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Gun, G/SP-013 - 385m ASL - SJ 970 615 - OS Explorer OL24 - 1 SOTA point
Sunday 6th January 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 I had a pair of really good activations in this morning, and might just had got the hang of this FT8 business. Even so, in my entirely personal opinion, it’s harder/more fiddly to operate than CW or phone modes, and this is indicated by the significantly slower QSO rates. Good fun nonetheless! The FT8 activation probably went well, as much as anything, because preparation was solid. I’d been chancing a few outings on a damaged 20m GP antenna, cobbling together the increasingly frequently required fixes in the field. On the Saturday night, I sacrificed Match of the Day to repair it properly. I’d checked the charging on my tablet a couple of times since the failure earlier in the week, and all seemed well.
I got up at 5am and was QRV on Gun summit just before 7am. It was a bit nippy and I spent most of the activation inside my bothy bag. The tablet had full charge and the antenna was working perfectly - hurray! (I knew the antenna was in good shape when ZL1BYZ came back to my first CW CQ call…!) I made a total of 53 QSOs: 20m FT8: 34 20m JT65: 1 20m CW: 13 2m FM: 5 S2S with MW0XRT/P on Moel y Gamelin GW/NW-042, and later on Cyrn-y-Brain GW/NW-043.
An amusing moment came when I decided to emerge from the bothy bag for “a breath of fresh air”. When I got back in the shelter, I discovered that I’d just made a QSO with a Russian station! Following descent and a warm-up in the car, I couldn’t resist popping over to The Cloud G/SP-015 on the way home.
Tuesday 8th January 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 I fancied doing a 30m FT8 activation. Problem was, my 30m dipole was broken, and I hadn’t yet built my new 30m GP antenna. But then I remembered my SOTABEAMS Bandhopper 4 linked dipole - and off I went! 18 QSOs made, including a call from US chaser N1GB, so pretty pleasing. My routines on WSJT-X seemed to work well, so I took a photo of a full QSO:
Monday 14th January 2018 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Dad’s Taxis was running with a 1930 drop-off and 2130 pick up. Time therefore for G/SP-015 & G/SP-013 in between - if I got my skates on. I invited the local FM chasers to be at their radios! Well Paul M0PLA in Telford got them both! I made 7 QSOs on The Cloud and 4 on Gun. All 2m FM with the handie. Pleasant couple of walks. The gales had calmed right down. Next, it was time for a different type of FM radio - my son Liam’s weekly programme on Canalside Radio 102.8. It’s a small scale station and the signal only covers Macclesfield, Bollington, Wilmslow and Poynton, but the internet means you can listen from anywhere in the world - so if you like proper old fashioned radio and good interesting music, have a click on the link.
Tuesday 15th January 2018 - Shining Tor G/SP-004, The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 A similar routine to the previous night - a bit of a time window between dropping Liam off at the pub (on this occasion) and picking him up. Remarkably, it was 7 contacts on The Cloud, then 4 on Gun. Again. All on 2m FM with the handheld.
Thursday 24th January 2018 - Shining Tor G/SP-004, Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015
Moving across to Gun from Shining Tor G/SP-004, I was now well below the snowline, and the scene was much different to earlier. The temperature seemed even higher too, and the gloves were left in the car. Four QSOs were made, no other takers, so back down and over to The Cloud G/SP-015.
Thursday 21st February 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & Shining Tor G/SP-004 There was little chance of answering the question “30m - what can it do?” - not when I’d left the 10m Travelmast at home! I’d been a sensible chap for once, taking my pole in from the car after a damp activation, wiping it down with towels and storing it with the end caps off. Unfortunately, this change in MO caused me to forget that the mast wasn’t it in the car as I left the house! No problem I thought, instead I’ll check out the Youkits HB1B CW transceiver. Richard G3CWI had kindly repaired this for me a few days earlier. I was very pleased as the rig had been out of action for a long time, and it is a favourite of mine that I really enjoy operating with. Anyway, that plan was soon as dead as the 30m plan, once I realised I hadn’t thought to bring any earbuds out with me (the HB1B doesn’t have a speaker). So there I was at the parking spot for Gun, in my car, with unexpected heavy rain lashing down. Both my radio agenda items were not possible - see above - and I even thought about going home activationless. I then started to think about nipping up to the summit with the HT and just putting up with the weather for half-an-hour or so. Then the rain stopped and the skies began to clear. I decided to do an activation on good old 20m using another of my groundplane antennas. The going was fairly slow, but a variety of modes allowed a respectable number of contacts to enter the SOTA log.
