Greetings fellow Blog reader and welcome to the forth posting of rant and ramblings. This one I'm writing slightly different. Its kind of a look back, a look now and a glance into the future (with no talking Apes we hope)
That time of year arrived again and it was off to the garage to for the annual MOT yet again. This got me thinking back to the original post I made last year about Just Saying Hello, and more importantly looking at if I had managed to stick to my original concept. The answer can be summed up in one word. No. No I hadn't become the all friendly welcoming soul I'd intended to be, I didn't greet all I met on the street with a cheery hello and a flash of a heartwarming smile. But why. What had changed in the last 12 months to break down this ideology I'd so readily put forward only a mere year ago. Nothing. Absolutely nothing had changed, and for the life of me I couldn't explain why I had failed in what in all essence should have been a very simply task. The simpler truth dawned on me like one of those energy saving light bulbs that take time to come to full brightness. I had the same worries and insecurities about speaking to a stranger in the street as everyone else has. How will they react, what if they look at me like I've suddenly grown a second head, what if I just happen to say Hello to the local nutter, so I'd taken the easy option and just kept my head down and ignored the world around me. Well no more. This is the dawning of a new me (well sort of) I have decided to take things one step at a time. Lets not jump in with both feet here and start greeting all I meet with a Brain Blessed "Hello, there" but lets start off smaller. A Smile. Nothing more than a simple smile. Try it next time your out and about. The next person you see in the street, the local coffee shop, the newsagents, the fuel station, the train, work, home, anywhere. Just smile. It doesn't have to be an ear to ear Cheshire Cat grin (we're not auditioning for Alice In Wonderland) just a pleasant, happy to meet you smile. Its infectious isn't it. No matter how hard you try, something deep down inside you says "hey, they're smiling at me, I feel like smiling at them to now" Suddenly a smiling person doesn't seem quite to off putting to just drop a quick "hiya" or "morning" to. Small steps grow a better world, a friendlier world, a world that you feel actually has a happy future. Will it stop world hunger, or suddenly cease all world conflicts. Ummmm probably not, but that person on the bus, or the person you stand behind every day at the coffee shop, might just have the answer to the question you've been looking for. You'll never know though if you never speak to them. So smile, just smile and as the saying goes. Smile and the whole world smiles with you. Try it!!
I'm going to take this quick Intermission to say sorry for the length this blog post is stretching to. I think I need to start blogging on a more regular basis, rather than leave it for these mammoth epics. Right hopefully you've had time now to grab some more Popcorn and refreshments, made use of the facilities and are ready to resume part 2 of Time does fly, with a poke in the eye. (don't ask why I called it that, it just rhymed ok)
So we've looked back its now time to take a glace at the present and see what's going on in the wonderful world of Neiltown. Something and nothing is I think the best way to describe the current situation. I've released two videos onto YouTube as part of my BlinkliteTV channel which so far have had mixed viewing figures. My review of the Kobo Touch seems so far to be the most watched video on the channel but when you compare that to my review of the WarmLite Flat Fan Heater its hardly surprising. I do have plans for other videos, and yes they will be more interesting than reviewing a Fan Heater (small steps people) including a How To video on building your own 1/2 Wave 2M Dipole for Amateur Radio from simple parts, and fingers crossed some update videos on the work taking place to convert my shed at the bottom of the garden into something resembling more of an office/workshop/ham shack. The biggest issue I seem to be running into at the present, is a lack of time, money and motivation. Money I'm afraid keeps rearing its ugly big head and halting work on the shed cave, but when I do have the time and some money, the sheer scale of the job just hits me, and I'm finding it hard to get the motivation to get started. The good news though is I did actually take some action today and have started to waterproof the internal walls to prevent moisure coming into the shed through the walls in the winter. Really need to keep pushing forward with that project though, as with most things I know its not going to do it by itself. If anyones feeling really generous and wants to chuck a couple of quid my way to help with the shed rebuild, sling me a message over and if I get enough interest I will produce a thank you BlinkLiteTV video, to thank all the people who have helped me out. Not expecting anyone to donate anything, please don't think I'm coming cap in hand begging you wonderful people for money, just saying if your feeling like helping me out, it would be appreciated. In reality I know the chances are the only people reading this Blog post, is me and some crazy cat lady who reads my blogs to realise actually her life's pretty damn sweet. The other big current news and forgive me if you have no interest in Amateur Radio, as this bit will more than likely bore you, is I have set the official launch date/first meeting of my newly formed Amateur Radio Club. Nuneaton & District Amateur Radio Club will be holding its first meeting on the 15th August 2014, and this has seen me kept busy trying to work out just what on earth needs doing in order to get this new club off the ground. Like alot of things with me just recently, forming a club from the ground up isn't something I've undertaken before, so every step of the way is a steep learning curve. I have been lucky to encounter quite a few people who have been happy to help in small ways to ease some of the burden with setting everything up for the first time. Venue has been located and secured, website has been created and the all important domain name purchased (http://www.ndarc.co.uk if anyone is interested) and things are progressing along slowly. The moment of truth is just under 2 weeks away, and I'm keeping everything I can firmly crossed for a smooth start and a continued life for this club.
