Monday 13 March 2017

G/WB-003 and others..

G/WB-003 and others...

10/03/2017 to the 12/03/2017

Welsh Borders and another…rather a long report this one….

The weather was looking good for the next couple of days so Val and I decided to head to Ludlow for a couple of days to hit a few of the 2 pointers on the Welsh Borders and pick up a few Winter Bonus points before the cut off date.   It would also be a good chance to give my Elecraft KX2 its first outing.

10/03/2017 (Friday) Stiperstones  G/WB-003

Nearing the top
I decided to run the FT817 (5 watts) on this one as it was spitting with rain and I was still apprehensive about exposing the KX2 to rainy conditions.  I was straight in with two s2s from Cracoe Fell G/NP-032 on both 60m and 2m…thanks Martyn and Caroline.  60m was working well and my visit to 80m produced some good signal reports.  I was pleased with s2s points from both Jonathan (Great Rhos) and James ( Wendover Woods).

13:49z
M1MAJ/P
5MHz
SSB
Martyn s2s
13:52z
M3ZCB/P
144MHz
FM
Caroline s2s
13:53z
EI3GYB
5MHz
SSB
Michael
13:54z
G0FEX
5MHz
SSB
Ken
13:59z
G0RQL
5MHz
SSB
Don
14:00z
G4OBK
5MHz
SSB
Phil
14:01z
M0JLA
5MHz
SSB
Rod
14:03z
GW2HFR
5MHz
SSB
Jonathan s2s
14:04z
G6TUH
5MHz
SSB
Mike
14:05z
EI9GLB
5MHz
SSB
Jim
14:05z
G0VWP
5MHz
SSB
terry
14:06z
G4AFI
5MHz
SSB
Andrew
14:07z
M0JCQ/P
5MHz
SSB
James s2s
14:07z
G8VNW
5MHz
SSB
Nick
14:08z
G3RMD
5MHz
SSB
Frank
14:09z
G4IAR
5MHz
SSB
Dave
14:10z
G8ADD
5MHz
SSB
Brian
14:10z
G0GWY
5MHz
SSB
Geoff
14:11z
G4FGJ
5MHz
SSB
Gordon
14:17z
GW2HFR/P
3.5MHz
SSB
Jonathan s2s diff band
14:27z
G0VWP
3.5MHz
SSB
Terry
14:27z
G0GWY
3.5MHz
SSB
Geoff
14:28z
M0BKV
3.5MHz
SSB
Damian
14:28z
G0RQL
3.5MHz
SSB
Don
14:29z
G4IAR
3.5MHz
SSB
Dave
14:37z
M0JCQ/P
5MHz
SSB
James s2s
14:40z
G4WSB/P
144MHz
FM
Bill
14:45z
M0NTC
144MHz
FM
Gez
14:47z
G4IZZ
144MHz
FM
Mike
14:51z
G8ALS
144MHz
FM
Mike
14:54z
2E0MDJ
144MHz
FM
Matt

Trigpoint above
We had arranged to meet our friend Matt G8XYJ for an evening meal in Ludlow and as he said he would pick us up from the B&B later in the afternoon we made our way down after an enjoyable activation of Stiperstones. 

Ludlow Castle on our conducted tour with Matt
  
Matt G8XYJ and our venue for the evening
After an enjoyable evening with Matt we arranged to meet at the car park below Titterstone Clee Hil at 9:30 the following morning.

11/03/2017 (Saturday) Titterstone Clee Hill G/WB-004

Misty, damp and windy are words to describe the morning as we made our way up to the summit so once again I decided against using the KX2. 
Misty and damp...Val and Matt heading to the summit
G4VPX/p
Matt on 2m ssb
G8XYJ..2m ssb
Matt had opted for 2m ssb and made 10 contacts and I had a good run on 60m…sadly no s2s although Matt did manage to get Tom M1EYP as an s2s..ah well.
10:06z
G0VWP
5MHz
SSB
Terry
10:06z
G3TPW
5MHz
SSB
Steve
10:08z
G0RQL
5MHz
SSB
Don
10:09z
G1BLJ
5MHz
SSB
Steve
10:10z
G8ADD
5MHz
SSB
Brian
10:11z
MW0XOT
5MHz
SSB
John
10:12z
G0FEX
5MHz
SSB
Ken
10:13z
G8VNW
5MHz
SSB
Nick
10:14z
G4IPB
5MHz
SSB
Paul
10:15z
G3SED
5MHz
SSB
Mike
10:20z
EI3GYB
5MHz
SSB
Michael
10:21z
G3TLD
5MHz
SSB
Mike
With Matt having to go elsewhere for the afternoon we parted company and made our way towards Brown Clee Hill…would this be the first outing for the KX2?

Brown Clee Hill G/WB-002
Decision made….I would carry both rigs to the summit. 
Communications tower shrouded in mist on Brown Clee Hill
G4VPX/p setting up
On reaching the summit and setting up at my usual spot I fired up the KX2 on 60m with excellent results.  Having not used it before on air I was apprehensive whether or not the settings were correct in respect o Mic Gain etc..…good reports all round from some KX2 owners including an s2s with Jonathan on his KX3 from GW/NW-047 Mwdwl-eithin…thanks Jonathan. Thanks to Nick G8VNW who spotted that somehow I was alerted for my previous summit…he spotted the correct summit and Brian G8ADD altered my initial spot..I’ve had this problem before when spotting with RRT?

