For the first 24GHz UKuG Sunday contest of the year I travelled West to Hackpen Hill (IO91CL12) for a change. I was actually nearby for the last October 24GHz event in October! Hackpen is such an iconic site for Milliwave due to a decent 94km path across to The Blorenge in Wales. The plan was to collect the 47GHz and 76GHz loan kit kindly offered to me for a 2nd season from Roger G8CUB and to try some QSO's, weather and conditions permitting!
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| 24/47/76GHz at Hackpen In-between the Rain Showers! |
I arrived on site at 10am just before the start and drove down the Southern part of The Ridgeway path for about 300m to approximately IO91CL12OA. The weather was starting to worsen with light drizzle and I quickly got the gear assembled for all 3 bands. The Baofeng handheld sprang to life on 433.450 FM with Dave GW4FRE/P an easy copy from The Blorenge. Roger was already set-up and worked Dave on 24GHz. I tailgated to make an easy QSO (94km, IO81LS19), and I then worked Roger for a 1km single point QSO!
It started to absolutely pour down and Roger quickly worked Dave on 47GHz. The weather and band conditions were rapidly deteriorating. I could hear Dave on 47GHz but despite trying he could not hear my QRP. With rain in all directions and the horizon no longer visible, Dave was much weaker on Roger's 47GHz system so it wasn't surprising that I couldn't be heard. Torrential rain started to descend upon us and I managed to get black bin bags on all the kit and also put some umbrella's up to keep the gear as dry as possible.
It rained for nearly an hour and I sheltered in the car. On the 70cm talkback we could hear Barry G4SJH/P on Walbury Hill working Dave on 24GHz. Panning the dish around to the South East, Barry was very strong and worked easily in between showers (28km, IO91GI44). The rain was now terrible and I sheltered in the car taking the fT-817ND with me, having got soaked! The rainstorm continued relentlessly for another 2 hours. There were a few times it stopped and I tried with Dave on 47GHz but signals were now very weak from him.
The 24GHz gear was getting a bit wet by this time and the relay which is sequenced by 12v up the coax via a Bias Tee was sticking on TX. I could hear Martyn G3UKV/P on Brown Clee (124km, IO82QL83) but unfortunately although Roger with his 2W worked him, he could not hear my 0.25W, despite several tries not helped by my technical issues. The weather by this time was still very wet and grim. I quickly worked Roger on 76GHz for another 1Km and a 1 point QSO. I was very pleased to get my first albeit near field QSO on this band. We both tried listening to Dave who was still on The Blorenge but nothing was heard.
It was time to pack all the wet gear in the car and head off back towards home. There were still a few stations on and I decided to drive East to a new site near Lockinge (IO91GN83EN). This is where The Ridgeway crosses the A338 Manor Road, just South of Wantage, to meet Jules M0UGA. By the time I arrived at this small car park site the folks on Walbury Hill were starting to pack-up. Despite some persistent relay issues I managed to work Barry again at 23km for my 4th and final QSO. Barry G4SJH/P and Noel G8GTZ/P worked G4FRE/P who had moved to Notgrove IO91BV but the path was blocked and I could not hear him from Lockinge.
It wasn't a great radio day due to the appalling weather, but it was nevertheless good to get QSO's on all 3 bands. Hopefully the Milliwave events in July, September and October will be drier!