Shining Tor 2013

Edward's birthday again. Blimey, it only seems a year since the last one... Nonetheless, Ed 2E0NSR requested the same birthday activities from Jimmy M0HGY and myself M1EYP as last year - join him on an activation of Shining Tor G/SP-004 and later join him and his family for a curry at the Weston Balti Raj. We were delighted to cooperate.

Jimmy & Ed working together on the HF antenna

A not-too-early start on Sunday 6th January 2013 meant that we picked up Edward at around 1045, then drove up the lanes to the parking spot close to the Cat & Fiddle on the A537. Edward, Jimmy, Liam and myself all set off on the familiar walk to the summit in very low visibility - but at least it stayed dry. The wind direction across the summit was in the same direction as the main wall, so I directed the lads into the next summit north, where finding shelter would be so much easier. I set up the 80m dipole, Ed set up his 20/15/10m trap dipole while Jimmy did the SOTA Beam.

Ed 2E0NSR/P had a good time on 20m SSB, and got stateside a couple of times. Jimmy M0HGY/P made plenty on 2m FM as usual, and included two S2S QSOs. On 80m CW, I worked using the YouKits HB-1B transceiver, which was enjoyable. However, I made more QSOs when I reverted to the FT-817 and did 80m SSB! We then all participated in a little rotation. Jimmy M0HGY took over on the FT-817 + 80m SSB station, Ed 2E0NSR took his own FT-817 and connected it to the SOTA Beam for some 2m FM, while I coupled the HB-1B to Ed's 20m dipole. This brought me a steady run of contacts, including two into the USA, all with decent incoming reports, and all on the HB-1B's internal lithium batteries.

The only minor irritation was the apparent lack of full break-in, with a long delay time. I can set the FT-817 to near-full break-in, but the switching makes such a racket that a longer delay is preferable overall! I have found one other report on the internet of the HB-1B not appearing to have the full break-in anticipated, but otherwise I cannot find many discussions about this aspect. I finished with 30 QSOs from Shining Tor, which is exactly the same number as Jimmy made. Liam and I descended once I had finished packing up, and sometime later Jimmy and Edward followed. From my car, we all worked Karen 2W0XYL/P on Penycloddiau GW/NW-054. BBC Radio 5 Live reported that Macclesfield Town had been drawn at home in the 4th round of the FA Cup, facing either Wigan Athletic or AFC Bournemouth.

We dropped Ed off and went home for a wash and change, before meeting back up again at the Weston Balti Raj for a birthday nosh. Also in attendance were more of Ed and Jimmy's old school mates, and Ed's mum and dad, Emily 2E1AEQ and Ray G0DMV. Happy 20th birthday Edward!

G4SSH	80m	CW	T
G4OOE	80m	CW	T
G3RMD	80m	CW	T
M0BKV	80m	CW	T
G4FGJ	80m	CW	T
G6DTN	80m	CW	T
M0GIA	80m	CW	T
M6AIF	2m	FM	J
G0HRT	2m	FM	J
M6RGF/M	2m	FM	J
GI4ONL	80m	SSB	T
M1EYO/M	2m	FM	J
G8WPL	2m	FM	J
M3XIE	80m	SSB	T
G3RMD	80m	SSB	T
G4ZRP	2m	FM	J
G0RQL	80m	SSB	T
2W0JYN	2m	FM	J
G8ADD	80m	SSB	T
2E0LKC	2m	FM	J
2E0LMD	2m	FM	J
2W0XYL/P on Tal y Fan NW-040	2m	FM	J
2E0YYY/P on Stiperstones WB-003	2m	FM	J
G6ODU	2m	FM	J
M0MOL	2m	FM	J
M0JZH	2m	FM	J
M3VUO	2m	FM	J
G1HIP	2m	FM	J
M0TCL/P	2m	FM	J
2E0EJF	2m	FM	J
G0MKW/M	2m	FM	J
GM4WHA	80m	SSB	T
G0VWP	80m	SSB	T
G0CVL	80m	SSB	T
M6IPD/M	2m	FM	J
G4FPJ	2m	FM	J
G0RXA	2m	FM	J
2E0NVJ	2m	FM	J
G6WRW	80m	SSB	T
GW4ZPL	80m	SSB	T
MW6GWR	80m	SSB	T
M6WSB	80m	SSB	J
MW3PZO	80m	SSB	J
MW6GWR	80m	SSB	J
M3ZCB	80m	SSB	J
GM7UAU	80m	SSB	J
G0VWP	80m	SSB	J
M1MAJ	80m	SSB	J
OE8SPW	20m	CW	T
CT1BQH	20m	CW	T
OM3AA	20m	CW	T
OE6WIG	20m	CW	T
N1EU	20m	CW	T
OM1AX	20m	CW	T
OM7DX	20m	CW	T
OM5AA	20m	CW	T
N3GJ	20m	CW	T
SP9ODY	20m	CW	T
HA5TI	20m	CW	T

Tuesday 22nd January 2013 on Shining Tor G/SP-004: This was a joint activation with Richard G3CWI, and we parked in the lay-by opposite the Cat & Fiddle, what with the normal parking spot being covered in far too much snow.

No need for pegs today! Summit of Shining Tor

The going for this one was slow. The snow wasn't wet, but it was deep, and the brisk winds over the moor were causing slight drifting. Once at the summit, Richard went through the gate and along the wall somewhat to set up for 20m CW. I opted for a nice sheltered spot made by hollowing out a big bank of snow behind the wall corner, before setting up for 30m CW.

Tom M1EYP/P Operating position on summit

It was a good activation with 25 QSOs, and the HB1B transceiver, modded for full break-in, was a joy to use. I could hear any station that repeatedly called while I and others were in QSO and make a mental note!

Richard G3CWI HB1B on its first SOTA outing

I seemed to be able to get moving a bit quicker on the descent - perhaps drawn to the appeal of the hostelry by which I was parked. And indeed, in we went for some light refreshments before driving back to Macc.

