[UK-CONTEST] IOTA 2012

[Bernie McIntosh (GM4WZG)]

Operated from home. 88ft doublet with short twin feeder to auto-atu located
in attic (as per G3YNH Radcom article).  TS590S which continues to impress
with its ergonomics and its rx ability.  SO2R would be a boon for me (lots
of time on my hands while trying to run !) so keep having very nice dreams
about walking in and finding two TS590's side by side one day......

It didn't feel like conditions were better than last year although I did
manage more mults. QSO count was down slightly but that was perhaps the
deliberate focus on getting those mults.  I think DX islands were harder to
find and work but I need to sit down and make a proper comparison.   VK3TDX
for example I didn't manage this year, and not for want of trying.

10m I thought very disappointing. It kept promising, promising and then
promising some more but didn't deliver.  Next year's plan just has to
include a separate 10m antenna if I can squeeze it in to the limited space
in my beauty-spot QTH.  Perhaps a half wave vertical or maybe even a beam on
a mast with a big placard saying "this weekend only" ! Or maybe we can sadly
forget about it for another 11 years...... 

I "lost" several multipliers on 80m due to not calling  the stns working
below 3.510.   Can someone on t' committee let me know if they'll get
penalised ? If they don't then next year I might as well join in and work
'em. 

It's always nice to work from a big-gun station but I hope I'm one of the
folk who can demonstrate that with the right entry classes it really is fun,
and competitive to work with a bare bones rig and a single simple wire
antenna.

Thanks to everyone involved.

CW 24HR Single-OP Assisted. Fixed,

 Band    QSOs    Pts  IOT
   3.5      35     445   27
     7     158    1510   63
    14     192    1740   66
    21      99     965   42
    28      36     340   13
 Total     520    5000  211
Score: 1,055,000



Bernie
GM4WZG