GM5ALX

Carn Glas-choire

2026-11-05T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-091, GB-0835 · 13.8 km · 416 m ascent · 40 QSOs on 40m, 17m

YouTube

2026-10-31T00:00:00Z

Recently I've been taking some videos of activations and other radio things of interest. You can find it here. Here are a couple of videos:

Hill of Foudland

2026-10-30T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-071 · 7.2 km · 221 m ascent · 32 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 15m

Route map, photos and log →

Leathad an Taobhain & Carn Dearg Mor

2026-10-06T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-046, GM/CS-061, GB-0835, GB-3004 · 38.7 km · 1,112 m ascent · 31 QSOs on 40m, 20m

Route map, photos and log →

Creag nam Mial

2026-10-02T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-102 · 15.5 km · 433 m ascent · 39 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m

Route map, photos and log →

Creag Liath

2026-09-23T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-088, GB-0835, GB-2000 · 8.8 km · 469 m ascent · 43 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m

Route map, photos and log →

Mither Tap

2026-09-21T00:00:00Z

5.6 km · 312 m ascent

I'd been out with work doing some volunteering work with the River Dee Trust, and as it was such a nice day, a few of us went up Mither Tap afterwards. It's a summit that's part of Bennachie, but not the highest part and so not the SOTA summit.

However, Alan MM0VPM, was out on Creag Mhor (GM/ES-017), a rarely activated summit in the depths of the Cairngorms, and I was hoping for a complete. I managed to chase him on 2m, and have a wee chat, whilst my colleagues sunned themselves at the top and had a rapid intro to SOTA.

I then saw a spot for Caroline down in SS land somewhere, and even though I had no idea where her hill was, I listened and we just managed a QSO... 200 km with just the HT and RH-770! Pretty good!.

Route map, photos and log →

Glas Maol

2026-09-11T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-012, GB-0835, GB-0866, GB-1893 · 10.9 km · 745 m ascent · 15 QSOs on 2m, 13cm

Route map, photos and log →

Badandun Hill

2026-09-08T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-037 · 9.4 km · 478 m ascent · 14 QSOs on 40m, 2m, 13cm

Route map, photos and log →

My first microwave activation

2026-08-31T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-086 · 2 QSOs on 2m, 13cm

Trying out my new SG Labs 13cm transverter...also trying out making a video!

Route map, photos and log →

Carn an Fhreiceadain

2026-08-25T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-056, GB-0835 · 18.5 km · 695 m ascent · 31 QSOs on 40m, 20m

Route map, photos and log →

Geal-charn Mor

2026-08-20T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-070, GB-0835 · 10.7 km · 564 m ascent · 27 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Creag Bheag

2026-08-08T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-111, GB-0835 · 5.6 km · 261 m ascent · 25 QSOs on 40m, 20m

Route map, photos and log →

Beinn Liath Mhor & Sgorr Ruadh

2026-08-06T00:00:00Z

GM/WS-097, GM/WS-077, GB-0993 · 19.3 km · 1,387 m ascent · 26 QSOs on 40m, 20m

Route map, photos and log →

Adventures in Arran

2026-07-30T00:00:00Z

GB-1447, GB-4447 · 27.3 km · 738 m ascent · 16 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m

We spent a week on Arran, a family favourite holiday destination. As it’s a family trip, radio and hill walking takes a backseat, but we did plan one outing. My daughter and I would do Mullach Buidhe (GM/SI-027) on the west side of the island, an 8.5 km round trip from Pirnmill - with a convenient corner shop for a suitable reward afterwards.

Weather in the week has been mixed but it was meant to be a nice dry afternoon, although quite windy.

The walk starts off going through some trees and ferns before coming out into a vast, and wet, grasslands. We made our way up the eastern ridge, with the intent to do the summit then come back down the western ridge to form a loop.

Unfortunately, at around 500m the wind was absolutely relentless and a struggle to walk it. After a little way and knowing it was another 200m+ to ascend, I decided it wasn’t a good idea to continue and so we turned back. We were maybe only 600m from the summit, but it’ll be there next time. It was a squelchy walk back, but the views were still good. We could see the three paps of Jura in the distance.

Not wanting to miss out on some radio time, I decided to setup on the beach in Blackwaterfoot. This happens to be in two POTA parks, GB-1447, Arran coastal way, and GB-4447, Arran Geopark (which seems to cover the entire island).

40m was pretty rough, and interestingly my 41’ random wire didn't tune on 20m - I guess the beach ground is different than a hilltop - but I had another antenna with me and used that counterpoise. However, the best band was 17m, with several US stations and a P2P with a couple on holiday in Trinidad and Tobago! I could hear Uruguay strongly on 15m, but they had many callers so I wasn’t going to be heard with my 10W from the KX2.

Aside from these phone photos, I only took film with me on this holiday…we will see how that decision turns out!

Route map, photos and log →

We had a Whale of a time

2026-06-30T00:00:00Z

GM/SS-280, GB-1360 · 4.6 km · 151 m ascent · 10 QSOs on 2m

If you follow K4SWL’s blog / YouTube, you’ll know he’s on a bag purchasing trip holiday in Scotland. Not wanting to miss out on an opportunity to meet Thomas, and do an activation together, I organised a meet-up at GM/SS-280, North Berwick Law, as that was a good midpoint between everyone (and also that badge). Everyone being Fraser, MM0EFI and Neil, G7UFO, and of course myself.

The A1 traffic in the south held Neil and Thomas up a bit but it wasn’t too long before we were all ready for this East Lothian DXexpedition. After a lot of nattering in the car park we eventually set off.

