[UK-CONTEST] 144Mhz Trophy --lack of activity

Fri Sep 9 01:17:54 PDT 2011

I think the problem now is down to the licencing changes. Back in the day,
vhf and uhf were the only places a class b holder could operate.
Consequently, 2m Field day was a very active contest. Now, because everyone
has everything from day 1, most people just stick to HF where a few watts
will go further. If I was an m6 now, I'd not look at 2m. There is limited
new multimode equipment and not very much activity!  I'll get my HF set and
10 watts and talk cross continent reliably instead. Its not the fault of the
amateur but the licencing system. It should always have been frequencies for
exam passes, not power levels.

I'm just as guilty. I sold off my VHF UHF multimode set because it was not
used enough to justify it. I had a 9 ele tonna and a 100w linear and very
rarely heard anyone on any part of the band, even the fm section was dead.
So.. bye bye it went and funded some new HF antennas.

George
G0JKZ

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Chris Parnell [mailto:chris-g0hfx at hotmail.co.uk]
> Sent: 08 September 2011 22:41
> To: UK contest Committee
> Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 144Mhz Trophy --lack of activity
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Guys,
> Ive been following this thread with interest & several factors stated by
> others are very relevant.
> For the UKAC (2m) contests I operate from IO80WX on the Dorset/Wiltshire
> border. Usually the IO80 square is only operated by a few "big" stations
with
> good locations ie G3ZVW/G4RRA/ & me G0HFX, quite often I`m the only one
> on thus 80 sq is highly sought as a multiplier and thus I get a reasonable
score.
> 
> This site is, however, totally unsatisfactory for a "trophy" entry and of
course
> as there are no multipliers in this contest one has to look for the best
location
> where most stations are likely to be heard and also the best distances.
> This is inevitably Central Europe ( DL/OK/OL/OE/F/HB etc), these are not
and
> would not be worked in sufficient quantity from a S-West or N or N-W
> location to provide a competitive score in the open section.
> Hence I travel, along with others, to JO01 to be assured of a good chance
of a
> win or high results position.
> 
> For a club or group to stand a chance of winning the trophy and being
highly
> placed in the IARU rating, one definitely  needs to be located on/near the
> East Coast whatever others might think, even in the UKACs and other
> contests many of the high scores are achieved with numerous Kms from
> QSOs with the continent.
> 
> Over the w/e in Kent we installed a 4 aerial system with one ant
permanently
> beamed to N/NW UK to GI & GM etc (I`m sure we wkd you Steve), However
> the majority of our Q`s came from Europe where there is more commitment
> to VHF.
> I dont have this years log in front of me but of the circa 800 Q`s made I
would
> guess that ,as in previous years the %tages would be approx 50% DL--30%
> rest of Eu and at best 20% UK.
> 
> As for activity in the UK, yes it might be unsuitable to have HF NFD & 2M
> Trophy on the same w/e but even if not I doubt if this would ensure
greater
> activity for the Trophy.
> 
> There are probably two basic types of operator that enter the Trophy--the
> serious types who hope to be well placed at the end of the event and the
> other type who are just gaining experience, giving points away or looking
for
> the unexpected DX.
> 
> To enter with a hope of winning needs a dedicated and committed team who
> are prepared to travel somewhere to give themselves an edge, have access
> to a huge amount of equipment that is required to put up a competitive
> station, and be prepared to put up with a lot of discomfort and to cope
with
> all the things that can and do go wrong in the field.
> For instance in last w/e`s Trophy we suffered V high winds, torrential
rain,
> Thunder & lightning, staic rain QRN, and MCB/RCD tripping due to
lightning,
> which probably cost us circa 4 hours of operating time overall.
> 
> My home club (Trowbridge DARC) has a membership of 40/50, of which
> about a dozen or so show any interest in contests whether
> Trophy/AFS/UKCCs and much fewer with HF contesting.
