The Cloud 2015 (1)

The bothy bag came in handy on Tuesday13th January 2015. I originally intended to return to Shining Tor G/SP-004, but the forecast wind and snow up there was way worse than the predictions for The Cloud G/SP-015. I was tired as well after a couple of poor nights of sleep, so I reverted to the more usual contest location.

It was 3 degrees Celcius indicated on my Acctim 60kHz (Anthorn) radio clock as I went QRV just before 8pm. This was bearable, using the topograph as backrest and shelter, and so I operated in the open night air. Conditions were not great, and only 9 UK squares were worked all night. Gerard F8BRK was heard CQing from Northern France, but I couldn't get through to him.

Gradually, the temperature indicator on the clock fell from the initial 3 degrees, and once it hit zero I began to feel a little uncomfortable. I wondered about deploying the bothy bag to warm my hands up a bit, and then the decision was made for me anyway as it began to snow. Inside the bothy bag, the temperature read out crept back up again, peaking at a balmy 4 degrees by the end of the contest at 10.30pm.

A total of 48 QSOs was made on 70cm SSB, with contacts made into G, GW, GM, GD and GI. As I emerged from the bothy bag, I could see that the summit now had a dusting of snow. Packaway was completed quickly, as was the descent. Here is the map of my contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:00z	M3OUA	433MHz	SSB
20:01z	G6HFF	433MHz	SSB
20:01z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
20:02z	G8REQ	433MHz	SSB
20:02z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:02z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
20:05z	G4CFP	433MHz	SSB
20:05z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
20:06z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
20:07z	G4AQB	433MHz	SSB
20:07z	M3RNX	433MHz	SSB
20:08z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
20:09z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
20:10z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
20:10z	2E0LMD	433MHz	SSB
20:11z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
20:12z	M0ICK	433MHz	SSB
20:12z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
20:14z	G0CER	433MHz	SSB
20:16z	G2ANC	433MHz	SSB
20:16z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
20:20z	M1DDD/P	433MHz	SSB
20:22z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
20:23z	M0PCF/P	433MHz	SSB
20:27z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
20:32z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
20:36z	G3PYE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:38z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
20:46z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
20:53z	G4WLC/P	433MHz	SSB
20:55z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
20:57z	GW4EVX	433MHz	SSB
20:59z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
21:01z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
21:05z	G8XVJ	433MHz	SSB
21:09z	GM4JR	433MHz	SSB
21:30z	G3CWI	433MHz	SSB
21:36z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
21:43z	GW4BVE	433MHz	SSB
21:50z	G4WBO	433MHz	SSB
21:52z	G8DOH	433MHz	SSB
21:53z	M0RKX/P	433MHz	SSB
21:55z	G3SQQ	433MHz	SSB
22:04z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
22:05z	G8WUY	433MHz	SSB
22:06z	G0VOF	433MHz	SSB
22:21z	G3TBK	433MHz	SSB
22:27z	G1KFB	433MHz	SSB

This mad person planned for a long activation on Saturday 17th January 2015, incorporating the 4 hour RSGB AFS contest event. As it was the SSB event, I would be participating while combining with a SOTA activation so as to leave the home shack free for Jimmy M0HGY to contribute a further entry on behalf of the Tall Trees Contest Group.

Essential preparations of a flask of mulligatawny soup, purchase of a new SOTA Pole and donning of thick socks, I was off and away around 12:45pm. Ascent of The Cloud G/SP-015 was the slightly longer way around of up to the top of the farm track, then around the back of the farm and through the woods. I baggsed my preferred spot on the sheltered side of the topograph and set up the Bandhopper 4 linked dipole antenna.

The RSGB AFS SSB event this year was to be on 80m and 40m, rather than just 80m, hence the multiband option was taken. Fortunately, the only link needed to be accessed was just about reachable without taking down the antenna.

I was set up with a few minutes to spare, so I went for a nosy on the WAB net frequency of 7.160MHz SSB. I went on to offer the SJ96 square, and of course the trigpoint. I hadn't planned this, so didn't have the TP number to hand. No problem I thought, I'll just get it off the trigpoint. I wandered over and made a note of the 2651 from the metal plate. It turns out that the TP references do not correlate with the metal plates, and "TP2651" is somewhere completely different! I found out later that The Cloud is TP6366; hopefully the guys on the net had enough other information to identify the correct trig.

Anyway, I quickly ran down 16 stations on the WAB net, then turned my attentions to the contest. In this, I did two sessions each on 80m and 40m, netting a total of 110 QSOs - after dupes had been eliminated! I discovered it is quite hard to spot the dupes when logging with pencil and paper (as opposed to contest software) on a hilltop at -1 degrees Celcius! After 1600z, I spotted myself on 3.645MHz for any SOTA chasers, but only a couple took advantage. I noticed that I hadn't worked Jimmy M0HGY in the contest, so arranged a 2m FM contact with him while on the 'phone finding out what the arrangements were for tea! Several others also called in on two.

The totals for the activation were as follows:

80m: 59 QSOs 40m: 70 QSOs 2m: 6 QSOs Total: 135 QSOs

So in 2015 I am averaging 85 QSOs per activation. I must remind myself that I only need 4...

Time	Call	Band	Mode
13:52z	GW4DWN	7MHz	SSB
13:53z	G7AFM	7MHz	SSB
13:54z	G0FEX	7MHz	SSB
13:55z	M0SPN	7MHz	SSB
13:55z	M6KVJ	7MHz	SSB
13:56z	G1PIE	7MHz	SSB
13:56z	G0BFJ	7MHz	SSB
13:58z	MM3PDM/P	7MHz	SSB
13:59z	G0RQL	7MHz	SSB
14:00z	G7BGA	7MHz	SSB
14:00z	G0GWY	7MHz	SSB
14:00z	G4JZF	7MHz	SSB
14:02z	G6LKB	7MHz	SSB
14:02z	G4CFP	7MHz	SSB
14:03z	G4WSB	7MHz	SSB
14:03z	G0TRB	7MHz	SSB
14:06z	G3XSV	7MHz	SSB
14:07z	G3OLB	7MHz	SSB
14:08z	G3SDC	7MHz	SSB
14:10z	G4ABX	7MHz	SSB
14:11z	G4ASR	7MHz	SSB
14:11z	M0DXR	7MHz	SSB
14:15z	G0SYP	7MHz	SSB
14:15z	G4BYG	7MHz	SSB
14:16z	G0DVJ	7MHz	SSB
14:16z	M0MCV	7MHz	SSB
14:20z	G3TKF	7MHz	SSB
14:25z	GM4ZUK	7MHz	SSB
14:25z	G4BUO	7MHz	SSB
14:26z	G3ZVW	7MHz	SSB
14:28z	G3KLH	7MHz	SSB
14:30z	G0VDZ	7MHz	SSB
14:35z	M0XDX	7MHz	SSB
14:36z	G3SVK	7MHz	SSB
14:36z	G0ORH	7MHz	SSB
14:37z	G3TBK	7MHz	SSB
14:38z	G3ZAY	7MHz	SSB
14:41z	G3LHJ	7MHz	SSB
14:42z	G3SVL	7MHz	SSB
14:43z	G8DX	7MHz	SSB
14:44z	G5TO	7MHz	SSB
14:47z	M0TGV	7MHz	SSB
14:51z	G3PYE	7MHz	SSB
14:58z	G4DRS	7MHz	SSB
14:59z	GM4AFF	7MHz	SSB
15:00z	GM0ELP	7MHz	SSB
15:02z	G0VQR	7MHz	SSB
15:03z	G0BKU	7MHz	SSB
15:05z	G4ARI	7MHz	SSB
15:06z	GW0GEI	7MHz	SSB
15:10z	G6MC	7MHz	SSB
15:13z	M0NKR	7MHz	SSB
15:20z	G3HRH	3.5MHz	SSB
15:21z	G0VDZ	3.5MHz	SSB
15:24z	G5TO	3.5MHz	SSB
15:25z	G4DOQ	3.5MHz	SSB
15:27z	G0HGH	3.5MHz	SSB
15:29z	G3VPW	3.5MHz	SSB
15:29z	G4FJK	3.5MHz	SSB
15:32z	G3KAF	3.5MHz	SSB
15:33z	M0WAF/P	3.5MHz	SSB
15:35z	G3LDI	3.5MHz	SSB
15:36z	G3UUT	3.5MHz	SSB
15:36z	GW0ETF	3.5MHz	SSB
15:37z	G5BBL	3.5MHz	SSB
15:38z	G3ZVW	3.5MHz	SSB
15:40z	G3MXH	3.5MHz	SSB
15:41z	G4ASR	3.5MHz	SSB
15:42z	M0DXR	3.5MHz	SSB
15:44z	G0ORH	3.5MHz	SSB
15:45z	GW0GEI	3.5MHz	SSB
15:46z	G4RCD	3.5MHz	SSB
15:47z	G3YZY	3.5MHz	SSB
15:47z	GW4BLE	3.5MHz	SSB
15:52z	G3SVL	3.5MHz	SSB
15:52z	G0LZL	3.5MHz	SSB
15:55z	G3ORY	3.5MHz	SSB
15:59z	G4ALE	3.5MHz	SSB
16:02z	G8DX	3.5MHz	SSB
16:03z	G3XLG	3.5MHz	SSB
16:04z	G3YHV	3.5MHz	SSB
16:05z	G3TBK	3.5MHz	SSB
16:06z	G3WVG	3.5MHz	SSB
16:07z	G3PYE	3.5MHz	SSB
16:08z	GM4ZUK	3.5MHz	SSB
16:11z	G3SDC	3.5MHz	SSB
16:14z	G8MCA	3.5MHz	SSB
16:15z	G4CUS	3.5MHz	SSB
16:18z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
16:19z	M0BTZ	3.5MHz	SSB
16:22z	G4DRS	3.5MHz	SSB
16:27z	G4WBV	3.5MHz	SSB
16:29z	G4XSV	3.5MHz	SSB
16:30z	G4CWH	3.5MHz	SSB
16:30z	G6MC	3.5MHz	SSB
16:40z	M0DHO	7MHz	SSB
16:41z	GM3WOJ	7MHz	SSB
16:41z	M0DDT	7MHz	SSB
16:42z	M0SSR	7MHz	SSB
16:45z	M0MPM	7MHz	SSB
16:47z	G4ALE	7MHz	SSB
16:48z	G4PIQ	7MHz	SSB
16:53z	G8FMC	7MHz	SSB
16:55z	G3SJJ	7MHz	SSB
16:56z	M0TAZ	7MHz	SSB
16:57z	G3LDI	7MHz	SSB
16:58z	GW4BLE	7MHz	SSB
16:59z	GM3POI	7MHz	SSB
17:00z	G0RPM	7MHz	SSB
17:07z	G8MCA	7MHz	SSB
17:08z	G4OTV	7MHz	SSB
17:16z	DK65DARC	7MHz	SSB
17:17z	EW8QQ	7MHz	SSB
17:30z	G3KLH	3.5MHz	SSB
17:35z	GW3SQX	3.5MHz	SSB
17:40z	G4ABX	3.5MHz	SSB
17:42z	M0VFC	3.5MHz	SSB
17:44z	GM4AFF	3.5MHz	SSB
17:45z	G0BKU	3.5MHz	SSB
17:45z	M0MCV	3.5MHz	SSB
17:46z	G0SYP	3.5MHz	SSB
17:49z	M0DHO	3.5MHz	SSB
17:50z	M0ZDZ	3.5MHz	SSB
17:53z	G4ARI	3.5MHz	SSB
17:54z	G0KYS	3.5MHz	SSB
17:59z	G0HSA	3.5MHz	SSB
18:01z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
18:07z	G8ADD	3.5MHz	SSB
18:10z	M6NER	3.5MHz	SSB
18:18z	2W0JYN	144MHz	FM
18:19z	2E0LKC	144MHz	FM
18:20z	M0HGY	144MHz	FM
18:21z	G4YLJ	144MHz	FM
18:22z	MW6SHJ	144MHz	FM
18:23z	G7JGD	144MHz	FM

Activation report, The Cloud G/SP-015, 343m ASL, Tuesday 27th January 2015.

This was 6m UKAC night. Having been underwhelmed with Shining Tor G/SP-004 as a VHF contest site three weeks earlier, I still didn't have the appetite for the extra hour of walking in the dark that summit would invoke. It was a cold, brisk, short walk to the summit just after 7pm; I was running a little late.

The contest was rubbish. QSB was at its menacing worst, and locator squares were in short supply. I ended up with 65 QSOs into 13 UK squares. An EI station was heard in IO65, but I couldn't make myself heard. I never found anything in IO80, 94, 95, JO01 or anything at all in Scotland. Here is a map of my contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:12z	G6HFF	50MHz	SSB
20:13z	G3KAF	50MHz	SSB
20:14z	G3RKF	50MHz	SSB
20:14z	G6XHF	50MHz	SSB
20:15z	G0VOF	50MHz	SSB
20:15z	GW4ZAR	50MHz	SSB
20:16z	G4AQB	50MHz	SSB
20:16z	G4CFP	50MHz	SSB
20:21z	G0HEL/P	50MHz	SSB
20:23z	G7RAU	50MHz	CW
20:30z	GI4SNA	50MHz	SSB
20:31z	G3PHO	50MHz	SSB
20:32z	2W0JYN	50MHz	SSB
20:33z	G3UJE	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	2E0BMO	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	G4HGI	50MHz	SSB
20:36z	G4ZRP	50MHz	SSB
20:37z	G0CER	50MHz	SSB
20:38z	M3RNX	50MHz	SSB
20:38z	G4NTY	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	G8HXE/P	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	G4APJ	50MHz	SSB
20:40z	M3OUA	50MHz	SSB
20:40z	M0ICK	50MHz	SSB
20:41z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
20:42z	G6CBX/P	50MHz	SSB
20:44z	M0COP/P	50MHz	SSB
20:46z	M0PCF/P	50MHz	SSB
20:48z	G1SWH	50MHz	SSB
20:51z	M1DDD/P	50MHz	SSB
20:52z	M0ZOO/P	50MHz	SSB
20:57z	G4RUL/P	50MHz	SSB
21:04z	G4NDM/P	50MHz	SSB
21:05z	GD8EXI	50MHz	SSB
21:07z	M0VAA	50MHz	SSB
21:19z	M0CGL	50MHz	SSB
21:20z	G0BFJ	50MHz	SSB
21:22z	G8XVJ	50MHz	SSB
21:23z	G4BWP	50MHz	SSB
21:24z	G3MEH	50MHz	SSB
21:25z	M1MHZ	50MHz	SSB
21:29z	G3VCA	50MHz	SSB
21:30z	G8AXZ/P	50MHz	SSB
21:34z	2E0RET/P	50MHz	SSB
21:35z	G0NEY	50MHz	SSB
21:39z	G8WUY	50MHz	SSB
21:41z	G8REQ	50MHz	SSB
21:42z	M0MDY	50MHz	SSB
21:44z	G3PYE/P	50MHz	SSB
21:46z	G3ZUD	50MHz	SSB
21:47z	M0RKX/P	50MHz	SSB
21:48z	G4LPD	50MHz	SSB
21:54z	M0GAV	50MHz	SSB
21:56z	M0ICR	50MHz	SSB
21:57z	M0HGY	50MHz	SSB
22:01z	G0EAK/P	50MHz	SSB
22:04z	G3TDH	50MHz	SSB
22:08z	M0WLF	50MHz	SSB
22:09z	G3SQQ	50MHz	SSB
22:10z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
22:18z	G4CLA	50MHz	SSB
22:21z	M0WBG	50MHz	SSB
22:23z	G8BUN	50MHz	SSB
22:26z	G4DOH	50MHz	SSB
22:29z	G3TBK	50MHz	SSB

Activation report, The Cloud G/SP-015, 343m ASL, Tuesday 3rd February 2015.

