GW/SW-007 Fan Nedd

Thank goodness for 2m

GW/SW-007 Fan Nedd

05/02/2016

Val and I studied the weather forecasts but it didn’t work out quite as expected….very windy and horizontal rain on the summit of Fan Nedd.  We parked at my usual spot SN 9231 1966 and made our way to the top in a leisurely 53 minutes (1.73Km). 

My GPS track to the Trig

On our way up

The Trig

Val making her way to join me at the Trig

My intention was to activate from the trig but it was obvious that was not going to happen as when we reached the first cairn we had difficulty standing on our feet with the strong gusts of wind. We reached the trig but it was evident we would have to retrace our steps and activate within the SOTA AZ but outside the WAB Trig AZ. I know the summit quite well and we headed for a rocky outcrop which would give us some protection but the antenna would be another problem. 

From the bothy bag..HF antenna on the floor ready to be packed away

Bothy bag deployed with Val and rucksacks inside I started to put up the HF antenna. I kept the pole as low as possible but still one leg went ‘ping’ followed by running repairs in the bothy bag. As soon as I put it all back up the pole sections collapsed into each other..oh dear not going to plan today. Finally, I was able to plug the FT 817 into the antenna but it started to play up with the display fluctuating from bright to dark, no RX and when I pressed the PTT a TX Err was shown. After quite a few minutes of checking everything I decided that I  would have to get the 2m ‘cable tie’ dipole up and try and get the summit qualified on VHF using the Yaesu FT270 as conditions were not improving.

2m 'cable tie' dipole

My log

11:54z	GW7MMG	144MHz	FM	Phil Swansea
11:55z	M0WYB	144MHz	FM	Russ Bath
11:58z	GW1HNG	144MHz	FM	Philip Aberdare
12:00z	G0ELO	144MHz	FM	John Clevedon
12:00z	GW0PLP	144MHz	FM	Don Nr Aberporth
12:05z	MW0KEQ	144MHz	FM	Kevin Newport Gwent

A few calls and within 6 minutes I had qualified the summit including a spot by my friend Roy GW6DGU who did not make the log because he couldn’t hear me and was having summit info relayed by another friend Don GW0PLP who did make my log…thanks both.

Summit qualified :)

Heading down

The FT817 was back to normal when I arrived back home!!??

My intended activation set up today:-  (HF) Yaesu FT817 (5 watts) (4Ah LiPo),  3 band link dipole (60/40/20),  Actual setup:- (VHF) Yaesu FT270 (5watts) , 2m ‘cable tie’dipole Antenna support - 7m Fishing pole.

Thanks everyone for the contacts.

73 Allan GW4VPX