It’s a short walk, but pretty steep straight up to the top, with a myriad of paths, and we’re soon at the top enjoying the views. We had a brief shower before setting off but it was dry and we had reasonable visibility all around. Alan, MM0VPM, was out on GM/SS-182 down the road, and we heard him calling CQ on 2m as we were walking up, and we promised to call for many S2Ss once we got to the top.

Good views all round!

I had the HT out and we tuned back into 145.450 to see if Alan was still about, only to then hear him working a big contingent in Edinburgh, of Andy MM7MOX, Paul MM0RTO, Pete GM7EEY and Steve MM7STT. Once they were done we then worked Alan and then a big parcel the parcel as Fraser, Thomas and I worked everyone else on 2m as well. Great to get everyone!

With the summit already qualified, we split up to setup our own stations to see who else was about on the bands - plus to get a few more for the POTA.

I continued 2m FM with the wee ft-90 and slim g, just perched on an outcrop down from the summit, and found another 5 contacts on 2m.

Thomas had his KH1 out, just standing round the other side, working Europe and NA on 20m, 17m and 15m.

Neil setup on the west side of the summit, doing sideband on 40, 20 and 17. This was actually Neil’s first SOTA activation, and he won the prize for best mast mount. Just don’t go expecting similar options on your next summit!

Fraser had brought his tiny QMX ft8 setup and was working some data whilst sunbathing, and tripping up unobservant dog walkers.

Everyone was thoroughly satisfied with their activation and whilst the weather and views still held up, lunchtime was long overdue and so it was time to head back down. Whilst only a small hill, I didn’t want everyone to miss out on some Scottish scrambling, and so I led us literally straight down across sheet rock and chest high grasses (to continue our conversation of ticks from earlier in the day). But all was well, and we, eventually, made our way to The Ship Inn to enjoy a well earnt lunch!

A great day out, and great to meet Neil and Thomas in person. Hopefully not too far off until the next activation together, wherever that ends up being. Enjoy the rest of your holiday Thomas, and I’m looking out for Neil’s next spot from a SOTA summit! 😅

Also on the reflector.

Thomas wrote up the day as well on his blog. Plus accompanying video:

Route map, photos and log →

Two mountains that aren’t SOTA?

2026-06-22T00:00:00Z

GB-0835, GB-0866, GB-1893 · 15.5 km · 819 m ascent · 37 QSOs on 40m, 20m

There are lots of hills in Scotland, but not all of them are SOTA ones - those have to have a prominence of 150m over the surrounding hills. They can be some of the highest peaks in the U.K. but still not be SOTA. Two of which are the Munros Mayar and Driesh. These are fairly near me, accessed from the east and are a popular spot for those looking to climb a big hill.

Whilst they aren’t SOTA summits, they are HEMA summits (ones with prominence 100-150m) in multiple parks and a fauna and flora site (WWFF) - there are schemes for everything! My plan was to walk both Munros and then activate at Driesh before heading back to the car. Driesh has a trig point and people collect those as well.

The route is very defined and a popular one so no surprises that the car park was busy and I saw a few folk out. The weekend had been glorious sunshine but today it was overcast and risked rain. I don’t mind that but it was very humid with lots of flies until you got up onto the top, where a little breeze help both situations.

A quick photo at the top of Mayar and then on to Driesh. Mostly in the cloud at this point although did get a bit of a view down Glen Prosen. Top of Driesh has a nice shelter and trig point, which would be ideal to sit in. However, with a few other folks out, I found a spot to setup away from the top.

With the PoLo app, I can add all the POTA, WWFF and GMA references and it will spot to all the sites. Very handy as, other than POTA, I’m not sure how I spot elsewhere! Starting on 40m is a bit slow but callers do start coming back to me. I make it up to 11, enough for completing the POTA requirements, on 40m before I move to 20m. I did think about packing up then but it was still dry and I thought I’d give it a go. 20m was pretty busy, not huge pileups, but a steady stream for a good number of QSOs. WWFF needs 44 contacts to activate and whilst I thought I’d never get there, I ended up being quite close, with 37 in the log. At this point it started to rain and I’d been at the top for a while, so time to pack up.

The route back is straight forward and offers a nice view towards Tom Buidhe, another non-SOTA Munro near Glenshee (that I also need to climb at some point).

This now puts me on 62 Munros climbed (out of 282!) and I think this is my first POTA only activation. Still just as fun as SOTA, although still a shame it doesn’t count as one! Whilst I didn’t get 44 contacts for the WWFF, they allow me to combine previous activations to get to 44, and as this one is quite large, I’ve already activated in it on previous summits this year, so I’ve sent in my log for both to get to 44.

I also took my M2 with me on the walk. I’s started a roll of Ilford Ortho 80 over the weekend, and thought it would be good to use the rest of the roll on my walk. I actually ended up using more frames than I thought and it didn’t last the whole way. If I can find my development bag, maybe I’ll develop them myself, and eventually see how they turned out and what Ortho 80 looks like.

Finally, one of the holiday houses near the start looked very well adapted to avoid the need for expensive oil/LPG and is fully electric

Route map, photos and log →

Meallach Mhor

2026-06-18T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-084, GB-0835 · 27.6 km · 580 m ascent · 26 QSOs on 40m, 20m

Route map, photos and log →

Two steep summits

2026-06-09T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-069, GM/CS-057, GB-0835 · 27.1 km · 989 m ascent · 61 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 15m

Out again today, this time doing A Dun and A'Chaoirnich - also known as the Gaick Corbetts. They’re a bit of a cycle in front of the A9, and then they are both very steep ascents and descents. Also what makes them interesting is that they have very large flat tops. Like two loaves of bread either side of a loch.