This was 2m UKAC night. I had to revert to the old SLAB having had the LiFePO4 T-bar lead break on me the previous week. Despite charging it up before I left home, it only showed 10.0V when I connected it to the 817 on summit - I was surprised that it lasted the night! I did have a new toy to try, the SOTAbeams Phonepole - 3 way Anderson Powerpole plus USB mobile phone charger. However, with the poor battery state, I thought better of it. I did check that it worked - and it did - my phone was seen to be recharging at the same time as my FT-817 was being powered - then disconnected it.

It was a bit blinking cold. Subzero all night. The padded gloves were on and off as required, but I managed to stay out of the bothy bag. Radio-wise I made 64 QSOs (disappointing), into 12 squares (also disappointing). The presence of another contester on Mow Cop at the other end of the ridge effectively wiped out 90kHz of band for me for most of the evening, and no doubt "hid" several further multiplier opportunities.

The worst part of the activation was the descent. The ice and snow on the path had frozen over really hard, and was smooth and shiny. The descent is only, normally, a 6/7 minute walk, but with every footstep being a careful accident-avoidance mission, it took a while longer! A map of the contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:03z	G8EVR	144MHz	SSB
20:04z	2E0BMO	144MHz	SSB
20:05z	G4HGT/P	144MHz	SSB
20:06z	M0VAA	144MHz	SSB
20:07z	G4APJ	144MHz	SSB
20:09z	G4CLA	144MHz	SSB
20:11z	G0PEB/P	144MHz	SSB
20:14z	G4JLG	144MHz	SSB
20:15z	G8DTF	144MHz	SSB
20:15z	M3RNX	144MHz	SSB
20:16z	G6LUZ	144MHz	SSB
20:20z	G0EAK/P	144MHz	SSB
20:21z	2E0SEY/P	144MHz	SSB
20:24z	G0TPE	144MHz	SSB
20:27z	G7RAU	144MHz	SSB
20:28z	G8XVJ	144MHz	SSB
20:34z	G0AFH	144MHz	SSB
20:37z	M1DDD/P	144MHz	SSB
20:38z	M0HGY	144MHz	SSB
20:38z	G4HGI	144MHz	SSB
20:39z	G3UVR	144MHz	SSB
20:40z	G3TBK/P	144MHz	SSB
20:41z	M0COP/P	144MHz	SSB
20:42z	M0ZOO/P	144MHz	SSB
20:44z	2W0JYN	144MHz	SSB
20:45z	G8WUY	144MHz	SSB
20:46z	G8HXE/P	144MHz	SSB
20:46z	G0CER	144MHz	SSB
20:47z	G0NAJ	144MHz	SSB
20:48z	G8ZRE	144MHz	SSB
20:48z	G6AHX	144MHz	SSB
20:49z	G4LOE	144MHz	SSB
20:50z	G3NPJ	144MHz	SSB
20:50z	G7APD	144MHz	SSB
20:51z	G4EHT	144MHz	SSB
20:51z	G1KFB	144MHz	SSB
20:53z	M1MHZ	144MHz	SSB
20:55z	G1SWH	144MHz	SSB
20:57z	G8AXZ/P	144MHz	SSB
20:58z	G4HVC	144MHz	SSB
21:03z	2E0DWP/P	144MHz	SSB
21:05z	M0MDY	144MHz	SSB
21:08z	M0WXB/P	144MHz	SSB
21:09z	M0BRA	144MHz	SSB
21:11z	G4IDF	144MHz	SSB
21:12z	G0LGS	144MHz	SSB
21:24z	M0CGL	144MHz	SSB
21:34z	G0WTD	144MHz	SSB
21:36z	G4FRK	144MHz	SSB
21:36z	M0ICK	144MHz	SSB
21:37z	G0WWH	144MHz	SSB
21:43z	G3VCA	144MHz	SSB
21:45z	M0JAV	144MHz	SSB
21:47z	G3YDY	144MHz	SSB
21:48z	G6UW	144MHz	SSB
21:55z	GW4BVE	144MHz	SSB
21:56z	M0MOL	144MHz	SSB
22:00z	G0BFJ	144MHz	SSB
22:12z	M0RKX/P	144MHz	SSB
22:14z	G3ZUD	144MHz	SSB
22:17z	G4RUL/P	144MHz	SSB
22:18z	M0WYB	144MHz	SSB
22:22z	G8BUN	144MHz	SSB
22:25z	M6GZE/P	144MHz	SSB

"A Different World"

It was an early start on Sunday 8th February 2015 for the final event in the AFS Superleague series, a four hour 70cm contest. My plan was to head for The Cloud G/SP-015 to operate portable and SOTA qualifying, leaving the shack for Jimmy M0HGY to use. Together with Nick M1DDD/P and out Contest Manager Reg G3TDH, we were able to put out a full team for the Tall Trees Contest Group.

Summit of Bosley Cloud Tom M1EYP

It was gloomy, damp and murky in freezing fog as I made my way along the country lanes from Broken Cross, through Gawsworth, North Rode and the Dane Valley, to Cloudside where I parked. A tinge of excitement came as I noticed a bit of sunshine and blue sky above - and the "roof" of the freezing fog slightly below.

Inversion layer Portable station

Having climbed to the summit, the spectacular panorama opened up. There was a superb inversion layer, and above it whereI was, existed a completely different weather system. Hardly any wind save for a gentle cooling breeze, bright sunshine, mild temperatures and clear blue sky. The only other land visible was to the east, where Sutton Common, The Roaches, Merryton Low and Gun G/SP-013 poked above the clag.

70cm beam Cloud summit

Local contesters in IO83 reported unpleasant weather as I worked them, in total contrast to the utter pleasantness on Cloud summit! The event itself was quite slow, which was predictable with half the volume of activity spread out over almost twice the contest duration. I worked at a leisurely pace, taking several breaks to gather photos and post them live to Facebook.

I finished with 52 contacts - all 70cm SSB except for one on 70cm CW. Squares worked were IN99, IO74, IO80, IO81, IO82, IO83, IO84, IO85, IO90, IO91, IO92, IO93, JO01 and JO02, although this contest did not have a mutliplier component as such. So not very exciting radio-wise, but a massively enjoyable morning out.

Looking East to the Staffordshire Moorlands Brocken spectre!

The highlight came around noon when I was able to stand close to the trig point and observe my brocken spectre below! The descent and drive back to Macclesfield soon had me resubmerged into the original damp and gloomy world of everybody else... Here is a map of the contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
09:01z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
09:05z	M0XII/P	433MHz	SSB
09:10z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
09:11z	GW4EVX	433MHz	SSB
09:14z	G4BVY/P	433MHz	SSB
09:18z	G0ODQ	433MHz	SSB
09:19z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
09:21z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
09:22z	M1DDD/P	433MHz	SSB
09:24z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
09:27z	GW3TKH/P	433MHz	SSB
09:36z	G3ZVW	433MHz	SSB
09:45z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
09:46z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
09:47z	G0ASI	433MHz	SSB
09:48z	G1JPV	433MHz	SSB
09:50z	G0BWC/A	433MHz	SSB
09:52z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
09:53z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
09:55z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
09:57z	G4WLC/P	433MHz	SSB
10:01z	M0GHZ/P	433MHz	SSB
10:04z	G7RAU	433MHz	CW
10:08z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
10:17z	G2BQY/P	433MHz	SSB
10:22z	G6UW	433MHz	SSB
10:24z	GD0TFG/P	433MHz	SSB
10:27z	G4ASR	433MHz	SSB
10:29z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
10:35z	G1SWH	433MHz	SSB
10:36z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
10:42z	G4FSU/P	433MHz	SSB
10:45z	G0HEL/P	433MHz	SSB
10:56z	F8BRK	433MHz	SSB
11:02z	G4ODA	433MHz	SSB
11:07z	G4BWP	433MHz	SSB
11:12z	G8EOP	433MHz	SSB
11:27z	G8REQ	433MHz	SSB
11:31z	G4ZTR	433MHz	SSB
11:38z	G4ERO	433MHz	SSB
11:41z	G3PYE/P	433MHz	SSB
11:45z	G4JQN	433MHz	SSB
11:48z	G3MEH	433MHz	SSB
11:53z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
11:56z	G4AQB	433MHz	SSB
11:59z	G0HIK/P	433MHz	SSB
12:01z	G8ONK	433MHz	SSB
12:03z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
12:20z	G7LRQ	433MHz	SSB
12:26z	GM4JR	433MHz	SSB
12:37z	G3RLE	433MHz	SSB
12:50z	G3TBK/P	433MHz	SSB

Tuesday 10th Febraury 2015 was 70cm contest night. There were some good conditions for once and plenty of DX available.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:50z	OK1KAD	433MHz	SSB
20:00z	G2ANC	433MHz	SSB
20:02z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
20:03z	G8XVJ/P	433MHz	SSB
20:04z	G1SWH	433MHz	SSB
20:06z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:08z	DL1KDA	433MHz	SSB
20:09z	DL1KFS	433MHz	SSB
20:16z	M5AFG	433MHz	SSB
20:18z	2E0RET/P	433MHz	SSB
20:19z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
20:20z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
20:25z	F8BRK	433MHz	SSB
20:26z	G0PEB/P	433MHz	SSB
20:27z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
20:30z	GI4SNA	433MHz	SSB
20:31z	GW4EVX	433MHz	SSB
20:36z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
20:37z	M0ICK	433MHz	SSB
20:38z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
20:43z	OZ1DLD/P	433MHz	SSB
20:46z	SF6X	433MHz	SSB
20:47z	G0HEL/P	433MHz	SSB
20:49z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
20:59z	G8REQ	433MHz	SSB
21:00z	M0UFC	433MHz	SSB
21:01z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
21:13z	OZ9KY	433MHz	SSB
21:14z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
21:22z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
21:24z	G4HVC	433MHz	CW
21:25z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
21:29z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
21:29z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
21:32z	G0WTD	433MHz	SSB
21:34z	G4MVU	433MHz	SSB
21:35z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
21:39z	G7KSE/P	433MHz	SSB
21:42z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
21:45z	G3VCA	433MHz	SSB
21:50z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
21:57z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
21:58z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
21:59z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
22:03z	G8ONK	433MHz	SSB
22:04z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
22:15z	G4TSW	433MHz	CW
22:17z	M0WYB	433MHz	SSB
22:20z	G7RAU	433MHz	SSB
22:24z	G4NBS	433MHz	SSB
22:25z	G3TBK/P	433MHz	SSB
22:28z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB

I returned to "Different World" mid-morning on Sunday 15th February 2015, but it had returned to "Normal World". That's fine though, as it was a pleasant and bright February morning, and I had just booked a holiday to Tenerife (EA8) and secured permits for Mount Teide EA8/TF-001. So the prospects of a completely different class of inversion and/or breathtaking views were now quite real.

End-fed antenna Youkits HB1B

This then was the first local activation with an eye on developing the kit list for EA8. Initial thoughts are along the lines of: FT-817 powered by internal rechargeable AA batteries, providing HF SSB for Jimmy, VX-110 and VX7R handhelds providing us both with 2m FM (and comms between ourselves if necessary), and HB1B CW transceiver for me (80/40/30/20), also powered from internal cells. The only antenna, to be shared, would be the end-fed on minipole, with Z-match tuner, allowing all bands from 40m through 10m. 20m would be the band of choice, and we would hope to pick up local 2m FM QSOs.

The first mistake I made was forgetting that the HB1B needs headphones / earbuds to monitor the audio! So my first HB1B activation for a good long time never happened! I had the 817 with me though, so fired this up with the Tracer LiFePO4 pack, for which I had just received a replacement T-bar connector and lead. I used the new SOTAbeams Anderson Powerpole splitter product, the version that has a USB phone charger connector on as well, so for once my Galaxy S3 did not run out of juice during the activation!

SOTAbeams Phonepole Tom M1EYP

Details of the activation: 40m CW: 4 QSOs 40m SSB: 10 QSOs including 1 S2S (GW/SW-008) 30m CW: 3 QSOs including 3 S2S (G/CE-004, GW/SW-015, YO/WC-099) 20m CW: 11 QSOs 20m SSB: 7 QSOs including 1 S2S (DM/BM-116) 10m CW: 2 QSOs 2m FM: 8 QSOs including 4 S2S (G/CE-004, G/WB-002, G/WB-003)

Total: 45 QSOs, including 9 S2S.

At 1354z I switched off and descended. I had a roast lamb dinner to devour...

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
11:33z	DK1WI	14MHz	CW
11:34z	DL1DVE	14MHz	CW
11:34z	OK2PDT	14MHz	CW
11:35z	EA1DFP	14MHz	CW
11:36z	DL8MLD	14MHz	CW
11:36z	EA2DT	14MHz	CW
11:37z	HA4TJ	14MHz	CW
11:38z	OE7PHI	14MHz	CW
11:38z	CU3EJ	14MHz	CW
11:39z	W4MPS	14MHz	CW
11:40z	DJ5AV	14MHz	CW
11:48z	UA1ZZ	28MHz	CW
11:52z	UR7EZ	28MHz	CW
12:13z	DB7MM/P	14MHz	SSB	DM/BM-116
12:14z	EA2CKX	14MHz	SSB
12:25z	G4SSH	7MHz	CW
12:26z	ON4FI	7MHz	CW
12:27z	DL6WT	7MHz	CW
12:28z	G0BPU	7MHz	CW
12:34z	EA1NW	14MHz	SSB
12:43z	M0HJV/P	144MHz	FM	G/WB-003
12:44z	M0HDF/P	144MHz	FM	G/WB-003
12:48z	G4HUN/P	144MHz	FM	G/CE-004
12:56z	M0VFC/P	10MHz	CW	G/CE-004
13:02z	GW6WRW/P	7MHz	SSB	GW/SW-008
13:08z	G7AFM	7MHz	SSB
13:10z	DL7UCW	7MHz	SSB
13:11z	2W0XOT	7MHz	SSB
13:11z	G4JJS	7MHz	SSB
13:11z	G0BYH	7MHz	SSB
13:12z	G0BKU	7MHz	SSB
13:12z	M0GIE	7MHz	SSB
13:13z	G4ZRP	7MHz	SSB
13:13z	G0FVH	7MHz	SSB
13:21z	YO/HA8BE/P	10MHz	CW	YO/WC-099
13:23z	GW4ISJ/P	10MHz	CW	GW/SW-015
13:28z	IU1AUG	14MHz	SSB
13:29z	DL2HWI	14MHz	SSB
13:29z	EA1HMT	14MHz	SSB
13:30z	OK1SDE	14MHz	SSB
13:47z	M0YDH/P	144MHz	FM	G/WB-002
13:49z	2E0LKC	144MHz	FM
13:50z	M0OGG	144MHz	FM
13:50z	G4BLH	144MHz	FM
13:51z	G0WGL	144MHz	FM

Everything was now focused on the planned April activation of El Teide EA8/TF-001. So far, I had been unable to successfully activate with the initial intended set-up of end-fed with Z-match & HB1B (40/30/20 CW). Tuesday 17th February 2015 was no exception.

The ruined A625 road Liam on the ridge from Mam Tor Trig point on Mam Tor

A day out in the Dark Peak with Marianne and Liam saw us climb Mam Tor from Mam Nick car park, walk the ridge to Heron Cross and then into Castleton for lunch. The circular route was completed with a walk up the old A625, finally closed in 1979 after a long history of landslips, and now seemingly beyond repair.