20m SSB: 3 QSOs 20m CW: 5 QSOs 20m FT8: 6 QSOs 2m FM: 4 QSOs
A change of plan at home and a glorious sunny afternoon gave me the opportunity, and idea to have another crack at testing out my 30m GP and HB1B. I invited Richard G3CWI out for an activation of Shining Tor G/SP-004.
The walk up to Gun was calm and pleasant for my ninth and final activation on Sunday 3rd March 2019. I assumed that Freya had indeed passed through and was well on her way to Scotland. Then I touched the trig point. Then all hell broke loose and the gusts were chucking me round all over the place.
I planted my size 12s as firmly as I could, gripped my paper logbook as firmly as I could, and made my CQ call. The bands had gone quiet again, and several CQ calls were required. Well, that, and I think despite my best attempts to shelter the microphone, considerable wind noise was still getting into it, and no doubt putting most casual monitors off my giving me a call. Nonetheless, the four QSOs were recorded inside five minutes, and I could be on my way home. Any lingering thoughts of Shining Tor G/SP-004 were now completely extinguished; I had no desire whatsoever to discover what the gusts on Gun would be like some 172m higher up on a hill that is completely exposed to the south west! So I guess I’ll award Freya a “goal” for that one! A total of 45 QSOs were made in the day. All 2m FM handheld. My thanks to all the chasers that worked me on this memorable SOTA day.
Saturday 13th April 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 Gig: Joe Longthorne Venue: Pelsall Community Centre, Walsall Right up to the last minute, I considered a wide detour to take in the Welshpool summits, or the Craven Arms summits, but ultimately I decided that amount of additional time and mileage was not really justifiable. I was going to do 30m FT8 on Gun, but it was rather windy at the parking spot - and still unfathomably cold for April. No wonder Easter has been put back so late this year! So just a walk up to the trig with my FT70D, and 4 QSOs made, including S2H with Rob G7LAS/P on HSP-006 - Bolehill. The contact ended abruptly when I asked if I may be allowed to enter my activation log of HEMA summit Sir William Hill from the previous weekend! An SWL log was recorded for MW1CJE/P on GW/MW-007 - I tried a few times to call in, but he wasn’t hearing my handheld & rubber duck! Going 2m FM handie-style meant that I now had a bit of spare time - enough to pop across the Dane Valley and also activate The Cloud G/SP-015 before going home.
Easter Monday 22nd April 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 This was a completely unplanned pair of activations. I was walking out of the Moss Rose football stadium after watching a goalless draw in the League 2 match between Macclesfield Town and Newport County. I suddenly felt some sense of guilt that I’d spent much of the day plunging calories down my throat, but not particularly exercising. I made the decision there and then to undertake two SOTA activations on the way home! It was a beautiful sunny and warm April early evening, and shirt-sleeve order ruled again.
On Gun G/SP-013, I made four QSOs on the VHF FM handheld, all on 2m, and all with stations beginning with the number ‘2’! The same four stations were worked again over on The Cloud G/SP-015, with the addition of an M0 and an M6. So 5500 steps recorded on my Fitbit watch and submitted to the MyFitnessPal app via the magic of Bluetooth - unfortunately still wholly sufficient to balance the calories consumed in the form of beer and curry.
Wednesday 1st May 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013
Gig: Liam Read (Open Mic) Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield With the likelihood of doing supply teaching work, I needed to put in an early morning walk in order to attach an activation to a gig! I put my suit and tie into the car and got off to the usual hill. During the journey I got asked for, and accepted jobs at three different schools in Norrh Staffordshire. One by one, each cancelled! I kept my phone on as I walked up The Cloud G/SP-015 in case of any further offers, but none came through, so it was looking like a day off from maths teaching!
It then transpired that Jimmy M0HGY needed a lift to work in Wilmslow so I thought I’d collect some brownie points by sparing Marianne that task. Still no supply work transpired so off to the Staffordshire Moorlands. 2m FM handheld-style again. I was going to do 30m FT8 & CW but a phone call came from the XYL advising me that we were going for a bluebell walk at Rode Hall (which never happened in the end…). This time just two QSOs. But another SOTA activation nonetheless.
