[UK-CONTEST] IOTA

[Anthony MW0JZE]

Hi guys, 

Although I know plenty of ops that enter the IOTA contest from the comfort of their own home whether EU-005, 008, 009, 010 etc I still think you cant get more hands on and involved in promoting amateur radio than getting out on an island. This doesn't matter if you got there by bridge or by boat but I would definitely consider any form of transport other than a car as it all adds to the "rarity" of the IOTA! Lets face it, if it were easy to get on and activate then it would take the fun out of it and it wouldn't be rare! This could be one of the reasons why Ynys Mon (Anglesey) has been demoted, but what the hell Holy island is all about beats the hell out of me. Been there several times and still cant see the gap between Anglesey and Holy island. I would imagine EU-124 would be quite rareish if Anglesey had NEVER been EU-124 as all the other Welsh coastal islands require a boat and quite often special permission to land on them. Another one is Portland in Dorset, very easy to get on to, just drive across, nip over to Portland Bill and fire up, easy! But it is only EU-005 although the causeway that connects it to the mainland is man made (so locals tell me) so surely it should be EU-120? We could go on and on......................I mean what about the Florida Keys!! When is an island not an island????? 

During our activation of MC0SHL and MW9W on Ramsey island EU-124 we had to rely on help from the RNLI, Pembrokeshire national parks, the boat hire company and the RSPB. During this time over 20 non hams were involved in the logistics and all asked lots of questions. We also had some young RSPB volunteer's come to watch us operate during the contest with great interest, so who knows maybe some new hams in the making! This to me is what it is all about, promoting amateur radio and activating rare IOTA's if possible. 

CU in contest 

73's Ant MWØJZE 
Elecraft K3 #485 
MC0SHL DX & Contest Group 
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