A testing
double activation
GW/MW-008
and GW/MW-007
Drosgol and
Banc Llechwedd Mawr
28/02/2016
Val and I arrived
at the same time as John MW0XOT and we managed to park the two cars close
together by the gate that leads down to Maesnant SN 7750 8796.
Maesnant to Drosgol GPS track
Our target
summit was Drosgol and we hoped we would be on summit before Rod MW0JLA and
Viki MW6BWA would make it to the top of Banc Llechwedd Mawr.
Drosgol
We crossed
the bridge at SN 7796 8912 and gradually made our way up on to the side of Banc
Llechwedd Mawr then across towards Drosgol avoiding the large areas of boggy
ground.
The bridge at SN 7796 8912
Towards Maesnant from the side of Banc Llechwedd mawr
The bridge at SN 7663 8881
Drosgol summit in the distance
A call from Viki saying that they could see us meant that they had
arrived a lot earlier than expected so we would be playing ‘catch up’ today. We
arrived on summit to a flurry of s2s and with a little help from Aled, Roy and
Simon we soon qualified the summit on 2m using the handhelds.
s2s on 2m..we soon qualified the summit
11:20z
|
MW0WML/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Gerald s2s
|
11:24z
|
MW6BWA/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Viki s2s
|
11:26z
|
MW6BWA/P
|
433MHz
|
FM
|
Viki s2s
|
11:29z
|
MW0JLA/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Rod s2s
|
11:37z
|
MW3DLA
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Aled
|
11:46z
|
GW6DGU
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Roy
|
11:51z
|
GW4TJC/M
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Simon
|
We eventually
set up the HF antenna and retired to the little horseshoe shaped cairn. A few
calls on 60m and Brian G8ADD was in the log. We had a short chat and by this
time Don was on frequency and with a spot up I was away sharing the first few
contacts with John although we had already qualified the summit.
Nice cairn on Drosgol
It was nice to
work so many on the band with many saying that 40m was full of contest
stations. We had a little listen on 40m and decided that it was a non-starter
and as we had a long walk back to Banc Llechwedd Mawr and Rod and Viki were on
their way towards us it was ‘pack away’ time.
11:52z
|
G8ADD
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Brian
|
11:54z
|
G0RQL
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Don
|
11:55z
|
G0EVV
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
David
|
11:56z
|
G4OBK
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Phil
|
11:57z
|
M0MDA
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Mick
|
11:57z
|
G0LGS
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Stewart
|
11:58z
|
G4WSB
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Bill
|
11:58z
|
G7BGA
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Geoffrey
|
11:59z
|
GM4WHA
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Geoff
|
11:59z
|
EI9GLB
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Jim
|
12:00z
|
G0TDM
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
John
|
12:01z
|
G0HRT
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Rob
|
12:01z
|
G6TUH
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Mike
|
12:01z
|
GW6DGU
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Roy
|
12:02z
|
G4APO
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Roland
|
12:03z
|
G1BLJ
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Steve
|
12:03z
|
G8VNW
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Nick
|
12:04z
|
G4MD
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Paul
|
12:04z
|
G3RMD
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Frank
|
During our
visit to 60m I noticed a PTT problem developing with the Yaesu microphone and
as I finished with Frank RMD it stopped working altogether. A quick rummage in
the rucksack and my spare microphone was plugged in…it worked…phew. Also as I
was packing away I noticed that the Li-Po battery lead had broken which
resulted in another rummage for the spare…what next?
Nice views of Nant y Moch res. from Drosgol
Rod and Viki on their way towards us
As we were
coming down to the bridge we met Rod and Viki heading up towards us. We spent a
few minutes chatting but time was not in our favour so we bade farewell and
made our way across the valley.
Not much time for chatting
Drosgol to Banc Llechwedd Mawr GPS
I had decided to head towards the house which
is North of the bridge at SN 7663 8881 in order to take advantage of the ridge
which gives a gentler approach to the summit….sounds easy but not as bad as
straight up the side!
Banc Llechwedd
Mawr
We were well
into the Activation Zone when I decided that I’d better give Viki a call as
they wanted to be heading down and up to MW-001 (Pen Pumlumon Fawr). To my
surprise Gerald came back with an s2s call but not only that he then said ‘stand
by’ for Simon who was also on the summit with him…thanks both. Incidentally, with these s2s Gerald got his 1000
points ‘Shack Sloth’ all from his activations and Simon got his 1000 points
silver award for S2S…well done both. Minutes later Rod and Viki were in the log and
John and I had qualified the summit.
14:10z
|
MW0WML/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Gerald s2s
|
14:12z
|
GW4TJC/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Simon s2s
|
14:14z
|
MW6BWA/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Viki s2s
|
14:16z
|
MW0JLA/P
|
144MHz
|
FM
|
Rod s2s
|
14:17z
|
MW6BWA/P
|
433MHz
|
FM
|
Viki s2s 70cms
|
Banc Llechwedd Mawr summit cairn
Getting ready to activate on Banc Llechwedd Mawr
We only set
up the HF antenna on the summit and with a few calls and a spot by John we made
a total of six shared contacts so thanks to those chasers who made the log and
gave us both signal reports.
14:49z
|
GW4CQZ
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Martyn
|
14:50z
|
G6TUH
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Mike
|
14:52z
|
G4AFI
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Andrew
|
14:53z
|
G0RQL
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Don
|
14:54z
|
G4IAR
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Dave
|
14:56z
|
G4OBK
|
5MHz
|
SSB
|
Phil
|
Final leg of the journey...back to the car at Maesnant
It was
getting cold so we made our way off the mountain looking for Rod and Viki as we
made the steep descent. We spotted them as they made their way up….two black
dots on the side of Pumlumon Fach.
Looking towards MW-001..can you see them?
It gradually got warmer as we dropped into
the valley and just after we had crossed the bridge I had a call from Viki
saying that they were aborting their ascent to MW-001 as time was very much
against them as after the activation they would be coming off the mountain in
the dark. We all met up at Maesnant and had a ‘SOTA party’ of tea and biscuits....
Find of the day..John found this Bike chain rivet removal tool
Get that brew on John..vintage stove
Our routes today
Thanks
everybody for an enjoyable day apart from those horrible mountain slopes. :) We
walked 11.26km (6.75 miles) today.
My activation set up:- (HF)
Yaesu FT817 (5 watts) (4Ah LiPo), 3 band link dipole (60/40/20 (VHF) Yaesu FT270 (5watts) into a
‘cable tie’ dipole.. Antenna support - 7m Fishing pole.
Thanks everyone for the contacts
and spots
73 Allan GW4VPX and John MW0XOT