Ok so time to jump into my Deloren and zip into the future to see what lies in store for me. Yeah ok if only you could do that. So what do I want to achieve in the coming months/year. Well the new BlinkLiteTV video's I've mentioned above, and hopefully I do want to try and get into the habbit of blogging more regularly, maybe even move it over to Vlogging via the YouTube channel. I'll be sure though to Blog it first, just so you can come over to the channel and have a laugh. Definatly want to continue pushing forward with the shed work, as its one project that seems to have been there forever, and once its completed will give me (I pray) a lot of the flexibly to work on the IT repair, and design side of BlinkLite, as well as giving me the room to produce a higher quality stream of BlinkLiteTV contents. There are other things as well which I'm in the deciding stages of, but those I think I'll save until a future Blog. I think your eyes are about to burst from all the reading you've had to do.
So time to wrap this up now, like a sausage in a hot dog bun (ummmm hotdog) Thank you for taking the time to read this blog (if you have that is) and rest assured I will be producing more blogs and more contents for the BlinkLiteTV channel. I do actually enjoy writing these posts and I do enjoy the videos, its just hard sometimes to find the time or the motivation to get them done. 1:16 to be writing this one, is way way waaaaay later than it should be, but this is the first chance really I've had to do it. If any of you fancy heading over to watch the Kobo Touch review and marvel at how amazing a review I do, head over to YouTube via the amazing link below. Until next time guys, thanks and see you later.
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Sunday 13 April 2014
We Came, We Saw, We Climbed It
Are we there yet?
Its not every day you hear an adult utter those immortal words, however its not every day your staring up a steep incline, with what seems like miles still to go and you've just climbing what your legs are now telling you was a mountain already. Its not everyday though that you undertake a SOTA activation with me, but today was just that day.
Ok quick rewind for those of you reading this post and thinking I've lost my tiny little mind, what on earth is a SOTA?. For those of you who do know what a SOTA Activation is please bare with me.
In the wonderful world of Amateur Radio we do on occasions like to venture outside of the confines of the Ham Shack and breath in the delights of the fresh air, sometimes you understand, I hear to much is a bad thing. One way in which this can be achieved and still do something radio related is to undertake a SOTA Activation or Summits On The Air Activation. To put things really simply, you walk to the summit of a rather large hill or mountain carrying your amateur radio equipment with you, set up once your at the summit and then spend the next X amount of time seeing how many contacts you can make from that location. You have to take everything you need with you, and you have to ensure that the last part of the trip is made on foot under your own steam, so no motorbikes here guys, and fingers crossed have some radio fun in the process. Ok so introductions aside, lets move right along.
Saturday 12th April 2014 dawned and with a spring (well more of a limp) in my stride I set off with my colleague Richard 2E0CMI on our journey to activate SOTA Summit G/CE-003 Bredon Hill. The idea of activating a SOTA summit had come to me a few months previous, as we sat in our local, pint in hand, mulling over ideas on mobile operating practices we could undertake to do something abit "different". So with equipment checked and double checked, car fueled and packed we set off on our trip south from Nuneaton to Tewkesbury to battle the fearsome Bredon Hill (ok fearsome may be abit over the top). After an interesting journey thanks mainly to the sometimes strange directions from Sally SatNav we arrived down the narrow lane to our parking destination at 52.044133, -2.067159, with a pull off to the side of the lane where you can easily fit 3 large cars. Securely parked we geared up with everything we could think of that might be needed including extra layers, coat, waterproof coat in the rucksack, walking boots, water, food, torch, and of course all the radio equipment. We had decided to attempt to work 70cm, 2m and 40m while on the summit and so had each brought along enough equipment to cover all options,
Richard 2E0CMI
Yaesu FT-60
ICOM 817
1/4 Wave Dipole Clip-on Aerial for 2m
Telescopic Pro Whip Aerial for 40m
Icom 817 Addon ATU
Telescopic Pole for use with the 1/4 Wave Dipole
Me 2E0NEI
Baofeng UV-5R
1/4 Wave Mini Magmount 2m/70cm Vertical
Telescopic Pole as backup for the 1/4 Wave Dipole
Now yes I will admit equipment wise I was running very light in comparison, but as we planned to work as a team I could afford to run lighter. I had toyed with the idea of bringing my Icom 746 but had decided against that, based on the fact I'd never have made it to the summit the that rig on my back.
