[UK-CONTEST] March 23cm UK Activity Contest - Report

[Ray James]

This evenings 23cm UK Activity Contest was certainly an interesting one for its variables.

Conditions in the first hour were well above average with some pretty good signals from distant stations via tropo. A number of stations that are usually worked on CW were contacted on SSB for a change. I managed 17 contacts during this period including PA0EHG (JO22) on SSB via aircraft reflection. 
The remaining 90 minutes produced a further 10 contacts as conditions (and aircraft numbers) fell away though OZ1FF was worked off an aircraft before the skies get too empty.
QSB caused a problem on a few contacts, taking out the odd needed letter or number at a crucial point.

Activity was well up though I missed IO81, 82, 93 and JO01 multipliers this month. Everyone appeared to be busy scrambling to get another contact into the log just before the end. Always a good sign of the interest and level of activity nationwide on 23cm. 
There were at least 12 stations in Scotland active during the contest.

My QSO map can be found at http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://www.rsgbcc.org/vhf/kml_files/2011/D5bACxUHMD8xAV2HUlcaQTr2lCx2d4W

73 Ray GM4CXM IO75TW
IC910HX DL2AM PA 150w
4x44 el Wimo's + SP23mk2 LNA