New Year Greetings, WOTA people.
I’ve managed a 1 January activation every year since 2011. The fourteenth one this year nearly didn’t happen. I’d planned to go out on the fells with Reg 2E0LDF and non-radio friend Mike, but cancelled due to the poor weather forecast (40MPH winds etc). In the event, the weather didn’t turn out too bad, but by then Reg and I spent the morning doing indoor radio instead, exploring FT8 digital.
The weather continued quite good, so in the afternoon I did a quick solo trip to Ling Fell LDW 205 - I’m lucky to live quite close to the Northen and North-Western fells. Icy wind, cold fingers, etc, but pleased to be able to exchange radio greetings with four ‘regulars’ on 2m FM: GM4WHA Geof; 2E0LDF Reg; 2E0MIX Derek; and 2E0XUP Steve. I have previously got into GI from up there. but not today.
I’m not sure if I’m an FT8 fan yet, but I would say don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Reg and I were discussing HF from felltops, and I noted that even with /P low power and possibly comprimise antennas FT8 should bring in loads of UK and international contacts. Some folks are already using FT8 for SOTA (M1EYP for example) and POTA, so this is hardly an innovation. Connecting the rig to a computer or other device can be tricky - the setup has many trip hazards. An ideal solution to avoid lugging a laptop or costly Surface device around seems to be to use an Android tablet. There’s an FT8CN app, and LB0FI YouTube video on the subject.
Is this a New Year’s Resolution forming? Probably not something to learn on top of a mountain in mid-winter though.
73, Phil