As you can see the two hills are quite similar and almost mirror images. Although A'Chaoirnich is 875m vs. An Dun of 827m. Both are quite tiring to climb as the sides are very steep! Check out the contours!

I was pretty lucky with the weather, I was expecting showers, and I saw several go by, but nothing where I was.

The radio was good too. 40m on An Dun was very lively, less so on the second summit but plenty of contacts. I did have a summit to summit with a Latvian summit, which I was surprised to later learn that there are only three SOTA summits in Latvia.

Still more to go in the Cairngorms National Park, so will keep chipping away when I have the time.

Route map, photos and log →

Trying to avoid the rain

2026-06-02T00:00:00Z

GM/SS-008, GM/SS-010, GB-0930 · 15.9 km · 1,168 m ascent · 31 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 2m

A couple of weeks ago I wanted to go out on my day off, but the forecast was for torrential rain across pretty much all of central and eastern Scotland. Looking at the radar simulation, it looked like going south to Ben Vorlich and Stuc a'Chroin would mean I’d just creep under the rain.

This would also be my first big outing in the new-to-me EV.In theory it should get there and back, as it said 333 miles at 100%, and the round trip total was 240. These two hills are a classic munro pair and the route is pretty standard. It’s a steady uphill the whole way, and soon the drizzle turned to rain, which continued until nearly the top.

The top of Ben Vorlich isn’t that big, there is another cairn further along from the trig which offers nice views so could be hard to keep out the way. That, plus my desire to keep moving meant I just did 2m with HT and whip. In between calls the clouds did occasionally part and I’d get a glimpse of the views, and a small line of other walkers coming up.

Off to the next one. Thankfully the rain had stopped, although I arrived at the top in the cloud. This time it was HF first. A bit slow and a mix of reports, but enough for 20 minutes of activity. As I swapped over to 2m, the clouds parted again and offered nice views of Ben Vorlich and the way I came.

Whilst my first CQ on 2m brought in a few callers, I struggled as my transmissions kept cutting out. I didn’t notice until the other sidestarted talking over me, and suggesting my PTT needed pressing harder. It was only when I looked at the screen whilst transmitting that Irealised the HT was powering off and on again. It had said 2/3 bars when I started, but it went to zero on Tx. A few very abrupt, and intermittent (from my side) QSOs were made - I could say SS or 010 or 59 before it would restart. Definitely a test of patience for my chasers!

It’s a long walk back, and the side of Ben Vorlich is fairly boggy. Quite a few others were just starting out and heading up as I was nearly back at the road.

The roads back to the A9 were very flooded, and I had several 10 minutes of absolutely torrential rain. Where I realised I could’ve had a verywet walk! Arriving home with 15% remaining made me glad for the improved battery estimation of the car compared to the HT!

Route map, photos and log →

Recent SOTA Outings

2026-05-25T00:00:00Z

I try to get out once a week, but if I want to do write ups then things start to pile up if I’m not on it! If it’s something different or a new route/combo of hills then I’ll make an effort to write it up on the SOTA forums. This is where others will look if they want to do hills - particularly in the UK, whilst the forums are for everyone it seems to have a U.K. bias. I’m sure other countries have their own preferred urls to hang out - but you usually get a bit of a chat going. Mostly about unrelated items but that’s part of the fun. However, I like to keep my own version on my website. Perhaps doing a “monthly” (or a since last time) summary might be an option.

Cairngorms National Park

Since completing Mountain Goat and all of GM/ES region, my next target is to complete all the CNP summits. I still have have quite a few to go, 13 right now, although out of 89 I suppose that’s not too bad.

Easter Monday Snow

Way back on the 6th April, I headed over the west side of the A9 just north of the Drumochter pass for Carn na Caim. The usual route is this munro plus another, the non-SOTA A'Bhuidheanach Bheag. Of course it would be a shame to go all this way and not do both. To add to the excitement, it was a storm the night before and whilst it was a non-event at home, many high places in central Scotland had a good dump of snow. I’d checked the road webcams in the morning, and with snowat the roadside, I thought I’d better pack my snow shoes.

Being two munros off the A9, and holiday, there were quite a few other walkers about. The snow shoes made for a good conversational piece, especially when I’d go sailing off whilst they were pot-holing and struggling in the snow.

The following week I did the neighbouring munro, Meall Chuaich, and the weather couldn’t have been more different. Also had a lovely day out with Fraser, on my local munro, Mount Keen.

Glen Tilt Summits

I resume my CNP summits, this time a pair to the south up the lovely Glen Tilt. The rarely activated Beinn Mheadhonach, and the munro to its east, Carn a'Chlamain. This was quite a long way, with about 40 minutes of cycling and then starting the big walk around.

The typical way to the munro is to keep cycling on the east of the Tilt but as I was doing both, I swapped to the west. It’s mostly cyclable but not as easy as the road. A convenient marker showed me it was time to leave the bike and head up. It was quite cloud but no wind, and that made for a humid and warm climb up the hill. The summit is a big plateau and so I’m in the activation zone abour 1 km before the true summit. I get out the handheld and see who I can get as I walk towards the summit. A few locals, plus Fraser and Mo (now with licence!) who were driving down towards Arran.

I wrote up the trip here, and below are a nice selection of photos. The sun came out when I reached the summit, and it was pretty warm.

