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

Raw Head 2006

 

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The SP Fun Day turned out to be absolutely astonishing.  Given all the things that could go wrong, get out of synch or fail completely, it was truly amazing that it appears that every SP summit worked every other SP summit. One station unfortunately had to pull out at the last minute.  Keith G0OXV stepped in at the last minute - great stuff, and I hope the other station got everything sorted out.  Three separate cars of activators were setting out from Essex at silly times in the morning to participate.  Unbelievably, all of them were on summit, set-up and ready to go at noon BST.  17 summits were supposed to be activated simultaneously between 1100 and 1200 UTC, and they were!  There was supposed to be at least one S2S contact between each permutation of two summits in the 17 - 136 pairings - this nearly happened, but not quite.

Liam arrives on summit            Marianne on Raw Head

My own patience was tested when my wife Marianne (a) decided to come with us and (b) was an hour late leaving the house.  We breakfasted at Congleton McDonalds, and drove out on the A534 to the Bickerton Poacher pub between Nantwich and Wrexham, and right onto the road up the hill.  We were only the third car to park up at this highly popular spot outside Raw Head Farm in the Bickerton Hills, and we set off to the summit, a leisurely 20 minute stroll around the edge of the escarpment to the trig point. We just had enough time to set everything up before noon, so Jimmy M3EYP and myself got cracking.  At one minute to noon (1059 UTC), there was just the BNC to PL259 adaptor to install (my BNC plug on the 817 is currently out-of-order).  But could I find it?  Could I heck.  OK, comprimise time, I would have to connect the SOTA Beam to the VX-7R.  This was when I noticed that the adaptor was connected to the feeder cable...

Tom activating on Raw Head            Jimmy and Liam on Raw Head

So, on air at 1106Z, and the first challenge to the schedule!  At first, it seemed (and indeed was reported) that the schedule was all over the place, with individual variations in the timings and some contacts on the 12.5 kc spaced channels proving difficult due to strong local signals on adjacent frequencies.  However, as time went on, the schedule seemed to become more reliable, and Jimmy and myself certainly found most of our scheduled contacts on the nominated frequencies at the nominated times. By 1200Z we had both worked every other SP summit, and I personally remained on air to work as many chasers as were calling, and a few S2S into NW and NP regions. 

Thanks to the following stations, each worked on 2m FM with 2.5 watts:

G7LFC/M Black Hill SP-002 Derek T, J
M3LFC/P Black Hill SP-002 David T, J
G7ADF/P Winter Hill SP-010 Ian T, J
2E0PHL/P Wards Stone SP-003 Phil T, J
M3NYF/P Wards Stone SP-003 Andrew T, J
M3KPO/P The Cloud SP-015 Steve T, J
M3NBR/P The Cloud SP-015 Sharon T, J
M0SGB/P Hail Storm Hill SP-009 Steve T, J
2E0DNB/P Hail Storm Hill SP-009 Nicola T, J
M0ZZO/P Freeholds Top SP-011 James T, J
M0CGH/P Boulsworth Hill SP-008 Colin T, J
G8HCZ/P Shining Tor SP-004 Julian T, J
M3OIR/P Shining Tor SP-004 Owen T, J
M1BZJ/P Billinge Hill SP-017 Peter T, J
M3LHF/P Pendle Hill SP-005 Den T, J
M3LHI/P Pendle Hill SP-005 Zo T, J
M0VGP/P Kinder Scout SP-001 Sean T, J
G0OXV/P White Hill SP-006 Keith T, J
M0LMP/P Longridge Fell SP-014 Lee T, J
G7KXV/P Fair Snape Fell SP-007 Ian T, J
M0JDK/P Gun SP-013 John T, J
2E0XIS/P Easington Fell SP-012 Matt T, J
G0VWP/P Easington Fell SP-012 Terry T, J
G4ZRP Wirral Brian T
2E0OBZ Chester Dan T
M3LQA Royton Phil T
GW4OIG/P Cadair Berwyn NW-012 Gerald T
GW0TQM/P Manod Mawr NW-035 Carl T
GW0VMW/P Tal y Fan NW-040 Rick T
2E0GYO Orton Alan T
G1INK/P Cross Fell NP-001 Steve T
M0COP/P Long Mynd Pete T
G7XYZ Wem Howard T
G3OKA West Kirkby John T
GW7AAV Connahs Quay Steve T
M1AVV/M near Black Combe Simon T

Bickerton Poacher

We returned to the car, and in turn returned to the Bickerton Poacher for an excellent carvery late Sunday lunch.  This establishment has recently changed hands and been refurbished.  The food was of exceptional quality, and I would recommend activating Raw Head G/SP-016 on a Sunday in order to avail oneself of the carvery.  There was also Theakston Old Peculiar on draught. An absolutely super day and unbelievable, improbable success.  Thanks to James M0ZZO and Myke G6DDQ for organising it, all the Essex contingent for a mammoth effort, and Keith for saving it! Perhaps the most valued single activator point ever earned.  It will no doubt be repeated in other SOTA Regions (CE and GD highly viable, NW not so!), but it was nice that it was done first in the SOTA area of greatest activity (not substantiated, just conjecture) and where most of us live (refer to previous parentheses).