From the parking area we proceeded straight ahead following the marked path and began to make our climb up towards the summit. The first part of the path does feel in hindsight the worst part, and by the time we reached the first farm gate, I found myself stopping and catching my breath, and Richard uttered those immortal words "Are We There Yet". It was at this point I had to produce the phone to show a now slightly worried looking Richard the map indicating we had another 2 fields to walk through, then bare to the left, through another field, and a final incline upto the summit. I think it was about this time that Richard began to question why he'd ever agreed to come along with my crazy idea. Luckily resolved to the idea that he was here now, we pressed on, through the second field, which I will admit didn't feel quite as steep as the first one had. We reached the entrance to the third field and my eyes spied the top of the Bredon Hill Fort Tower to my left, however it still did seem quite a distance away. We continued and as we reached the end of field number 3 we turned to our left and began the final part of our ascent. Through another gate and the tower began to appear in full view and within what felt no time we turned the final corner and there in front of us stood the Tower.
( Summit is to the right of the tower)
We quickly began to set up our equipment as the 11:00 UTC start time was fast approaching and I was eager to avoid missing any possible contacts who may be waiting.. Luckily for us an extremely well placed information disc is set into the top of an outcrop of stone, indicating which direction certain locations are from the top of the summit. This also acted as a fantastic base to set up our equipment and to settle down for some operating.
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I know its probebly gone on abit longer than you'd planned it to, but sometimes a few lines just isnt enough.
Ok quick rewind for those of you reading this post and thinking I've lost my tiny little mind, what on earth is a SOTA?. For those of you who do know what a SOTA Activation is please bare with me.
In the wonderful world of Amateur Radio we do on occasions like to venture outside of the confines of the Ham Shack and breath in the delights of the fresh air, sometimes you understand, I hear to much is a bad thing. One way in which this can be achieved and still do something radio related is to undertake a SOTA Activation or Summits On The Air Activation. To put things really simply, you walk to the summit of a rather large hill or mountain carrying your amateur radio equipment with you, set up once your at the summit and then spend the next X amount of time seeing how many contacts you can make from that location. You have to take everything you need with you, and you have to ensure that the last part of the trip is made on foot under your own steam, so no motorbikes here guys, and fingers crossed have some radio fun in the process. Ok so introductions aside, lets move right along.
Saturday 12th April 2014 dawned and with a spring (well more of a limp) in my stride I set off with my colleague Richard 2E0CMI on our journey to activate SOTA Summit G/CE-003 Bredon Hill. The idea of activating a SOTA summit had come to me a few months previous, as we sat in our local, pint in hand, mulling over ideas on mobile operating practices we could undertake to do something abit "different". So with equipment checked and double checked, car fueled and packed we set off on our trip south from Nuneaton to Tewkesbury to battle the fearsome Bredon Hill (ok fearsome may be abit over the top). After an interesting journey thanks mainly to the sometimes strange directions from Sally SatNav we arrived down the narrow lane to our parking destination at 52.044133, -2.067159, with a pull off to the side of the lane where you can easily fit 3 large cars. Securely parked we geared up with everything we could think of that might be needed including extra layers, coat, waterproof coat in the rucksack, walking boots, water, food, torch, and of course all the radio equipment. We had decided to attempt to work 70cm, 2m and 40m while on the summit and so had each brought along enough equipment to cover all options,
Richard 2E0CMI
Yaesu FT-60
ICOM 817
1/4 Wave Dipole Clip-on Aerial for 2m
Telescopic Pro Whip Aerial for 40m
Icom 817 Addon ATU
Telescopic Pole for use with the 1/4 Wave Dipole
Me 2E0NEI
Baofeng UV-5R
1/4 Wave Mini Magmount 2m/70cm Vertical
Telescopic Pole as backup for the 1/4 Wave Dipole
Now yes I will admit equipment wise I was running very light in comparison, but as we planned to work as a team I could afford to run lighter. I had toyed with the idea of bringing my Icom 746 but had decided against that, based on the fact I'd never have made it to the summit the that rig on my back.