> Most of the equipment for this years VHF NFD restricted entry was provided
> by 2 members M0GHZ & myself, and no other member has sufficient
> equipment to put on anything other than a lower average UKCC station,
> except for a few hardy /p operators (see latest claimed scores), However
> their commitment and accumulative scores in the 2m UKCC is very valid and
is
> indicative of the Trowbridge Club`s 2nd position in the present UKCC 2m
> table.
> As for the Trophy contest I think the only club member active for a
> reasonable period was Peter 2E0NEY operating from home.
> There must be several if not numerous clubs in a similar position, that
can get
> members to get on with their small home or /p small set-ups for a couple
of
> hours but cannot/do not commit for a full w/e.
> 
> Its a pity but few either in Trophy or UKCC appear to use KST or whatever
> and very few advertise their intention to be active or when.
> In UKCC during my CQing I always state square location and often direction
> beaming, but many dont.
> 
> One final thought, it is far easier for a G3 or M3 or any other call
variation to
> set up a reasonably simple but effective station at home with a G5RV & up
to
> 100w and have a warm & comfortable few hours fun on the radio possibly
> working a few 100 stations, however very few of the same stations could
set
> up an 8 ele beam, rotatable at 40ft with 100w on 2m and expect more than a
> couple of dozen Q`s for their effort, but at least they would have a dry
bed at
> night and could watch TV if things got boring.
> 
> If there are any comments that others do not agree with , then please dont
> whinge, this is just how someone who has had an interest in Ham radio
since
> the mid 1950`s sees things and are related to my own experiences.
> 
> Chris G0HFX
> 
> 
> 
> 
> > From: uk-contest-request at contesting.com
> > Subject: UK-Contest Digest, Vol 105, Issue 10
> > To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> > Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 12:00:20 -0700
> >
> > Send UK-Contest mailing list submissions to uk-contest at contesting.com
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> >
> >
> > Today's Topics:
> >
> > 1. Re: 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity (Regwoolley at aol.com) 2. Re:
> > 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity (David G3YYD) 3. Re: 144MHz Trophy
> > - lack of UK activity (Rob Harrison) 4. SSB FD G4ARN/P (Roger Cooke)
> > 5. Re: 2m Trophy etc (Ken Eastty) 6. Re: 2m Trophy etc (Rob Harrison)
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 06:57:40 -0400 (EDT)
> > From: Regwoolley at aol.com
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity
> > To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> > Message-ID: <398bf.6d1dbb48.3b99f9a4 at aol.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
> >
> > I am I guess the closest station to the centre of England! It is now
> > deemed to be a spot near the A5 close to Nuneaton, I am about 1km from
> it!
> >
> > I only came on during the Sat to do a bit of S&P I found there to be
> > not many fixed stations taking part in a serious way. However I found
> > there were a good few portables out there! The days of big activity
> > like the 80's are now gone! However I myself do not think it was as
> > dire a weekend as many are making it out to be!
> >
> > The more moans on reflectors saying oh there was no one to work. The
> > less folks well make an effort to get on. In other words you are the
> > makers of your own destiny! Maybe we should employ a spin doctor to
> > put things into a better light!
> >
> > Reg G8VHI
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 08/09/2011 11:48:17 GMT Daylight Time,
> > g3yyd at btinternet.com writes:
> >
> > I came on first using my G3YYD callsign and after a dozen or so QSOs
> > could find no one else to work. I then worked a few more again using
> > my SCC M7T but got bored with it being so slow so went QRT to do
> > something more productive with my time.
> >
> > So for me John's analysis was spot on. I suspect others probably went
> > to HF and worked a lot more QSOs then they could on 144MHz. Personally
> > unless I am a serious entry, I only put an appearance in other
> > contests for practice purposes.
> >
> > 73 David G3YYD
> >
> > On 08/09/2011 07:04, John Lemay wrote:
> > > Probably a lot
> > > of them were coming on for a short period and giving away a few
> > > points before finding something else to do. It means that one must
> > > regularly
> > beam
> > > inland to sweep these guys up.
> > >
> > _______________________________________________
> > UK-Contest mailing list
> > UK-Contest at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 2
> > Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:12:43 +0000
> > From: David G3YYD <g3yyd at btinternet.com>
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity
> > To: UK-Contest at contesting.com
> > Message-ID: <4E68A32B.5070106 at btinternet.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> >
> > Stewart
> >
> > You always have a moan about not being heard down south.