DL1FU	30m	CW
DF5WA	30m	CW
S52CU	30m	CW
OM7PY	30m	CW
HB9CKV	30m	CW
CT1DRB	30m	CW
EA2PI	30m	CW
DL2AAV	30m	CW
EA5YI	30m	CW
IV3RJH	30m	CW
DL2EF	30m	CW
OZ4RT	30m	CW
S58MU	30m	CW
I5FLN	30m	CW
DL3JON	30m	CW
HA1KED	30m	CW
DL1DVE	30m	CW
DL3HXX	30m	CW
UR5UEY	30m	CW
DL2HWI	30m	CW
UT2HC	30m	CW
YL2EC	30m	CW
F8FKK	30m	CW
SM6YFF	30m	CW
F5UKL	30m	CW

On Friday 8th March 2013, I had the idea to demonstrate, from Jimmy M0HGY's benefit, what could be achieved with an omnidirectional antenna on 2m, as opposed to a beam. I took the SOTAbeams MFD, used recently to good effect on Maesglase GW/NW-029, up for a stroll to the summit of Shining Tor. The only thing was, it was a very windy day. Getting shelter for myself was easy behind the dry stone wall that runs right over the highest part of the hill, but the MFD, slotted over the top of a SOTA Pole, guyed upright by a SOTAbeams guying kit, would be subject to the wind.

Everything went pretty much as well as could be expected, and I made 74 contacts, all on 2m FM, using the FT-817 with the MFD. And the beauty of it was that at no time did I need to adjust or rotate the antenna - the perfect solution for "having it easy" on 2m FM! After things started to get rather quiet, I packed up, descended, and drove across to The Cloud G/SP-015 to repeat the same working conditions there.

M6RGF	2m	FM
M0XRS/M	2m	FM
2E0JKR/M	2m	FM
M0YKB	2m	FM
M3UGN	2m	FM
G0WGL	2m	FM
M0ZMF	2m	FM
G3XQE	2m	FM
M6CPC	2m	FM
2E0LKC	2m	FM
2E0LMD	2m	FM
G6LUZ	2m	FM
G8IYE	2m	FM
G4RRM	2m	FM
MW0UPH/M	2m	FM
M0HIQ/M	2m	FM
2W1RSS/M	2m	FM
M0JVW/M	2m	FM
G4XQB	2m	FM
M0LGL/M	2m	FM
G0WBT	2m	FM
M6CIG	2m	FM
M0MTJ/M	2m	FM
M6BLV	2m	FM
G4RSW/M	2m	FM
G8MIA	2m	FM
2E1GHW	2m	FM
G7LAS/M	2m	FM
G6ODU	2m	FM
G1KDU	2m	FM
2E0NVJ	2m	FM
G4BLH	2m	FM
M3RDZ	2m	FM
M0AAM	2m	FM
M6IPD/M	2m	FM
2E0IZP/M	2m	FM
G0MNY	2m	FM
M0NEX/M	2m	FM
2E0GDA/M	2m	FM
M0AZE	2m	FM
2E0TXT	2m	FM
2E0ZAD	2m	FM
G7ODJ	2m	FM
G1DVA	2m	FM
G4ZRP	2m	FM
G7OHA/M	2m	FM
G1FOA/M	2m	FM
G3YMU	2m	FM
G3SMT	2m	FM
GW4MVA	2m	FM
M3XIE	2m	FM
G6LKB	2m	FM
G4UXH	2m	FM
M0MDY	2m	FM
G0JWD	2m	FM
GW4OOE/P on Moel y Gamelin NW-042	2m	FM
MW6PYG/P on Moel y Gamelin NW-042	2m	FM
G4VSJ	2m	FM
G0MKW/M	2m	FM
G4VPX/M	2m	FM
M0NTC	2m	FM
M3OCA	2m	FM
G7PFY/M	2m	FM
G0HCT	2m	FM
G0CPJ	2m	FM
G1GRN	2m	FM
M0XRM	2m	FM
M1NTO	2m	FM
GW4GJN	2m	FM
M6CIM	2m	FM
M1HLL	2m	FM
2E0XYL	2m	FM
G0ASP	2m	FM
M0NYP/M	2m	FM

On Thursday 14th March 2013, I got the urge to try out the 10m band, and to do so from Shining Tor. I did not get the urge to try any alternative parking spots or ascent routes, so I won't bother to describe them here. Giving consideration to the direction of some very icy wind, I elected to sit by the wooden bench, but not on it, so that the wall would completely shelter me. The MM10 groundplane antenna was set up just in front of me, and I used the Yaesu FT-817.

The intention, and indeed alert, was to try CW, SSB and FM on the 10m band, but time got the better of me in the end, so it was just the eight QSOs on 10m CW. The pick of the bunch was undoubtedly VA2SG.

G3KAF	10m	CW
M6MPC	10m	CW
US3IP	10m	CW
VA2SG	10m	CW
UA3SX	10m	CW
UX3MF	10m	CW
UR1MM	10m	CW
US7IZ	10m	CW

But to Wednesday 1st May 2013, and a lovely day it was. Mild and sunny, cold in the breeze but layer-removing conditions when sheltered. This time I took the PSK experiment to Shining Tor G/SP-004. I also fancied trying 10m - but then I cringed at the likely effect of sitting right next to the base of the pole with the PSK31 set-up. The feed point of this antenna is much higher off the ground than on the 20m GP, so the end of the coax is well within and right underneath the radials. Good job I thought of this before setting off walking. I had an idea, and I took the Aircell 7 extension feeder cable I use on VHF contest nights. This enabled me to set up the 10m GP antenna in Cheshire, with the feeder extension running along the grass and over the wall into Derbyshire, where I was sitting and operating, in a sheltered spot. This arrangement worked very well, and I soon had everything set up to provide medium to high power (relative to a 5 watt maximum!), very low VSWR and no ALC indication.

Upon arrival at the summit I had already made two QSOs on the 2m FM handie, including S2S with Dave G0EVV/P on Great Gable G/LD-005. Onto 10m PSK31 then, and five good solid contacts with no major difficulties, and concluding with a PSK31 ragchew with my good friend from the Tall Trees Contest Group, Jim G3VDB. The new Bluetooth keyboard came into its own here, allowing my to QSO at similar speeds as I would at home in a data QSO. The only issue was that there appeared to be a fairly restrictive character limit in the DroidPSK app on individual overs when free typing, although long stored macros were not a problem. It was "fun" typing an abbreviated explanation to Jim G3VDB about the delay - because my mast had collapsed!

