Failed first attempt at HF

Activation Reports
1

I thought i would give HF a try and Binsey was an easy choice for the first one. I set up the antennas, got settled down and then discovered in my haste to get out i had forgotten the power lead for the G106 radio.I thought to my self what a stupid thing to do i have 2 bags one with a linked dipole 40/20 meters and a linked end feed for 40/20 meters and cables, the other with the radio.I had also made a vertical after seeing a post on Sota reflector and decided to give it a go,and so left the bag with all the connectors in.
![IMG_4238|666x500](upload://xsnfbw0Rjp1sNoHMMNW2IaNfpcL.jpe

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it was bright on the top but with wind speeds of 20/30 miles an hour and chile of -3 the HF vertical would have been a go choice.Quick and easy to deploy

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8 radials 2 and a half meters long

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I did manage 5 contacts on 2 meters
GM4WHA GEOFF
G4VFL ANDREW
GM3VMB PETER
MOLLC LEE
DEREK 2E0MIX

2

Well you got some nice pictures at least and a few stations on 2m , your HF set up at least looked the part up there on Binsey ! You can remember to pack everything sometimes and the HF bands can either be dead or full with contest stations at the Weekend as happened to me a couple of times . I always take the 2M gear fortunately like you do.
Richard.

3

the camera battery flashed red and needed to be switched on and off to get get those pictures
It all goes to to show how unorganised i was

reg

4

I keep doing this Reg! In fact on Sunday I activated Loughrigg with my FT-817 that I haven’t used for quite a while, and last minute threw in a MiniPA50 amp and LifePo4 4S battery. As it turns out the amp doesn’t amplify and I spent a fair bit of time working that out, before proceeding with 5w barefoot.

5

Hi Reg, forgetting a crucial bit of kit happens to all of us and a lot when I first started SOTA & WOTA. So I made and used checklists of what I needed for different types of activation, e.g. 2m FM only, multi-band HF.

Nowadays, I keep related items in separate bags ready to go. I have bags for the HF rig/morse key/mic, the 2m FM HT/whip ant, the HF antenna components, etc. I get in the habit of checking that each bag has the expected contents before it goes in the rucksack. I also check each bag’s contents before leaving the summit to ensure I don’t leave something up there. It seems to work.