A bit late with this post.. Last weekend Myself Nigel M0NRG, Steve 2E0OWI, Neil M0CJM, Sri 2E0LKA met up at Teglease down on the Southdowns for a Sunday Morning social. On the way in it was quite sunny but as the morning progressed the sky turned grey and the sun disappeared, this didn’t detract from pleasant morning consisting of food, chat, good company and of course radio.
Todays kit consisted of the Yaesu FT891, Mat 30 Tuner and a Chameleon Delta loop mast mounted.
We did a partial WWFF activation of GFF-0018 Southdowns National Park and then some casual radio contacts.
26 in the log for the activation and a few others across the guys afterwards.
Rain and possible lightning was advertised for that afternoon so we were packed away by lunchtime just prior to the rain starting.
Something different today, I though I would post from the woods whilst the activation is taking place. Stephen 2E0OWI is on the mic for this activation. As I type I can hear a woodpecker along with a multitude of other birdsong with the smell of wild garlic on the breeze. There is a touch of frost in the surrounding fields but the morning sun feels warm to the face. We settled in on 20m with 34 in the log and now a band change to 17m and a re-spot on the WWFF cluster.
39 in the log and another QSY to 10m and then 40m ending with 53 QSOs in the log.
After far too long a period of no WWFF or walk in /P activations I gave myself a kick up the backside this weekend and activated GFF-0535 Emer Bog SAC. This activation only appeared and became valid on the WWFF directory on the 18th February 2025 which meant I was the first station to activate this reference, this is a first for me.
A good friend and fellow Ham Stephen 2E0OWI accompanied me on this activation. The site was wet, damp and chilly but it was a Bog after all so no complaints. Its been a while since we have carried out a walk in activation, we have carried out most of our recent /P work from the comfort of a truck so I had to put a portable station together that fitted in my backpack..
The kit list was as follows: Yaesu FT891 Slidewinder Antenna LiPo Battery Messi & Paoloni Ultraflex 7
For logging I have been using Ham2K portable logger which you can find here I have been using Ham2K for casual logging when we have been operating portable but had never used it in a pile-up situation prior to todays activation, I have to say I wasn’t disappointed. I wasn’t sure how easy it would be to populate the fields in the logbook using a tablet under the fast moving conditions of a pile-up but my concerns were soon put to rest. A nice feature of the logbook is the notification that you have worked that same station on a different band in the same session, this enables you to greet the station your working again a little more personally. When you come to export your log for upload to WWFF, as long as you have selected the activation as WWFF it can be exported in the correct required format which is another convenient time saver.
I worked the 20m and 17m bands ending with 65 QSOs in the log overall. 20m was hard work due to heavy QRM as there was contest that was on.
Its been a while since my last activation so last Sunday Myself and friend Steve 2E0OWI hiked up the hill at Kingley Vale Nature reserve to activate GFF-0212. I used my go-to portable setup consisting of a Yaesu FT891 and a Slidewinder Antenna. We planned to kick off at around 09:00 but whilst looking for a clear frequency I heard a call out from Ivan VK4XS and ended up having a 5 minute chat with him with a nice 5-8 report both ways. After that we kicked off the activation and ended up with 82 in the log.
On Sunday I popped out with Stephen to GFF-018 Southdown’s National Park to complete his 6th brass monkey activation. It was pretty chilly with a northerly breeze that cut right through you. But nethertheless Brass Monkey was the name of the game. Steve had previously managed 28 QSO’s so the 24 he picked up this time meant goal achieved. 52 in total, 44 for activation and a few for good luck.
We spotted a few Red Kites but they were quite a way off, the one below dropping its payload.
So the pressure for the Brass Monkey award is off now for both of us but these are the first of many WWFF activations and /P radio activities..
So for my last Brass Monkey activation I went to Langston Harbour where I set up at the very end of Farlington Marshes. My Friend Neil M0CJM drove down from Basingstoke to sit in on the activation. Neil and I both passed out Radio Amateurs Exam (RAE) as it was known back then in 1996 I think :-). The weather was overcast and there was quite breeze coming from the SW. I carried in all of the radio kit in a new 5.11 Molle back pack which was being used for the first time so this was a bit of a test, I will detail this on the Ham Radio page soon. I took my usual portable Yaesu FT891 along with my trusty slidewinder antenna. I started off on 20m moving on to 40m with over 70 QSO’s in the log in just over an hour. A well spent afternoon off of work.
Another WWFF activation day. This time we were out looking for two activations for Stephen 2E0OWI to complete his Brass Monkey award #5 & #6, GFF-0358 Weadlen Heaths and GFF-0018 Southdown’s National Park. He managed the 44 plus QSO’s for GFF-0835 but not quite there for GFF-0018, so another visit before the end of February will be in order. During the activation we spotted a Great Spotted Woodpecker, well just about, it was high up in the canopy of the trees and I had to thread through the branches and twigs with the long lens. Not a great shot but managed to get a glimpse. With the first activation over and done with within the hour we then decided to go for activation number 2 which took us to the Southdown’s National Park. As we approached the point chosen for the activation the drizzle started to come in with a bit of a temperature drop but compared to some of the temperatures we have endured this year it was pretty mild. Here we spotted a number of Red Kites, again these were some distance away but the long lens proved handy again. And of course we had the company of the obligatory Robin.
Today my friend Stephen 2E0OWI and I visited Gilkicker Point on the south coast over looking Solent to activate GFF-0289. Today was my fifth activation of the required six towards the Brass Monkey award. Kicking off on 20m around 8:25 I had 76 in the log 50 minutes later with a bonus park to park contact on 40m after having a little tune around. The weather was the warmest we have experienced since starting the Brass Monkey back in December. Warm sun on your face, sitting on the beach looking out to sea, what more could you want on a Sunday morning.
The picture below shows the locations of the stations that I worked today.
At the end of the 50 minutes I was glad to take a break and have a cup of tea 🙂
Today I went along with my Friend Stephen 2E0OWI to activate GFF-0010 New Forest National Park for his #4 Brass Monkey activation. We found a spot within the park and setup. It was a bit of a grey and chilly day but not as cold as some of the previous Brass Monkey activations that we had carried out. A good morning was had with Stephen logging 50+ QSO’s for the activation. Whilst Stephen was working away on the radio I took the opportunity to have a little bimble and take a few snaps.
For #4 Myself and Stephen 2E0OWI visited GFF-0359 Short Heath Common. It was a cold frosty morning which presented a white sheen across the landscape along with a frozen lake. We spent the morning here eventually getting 65 QSOs in the log. After the obligatory bacon sarnie and cuppa we moved on to a second location where Stephen setup for his own activation.