Sunday 12th May 2019 - Shining Tor G/SP-004, Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015
It had really warmed up by the time we were on Gun G/SP-013, and the layers were off accordingly. On here, Jimmy stuck to his 2m FM, while I stuck to my 30m FT8 and CW, though I did take up opportunities for S2S on 2m.
Our descent was interrupted by an evangelist who asked us what we thought was wrong with our country today. I offered a concise (polite) response, and quickly resumed my walk. Next stop - The Cloud G/SP-015.
The LD SOTA weekend started here! On a Wednesday in Cheshire… Wednesday 15th May 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 Gig: Liam Read Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield I’d already told Paul HB9DST that I wouldn’t be able to meet him during his trip due to my work schedule. However, I arrived at a school in the morning to be greeted by the news that they’d changed their mind and only wanted me for half a day. Normally I’d be furious, but I immediately realised I could now meet Paul!
I’d seen on the spots Paul had activated Shining Tor G/SP-004 but wasn’t yet spotted on Gun G/SP-013, so after my lunchtime finish, I headed for the Staffordshire Moorlands. There was Paul operating on 40 and 30. It was great to meet and chat, and Paul - a SOTA veteran of 72 activated associations - made his first ever 2m S2S QSO - with Dave GW0NZN/P on Moel Gyw GW/NW-053. I just operated on my HT collecting four contacts. We then drove in convoy over to The Cloud G/SP-015.
Saturday 18th May 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Simon Faulkner Band Venue: Bistro Live!, Leicester
Back on the road again with a couple of bands. I’d spent too much time during the morning adding new material to my website, meaning I only left enough time for a handheld 2m FM activation en route to the East Midlands. I worked 12 stations even so, concluding with three consecutive S2S. An unexpectedly satisfactory activation!
Saturday 25th May 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015, Gun G/SP-013 & Winter Hill G/SP-010 Gig: Liam Read Band @ Swanload Festival Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield
Gig: Simon Faulkner Band Venue: Rivington Hall, Bolton
Next it was over to Gun G/SP-013, and another enjoyable short stroll in the lovely weather. Unlike a little later in the day though, the band was quiet. Just two QSOs made in this activation. Then, the Liam Read Band opening up the Swanload Festival. A well received set of live music including covers of Joy Division, Radiohead, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Beatles and Kinks.
Tuesday 28th May 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013
Gig: Joe Longthorne Venue: Bellavista Restaurant, Milnrow
It was chucking it down as I drove from home to Cloudside. By the time I’d arrived at the parking spot it was quite a nice day, albeit somewhat cooler than recent days. Anyway, it was pretty quiet on the radio. Just one contact from each summit on 2m FM. I could have broken into other ongoing QSOs to try to further populate the logbook, but decided not to bother. I suspected many radio amateurs in the North West were becoming pretty bored by my CQ SOTA calls from The Cloud on S20, and one or two actually somewhat irritated I don’t doubt! I should probably be trying to get on 6m FT8 at this time of year though really.
Saturday 1st June 2019 - Gun G/SP-013
Gig: Motown Gold Venue: Branston Hall Hotel, Lincoln Gig in Lincoln. The direct route would have taken me past Shining Tor G/SP-004. But I didn’t have time for that. The closest summit to the venue was Normanby Top G/TW-005. But the extra fuel for that detour threatened to make the gig uneconomical. Gun ticked all the boxes. You know the routine. Walked up with a handheld. Activated. Walked down. Went to work. Quite boring really, but kept the digits ticking over on my Fitbit tracker. Just two contacts on 2m FM.
Super gig with a ten piece line up of Motown Gold, and especially fine bandwiches served up too - Lincolnshire sausage, bacon, black pudding, cheese and mushroom on large white rolls. Due to my diet, I restricted myself to just three. I was determined to get home without stopping for a nap, knowing that I would be up early to head out to GW with Jimmy M0HGY. As it transpired, I received some shocking family news early in that journey and remained wide awake and focused throughout as a result!
Sunday 9th June 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 It was a really good show in Dunstable. I love my job! I attempted to drive home but made it as far as the A50 near Uttoxeter, between Derby and Stoke - near Alton Towers. At that point I succumbed to that pinnacle of showbiz glamour - a kip in the car in a lay-by. (I actually keep two pillows in the car for this very purpose). When I awoke it was about 4am BST, and my warped and slightly obsessive mind immediately turned to the greyline DX SOTA opportunities. I added G/SP-015 as a waypoint to the satnav route, but when this directed me through Leek, I exchanged this for G/SP-013.
