Red Screes
| WOTA ID: LDW-049 | Height: 776 m (2546 ft) |
|---|---|
| SOTA ID: G/LD-017 | Grid ref: NY396087 |
| HuMP ID: n/a | QTH Locator: IO84ML |
| Book: The Eastern Fells | Lat: 54.469934 Long: -2.932072 |
Just a quick report of my recent visit to Red Screes. Primarily this was an opportunity to try out my recently purchased ARROW II 146/437-14BP ALASKAN SATELLITE ANTENNA 2m/7cm cross polarized antenna by entering the 1st 144Mhz RSGB Backpackers contest. This can either be entered as a backpacker 5w or 25w hill topper (with the thinking here that someone can operate from their car).
All contacts were made using my FT-817ND 5w with an external LifePo4 3 cell battery. I used my Super Antenna MP1 for HF.
The contest was fun but not as much as a couple of months ago when I entered the monthly 2m contest as there was a lift on and I worked 80 stations in 60 mins as far as Belgium with a 3 element beam from Gummer’s How.
This is an all-mode contest but I think most folk use SSB, I didn’t hear anyone calling CQ contest on FM.
Summit Tarn
Summit setup for 2m USB
Selfie!
It was a lovely day although the forecast was definitely for sunshine and showers. The ascent and setup was dry, and I used a tarp to keep the rain off which worked great.
Here is my entry for the contest:
Afterwards I worked HF with the Super Antenna MP1 which was fun, but it ended with broadband interference across all HF bands, really unsure why as the FT-817 was working fine the next day with the same setup.
HF Setup
Super Antenna MP1
Rain!
Contacts
After the interference I packed up under the tarp and most things remained dry even though it was raining. Just as I was setting off the rain cleared and I was treated to a spectacular rainbow which hung in the air for all the time I was descending. The rain seemed to be stuck on Raven Crag all that time.
Here is a link to the Rainbow Panorama.
Rainbow behind the Benchmark
Rainbow over the Inn
I could still see the rainbow from Bowness and hour after it started