VHF NFD  6 – 7 July 2013

Every now and again, a quote from a Classic author becomes apt. In “A Tale of Two Cities”, Charles Dickens wrote: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness ..” It goes on, but, we can stop there. Those who took part, as contestant or adjudicator, should recognise the above. Those who did not, missed all of those things and many others. Most of us will agree that the weather was excellent, in absolute terms – not just better than the awfulness of last year. Perhaps it arrived a little later in the north of the UK than the rest. Propagation, for many, was rather good too. But that is far from the whole story.

The adjudicators welcome you again to the interactive style of results tabling. Just click on the relevant icon to download certificates, which your team may be eligible to receive, and interrogate equipment and antennas used by all entrants, personal UBNs and soapboxes uploaded by entrants.  In this RSGB Centenary year, all groups can note their score, which has been calculated by the CC, and automatically entered for a Centenary Award. Those qualifying can also click and download their Centenary Award certificate.

RULES. This year, a new Section for Portables was introduced: MS, standing for Multi-band, Single Station. This can be viewed as a “QSO-serial” regime, rather than a “QSO-parallel”, which applies to the other Portable sections. The intention was to encourage participation by small groups or individuals, with limited equipment or people resources – which they might otherwise consider to be uncompetitive. The CC believes this venture has been successful and hopes that more people will enter this section (and others) in 2014. Otherwise, the Rules are unchanged. The CC did however decide to introduce an “Overall” ranking for Sweepers, in addition to the traditional band-by-band scores. Recognising that Sweepers may have entered a mix of bands/sections, each such score has been normalised to 1000 points and the “Overall” determined by summing the appropriate components.

INSPECTIONS. Several site inspections were made during and preceding the contest. Nothing untoward was found.

PORTABLE NUMBERS

Registrations: 247 stations registered - up from the 228 doing so in 2012. The 2012 turnout, of course, was depressed because of the foul weather, so popularity of the event is indicated better by actual entries received.

Entries: Overall station entries numbered 237 (167 in 2012), [202 in 2011].

Band Distribution: 50 MHz: 57 (40) [49], 70 MHz: 41 (31) [38], 144 MHz: 68 (45) [58], 432 MHz: 52 (37) [40], 1296 MHz: 19 (14) [17].

Numbers of Groups entering- by section: Total 80 (54) [69]. Open: 14 (16) [19], Restricted: 28 (20) [25],  Low Power: 12 (10) [13], Mix & Match: 14 (8) [12], Multi-Single: 12.

FIXED SWEEPER OPEN NUMBERS

Entries: 34 logs were submitted for FSO (23) [24]. This is a 48% increase on 2012 numbers.

Band Distribution: 50 MHz: 9 (6), 70 MHz: 8 (6), 144 MHz: 8 (6), 432 MHz: 5 (3),  

1296 MHz: 4 (2).

FIXED SWEEPER RESTRICTED NUMBERS

Entries: 127 logs were submitted for FSR (85) [86]. This is a 49% increase on 2012 numbers.

Band Distribution: 50 MHz: 33 (15),  70 MHz: 16 (8), 144 MHz: 40 (33), 432 MHz: 30 (22), 1296 MHz: 8 (7).

LOGGING.

The Adjudicators report that logging was up to its usual VHFNFD standard ie lower than that of other VHF contests – possibly down to inexperienced operators. If so, they surely deserve experienced mentors. Most errors were due to mislogged callsign letters or numbers and incorrect or implausible locators which would have put the station in a location unmatched by the callsign. A few examples here:  A PA1 was placed in IO22 – which is a very wet square – obviously JO22. SV9YA was claimed and correctly placed in KN20, but Crete is not in this square. There was also a claim for OB9FX (Peru), but the locator was JN37 so was a mislog for HB9FX. That would have been worth several hundred points on 144 MHz but, sadly, bin-destined too. Another gem was G1000RSGB. I do not expect to be around to celebrate that anniversary. The ultimate, in my opinion, was the station who lost most of their points by logging “59” for every QSO - irrespective of the report actually sent or received.