Liam and Tom on Mam Tor Bosley Cloud

Having got into my stride, I went out again almost as soon as I got in. To The Cloud G/SP-015 - for a change. After the headphones-fail of the previous attempt, I wanted to set up the intended EA8 system again and ensure success. I did - but then the HB1B wouldn't turn on. I wouldn't mind, but I definitely charged it up a couple of years ago... Oh well, another activation needed to be planned for the following day (not the end of the world), and I packed all the stuff away again.

Mast on The Cloud as dusk approaches Tom M1EYP

Now nobody leaves empty-handed; well I certainly don't. So CQ SOTA on the 2m FM HT, and two contacts to record an activation. Returned home to chorizo and sweetcorn pancakes, followed by Nutella pancakes. One presumes it was Pancake Day.

The other aspects to "Mission Tidy" (apologies for the awful pun with 'Teide') were to tidy my shack this week (not much of a start was yet made) and tidy the fat around my middle before Tenerife. Eight weeks of much increased walking (including to the train for work most mornings) and abstention from alcohol. The next drink was scheduled for the departure lounge on Marianne's 50th birthday. Not too bad start on that - plenty of walking done already, and no booze since Sunday...

Time	Call	Band	Mode
18:01z	2E0LKC	144MHz	FM
18:02z	M0LDZ/M	144MHz	FM

Feeling like a little more walking after Gun G/SP-13 on Saturday 21st February 2015, but thinking that it was too late in the afternoon to do anything effective in terms of the WAB trigpoint award, I drove across to The Cloud G/SP-015 and walked up the longer way around the back of the upper farm. The rucksack was left in the car; I just put the VX7R and logbook into my coat pockets for the stroll up.

At the top I noticed how cold and windy it had become, and was glad I would not be stopping long. I sat by the trig point using the obelisk as a shelter and backrest. Several calls on 2m FM and a self-spot on SOTAwatch elicited just one response - Dave M6RUG from Crewe. Still, that made for another SOTA activation, so that was just fine. I returned to the car by completing a circular walk, going down the more usual route.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:21z	M6RUG	144MHz	FM

Tuesday 24th February 2015 - 6m RSGB UK Activity Contest.

I returned to the summit of The Cloud G/SP-015 for this one, albeit somewhat "last minute", resulting in my first QSO being timed at 2008 UTC. Conditions were very poor, and little to the North - or indeed the South - was heard! The "middle" locator squares of IO81, 82, 83, 91, 92, 93 and JO02, 03 were worked, as well as IO64 (GI) and IO74 (GD). Frustratingly though, none of the south coast squares were worked, nor anything in Cumbria, Northumberland or Scotland.

65 QSOs made in total, all SSB apart from one in CW. Here is a map of the contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:08z	G4HGI	50MHz	SSB
20:10z	M0VAA	50MHz	SSB
20:11z	G3UJE	50MHz	SSB
20:12z	G4NTY	50MHz	SSB
20:12z	M3RNX	50MHz	SSB
20:13z	G3RKF	50MHz	SSB
20:16z	GI4SNA	50MHz	SSB
20:17z	G0VOF	50MHz	SSB
20:18z	G3TDH	50MHz	SSB
20:19z	G4CFP	50MHz	SSB
20:20z	M0ICK	50MHz	SSB
20:20z	M0PCF/P	50MHz	SSB
20:21z	2E0LKC	50MHz	SSB
20:21z	G7CPN	50MHz	SSB
20:22z	2W0JYN	50MHz	SSB
20:23z	G4RQI	50MHz	SSB
20:24z	G4AQB	50MHz	SSB
20:28z	M0ZOO/P	50MHz	SSB
20:29z	G3VCA	50MHz	SSB
20:33z	M0WLF	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	M0COP/P	50MHz	SSB
20:36z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
20:37z	G0WTD	50MHz	SSB
20:38z	GW4EVX	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	GW8ASD	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
20:41z	G8REQ	50MHz	SSB
20:41z	G4APJ	50MHz	SSB
20:42z	G3KAF	50MHz	SSB
20:43z	G8HXE/P	50MHz	SSB
20:44z	GW4ZAR	50MHz	SSB
20:45z	G8ZRE	50MHz	SSB
20:46z	G4HYG	50MHz	SSB
20:46z	G2ANC	50MHz	SSB
20:47z	M0WBG	50MHz	SSB
20:49z	G8XVJ	50MHz	SSB
20:49z	M0HGY	50MHz	SSB
20:51z	G8AXZ/P	50MHz	SSB
20:51z	G0FWU	50MHz	SSB
20:58z	G6XHF	50MHz	SSB
21:00z	M1MHZ	50MHz	SSB
21:02z	G0EAK/P	50MHz	SSB
21:03z	M0RKX/P	50MHz	SSB
21:04z	G3PYE/P	50MHz	SSB
21:06z	2E0RET/P	50MHz	SSB
21:07z	G3SQQ	50MHz	SSB
21:09z	G4CLA	50MHz	SSB
21:15z	G4FPJ	50MHz	SSB
21:16z	G0HEL/P	50MHz	SSB
21:19z	G0BFJ	50MHz	SSB
21:20z	M1DDD	50MHz	SSB
21:22z	M0CGL	50MHz	SSB
21:39z	M3BLV/P	50MHz	SSB
21:45z	G3PHO	50MHz	SSB
21:51z	G3WIR/A	50MHz	SSB
21:55z	M0ICR	50MHz	SSB
22:00z	G4BKF	50MHz	SSB
22:01z	2E0BMO	50MHz	SSB
22:02z	2E0DHM	50MHz	SSB
22:07z	G3SMT	50MHz	SSB
22:09z	M0GVG	50MHz	SSB
22:11z	G3MEH	50MHz	SSB
22:16z	GD8EXI	50MHz	SSB
22:27z	G3TBK	50MHz	SSB
22:29z	G3YJR	50MHz	CW

I always remember when it is Saturday. I especially like Saturdays. Saturday 28th February 2015 was my mum's 70th birthday. However, as she was on a cruise ship somewhere in the South Pacific, I didn't have to worry about that. So I went up The Cloud G/SP-015.

Cloud summit Murky view over the Cheshire Plain

The morning drizzle stopped just as I was parking up on Cloudside, and it remained dry throughout my walk and activation. Once on summit, I posted my best wishes to my mum on my Facebook wall, just to be safe, although she would have had most of her birthday where she was, and probably getting ready for dinner.

I used the EA8 kit of HB1B with end-fed and Micro Z tuner. QSOs as follows:

40m CW: 17 30m CW: 27 including S2S with S53XX/P on S5/JA-061 20m CW: 9

Total: 53 contacts for the activation.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
08:26z	OK1MLP	14MHz	CW
08:36z	EA1DFP	10MHz	CW
08:37z	DL7URB	10MHz	CW
08:37z	DL1FU	10MHz	CW
08:38z	OK1DVM	10MHz	CW
08:38z	I2CZQ	10MHz	CW
08:39z	DL2EF	10MHz	CW
08:39z	ON4FI	10MHz	CW
08:40z	I/OE7PHI	10MHz	CW
08:41z	OZ7JZ	10MHz	CW
08:41z	DL6MST	10MHz	CW
08:42z	DL6WT	10MHz	CW
08:43z	IK2ILH	10MHz	CW
08:43z	DK7ZH	10MHz	CW
08:44z	DL2YBG	10MHz	CW
08:45z	EA2DT	10MHz	CW
08:45z	HA2PP	10MHz	CW
08:48z	DL1HRY	10MHz	CW
08:56z	G4SSH	7MHz	CW
08:57z	ON7DQ	7MHz	CW
08:58z	GM0AXY	7MHz	CW
08:58z	HA2PP	7MHz	CW
08:59z	DM2SWD	7MHz	CW
09:00z	F5SQA	7MHz	CW
09:08z	M0BKV	7MHz	CW
09:09z	DJ5AV	7MHz	CW
09:10z	G4OBK	7MHz	CW
09:12z	G4PNF	7MHz	CW
09:12z	HB9MKV	7MHz	CW
09:15z	G0IIK	7MHz	CW
09:15z	DL3HXX	7MHz	CW
09:48z	OH9XX	14MHz	CW
09:49z	OE7FMH	14MHz	CW
09:49z	SP9AMH	14MHz	CW
09:50z	OK2PDT	14MHz	CW
09:50z	SM7DIE	14MHz	CW
09:51z	EA2IF	14MHz	CW
09:52z	S52F	14MHz	CW
09:54z	DL1DVE	14MHz	CW
10:01z	PA0WLB	7MHz	CW
10:01z	OH9XX	7MHz	CW
10:05z	G4APO	7MHz	CW
10:06z	DK1WI	7MHz	CW
10:16z	S53XX/P	10MHz	CW	S5/JA-061
10:21z	EA1RCO	10MHz	CW
10:22z	G0NUP	10MHz	CW
10:23z	DL4FDM	10MHz	CW
10:23z	PA0SKP	10MHz	CW
10:24z	PA0B	10MHz	CW
10:25z	LA1ENA	10MHz	CW
10:26z	EA1CVZ	10MHz	CW
10:27z	EB1EVX	10MHz	CW
10:28z	DL2VM	10MHz	CW

"Mission Tidy" had taken a bit of a back seat the past few days. On the Sunday, I was in the mood for something completely different - well a bit different anyway. I went out activating trig points for that new WAB Trigpointing award. All local, all non-SOTA. For what it's worth, I did New Farm ("Great Weston Fell"), Mow Cop, Biddulph Moor, Brown Edge, Blakemere ("Merryton Low") and finally Axe Edge where I got caught in a blizzard! All good fun, and the full reports, details and photos appeared in the August 2015 edition of Practical Wireless (PW) magazine.

New Farm TP5093 Mow Cop TP4957

High Bent TP3772 Brown Edge TP1703

Blake Mere TP0713 Axe Edge TP0942

On Monday 2nd March 2015, it was RSGB 80m Club Contest night, and the turn of the Data section. I managed to get both PSK63 and RTTY running at home, so left that for Jimmy M0HGY while I went out to operate from The Cloud G/SP-015 portable-style. Well, it was complete and utter rubbish. I managed to make the sum total of 5, yes FIVE contacts in the 90 minute contest period. I don't know what went so wrong, but I appeared to have much more difficulty than usual zoning in accurately on the signals on the waterfall, and actually being able to read the transmissions.

It was a while since I last did a PSK SOTA activation, and I forgot a few of the basics. Like I needed my FT-817 set to DIG mode, not CW - corrected after 20 minutes. Like I needed my phone's sound slider turned up to the maximum - corrected ten minutes after that. But still things were notably worse than they should be. It was only in the last five minutes when my little interface started behaving oddly that it dawned on me that I hadn't wound the choke balun I normally would in the coax feeder, adjacent to the feed point of the antenna. That would account for the RF getting back into the interface, but would it explain my difficulties in receiving intelligible PSK63 signals?

I resigned myself to just giving it a go again the month - and try to remember all the housekeeping! My mood wasn't improved when I joined the Tall Trees Contest Group after-contest net on 80m SSB, only to sit through long monologues of overs from the guys (in warm shacks) while freezing to death under snowfall. At least that doubled my activation QSO count, if nothing else! My mood improved after returning home to learn that Jimmy had smashed his (and mine) previous record of QSOs in the 80m Data series.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:33z	G3UJE	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:38z	G4DBW	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:42z	G4ABX	3.5MHz	PSK63
21:02z	G3TKF	3.5MHz	PSK63
21:24z	G3TXF	3.5MHz	PSK63
21:34z	M0VAA	3.5MHz	SSB
21:34z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
21:34z	G3UJE	3.5MHz	SSB
21:36z	M0HGY	3.5MHz	SSB

Tuesday 3rd March 2015, 2m UKAC on The Cloud G/SP-015.

Not a bad evening all things considered. I thought it was going to be a disaster, with 8MHz wide of noise wrecking everything from 141MHz to 149MHz from a contest station on a nearby hill. This went on for an hour, but then I think the beam must have been turned - or the power drastically reduced - or the problem fixed or whatever.

On another bitterly cold night, I made 93 QSOs, all 2m SSB, with 33 multipliers (16 UK multipliers x 2 + 1 square from Belgium). Rather enjoyable, apart from the QRM and the freezing cold.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:00z	G6HFF	144MHz	SSB
20:01z	GW4ZAR	144MHz	SSB
20:02z	M0OGG	144MHz	SSB
20:03z	2W0JYN	144MHz	SSB
20:04z	G3SMT	144MHz	SSB
20:05z	M0HGY	144MHz	SSB
20:05z	G4HYG	144MHz	SSB
20:06z	G8EVR	144MHz	SSB
20:06z	M0VAA	144MHz	SSB
20:08z	G4JLG	144MHz	SSB
20:08z	2E0LKC	144MHz	SSB
20:09z	G0NAJ	144MHz	SSB
20:11z	G4HZG	144MHz	SSB
20:11z	G0CER	144MHz	SSB
20:12z	M3RNX	144MHz	SSB
20:12z	G3VLG	144MHz	SSB
20:13z	G4XPE	144MHz	SSB
20:15z	M1DDD/P	144MHz	SSB
20:17z	G4ZTR	144MHz	SSB
20:19z	G1SWH	144MHz	SSB
20:26z	G4CLA	144MHz	SSB
20:28z	GW8ASD	144MHz	SSB
20:29z	G2ANC	144MHz	SSB
20:30z	G4CRF	144MHz	SSB
20:30z	G8WUY	144MHz	SSB
20:31z	G0TRB	144MHz	SSB
20:32z	G4BKF	144MHz	SSB
20:32z	G1MZD	144MHz	SSB
20:33z	G1VVF	144MHz	SSB
20:33z	G4NBS	144MHz	SSB
20:35z	G4IDF	144MHz	SSB
20:35z	M3OUA	144MHz	SSB
20:37z	M0ICK	144MHz	SSB
20:37z	G8OHM	144MHz	SSB
20:42z	GM6JNJ	144MHz	SSB
20:43z	G4NTY	144MHz	SSB
20:44z	2E0LMD	144MHz	SSB
20:46z	G0WTD	144MHz	SSB
20:48z	GM3SEK	144MHz	SSB
20:49z	GI4SNA	144MHz	SSB
20:50z	G8XVJ/P	144MHz	SSB
20:57z	GD8EXI	144MHz	SSB
20:58z	2E0YZA/P	144MHz	SSB
20:59z	G8REQ	144MHz	SSB
21:01z	G3UVR	144MHz	SSB
21:02z	M0MDY	144MHz	SSB
21:04z	G8PNN/P	144MHz	SSB
21:10z	G0EAK/P	144MHz	SSB
21:12z	G6DOD/P	144MHz	SSB
21:15z	M0LNE	144MHz	SSB
21:17z	G8CUL	144MHz	SSB
21:20z	M0CGL	144MHz	SSB
21:22z	G8AXZ/P	144MHz	SSB
21:24z	G8HXE/P	144MHz	SSB
21:25z	G8EOP	144MHz	SSB
21:27z	G3ZUD	144MHz	SSB
21:30z	G4FZN/P	144MHz	SSB
21:31z	M0ZOO/P	144MHz	SSB
21:33z	G3PYE/P	144MHz	SSB
21:38z	G3YDY	144MHz	SSB
21:40z	M0BRA	144MHz	SSB
21:42z	G3PHO	144MHz	SSB
21:42z	M1MHZ	144MHz	SSB
21:44z	G3HGI	144MHz	SSB
21:44z	GW4BVE	144MHz	SSB
21:45z	G8XYJ	144MHz	SSB
21:46z	G5BBL/P	144MHz	SSB
21:49z	GM4AFF	144MHz	SSB
21:57z	2E0RET/P	144MHz	SSB
21:58z	M6EKI/P	144MHz	SSB
21:58z	G4OAR/A	144MHz	SSB
21:59z	2E0PSO	144MHz	SSB
22:01z	G3VCA	144MHz	SSB
22:01z	2E0XJP	144MHz	SSB
22:02z	G8PEF/P	144MHz	SSB
22:02z	G6XHF	144MHz	SSB
22:04z	M0JAV	144MHz	SSB
22:06z	G4YKE	144MHz	SSB
22:07z	M0COP/P	144MHz	SSB
22:07z	G4HVC	144MHz	SSB
22:08z	ON5AEN	144MHz	SSB
22:09z	M6GZE/P	144MHz	SSB
22:10z	G8ZRE	144MHz	SSB
22:10z	M0WXB/P	144MHz	SSB
22:11z	M0WBG	144MHz	SSB
22:12z	G3TBK/P	144MHz	SSB
22:14z	M0DXR/P	144MHz	SSB
22:15z	G4ODA	144MHz	SSB
22:17z	G7RAU	144MHz	SSB
22:20z	G4HWA	144MHz	SSB
22:21z	2E0BMO	144MHz	SSB
22:28z	G0HGH	144MHz	SSB
22:29z	G0HGT/P	144MHz	SSB

Superb and enjoyable morning. Saturday 7th March 2015 began at 5.50am, just four hours sleep after getting in from a gig with the Retrobeats on the Friday night. Gig or no gig, I didn't want to miss the VK SOTA to Europe activity, and I'm glad I didn't.

