A collection of amateurs from Essex and Kent were on the beach on Mersea Island today having fun playing radio. This page was updated in real-time from the operating site, and now includes a summary of the day, plus some pictures.
First off, here’s a summary of who attended the day:
- Lucy M6ECG
- Rob M6KDP
- Chris 2E0DBY
- Pete M0PSX
- Dean M6BYF
- Jan M0YNK
- Tom 2E0TNC
- Jim 2E0RMI and Ann
- James 2E1GUA
- Norman M0FZW
The day started on a chilly and windy day on Mersea Island at around 9:30am, and was organised by Lucy M6ECG via the Essex Ham Monday Night Net, and the Essex Ham forum.
Some live updates:
1140: We’re calling CQ on 14.240MHz, and listening to GB3EC 70cm Colchester Repeater
1150: Taking a break to adjust antennas
1255: Playing with 2m beam antennas and local repeaters
1340: James 2E1GUA calling CQ on 14.268MHz
Photos from the day
A few photos from the fun day on Mersey Island:
Thanks to all those who trekked out despite the cold and wind to play radios on Mersey Island. See you there again (but maybe in the summer…?)
Good luck for today! Shame I couldn’t make it, but I hope to join you for future activations. If I get a chance I’ll be listening!
73
Angus M6GZO
Would I be right in thinking that Jame 2E1GUA took the picture of Pete & Jim?
Correct Peter… nice shadow-spot!
Hi Angus, it was very windy but sunny and dry, so we were very lucky!
Thanks to Rob for bringing table and chairs, and a ahelter :)
Thanks to James who heroically cycled all the way over from Chelmsford with his BuddiStick which is the bee’s knees! 8-) :
Thanks to Dean (from Chatham), for bringing supplies including spare cartridges for the camping stove and tea and biccies! :)
Thanks to Norman for the patch lead and ‘fiddling’ with my rig to make me sound less ‘rough around the edges’ ::)
Thanks to Jim for bringing the homebrew 2m Beam (nice one!) ;)
Thanks to Pete for Tweeting and posting updates here! :)
Thanks to Tom for lugging gear back and forth between the car and finishing off the bacon sarnies ::)
Thanks to everyone for making it a fun day! When’s the next one?
73
Lucy :D
M6ECG
Most of all, thanks to you Lucy. Without you, we wouldn’t have been there!
Hi to all and especially Lucy M6ECG for organizing for such a great day which was well worth the trip, and wasn’t we lucky with the sunshine? Thank you for making me welcome.
Looking forward to next time.
73
Dean M6BYF
Hi all
Thanks Lucy for organising a great day it was good to put faces to the call signs
We were lucky with the weather and well done on your catering skills especially for Pete2sarnies sipple hi
Well the next field event should be at two tree island with us at Thames Amateur Radio Group as your hosts and the sarnies will be on us
Thanks again for a great day
Many thanks all
Tom
2E0TNC
…An EXCELLENT day – got to add our thanks to Lucy for organising the event – well done… Just shows how radio can be fun – even in the November cold !
Here’s to the next time…
Jim & Ann
??? but I hate golf…!!!
Had to be done… :)
A beautiful sunny winters day spent on East Mersea beach shared with fellow amateur radio enthusiasts. A pity the radio propagation was not better. Nevertheless a lot was learned from the exercise and future activations will benefit. Weather permitting this will surely be the first of many regular meets in Essex. Thanks to Lucy, M6ECG, for organising a very memorable day out. Thanks also to all who came along and those who supported it from further away. TARG are making plans for…………………..
73, Norman
Looks like this activation was a lot of fun.
Sorry I wasn’t able to call in :-(
72 de Jon OK8GB
Thank’s to Lucy for a excellent day, and thank’s to all for making
the day go will and this is what amateur radio is all about having
fun and on the radio two.
Thanks everyone for making ot such a great day!
Pete? Did you email me some photos? Someone emailed me a photo but it didn’t come through, Sorry I forgot to ask on tonight’s net! Please can you resend them to me so I can put one or two on my QRZ page please. Thank you, they’re great! I’m looking forward to Two Tree Island now! I can give James a lift as I will be coming through Chelmsford en route!
Be ready to be up in the hills very, very early for the next Essex Island On The Air activation which is going to be Two Tree Island, hosted by our good friends at Thames Amateur Radio Group!
Pete is dying to use his Czech language skills on you when we make contact and says that he has been sent a bottle of Slivovice by an OK station as an addition to the QSL card. We are supposing that this is the usual thing in your neck of the woods? We are arranging the Kilowat amplifier and the Yagi will be pointing straight at you!!!
… In tonights net we have been sorting out the order in which we will talk to you and so far we have twenty people but I think there maybe more!
72 & 88 de
Lucy ;)x
oops sorry, this was in reply to OK8GBs message!
Essex Islands on the Air eh?!
Great stuff…… free from rules you’ll be free to activate lots of exotic stuff like islands in duckponds as well :-)
Are you making contact with the wind farm, owners to see if they’ll give you access to one of their turbines for the Windmills on the Air events? There might be a lot of radio noise on one of those brutes, but you won’t need to worry about power! ( Only Joking)
I’ll probably not be operating /p again until next spring as WX is closing in now. Last weekend was the last chance this year for me as it was unseasonably warm and sunny here.
The only possibility I can see is that if the WX is dry, we may make a boxing day hike up to a 2,000ft ASL site to enjoy a breath of fresh air and maybe to squeeze in a few overs on 20.
I look forward to chatting at some time.
Sorry to report that while a free bottle of Slivovice might be de rigeur with normal OK stations, the very small group of OK8s tend to consume the contents of the bottles ever before they can be sent!!!
72 right back to you.
OK8GB