Out of the wind with the KX2

12:45z
G1BLJ
5MHz
SSB
Steve
12:46z
G8VNW
5MHz
SSB
Nick
12:47z
GW2HFR/P
5MHz
SSB
Jonathan s2s
12:48z
EI9GLB
5MHz
SSB
Jim
12:49z
G3RDQ
5MHz
SSB
David
12:49z
G4IAR
5MHz
SSB
Dave
12:50z
M0JLA
5MHz
SSB
Rod
12:51z
G4AFI
5MHz
SSB
Andrew
12:52z
G8ADD
5MHz
SSB
Brian
12:53z
G0FEX
5MHz
SSB
Ken
12:53z
G3RMD
5MHz
SSB
Frank
12:55z
G4VME
5MHz
SSB
Richard
13:08z
G0RQL
3.5MHz
SSB
Don
13:11z
G0FEX
3.5MHz
SSB
Ken
Val and I left the summit and headed for Long Mynd Pole Bank…I had made the decision to only take the KX2  for this one……..

Long Mynd Pole Bank G/WB-005

I set up close to the Trigpoint but out of the way of the walkers and Mountain Bikers…this is a very busy summit as it is part of the Shropshire Way so I left Val to answer the questions that came flooding in :)

15:24z
G0GWY
5MHz
SSB
Geoff
15:25z
G0FEX
5MHz
SSB
Ken
15:26z
G4OBK
5MHz
SSB
Phil
15:27z
EI9GLB
5MHz
SSB
Jim
15:28z
G4FGJ
5MHz
SSB
Gordon
15:29z
M0MDA
5MHz
SSB
Mick
15:29z
G4AFI
5MHz
SSB
Andrew
15:30z
G8ADD
5MHz
SSB
Brian
15:32z
G4IAR
5MHz
SSB
Dave
15:33z
G1BLJ
5MHz
SSB
Steve
15:34z
M0WPS
5MHz
SSB
Wayne

It was spitting with rain so the activation was short and sweet and I did not venture on to any other bands as I also had a feeling that Rick G0LEP/p was on his way to this summit.  Another summit in the bag for the KX2…I was feeling more confident with it now…still on a learning curve.  My assumption was correct as on the way down we met Rick making his way to the summit..we had a short chat and I promised to give him a call as soon as I got back to the car to give him a helping hand with his activation. Back to Ludlow to the B&B and an evening meal in The Squirrel…we were heading home in the morning….
Coming down the infamous Burway Hill...Val took this out of the car window...

12/03/2017 (Sunday) The Begwns GW/MW-025

On our way home I had a contact with Glyn GW4CFS/p who was on Pen y Fan GW/SW-001. Thinking that he might do Fan Fawr GW/SW-005 across the road from PyF Val and I thought we might activate The Begwns which was only a few miles off our intended route and hope for an s2s with him.
The trig and me......
11:41z
M0LEP/P
5MHz
SSB
Rick s2s
11:44z
G4AZS
5MHz
SSB
Adrian
11:46z
MI1AYB
5MHz
SSB
Paul
11:46z
G4IAR
5MHz
SSB
Dave
11:47z
G1BLJ
5MHz
SSB
Steve
11:47z
G0RQL
5MHz
SSB
Don
11:48z
MW0XOT
5MHz
SSB
John
11:49z
G8ADD
5MHz
SSB
Brian
11:51z
G0GWY
5MHz
SSB
Geoff
11:51z
G3RMD
5MHz
SSB
Frank
11:52z
G4ZRP
5MHz
SSB
Brian
11:53z
EI3GYB
5MHz
SSB
Michael
11:54z
EI9GLB
5MHz
SSB
Jim
11:54z
G0FEX
5MHz
SSB
Ken
11:55z
EI8DJ
5MHz
SSB
Don
12:46z
GW7HEM/P
144MHz
FM
Mike s2s
My first contact and s2s was with Rick on Brown Clee Hill and after a short chat I found another frequency and had a nice run of chasers.  It started to rain so the KX2 went further in to the dry bag and rucksack to complete the activation. 
On the The Begwns..starting to rain....

I soon packed everything away happy with the performance of the KX2 and my ability to keep it dry…it’s not waterproof!!   I must say that my back is going to be very happy on those long treks to the high pointers as this little rig is a real light-weight especially combined with my 330gms 4Ah LiPo battery. Never did hear from Glyn but as we waited and listened on 2m in the pouring rain I was surprised by an s2s contact with Mike GW7HEM/p on Waun Fach …thanks Mike.


My activation set up:-  (HF) Yaesu FT817 (5 watts) + Elecraft KX2 (10 watts). Battery 4Ah LiPo ,  Antenna 3 band link dipole (60/40/20 (+15m extensions +80m loading coils),  (VHF) Yaesu FT270 (5watts) into a ‘cable tie’ dipole.. Antenna support - 7m Fishing pole.
Thanks everyone for the contacts

73 Allan GW4VPX

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