[UK-CONTEST] 144mhz afs

[Andy Swiffin]

GE all

Seeing as the contest was so good, I thought I'd get my post in this evening rather than being pipped at the post :-)

After putting in my comments about Tuesdays 144 AC  they all said to me "Smile, conditions could be worse".   So I smiled,    and sure enough, conditions became worse.

In fact I'm sure that conditions were so bad, that as I tuned over places where something should have been, like the Kent beacon for example, the background noise reduced as though it was being sucked into a black hole, or maybe it was my imagination (or maybe the bottle of wine?).  Which makes it rather strange that I made so many QSOs.

I have a door that needs to be hung (well actually a whole door frame built and door put in it)  so I had this idea that I'd set the DVK to do its job and every half hour or so I'd go to answer a call.   In fact the door got nothing done to it till after the contest (well, in the last hour I rebated the hinges), but actually  I was rather busy at times, heavens, my rate meter went to 2 a minute at one point (_one_ point).     

Well,  I ended up with 59 worked and 19 squares.   Ok, rather poor by centre of the country standards, (not _our_country I hasten to add, the one to the south of here :-) but I did start about an hour and  half late (due to over sleeping - someone did comment that they'd already been to look for me below .200 <blush>)  but  it looks like my points/qso has hit a new average of 420 :-)    

Nothing heard at all from the continent, although for me I have to beam significantly further east so rarely do.    Nice to work io94 and io95 quite rare.   Nice to work io73, Paul, gw8izr was a stunning s9+10,  nice to work G7rau again(as usual), in io90.  Struggled to find io93, but thanks to g3yjr with 25w from sheffield  (hmm  where are the other io93s then?).   Nice to work io97 and 99, who were both louder at one point beaming south than at them (how weird is that?).  Nothing from IO80, must have been a clash with the cream teas competition.  Nice to work all y'all in io81 and 91 who I keep forgetting are so far away.   And of course thanks to you all in the X2 and X3 block.   And a special thanks to 2m0cvk for the highly prized io86 multiplier!!   And sorry to all the people who did call me who I could tell were there but just couldn't drag out of the noise, particularly G4??L/P who called in the last two minutes :-(

 And now for the prizes:  2e0ney must take it for always being there,  each time I trawled round the band to give the DVK time for a rest and a beer I found 2e0ney, but there were times when I did wonder if the contest had finished there was so little else.   Other decent signals: g0xdi, g0bwv/a, mw0mat/p, g8vhi.

So, I had fun.   Not a huge return for 6.5 hours operating ,minus two loads of washing done, lunch had, and various pottering, but fun.   Conditions were rank, but the level of activity made up for it.   I can't wait for the next one.   See you all in January :-)

73 from a rather clement (for a change) northeast(ish) Scotland.

Andy
gm8oeg


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