I was a bit later than intended on The Cloud G/SP-015, but I kicked off at 0717 UTC with a 20m SSB S2S with Jonathan GW2HFR/P on Hope Mountain GW/NW-062. A few kHz further down was Mike 2E0YYY/P on Gun G/SP-013, with an unsurprisingly monster signal across the valley. I replied to his CQs a few times, but didn't get heard. To be fair, he was calling "DX" alternate CQ calls (and I didn't answer these), but I assumed he was exclusively working DX and decided to try again later.

A weak and watery signal was heard from VK, but not strong enough to even attempt to work, so I would have to wait for that too. Meanwhile, I popped down to CW to catch Pete G4ISJ/P on Cleeve Hill G/CE-001. At 0740, I did manage to get back to Andrew VK1NAM/2 on VK2/SM-053 for the first DX of the activation. Also worked was Ian VK1DI/2 who was on summit with Andrew.

A few more attempts to work Mike 2E0YYY/P S2S failed, so I started trying to run and self-spot on my own QRGs. This brought in 9A1AA, followed by a run of four consecutive S2S: Colin M1BUU/P on Buckden Pike G/NP-009 Andrew VK1MBE on Mount Ainslie VK1/AC-040 John VK6NU/P on Mount Randall VK6/SW-039 Paul VK5PAS/P on Mount Gawler VK5/SE-013

Other DX contacts of note included EA9IB (Ceuta & Melila, North Africa), Bernard VK3AV, N3BUO (Texas), Ian VK5CZ and Gerard VK2IO/M. The final tally was 24 contacts on 20m, with 9 on CW and 15 on SSB, 8 VK contacts and 8 S2S. Further attempts to answer Mike 2E0YYY/P's CQ calls all failed, so I marked that one as an SWL-only logging, and packed up while finishing my flask of coffee. I had a bit of spare time, so took a drive across the valley to Gun G/SP-013.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
07:17z	GW2HFR/P	14MHz	SSB	GW/NW-062
07:30z	G4ISJ/P	14MHz	CW	G/CE-001
07:40z	VK1NAM/2	14MHz	SSB	VK1/SM-053
07:41z	VK1DI/2	14MHz	SSB	VK1/SM-053
07:45z	9A1AA	14MHz	SSB
07:48z	M1BUU/P	14MHz	SSB	G/NP-009
07:59z	VK6NU/P	14MHz	SSB	VK6/SW-039
08:04z	VK1MBE	14MHz	SSB	VK1/AC-040
08:05z	VK5PAS/P	14MHz	SSB	VK5/SE-013
08:07z	OM1AEG	14MHz	SSB
08:07z	EA9IB	14MHz	SSB
08:09z	VK3AV	14MHz	SSB
08:12z	HA7UL	14MHz	SSB
08:19z	N3BUO	14MHz	SSB
08:23z	EA2DT	14MHz	SSB
08:25z	EA2CKX	14MHz	SSB
08:36z	OE7PHI	14MHz	CW
08:37z	SP9AMH	14MHz	CW
08:38z	IK2ILH	14MHz	CW
08:38z	OK4IT	14MHz	CW
08:39z	VK5CZ	14MHz	CW
08:40z	VK2IO/M	14MHz	CW
08:41z	EA5EY	14MHz	CW
08:41z	OM1AX	14MHz	CW

Tuesday 10th March 2015, 2m UKAC on The Cloud G/SP-015.

Dreadful evening. After set up and beyond the start time of 2000z, I could only hear three signals on the 70cm band. I worked my friend Nick M1DDD/P across the valley. He was confused as to why he could only give me a 55 report. I got up and took a look at the antenna, only to find that the crocodile clip and broken off from the core of the Aircell 7 feeder cable. Using my teeth to strip down the wire, I got enough to wrap around the driven element and secured it using the croc clip. SWR was now good, the next station reported a very strong signal and now the entire band was alive with activity!

However, it was a disappointing night. Not long after 10pm I had made only 53 QSOs into 10 UK squares plus one in France. There had been a gap of 8 minutes between my 52nd and 53rd QSOs, and now another long period of frustration was opening up. It was bitterly cold, and so was I, as well as tired and fed-up. Uncharacteristically, I quit. So I was home and in bed 20 minutes earlier than I would have been. Sometimes, it isn't enjoyable and this certainly wasn't. Here is a map of my contest QSOs.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:02z	M1DDD/P	433MHz	SSB
20:03z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
20:09z	M0ZOO/P	433MHz	SSB
20:10z	G4AQB	433MHz	SSB
20:11z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
20:12z	G2ANC	433MHz	SSB
20:12z	G6HFF	433MHz	SSB
20:13z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
20:13z	M3RNX	433MHz	SSB
20:15z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
20:16z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
20:17z	G1SWH	433MHz	SSB
20:21z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
20:24z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
20:25z	M0COP/P	433MHz	SSB
20:25z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:30z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
20:32z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
20:33z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:36z	G8ONK	433MHz	SSB
20:36z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
20:39z	GI4SNA	433MHz	SSB
20:39z	M0WBG	433MHz	SSB
20:40z	G8REQ	433MHz	SSB
20:42z	G4VFL/P	433MHz	SSB
20:44z	G4ODA	433MHz	SSB
20:47z	2E0RET/P	433MHz	SSB
20:50z	2W0JYN/A	433MHz	SSB
20:53z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
20:54z	G3UKV	433MHz	SSB
20:55z	G0VOF	433MHz	SSB
20:57z	2E0WBL	433MHz	SSB
21:00z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
21:02z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
21:03z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
21:08z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
21:09z	G3TBK/P	433MHz	SSB
21:11z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
21:12z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
21:13z	G4KIY	433MHz	SSB
21:18z	G3PYE/P	433MHz	SSB
21:21z	G8WUY	433MHz	SSB
21:24z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
21:28z	M0WXB/P	433MHz	SSB
21:33z	M0GHZ	433MHz	SSB
21:37z	G0HEL/P	433MHz	SSB
21:44z	F8BRK	433MHz	SSB
21:46z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
21:49z	G4LPD	433MHz	SSB
21:53z	M3BLV/P	433MHz	SSB
21:57z	M0PCF/P	433MHz	SSB
21:59z	G0WTD	433MHz	SSB
22:07z	G6XHF	433MHz	SSB

After Gun G/SP-013 on Saturday 14th March 2015, it was home briefly, then down to the SOTAbeams factory to return the test antenna and give some feedback and observations. Also to pick up a couple of antenna bags ahead of the forthcoming SOTA trip to EA8 Tenerife.

Thoughts now turned to eking out some exotic DX in the RSGB Commonwealth Contest (BERU). I drove up to Cloudside and took the familar walk up the "Stairway To Heaven" to the summit of The Cloud G/SP-015. After setting up the 20m GP I soon worked a couple of BERU contesters - P3F (Cyprus) and VK3JA (Australia). However, then only other BERU stations heard calling were G and GM stations, none of which would have been excited to hear a call from me!

Shafts of sunlight as seen from Cloud summit 20m GP

I got going on 14.023MHz CW, and had a short run culminating in the S2S with Jurg HB9BIN/P on HB/SG-065. Moving onto 14.323MHz SSB, things got much busier, and another S2S came through courtesy of Michael DB7MM/P on DM/BM-241. The activation totalled 40 QSOs, with 23 on CW and 17 on SSB. Lovely stuff.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
16:20z	P3F	14MHz	CW
16:25z	VK3JA	14MHz	CW
16:28z	RV9DC	14MHz	CW
16:29z	EA2DT	14MHz	CW
16:29z	OH6KSX	14MHz	CW
16:30z	OK2PDT	14MHz	CW
16:30z	OE7PHI	14MHz	CW
16:32z	CT1GZB	14MHz	CW
16:34z	VE2JCW	14MHz	CW
16:34z	NE4TN	14MHz	CW
16:36z	HB9BIN/P	14MHz	CW	HB/SG-065
16:53z	OK1SDE	14MHz	SSB
16:54z	DL1DVE	14MHz	SSB
16:54z	DD0VE	14MHz	SSB
16:54z	EA2CKX	14MHz	SSB
16:55z	CU3BL	14MHz	SSB
16:55z	LA3DNA	14MHz	SSB
16:56z	HG7WAV	14MHz	SSB
16:56z	LA1ENA	14MHz	SSB
16:57z	DK1WI	14MHz	SSB
16:58z	CT1BWW/P	14MHz	CW	CT/BL-026
17:00z	EA2DZX	14MHz	SSB
17:01z	OH9XX	14MHz	SSB
17:01z	DB7MM/P	14MHz	SSB	DM/BM-241
17:02z	S56LXN	14MHz	SSB
17:02z	DF1XC	14MHz	SSB
17:03z	DL8UVG	14MHz	SSB
17:03z	OE5FSL	14MHz	SSB
17:04z	DG0JMB	14MHz	SSB
17:09z	UA3GR	14MHz	CW
17:09z	DL7URB	14MHz	CW
17:10z	DL4NCO	14MHz	CW
17:11z	DL6UHA	14MHz	CW
17:11z	HB9BHW	14MHz	CW
17:12z	SM7DIE	14MHz	CW
17:12z	S52CU	14MHz	CW
17:15z	EA1IPN	14MHz	CW
17:16z	DL7AOJ	14MHz	CW
17:17z	LZ2OQV/1	14MHz	CW
17:18z	DL6WT	14MHz	CW

Mission Tidy update:

The shack tidy - not going very well. The diet - not going very well. The teetotalling - not going very well. The exercise - at least getting plenty of this!

Sunday 15th March 2015 was just the most fabulous Mother's Day ever. My mum was away on a cruise ship somewhere in the Far East and my wife was at work all day - doddle! With Liam away on an activity weekend with mates in the Lake District and Jimmy indulging in his customary Sunday lie-in, I decided to go out and play. Again.

Shutlingsloe summit Final ascent towards Kerridge Hill summit

I kicked off with The Cloud G/SP-015, to see if I could pick up any interesting DX in the BERU (Commonwealth) contest. This time I took up the 10m GP antenna. It wasn't exactly hectic, but five QSOs made all had interest value. Four on CW were C4Z and P3M (both Cyprus), V5/G3TXF (Namibia, an all-time new DXCC for me), 9J2BO (Zambia), while after a while of trying, ZS6AI (South Africa) was worked on SSB.

Start of walk up to Nab Head

Following that, it was off to do a few more local trig points. The first was Shutlingsloe, the best summit in the area despite it being non-SOTA. Then off to Kerridge Hill, the summit of the well-known ridge that runs from White Nancy (Bollington) at one end, to Rainow village at the other. Finally, a walk beginning in a residential area of Bollington to climb Nab Head. Most enjoyable.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
08:30z	C4Z	28MHz	CW
08:58z	P3M	28MHz	CW
09:14z	V5/G3TXF	28MHz	CW
09:17z	9J2BO	28MHz	CW
09:23z	ZS6AI	28MHz	SSB

Tuesday 24th March 2015 was a 6m UK contest night. 71 contacts made during the evening.

SB6 under moonlight

Time	Call	Band	Mode
20:00z	G2ANC	50MHz	SSB
20:00z	G3RKF	50MHz	SSB
20:01z	G8WUY	50MHz	SSB
20:01z	G3UJE	50MHz	SSB
20:02z	G4VFL/P	50MHz	SSB
20:02z	G4BKF	50MHz	SSB
20:02z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
20:03z	G3SMT	50MHz	SSB
20:04z	G4LLG	50MHz	SSB
20:05z	G3TDH	50MHz	SSB
20:05z	G4APJ	50MHz	SSB
20:05z	G8HXE/P	50MHz	SSB
20:06z	G3KAF	50MHz	SSB
20:06z	G8REQ	50MHz	SSB
20:07z	2E0DHM	50MHz	SSB
20:08z	GW4ZAR/P	50MHz	SSB
20:10z	M0PCF/P	50MHz	SSB
20:12z	G3VCA	50MHz	SSB
20:13z	G8BUN	50MHz	SSB
20:15z	G0EAK/P	50MHz	SSB
20:17z	G0WWH	50MHz	SSB
20:17z	G4NTY	50MHz	SSB
20:18z	GW8ASD	50MHz	SSB
20:18z	M3RNX	50MHz	SSB
20:19z	M3TZJ	50MHz	SSB
20:20z	GI4SNA	50MHz	SSB
20:29z	G7RAU	50MHz	SSB
20:30z	M0WLF	50MHz	SSB
20:31z	2E0BMO	50MHz	SSB
20:33z	G4NDM/P	50MHz	SSB
20:34z	M0ZOO/P	50MHz	SSB
20:36z	G4NOK	50MHz	SSB
20:37z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
20:38z	M0COP/P	50MHz	SSB
20:40z	G8AXZ/P	50MHz	SSB
20:41z	GM3SEK	50MHz	SSB
20:43z	M0GAV	50MHz	SSB
20:43z	2E0YZA/P	50MHz	SSB
20:45z	M0PJA/P	50MHz	SSB
20:49z	M0ICK/P	50MHz	SSB
20:49z	G4AQB	50MHz	SSB
20:50z	M0VAA	50MHz	SSB
20:51z	2E0WBL	50MHz	SSB
20:52z	M0HGY	50MHz	SSB
20:54z	G4HGI	50MHz	SSB
20:56z	M0MDY	50MHz	SSB
20:57z	G4CLA	50MHz	SSB
20:59z	G4HVC	50MHz	SSB
21:02z	M6EKI/P	50MHz	SSB
21:03z	G8XVJ	50MHz	SSB
21:07z	M1MHZ	50MHz	SSB
21:09z	MC0MRS	50MHz	SSB
21:11z	GW4MVA	50MHz	SSB
21:15z	G3TBK	50MHz	SSB
21:19z	G8ZRE	50MHz	SSB
21:24z	G3MEH	50MHz	SSB
21:28z	G1SWH	50MHz	SSB
21:29z	M1DDD/P	50MHz	SSB
21:32z	G8AJM/P	50MHz	SSB
21:39z	G4LKD	50MHz	SSB
21:47z	G3PHO	50MHz	SSB
21:50z	G0NEY	50MHz	SSB
21:52z	G4BWP	50MHz	SSB
21:54z	G0BFJ	50MHz	SSB
21:58z	G3PYE/P	50MHz	CW
22:06z	G0CER	50MHz	SSB
22:11z	G7DWY	50MHz	SSB
22:12z	G8GXP	50MHz	SSB
22:14z	G0HEL/P	50MHz	SSB
22:21z	G4ELJ	50MHz	CW
22:24z	G8DTF	50MHz	SSB

Tuesday 14th April 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

432MHz contest night. 51 contacts - 50 SSB + one CW, all on 70cm. Not a great night on The Cloud. 11 (22) mults - 72, 74, 81, 82, 83, 84, 91, 92, 93, 94, 02. More mults heard but not worked - 86, 90, 00 plus IN99. Known to be about but not heard - 01, 03. Usual squares not heard of at all - 64, 75, 80, 85. Wishing I'd gone up to Merryton Low now with Nick (M1DDD) being out of action and Erik (G8XVJ) staying at home. .