PORTABLE RESULTS

Open Section: 

The winner this year is Pembrokeshire CG, with 3930 normalised points. This is only 70 short of the 4000 maximum attainable and is a splendid achievement. They rise from 2nd position last year and nudge Windmill CG, with 2857 points and last year's winner, down into 2nd place. In 3rd place is Colchester RA with 2775 points - escaping last year's doldrums, The highest placed Scottish group is again Cockenzie and Port Seton ARC, with 2073 points. They retain the Tartan Trophy for yet another year.  

The CC believes that this is the first time in over 40 years that the winner has been located in Wales. 3930 is also the highest score ever achieved by a station located in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands - which hereafter I will term “UK”, for convenience. This just beats Colchester's 3929 in 2010 ! Congratulations.

The singleton overseas entrant, Wexford VHF Group, appears at the head of the normalised score-ranked Overall Open section table in # position, with 6357 points (5911 last year). Readers are reminded that all band-scores are normalised against the highest-scoring UK station. Wexford's normalised scores on all five bands are each greater than 1000. This constitutes a further record for VHFNFD and they receive our congratulations.  

Restricted section. This year's winner is Warrington CG with 3051 normalised points, moving from their long-term favoured section of Low Power, and seizing the Martlesham trophy from South Birmingham RS - who are further down the table this year. Retaining 2nd place is Lothians RS, with 3040 points. They also get to keep the Cockenzie Quaich for another year, as highest-placed Scottish group. In 3rd place lies Travelling Wave CG with 3029 points.

Low Power section. In 1st place is Lagan Valley ARS with 3000 normalised points (1000 on all three bands), bobbing back up from 2nd last year and regaining their 2011 leading position. They get the Arthur Watts Trophy back too. In 2nd position lies Mid-Sussex ARS with 1678 points. In 3rd place and highest placed Scottish group, with 1604 points, lies Loch Fyne Kippers, who receive the Scottish Trophy.

Mix and Match section. In 1st place lies Telford & DARS with 3205 normalised points, receiving the G5BY Trophy and toppling last year's winner Rochdale & DARS into 2nd place with 2188 points. Telford could not make an appearance last year, but have made a storming return. In 3rd place is Shefford & DARS with 1923 points.

Multi-band, Single-station section. In this brand-new section, with no Trophies to award yet, all 12 entrants are warmly welcomed. In first place lies Cambridge & DARC with 3000 normalised points (1000 on all 3 bands). In 2nd place is Northampton RC with 2594 points and in 3rd place is Workington & DARC with 2460 points.

FIXED SWEEPERS RESULTS

Certificates are awarded for top and runner-up best overall normalised score and, for each section: Band Leader and, if appropriate, Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for contacting 90%, 75% and 50%, respectively of Registered VHF NFD (Portable) stations. To facilitate this, a list of stations which had registered by the closing date was published on the RSGB CC website in advance of the Contest.

Overall:

Overall Leader: G4NBS with 2719 points with entries on 144 MHz, 432 MHz and 1296 MHz.

Overall Runner-up: G8MCA with 2427 points, with entries on 50 MHz, 70 MHz, 144 MHz and 432 MHz.

Band Awards:

50 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Bronze Award: GM8IEM

FSO Bronze Award: G4AFJ, GB4RS, G3TCT, G0LGS.

50 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Bronze Award: G1ZJP

FSR Bronze Award: G0GQT, G4RYV, GW4ZAR, G8MCA, M5MUF, G3WKL.

70 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Silver Award: G3NPI

FSO Silver Award: G3TCT

FSO Bronze Award: GW8ASD, G4KCT, G4AFJ.

70 MHz: FSR Band Leader and Bronze Award: G4HGI

FSR Bronze Award: M5MUF, G3TDH, M0WAF, G4RYV, G8MCA, G8LZE, G8ONK.

