[UK-CONTEST] Developing NFD

Dave Sergeant dave at davesergeant.com
Mon Jun 13 05:14:16 EDT 2005


On 12 Jun 2005 at 17:44, G3SXW wrote:

> NFD would be even more fun if QSO volumes were higher.
> There are just not enough stations to work.
> One way to build activity might be to make it a truly Europe
> -wide contest. At present there are lots of UK and DL
> stations and some from HB9 and ON, but nearly all other
> countries are very sparsely represented. Why?

I would agree with the comments of Roger and others. I have always 
considered it strange that there is not a universal set of rules for 
NFD across Europe (and beyond), neither is there any great push for 
RSGB entrants to submit their logs to other Region 1 adjudicators. It 
is well time that the rules are harmonised, and the UK scoring has 
not changed for years. Although there is a clear incentive for 
increased points for working portables, this is not as 
straightforward as it seems. I remember some years ago visiting Steve 
GW4ALG and operating for a short time in NFD as GW3YMC/P - in the 
comfort of his shack....

One other point, certainly in the UK, is getting sufficient interest 
among club members for this event. Not only do many, like us, have a 
shortage of proficient CW operators, but it is difficult to get 
support from other members for logistic (and moral) support. You will 
see the complete number of members of our club who showed a face 
listed in my report, and none of those stayed for more than a few 
minutes during the actual contest itself. I know some clubs manage to 
arrange barbecues etc on the NFD site, but we have never managed to 
do this. It is perhaps made worse to some extent that the HF and VHF 
field days are seperate events (and in our case supported by a 
different section of members), and SSB field day on another weekend 
clashing with (if I remember) one of the VHF events. I am not 
suggesting though that we move to a all mode, all band, event like 
the USA field day, but some thought ought to be given to this aspect 
perhaps.

73 Dave G3YMC

http://www.davesergeant.com



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