Friday, April 16, 2010

The view from the mountain - CQing portable from the Dundalk repeater site

It's amazing what you can do with 100 watts and a cheap multi-band whip and a magmount. And, not to forget, a bit of altitude! I went up to the site of the Dundalk Repeater (EI2CCR) on Clermont Cairn mountain at lunchtime and spend an hour CQing as EI2KC/P on 20m CW. The repeater is 510 metres above sea level and has great coverage to the south and also into MI land (Northern Ireland). The site itself gives stunning views across the landscape, and the Cooley Mountains and the Mourne Mountains look spectacular from up there.

I started calling as EI2KC/P on 14.005.00 CW and pretty soon was getting a nice pile-up going.

I worked all over Europe, including prefixes such as OH, OM, OH, OK, I, M0, DL, SQ, YU, HA, UA, RA, RN and more and also pulled in a few stations from North America. It was a fantastic day up there. I was just sorry I had to come off the mountain and go back to work!! I'd love to have stayed up there all day. It is a beautifully clear day today and surprisingly warm too.

The photo above shows the view as I began the journey down the mountain from the repeater site. I took this photo about 20 metres from where I had been parked while working the radio. Thanks to all that worked me, and sorry for the occasional mistake - I am still learning!! Sorry also that I couldn't work UP but 14.006 was in use. I think I managed the simplex pile-up quite well, making 54 contacts in about an hour. Great stuff. Thanks again, and sorry to those who didn't get through this time.

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