From the parking area we proceeded straight ahead following the marked path and began to make our climb up towards the summit. The first part of the path does feel in hindsight the worst part, and by the time we reached the first farm gate, I found myself stopping and catching my breath, and Richard uttered those immortal words "Are We There Yet". It was at this point I had to produce the phone to show a now slightly worried looking Richard the map indicating we had another 2 fields to walk through, then bare to the left, through another field, and a final incline upto the summit. I think it was about this time that Richard began to question why he'd ever agreed to come along with my crazy idea. Luckily resolved to the idea that he was here now, we pressed on, through the second field, which I will admit didn't feel quite as steep as the first one had. We reached the entrance to the third field and my eyes spied the top of the Bredon Hill Fort Tower to my left, however it still did seem quite a distance away. We continued and as we reached the end of field number 3 we turned to our left and began the final part of our ascent. Through another gate and the tower began to appear in full view and within what felt no time we turned the final corner and there in front of us stood the Tower.
( Summit is to the right of the tower)
As we finally came to our destination slightly out of breath but very much glad to have arrived, I stood and surveyed what a fantastic location we had arrived at.
We opted to start with hopefully straightforward 2m contacts, with the aim of at least gaining the required 4 contacts to officially claim the activation points for the Bredon Hill. With 11:00 fast approaching Richard erected the mast and Dipole while I ensured all contact information was close to hand and the all important log book and pen was fully accessible (note to self - strong wind and paper don't mix). At 11:00 UTC we fired up the FT-60 and sent out my SOTA Activation CQ call, to which an almost instantaneous reply came back from G0LGS confirming my contact and providing me with a very good 5/9 signal report. This contact was quickly followed by
- 2E0MDJ
- G0PPM/M
- G0BIN
That was it, within 5 minutes we had achieved the required 4 contacts, the pressure was off and now we could settle back and enjoy a long stream of contacts from a wonderful view point. Unfortunately that didn't quite go as planned. A quick change over from the 2m aerial to the Pro Whip HF Vertical running on the Icom 817 yielding 0 contacts on 40m, a re tune from the ATU and we switched over to 20m. Unfortunately this also resulted in 0 contacts being made. We decided at this point to quit HF and move back to 2m and 70cm, unfortunately again the bands appeared to be very quiet and no further contacts could be made that day. The wind decided our time was up and began growing slowly stronger and colder which added to Richard sporting what was quickly becoming a kneel over cough, we decided to call it quits and pack up the site. As with most things, take down always seems to take half the time that set up took and in what felt like only a matter of minutes all the aerials were down and safely stored, rigs were tucked back into the protective confines of our rucksacks and we began to make our way back down from the summit, just as the wind began to turn my hands a lovely shade of "Bloomin Freezing Blue" (you can have that one Dulux)
As I had predicted to Richard on our ascent to the summit, the descent no matter how good or bad our operating experiences had been that day would feel fantastic. I was correct, the wind became lighter the further from the summit we came, the temperature rose to a very pleasant Saturday afternoon, the birds sang in the hedgerows and all in all we felt very pleased to have made the contacts needed, had a good time operating, and could honestly say we'd activated the Bredon Hill summit. The next step we agreed was to work on making some HF contacts and to finally break the HF jinx which appears to be plaguing both of us. This however we decided could defiantly wait until another day, as 14:30 was fast approaching and my stomach was quick to remind me of this. A quick change again when we arrived back at the car, equipment safety stored in the boot and it was off to the Elmbury Lodge Brewers Fayre, Shannon Way, Ashcurch, GL20 8ND for some well earned food and drink.
So if I had to reflect on the day, I'd have to say, all in all a very enjoyable and satisfying day, even if we weren't able to make as many contacts as we'd hoped to, or any on HF for that matter. So its now time to start planning the next activation, which may be Cleeve Hill if I can persuade Richard to follow me on another SOTA activation.
So the important questions,
Would I do another activation? -> defiantly.
Would I suggest you do an activation yourself? -> Yes. Take some time, know your own limitations, plan your trip well, take extra layers of clothing with you, because trust me, it gets flipping cold on the top of a summit, and just go out and enjoy the hobby, talk to some different people and come away thinking "yes I've done that".
Thanks for taking the time to read this post. I know its probebly gone on abit longer than you'd planned it to, but sometimes a few lines just isnt enough.
Please take a few minutes to glance through some of my other posts and, feel free to leave comments. Thanks again,
73's de Neil 2E0NEI
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