144 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Bronze Award: G4AFJ

FSO Bronze Award: G8MCA

144 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Bronze Award: G0BBB

FSR Silver Award: G4NBS

FSR Bronze award: M0WAF, G4GQT, G8HGN, G1ZJP, G4HGI, G4APJ, M5MUF, M0XBF, G4XPE, G8XTJ, G4RYV.

432 MHz: FSO Band Leader: G3XDY

432 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Silver Award: G4NBS

FSR Bronze Award: G1ZJP, G0GQT, G8HGN, G8MCA, G4APJ.

1296 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Bronze Award: G3XDY

FSO Bronze Award: G4KCT, G3TCT, G4BRK

1296 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Silver Award: G4NBS

FSR Bronze Award: G8EOP.

There were no Gold Awards this year. 2011 saw the first and only such award, which went then to G3MEH.      

CHECK LOGS. These were gratefully received from: G3ZMF, G0KZT, G8CMU, M0NQN, G100RSGB, G3WKZ/P, DF0MU, G7BRC, M0HVD/P, MD0HHH/P, OK1RCG, SF7WT, G3XBM/P, G0BWC/P.

BAND REPORTS

The following, band by band, show the numbers of stations which appear at least once in any entrants log. Note the following conventions: G means all prefixes allocated to England ie G, M, 2E. GM means all Scottish prefixes ie GM, MM, 2M and similarly for the rest of the UK. DL means all German prefixes eg DL, DK, DM, DO etc. PA means all prefixes allocated to the Netherlands eg PA, PD, PE and so on. The UK numbers do not include Portable and Sweeper entrants, but only those they worked ie non-entrants and check loggers.

50 MHz.

Activity and Conditions: 554 individual callsigns were worked (372 in 2012) [648 in 2011]. These comprised: 9A: 1, DL: 3, EA: 1, EI: 14, ES: 2, F: 25, G: 397, GD: 2, GI: 7, GJ: 1, GM: 28: GU: 4, GW: 27, LA: 4, OH: 1, ON: 11, OZ: 4, PA: 19, SM: 2. The footprint was confined to the UK and RoI, plus North Sea and Baltic coastal, the Channel and Atlantic coasts of France and French Pyrenees, plus 9A5Y in Slovenia. Several stations reported Auroral conditions at times. There was no Es reported. Overall, conditions reported by entrants varied from “pretty flat” to “good tropo”.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 267,  was worked by Wexford VHFG EI9E/P (IO62) in Open Section. The greatest number of QSOs worked by a UK station went to Pembrokeshire CG in Open section with 249.

Band Leaders: Open #: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open 1st: GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71); Restricted: GM3HAM/P Lothians RS (IO74); Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74); MS: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02); FSO: GM8IEM (IO78); FSR: G1ZJP (IO92).

ODX achievements: Open GM3TKV/P Moray Firth ARS (IO87) 1679 km in QSO with ES5QD (KO38) between Tartu and Tallinn); Restricted: G3RCV/P Cray Valley RS (JO01) 1371 km in QSO with SM5EDX (JO89) Vasteras, NE of Stockholm; Low Power: GM3TAL/P Loch Fyne Kippers (IO75) 1351 km in QSO with SM5EDX (JO89); MS: G4VFL/P Workington & DARC (IO84) 640 km in QSO with F6HRP (IN88) between Lannion and St Brieuc, Brittany; FSO: GM8IEM (IO78) 1017 km in QSO with PA6TT (JO21) nr Eindhoven;  FSR: G0GQT (JO01) 547 km in QSO with GI4GTY/P (IO74).