> >
> > The first QSO in my log was GM3ZUK at 595Km as invariably I start out
> > beaming up the "spine" of the UK. Never heard you even though I swept
> > the band many times while beaming your way. You are slightly closer
> > than ZUK at 574Km. From memory he was a very good signal. I also
> > worked EU stations at 600+Km with best being 732KM.
> >
> > From my QTH, conditions were neither good nor bad just normal
> > troposcatter range. Seems to me you were just not on the band when I
> > was on from 1930 to 2040.
> >
> > 73 David G3YYD
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 3
> > Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 13:53:09 +0100
> > From: "Rob Harrison" <robharrison at g8hgn.freeserve.co.uk>
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity
> > To: "David G3YYD" <g3yyd at btinternet.com>, <UK-
> Contest at contesting.com>
> > Message-ID: <7AF11FA8A1AE4240B846B7DCD011BD15 at G8HGN1442PC>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> > reply-type=original
> >
> > Hi,
> >
> > David raises a valid point, not all stations are on the band at all
times.
> > Plus for a 500+ km contact to take place you've both got to be beaming
> > in the right direction. Many stations were doing 6 hours only, so they
> > could be on at any time, then there's the casual op's who come on when
> > they can, and the Backpackers mid Sunday morning to finish time.
> >
> > You both could be calling CQ or both searching, either way you won't
> > make a contact. A lot of the continentals will beam inland for long
> > periods, as that's where the most potential contacts are for them.
> > They may not beam your way when you're active. Many variables to
> consider.
> >
> > For me, doing a 6 hour stint, the WX and conditions seemed to favour
> > Saturday over Sunday, so that's when I operated in two 3 hours
> > sessions, Saturday afternoon shortly after the start and the evening
form
> about 1830z.
> > I suspect more casual ops would have come on Sunday, but that's just
> > my opinion. My tactics were S&P as calling CQ with 50W in a major
> > contest doesn't bring the rewards, and there are more Europeans to
> > work than UK at considerably longer distances, from here in JO01. With
> > 6 hours only it was the best way to maximise the score. Other contests
> need different tactics.
> >
> > What's going to change it? Not a lot I fear. If you're a new group you
> > need a good site, most are "taken" or full of comms anennas. So you go
> > to a site you feel might work, try it out don't feel you've done well,
and go
> HF.
> >
> > I do look for GM, but with not too many on the band, and weak here,
> > it's a law of diminishing returns. I did work Stewart and GM4ZUK/p.
> > Whether anyone else was active I don't know. Nothing heard from EI/GI
> this time.
> >
> > I felt there was good EU activity and fair UK activity on flat band.
> >
> > 73 Bob G8HGN
> >
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "David G3YYD" <g3yyd at btinternet.com>
> > To: <UK-Contest at contesting.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 12:12 PM
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 144MHz Trophy - lack of UK activity
> >
> >
> > >
> > > Stewart
> > >
> > > You always have a moan about not being heard down south.
> > >
> > > The first QSO in my log was GM3ZUK at 595Km as invariably I start
> > > out beaming up the "spine" of the UK. Never heard you even though I
> > > swept the band many times while beaming your way. You are slightly
> > > closer than ZUK at 574Km. From memory he was a very good signal. I
> > > also worked EU stations at 600+Km with best being 732KM.
> > >
> > > From my QTH, conditions were neither good nor bad just normal
> > > troposcatter range. Seems to me you were just not on the band when I
> > > was on from 1930 to 2040.
