VHF Field Day 2003

The site near the top of Ben Rinnes. (Click for larger photo)

The view was excellent, until the clouds got stuck on the hilltop. (Click for larger photo)

Robin, Les and Geoff at work on the 2m antenna. The triangulation point at the summit is in the background. (Click for larger photo)

Les MM3AXA operates the 2m beam "armstrong" rotator (Click for larger photo)

Jim MM0SMD takes his turn at the mic. (Click for larger photo)

The weather has a nasty habit of getting cold, damp and windy at night on Scottish hilltops. (Click for larger photo)

Text and photos by Jim MM0SMD

One nice Sunday morning in early spring I went for a hike to the top of Ben Rinnes (IO87JJ). I had a really good morning up there with my 2m hand held listening to the Orkney GB2RS news broadcast and chatting with operators around Moray, including 2M1VKP who was up on the Cairngorms with his handheld.

I noticed a flat piece of ground near the summit and thought it would be an ideal site for a portable station for VHF field day. All I had to do was persuade other MFARS members.

At the committee meeting the idea was met with some enthusiasm but concerns were raised about getting to the top. I knew there was a trail but had no idea if it would be good enough for a 4WD to get us up there. The only way to find out was to pull on the hiking boots and have a climb up the track to see.

Before long, I was at the summit again after walking up the track. It looked passable with care, though rather steep and rutted at places, so I contacted the landowner and gained permission to use the road and encamp at the top.

The day finally arrived and Eddie MM0EFW kindly lent us his Range Rover which was driven by Les MM3AXA. All our gear was loaded into Robin GM0NEG's trailer. Geoff MM5AHO also joined us, leaving his car at the bottom of the hill.

It was quite tough going and we had to get out and push the vehicle round some steep corners, but we soon were at the top and pitched our tent, which was kindly lent to us by the Fochabers scouts. The station comprised the club’s FT847, powered by a small generator, and two Tonna long yagis for 2m and 70cm.

The contest began, Geoff tuned around on the bands and we soon had our first contacts on 2m and 70cms. We had our first G station, G3UOL in IO83NW, half an hour into the contest then steadily worked through local operators who kindly gave up a little of their time to call us on both bands and help our score.

Later, we heard John MM0JMB/M calling in on Robin's 2m handheld for directions to the parking area - he was the only one of us brave and silly enough to hike up to the top of the hill. He looked quite exhausted an hour later when he arrived, and had a large rucksack on his back.

The local gamekeeper and his wife appeared on the scene a little time later. He had been asked to climb to the top and get us to remove our Saltire flag from one of our masts, as it could be seen for quite some distance away and was causing a consternation in Aberlour.

We complied and he seemed quite happy, and had a natter with us before sauntering back down. It was a nice evening for a walk.

Darkness started to descend and Geoff headed back down the hill for home. He called back on the radio when he arrived at his car and described a short cut he had taken which had unfortunately led him knee deep through a bog.

Later in the evening, cloud cover enveloped the hilltop and it grew very damp and chilly. We had to put up with lukewarm tea, as our little stove didn’t give out enough heat to boil the kettle.

Towards midnight, a slight breeze blew up and shifted away the cloud. We marvelled at the wonderful view of the North East at night - we could see oil rig flares out at sea and the lights on the top of the Kessock bridge at Inverness. We had fun pinpointing the villages along the coast which were more visible at night, due to the street lights, than they were during the day.

We took it in shifts to operate through the windy night, and tried to sleep in the noisy, flapping tent between stints on the microphone. Contacts came in dribs and drabs and John made the best DX with the south coast of England (G4RRA in IO80BS) around 6am. Unfortunately, we had nothing at all into Europe during the event, which was disappointing.

During the morning, we had a few visitors in the shape of various inquisitive hill walkers, who spent some time with us on their way past. We made some more contacts with QRP backpacker stations as the contest drew to a close.

At the end of the contest, we had made around 100 contacts which was not too bad considering the scarcity of VHF operators in the north east of Scotland compared with the more densely populated areas of the UK. The sun was shining brightly but the wind had picked up even more which made it very difficult to take down the tents and antennas, but we got everything packed up and headed back down the hill.

We were all exhausted at the end of it all, but it was a very enjoyable experience.

Back to Past Events