The last time I visited Lacey Green IO91OQ was way back in November 2019 and I struggled to get 4 QSO's on a very windy night. So a trip seemed well overdue and the April SHF UKAC provided a good reason to return. After already submitting in 2021 a few scores on 13cm and 9cm, I decided to take 3cm and 6cm to try and make a start on the higher and harder bands!
After a long day on Zoom work calls that went onto into the early evening, I headed off very late and got on site for 9pm. Its a very small layby half-way along Pink Road between 2 pubs. Its quite an unfriendly inhospitable site. The road slopes so is not great for a drive-on plate and the soft muddy ground is very uneven. To top it all off the farm gate now has razor wire coils replacing the barbed wire, and this is is all over the gate. After 20 minutes setting up I moved the mast tripod to where I thought was level and swung the 1m Gibertini dish round to the Reigate beacon GB3SEE which was a good 55. From this frequency check I was able to to establish the transverter offset, which was +12kc.
First in the log on 3cm was Matt 2E0MDJ/P at Birdlip Hill IO81WU, 94km. Then Peter G3PHO in Sheffield IO93GG, 182km quickly followed and we had a quick natter as we had not spoken for a while. Shortly afterwards Nick G4KUX, IO94BP meeped me and it was great to work the path again into Northumberland. At 337km its still my all time 10GHz ODX having worked Nick before from this site. Next in the log was Tony G8DMU/P in IO94CB at 273km the first time we have worked on 3cm.
By this time it was hammering it down with rain and I was getting very wet, so I sat under my picnic table on a blanket, with another blanket over my head! The laptop was getting drenched and I gave up on 6cm SSB with the Pluto as the system kept hanging and I didn't complete what should have been an easy QSO with Neil G4BRK. Anyway 3cm seemed much better conditions so I abandoned 6cm. Swinging the dish to the south I heard Dave G4RGK in Marlow, IO91ON, 14km very strong but also very distorted with RS calling CQ in CW. I called back on SSB and after a bit of adjustment on the RIT we worked and by this time the rain and the SCP (Scatter point) was definitely overhead - as I was soaked!
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| Eight 10GHz QSO's with 337km ODX |
As well as working Tony, it was great also to work Steve G1PPA/P for the first time ever on the band. Steve was in IO93RI at 187km. I also worked Dave G4ASR/P at Dorstone IO82LB at 160km which is never easy from my go-to UKAC site at Britwell Hill. My final contact just before the contest ended was back with Stewart G0LGS/P on Birdlip Hill. I was well pleased with 8 contacts in the last hour of the contest and despite getting very wet it was actually a fun enjoyable evening. I look forward to returning to Lacey Green but next time for the full 3 hours.