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:00z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
19:02z	G1HSG/P	433MHz	SSB
19:03z	G8XVJ	433MHz	SSB
19:04z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
19:05z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
19:07z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
19:08z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:10z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
19:10z	G1SWH	433MHz	SSB
19:11z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
19:12z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
19:13z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
19:15z	G8EVR	433MHz	SSB
19:15z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
19:16z	G4AQB	433MHz	SSB
19:17z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
19:18z	M0WXB/P	433MHz	SSB
19:20z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
19:20z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:24z	M0TWC/P	433MHz	SSB
19:25z	G0WTD	433MHz	SSB
19:26z	M0COP/P	433MHz	SSB
19:32z	M0GHZ	433MHz	SSB
19:33z	M0WYB	433MHz	SSB
19:34z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:36z	GW0IRW/P	433MHz	SSB
19:39z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
19:43z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
19:46z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
19:47z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
19:48z	M0UFC	433MHz	SSB
19:49z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
19:50z	G4YUP/P	433MHz	SSB
19:51z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
20:02z	M0AFJ	433MHz	CW
20:07z	G4ODA	433MHz	SSB
20:08z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
20:09z	G8REQ	433MHz	SSB
20:10z	G4NDM/P	433MHz	SSB
20:18z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
20:20z	G0EHV/P	433MHz	SSB
20:24z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
20:26z	M3BLV/P	433MHz	SSB
20:31z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
20:31z	M0ICK/P	433MHz	SSB
20:36z	G8WUY	433MHz	SSB
20:43z	M0NVS/P	433MHz	SSB
20:54z	M1CJN/P	433MHz	SSB
21:19z	G8DOH	433MHz	SSB
21:21z	G3PYE/P	433MHz	SSB
21:24z	G8YMW/P	433MHz	SSB

Wednesday 15th April 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

This was a trial activation ahead of the 6/10m Challenge, to see if I could use my end-fed plus tuner to operate on the target bands. Well I could, although I only achieved one CW contact on 6m and none at all on 10m! A couple were then added on 20m CW and 13 on 40m CW, including two S2S.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
13:23z	GW4ZAR	50MHz	CW
14:01z	SK0TM	14MHz	CW
14:05z	HA5LV	14MHz	CW
14:19z	DL/PA0SKP/P	7MHz	CW	DM/RP-022
14:21z	HB9BAB/P	7MHz	CW	HB/ZH-015
14:24z	PA0XAW	7MHz	CW
14:26z	G4OBK	7MHz	CW
14:27z	G4SSH	7MHz	CW
14:27z	MW0BFY	7MHz	CW
14:27z	PA0B	7MHz	CW
14:28z	PA0RBA	7MHz	CW
14:29z	DL4KCA	7MHz	CW
14:30z	G4FGJ	7MHz	CW
14:31z	M0MPM	7MHz	CW
14:31z	F6EAZ	7MHz	CW
14:33z	DL4AC/P	7MHz	CW

Tuesday 28th April 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

Uninspiring contest for me. Just 60 QSOs, and a dismal 9 multipliers: 64, 82, 83, 90, 91, 92, 93, 02, 03. I heard, but didn't work: 65, 73, 74, 81, 00, 01.

I really think that M7 has spoiled the UKACs. Activity seems much harder to come by, and half the stations are just beaming to the continent like the bad old days. I haven't checked the data, but my instinct is that participation is falling too, after year-on-year rises for a number of years under M5. I'm also rather unimpressed with just how blinking cold it was. 3 degrees C, and we were within a week of May Day!

Fellow Tall Trees Contest Group members worked: M1DDD, M0HGY, G8WUY, G3RKF, G3KAF, G3TDH, M0VAA, G3UJE, GW4ZAR.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:02z	GI4SNA	50MHz	SSB
19:03z	G8XVJ/P	50MHz	SSB
19:05z	G3KAF	50MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3PHO	50MHz	SSB
19:09z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
19:12z	G8ZRE	50MHz	SSB
19:13z	G8DTF	50MHz	SSB
19:14z	M0HGY	50MHz	SSB
19:15z	M0COP/P	50MHz	SSB
19:15z	G4HYG	50MHz	SSB
19:16z	G0WTD	50MHz	SSB
19:16z	M0PCF/P	50MHz	SSB
19:17z	M0ICK/P	50MHz	SSB
19:17z	G4APJ	50MHz	SSB
19:17z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
19:18z	G8REQ	50MHz	SSB
19:19z	M0NST	50MHz	SSB
19:19z	G4ZRP	50MHz	SSB
19:22z	G8AJM/P	50MHz	SSB
19:24z	G3PYE/P	50MHz	SSB
19:25z	M1MHZ	50MHz	SSB
19:26z	G4CLA	50MHz	SSB
19:27z	G4OAR/A	50MHz	SSB
19:28z	G7LRQ/P	50MHz	SSB
19:30z	M0VXX/P	50MHz	SSB
19:32z	M0VAA	50MHz	SSB
19:34z	GW4ZAR/P	50MHz	SSB
19:36z	G4LKD	50MHz	SSB
19:38z	M1DDD	50MHz	SSB
19:40z	G1SWH	50MHz	SSB
19:44z	G0NEY	50MHz	SSB
19:46z	G6XHF	50MHz	SSB
19:47z	2E0BMO	50MHz	SSB
19:49z	G8HXE/P	50MHz	SSB
19:50z	G3TBK/P	50MHz	SSB
19:54z	G2ANC	50MHz	SSB
19:56z	G3UJE	50MHz	SSB
19:57z	M0CES/P	50MHz	SSB
19:59z	G3ZUD	50MHz	SSB
20:00z	M3RNX	50MHz	SSB
20:02z	M0MDY	50MHz	SSB
20:05z	G7DWY	50MHz	SSB
20:13z	G4NTY	50MHz	SSB
20:24z	G3MEH	50MHz	SSB
20:27z	G0FWU	50MHz	SSB
20:32z	G0HGH	50MHz	CW
20:34z	G3TDH	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	GW8ASD	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	G3RKF	50MHz	SSB
20:37z	G8WUY	50MHz	SSB
20:41z	G8ONK	50MHz	SSB
20:45z	G8BUN	50MHz	SSB
20:50z	2W0JYN	50MHz	SSB
20:55z	G3WIR/A	50MHz	SSB
20:59z	G4NDM/P	50MHz	SSB
21:01z	G8DOH	50MHz	SSB
21:06z	G7RAU	50MHz	CW
21:11z	G4HVC	50MHz	SSB
21:24z	G0CER	50MHz	SSB
21:29z	G0BFJ	50MHz	SSB

Monday 4th May 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

A friend's QTH was not available as an option last night, as he was out for a Bank Holiday meal. So no 10 watts, no 80m doublet and no warmth and comfort!

Instead, it was back to the old routine of participating SOTA style from Cloud summit. 52 was probably the best I have done in that circumstance. I do need to at least try to run for some small block of time near the end, but I'm not sure the receive or filtering on the 817 is ever going to be up to it. At least the 52 is in the QRP section.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:04z	M0WLF	3.5MHz	SSB
19:04z	G3XSV	3.5MHz	SSB
19:05z	G4DDX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:06z	G3LDI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3ORY	3.5MHz	SSB
19:10z	G3XYC	3.5MHz	SSB
19:11z	G4FJK	3.5MHz	SSB
19:12z	G3KLH	3.5MHz	SSB
19:13z	G3ZAY	3.5MHz	SSB
19:15z	GM3POI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:17z	GW4BVE	3.5MHz	SSB
19:21z	G0BKU	3.5MHz	SSB
19:23z	G3ZVW	3.5MHz	SSB
19:25z	M0GAV	3.5MHz	SSB
19:26z	G4SJX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:26z	G0AAA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:29z	G4FNL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:31z	G1EGL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:32z	G0DVJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:33z	G3PHO	3.5MHz	SSB
19:34z	G0HSA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:35z	GW0GEI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:39z	G3TBK	3.5MHz	SSB
19:40z	G4EBK	3.5MHz	SSB
19:41z	GW4BLE	3.5MHz	SSB
19:41z	G3BJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:42z	M1ACB	3.5MHz	SSB
19:42z	G4RCD	3.5MHz	SSB
19:43z	G3PDH	3.5MHz	SSB
19:44z	G3RVM	3.5MHz	SSB
19:44z	G3RXQ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:46z	G7LRR	3.5MHz	SSB
19:47z	PA0MIR	3.5MHz	SSB
19:50z	M0NKR	3.5MHz	SSB
19:52z	M0DHO	3.5MHz	SSB
19:54z	G0FEX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:55z	M0VAA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:55z	G4FAL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:56z	M0XDX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:57z	G4ZAR/P	3.5MHz	SSB
20:01z	G6AY	3.5MHz	SSB
20:02z	G3HRH	3.5MHz	SSB
20:03z	2W0JCN	3.5MHz	SSB
20:10z	G3VCA	3.5MHz	SSB
20:11z	G3LAS	3.5MHz	SSB
20:13z	G4BZP	3.5MHz	SSB
20:15z	G4TPO	3.5MHz	SSB
20:20z	G4DBW	3.5MHz	SSB
20:22z	G0IIQ	3.5MHz	SSB
20:23z	G3MXH	3.5MHz	SSB
20:24z	G0LHZ	3.5MHz	SSB
20:26z	G0LWU	3.5MHz	SSB
20:29z	MM0GOR	3.5MHz	SSB
20:32z	G3KAF	3.5MHz	SSB
20:34z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
20:35z	M0HGY	3.5MHz	SSB
20:36z	G0BSU	3.5MHz	SSB
20:43z	GW2HFR	3.5MHz	SSB

Tuesday 5th May 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

84 QSOs into 29 (14 + 1) for me. Not bad QSOs but mults let me down. Only the one from 75 from GM. Never heard 94, 80, 90 or 00 that I would have wanted.

Much easier on the rx without Erik XVJ on Merryton Low, or Jake from Crewe on Mow Cop!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:00z	G6SPG	144MHz	SSB
19:01z	G3UVR	144MHz	SSB
19:01z	GW4BVE	144MHz	SSB
19:02z	2W0JYN	144MHz	SSB
19:02z	G4OAR/A	144MHz	SSB
19:03z	G8PEF/P	144MHz	SSB
19:03z	M0VAA	144MHz	SSB
19:04z	G4IOQ	144MHz	SSB
19:04z	G4AQB	144MHz	SSB
19:05z	M0HGY	144MHz	SSB
19:05z	G2ANC	144MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3SQQ	144MHz	SSB
19:13z	M0CGL	144MHz	SSB
19:14z	GW4OKT	144MHz	SSB
19:15z	G0WTD	144MHz	SSB
19:16z	G8HXE/P	144MHz	SSB
19:17z	GD8EXI	144MHz	SSB
19:18z	GI4SNA	144MHz	SSB
19:19z	M0NST	144MHz	SSB
19:21z	G8WUY	144MHz	SSB
19:23z	2E0YZA/P	144MHz	SSB
19:24z	M1MHZ	144MHz	SSB
19:28z	F8BRK	144MHz	SSB
19:29z	M1DDD/P	144MHz	SSB
19:33z	G8BUN	144MHz	SSB
19:34z	G8REQ	144MHz	SSB
19:35z	2E0BMO	144MHz	SSB
19:35z	G0CER	144MHz	SSB
19:39z	G7CPN	144MHz	SSB
19:40z	M3OUA	144MHz	SSB
19:41z	G4NTY	144MHz	SSB
19:41z	G3TDH	144MHz	SSB
19:42z	G8EVR	144MHz	SSB
19:43z	G4HZG	144MHz	SSB
19:46z	G3VCA	144MHz	SSB
19:48z	G8CUL	144MHz	SSB
19:49z	G8AJM/P	144MHz	SSB
19:52z	G8EOP	144MHz	SSB
19:53z	G4VFL/P	144MHz	SSB
19:57z	G1SWH	144MHz	SSB
19:59z	M0BRA	144MHz	SSB
19:59z	G4HVC	144MHz	SSB
20:01z	G4IRC	144MHz	SSB
20:03z	G4HGI	144MHz	SSB
20:04z	2E0SCX	144MHz	SSB
20:07z	G3TBK/P	144MHz	SSB
20:10z	2E0LKC	144MHz	SSB
20:13z	M0DXR/P	144MHz	SSB
20:16z	G4APJ	144MHz	SSB
20:17z	2E0XJP	144MHz	SSB
20:17z	M0ICK/P	144MHz	SSB
20:20z	G0HGH	144MHz	SSB
20:23z	GW4ZAR	144MHz	SSB
20:25z	G3PYE/P	144MHz	SSB
20:28z	M0WYB	144MHz	SSB
20:32z	GM4PPT	144MHz	SSB
20:34z	M0GHZ/P	144MHz	SSB
20:35z	M0WXB/P	144MHz	SSB
20:36z	G4CXQ/P	144MHz	SSB
20:38z	G0BRC	144MHz	SSB
20:39z	M0ICR	144MHz	SSB
20:41z	2E0LMD	144MHz	SSB
20:42z	G4XPE	144MHz	SSB
20:43z	G4WUA	144MHz	SSB
20:44z	M0VVZ	144MHz	SSB
20:45z	G8JVW	144MHz	SSB
20:46z	G1VVF	144MHz	SSB
20:49z	G1KFB	144MHz	SSB
20:52z	G4LKD	144MHz	SSB
20:59z	M0VXX/P	144MHz	SSB
20:59z	M0BUL	144MHz	SSB
21:00z	G0HEL/P	144MHz	SSB
21:02z	G4HGT/P	144MHz	SSB
21:07z	G8PNN/P	144MHz	SSB
21:08z	G3PHO	144MHz	SSB
21:10z	2E0VPX	144MHz	SSB
21:11z	G6RC	144MHz	SSB
21:12z	G4YPC	144MHz	SSB
21:15z	G4YUP/P	144MHz	SSB
21:21z	G3YDY	144MHz	SSB
21:24z	G8FMC	144MHz	SSB
21:26z	G4CLA	144MHz	SSB
21:27z	G4ZTR	144MHz	SSB
21:29z	2E0DHM	144MHz	SSB

Tuesday 12th May 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

Back round to 70cm contest night, but still we did not appear to be clear of winter. It was cold and windy, even if the longer daylight was welcome.

