2m Tropo fun, and flying

Well, the forecast tropo openings to the south didn't seem to materialise over the past few days, despite the highest atmospheric pressure - of more then 1050 hPa - over the UK since 1957, and the highest ever recorded over London in over 300 years of measurements.
 

Super-high pressure brings beautiful blue skies over North Wales, as my daughter steers for home.

Heading for Bardsey, the island of 1000 saints, over Llyn peninsula.

2m digital underway with the IC-746 and 8-ele.

But this morning was fairly active, with a very short-lived period, lasting only a few minutes, of strong signals into Germany and Poland.  Overall, including antenna and terrain, the gain at low angles is about 18dBi, yielding an ERP of over 2.5kW.

The 8-element's beaming direction is clear enough!

2m digital operating has reinvigorated my interest in radio, because propagation is not always available, yet not so often absent as to make one lose interest.  With a good antenna, I've found all parts of the UK are almost always reachable at 2m.

It's also very nice to see so much activity now on 2m, even during weekday mornings, when many are at work.