In all, I contacted 2 G stations, 2 GW stations plus an Italian on PSK31. Also appearing on the waterfall were stations from PY and LU, but I didn't get them. A Brazilian station did answer my call on 10m PSK31, but unfortunately the exchange was not completed and I did not log it. I was determined to use four different modes on the 10m band in this activation, and was basically going in a sort of "hardest-to-easiest" order - or so I assumed. Next was 29MHz FM where I couldn't raise any of the Spanish or Eastern European DX, but a self-spot brought in Bob G6ODU. And then a surprise S2S, with Mickey 2E0YYY/P over on Gun G/SP-013. Not a spectacular contact by any stretch of the imagination, but quite possibly my first ever 10m FM S2S, so noteworthy for that at least.

Next on the agenda was 10m SSB. Here the dominance of G stations (in my log) was almost total, save for a tricky contact with 4X6ZM at the end of the period. The DX was definitely out there - I heard very strong signals from PY, LU, CP, GD, 6V, 5R, HZ, 9K, CX and 7Q (7Q7FOC - presumably our very own SOTA President and Founder knows something about this DXpedition?) - but failed to work any of it. But the Israel contact was nice, and even nicer were the S2S with Caroline M3ZCB/P and Martyn M1MAJ/P on Bardon Hill G/CE-004. An interesting one was when I heard an M3 station go back to a DX station that hadn't heard me. I earwigged their QSO as they shared their working conditions. The M3 station described how his transceiver was "running 50 to 60 watts to a...". I made a note of his callsign. I may look him up on QRZ and drop him a line.

And finally for the easy bit, knock off a batch of QSOs on 10m CW. Except that, unbelievably, this turned out to be the hardest mode of the four. I self-spotted, I called CQ for ages, I mentioned SOTA and WFF, I even said 'PSE', but nothing, zilch, nul-pwa. After what seemed like an eternity, a reply. From Mike M6MPC up in Glossop. Loads more calling afterwards, and loads more silence! Time was getting on, even though I was thoroughly enjoying my sunny afternoon on Shining Tor. After packing away, I unleashed the VX7R for another go on 2m FM, and added nine QSOs to the logbook. And that was that. 26 QSOs in just over four extremely leisurely hours, including four S2S. The return walk was very pleasant, and I had enjoyed myself. Again.

G0EVV/P on Great Gable LD-005	2m	FM
2E0XYL	2m	FM
IZ3XNJ	10m	PSK31
G6LUZ	10m	PSK31
MW0RSS	10m	PSK31
MW1CFN	10m	PSK31
G3VDB	10m	PSK31
G6ODU	10m	FM
2E0YYY/P on Gun SP-013	10m	FM
M3RYL	10m	SSB
M0MDA	10m	SSB
M3ZCB/P on Bardon Hill CE-004	10m	SSB
M1MAJ/P on Bardon Hill CE-004	10m	SSB
M3TRC	10m	SSB
M3XIE	10m	SSB
4X6ZM	10m	SSB
M6MBC	10m	CW
G7RYN	2m	FM
2E0RNI	2m	FM
2W0JYN	2m	FM
M6RGF	2m	FM
2E1GDA	2m	FM
M3OUA	2m	FM
2E0LKC	2m	FM
M1NTO/M	2m	FM
2E0LMD	2m	FM

Friday 3rd May 2013
Still off work, awaiting brain surgery, which I anticipate will be in the next few weeks now. Marianne didn't have a shift, and Liam was not at school as it was an INSET day. Only Jimmy was out of the house this morning, at his full-time job in Wilmslow. The three of us were originally going to walk down the Bollin Valley from Tytherington to Prestbury and back, but at the last minute, Marianne said that she fancied walking up Shining Tor instead. No protests from me of course, but no loading of Marianne's car with rucksack, FT-817, dipoles and poles. No, I simply put a handheld and logbook into my coat pocket - I'm not daft!

We parked at the usual start point just short of the Cat & Fiddle pub on the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton road. Marianne and Liam were both walking briskly and I had a job to keep up with them. The day was mild and dry, but there was plenty of cloud cover and considerable wind across the summit. Liam sat on the bench and unleashed his trusty Nintendo 3DS console, while Marianne walked beyond the trig point to the edge of the summit plateau to sit by the rocks. I made many CQ calls on S20 without raising a response, and it was beginning to look like a failed activation! However, between 1131 and 1138z I managed five QSOs on 2m FM, the last one coinciding with when Marianne said she wanted to walk back down.

After passing through the walkers gate by the large gate about halfway along the return route, I diverted right and took the direct path down to the Peak View Farm Tea Rooms. Marianne, Liam and I had lunch here before driving back to Macclesfield.

M6ARL	2m	FM
M6LKM	2m	FM
M1AIU	2m	FM
2W0JYN	2m	FM
G0OFY/M	2m	FM

Well I am quickly getting better and stronger day by day, and while the headaches remain, they are but a shadow of their former selves. So this flexibility with my time is heading for a rather abrupt end sometime soon! However, that flexibilty was very useful on Monday 3rd June 2013. For that was the day before Liam's GCSE English examination, and he had preparation to do. Marianne cleaned the dining room table, carefully placed two chairs by it and indicated that she expected Liam and I to sit there all day doing revision. A better plan was needed (a) to ensure Liam remained onside and cooperative with his study, and (b) to ensure I didn't lose the will to live.

No way was this going to work cooped up in the house all day with the weather so beautiful outside. I grabbed the June 2012 past paper that school had sent home and Liam had done some work on, and printed out the November 2012 paper from the internet. I also slipped my logbook and Liam's Nintendo 3DS into my pocket while nobody was looking... We drove up into this bright green hills, resplendent as they bathed in warm sunshine. I checked out a couple of possible "revision venues" - the Robin Hood Inn and Common Barn Farm tearoom in Rainow. However, both were closed. As was the Peak View Farm Kitchen Tearoom on the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton road (or as Mickey 2E0YYY calls it on air, the Maxton to Bucclesfield road - sorry Mickey, I had forgotten but G3CWI reminded me the other day...).

