G/SC-009 – Lewesdon Hill, Dorset
In complete contrast to my last activation at Hardown Hill, this was a huge success on the contacts front.
- 32 contacts
- 19 countries
- 4 Summit to summit
- First transatlantic contact
Travelling through the village of Broadwindsor heading south the parking options are limited. I eventually found a lay-by in front of a row of cottages. I was able to park far enough from the cottages to not cause a nuisance so left the car and headed up the hill.
It was a steep climb in places and a hot day made it hard work at times but a nice walk and a few downed trees have obviously become the play thing of kids building dens.
Once on the summit I had a walk around to scope the area and options for antennas, the summit is relatively clear but surrounded by trees. I decided to stay towards the southern end of the summit as this was the largest clear space. I put up the 6m pole and used the new SotaBeams Bandhopper 2 as both antenna & guying support. I put up the end fed with a new 40-10m wire to compare the results and have a backup for the bandhopper.
I started on 20m calling CQ using the voice recorder while spotting myself on SOTAwatch. Within a few minutes of starting the QSO’s came thick and fast with my first ever pileup.
With 23 contacts in the bag on 20m and the band quiet I dropped the mast and linked the crocodile clips on the Bandhopper to move to 40m. An updated spot on SOTAwatch and another 9 contacts.
As the frequency went quiet I took the opportunity to have a break, make a coffee and scan around the other bands, sadly 10m & 6m were both deathly quiet and I couldn’t hear the other spots online so began packing up my equipment.
Before leaving the summit I gave a final call on 2m and achieved one last QSO with a local amateur just a few miles away.