SOAPBOX:  G0OLE/P Goole R&ES (IO93) found this a gentlemanly band and they were pleased to be able to give a WAB square to those stations who work this band all year long. G0ROC/P Rochdale & DARS (IO83) suffered a set-back early Saturday morning when one of their operators, G3RIK, suffered a broken shoulder and hospitalization. We wish Dave a speedy recovery.  Sweeper G1ZJP (IO92) was late on parade, through finishing his 432 MHz antenna. He then found the rotator jammed pointing south due to a snagged cable on his tower. He reckons he missed the best conditions while fixing things. Nevertheless he did come 1st in FSO! G2LO/P South Birmingham RS (IO92) lamented the absence of Es, but worked 5 GM via Aurora [presumably beaming North]. G3NFC/P Burton on Trent ARC (IO93) reported great fun had by all and the auroral contacts were appreciated. They broke for a wine and steak dinner, but it was a worthy sacrifice. G3VLG/P Hinckley AR&ES (IO92) struggled with a 3m mast but were more than happy with the result of their efforts and really enjoyed the event. Sweeper G3WKL (IO92) expressed enjoyment in his first VHFNFD participation in 45 years. Sweeper M5MUF (IO92) found only UK stations to work and heard only one F. The station was a bit of a lash-up but performed reasonably well. This was his first attempt as a Sweeper and he enjoyed the format which offered something to aim at, rather than “just giving points away”. G3PYE/P Camb-Hams (JO02) tried Restricted this year (from Open) for a change and found it a little frustrating at times, but much more relaxed. EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) found good tropo conditions and great UK activity, which made up for the lack of Sporadic E. They worked 46 squares, of which 27 were in UK.

70 MHz. 

Activity & Conditions: 196 individual callsigns were worked (161) [198]. These comprised: EI: 2, G: 133, GI: 8, GJ: 2, GM: 10, GU: 1, GW: 17, ON: 5, OZ: 2, PA: 15, SV: 1.  The footprint was confined the UK and RoI plus North Sea coastal and occasional glimpses of Denmark. The big surprise exception was SW8YA. This station was worked by a few entrants. Es, with a 99% probability, and a new slant on what we mean by “sporadic”.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 130,  was worked by Wexford VHFG EI9E/P (IO62) in Open Section. The greatest number of QSOs worked by a UK station went to Pembrokeshire CG in Open section with 123.

Band Leaders: Open #: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open 1st: GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG (IO86); Restricted: GM3HAM/P Lothians RS (IO74); Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74); MS: G4VFL/P (IO84); FSO: G3NPI (IO92); FSR: G4HGI (IO83).

ODX achievements: Open: G0VHF Colchester RA (JO01) 2160 km in QSO with SW8YA (KN20) Thasos Island, Thracian Macedonia, Greece; Restricted: G3RCV/P Cray Valley RS (JO01) 2199 km in QSO with SW8YA (KN20). NOTE: This is the Best DX worked by ANY station, on ANY band, in ANY section in this VHFNFD. Low Power: GM3SHK/P Loch Fyne Kippers (IO75) 667 km in QSO with G0FBB/P (JO01); MS: GI4FUE Greenisland EARS (IO74) 605 km in QSO with G0FBB/P (JO01); FSO: G3TCT (IO81) 649 km in QSO with GM4ZUK/P (IO86);  FSR: G8LZE (IO91) 609 km in QSO with GM4ZUK/P (IO86).

SOAPBOX: G0ROC/P Rochdale & DARS (RRR) suffered transverter failure and could only manage a 2 hour operation. This was attributed to the high ambient temperature! G3VLG/P Hinckley AR & ES (IO92) struggled a bit with a deaf, unmodified FT847, but found good activity. This event provided a first opportunity for some operators to work on 4m and to make some firsts on the band. G8WY/P Bolton Wireless Club (IO83) reported a terrific pile-up for the first 40 minutes, but a very quiet band in the last 2 hours.  Sweeper M5MUF (IO92) worked a surprising number of GMs and thanked MM0CPS/P and G3JKY/P for slowing down their CQ sending, not to mention G4FRS/P lurking under a massive receiver birdie. MM0CPS/P Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC (IO84) found the band very poor this year, definitely hard work, and activity seemed, to them, down on previous years. GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71) found very different conditions. The Angus beacon was very loud. Conditions were generally very good and the absence of local noise sources helped reception. However, no PAs or ONs were heard.  