A long walk back to the bike and then cycle back to the car. I’ll soon be back to the Glen Tilt car park to do the other pair of munro/corbett…

A few local hills first

Before I go back to Glen Tilt, I end up doing Millstone Hill and Turin hill. Mostly as I didn’t have much time, and I’d not done Turin hill before.

Turin is just a wee hill down in Angus. Has a bit of a reputation for an angry farmer to the south, so best climbed from the north. Although this then means parking is tricky. Some people park on the verge by the turn off but I didn’t think that was big enough, so I parked further up the road and brought my bike. It was only a 15 minute cycle and then a 15 minute walk to the top but it was a lovely day. I’d brought the 2m yagi with me and did hear some people in London and a Lake District SOTA activator. The London guy heard me at one point but I never made contact with either of them. I kept jumping back and forth between them and probably should’ve stuck longer in one place to try and get a contact. I’d had a nice run on HF with quite a few summit-to-summit contacts, so still a good day out.

A long bike climb from Glen Tilt

Now it’s May and time to head back to Glen Tilt. This time for Beinn Dearg (munro) and Beinn Bhreac (a very remote corbett). This was an even longer route, at 38 km, with a somewhat miserable bike climb to start.

Again, I wrote it up on the forums. Only three people had activated the remote Beinn Bhreac in the whole 20+ years of SOTA. You have to be committed to do it!

The uphill cycle was a bit grueling and I was pleased to be off the bike and starting the climb to Beinn Dearg. There is another route up from the car park but I think that was longer, so I didn’t do it. Maybe it’s preferred as whilst it is further, the gradient is less! The forecast was dry, with sunny spells, and good visibility but a cold northerly wind and so wind chill on the summits being predicted to be -11°C. 🥶 It had also snowed a little the night before. Oh well, time for third winter I guess!

It was a long walk back from Beinn Bhreac to my bike, but then a very speedy return to the car. Although the path is quite rocky and so it’s a bit of a bone shaker!

Another big day out, but good to get those summits!

Down in SS Land

We had a family trip away one weekend and it meant I had a free afternoon. I’d originally looked at doing Ben Chonzie, the Munro near Crieff, but the weather forecast didn’t look great and I wasn’t sure if I had that much time. So I settled for the closer Ben Cleuch. Being a weekend activation, in an easy access hill, much closer to a bigger population, meant there were a lot of people also out on the hill! I’m not used to that. If I see three people when I’m out then it’s a busy day!

I ended up just doing 2m, as there are enough people around listening, and several people told me the HF bands weren’t great due to the aurora last night (or the impact of a flare that caused the aurora). The weather turned out quite well, a little breezy, but perfectly nice to sit at the top and have a chat with the locals. I did a big loop round and came back to Tillicoultry where I’d parked. I then headed back to pick up my wife and get ready for dinner. We did have a walk around Gleneagles Hotel, saw a Golden Eagle and many Land Rovers.

CNP summits in the North

After many trips down to the A9 and around, this time it was north towards Grantown-on-Spey and to do a couple of smaller summits: Beinn Mhor and Carn na Loine. These two have hardly been activated, probably as no-one would ever travel to do them as there are plenty of other more interesting hills around. They’re also a bit of a heather / bog scramble, and so not exactly desirable.

The forecast was rain until mid-morning, and on the drive over to Carn na Loine, it was pouring down. I started to wonder if this was a good idea or not. It was still raining when I set off but soon stopped. Which left me boiling in my waterproofs. The path lasts for a while but then heads in the wrong direction. At this point you just have to make your way over to the summit - across tussocks, bog, heather and general messy terrain. It’s slow going, but the summit is nice. It’s a similar walk back to the path - just in the other direction for the loop, and I did manage to go knee deep in some bog and my boot filled with lovely bog water.

Then a short drive through Grantown-on-Spey, to Glenbeg for Beinn Mhor. A little bit of off pathing - although I did find a path on the way back, but a short 40 minute walk to the top.

HF was busy on my first summit but seemed quiet for this second one. I did manage a couple of summit to summits on 2m to a few friends heading North for a weekend of NS activations. It was back to the car, and drive home. I did call in on Fraser on the way for a cup of tea and a chat. Perhaps stayed a little too long as was almost late for picking up the kids before their tennis classes!

Cairngorms National Park

End as I mean to go on…I still have plenty more to do - 13 in fact. All on the furthest western side. A big selection from little to large to short walks to long bike/hike days out. I’m hopeful to complete them all by the end of the year, but equally I don’t want to “waste” a good summer’s day to do a couple of small CNP hills when there are still so many big days out elsewhere I want to do. We shall see how the schedule goes.

Carn na Loine & Beinn Mhor

2026-05-21T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-105, GM/CS-112, GB-0835 · 14.7 km · 560 m ascent · 56 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 15m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Ben Cleuch

2026-05-16T00:00:00Z

GM/SS-059 · 10.5 km · 779 m ascent · 10 QSOs on 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Beinn Dearg & Beinn Bhreac

2026-05-11T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-023, GM/CS-045, GB-0835 · 38.2 km · 1,474 m ascent · 86 QSOs on 60m, 40m, 20m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Millstone hill

2026-05-08T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-077 · 5.3 km · 291 m ascent · 23 QSOs on 60m, 40m, 20m, 2m

It’s been a while since I’ve been here, and I remember liking it, so instead of spending ages in the car driving somewhere for a new hill, I thought I’d do a local one and then have some time at home as well.

This time I was on my own and so could spend longer on the radio. It’s a nice walk up through the forest, plenty of birds and interesting things to look at. I remember last time, to encourage the kids to keep going we counted steps. It was hard not to start counting them myself! Even though it’s a small hill, you still have a decent amount of ascent, about 310m I think.