English GCSE revision at the Cat & Fiddle Ploughman's lunch at the Cat & Fiddle GCSE English revision day

Thankfully the Cat & Fiddle was open, and as it turned out, proved an excellent base for a GCSE study day. We grabbed a big table with plenty of room and set out the examination scripts we would be working with. But in order to get things off to an acceptable start, we first purchased a bag each of chilli crisps and a drink - J2O for Liam and a hot Bovril for me. Great! My learning strategy was proving to be a masterstroke. Liam spent the next 45 minutes discussing routines for structuring his written responses to the various questions and writing a couple of essays. But it was soon time for another break, which happily coincided with the serving of two large ploughman's lunches. Refuelled, we moved onto another essay and the 'writing to persuade' section.

Liam - and me - were flagging, but there remained a couple of pages out of the 16 we needed to look at. Cue another J20, a cake each from the bar, and a chocolate Old Tom ale for me. All the work was done, Liam was as prepared as he was ever going to be. He had worked very hard for a number of hours and I judged that any more could be detrimental to his chances of success the following day. It was nearly 2pm, so we could pat ourselves on the back for an excellent morning's work. Perhaps I need to change subject when I return? (Joke - working on the maths GCSE next week will be hugely more palatable for both of us!). As we drove a few yards down the road, Liam remarked "Mickey's car is still there". Liam never forgets a car! I had worked Mike 2E0YYY several hours earlier before leaving home. Within seconds, our car was there as well. Shining Tor it was for the next round of the SOTA 12m Challenge.

Liam was in a very good mood (who wouldn't be after being bribed with edible treats all day?) and strode out ahead, leading the walk to the summit of Shining Tor G/SP-004. At the summit, there was Mike 2E0YYY/P, alternating between 2m on his 5/8 over 5/8 colinear and HF. He was on 12m at the time (in between grumbling about the poor HF conditions of the day), so I went and perched by the small cliffs just beyond the trig point and fired up the VX7R. The sun was beating down and the view across to Shutlingsloe and Macclesfield Forest was stunning. Six QSOs were made on 2m FM, by which time Mickey advised he was packing away. Cue me to erect the 12m groundplane.

Mickey hung around for a while after packing his own stuff away to take at look at my 12m activities. Sadly, there was little of note to display as the band was as dead as Mickey had promised. Starting on 24.921MHz PSK31, I worked Steve G6LUZ and Dave M3XIE - both of whom I had already worked on 2m FM! And they were both back for a third time when I called on 24.950MHz SSB, either side of Mick M0MDA. Onto 24.897MHz CW, just two QSOs were added. Frank G3RMD in Cheltenham became, remarkably, my best DX so far of the activation when he was the first to respond on CW. But then, finally, something from a bit further as OM3CHR called and was worked.

I received many calls on various modes from Manuel EA2DT, but it seemed he couldn't hear me any of the many times I went back to him. The total number of QSOs for the activation that comprised four band-mode combinations was a pitiful 13! As I came to pack away the antenna, I could not find the black wire winder anywhere. Coat pockets and all areas of the rucksack as well as the ground and under the bench were checked, double-checked and triple-checked. But nothing, it was missing. I wondered if Mike had scooped it up in has packaway process? Liam and I strolled back down the path to the car. He was well ahead throughout, I couldn't keep with him. Walking with Liam is just like walking with Jimmy these days... Thanks to all callers.

M6NAE	2m	FM
G0SJS	2m	FM
M3XIE	2m	FM
2W0JYN	2m	FM
G6LUZ	2m	FM
M6SRZ/M	2m	FM
G6LUZ	12m	FM
M3XIE	12m	FM
G6LUZ	12m	FM
M0MDA	12m	FM
M3XIE	12m	FM
G3RMD	12m	CW
OM3CHR	12m	CW

An extra activation was programmed into the schedule for Tuesday 4th June 2013, so I could ascend Shining Tor G/SP-004 and have another look for the black kite winder I lost up there the previous afternoon. It was another peach of a day and it was a good excuse for another lovely walk. Mickey 2E0YYY/P was up there completing his set up as I arrived. He reported that he hadn't seen it, but did keep having a look around for it, much to my later embarrassment.

But first I found that my phone was dead, which surprised me as I thought it had been on charge. A phone is a useful tool for spotting oneself and looking at spots of other activations. It is a vital tool if intending doing a datamode activation! Fortunately, I had to be home by noon, so the time-consuming nature of datamode SOTAing meant that PSK was never really on the cards anyway. Mickey lent me his bit of kit that would allow me to charge my phone from the SLAB while I was setting up the antenna, but sadly it didn't work. It worked on Mickey's phone but not mine. Nonetheless, Mickey advised a couple of local amateurs that I was calling on 24.940MHz SSB, so I did at least add two credits to my 12m Challenge score. No-one came back on 12m CW.

On 2m FM, I worked a couple of couples. Pete 2E0LKC and Anne 2E0LMD in Heald Green were first in the logbook, while last were Steve M0VFR/P and Baz M6ZBT/P for S2S over to The Cloud G/SP-015. Meanwhile, the black wire winder was discovered in my coat pocket in my rucksack. I definitely checked there the previous afternoon, but there you go. Cue the traditional North-East folk song "Geordie's Lost His Penga". The drive back was punctuated with a brief stop in the lay-by just before Walker Barn, allowing me to work Dave G4ASA/P who was on Pen-y-ghent G/NP-010.

2E0LKC	2m	FM
2E0LMD	2m	FM
G4DZK	12m	SSB
G3VBA	12m	SSB
M0VFR/P on The Cloud SP-015	2m	FM
M6ZBT/P on The Cloud SP-015	2m	FM

'Tis good this 12m Challenge thing in't it? I'm certainly enjoying myself, and even though Jimmy M0HGY declared he had no interest in taking part, even he couldn't resist a nibble on the gloriously golden afternoon of Thursday 6th June 2013. The day started with a 'phone call from the Union man who advised that due to limited availability of occupational health consultations and the time needed for a welfare review meeting and the subsequent setting up of a phased reintroduction to work duties, it would be unlikely I could be back at work as early as I had expressed I wished - by the end of June. So I'll just have to wait and see what the OH and HR teams come up with for that, but I hope it isn't too much longer.

