Ah yes, memories of being a fearless G8 a while back, when our school used to go walkies in the Lake District in England in the summer holidays. I had a IC240 (since stolen from my Landrover) , a 12 V 4A-hr nicad pack, [both in home made leather pouches - who says home-brew is dead!) and a garden cane J-pole thing made out of 300 ohm ribbon.

Having lugged that lot to the top of Great Gable, or whatever Munro was the target for the day, I'd settle down for a gentle ragchew (and, of course, to get my breath back) only to find everyone heading for the horizon seemingly minutes after I found a good dx signal. One time I was tempted to stay (2 locals were chatting on S20, oblivious to my requests - I could hear someone in Liverpool returning but they couldn't so they weren't going to move) and pretty nearly everyone had left by the time I called a halt. Then the mist came in from the sea .....

Well, my team ended up in one valley and the rest ended up in another. Unfortunately we weren't in the valley with the minibus ..... so we walked round, getting back well after tea and embarassingly near sunset. And the motto is, don't ragchew on S20, it could cost a life.

Yours, if I catch you.....

Andrew Keir G4KZO now at - School House, Bishop's Stortford

"Breathe out when soldering"

Thanks Andrew for letting me have story.

Frank G3YCC