Anyway, I was still finding the UKAC hard work. Conditions were evidently bobbins, but the south and eastern participants beaming at the continent for the first two hours, and the continuing boycott by the Scottish stations made for another rubbish night. M7 rule - progress? I think not. Just 50 QSOs, 49 on 70cm SSB and one on 70cm CW.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:00z	M3OUA	433MHz	SSB
19:00z	G8WUY	433MHz	SSB
19:01z	M0ICK/P	433MHz	SSB
19:02z	G1HSG/P	433MHz	SSB
19:04z	G8XVJ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:05z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
19:08z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
19:09z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
19:09z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
19:10z	G4KRN	433MHz	SSB
19:11z	G3VDB	433MHz	SSB
19:11z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
19:12z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
19:13z	M0WBG	433MHz	SSB
19:14z	G4AQB	433MHz	SSB
19:14z	G6XHF	433MHz	SSB
19:15z	G4WBO	433MHz	SSB
19:18z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
19:19z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
19:20z	M0PCF/P	433MHz	SSB
19:22z	M0TWC/P	433MHz	SSB
19:24z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:25z	G8OHM	433MHz	SSB
19:27z	G1SWH	433MHz	SSB
19:28z	G3SQQ	433MHz	SSB
19:30z	GW8REQ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:31z	G0CER	433MHz	SSB
19:33z	M0GHZ	433MHz	SSB
19:37z	M1DDD/P	433MHz	SSB
19:38z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
19:40z	2E0LMD	433MHz	SSB
19:47z	G4NDM/P	433MHz	SSB
19:54z	G4CZP/P	433MHz	CW
19:56z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
20:00z	M6GZE/P	433MHz	SSB
20:04z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
20:06z	M0WXB/P	433MHz	SSB
20:10z	G0WTD	433MHz	SSB
20:11z	GI4SNA	433MHz	SSB
20:12z	GD8EXI	433MHz	SSB
20:22z	M0COP/P	433MHz	SSB
20:24z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
20:28z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
20:40z	G3VCA	433MHz	SSB
20:43z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
20:45z	G3TBK/P	433MHz	SSB
21:03z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
21:17z	G4CFP	433MHz	SSB
21:20z	G4NBS	433MHz	SSB

Wednesday 13th May 2015 - The Cloud G/SP-015

It was back to this slightly familar summit once again, this time for the RSGB Club Contest 80m Data session. Unfortunately, I couldn't get my new HTC One phone to receive signals through the cable into the phone's headphone jack. Fortunately, I had taken my old Galaxy S3 phone up as back-up just in case.

Fifteen QSOs were made on 80m PSK63 in the contest, followed by six on 80m SSB afterwards. I was at a bit of a loss to understand why the new phone wasn't working. DroidPSK was springing to life when disconnecting the cable, with the audio from the FT-817's speaker being heard via the phone's microphone. Triggering TX from the phone works OK, just not RX. The supplied earbuds / mike with the phone all seemed to work OK, so I couldn't work this out!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:03z	G3KLH	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:05z	G3KAF	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:12z	G3ZVW	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:14z	G3TKF	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:18z	GW0GEI	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:28z	G3PDH	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:35z	G4ABX	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:41z	G4FNL	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:45z	G3YHV	3.5MHz	PSK63
19:56z	M6ESV	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:00z	M0HGY	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:02z	GM3WOJ	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:11z	GW4BVE	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:23z	G3BJ	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:28z	MW0CVT	3.5MHz	PSK63
20:31z	M0HGY	3.5MHz	SSB
20:37z	G3TDH	3.5MHz	SSB
20:38z	M0VAA	3.5MHz	SSB
20:39z	G3KAF	3.5MHz	SSB
20:40z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
20:42z	GM4WHA	3.5MHz	SSB

Monday 18th May 2015

I got a surprise opportunity to nip up The Cloud G/SP-015 and do 45 minutes or so on 10m. And there I was at the Cloudside parking spot kicking myself for leaving the LifePO4 battery at home! So I wandered up with just the VX7R to see if I could get any more luck than Simon G4TJC on 6m FM.

View across to Sutton Common Just survived the shower!

Either nobody fancied that, or nobody was listening anyway - or the 6m extension for the VX7R helical antenna is little more than a dummy load! I managed only three QSOs on 2m FM as I hunted for people that might have 6m FM capability and might be willing to QSY. But no such luck.

Rainbow left... ...rainbow right!

I did enjoy the views though, and saw a fabulous rainbow when the sun reappeared after a short shower.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:51z	2E0SEY/M	144MHz	FM
17:55z	M1EQD/M	144MHz	FM
17:58z	M6TGX	144MHz	FM

I hadn't activated The Cloud G/SP-015 yet for the 10m/6m Challenge, so I put that right on the morning of Saturday 23rd May 2015. Having slept only five hours after playing a gig the previous evening, I felt tired and slow walking up the steps to the National Trust land. That out of the way, I enjoyed the Saturday morning fresh air as I wandered along the "cliff edge" path to the trig point.

Using the 10m groundplane antenna, I found the band to have some signs of life but not much! A couple of G's on groundwave and a Kazakh contest station were all that could be eked out of the CW segment. After switching to SSB, I discovered that there was a very good opening to Spain, and in the end, seven of the 17 contacts made were into EA. This included chasers Pedro EA2CKX, Luis EA2LMI, Manuel EA2DT and Moises EA4MZ, The others were all ITU 150th Anniversary special callsign stations - AO150E, AO150R and AO150V.

The activation concluded with a hard-won S2S contact with MT colleague Csaba YO6PIB, who was on YO/EC-093. A quick call on 51.510MHz FM on the VX7R was more in hope than expectation. Thoughts were turning towards picking up some filled oatcakes on the way home.

17 QSOs: 6 CW + 11 SSB - EA: 7 G: 8 UN: 1 YO: 1

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
08:37z	G4OBK	28MHz	CW
08:41z	G4TJC	28MHz	CW
08:44z	UN9LW	28MHz	CW
08:48z	AO150E	28MHz	SSB
08:49z	AO150R	28MHz	SSB
08:54z	EA2LMI	28MHz	SSB
08:56z	M6RUG	28MHz	SSB
08:58z	EA2CKX	28MHz	SSB
08:58z	G3RMD	28MHz	SSB
08:59z	M3NHA	28MHz	SSB
09:00z	M6NHA	28MHz	SSB
09:03z	G1AJI	28MHz	SSB
09:08z	AO150V	28MHz	SSB
09:18z	EA2DT	28MHz	CW
09:18z	EA4MZ	28MHz	CW
09:26z	2E0ZAI	28MHz	CW
09:37z	YO6PIB/P	28MHz	SSB	YO/EC-093

Sunday 31st May 2015 presented an opportunity to nip up The Cloud and add some QSOs in the 6m/10m Challenge. There was a bit of DX kicking around, and I got Argentina, Cape Verde, Madeira, Canaries and four Brazilians in my log. Good stuff!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
14:55z	PX2F	28MHz	CW
15:00z	CT3EE	28MHz	CW
15:02z	D4C	28MHz	CW
15:04z	PY2NY	28MHz	CW
15:12z	G3CWI	28MHz	CW
15:15z	G3ILO/P	28MHz	CW
15:25z	CR6K	28MHz	CW
15:27z	EA8/RA1A	28MHz	CW
15:32z	EC7AKV	28MHz	CW
15:35z	G4FPA	28MHz	CW
15:47z	PR5W	28MHz	CW
15:56z	EF8U	28MHz	CW
16:09z	M6RUG	28MHz	SSB
16:10z	G4BLH	28MHz	SSB
16:10z	EA5AER	28MHz	SSB
16:28z	LU6UO	28MHz	CW
16:36z	EA8DBM	50MHz	CW
16:42z	ZW8T	28MHz	CW
16:51z	G5W	28MHz	CW

Tuesday 2nd June 2015 was 2m SSB contest night and I went up Bosley Cloud for the evening. Just 20 minutes in and I detected electrical storm activity on the radio. Looking at the skies to the west and south, things did not look good. Sharp near vertical edged cloud shapes, yellowy grey swirling appearance of overhead clouds, rather like a lava lamp. A very heavy band of rain approaching from the south west. I decided it was not healthy either for myself or my radio equipment to stick around, so hastily packed up and made a sharp exit.

Rainbow left Rainbow centre

A bonus was this fabulous rainbow as I walked off the hill.

Rainbow right

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:04z	G4HGT/P	144MHz	SSB
19:04z	G4HGI	144MHz	SSB
19:05z	2E0BMO	144MHz	SSB
19:06z	G0CER	144MHz	SSB
19:06z	G3UVR	144MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3MEH	144MHz	SSB
19:08z	G8DTF	144MHz	SSB
19:09z	G8XVJ/P	144MHz	SSB
19:10z	2E0YZA/P	144MHz	SSB
19:12z	G3ZVW	144MHz	SSB
19:13z	G8REQ	144MHz	SSB
19:14z	M0VXX/P	144MHz	SSB
19:15z	G4APJ	144MHz	SSB
19:16z	G8HXE/P	144MHz	SSB
19:17z	G4FRK	144MHz	SSB
19:19z	G4FZN/P	144MHz	SSB
19:20z	M1DDD/P	144MHz	SSB

The afternoon activation on Wednesday 3rd June 2015, was to try out a prototype of the Wayfarer antenna from SOTAbeams. The only problem was that I didn't have a great deal of time available. I went to one of my alternative operating spots in the heather, above the cliffs a little way short of the summit. The antenna was easy to set up, and worked on all three bands - 40m, 20m and 10m as promised.

Matching isolator Wire winder and feeder

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:11z	DL4FO	28MHz	CW
17:14z	EA2DSG	28MHz	CW
17:17z	OK2PDT	28MHz	CW
17:21z	EA2DT	28MHz	SSB
17:28z	GM4MD/P	7MHz	SSB

On Saturday 6th June 2015, I returned to give the Wayfarer antenna a proper run out. Again, it worked straightaway, without adjustment, on 40m, 20m and 10m. Furthermore, my FT-817's SWR display indicated that that antenna might be usable on 15m. I heard IZ4ZZB calling in CW, went back to him, and got worked first call with decent two-way reports.

Wayfarer antenna Feedline choke

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
07:15z	OK1MRZ	28MHz	CW
07:34z	ZS6JP	28MHz	CW
07:43z	MW0RKD	28MHz	SSB
07:44z	2W1RSS	28MHz	SSB
08:05z	DL3HXX	14MHz	CW
08:07z	CT2IWW	14MHz	CW
08:08z	EA2DT	14MHz	CW
08:08z	OK1DVM	14MHz	CW
08:11z	SP9AMH	14MHz	CW
08:16z	HA10SOTA	14MHz	SSB	HA/KD-030
08:19z	G4CFS	7MHz	CW
08:21z	G4WSB	7MHz	CW
08:22z	G4SSH	7MHz	CW
08:26z	M0ICR	7MHz	SSB
08:31z	IZ4ZZB	21MHz	CW
08:33z	UN7AB	28MHz	CW
08:35z	M3FEH	7MHz	SSB

Tuesday 9th June 2015 was 70cm contest night. The highlight of the 58 contacts made was a S2S QSO with Robert GM4GUF/P on Tinto GM/SS-064.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S
19:02z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
19:03z	G4CFP	433MHz	SSB
19:03z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
19:04z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
19:04z	M0VAA	433MHz	SSB
19:06z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:07z	G5LK	433MHz	SSB
19:11z	GI4FZN/P	433MHz	SSB
19:12z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
19:13z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:14z	G4HGI	433MHz	SSB
19:17z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:18z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
19:19z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
19:20z	M0COP/P	433MHz	SSB
19:25z	G0ODQ	433MHz	SSB
19:28z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
19:30z	G4NBS	433MHz	SSB
19:30z	G8XVJ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:32z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
19:33z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
19:34z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
19:35z	GW8REQ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:35z	M6NHA	433MHz	SSB
19:36z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
19:36z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
19:37z	M0NST	433MHz	SSB
19:37z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
19:38z	GD1MIP	433MHz	SSB
19:39z	2E0XJP/P	433MHz	SSB
19:40z	G8GPO/P	433MHz	SSB
19:41z	2E0DHM	433MHz	SSB
19:42z	M0WBG	433MHz	SSB
19:46z	G3MEH	433MHz	SSB
19:49z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
19:51z	G8AJM/P	433MHz	SSB
19:53z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
19:54z	G4OAR/A	433MHz	SSB
20:03z	M0BTZ	433MHz	SSB
20:05z	M0PCF/P	433MHz	SSB
20:08z	GI4SNA	433MHz	SSB
20:17z	G2ANC	433MHz	SSB
20:27z	2E0LMD	433MHz	SSB
20:29z	M3NHA	433MHz	SSB
20:31z	M6GZE	433MHz	SSB
20:32z	GW4NXO/P	433MHz	SSB
20:38z	2W0JYN	433MHz	SSB
20:39z	G8PNN/P	433MHz	SSB
20:41z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
20:43z	M3OUA	433MHz	SSB
20:45z	2E1GNZ	433MHz	SSB
20:58z	G7ADF	433MHz	SSB
21:03z	2E0RET	433MHz	SSB
21:05z	G8ONK	433MHz	SSB
21:07z	G0CER	433MHz	SSB
21:10z	F8BRK	433MHz	SSB
21:15z	GM4GUF/P	433MHz	SSB	GM/SS-064
21:20z	G6XHF	433MHz	SSB

