For the April UKuG Low-Band contest, I was keen to have a play with my big 9cm dish up at Britwell Hill (IO91LO) my go-to site on the Chiltern Ridge. After the 3rd Lockdown it was fabulous to be out portable again. On top of the hill it was very cold and chilly. For the first hour the wind was gusty with snow and hail showers, so I sheltered in the car with the heater on!
 |
| 3.4GHz 90cm PF Dish |
With the 90cm PF Dish on a short pole about 4.5m up, and using the Pluto SDR at full power and the Stealth SM3437 amplifier at 20W, first in the log was Dave G1EHF from the M0HNA/P team near Guildford (IO91RF, 54km). This was quickly followed by QSO's with locals G4BRK and G8CUL. Next up was Noel G8GTZ at home in Basingstoke (IO91KF, 42km) who was a massive signal. The session concluded with QSO's from G4ODA (IO92WS, 144km for my ODX), G4LDR (IO91EC, 68km) and M0GHZ (IO91VK, 83km).
I also met up with Jules M0UGA who was co-sited and socially distanced operating on 23cm with a IC-9700 and 44ele WiMo. It was great to catch-up and have a natter! I was happy with 7 QSO's as conditions were poor and not many stations were still operational.