A successful failure.

A bit of history: 145 Alive was created to increase activity on the 2 metre band. Back in the day of the old 'B' Class licences the holders were limited to VHF and UHF. This artificially created a lot of activity on 2 metres and 70 centimetres. Once the Morse code requirement was dropped for a full licence the 'B' licences became full licences. All those operators who had claimed an interest in the VHF and UHF frequencies migrated to HF, never to return. A very small minority of licence holders remain on the VHF and UHF bands.

The reason I have called 145 Alive a successful failure is because on the day of the event 2 metres is busy. Lots of stations having lots of QSOs. Once the event is over, crickets.The repeaters sending their IDs to no one. The odd buzz on the APRS channel. The activity does not continue.

I have participated in several 145 Alive events, and I also don't continue with activity after the event. Do as I say not as I do!

My first attempt at 145 Alive was a failure. I had just bought an Icom IC-705, and I decided to use it for 145 Alive. I thought the waterfall might be useful for spotting activity.

On the day I just put all the kit in the car and headed for a hill. The hill is Stanmore Country Park, I also think it is a POTA park, if that's your bag.

I have a drive over pole mount, a DX Commander pole, a T2LT antenna that terminates in an 'N' plug. I had set all this up and then went to connect to the radio before I discovered my error. 'N' plug, BNC socket! I rummaged in my bag but I did not have the required adaptor. But I did have BNC male to SMA. I also had a 'N" to SMA pigtail. I connected all this up and,... nothing. WTF! Closer inspection revealed the BNC to SMA was a reverse SMA, no pin. I was then searching for a bit of wire, a paper clip, anything conductive to make a pin. All to no avail. By now the event was nearly over. I had started late because of other commitments.

I went home. XYL asked if I had had a good time. "Yeah, I learnt a lot this afternoon!"

A few months later there was another event. This time I set the whole station up on my driveway to check for problems, much to the amusement of the neighbours. I went to Alexandra Palace. Excellent location. Only problem is the radio tower is covered in antennas and the RF levels are high. My Icom was very unhappy and the RX was massively desensed. I had to wind down the RF gain. I did manage some QSOs, I was getting out perfectly, shame about the receive.
Top Tip:If you go to Ally Pally take a band pass filter.

Third time is a charm! I returned to Stanmore Park for the next event. This time I went portable and took the Icom IC-705 and a 2 Metre Moxon. The Moxon was made for the ISS SSTV and Crew Activity downlink so I knew it worked. This was very successful, I had QSOs as far as Kent: Bluebell Hill, Sussex: Arundel, Berkshire: Maidenhead and many more. Two pages filled in my paper logbook.

I also got to chat with a few passers by and explain what I was doing. A perfect afternoon. Even the weather was nice. Maybe the high pressure contributed to a bit of tropospheric ducting.

Best Wishes
Ron
G4LMN