Sunday 14th June 2015 saw me head up to The Cloud to take part in the 2m Backpackers Contest. I then changed antennas and made a few contacts on 10m and 6m before heading home.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
09:01z	G7SAC/P	144MHz	SSB
09:03z	G3VRE/P	144MHz	SSB
09:04z	G4TCU/P	144MHz	SSB
09:06z	G6BDV	144MHz	SSB
09:06z	2E0MDJ	144MHz	SSB
09:07z	GW8ZRE/P	144MHz	SSB
09:08z	G4ALE/P	144MHz	SSB
09:09z	G3XFD/P	144MHz	SSB
09:12z	GW4XZL/P	144MHz	SSB
09:14z	M0VCT/P	144MHz	SSB
09:16z	GW4WXM/P	144MHz	SSB
09:17z	G3NFC/P	144MHz	SSB
09:19z	G3WOR/P	144MHz	SSB
09:19z	GW6PVK/P	144MHz	SSB
09:20z	G1GYC/P	144MHz	SSB
09:22z	G4UDG	144MHz	SSB
09:22z	G8OVZ/P	144MHz	SSB
09:23z	G0ROC/P	144MHz	SSB
09:24z	G4JZF	144MHz	SSB
09:25z	G8LED/P	144MHz	SSB
09:26z	G4RYV	144MHz	SSB
09:27z	2E0CIQ/P	144MHz	SSB
09:28z	G2XV/P	144MHz	SSB
09:28z	G7JYY	144MHz	SSB
09:29z	GW0EIY/P	144MHz	SSB
09:31z	G4RLF/P	144MHz	SSB
09:33z	G0WRS/P	144MHz	SSB
09:34z	G8BGV/P	144MHz	SSB
09:35z	GW0HRG/P	144MHz	SSB
09:36z	G3ATZ/P	144MHz	SSB
09:38z	M0VXX/P	144MHz	SSB
09:40z	GI7KXZ/P	144MHz	SSB
09:41z	G0BWC/P	144MHz	SSB
09:43z	G4MJO/P	144MHz	SSB
09:44z	GI4SNA	144MHz	SSB
09:51z	M0HRF/P	144MHz	SSB
09:53z	G8YJT/P	144MHz	SSB
09:55z	GX2UG	144MHz	SSB
09:58z	MM0VTV/P	144MHz	SSB
10:06z	MI0SMK	144MHz	SSB
10:09z	G4TJC/P	144MHz	SSB	G/SP-004
10:20z	G6UQ	144MHz	FM
10:21z	G0RXA	144MHz	FM
10:22z	2E0CKA	144MHz	FM
10:23z	M0TXK	144MHz	FM
10:28z	G8GAJ/M	144MHz	FM
10:33z	GW7JMZ/M	144MHz	FM
10:35z	MW0WML/M	144MHz	FM
10:36z	G0OHY	144MHz	FM
10:37z	G4ERQ	144MHz	FM
10:37z	G0BSD	144MHz	FM
10:38z	G0CER	144MHz	FM
10:39z	G0VOF	144MHz	FM
10:42z	G1KDU	144MHz	FM
10:43z	G8OMB	144MHz	FM
10:44z	G3XQE	144MHz	FM
10:47z	M6OXO	144MHz	FM
10:48z	M6CEQ	144MHz	FM
10:49z	M0XOC	144MHz	FM
10:50z	M0HQJ/M	144MHz	FM
10:51z	2E0LKC	144MHz	FM
10:55z	2W0JYN/P	144MHz	FM
10:58z	G0OXV/M	144MHz	FM
10:59z	G4ZRP	144MHz	FM
11:06z	G3BPK/P	144MHz	SSB
11:08z	G3MEH	144MHz	SSB
11:10z	M6GAD/P	144MHz	SSB
11:18z	G1POS/P	144MHz	SSB
11:23z	GW4EVX	144MHz	SSB
11:24z	GW8REQ/P	144MHz	SSB
11:26z	GW4YCT/P	144MHz	SSB
11:28z	G4PGJ	144MHz	SSB
11:28z	G0LGS/P	144MHz	SSB	G/CE-001
11:41z	G4RUL/P	144MHz	SSB
11:46z	GW7LAS/P	144MHz	SSB	GW/NW-012
11:49z	M0BKQ/P	144MHz	SSB
11:50z	MW0GMZ/P	144MHz	SSB
11:52z	G3YJR	144MHz	SSB
11:53z	2E0NVS/P	144MHz	SSB
11:57z	G4APJ	144MHz	SSB
12:01z	GM4PPT	144MHz	SSB
12:03z	G4YBS/P	144MHz	SSB
12:06z	M0HGY	144MHz	SSB
12:07z	GM4JR	144MHz	SSB
12:08z	G0AKF	144MHz	SSB
12:25z	G0XAZ/P	144MHz	SSB
12:29z	G4FUO/P	144MHz	SSB
12:30z	G4DEE	144MHz	SSB
12:33z	MW0TBI/P	144MHz	SSB
12:34z	M3NHA	144MHz	SSB
12:36z	EI4EY	144MHz	SSB
12:48z	M0LDZ/M	144MHz	FM
12:52z	G0WBT	144MHz	FM
12:53z	2E0JZC	144MHz	FM
12:54z	M0ATV/M	144MHz	FM
12:57z	M6NHA	144MHz	SSB
12:59z	GW4BZD	144MHz	SSB
13:32z	G7FQW/M	28MHz	SSB
13:34z	OE5JKL	28MHz	SSB
13:35z	G0SXC	28MHz	SSB
13:35z	OE5FSL	28MHz	SSB
13:37z	G4BLH	28MHz	SSB
13:39z	OE5AUL	28MHz	SSB
13:40z	OE5YYN	28MHz	SSB
13:42z	CT2JLS	28MHz	SSB
13:45z	4X1KS	28MHz	CW
13:49z	OM4J	28MHz	CW
13:50z	PS8BR	28MHz	CW
13:53z	EU1AA	28MHz	CW
13:59z	EA2LU	28MHz	CW
14:00z	EA2DT	28MHz	CW
14:02z	S52CU	28MHz	CW
14:07z	HA0MK	50MHz	CW
14:14z	OK2GM	50MHz	CW
14:16z	S54X	50MHz	CW
14:18z	G0JHC	50MHz	CW
14:29z	OK2BKQ	50MHz	CW
14:32z	OM5XX	50MHz	SSB
14:35z	S58G	50MHz	SSB
14:54z	HG90IARU	50MHz	CW
14:56z	OM3GI	50MHz	CW
15:03z	IK5ZWU	50MHz	SSB

On Monday 15th June 2015, I had a short window of opportunity between dropping off and picking up Liam in Congleton. Again, I focused on the 10m and 6m bands using the single antenna with trap, and made eight contacts.

10-6 antenna Tom M1EYP

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:44z	M3NHA	50MHz	SSB
17:44z	M6NHA	50MHz	SSB
18:00z	EA3NN	28MHz	CW
18:04z	OK1MGW	28MHz	CW
18:12z	EC5EA	28MHz	SSB
18:18z	G0OWC	28MHz	SSB
18:28z	G3JUX	50MHz	CW
18:29z	HA8IB	50MHz	CW

On Sunday 21st June 2015, I took the opportunity to catch the closing hours of the weekend's 6m event from my local summit. Fortunately, the band was open, and unlike the previous day on Walton Hill G/CE-002, I would be using the SB6 Moxon to make the most of things. The result was a pleasing haul of contacts and particularly good paths into the Balkan countries.

Time	Call	Band	Mode	Notes
11:50z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
11:51z	9A1AA	50MHz	CW
11:56z	YT5W	50MHz	CW
11:59z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
12:01z	YU1EO	50MHz	SSB
12:15z	9A2TN	50MHz	SSB
12:17z	G6LD	50MHz	SSB
12:20z	IK0XBX	50MHz	SSB
12:21z	E7TT	50MHz	SSB
12:24z	IZ4ZAW/6	50MHz	SSB
12:29z	YU7W	50MHz	SSB
12:30z	GW8ASD	50MHz	SSB
12:32z	YO2NAA	50MHz	SSB
12:34z	YU7YZ	50MHz	SSB
12:35z	HA6W	50MHz	SSB
12:38z	OM5XX	50MHz	CW
12:43z	EA4CWN	50MHz	CW
12:55z	OM7KW	50MHz	SSB
12:58z	EC4TR	50MHz	SSB
13:02z	GM4ZUK	50MHz	CW
13:08z	GW4TJC/P	50MHz	SSB	GW/NW-047
13:09z	G8ZRE	50MHz	SSB
13:12z	YR8Y	50MHz	SSB
13:15z	UR7D	50MHz	SSB
13:18z	M0OMB	50MHz	SSB
13:21z	G4APJ	50MHz	SSB
13:24z	IK0VWO	50MHz	SSB
13:34z	EF7X	50MHz	CW
13:37z	IQ6XG	50MHz	SSB
13:45z	UT1S	50MHz	SSB
13:49z	IK8YSW	50MHz	SSB
13:52z	UR5W	50MHz	SSB
13:55z	9H1XT	50MHz	SSB

Tuesday 23rd June 2015, and it was back to the UK Activity Contests, and it was 6m week. My SB6 antenna had been kept busy recently, and this evening was no exception, with 65 contacts recorded in the 2.5 hour event window.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:32z	G0FWU	50MHz	SSB
19:33z	G8HXE/P	50MHz	SSB
19:34z	GI4SNA	50MHz	SSB
19:35z	M0SIY	50MHz	SSB
19:41z	G0BFJ	50MHz	SSB
19:43z	G8AXZ/P	50MHz	SSB
19:44z	G8ZRE	50MHz	SSB
19:44z	SK2AT	50MHz	SSB
19:45z	GW4BVE	50MHz	SSB
19:46z	GW8ASD	50MHz	SSB
19:47z	G3KAF	50MHz	SSB
19:48z	2W0JYN	50MHz	SSB
19:49z	M0HGY	50MHz	SSB
19:49z	G4HYG	50MHz	SSB
19:50z	G0CER	50MHz	SSB
19:51z	M0DSK	50MHz	SSB
19:52z	G4CLA	50MHz	SSB
19:53z	G8REQ	50MHz	SSB
19:54z	GW4ZAR	50MHz	SSB
19:55z	M1DDD/P	50MHz	SSB
19:56z	M0MDY	50MHz	SSB
19:58z	G4RQI	50MHz	SSB
19:59z	2E0RET/P	50MHz	SSB
20:01z	M0VXX/P	50MHz	SSB
20:03z	G8XVJ	50MHz	SSB
20:04z	2E0BMO	50MHz	SSB
20:05z	GI6ATZ	50MHz	SSB
20:06z	G6HFF	50MHz	SSB
20:07z	G4CFP	50MHz	SSB
20:07z	2E0WBL	50MHz	SSB
20:08z	G3UVR	50MHz	SSB
20:09z	G7KSE/P	50MHz	SSB
20:12z	G0EAK/P	50MHz	SSB
20:13z	G3TBK/P	50MHz	SSB
20:16z	G3VCA	50MHz	SSB
20:20z	G4OAR/A	50MHz	SSB
20:21z	M0ICK/P	50MHz	SSB
20:21z	G2ANC	50MHz	SSB
20:22z	G4NTY	50MHz	SSB
20:23z	G4BWP	50MHz	SSB
20:24z	G0PEB/P	50MHz	SSB
20:28z	M1MHZ	50MHz	SSB
20:29z	G8AJM/P	50MHz	SSB
20:30z	G4BLH/P	50MHz	SSB
20:32z	G3PHO	50MHz	SSB
20:33z	G4HVC	50MHz	SSB
20:35z	G1SWH	50MHz	SSB
20:37z	M0COP/P	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	2E0MSI/P	50MHz	SSB
20:39z	M0NST	50MHz	SSB
20:46z	M0PCF/P	50MHz	SSB
20:47z	M6NHA	50MHz	SSB
20:48z	G3UJE	50MHz	SSB
20:54z	G6CBX/P	50MHz	SSB
21:03z	2W0LDZ/P	50MHz	SSB
21:06z	G3WIR/A	50MHz	SSB
21:07z	G4NDM/P	50MHz	SSB
21:09z	G8BUN	50MHz	SSB
21:12z	G3ZUD	50MHz	SSB
21:17z	GW0FRE/P	50MHz	SSB
21:21z	G3RCW	50MHz	SSB
21:24z	M3NHA	50MHz	SSB
21:25z	G0HGH	50MHz	CW
21:27z	M0WLF	50MHz	SSB
21:29z	G7LRQ/P	50MHz	SSB

I got in from a gig over in Staxton (near Scarborough) around 3am on Sunday 28th June 2015. Unfortunately, I'd taken on too much caffeine (Red Bull and coffee) to keep me alert for the long drive home. Added to the adrenaline from an excellent gig, I was still buzzing. I was keen to be on The Cloud by 10am in order to participate in the 6m CW contest. I went to bed to get my head down for five hours or so...

Ha! Some hopes. I was as high as a kite and just couldn't get to sleep. 3am became 4am, and when 5am came around, I decided to give up and simply miss out a night's sleep. Going out now, ironically, earlier than anticipated, I had some time to operate on 10m before the contest, and 8 stations were worked, from England, Spain, Morocco and Reunion Island. After replacing the 10m vertical antenna with the SB6 beam, I worked 24 stations on 6m CW in the contest.

I don't know how I was still keeping going, but I was, and the next call was Tesco supermarket in Congleton to buy ingredients from a Sunday roast lamb dinner. Back at home, Jimmy and Liam helped me prepare the vegetables and tidy up the house, before Marianne got in from work. My mum Kate and brother Will joined us for dinner as I showed off my newly found cookery skills!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
07:42z	EA7KI	28MHz	SSB
07:45z	G4ACS	28MHz	SSB
07:51z	G7ADF	28MHz	SSB
08:27z	EF5R	28MHz	SSB
08:28z	CN4P	28MHz	SSB
08:32z	TO90R	28MHz	SSB
08:39z	ED4R	28MHz	SSB
08:41z	G0UWK	28MHz	SSB
09:00z	G4TSW	50MHz	CW
09:04z	G3ZVW	50MHz	CW
09:07z	M0PNN	50MHz	CW
09:08z	G4TJC/P	50MHz	CW
09:10z	G3ZOD	50MHz	CW
09:11z	GW4OKT	50MHz	CW
09:12z	G4CZB/P	50MHz	CW
09:15z	G3PHO	50MHz	CW
09:17z	GM3WUX	50MHz	CW
09:23z	G4HVC	50MHz	CW
09:27z	M0BAA/P	50MHz	CW
09:32z	G3MEH	50MHz	CW
09:38z	GW3SQX/P	50MHz	CW
09:55z	G4EHT	50MHz	CW
10:20z	G3WPF	50MHz	CW
10:22z	G4SGX	50MHz	CW
10:24z	G3LDI	50MHz	CW
10:35z	GM3WUX	50MHz	CW
10:51z	GU4CHY	50MHz	CW
11:00z	EA6VQ	50MHz	CW
11:13z	G3JUX	50MHz	CW
11:30z	IQ9TP	50MHz	CW
11:38z	G4XPE	50MHz	CW
11:40z	G4AGE	50MHz	CW

Wednesday 1st July 2015 threw up an opportunity for a short activation on The Cloud. I cannot remember the circumstances! My sole objective was to collect some more QSO partners for points in the 6m/10m SOTA Challenge. This proved difficult in poor HF conditions, and I got as far as the Macclesfield Canal!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:18z	M0GIA	28MHz	SSB
17:26z	2E0BAX	28MHz	SSB

Tuesday 7th July 2015, and 2m contest night again. Back up to the summit of The Cloud with the SB5 beam antenna. 77 contacts made, and back home to bed.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:00z	G4DEE	144MHz	SSB
19:00z	2W0JYN	144MHz	SSB
19:01z	M6NHA	144MHz	SSB
19:02z	M0NST	144MHz	SSB
19:03z	M0VXX/P	144MHz	SSB
19:06z	G4FZN/P	144MHz	SSB
19:07z	G3UVR	144MHz	SSB
19:08z	G3TBK/P	144MHz	SSB
19:08z	G4HGI	144MHz	SSB
19:10z	G0EHV/P	144MHz	SSB
19:11z	GW0IRW/P	144MHz	SSB
19:12z	M1DDD/P	144MHz	SSB
19:14z	GI4SNA	144MHz	SSB
19:15z	G8XVJ	144MHz	SSB
19:18z	G8BCG	144MHz	SSB
19:21z	G8AXZ/P	144MHz	SSB
19:22z	G0HGH	144MHz	SSB
19:24z	G4LKD	144MHz	SSB
19:26z	G8HXE/P	144MHz	SSB
19:28z	G0BFJ	144MHz	SSB
19:30z	M0COP/P	144MHz	SSB
19:31z	G0EAK/P	144MHz	SSB
19:32z	G3VCA	144MHz	SSB
19:34z	G4CLA	144MHz	SSB
19:35z	G0TAR	144MHz	SSB
19:40z	M6GZE/P	144MHz	SSB
19:41z	2E0LMD	144MHz	SSB
19:49z	MM0GPZ/P	144MHz	SSB
19:50z	G8PNN/P	144MHz	SSB
19:51z	M0VAA	144MHz	SSB
19:55z	M0HGY	144MHz	SSB
19:59z	G6HFF	144MHz	SSB
19:59z	M0ICK/P	144MHz	SSB
20:01z	G8REQ	144MHz	SSB
20:04z	GM6JNJ	144MHz	SSB
20:07z	G4BKF	144MHz	SSB
20:08z	G3NPJ	144MHz	SSB
20:08z	G4APJ	144MHz	SSB
20:09z	G1AEQ	144MHz	SSB
20:09z	GW4ZAR	144MHz	SSB
20:09z	G8WUY	144MHz	SSB
20:10z	M3NHA	144MHz	SSB
20:10z	GW4BVE	144MHz	SSB
20:11z	G4WUA	144MHz	SSB
20:11z	G0WWH	144MHz	SSB
20:12z	M6AIF	144MHz	SSB
20:14z	G1SWH	144MHz	SSB
20:16z	G4NBS	144MHz	SSB
20:18z	PE1ITR	144MHz	SSB
20:20z	GW0NWR/P	144MHz	SSB
20:24z	G3YDY	144MHz	SSB
20:27z	G3PHO	144MHz	SSB
20:30z	G4CZP/P	144MHz	SSB
20:42z	G6CBX/P	144MHz	SSB
20:43z	M0KJR	144MHz	SSB
20:47z	F8BRK	144MHz	SSB
20:48z	G7LRQ	144MHz	SSB
20:50z	M0NVS/P	144MHz	SSB
20:52z	G3SQQ	144MHz	SSB
20:53z	G3RCW	144MHz	SSB
20:56z	M0DXR/P	144MHz	SSB
20:58z	2E0XJP	144MHz	SSB
20:59z	G4BEE	144MHz	SSB
21:01z	G4BUO/P	144MHz	SSB
21:01z	G0WTD	144MHz	SSB
21:03z	G8DTF	144MHz	SSB
21:05z	G4NTY	144MHz	SSB
21:12z	G0CER	144MHz	SSB
21:13z	G4JLG	144MHz	SSB
21:15z	G0ODQ	144MHz	SSB
21:16z	2E0LKC	144MHz	SSB
21:17z	GW8ASD	144MHz	SSB
21:18z	G8ZRE	144MHz	SSB
21:20z	G7DWY	144MHz	SSB
21:21z	GM4AFF	144MHz	SSB
21:24z	M0BRA	144MHz	SSB
21:28z	G8YMW/P	144MHz	SSB