A local hill like this gets some other foot traffic, and a met a few people on my way. Made me think I need to setup away from the top, to not be annoying and not attract unnecessary attension!

Weather was fine, nothing special but nice views and only a light breeze. I setup on a rock with the pole between my legs for the slim G to try 2m. A few folk were about, so a nice run of six on VHF. Peter, G5AIB, and his mum (also a ham) are up in the area for a holiday, so got both of them as they drove around.

I setup HF by a tree - to support the mast - and found 40m was dire, and 20m was reasonable - a nice summit to summit with a Norwegian in Greece. 40m did improve a little, as I went back to it later. Mostly trying to get Jared, G5JFJ, who was on a tiny island off Mull (another island) on the west coast. I couldn’t really hear Jared but several G stations working him.

This time I did the loop around, and came back the other way. Pretty much the same time, and probably should’ve done that last time too. Forestry have been out and cleared some of the areas for logs, so some parts weren’t quite as nice to walk through anymore.

So only about 5.3 km today, and back home for lunch, but enjoyable nevertheless. Some nice fresh air, bit of a walk, and then plenty of time to play on the radio - if only the HF bands weren’t quite so bad! However, some nice local chats on 2m.

Next week I’m probably off to do a 40km, 12 hour day, for two big remote summits, which will be fun. However, this was a good reminder that the local “littlees” are still good days out.

Route map, photos and log →

Adding USB-C charging to the KX2

2026-05-04T00:00:00Z

To charge my Elecraft KX2's battery, I have open the back and unplug the battery and plug it into the charger. Not a big deal but a faff, and as the speaker is attached to the back panel, I risk breaking its wires every time I do so. Elecraft sell a board (KXIBC2) that allows you to charge the battery from the DC input pin, but it's slow charging and quite an expensive board (what isn't expensive from Elecraft), so I didn't think it was worthwhile. Then I saw a post on the SOTA forums about a board Manuel (HB9DQM) was developing, and wow! what an add-on.

Neil (G7UFO) put together a kit, where he's done all the hard work for you, soldering the components and sourcing the new end plate. I didn't buy one at first, as I wasn't sure it was really needed, but then my friend Fraser, MM0EFI, bought one and made a video on it. I was sold, and contacted Neil to buy one. Watching Fraser's video made installation look very easy, and it soon arrived and I had it installed.

It's always a tight fit inside the KX2, but everything goes back in. Maybe I should've trimmed some of the plastic sheaf around the pins, as they stand a little tall, but it's fine. Now I can charge the battery with USB-C at decent rates, and if I really wanted to, I can even charge my phone from my radio's battery now.

This is an exceptionally well designed piece of hardware from Manuel and a great kit put together by Neil (G7UFO). If you own a KX2, you need to buy one immediately! Plus Neil's store has a nice collection of other items you might like.

Turin Hill

2026-05-01T00:00:00Z

GM/SS-271 · 5.5 km · 115 m ascent · 24 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Beinn Mheadhonach & Carn a'Chlamain

2026-04-28T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-051, GM/CS-031, GB-0835 · 29.7 km · 1,241 m ascent · 91 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 15m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

I took a TLR camera up a Mountain

2026-04-24T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-014, GB-0835 · 30.3 km · 785 m ascent · 31 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 2m

Inspired by a thread on the SOTA forums, I decided to take my Ricohflex TLR with my on a SOTA activation. It helped it was a lovely day, and I certainly wouldn’t have taken it if it was raining!

I found a roll of Kodak Gold 200 that I had in my film box in the garage. It was my only roll of 120 and was left over from when I bought some when Gold 120 came out in 2022 ish. It had expired, 2024, but not by that much and whilst not kept in a fridge, it has been in the garage, so not exactly warm.

As a bright day I was going to use sunny 16, but I also couldn’t resist using the lightmeter camera on my phone to see what to do. Ended up being about 1/250s and f/8 or 1/100s and f/11. The shutter seemed a little slow sounding, and I was concerned it didn’t have the correct timing. I had tested it at home before I left and it had seemed just fine. Anyway, I took my 12 shots and posted it off to Film Dev to get developed. They were the cheapest and most sensible place last time I developed some film, so just used them again, maybe there’s somewhere else but prices are fine. The scans just came back:

I’m very pleased with how they came out, and now it’s got me thinking about film again.

Even though it was nice and sunny, there was still some snow about.

I was doing HF, and did work Canada and into Michigan - which I was pleased with. Fraser did well on 2m, and got into Denmark and Belgium on 2m FM, which is unusual.

Route map, photos and log →

Brimmond Hill

2026-04-17T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-086 · 4 QSOs on 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Meall Chuaich to the North Pole

2026-04-14T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-035, GB-0835 · 15.2 km · 623 m ascent · 43 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 2m

This was my last Munro on the east side of the Cairngorms National Park to activate. The forecast was for sunny spells but it ended up being a glorious day. The wind did get up at the top, and it was very cold.

The route is pretty standard, and being an easy Munro, is often busy - you can tell when you drive along the A9 and suddenly see one lay-by full of cars. There were about four cars when I arrived. The first part of the walk is along a road track leading up to a small hydro power plant. There’s a nice aqueduct running alongside and you get a good view of the hill you’re about to climb.

The track is fairly flat but when you get to the hill then it’s a constant climb to the top. Boggy in places but an otherwise straightforward. When I got to the top, two women and their dog were doing selfies at the top. We exchanged taking photos of each other and after a few minutes they were off.