Liam has nearly finished school now, and all that remains is two mathematics GCSE papers due the week commencing 10th June. Guess who's helping him prepare for those? Jimmy took a day of leave from his job as well, so all three of us went to the Egerton Arms at Chelford for a lunch meeting with the Tall Trees Contest Group. This was very enjoyable, and the food is always top notch at this place. Stepping back outside into the car park, I was struck by the heatwave taking place. My thoughts reverted to the 12m Challenge, and good old Cloud G/SP-015. However, after a brief discussion with Jimmy, we switched plans to Shining Tor G/SP-004. First we returned home to get a bit of charge into my phone, and to also recharge the bladders in our rucksacks. Plenty of water was going to be needed if we were going to be out in that sun.

The standard route was taken to the summit, with Jimmy stretching out ahead of Liam, and Liam stretching out ahead of me. We were all in shirt sleeves, although being experienced walkers that we are, all carried jumpers and coats in our rucksacks. At the summit Jimmy set up his current favourite configuration, a SOTAbeams MFD vertically, on top of the two support poles that come with it. Then the whole assembly is slotted over a 7m SOTA pole that itself is held upright by a guying kit. This essentially gives a vertical 2m dipole that is centred around 5.5m off the ground, and is really effective for wide-reaching omnidirectional coverage.

Halfway along the wall towards the next field north, I found a sheltered spot by the wall and set up the 12m groundplane antenna. Well, tried to anyway. The thing kept falling down. Sometimes it was the pole collapsing within itself. But also, to my horror, I found that the antenna had broken and come apart at the feed point. Now I think I mentioned this was starting to get weak and require attention, but I am a lazy so-and-so and tend to only sort things out once they have become properly broken. But I did always intend replacing the too-thin RG174 feeder on this antenna with RG58 for the SOTA 12m Challenge anyway, so that objective will now get realised. In the meantime though, here was I on a summit without an antenna. I didn't want to spoil Jimmy's fun by sharing his 2m station - he was already motoring along with over 20 QSOs made. So I started biting and poking at the wires involved to get at some more coax braid, some more centre, and some more of the quarterwave of wire that was the vertical driven element of the antenna. At least the radials were OK to work with as they were. I was surprised at how quickly I managed to cobble the antenna back together and make it work!

At last I was about to start - Jimmy had made over 30 contacts by this stage! Liam was sat on "Mickey's Bench" playing on his Nintendo 3DS, as all readers to SOTAwatch forum threads will have guessed. I started with that mode that makes Mickey 2E0YYY roll his eyes when mentioned, and causes Richard G3CWI to feel rather nauseous - PSK31. But I still rather like it. It really is something different, and I am chuffed to have researched and worked away at this little concept until I made it work, all good fun. PSK31 did not look like it was going to deliver the goods though. Just Steve G6LUZ was worked before I switched over to SSB on what looked worryingly like a completely dead 12m band. SSB brought a relative flurry of activity, all G chasers. This was nice in that it was all friends and people who were actively SOTA chasing, but also indicative that the sky was not playing.

And then just like has been happening recently, I tuned across the loudest signal on the band - LU8EEM on 24.945MHz SSB. Ben was worked with ease and two-way 59 reports. I called over to Jimmy to see if he wanted to snag this one. He was straight over as it was a potential all-time new DXCC for him, and also, he told me, his all-time ODX. (And like it or not, he will now enter the 12m Challenge!). Jimmy made the contacts, and I went to start calling CQ on CW. CW looked to be shaping up much the same way as SSB with three more well-known G chasers, but then I found a good signal from 4J20RO (Russian Cultural Centre in Azerbaijan), working split from 24.893MHz CW. He was calling "UP" but not specifying how many, and I couldn't not find any of his callers that were working him. So I guessed at a 1kHz split and called on 24.894MHz CW. I was astonished when he pulled me in first call!

But that was it on CW on still a very quiet band even though one or two nuggets were starting to appear. I went back to PSK31 operation using my Samsung Galaxy Siii Mini phone running the DroidPSK app, and the Wolphi-Link interface in between the phone and FT-817. I also added the ferrite beads from my coat pocket to strategically selected points of the cables. First to reply was GB100RXY, celebrating 100 years of amateur radio in Barrow-in-Furness. This was followed by UX1BZ, Carolyn G6WRW, G4TJC and ER3MM from Moldova, so still all quite interesting. A check on the SOTAwatch Spots revealed Richard G3CWI/P on Gun G/SP-013, on 24.902MHz CW. I went there, but heard only silence. A tune up the band found that he had just QSYd up to 24.970MHz SSB, so we made the S2S contact there, as well as a bit of a ragchew. Back on CW, I worked the strong San Marino station T77C on 24.897MHz and then Richard G3CWI/P again, this time on 24.9025MHz CW.

Jimmy had now finished all his activating, having exhausted all the charge in both his own and his father's handhelds. My 12m antenna collapsed again, and this time I didn't have the will to try and hand-fix the wires again at the weak and battered feedpoint. So I packed away the aerial and shifted the 817 and SLAB over to Jimmy's MFD antenna. Jimmy advised that Jake 2E0SEY and Kevin M6KRV were on their way to the summit of Shining Tor having earlier been up The Cloud, and so we chose to hang around for a while. In the meantime, I worked using the 817 on just 0.5 watts (the SLAB was getting flat!) on 2m FM using Jimmy's antenna. Nine stations were added to the log, including Jake 2E0SEY/M who was on his way up!

Liam, Kev M6KRV, Jake 2E0SEY & Jimmy M0HGY Kev M6KRV & Jake 2E0SEY

We enjoyed meeting Jake and Kevin. I hung around as Jake commenced his activation using an FT-857 and 3-el SOTA Beam. Jake and Kevin, particular Kevin were getting cold. The setting sun had taken with it all the heat of the day and the summit wall was providing only meagre shelter from the increasingly hostile easterly wind. What is more, Jake and Kevin had walked up in shirt sleeves in that heatwave of an afternoon, and did not have coats or jumpers with them! And right on cue, some of the callers got chatty with Jake! It always makes me grin when I hear "Anyway, I won't hold it long" immediately followed by the story of how they got involved in amateur radio, what they are having for tea tonight and a detailed account of their latest hemeroid treatment at the hospital, something best kept for 80m SSB I always feel.

