A number of readers and friends here and in the SOTA community are simply chuffed that Countryfile on the BBC recently featured a short segment about Flat Holm, its historical ties with Marconi, and modern portable amateur radio.
I tried my best to view this yesterday from the US, but shows like this on BBC One are geo-blocked via the BBC iPlayer…which is, evidently, clever enough to recognize VPNs.
However, I notice the segment has recently been posted on YouTube, so if like me you’re outside of the UK, I encourage you to watch it quickly before it gets pulled.
Enjoy!
Click here to view on YouTube.
The segment features our friend Fraser, MM0EFI (remember his brilliant field report chock-full of Land Rover nostalgia–?) and a number of other amateur radio operators.
Fraser posted his own video showing the other side of his contact with the Countryfile crew:
Click here to view on YouTube.
Fraser sat on top of that gusty summit for quite some time before the BBC crew were ready, but it looks like he had a lot of fun.
You did a brilliant job, Fraser! So glad the propagation worked in your favor.
What’s more, I love the fact that Countryfile crew looked at SOTA with both curiosity and excitement.
Bravo to all of the radio ops featured in this segment; you’re all proper ham radio ambassadors!
Awesome! Great PR.
Yes this was a really good piece of “edutainment”, which provided a terrific insight into one of the great aspects of our hobby. Well done to the BBC and all the participants.
On a personal note, even my XYL picked up on the success of the participants having accompanied me on a number of failed activations. Clearly the SOTA gods were looking favourably on them!
Richard M0RGM
TU! Good to see the full bit! Bravo to all the activators!
Rich NU6T
Fraser is a great ambassador for our hobby combining the great outdoors with amateur radio. He’s out in all weathers and conditions. Bravo.
Indeed he is!
It’s also available on britbox, if you prefer to view it on your telly…
Thomas, Thanks for sharing these videos. I enjoyed watching them.