Hensbarrow Beacon, G/DC-004 - 312m ASL - SW 997 575 - OS Explorer 106 - 1 SOTA point
It was the same early get-up routine for Jimmy and myself on Wednesday 27th July
2005.
This was the summit closest to our holiday park, and so we hoped it would be
finished earliest too. Furthermore, there was only going to be one antenna
set up - the 40m dipole, considering that the landfill heaps reportedly
tower above this summit!
We followed the A30 eastbound as far as Roche, from where we turned south
and took the minor road over Hensbarrow Downs. Just before one of the
several entrances to stone companies was a parking area at the start of the
PROW to the summit. This path was a flat 3 minute amble to a ten foot
mound, upon which stood the trig point. Crescented around this was a higher
profile in the landfill site, but a heavy mist was down and it was difficult
to estimate just how much higher. We could hear the lorries trundling
around, but were not sure whether they would be diggers, refuse trucks or
lorries carrying aggregates and the like.
Up went the 40m dipole, and F/G4DAX/M in Brittany was worked. Then, no joy
at all for over 90 minutes, whether putting out my own CQ calls or trying to
answer other people's. Here I had two moments of embarrassing weakness.
The first was to erect the SOTA Beam in the hope of catching the guys in
Truro I had worked on the previous days - the "open" half of the summit was
in that direction. This failed. The second moment of weakness was to find
myself wishing that I had a MOBILE TELEPHONE with me so I could self-spot on
SOTAwatch. Aargh no, wash one's mouth/mind out I thought, I'm not having
one of those things until I have to (July 2006, my concession to Marianne in
return for the Pennine Way pass-out). Having said that, it would have been
useful to have taken Marianne's mobile out with me so I could call up CWI or
the Mafia!
I returned to persevere on 40m, and managed to get in on the WACRAL net.
The net contained around 6/7 stations in addition to myself, and I managed
to exchange reports with exactly three of them, to give me the point. We
packed up and returned to the car, and to the holiday park for 11.55am, via
a Cornish pasty stop in Roche.
Many thanks to the following stations, all worked with 5 watts on 40m SSB:
F/G4DAX/M |
Brittany |
Dave |
EI/OZ4PAT |
Doolan |
George |
G3XNX |
Brixham |
Derek |
M0PAR |
Malvern |
Roy |
|