It did look like Jake was going to hog the microphone after his four contacts despite the increasing suffering of his mate Kevin who was freezing! I have never seen a guy look more jealous as Kevin did at Jimmy, who was now in fleece, coat, fleece hat and padded gloves! I gave Jimmy the car keys, and he and Liam set off on the descent. I chose to hang around and watch the completion of Kevin's first ever SOTA activation (he had not operated when he visited The Cloud earlier in the day).

Jake was about to hand the microphone to Kevin, but suddenly Graeme 2E0WKR/P called in for a S2S from Grayrigg Forest G/LD-038. Jake yanked the mike back towards himself to grab the S2S contact. Kevin then also did likewise for his debut SOTA activator QSO, and so did I for not my debut SOTA activator QSO. But definitely my debut Shining Tor to Grayrigg Forest S2S QSO. It did not take much longer for Kevin to get the other three QSOs he required to qualify the summit and earn his first two SOTA activator points. Jake and Kevin hurriedly packed their gear away so they could get walking. Jake didn't seem too ruffled by the biting cold that now engulfed the Peak District, but Kev was suffering. We had an enjoyable natter on the way down, and the descent went by like a flash.

Back at the car, Jimmy reported that Liam had descended much faster than him and got to the car well ahead of him. "I just couldn't keep up with him Dad" he remarked. Who would have thought such a thing a few years ago?! It had ended up being a late evening, and it was around 10.30pm BST when we arrived back at home. Jimmy had made 55 QSOs - 54 on 2m FM and one on 12m SSB. I had made 28 QSOs - 6 on 12m PSK31, 6 on 12m SSB, 6 on 12m CW and 10 on 2m FM. Great summer fun - thanks to all callers. And Jimmy thrashing my QSO total - and Liam thrashing Jimmy back to the car. "The clock is going backwards today", to quote one of Jimmy's memorable observations about unusual events from when he was a five year old!

Lots of highlights - another batch of 12m QSOs for the challenge, some more success with PSK31, interesting DXCCs in the form of LU, 4J, ER and T7 and meeting some SOTA "newbies". But the biggest highlight of the activation for me was being called on CW by Carolyn G6WRW. Congratulations Carolyn - was this your first CW SOTA chase? A CW activation just around the corner? Impressively, Carolyn worked me on all three modes of my 12m activation - CW, SSB and PSK31. I was well chuffed that you did Carolyn - many thanks.

2E0LKC	2m	FM	J
2E0LMD	2m	FM	J
M0PLR/M	2m	FM	J
2E0XYL	2m	FM	T, J
G0MZZ	2m	FM	J
G4ZRP	2m	FM	J
M6BLV	2m	FM	J
G6ODU	2m	FM	J
G6LUZ	2m	FM	J
2E0FAM	2m	FM	J
G0WGL	2m	FM	J
M0JZH/M	2m	FM	J
M3XIE	2m	FM	J
M6ARL	2m	FM	J
2E0NSR/M	2m	FM	J
MW0UPH/M	2m	FM	J
2W0JYN	2m	FM	J
2E0SEY/P on The Cloud SP-015	2m	FM	J
M6RGF	2m	FM	T, J
MW3UDA	2m	FM	J
G6LUZ	12m	PSK31	T
GW0AGZ	2m	FM	J
G4BLH/M	2m	FM	J
G6LUZ	12m	SSB	T
M3XIE	12m	SSB	T
G4ONG	2m	FM	J
M6SLE	2m	FM	J
G6ODU	12m	SSB	T
G0BUB	2m	FM	J
G6WRW	12m	SSB	T
M6NHK/M	2m	FM	J
M6CQC	2m	FM	J
M0MTJ	2m	FM	J
2E0FRO	2m	FM	J
MW6NTG	2m	FM	J
LU8EEM	12m	SSB	T
LU8EEM	12m	SSB	J
M6CQE/M	2m	FM	J
M0PPE	2m	FM	J
G3RMD	12m	CW	T
G0VOF	12m	CW	T
GX4MWC	2m	FM	J
G6WRW	12m	CW	T
M6CQH	2m	FM	J
M6SPZ	2m	FM	J
4J20RO	12m	CW	T
M6CXH	2m	FM	J
GB100RXY	12m	PSK31	T
2E0SEY/M	2m	FM	T, J
UX1BZ	12m	PSK31	T
G4UKP	2m	FM	J
G6WRW	12m	PSK31	T
G0DOU	2m	FM	J
G4TJC	12m	PSK31	T
M3VXT/M	2m	FM	J
G8RDO	2m	FM	J
2E0GLE	2m	FM	J
MW0HCC	2m	FM	J
G7KPO/M	2m	FM	J
ER3MM	12m	PSK31	T
M6MOK	2m	FM	J
G4LWY	2m	FM	J
G3CWI/P on Gun SP-013	12m	SSB	T
2E0NLD	2m	FM	J
M6AIF	2m	FM	J
G0SLR	2m	FM	J
M3OUA	2m	FM	J
2E0WKR/P on Grayrigg Forest LD-038	2m	FM	T, J
M0XCT	2m	FM	J
M0SCU	2m	FM	J
G7JMZ/M	2m	FM	J
2E0BMO	2m	FM	J
T77C	12m	CW	T
G3CWI/P on Gun SP-013	12m	CW	T
GX4MWC	2m	FM	T
M3GHI	2m	FM	T
M6BLV	2m	FM	T
M6CQH	2m	FM	T
M6AIF	2m	FM	T
M0KDM	2m	FM	T

The morning of Saturday 15th June 2013 came along, and I had overslept. In doing so, I had missed incoming calls from Martin DF3MC on my mobile. I hurried called Martin back and was relieved to learn that they had overnighted in Bangor and had at least two more hours to drive before arriving in Cheshire. This proved to be even longer, as it turned out that Martin, and Stephan DM1LE had stopped off for an activation of Mynydd y Cwm GW/NW-076 on the way across. When I next received a call, the pair had already driven through Macclesfield and were climbing the Cat & Fiddle road. I suggested that they didn't wait for me at the parking place, but pressed on with their ascent, and I would meet them at the summit of Shining Tor G/SP-004.

