[UK-CONTEST] G3BJ 2nd 1.8 MHz Contest

[Don Beattie]

This was a last minute decision to take part - we had been down South during the day, and didn't get home till well after dark. As a result the tower was well below full height (because of recent gales), and the top band dipole was supported along a lot of its length by the tops of the fir trees, depriving me of my "high angle" antenna. However, a QSO with 5Z4DZ five minutes before the contest started suggested things could be quite good. (Never did work him in the contest)

The first hour went well, with 104 Qs. Then it all went pear-shaped. Signals dropped (or all the strong ones had been worked) and the rate plummeted. I realised, as things went from bad to worse, that the K9AY listening antenna had developed a fault, and was heroically non-directional. The next day I traced this to a blown PSU diode which meant that two directions were not working properly.

End result: 214 QSOs, 45 districts and 28 countries, making 1007 points.

Congratulations to those who made a lot more than me - next time I'll get the antennas working BEFORE I start the contest.

73

Don, G3BJ