[UK-CONTEST] CQWW CW MA0BQI

[MM0BQI]

Dabbled in the contest at the end of a holiday on Mull.  Very noisy location with overhead power lines, transformers and all sorts of weird electronic noises coming from the nearest cottages (all within 200m).  HF was almost wiped out so concentrated on the low bands with particular attention to topband (34 countries, 8 zones)

Conditions seemed very lively but the usual complaint of not being heard by some of the excessively loud stations.  Can you really be sure no one is calling you if you leave a fraction of a second between CQ calls?  Not a huge QSO total (250) but worked some all time new ones and filled in needed band slots.  Unassited entry, used cluster to spot worked stations but not to populate my bandmap.

 

Rig, MP running 100w (Last contest with my faithful MK5, it has now been replaced permanently by the K3.  A fantastic rig but not ideally suited to my portable style operations!)

Hustler 5BTV ground mounted for 10-20m.  Useless because of noise on HF but ended up us a very quiet receive antenna on 80 and top band!

HF2V for 40/80m.  Worked very well as always (The 40m signals on the Hustler were at least two S points down on the HF2V but it was quieter at times)

Inverted L for topband, 127feet of wire on 12m SpiderPole with the end sloping down towards our very own lochan.

I had intended to use raised radials for all antennas but due to three quarters of the garden being several feet under water, and I had left my wetsuit at home, decided to lay them all on the ground and join them up.  Ended up with about forty radials spread round under the antennas in a confined space of about 9x9m

As my HP laptop locks up at the slightest whiff of RF on LF I was grateful for the chokes fitted to the feed lines.  Thanks to everyone who answered my previous questions on Ferromagnetics choke baluns and especially to John G4RCG who sent me a copy of the original manual.  Without them the laptop would not send CW!

I will post some photo's of the antennas on the GMDX Group Yahoo group later this week.

 

I have a question for serious entrants.

Do you want to be spotted?  I spotted everyone I knew when I came across them on the bands when they were calling CQ without many callers. No point spotting someone if they already have a pile, savvy  ops sweeping the bands will find them soon enough anyway!  (Is this cheerleading if there are only a couple of spots over the whole weekend for any single station?)  I also spotted the rarer stations that I managed to work hoping that those local to me would be able to take advantage of this info if they were so inclined.  Also hopefully to encourage those in a similar DX location to listen out for western EU or even direct their antennas our way for a bit!

Interested to hear your views.

73 and thanks for all the Qs, it was great fun!  I think topband could become adictive!

Jim

Salen, Isle of Mull.