About an hour later, I was making the final approach to a very windy summit. I could see two masts in the air, and a man that spotted me and started walking towards me. I offered my hand and introduced myself. He shook me firmly by the hand and made some comment about the British weather in a German accent. "Have you made many contacts?" I asked. "Yes, quite a few" he replied. "But I must continue to walk now" he said, and carried on downhill. And there at the summit with their radios were Martin M/DF3MC/P and Stephan M/DM1LE/P. Oops. The walker must have thought I was a right one!

Stefan DM1LE on the final approach to Shining Tor summit Martin DF3MC, Tom M1EYP, Stefan DM1LE

Shortly, the introductions took place with the real Stephan and Martin. They were both busy activating, so after a few photos, I continued along the stone path to the next field to use a wall as shelter from the wind. I set up the 12m groundplane antenna with difficulty, as the very top of the pole was slightly damaged making it tricky to anchor the top of the radiating element there. Several attempts resulted in the whole thing collapsing after a time! 24MHz conditions were not great all day. I generally worked only local stations in the North West of England, but there were occasional glimpses of DX. The first thing I heard on Shining Tor was a very loud 9M2 (West Malaysia) station calling CQ on 24.892MHz CW. But my replies were not heard. Neither were any of my CQs on CW or SSB. So sat by the wall I unclipped the VX7R from the rucksack and called CQ SOTA on 2m FM. This resulted in four easy contacts before I had another go on 12m CW. This time I got four replies - 3 in England (nice to have David M0YDH in the CW log again) and one from Israel - 4Z5NX.

Tom M1EYP on 12m CW Stefan and Tom commence the descent from Shining Tor summit

Martin reported that Stephan was having difficulty getting any contacts at all on HF SSB, so I offered my VX7R for an easy 2m FM qualification. I did not realise at this stage that Stephan was a 'purist' who was strictly HF only, and would rather miss out on the points than use VHF! Anyway, he did qualify in the end, and of course Martin had no difficulty whatsoever on CW. While Stephan was packing up, I made another call on 2m FM and worked five more local chasers. We wandered down the hill chatting. Martin and Stephan were using SatNav in their hire car, and I was interested to know which way it would take us to Gun G/SP-013, so I suggested they led and I would follow.

I would have probably gone back towards Macclesfield, down the fork to the Stanley Arms, then across through Macclesfield Forest and Wildboarclough to Wincle. The SatNav took us past the Cat & Fiddle, then sharp right onto A54, then left between Wildboarclough and Wincle to rejoin the route I would have used.

2E0LKC	2m	FM
M6XMN/A	2m	FM
2E0LMD	2m	FM
2W0JYN	2m	FM
M0TJU	12m	CW
4Z5NX	12m	CW
M0YDH	12m	CW
M6BLV	12m	CW
2E0NSR/M	2m	FM
M6RGF/M	2m	FM
G6LUZ	2m	FM
M6NAE	2m	FM
M3XIE	2m	FM

It would have been nice to be out basking in the sunshine and enjoying the summit-to-summit fest that engulfed the weekend. However, the British Lions match, a barbecue and the Wimbledon final dominated my schedule. Therefore it was nice to be out on Friday 5th July 2013. I set off in the car to meet Jack GM4COX - today in the guise of G4COX/P - up at the Cat & Fiddle. I called on S20 while driving through Macclesfield in case Jack was monitoring. He wasn't, but a SOTA activation came back to my call! It was Steve MV0VFR/P and Baz 2V0YVX/P on Shining Tor G/SP-004, the summit I was heading towards.

As the car climbed the Buxton road I called into Nick G4OOE/P's activation of Fountains Fell G/NP-017. Nick called me in, but then contact was lost as Shining Tor began to loom large above the road, blocking any feasible radio path up to the Yorkshire Dales. At the parking spot I waited in the car, as Jack was yet to arrive. He did so shortly afterwards. And then Marianne and Liam pulled in briefly - they were on their way to Buxton for lunch.

Halfway point on the ascent, and the start of the access land Tom MV1EYP

Ascents of SOTA summits while engaged in conversation. seem to fly by without even being noticed. Today was no exception, and soon we were meeting Steve and Baz who were about to pack up on the summit. Jack activated on 2m FM, while I set up the 12m groundplane. A large group of teenage girls came up to the summit. They were on day one of their Duke of Edinburgh Silver expedition, but were low on water. "How long does it take to get to the pub from here?" they asked. I told them "about 35 minutes", and pointed out the Cat & Fiddle to them in the view.

Signpost Baz 2V0YVX/P & Steve MV0VFR/P

Now 24MHz was not in great shape, but a self-spot for 24.921MHz PSK31 usually attracts one or two locals. And indeed Dave M3XIE came back to the call, although I was surprised that Steve G6LUZ did not. Over on CW, there were fleeting signs of life with occasional calls from Central Europe scattered between the dominance of G stations. The highlight of these was a S2S with Heinz HB9BCB/P on Beichle HB/LU-007. When the run on CW came to an end, I self-spotted for 24.950MHz SSB, and this time Steve G6LUZ did come back. He advised that he had been calling me on PSK31 earlier, but without managing to solicit a response from me. I told Steve that I had not seen any other signals on the waterfall, let alone his consistently strong signal from Audlem. Anyway, there were no other callers on SSB, so I went back to PSK31 and this time worked Steve no problem.

Tom MV1EYP/P Jack's 2m antenna, with my 12m GP in the background

I then lounged around in the sun for around 45 minutes, eventually getting round to packing away the gear. On the handheld, I made four QSOs on 2m FM, finishing with a third call from Steve G6LUZ, who mentioned that he never did manage to get through to Jack G4COX/P. I handed the HT to Jack so that Steve could have the contact. Steve described his earlier long wait on the frequency and advised Jack that he had made "3 QSOs in 35 minutes" hi! This was a very relaxed activation with just 16 QSOs made in nearly two hours on the summit. These comprised 2 on 12m PSK31, 1 on 12m SSB, 9 on 12m CW and 4 on 2m FM.

Jack and I enjoyed the return walk to the parking spot, from where we made the short drive up to the Cat & Fiddle car park. Here we sat outside - rare you can do this at the Cat even in midsummer! A couple of pints each of Dizzy Blonde were enjoyed, as we continued our enjoyable conversation covering work, education, family and SOTA.

