Holidays in the sun

Ten years ago, I went on holiday to Llandudno in North Wales for the first time. I was so enthusiastic, I took my FT-817 and a number of mobile whips. It was the weekend of the RSGB IOTA contest, and I thought I'd make tons of contacts. Sadly, but not surprisingly, my little 5 Watt rig and whatever vertical I was using failed to get me much beyond the end of my nose. I made three contacts on 40m: EU-122 (Northern Irish coastal islands); EU-008 (Inner Hebrides) and EU-124 (Welsh coastal islands). I had two contacts on 15m, one of which was Anglesey, and the other Puffin Island, I think. West Shore in Llandudno wasn't great for VHF or UHF, and I made my only 70cm contact to date, with a station in Rhyl through the GB3LL repeater. The remainder (i.e., 2) of my contacts were on 80m, a band I am unable to work at the home QTH. That particular weekend also saw celebrations for the 90th Anniversary of the RSGB. I attended an event in Eirias Park in Colwyn Bay on the Saturday and worked their Special Event Station on the Sunday. I also had a proper QSO with a station in South Wales. I have never taken my radio on holiday since.

Yesterday was my last day in Llandudno for this year, and I took a trip up the Great Orme on the tram. When I got there, I spotted a car in the corner of the car park with a huge vertical on the roof. This was Robert GW6STK, who is the repeater keeper for Llandudno's 2m repeater, GB3GO. I had packed my FT-60 for the return journey, so wasn't able to have a QSO. I hadn't heard any activity on 2m or 70cm throughout my entire holiday, so I didn't expect there to be an Amateur at the top of the Orme. It pays to have a radio, and some QSL cards, to hand.

This morning, I had a listen round 40m, and heard a few UK stations in the IOTA contest. By the time I had returned from the supermarket, the band was all but dead, and 20m was going the same way. It has been raining heavily since last night, and the electricity cables outside are zinging. It's not a good day for radio.

Finally, I actually bought a Baofeng UV-5R, but have yet to attempt to programme it. I hope to have something to report soon.