire Hotel is on and close to the cable car station. Free parking if you know where to find it!

Jimmy leads the way        Great Orme cable cars

We first dropped down to (almost) sea level and went onto the pier to play in the arcade. Jimmy thrust 50p in 10p coins into my hand saying it was payment of the bet I won last week. I decided to deposit these in the 10p machine. However, within five minutes, such actions had converted this 50p into £2.50 in 10p coins. I had to find a more effective way of getting rid of them, so I thrust them into Marianne's hand, and she wasted no time in losing the lot.

Summit of Great Orme        Tom at the summit

The four of us climbed back up to the cable car station. Marianne tried, without success, to persuade Jimmy and I onto the cable cars. While it is true that I am pretty terrified of anything like that, my more burning wish was to walk up to the summit from the bottom, something which, to my shame, I had never done. All previous activations of GW/NW-070 had followed a person-powered final ascent of about 200m horizontal and 15m vertical from the car park in front of the summit complex!

20m antenna        Great Orme Summit Complex

As Marianne and Liam shot off above our heads in the cable car, Jimmy and I commenced the pleasant walk through a Victorian style park and then alongside the dry ski slope and cresta run - Alpine World at Happy Valley. The height was gained quickly and we were soon homing in on Halfway Station (tram). Marianne and Liam were met here; they were now descending on foot, and we agreed to meet them later.

Cable car passing the summit    Jimmy's operating position

Close to the trig point, Jimmy set up the SOTA Beam for 2m FM, while I erected the MM20 for 20m CW. We had an enjoyable activation, Jimmy making 10 contacts and me making 31, the highlights of which were USA, Canada and Kazakhstan. We had lots of visitors enquiring as to our activity, and Jimmy was just as busy as I was in fielding the questions and explaining about SOTA, and amateur radio generally. One chap - an electrical engineering undergraduate at Bradford University - even said that he was now going to Google 'amateur radio' and find out more about getting a licence. He said it was "Right up my street".

At around 5.30pm, we packed away, and then decided to be daring. We descended the hill by cable car. Without doubt, the best bit for me was arriving at the bottom station. My dislike of heights was confirmed as still present!  A quick drive around Conwy did not reveal any suitable eateries, so we made for Colwyn Bay and the Bengal Palace. Except that it is now called the Madras Restaurant. A fine meal was enjoyed before the drive back to Macclesfield.  Thanks to all stations worked:

2E0YYY/P on Shining Tor SP-004

2m

FM

J

G6LKB/P on Gummers How LD-050

2m

FM

J

M6AOQ

2m

FM

J

2W0CVE/M

2m

FM

J

OE6WIG

20m

CW

T

HB9CGA

20m

CW

T

G4BLH

2m

FM

J

UN5C

20m

CW

T

VE2JCW

20m

CW

T

OE8SPW

20m

CW

T

DL6KVA

20m

CW

T

I3VAD

20m

CW

T

9A7W

20m

CW

T

HB9BIN

20m

CW

T

SM0GNS

20m

CW

T

YL2CV

20m

CW

T

DJ2AX

20m

CW

T

2W0XYL/P on Foel Fenlli NW-051

2m

FM

J

HA7UG

20m

CW

T

LA8WF

20m

CW

T

G6ODU

2m

FM

J

HB9DDE

20m

CW

T

G0HRT

2m

FM

J

UR5FEL

20m

CW

T

DL8OK

20m

CW

T

LY5G

20m

CW

T

2E0VXI

2m

FM

J

G4SSH

20m

CW

T

UA1OLM

20m

CW

T

2E0NVJ

2m

FM

J

SP9NLQ

20m

CW

T

RX6AKA

20m

CW

T

UT2GW

20m

CW

T

ON3CFF

20m

CW

T

RW3XZ

20m

CW

T

EA5YI

20m

CW

T

K4QS

20m

CW

T

9A4OE

20m

CW

T

UW2ZO

20m

CW

T

SP9OHY

20m

CW

T

DJ5AV

20m

CW

T