144 MHz.  

Activity& Conditions: 2117 individual callsigns were worked (1105) [1472]. These comprised:  DL: 490, EA: 33, EI: 19, F: 315, G: 758, GD: 4, GI: 11, GJ: 6, GM: 51, GU: 4, GW: 66, HB: 17, LA: 4, LX: 1, OE: 7, OK: 69, OM: 6, ON: 77, OZ: 23, PA: 128, S5: 1, SM: 12, SP: 15. The footprint covered all of UK, RoI, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, western Poland, southern Norway and Sweden, lands to the north west of the Alps, but not beyond, plus the north coast of Spain and over the Cantabrian Mountains and Pyrenees.  A major north-south tropo enhancement was in place on the Saturday, in the form of an ellipse centred on the English Channel, with major axis running from the  Scottish Borders to Spain. Late Saturday and into Sunday saw the centre of the ellipse move eastwards towards the  Dover Straits and the major axis then ran east-west from Poland to Cornwall.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 652,  was worked by Pembrokeshire CG (IO71).

Band Leaders: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open UK 1st: GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71); Restricted: MW0TWC/P Travelling Wave CG (IO82); Low Power: GI4GTY Lagan Valley ARS (IO74); Multi-Single: GI4FUM/P Greenisland EARS (IO74); FSO: G4AFJ (IO92), FSR: G0BBB (IO91).

ODX achievements: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) 1547 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70) Sudetes Mountains between Prague and Katowice; Best Open UK: MM0CPS/P Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC (IO84) 1454 km in QSO with EA1AAE (IN81) between Soria and Vallodolid; Restricted: G5XV/P Newbury & DARS 1450 km in QSO with SP9PZD (JO90), N of Katowice; Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74) 1342 km in QSO with F1EIT (JN03) between Toulouse and Carcassonne; Multi-Single: GI4FUM/P Greenisland EARS 1359 km in QSO with F6FZS/P (IN93) Pyrenees, between Pau and Pamplona; FSO: GM4JR (IO85) 1321 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93) Pyrenees SE of Bayonne; FSR: G4APJ (IO83) 1267 km in QSO with EA1IDU/P (IN82) between Burgos and Soria.

SOAPBOX: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) did a quick check with the mast luffed over and found beacon GB3VHF at S9!  They found conditions to the south to be great throughout, more variable to the east  - but still exceptional. They netted 98 squares and 94 QSOs in excess of 1000 km. G0KDV/P Darenth Valley RS (JO01) were pleased to work EA for the first time on this band. G1MWS/P Macclesfield & DARS (IO93) enjoyed outdoor operation in the sun  for a change, finding it a fine social opportunity for the club. Sweeper G1ZJP (IO92) found the whole experience disappointing and the present format for Sweepers to be purgatory. He complains that so much time was spent tuning, that an entry as SWL would have been more appropriate. [Despite that section being discontinued some years ago] G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO93) found the band open to everywhere and while they worked some great DX believe they were outside the main ducts. They found lots of F and EA activity and long haul into SP, OK,DL. However, a 19 hour stint was the longest the single operator could manage. G3RCV/P Cray Valley RC (JO01) reported lots of help from M3s and M6s. They hope to have even more M6s in 2014.   GM3TKV/P Moray Firth ARS (IO87) found Aurora early on, but mediocre tropo. They [correctly] observe that the  good conditions in the south did not stretch to NE Scotland.  They complain of the failure of stations to beam north. Coupled with a shortage of supporting operators, this makes a reappearance of this station unlikely. Sweeper GM4JR (IO85) makes an interesting observation that some very loud stations could not be contacted; noting more than 70, including some GMs, which could be heard but not worked [with 400W to 2 stacked 12 ele yagis].   