After returning home, Marianne told me that Liam had earlier recognised "the man that came to buy a SOTA T-shirt" as they drove back past the parking spot. This would have been Steve M0VFR who visited my home QTH a few weeks ago, with Baz (then M6ZBT) and picked up a sweatshirt. I was astonished that Liam would recognise, while driving past, someone he had met once, briefly. So astonished, that I summoned Liam to the settee and quizzed him. "Yes, that was Steve who came to buy the sweatshirt" I said, "But how did you recognise him? You only met him once, for about five minutes". Liam's answer? "The black Seat car". And then it all made sense!

M3XIE	12m	PSK31
OK2EI	12m	CW
I2CZQ	12m	CW
GV4FPA	12m	CW
G4ZRP	12m	CW
MV6BLV	12m	CW
HB9BCB/P on Beichle LU-007	12m	CW
OM3CDP	12m	CW
OK5SA	12m	CW
G6LUZ	12m	SSB
G6LUZ	12m	PSK31
OM7OM	12m	CW
2V0LKC	2m	FM
2V0LMD	2m	FM
M3XIE	2m	FM
G6LUZ	2m	FM

Well that was bobbins. Walking up Shining Tor G/SP-004 at 11pm on Sunday 11th August 2013, I suddenly remembered that I was absolutely shattered after my walks up Manod Mawr GW/NW-035 and Allt Fawr GW/NW-025 the previous day! "Why am I doing this?" was the question buzzing around in my head. The bit between the path down to the Peak View Tea Rooms and the gate where you turn left and initially downhill for Shining Tor summit, seems a much longer section of walking in the dark!

As for meteors and fireballs, forget it. There were a few watery hazy stars occasionally visible through gaps in the cloud, but nothing else. Most of the sky was blanked out by cloud, the base of which was reflecting the orange glow from the lights of Macclesfield and Manchester. So skygazing for the Perseids was out. I erected the 6m delta loop next to "Mickey's Seat", but despite lengthy calling, self-spotting, and use of all three modes - CW, SSB and FM - I made not a single 50MHz contact. Tuning around the band, I didn't hear a single other station. I did hear a few beacons though:

50.020MHz    ED2YAH    IN91sr
50.042MHz    ?*
50.043MHz    GB3MCB   IO70oj
50.075MHz    ED7YAD    IM76qo
50.076MHz    CS5BLA    IM57px

*The transmission on 50.042MHz was strange, and appeared to be the following string repeated: TEAVSETETIAVAEETEVEEEETEENEET - This left me rather mystified! Anyway, I wasn't prepared to leave the summit empty handed, so I resorted to the VX7R handie to ensure that some activator QSOs took place. Three were made on 2m FM before midnight UTC.

G7RYN	2m	FM
2W0JYN	2m	FM
M3HGP	2m	FM

And then after more nothingness on 50MHz, three more 2m FM QSOs were made after 0000 UTC on Monday 12th August 2013. A heavy shower could be seen approaching from the west, and I deployed the bothy bag just before it hit me. It did not last long, and I was able to pack away and descend in the dry. I kept me eyes open for meteors on the walk back to the car, but gaps in the clouds were infrequent and didn't allow lengthy examination with the headtorch turned off anyway. I have tried to catch the Perseids several times in the last ten years. But I have never seen anything like the spectacular display seen from the Strangers Home camspite in Essex back in 2002.

2E0LKC	2m	FM
2E0LMD	2m	FM
G1KOD	2m	FM

More 12m Challenge activations for me on Sunday 29th December 2013. The Macclesfield & DARS (GX4MWS / GX1MWS) were planning a portable "activation" from a lay-by on the A537 Macclesfield to Buxton (Cat & Fiddle) road. This sounded daft to me and I had no intentions of joining in. I did share my concerns regarding nearby road noise, lack of space for antennas and possible unwanted police interest with the group!

No for me it would be a wander up Shining Tor G/SP-004. It was bitterly cold as I kitted up at the usual parking spot, but I was soon into a good stride and the route was reasonably sheltered from the prevailing wind. At the summit, I assessed that the most sheltered position would be in the small space between the end of the wooden bench and the dry stone wall corner. I erected the 12m groundplane nearby and squeezed myself into this little space.

I set off the Palm Cube in beacon mode and self-spotted on SOTAwatch. Meanwhile I poured the first cup from my flask of coffee. There was hardly time to take a sip, with LY2X coming back first call. Things soon slowed down, but it was mainly self-inflicted as I tried to get through to EN7JHF on UT/CR-001 for a S2S contact. This time we did make it through.

Matt VK2DAG called in with an "armchair copy" 579 signal for the best DX of the day, and another of the Ernst Krenkel commemoration stations - this time EM110RAEM - was worked. The Macclesfield club activity turned up on SSB, but already deliberations were taking place about the space - or lack of it - to erect one of the antennas! I was then taken somewhat by surprise with the SLAB going flat, and so the activation was curtailed. I did work Allan GW4VPX/P on Plynlimon GW/MW-001 using the VX7R handie for a S2S, then set off for the walk back to the car.

The final summary for the activation was 23 QSOs as follows:
12m CW: 13
12m SSB: 6
2m FM: 4

Back at home, I rustled up a seasonal brunch of bacon, black pudding, haggis, egg and beans for the lads and myself, but I was "in the mood" - so got myself out of the house again for another SOTA activation. So the second activation of Sunday 29th December 2013 was back to Ye Olde Faithefulle - The Cloud G/SP-015.

LY2X	12m	CW
US2LX	12m	CW
EN7JHF	12m	SSB
M0PNN	12m	CW
US0YA	12m	CW
RN3ZBB	12m	CW
VK2DAG	12m	CW
G3OCA	12m	CW
UT2HC	12m	CW
EM110RAEM	12m	CW
LZ2JB	12m	CW
UT5MB	12m	CW
UY1CI	12m	CW
M0TXX/M	2m	FM
M0GMG/M	2m	FM
M0PAI/M	2m	FM
G6ODU	12m	SSB
UA3RBM	12m	CW
M0TXX/P	12m	SSB
M0GMG/M	12m	SSB
GX1MWS/P	12m	SSB
M0PAI/P	12m	SSB
GW4VPX/P on Plynlimon-Pen Pumlumon Fawr GW/MW-001	2m	FM