English Lighthouse Challenge Rove 2022

The English Lighthouse Challenge has been in the making for over a year. Bob, M0MJA, has put a profound amount of effort into growing ELA and it has exploded in the last few months just based off of the large number of new members to the Facebook group: The Official English Castles & Lighthouses Awards Group. The 2 groups have combined because the activators and hunters were often the same operators anyway. Personally, I think combining them has has a huge impact in how quickly ELA has grown.

For months I've been planning on participating as an activator for the English Lighthouse Challenge and my wife has been nothing but supportive (thanks, Heather!). I had goals to activate 14 references over the week of the challenge. The pragmatist in me knew that those goals were too lofty for my busy life. It turns out that 10 was the magic number. I'm happy with that! The first lighthouse I ever activated was the first blogpost here. Lighthouse activation numbers 2-10 are chronicled below.

I left home with my X6100 and my FT-891 packed and ready to hit some lighthouses. The antennas I brought were my KM4ACK End-Fed, M1ECC SlideWinder DX, and a 20 meter and 40 meter hamstick with a magmount for vehicle based activations.

I took off for Holkham to activate the first of the lighthouses of the rove. Unfortunately, the structure was removed or destroyed; this can take some fun out of the experience, however, setting up at the Holkham National Nature Reserve had its benefits. The reserve is part of the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so I was able to activate a lighthouse reference (ENG-292) , a 2-fer POTA reference (G-0100 & G-0155), and the Norfolk Coast AONB as a WWFF reference (GFF-0262) for a total of 4 references in one activation. POTA allows for 2 references to be activated simultaneously, but WWFF does not. I activated from the car with a total of 26 contacts on CW on 40 meters using the hamstick on the mag mount. This was enough to activate the Lighthouse (requires 25), POTA references (requires 10), but not enough for WWFF (requires 44). I can always go back to the AONB and finish up the activation of the WWFF reference so no harm there.

After completing the activation in Holkham, I headed to Cromer Lighthouse (ENG-028) which was about an hour's drive. The lighthouse is privately owned and is on the top of a hill (what better place for a lighthouse!). The car park by the lighthouse is owned by a country club. This activation could have been so easy... A little frustrated, I headed back down the hill and found a spot on a small road to park close to the beach. I could have activated from the car again, but that just isn't as fun and not what the program is about although it is allowed. I grabbed my pack with the KM4ACK End-Fed, and the Xiegu X6100 and headed for the beach. The beach was low compared to the land around and I couldn't even see the lighthouse from it, I decided to start heading up. And up. And up. I headed to the top of the hill and about 200 yards from the lighthouse. I strapped my collapsable mast to a sign owned by the country club (HIHI) and hoisted up the end of the antenna. I strapped the feed point to a bush, hooked up the X6100 and started calling. 

Cromer Lighthouse was activated almost entirely on CW. I started on 40 meters and switched to 20 meters. The great thing about doing these activations for all of the programs I participate in is that when you switch modes or bands, you can make a contact with the same person and it counts as a new contact. I had quite a few of these throughout the trip. After making 31 contacts, the sun was going down and I had a hike to get back to the car. I started packing up and decided to grab my little Icom ID-51 handheld and put out a call on 2 meters. To my surprise, I got a contact on 2 meters FM! With this 32nd contact made, I finished packing up, video called my family to show them the view and headed back down. It was time for food, beer, and bed.

I got back to the car, booked a hotel room and headed out. I checked into an inn with a bar and restaurant downstairs. I checked in, had steak and ale pie, and drove to Happisburgh to check out the lighthouse and figure out the plans for the morning's activation. I scoped out the car park in the dark and figured there'd be a place near the carpark, beach, and lighthouse that I could set up in the morning. Back to the inn for a local ale and to bed.

In the morning, I made it Happisburgh Lighthouse (ENG-050) before sunrise. This place was close enough to another reference (within 1 kilometer) to activate from the same place. Generally in the ELA program you can activate more than one reference at once. During the challenge however, it was not allowed. No matter. After I get the required 25 contacts, I could change the reference number I was calling from to ENG-271 and activate 2 from one place but not simultaneously. The second reference is for a lightship that has sunk.

I got set up with my FT-891 and my SlideWinder DX and started calling. Again I was on 40 meters CW. I had promised some hunters the day prior via the Facebook group that I'd do some SSB voice contacts. So I switched to 40 meters sideband after 20 contacts with Morse Code. This is when I realized something was wrong. I can't really explain it but the speaker on the FT-891 sounds blown... come to find out later in the rove that it is only on 40 meters SSB. Great! I made 11 contacts through the the garbled sounding speaker before switching references. Since I was struggling anyway, I finished up the second activation on 40 meters SSB all the while messing with settings to figure out if I could get rid of the awful sound; I could not. I made 35 contacts from this second reference and packed up.