> > >
> > > 73 David G3YYD
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > UK-Contest mailing list
> > > UK-Contest at contesting.com
> > > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 4
> > Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 16:42:56 +0100 (BST)
> > From: Roger Cooke <g3ldi at yahoo.co.uk>
> > Subject: [UK-CONTEST] SSB FD G4ARN/P
> > To: "uk-contest at contesting.com" <uk-contest at contesting.com>
> > Message-ID:
> > <1315496576.95085.YahooMailNeo at web28309.mail.ukl.yahoo.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
> >
> > Norfolk ARC uses this contest primarily as a training ground, and a
> > contest for the inexperienced to have some fun operating a decent
> > station and do some contest operating. We entered the open section
> > with a reasonable antenna selection and a
> >
> > linear to enable them to work some DX and also use RUN to some extent,
> > something that most of them cannot do with limited antennas and
stations.
> >
> > ?Chris, G0DWV towed a trailer tower to our location together with an
> > A4S beam. We strung up two delta loops for 80m and 40m. We used the
> Club's Pro III and linear.
> >
> > We did not have a spotting station, nor any of the other sophisticated
> > assistance, just
> >
> > bare-bone operating, using N1MM. We didn't make a huge score, but
> > considering some had not even been on HF before, let alone done any
> > serious contesting, it wasn't a bad score. Heck, some person with a
> > camera even got a picture of me in front of a thingy, oh yes, a
> > microphone! Just testing prior to the contest. I did not make any QSOs
in
> the contest, just talked a lot outside the operating van.
> >
> >
> > We had bacon butties for breakfast courtesy of David, G7URP, whose
> > field it was. It was a typical summer day, cold, windy and raining at
the end
> when we were packing up.
> >
> > This is our effort:
> >
> > ??? Band??? QSOs??? Pts? DXC
> > ???????? 3.5???? 227??? 1013?? 22
> > ?????????? 7???? 238???? 984?? 26
> > ????????? 14???? 206???? 717?? 38
> > ????????? 21????? 36???? 113?? 24
> > ????????? 28????? 11????? 34??? 8
> > ?????? Total???? 718??? 2861? 118
> >
> >
> > ??????????? Score : 337,598
> > ?????????????
> > ?? Operators: 2E0GOL, 2E0DJR, 2E0CEY, 2E0GAX, 2E0RHT, M0UMH, G3XLG
> >
> > ?? Operators but mainly supervising: G0KYA, G0DWV, G4WUG, G3YLA
> >
> > ?? Nagging and coordinating only: G3LDI ????
> >
> >
> >
> > Regards from Roger, G3LDI
> > Swardeston, Norfolk.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 5
> > Date: Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:57:02 +0000
> > From: Ken Eastty <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 2m Trophy etc
> > To: uk-contest at contesting.com
> > Message-ID: <4E68E5CE.6060902 at btinternet.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
> >
> > I agree,
> >
> > There's just not enough interest (especially among our club members) to
> > take part in portable contests except HF NFD, even that we can only just
> > manage, mixing HF & VHF wouldn't work for us, maybe there are now just
> > too many RSGB contests to fit in the available weekends.
> >
> > I spent a short time on 2m this weekend with the intention of giving
> > points away but got fed up with trying to decide which way to beam. This
> > was made more difficult as hardly anyone (as usual) gave a clue as to
> > their approximate location when calling CQ, the increasing number of
> > weird callsigns being used (which I fail to see the point of) doesn't
> > help when trying to decide which way to beam either. Is it really so
> > difficult to program the stations location into a voice keyer?
> >
> > From the depths of Cheltenham I never heard more than a handful of
> > stations at any one time which leads me to ask where the 7-800 stations
> > being worked by some were located, were most of them across the
> Channel?
> > I'd be surprise of many of them were in the UK. Perhaps a map of all of
> > the stations worked could be produced.
> >
> > Finally.....I notice the lack of Foundation & Intermediate calls
> > appearing in the entries for VHF contests, maybe not surprising when
> > these licensees are expected to compete with others running full legal
> > power. Perhaps separate sections for these licensees might encourage a
> > few more of them to have a go on on VHF instead of spending all of their
> > time on 80 & 40m etc.
> >
> > 73...
