Had a bit of fun on the radio yesterday. 145 Alive is an event that's run every so often for a couple of years now to encourage Amateur Radio activity on the 145Mhz, or 2 meter, frequency band.

For a couple of hours on a set date operators are encouraged to make contact with each other, with volunteers coordinating operations in various areas across the country. It's a fairly relaxed event, rather than a contest with strict rules of operation, but some folks do get into the spirit of it, heading for high-ground with masts and efficient antennas to maximize their range.

I wasn't so organized, having basically forgot which weekend it was happening on, so my preparation involved charging a handheld radio for an hour and grabbing a bottle of water before going out.

Fortunately we're well placed at the base of the Ochils, and after an hour's walk I was half-way up Dumyat, on a ridge with a good view of the horizon. I'd turned my radio on before I started walking and it had chattered a couple of times on the way up - good sign. Once I sat down, it only took a minute or two to hear a couple of stations talking, and to respond myself. Remarkaly the station that called back was to the south-west of Carlisle - around 100 miles away! Sadly the other stations he was able to reach could not hear me, but it was fun nontheless.

Sometime over the summer I'd like to get up to the summit again, and hopefully do some operation within the rules of the Summits On The Air scheme.