SSB Field Day 2022

Another year on in the progress of cycle 25 and while there was an expected increase in the solar activity this did not translate into a noticeable rise in QSO numbers although there was perhaps a little more activity overall on 21 and 28MHz compared to last year.  The SFI for the weekend was higher than 2021 but the elevated K index rather spoilt the party.  There was some Sporadic E propagation on 28MHz into Europe early on Sunday morning and 21MHz yielded European contacts but also some valuable DX multipliers in the logs from 4X, 5B4, A4, FY5, HS, HZ, LU, OD, PY, TA, UN, V5, VU, YC and YI.

There was a wide variety of different antennas in use this year, in the High Power category  directional beams backed up by horizontal dipoles or delta loops were favoured by many entrants and the multiplier count was important in achieving a high score.  In the other categories, doublets, dipoles and verticals were among the antennas used to achieve multi-band capability with rapid band change important to capture often brief openings on the higher bands.

As usual logs were received from other European societies which allows more rigorous cross checking.  Incorrect copying of callsigns was the main cause of errors and loss of points and multipliers.  It was noted that there were a few clubs that made a number of contacts with very local stations that made no other contacts, some uniques were also portable which further elevates the points advantage.  Whilst any increase in activity is welcomed, these stations should be encouraged to be fair to all by working other Field Day participants and not just their local club.  This year total entries of UK&CD portable stations were 35 following a peak of 47 in 2019 but the fixed station entry has been steadily growing since it was introduced in 2017.  Is this a legacy of the Covid restrictions and groups have lost the habit of organising a Field Day?

A number of inspections were carried out and all were found to be compliant.  Inadequate registration details continue to be a cause for extra work to follow these up before the event.  Please ensure an accurate six figure NGR is supplied and mobile phone contact details particularly where the site is on private land.  Remember that an inspector may wish to observe the site before the event to ensure that the 24 hour rule is complied with.

Congratulations to all the Trophy and certificate winners listed below.

John G4CZB