The big cairn is nice to hide behind out of the wind and a convenient fence post makes an easy mast support. There was a tiny bit of snow behind the cairn but the whole summit was bare. Compared to the two Munros to the South (which I did last week) which still seemed to have a lot of snow on them.

I setup the KX2, the 41ft random wire antenna and was on the air. My drive and walk were much quicker than I expected and so was on an hour before my plans. My friend Denis, MW0CBC, was also out a bit further south in Scotland but we didn’t manage to make any contact. His weather wasn’t quite as nice as mine so he didn’t hang about long.

Recently, I’ve been spotting myself on both SOTA and POTA (assuming i’m in a park- but anything in the Cairngorms is in at least one park), and that seems to bring in a bit of a bigger crowd. Seems some people only chase POTA, not sure why but there we go. The hams2k PoLo app makes it easy to spot on both places. I need to check but I think I might’ve been in two or more parks but only spotted one.

I had a good run on 40m and then moved to 20m. Had a US station come back absolutely booming 59+20dB - his profile says NY but his locator info put him in Kentucky on my logging app. Then Alaska returns my call! AL7KC. I did think AL was Alaska but at the time I wasn’t sure, it was only a little later when the contacts had died down did I check the map. My first Alaskan contact! 6,100 km! Although interestingly the “Kentucky” contact was also 6,100km - I guess the world being mostly a sphere causes that.

I spent a good 45 minutes on HF, my fingers were cold and I decided it was a good time to pack up. Just as I had finished two more people appeared at the summit, so that worked out well for everyone. I’d just started heading down when I saw Ross, MM1ROS, spot on 2m on a hill in southern Scotland. I stopped and got out my HT and he was a strong signal, and we had a quick chat for our summit to summit. Using the radio without gloves, my hands were then freezing cold, so back in the gloves and back down the hill.

On the way down, I wondered if I had time to do another summit. Make the most of the nice weather and the cost of diesel to get here! There’s a small one outside Kingussie, that only takes about 30 minute to climb. However, it was a few km back along the track to the car and I had to be home in time for swimming lessons. It was going to be tight and I didn’t want to spoil a nice day by being in a rush to get home. Maybe if i’d taken a bike to cycle the first part I could’ve.

A great day out, and another summit off my Cairngorms list!

Route map, photos and log →

Carn na Caim

2026-04-06T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-039, GB-0835, GB-1773, GB-3182 · 18.7 km · 862 m ascent · 32 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Hill of Persie

2026-03-27T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-116 · 3.8 km · 248 m ascent · 25 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 17m, 15m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Carn a'Gheoidh

2026-03-20T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-030, GB-0835 · 9.8 km · 513 m ascent · 5 QSOs on 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Beinn Mholach

2026-03-09T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-064 · 23.9 km · 520 m ascent · 13 QSOs on 20m, 17m

Route map, photos and log →

GM/ES day out take 2

2026-03-06T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-060, GB-0835, GB-0866, GB-0946 · 7 km · 491 m ascent · 23 QSOs on 40m, 2m

After the first one this year, which we called off due to the weather (although a few of us still went out), we had a second attempt at a GM/ES day out. The weather was much better, and by much better I mean, absolutely outstanding! It had actually snowed the night before, and the snow gates were shut in the morning, so a couple of folks changed their plans as they were coming up from the south.

I was back on my previously alerted (non-ES) summit of Morrone, GM/CS-060, which is just outside Braemar and has a nice path up to the summit. I had to do the school drop off first, and so I wanted something quick to get to the top to and join in with everyone else.

As I walked up to the top, I heard others starting to call on 2m. I worked a few with our SOTA club call, GM0ESS, and whilst Fraser, MM0EFI, was working Paul, G4IPB, I managed to get into the AZ to then start using my call for S2Ss. In no time at all, I had four 2m S2Ss, although I missed Gavin and Andy who were in the Angus hills, as they'd already left to start the journey up to meet us for lunch. Shame, as Gavin was on Monamenach (GM/ES-028), and no-one goes there! Given all the planned activity, I'd brought the IC-705, together with a little 2m amp I picked up on ebay a while ago, and thought I'd try some 2m SSB.

I was using the slim G for the antenna, so vertically polarised. After 15 minutes or so, I had 3 QSOs on 2m SSB, and decided that would do. Flicking back to FM and a few more S2Ss, this time with a few folks down in SS land. My amp, Tokyo Hy-Power 25W (or 35W?), helped to get my signal back into Aberdeen for a couple of locals.

I'd tested the amp at home when I first bought it. I'd stuck it on FM and then measured the power and all was good. When I tried SSB, I noticed the SWR was really high and that surprised me, but I didn't really know what the issue was. I checked the connectors and they were fine, I did wonder if I wasn't understanding the 705 properly as it's been a while since I used it (although it's so nice to use compared to the ft-857's menu!). I did make a few contacts so it was working. When I switched to FM, and set the amp to FM, I then heard the relays clicking and the SWR was just fine on the radio. So I don't think it was working properly on SSB, and I was probably only putting out 1W via the RX route on the amp! Would've been better just bare 705 with external battery for 10W! I've not tested the amp back home yet to see if the issue is still there. I partially think that the rf sensing isn't quite working, or the 705 reacts to the high SWR of the RX circuit and cuts the power to 1W faster than the amp can trigger.

I know with my SG-3000 remote ATU, the 705 can't trigger it as the SWR protection limits the 705 to 1W and that's not enough for the ATU, vs. using my ftdx10 which will still put out 10W on high SWR that then triggers the ATU to tune. Be interesting to test if setting it on FM mode works better than SSB mode, or maybe I need to venture into some mod to add PTT trigger...I did a quick internet search but the solution wasn't obvious.

