[UK-CONTEST] UKDX and HADX

[Jim Martin - MM0BQI]

Enjoyed a wee play in the UKDX  and HADX contests this morning.  LF band conditions seemed very flat here with no NA heard.  Highlight was again being called by two JAs on 40m about 0830.  Heard some nasty deliberate QRM on 40m with one station pirating the call GW4ALG following RTTY stations up and down the band sending CQ on their frequency.
Most of the targeted stations were from EU but a few G stations also received the benefit of this persons attention. Having had our short contest call pirated I know it is not a nice feeling.

UKDX summary
Band    QSOs    Pts  Cty   SEC
       3.5      16     32   10    2
          7      65    132   24    3
          14      83    185   26    1
          21       1      2    1    0
Total     165    351   61    6

HADX 20 Qs on 40m

Used the AL80B amp this morning with about 10w in to give 150w out.  The amp runs cold but the MkV fan starts up very quickly and the heat sink gets hot. Effectively when running  10 watts out the fan stays on constantly.  Can someone tell me if this is normal for the MkV?  The SWR is 1:1, tuner is not selected and the rig is not in class-A.  The idea behind using the amp was to avoid stress to the rig but the fan constantly running concerns me.  It may not be stressing the rig but it is certainly stressing me!
All in all,  good fun.
73
Jim,  MM0BQI