A quick 5 minute drive brought me to another carpark in a reference area for another sunken lightship (ENG-228). I set up the hamstick on the roof of the car and called again on 40 meters SSB on the FT-891 still trying to figure out what I could do to fix the sound. I made 31 more contacts from this reference and still no joy on fixing the sounds. Nothing exciting to report here except for the loyal hunters who continue to work through the pileup and my struggles with copying due to the issues with the radio. It is definitely appreciated.

In the car for another drive, this one 25 minutes, brought me to Winterton-on-Sea. Yes, that's the name of the town. The lighthouse, Winterton Lighthouse (ENG-310), was very close to the carpark by the beach. I grabbed my pack with the X6100 and KM4ACK End-Fed antenna and headed up the hill. I set up with the mast strapped to an old fence post, strung the antenna to a spot on the hill some distance away and with a tent peg, I was able to keep the feed point off the ground. I decided that 20 meters CW was perfect for the time of day and it would be nice to make some further contacts. After 5 contacts it started raining. After 9 contacts, it started pouring. I packed up and headed to the car. Again, confined to the car with the hamstick and the FT-891, I decided to keep going on 20 meters CW. I made 9 more contacts and the switched to 20 meters SSB. To my surprise, the radio sounded just fine on 20 meters. I made 17 more contacts and was out of time as I only paid for so much time at the carpark. Sitting in the car, I was able to get some views of seals just off the beach swimming around. Quite a cool site for a ham radio nerd. 

After packing up at Winterton-on-Sea, I headed to find lunch since I skipped breakfast to get an early start. After the saddest chicken burger I've ever had, I headed to Lowestoft for another activation in a spot I could do 2 references from, the second of which is Lowstoft High (ENG-072) and still stands. First up was Lowestoft Low (ENG-261). The structure had been removed or destroyed by where it sat could still be seen. I activated from Ness Point where the structure had been and the spot is the most eastern point in all of the UK. I grabbed my pack again and this time used the X6100 and KM4ACK End-Fed the entire time. I strapped the mast to a railing that is there to keep people off the rocks and strung the feed point down and taped it to the railing (always prepared). Throughout my time posted up here, I got sea sprayed and wind whipped but it was awesome to be there! I started on 40 meters CW again and made 26 contacts. I changed reference numbers to ENG-072 and continued on 40 meters CW. 12 contacts later and I switched bands to 20 meters but stayed on CW. I made 26 contacts from this reference as well. At this point I was tired and ready to head home. I realized that after the last 2 days and the Hunstanton Lighthouse, I only had 9 references; it just didn't seem like enough. I headed for the beach!

From the beach at Lowestoft by the pier, there is another 2 reference area. Unfortunately, I only did one reference: ENG-264. Hey! I can always go back! I put the hamstick up on the roof of the car again and got the FT-891 out and sat it on the boot of the car. I at least wanted to be outside since I could see the lighthouse and the beach! After 17 contacts on 20 meters SSB, I was asked via the Facebook group to give 40 meters a try. I was not in the mood to listen to the 40 meter SSB problems of the FT-891 so I got the X6100 out and gave that a go on 40 meters SSB. I made one contact... the 5 watts just isn't enough for SSB sometimes. Oh well! I guess I'll have to switch to CW (my favorite). I made 13 more contacts on 40 meters CW and was knackered (I'm starting to become proper British). I packed up and spent the next hour and a half in the car, in the dark, but made it home to put the kids to bed.

If I got my maths right, I ended up with 273 contacts. Many of them are the same hunters who reached out at more than one reference and on more than one band AND on more than one mode. If it hadn't been for this program, I would not have seen these places or had these experiences. I have to thank the hunters again; those folks are truly dedicated to hunting lighthouses. I also want to thank Bob, M0MJA, once more for being so driven to get this program to be as successful as it is and I'm certain its popularity will only continue to grow.

Until next time, keep your batteries charged and you bags packed; you never know when the portable mood might strike.

de M0NZZ

Edit: With regards to the FT-891 problems I had my IPO and AGC turned off. In the moment I didn't check that... it should have been the first thing I looked for. What I did try was DNR and RF Gain which are both on the front of the radio for how I have quick buttons. Different DNR settings made things slightly better and decreasing RF Gain helped as well. When I hooked up the radio at home, I tried AGC and IPO and now I have no problems. Just goes to show that sometimes the answer is simple.