I also brought the remote ATU for the 705 (not the icom one) that came with the radio when I bought it used. This tunes up a long wire. I set this up with my usual 41' wire and it tuned up on 40m just fine. It was getting on for 12:30 and we were meeting at 1pm, but as it was such a nice day, I thought I'd try 20m as well. The ATU didn't like my length of wire for 20m and it wouldn't tune. I have the wrong counterpoise length since my last one broke and I just used a random bit I had lying around with a connector on it. I can get away with it on the KX2, SWR of about 2.8:1, but this tuner wasn't having any of it. I'd already spotted (this was also a three park POTA and so PoLo had spotted me on POTA as well as SOTA), and I heard several stations give me a call, and then some Spanish ops talking to each other about how they'd not heard me - or something like that, they were talking in Spanish!

Probably it was for the best, as I needed to pack up and meet everyone, as I also had to do school pick up today. The whole time, I didn't need a jacket, it was so warm in the sun and my jog down the hill resulted in a very hot arrival at the Bothy for lunch. Paul was with his dogs, so they were sat outside, and I joined them in my T-shirt!

We had a good chat, and everyone slowly joined us from their summits. Met a couple of new faces, which is always nice. Tim and I had made some stash for the event. I had some badges made, and Tim had printed some limited edition coasters!

I had to shoot off to do the school pick up, but the others continued on for a while longer. Several folks were staying locally for the weekend to do some other hills. The weather was very nice the rest of the weekend, but Friday was the peak. Seems we did well again, given last year's one also had ridiculously good weather.

Also on the reflector.

Route map, photos and log →

Some awards

2026-03-02T00:00:00Z

After my mountain goat activation, I wanted to get the glass trophy. This is probably the only award I've actively chased, and certainly the only one I've paid for, but I've seen Fraser's and it looked quite neat.

It arrived very quickly and now it sits on my window ledge next to the computer.

Then the next day a rigid envelope arrives and it was full of certificates from G-QRP! As I said, I'm not really chasing awards but I try to submit my logs when they do events, one of which was the summer sizzler, and the other a 2025 award - the Chelmsley Trophy.

The summer sizzler happened to be over the week when I did 8 big GM/ES summits, including the trip of Cairn Toul and Braeriach (the second and third highest summits in GM/ES and the third and fourth highest mountains in the UK). I did them back to back with another long trip out to Bynack More from Braemar. A total of 85 km across two days! Probably why I won the iron knee award!

Mount Battock

2026-02-27T00:00:00Z

GM/ES-032 · 25.1 km · 653 m ascent · 18 QSOs on 40m, 20m, 2m

Route map, photos and log →

Garmin InReach tracking to APRS

2026-02-25T00:00:00Z

This is about software that takes your position as reported via Iridium from your Garmin GPS device and then relays it to APRS so you show up there.

It’s quite simple but has a couple of extra steps. This is for linux but it’s python based so will work on any OS.

There are a few results online but I went with this one: iR-APRSISD. It has a readme with instructions which you should have a look at too.

Download and install

Get a few packages - e.g. Debian, raspberry pi os…

sudo apt install git python3

Find a nice parent folder you want to keep it in and get the code.

git clone https://github.com/kemenril/iR-APRSISD.git
cd iR-APRSISD

Install aprslib python package in a virtual environment so as to not mess up anything else:

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install aprslib

The config

Get your passwords

InReach is going to be your share username from https://explore.garmin.com/Social, plus the password if you’ve set one to view the MapShare.

To post to APRS you need a password which is based upon your callsign. Just go here to find it: https://apps.magicbug.co.uk/passcode/

Edit config file

nano ir-aprsisd.cfg

All you need to edit is User and Password under [inReach]; SSID and Password under [APRS] and then pick a symbol. You don't need to change the URL but feel free to edit the comment.

Pick a nice symbol:

I found this nice image here.

[inReach]
User		= Your inReach feed user
#If this is defined, we will authenticate to the inReach service.
# If it is not, we will assume public access is ok.
Password	= Your inReach feed password, if required

# This should be the location of your KML feed.
URL		= https://share.garmin.com/Feed/Share/%(User)s

[APRS]
#This SSID is used for logging into APRS-IS, and also as a base ID for
# generating callsigns for devices.  The first device found will be this
# SSID, the next will be this ID + 1, and so on.  If you define a [Devices]
# section, it is _only_ used for the login, and the device mapping must be
# given in full in the [Devices] section.
SSID		= GM5ALX-3
# If you don't have a password, you can use the --genpass command-line
# option to calculate it.
Password	= 1234
Port		= 14580

#If the separator is /, your icon will come from the primary symbol table.
# if it is \, it will draw from the secondary table.
Separator	= /
#This character represents an APRS icon from the table tied to Separator.
Symbol		= (

#This information is included at the end of each packet, along with some
# other data.
Comment		= APRS-IS KML forwarder, by K0SIN

#Define this section if you'd like to enforce an SSID to IMEI mapping.
# It must contain all devices you want to publish.  Anything without a
# mapping defined will be ignored if this section exists.
#[Devices]
#N0CALL-12	= 987654321987654
#N0CALL-15	= 987654321987656
#N0CALL-8	= 092847784398753

[General]

# Frequency in seconds with which to log packet forwarding stats to STDOUT
# If this is less than Period, stats will only be logged every Period seconds.
# Comment it out to skip printing packet stats entirely.
Logstats        = 300

# KML polling interval in seconds.
Period          = 300

Save with Ctrl+o and exit with Ctrl+x Run it

Best to run on a server that’s always on, or on when you want it working. There are many ways to do this with supervisor programs, systemd services etc., I like tmux (terminal multiplexer) as I can resume my session whenever and see the output and my past commands plus have a terminal per activity.