I set up the 30m vertical with elevated groundplane monster antenna on the 10m SOTAbeams Travel Mast, by the hawthorn tree made famous by Mickey 2E0YYY. It was a beautiful morning with a lovely sunrise and mist filling the valleys below, albeit rather chilly. VK and ZL briefly appeared on the WSJT-X band activity window, but none worked. I did get a 30m FT8 contact into the USA though which was a nice surprise at this early hour. I made a total of 54 QSOs on 30m FT8 / CW, and one on 2m FM.
Gig: no gig, but Late Night Liam was coming up on Canalside Radio 102.8FM / streaming online, that night around 10.15pm. Four contacts. Trouble was they were split between two activations! Not that I tried very hard - I was in a rush to get off the first summit in order to squeeze a second activation in before picking Liam back up, and I quit on Gun when it started raining - I was in shirt sleeves and no coat! Still, two SOTA activations nonetheless.
It was interesting to see a newly erected information board at the start of the path on Gun.
Thursday 11th July 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 As I reached my car after descending from The Cloud G/SP-015, my Fitbit watch advised me that my day’s teaching work in Newcastle-under-Lyme, plus my Cloud activation, had totalled 7000 steps - so still 3K short of my daily target. Only one thing for it then - a quick nip across to Gun G/SP-013! I was expecting this to be very soggy given the downpour earlier, but the path was all dry. At the summit, I couldn’t raise anything at all on S20, despite prolonged CQ calling. Ultimately, I broke into the only QSO audible on the band - George 2E0GLW in Leigh with John M6JUR in St Helens. That gave me a pleasant couple of contacts, and I walked back down to the car. I was still short of my step target with my Fitbit watch showing 9,000 for the day. The day had half-an-hour remaining, so I simply marched up and down the road close to the parking spot until my wrist vibrated!
Tuesday 23rd July 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 The Cloud G/SP-015 had been activated during the morning before a day out in Manchester with Marianne. After getting back, it was time to start running Liam about for his vocal lesson and ten-pin bowling social outing. Between drop-off ad pick-up for his singing lesson, I hared down the A523 and activated Gun. With extremely limited time, I didn't walk all the way to the summit, just a short distance that took me reliably within the activation zone. Like the earlier activation, it was three QSOs on 2m FM with the handie.
Thursday 25th July 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Joe Longthorne Venue: Key Theatre, Peterborough With the next gig after this being Saturday in Milton Keynes, I had been toying with the idea of booking theatre digs for a couple of nights and staying out. The utter lack of summits in the Peterborough and Milton Keynes areas, or anywhere in-between, encouraged me to not bother, and just drive back home. As such, I just wandered up my two local summits as I commenced my drive over to Cambridgeshire. On Cloud I made four contacts on 2m FM, including S2S with Tim G4YBU/P on Worcestershire Beacon G/WB-009. On both summits I contacted Alistair MW0TYM/P who was activating Cadair Berywn GW/NW-012. After Gun, a long drive over to Peterborough, soundcheck in the Key Theatre, and burger and chips on a barge on the River Nene. An excellent show with Joe on sparkling form, and a long, tiring drive home, culminating with a lightning storm as I drove over the Cat & Fiddle road.
Friday 26th July 2019 Just a tea-time stroll to keep the legs moving and the step count up - though the scales informed me I'd put on weight again, so much more is required (and some better dieting too in all reality). After a bit of holiday clothes shopping in Lyme Green (just south of Macclesfield), I drove down the A523 to Gun. Three QSOs were made on 2m FM. And then over to The Cloud G/SP-015 before returning home for tea.
Saturday 27th July 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Simon Faulkner Band Venue: Bistro Live!, Milton Keynes After The Cloud G/SP-015 I nipped over to Gun to grab another quick activation. And a quick one it was - just one contact on the handheld, and only about two thirds of the walk to the summit covered - enough to be well inside the activation zone though! Still raining as it was on the earlier summit, so heater on full in the car as I started to dry off en route to Buckinghamshire. Great gig that night. The other three guys in the band were all college students of my dad's back in the 1990s!