> >
> > Ken
> >
> > G3LVP
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi, Simple answer move SSB FD, the Trophy is a IARU co-ordinated event
> > so all of Europe is on the air that weekend. I'm assuming FD is not
> > co-ordinated outside the UK. I've never understood the logic of having
> > seperate VHF & HF contests over the same weekend, some people find it
> > difficult to get any time at all, let alone 24 hours, and then to have
> > two conflicting contests on the same weekend is just plain daft. I did
> > the Trophy in two 3 hours stints Saturday evening, virtually all S&P,
> > only worked one G, one GD and two GM's, all the rest from Europe. Like
> > John, no propogation to EA either, heard 5P5T for long spells, but
> > couldn't raise them.
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > Message: 6
> > Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2011 18:03:07 +0100
> > From: "Rob Harrison" <robharrison at g8hgn.freeserve.co.uk>
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 2m Trophy etc
> > To: "Ken Eastty" <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>,
> > <uk-contest at contesting.com>
> > Message-ID: <4082012E101B401B969AF54AD5A49417 at G8HGN1442PC>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> > reply-type=original
> >
> > Ken,
> >
> > A single band effort on 144, or any other band, should be within your
clubs'
> > compass. Multi-band's a different thing.
> >
> > The bulk of the entrants were in Europe, UK activity was limited. For
> > reasons see my other post re times etc.
> >
> > The UKAC's on Tuesday evenings are well supported by Foundation &
> > Intermediate licencees. But this is 2+ hours on a weekday night, not
rather
> > longer over a weekend.
> >
> > 73 Bob G8HGN
> >
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Ken Eastty" <ken.g3lvp at btinternet.com>
> > To: <uk-contest at contesting.com>
> > Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2011 4:57 PM
> > Subject: Re: [UK-CONTEST] 2m Trophy etc
> >
> >
> > >
> > > I agree,
> > >
> > > There's just not enough interest (especially among our club members)
to
> > > take part in portable contests except HF NFD, even that we can only
just
> > > manage, mixing HF & VHF wouldn't work for us, maybe there are now
> just
> > > too many RSGB contests to fit in the available weekends.
> > >
> > > I spent a short time on 2m this weekend with the intention of giving
> > > points away but got fed up with trying to decide which way to beam.
This
> > > was made more difficult as hardly anyone (as usual) gave a clue as to
> > > their approximate location when calling CQ, the increasing number of
> > > weird callsigns being used (which I fail to see the point of) doesn't
> > > help when trying to decide which way to beam either. Is it really so
> > > difficult to program the stations location into a voice keyer?
> > >
> > > From the depths of Cheltenham I never heard more than a handful of
> > > stations at any one time which leads me to ask where the 7-800
stations
> > > being worked by some were located, were most of them across the
> Channel?
> > > I'd be surprise of many of them were in the UK. Perhaps a map of all
of
> > > the stations worked could be produced.
> > >
> > > Finally.....I notice the lack of Foundation & Intermediate calls
> > > appearing in the entries for VHF contests, maybe not surprising when
> > > these licensees are expected to compete with others running full legal
> > > power. Perhaps separate sections for these licensees might encourage a
> > > few more of them to have a go on on VHF instead of spending all of
their
> > > time on 80 & 40m etc.
> > >
> > > 73...
> > >
> > > Ken
> > >
> > > G3LVP
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Hi, Simple answer move SSB FD, the Trophy is a IARU co-ordinated event
> > > so all of Europe is on the air that weekend. I'm assuming FD is not
> > > co-ordinated outside the UK. I've never understood the logic of having
> > > seperate VHF & HF contests over the same weekend, some people find it
> > > difficult to get any time at all, let alone 24 hours, and then to have
> > > two conflicting contests on the same weekend is just plain daft. I did
> > > the Trophy in two 3 hours stints Saturday evening, virtually all S&P,
> > > only worked one G, one GD and two GM's, all the rest from Europe. Like
> > > John, no propogation to EA either, heard 5P5T for long spells, but
> > > couldn't raise them.
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > UK-Contest mailing list
> > > UK-Contest at contesting.com
> > > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
> > >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > ------------------------------
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > UK-Contest mailing list
> > UK-Contest at contesting.com
> > http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/uk-contest
> >
> >
> > End of UK-Contest Digest, Vol 105, Issue 10
> > *******************************************
> 
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