If you want tmux then install it, run tmux and activate the virtual environment source .venv/bin/activate and run python ir-aprsisd to have it load. Disconnect from tmux via Ctrl+b Ctrl+d and rejoin tmux again via tmux attach.

For a set and forget, a systemd service is probably best. It’ll run each time you turn the computer on automatically.

Make a new one:

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/ir-aprsisd.service

Add this text, adjusting user, group and folders as necessary:

[Unit]
Description=ir-aprsisd Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=simple
User=alex
Group=alex
WorkingDirectory=/home/alex/dev/iR-APRSISD
ExecStart=/home/alex/dev/iR-APRSISD/.venv/bin/python /home/alex/dev/iR-APRSISD/ir-aprsisd
Restart=on-failure
RestartSec=5

Environment="PATH=/home/alex/dev/iR-APRSISD/.venv/bin:/usr/bin:/bin"

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Get it running:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable ir-aprsisd.service
sudo systemctl start ir-aprsisd.service

Check for errors, and past them into ChatGPT 😅

sudo systemctl status ir-aprsisd.service

Finally

By default it polls the Garmin share every 5 mins but you also set your Garmin reporting frequency on your device. A 2m/70cm LoRa tracker will give you much more detail but sometimes you don’t always have igate coverage. Plus if you’re running the Garmin tracking anyway, why not report to APRS.

It throws a syntax warning about \w+ that line is used for multiple inReach devices so can be ignored. Maybe someone will do a pull request to fix it 👀.

No doubt better ways to do things!

Digging for the Trig - and Finding Two Goats

2026-02-23T00:00:00Z

GM/CS-011, GB-0835, GB-6679 · 15.8 km · 784 m ascent · 32 QSOs on 40m, 2m

Preamble 🥱

Several ambles have been made this year which took me to within 12 points. With the poor weather, my original thought of making MG by the first GM/ES winter outing was scrapped, like the event. Believe it or not, Fraser (MM0EFI), and I didn’t co-ordinate that much on points, we were both doing whatever summits - as our coffee mornings schedules allowed.

Last weekend was spent looking at endless hill combinations, trying to decide what, and where and if Fraser was coming or not (and if he was < or > than 2000). At the time, the avalance warnings were concerning, and at some stage Fraser suggested Glas Tulaichean (GM/CS-011). The only problem was, it’s 11 and I needed 12. As I lay in bed on Saturday night with the sotlas map burned into my retinas, a sudden eureka moment hits me…GARVOCK! 🐮 Sunday was going to be busy with a 13th birthday party, and swimming competition but I knew the AZ is only ~350m from the viewpoint car park, and that 1 point would make all the difference.

The Climb 🥾

We started at the Dalmunzie Hotel, and headed along the old railway line to the start of the climb.

We caught up with a group who were looking for a place to cross the stream by Glenlochsie lodge ruins. Whilst they searched 100m of bank for a suitable crossing, we pressed on and went straight over.

It had started raining when we set off but that had moved on, so whilst not blue skies, it was reasonable weather, with some breeze. However, the higher we climbed the stronger the wind got. Somewhere before 600m, it was time to don the snow shoes, and float our way up over the snow.

A lone runner - in trainers and microspikes - caught us up. He rejects the Haribo and departs with a snide remark about snow shoes. The group we passed at the river crossing were nowhere to be seen, perhaps still looking for a suitable place to cross.

The Activation 🐐

In the cloud at the top, it’s white ground and white skies, and we walk towards the summit looking for the trig. Then we see the edge of the cliff…hmm… checks map…yep we are standing on top of the trig and it’s buried in at least 4 ft of snow!

Now time to get on the air! With no trig to hide behind, we spot an inch of post sticking out the ground, and figured it’d make a good mast support. I also saw Archie’s, GM4KNU, spot on 2m from Mount Blair, GM/ES-035. On to 2m and Archie’d QSYed somewhere but plenty of replies to my CQs. I’m soon at #4 with Jack, GM4COX, telling me tales of his Mountain Goat adventures.

Whilst I was on 2m, Fraser was hard at work setting up our HF station. ⛏️👷

We had a great run on 40m, hearing so many familiar voices come back to us with signal reports and congratulations. We passed the mic back and forth, managing to listen together for the callsigns in the howling wind. Here’s a video Fraser took:

The shelter worked very well, as we were in there half an hour on 40m, and only shivering slightly. Clearly in need of something to celebrate and warm us up.

The group finally caught us up, and came over and very politely asked “WTF are we doing?” Rightly so, I’d say.😅 Mentioning amateur radio and showing the QSO map on my phone and they were suitably impressed. They didn’t hang about and headed off down the hill. After inhaling some frozen sandwiches, that was where we were heading too.

The Scenery ⛰️

And now for some photos from the day.

We told the hotel we survived, although not sure about the other group as we never saw them again, and back in the landy to Deeside. A quick cup of much needed tea at Fraser’s, and then back into the car home to Aberdeen, before I risked falling asleep on his comfy sofa by the fire.

Driving back in Aberdeenshire sunshine made our bunker on the summit of Glas Tulaichean seem like a million miles away. 💭

✨What an amazing day! ✨

Because Fraser also hit 2,000+ points, for a double goat!

Also on the SOTA reflector.

Route map, photos and log →