Sunday 28th July 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Joe Longthorne Venue: Viva Blackpool Well these activations were really on the way home from the Milton Keynes gig rather than en route to the Blackpool gig! It was a late finish on the Saturday night, and a drive through the night back home, with a couple of lay-by naps included! As I drove from Stoke-on-Trent to Congleton and nearing the end of my journey, I decided to get my SOTA in for the day right then, rather than try and squeeze something in later on the way to the next gig. Problem was it was raining very heavily. Well I just put on full waterproofs and did a couple of activations anyway! Three contacts on 2m FM on The Cloud G/SP-015, then just one on Gun G/SP-013.
Tuesday 6th August 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 I was out and about in the car running errands round town during the day. I knew I would be activating The Cloud G/SP-015 for the contests that evening, but thought I'd grab a cheeky activation in the Staffordshire Moorlands while out. It was a low-effort activation, with a corresponding low return - just a single QSO on 2m FM with the handheld, although I did call CQ for quite a while. Really, it was just an excuse to stretch my legs after a sedentary few days and the stark realisation that until another regular gig came in, I wouldn’t be gallivanting around the country getting my cardio (and SOTA) in.
Wednesday 7th August 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Liam Read Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield Still trying to rediscover my good habits of getting my steps in every day, like the previous day, while out and about running errands, I squeezed in visits to my two local summits. I was, I'm afraid, similarly lazy still when it came to working conditions. I just took the 2m FM handheld again!
Friday 9th August 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 Gig: Liam Read Band Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield It was a gig day, so my compulsive nature dictated that it was also a SOTA day! A swift afternoon round of my local two summits ensued! An unfortunate moment came later on my way to the gig when a Ford Fiesta ran into the back of me causing damage to my car. The other party's insurance is taking care of all that, but nonetheless, a nuisance that I could have done without. The gig was great, with Liam in top form and delivering two excellent sets to a very enthusiastic and appreciative crowd.
Saturday 10th August 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Simon Faulkner Band Venue: Bistro Live!, Milton Keynes A bit more of a drive for the following day's gig, but a fairly straightforward one down the A50 and M1. Nothing en route that would score me any SOTA activator points, nor really anything significantly more interesting than my two local hills - so I just did those two at the start of my journey south! A certain Alan M1DCG from Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent was putting out a monologue on S20 for seemingly hours and hours! This was disrupting the CQ calls from Richard G3CWI, operating as G8SRS/P (Stockport Radio Society) from Avro, Woodford.
I had no reason nor motivation to head out on the Sunday, other than to get a few thousand steps into my Fitbit tracker. I activated my local two SOTA summits yet again. Alan M1DCG was still announcing his views on world matters on S20, but this time I called him to see what would happen. He actually QSYd and worked me on both summits, but seemed to be trying to manufacture an argument with me on the second QSO! I declined to participate in the attempted escalation, thanked him politely and moved on! Very pleasing QSO numbers with 20 shared between the two summits, despite me only operating with a handheld.
Monday 12th August 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Joe Longthorne's Final Show Venue: Sacred Heart Church, Blackpool Well I was going to be setting off to Blackpool for my final duties as Joe Longthorne's bass player, so it was entirely appropriate to conduct a couple of summit activations beforehand. He'd always interview me on stage in the shows about what I'd climbed earlier that day. This was desperately sad though; I loved working on this gig, and I will miss Joe's company and friendship hugely. He was a wonderfully inspirational man.
Just one contact on 2m FM, a big contrast to the QSO bonanza of the previous day. But it was a good one - that resulted in a new active SOTA chaser being recruited. After the two activations, Marianne and I drove up to Blackpool, checked into the Imperial Hotel, and met my bandmates for a meal and drinks before a larger get-together at Joe's house later. The following day - Tuesday 13th August 2019 - saw a lovely service - a full requiem mass - at Blackpool's Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, followed by a wake at Viva, the venue at which we were scheduled to be doing every Sunday July to November again with Joe this year. As Joe's band, we had the very great honour of carrying him into the church for his "final show".
Wednesday 14th August 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 Gig: Liam Read Open Mic Night Venue: Swan With Two Necks, Macclesfield The weather was truly appalling with constant heavy rain. This had persisted all day from Blackpool from where we set off home that morning. Nonetheless, I had a gig that night, so activations needed to be done. Five QSOs on each hill - and two very wet socks.