Saturday 11th July brought an increasingly rare situation - Jimmy M0HGY joining me for a local activation! Liam came along too and up to Cloud summit we went. I had already activated Gun G/SP-013, solo, that morning. I made just 15 contacts on 10m SSB/CW, but Jimmy had a comparative bonanza, with 32 QSOs on 2m FM, including S2S with a team of three on Arenig Fawr GW/NW-011. That evening I decided to cook up my paella, and invited my mum Kate, brother Will, Richard G3CWI around to join the lads and I. A splendid evening!

Liam & Jimmy enjoying the grub Paella de EYP

Time	Call	Band	Mode	S2S	Op
14:48z	2E0LKC/P	144MHz	FM		J
14:49z	2E0MRS/M	144MHz	FM		J
14:49z	EA1CIU	28MHz	SSB		T
14:50z	2E0RFU/M	144MHz	FM		J
14:50z	EF4HQ	28MHz	SSB		T
14:51z	G4ERQ	144MHz	FM		J
14:52z	EA5BB	28MHz	SSB		T
14:53z	G7SKR	144MHz	FM		J
14:53z	CR5HQ	28MHz	SSB		T
14:55z	M6RUG	144MHz	FM		J
14:56z	M6CEQ	144MHz	FM		J
14:57z	2E0TVS	144MHz	FM		J
15:02z	M3NHA	144MHz	FM		J
15:03z	M1RKY	144MHz	FM		J
15:04z	M6NHA	144MHz	FM		J
15:04z	M0KPH	144MHz	FM		J
15:05z	SP9AMH	28MHz	CW		T
15:06z	M6PTH	144MHz	FM		J
15:06z	G6ZFZ	144MHz	FM		J
15:08z	M3XXR/M	144MHz	FM		J
15:09z	G0NAJ	144MHz	FM		J
15:12z	G0NED/P	144MHz	FM		J
15:14z	G3RKF	28MHz	CW		T
15:15z	M6XMN/P	144MHz	FM		J
15:16z	2E0LMD/P	144MHz	FM		J
15:17z	EF4HQ	28MHz	CW		T
15:22z	M6KRV	144MHz	FM		J
15:24z	PY2NA	28MHz	CW		T
15:27z	M3HJH	144MHz	FM		J
15:28z	OL5HQ	28MHz	CW		T
15:29z	2E0JCK	144MHz	FM		J
15:30z	CX1AA	28MHz	CW		T
15:30z	MW0TYM/P	144MHz	FM	GW/NW-011	J
15:31z	MW0YDH/P	144MHz	FM	GW/NW-011	J
15:32z	2W0DGM/P	144MHz	FM	GW/NW-011	J
15:34z	ZV5O	28MHz	CW		T
15:37z	2E0SCX	144MHz	FM		J
15:38z	G0HRT	144MHz	FM		J
15:41z	OH0X	28MHz	CW		T
15:41z	G3NPJ	144MHz	FM		J
15:42z	SJ8HQ	28MHz	CW		T
15:42z	G6TAI	144MHz	FM		J
15:43z	CR7AJL	28MHz	CW		T
15:46z	MW0CSO	144MHz	FM		J
15:48z	MW0UPH/M	144MHz	FM		J
15:49z	M6LBI	144MHz	FM		J
15:51z	SN0HQ	28MHz	SSB		T

Sunday 12th July 2015, and another typical weekend early morning activation of one of my local summits. The 6m/10m groundplane antenna was used, now also known to be functional on 2m. A variety of contacts was made on those three bands, and the main modes of CW, SSB and FM. Of the 21 QSOs, the highlights were probably Cyprus and Azerbaijan.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
06:23z	M6CEQ	144MHz	FM
06:34z	M6CEQ	50MHz	FM
06:38z	LY0HQ	28MHz	SSB
06:48z	G4UCT	28MHz	SSB
06:50z	G3CWI	28MHz	SSB
07:01z	II0HQ	28MHz	CW
07:03z	G3CWI	28MHz	CW
07:24z	C4HQ	28MHz	CW
07:35z	9A0HQ	28MHz	SSB
07:46z	HG0HQ	28MHz	SSB
07:48z	HA3DX	28MHz	SSB
08:17z	E7HQ	28MHz	SSB
08:18z	YT0HQ	28MHz	SSB
08:28z	HA6NL	28MHz	CW
08:31z	4K9W	28MHz	CW
08:32z	G0SYP	28MHz	CW
08:54z	G8LUV	144MHz	FM
08:55z	M6GOS	144MHz	FM
08:57z	G1KDU	144MHz	FM
08:58z	G4LLG	144MHz	FM
09:15z	GW4ZAR	50MHz	SSB

On Monday 13th July 2015, I was required to taxi Liam to and from a youth club event in Congleton. Running from 6pm to 8pm, this gave a window for a short activation of The Cloud. To maximise that time window, I made only for the "heather cliff", before the summit but at only 18m lower, comfortably within the activation zone according to SOTA rules. While setting up, the rain started coming down quite heavily, so I had to operate from inside the bothy bag. The 6m and 10m bands appeared to be completely closed, but I managed to persuade some QSO partners to QSY from 2m over to the Challenge bands!

Time	Call	Band	Mode
17:37z	M3NHA	28MHz	SSB
17:38z	M6NHA	28MHz	SSB
18:00z	G4NGV/M	144MHz	FM
18:01z	M0MTJ	144MHz	FM
18:04z	M0MTJ	50MHz	SSB
18:08z	2E1GNZ	144MHz	FM
18:13z	2E0SIA	50MHz	SSB
18:18z	G4PGJ	50MHz	SSB
18:23z	2E1GNZ	50MHz	SSB

I was on summit a little early for the 70cm contest on Tuesday 14th July 2015, so set up the 6m/10m antenna to try and bolster my SOTA Challenge score. After a promising start with a Lithuanian station on 10m, the bands seemed to close completely, so I went onto 2m FM. I worked everyone that wanted me, then QSYd to a nominated 6m SSB frequency to see which of them would take up my invitation to go there for a 50MHz contact. A few did.

In the 70cm contest, I made 68 contacts with the best DX into Northern France.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
18:25z	LY2PX	28MHz	CW
18:30z	2E0LKC/P	144MHz	FM
18:32z	M6RUG	144MHz	FM
18:34z	MW6SHJ	144MHz	FM
18:35z	2W0JYN	144MHz	FM
18:40z	M3HJH	144MHz	FM
18:41z	M6NKB	144MHz	FM
18:42z	2E0LMD/P	144MHz	FM
18:43z	2E0LKC	50MHz	SSB
18:43z	M3IFG	50MHz	SSB
18:44z	2E0LMD	50MHz	SSB
18:46z	2W0JYN	50MHz	SSB
18:46z	MW6SHJ	50MHz	SSB
19:01z	G8DTF	433MHz	SSB
19:03z	GW8ASD	433MHz	SSB
19:04z	M0VAA	433MHz	SSB
19:05z	G4BLH/P	433MHz	SSB
19:06z	GM8SFI/P	433MHz	SSB
19:08z	GI4SNA	433MHz	SSB
19:09z	G3UBX	433MHz	SSB
19:10z	G4NBS	433MHz	SSB
19:11z	G3UVR	433MHz	SSB
19:13z	G3TBK/P	433MHz	SSB
19:14z	G4IOQ	433MHz	SSB
19:14z	G4CLA	433MHz	SSB
19:15z	G4BVE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:16z	M6NHA	433MHz	SSB
19:18z	G4JLG	433MHz	SSB
19:19z	G8XVJ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:21z	M0GHZ	433MHz	SSB
19:22z	2E0LKC	433MHz	SSB
19:24z	GI6ATZ	433MHz	SSB
19:26z	GW4IGF/P	433MHz	SSB
19:27z	G0LRG	433MHz	SSB
19:29z	M1MHZ	433MHz	SSB
19:33z	G8HXE/P	433MHz	SSB
19:35z	M3NHA	433MHz	SSB
19:45z	G8REQ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:47z	2E0LMD	433MHz	SSB
19:48z	M6GZE	433MHz	SSB
19:49z	G6XHF	433MHz	SSB
19:50z	G0WTD	433MHz	SSB
19:52z	M0HGY	433MHz	SSB
19:52z	M0NST	433MHz	SSB
19:56z	G8AXZ/P	433MHz	SSB
19:57z	2E0BMO	433MHz	SSB
20:05z	G4PPT/P	433MHz	SSB
20:14z	G4APJ	433MHz	SSB
20:15z	G3TDH	433MHz	SSB
20:16z	GW4EVX	433MHz	SSB
20:19z	G4ODA	433MHz	SSB
20:24z	G0EAK/P	433MHz	SSB
20:25z	M0MDY	433MHz	SSB
20:33z	GW4ZAR	433MHz	SSB
20:35z	G4ZTR	433MHz	SSB
20:37z	G4NTY	433MHz	SSB
20:40z	M0WYB	433MHz	SSB
20:45z	G8ZRE	433MHz	SSB
20:47z	G4CZP/P	433MHz	SSB
20:49z	G7LRQ	433MHz	SSB
20:56z	F8BRK	433MHz	SSB
20:57z	G8PEF/P	433MHz	SSB
21:00z	M0COP/P	433MHz	SSB
21:09z	G4NDM/P	433MHz	SSB
21:10z	G3SQQ	433MHz	SSB
21:17z	G8PNN/P	433MHz	SSB
21:19z	G0XDI	433MHz	SSB
21:27z	G1AEQ	433MHz	SSB

Richard G3CWI's shack was not available for me to borrow on the evening of Wednesday 15th July 2015. That meant it was necessary for me to venture out SOTA portable in order to leave the home shack clear for Jimmy M0HGY for the 80m SSB Club Contest. A total of 59 contacts was made, which is not too bad for /P operating with 5 watts in this kind of event.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
19:00z	G0CLP/P	3.5MHz	SSB
19:01z	MW0JWP	3.5MHz	SSB
19:01z	M0VAA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:03z	G0FEX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:04z	G4HVC	3.5MHz	SSB
19:04z	G4FAL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:06z	G3XSV	3.5MHz	SSB
19:08z	G4BWP	3.5MHz	SSB
19:09z	G3XYC	3.5MHz	SSB
19:09z	G3ORY	3.5MHz	SSB
19:11z	G3SVL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:11z	G3SJJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:12z	GW4BVE	3.5MHz	SSB
19:13z	G3SEM	3.5MHz	SSB
19:13z	M0NKR	3.5MHz	SSB
19:14z	M0GAV	3.5MHz	SSB
19:14z	G0BKU	3.5MHz	SSB
19:16z	G0HSA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:19z	G4SJX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:21z	G3TXF	3.5MHz	SSB
19:22z	G0AAA	3.5MHz	SSB
19:22z	GW4BLE	3.5MHz	SSB
19:22z	G8DX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:24z	G0DVJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:25z	G5LP	3.5MHz	SSB
19:26z	G4FNL	3.5MHz	SSB
19:26z	G3BJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:27z	G3TBK	3.5MHz	SSB
19:27z	G3ZVW	3.5MHz	SSB
19:28z	G4ARI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:28z	G3PHO	3.5MHz	SSB
19:29z	GW0GEI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:31z	G3UJE	3.5MHz	SSB
19:31z	M0DDT	3.5MHz	SSB
19:32z	G3KLH	3.5MHz	SSB
19:33z	G3PDH	3.5MHz	SSB
19:34z	G4PIQ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:35z	G3LHJ	3.5MHz	SSB
19:36z	G4ABX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:37z	GM3POI	3.5MHz	SSB
19:38z	M0GDX	3.5MHz	SSB
19:40z	M0WLF	3.5MHz	SSB
19:42z	G4DPF	3.5MHz	SSB
19:53z	G3SNU	3.5MHz	SSB
19:56z	G3LAS	3.5MHz	SSB
20:01z	G3VCA	3.5MHz	SSB
20:07z	M0XDX	3.5MHz	SSB
20:09z	G4DOQ	3.5MHz	SSB
20:10z	G3RVM	3.5MHz	SSB
20:12z	GW0ETF	3.5MHz	SSB
20:19z	G8CRB	3.5MHz	SSB
20:22z	G4KNO	3.5MHz	SSB
20:26z	G0VQR	3.5MHz	SSB
20:27z	M0JWB	3.5MHz	SSB
20:28z	G3VDB	3.5MHz	SSB
20:29z	G0IIQ	3.5MHz	SSB
20:31z	M0HGY	3.5MHz	SSB
20:37z	G4ZAR/P	3.5MHz	SSB
20:38z	G3TDH	3.5MHz	SSB

I don't recall how the teatime activating opportunity on Thursday 16th July 2015 came about, but I rarely turn an opportunity down, that's for sure. 16 contacts on 10m CW/SSB/FM made the outing well worthwhile.

Time	Call	Band	Mode
16:33z	OE3XHU	28MHz	SSB
16:37z	GW4EVX	28MHz	SSB
16:39z	EA2DT	28MHz	SSB
16:41z	OK1SDE	28MHz	SSB
16:43z	S56IHX	28MHz	SSB
16:44z	OK2PDT	28MHz	SSB
16:50z	EA2DT	28MHz	CW
16:50z	OE8SPW	28MHz	CW
16:52z	DL8DXL	28MHz	CW
16:53z	OK2NAJ	28MHz	CW
16:57z	F4EFA	28MHz	SSB
17:07z	EA2DT	28MHz	FM
17:09z	GW4EVX	28MHz	FM
17:13z	ES1AO	28MHz	CW
17:22z	IS0YTG	28MHz	SSB
17:25z	G3WPF	28MHz	CW