Sunday 1st September 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 Gig: Stu Clark & Friends Venue: The Venue, Lymm I hadn't been home from the previous night's Simon Faulkner Band gig in Newark-on-Trent. I'd kipped for about four hours in a lay-by somewhere between Newark and Derby, then drove to the parking spot for Gun, where I kipped for another three hours or so! At that point, I decided I really needed to make some attempt to rejoin the land of the living, and went for a walk up to the summit with my handheld. Just Roy G0SLR answered my CQ calls. But one contact maketh an activation, and on this occasion, one hundred contacts would not maketh an activation point! So all was good, and I could get off to The Cloud G/SP-015 before finally getting home.
Monday 2nd September 2019 - Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 Another wander up Gun as part of getting my steps in for the day. And another one QSO activation! This summit was seemingly not in demand from the chasers. Anyway, still an activation in the logbook, and off I went to The Cloud G/SP-015.
Tuesday 3rd September 2019 - Shining Tor G/SP-004, Gun G/SP-013 & The Cloud G/SP-015 After Shining Tor G/SP-004, I darted though the lanes via Wildboarclough and Wincle, to the well-known parking spot on the high corner between Rushton Spencer and Meerbrook. The quarter-mile easy path to Gun starts opposite here, and only gains 30m of height in that distance. For the third activation in a row, I made just a single contact on 2m FM!
I then went back home for a while before venturing out for that evening's 2m contests, which I looked forward to participating in from the summit of The Cloud G/SP-015.
My first and most important duty of the day was delivering two new Late Night Liam radio shows to Canalside Radio in Bollington. While at the radio station, I ended up having quite a natter with the station manager Nick Wright. I then drove back into Macclesfield via Hurdsfield Industrial Estate, where I had lunch at the TTS Meats Cafe, somewhere I'd been planning to visit for a while. Delicious chicken stroganoff with rice, and a can of Lucozade - £3.65 - amazing value. I will return! Then off down to Gun. Again I ended up with wet socks and very soggy trainers, but at least I got five QSOs into the logbook, rather than the single one that had become rather customary of late from this summit! Wet feet or not, I pressed on with my plan to also activate The Cloud G/SP-015 before returning home.
The day began annoyingly. Three iPads I had ordered, to be used as music stands in Liam's band, arrived by courier. Two of them were great. One of them was still locked to the previous owner's Apple account. Obviously the "checks" carried out by the distributor (Cex) were wholly insufficient. I took the unit down to the branch in Macclesfield and got a full refund - then ordered another online, hoping for better service. I went to our favourite cafe - Velo Cafe on Chestergate - only to arrive as Marianne was leaving. Oh well. Instead I went to Fatima's in the indoor market. This is a Turkish food stall, and I had the chicken adobo with rice and salad, which was absolutely delicious. I will definitely return. Next on the agenda was a quick walk up Gun with the 2m FM handie. Three minutes, four QSOs, and back home. I would be back out for The Cloud G/SP-015 later.
After The Cloud G/SP-015, I went up Gun, and enjoyed a 100% increase in the QSO rate compared to the earlier summit! I guess that's one way to put a positive spin on it! Nonetheless, it did enter my mind that in two SOTA activations in the day, I had actually failed to gather even enough QSOs to qualify one activation! It was still satisfying though to break the S20 monologue of a Stoke-on-Trent amateur and engage him in lucid conversation, away from the calling channel!
Thursday 12th September 2019 - Shining Tor G/SP-004, The Cloud G/SP-015 & Gun G/SP-013 I had originally intended activating Gun after the end of the 6m UK activity contest on The Cloud G/SP-015. I figured this would have me on Gun summit in good time to attempt a 20m FT8 S2S with a planned activation from Taiwan BV. It might be a long long shot, but would be fun to try. However, the early finish on The Cloud mucked that schedule up, plus of course the data cable was identified as broken - so no FT8 would be possible anyway! I still wanted the walk and the activation though, so I drove across the Dane Valley, and walked up to the trig point. Four QSOs were made on 2m FM with the handheld, before I drove home.
Friday 13th September 2019 - The Cloud G/SP-015, Gun G/SP-013 & Shining Tor G/SP-004 I knew that Marianne was coming out for a big walk in the Peak District sunshine later on. That would likely include Shining Tor G/SP-004, so I wanted to get the other two local summits activated before we set off. I nipped out first thing and activated The Cloud G/SP-015 then Gun G/SP-013, achieving a grand total of just three QSOs across the two activations! I returned to the home QTH, the Marianne and I went out for lunch an a long walk that has the summit of Shining Tor along its route.
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