432 MHz.

Activity & Conditions: 598 individual callsigns were worked (328) [402]. These comprised: DL: 126, EA: 17, EI: 15, F: 97, G: 226, GD: 3, GI: 3, GJ: 3, GM: 11, GU:1, GW: 20, HB: 5, LA: 4, OE: 1, OK: 7, ON: 19, OZ: 7, PA: 34, SM: 2, SP: 1. The footprint covered all of UK, RoI, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, the western half of France, plus the Vosges mountains in the east, the north coast of Spain and over the Pyrenees, the southern tips of Norway and Sweden. Switzerland and the Czech Republic popped up intermittently. The major tropo enhancement described in the 144 MHz slot was responsible for the lift in propagation. The footprint was more limited, but the activity was no doubt influenced by a smaller population of stations ie less than a third of that on 144 MHz – put another way: there was coverage but no-one was there with the kit.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 286,  was worked by Wexford VHFG EI9E/P (IO62) in Open Section. The greatest number of QSOs worked by a UK station went to Colchester RA (JO01) in Open section with 226.

Band Leaders: Open #: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open 1st: GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71); Restricted: G6IPU/P Bittern DXG (JO02); Low Power: G5RV/P Mid-Sussex ARS (IO90); Multi-Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02); FSO: G3XDY (JO02); FSR: G4NBS (JO02).

ODX achievements: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) 1547 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70) Sudetes Mountains, between Prague and Wroclaw; Open Best UK: G4BRA/P Bracknell ARC & Flight Refuelling ARS (IO80) 1335 km in QSO with OL7M (JO80) Sudetes Mountains, between Prague and Katowice; Restricted: M0MCG/P Moors CG (IO80) 1369 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70); Low Power: G3ZME/P Telford & DARS (IO82) 1283 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70); Multi-Single: G8LED/P Northampton RC (IO92) 1157 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70), FSO: G3XDY (JO02) 1152 km in QSO with EA2AGZ (IN91) Pyrenees NE of Zaragoza; FSR: G4APJ (IO83) 1156 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93) Pyrenees SE of Bayonne.

SOAPBOX: GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71) were delighted that the excellent weather and conditions were so coordinated to bring a super event to celebrate the RSGB Centenary. They noted an opening to south-west F and EA throughout the contest and into DL/OZ/LA on the Saturday evening. They netted 31 QSOs over 900 km and expressed a hope that it would not take another 100 years for the same conjunction.  M0MCG/P Moors CG (IO80) commented that this was a memorable contest, citing EA, OZ, LA & SP as some of their better DX. Coming 3rd in Restricted is pretty memorable too. M0JBA/P Fortress DX ARC (IO93) was pleased with PA and OZ as contacts in their first VHFNFD and promised to do more. Multi-Single entrant M0HCY/P Blackwater ARCG found the contest to be most rewarding – despite QRN from local farm machinery. MM0CPS/P Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC (IO84) found going a struggle (as usual from Scotland), but was further hampered by a sticking relay on their antenna pre-amp – the latter finally ceasing to function. In many past years this station has appeared early in my log from NE Surrey, but failed to respond to many calls this year. Now I know why.  G0OLE/P Goole RE&S (IO93) reported not many Sweepers responding to their calls. Nevertheless, they found conditions remarkable and a good way to celebrate the 60th birthday of Chairman Ken G6YYN. G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC ((IO81) confess to mistakenly trusting someone else to provide the rig and amplifier. Result: a blown pre-amp and a vow not to do it again. G0FBB/P Windmill CG and G3SRC/P NE Surrey CG both believe they would have been better placed in the results table, had conditions not been as good! G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO93) found conditions good, but believe they were outside of the main ducts. They too suffered a blown pre-amp and feeder trouble, which curtailed operations. Sweepers G0VOF, (IO83), G4DDL (IO91) and G4BRK (IO91) all pressed their 2m yagis into service, but found results surprisingly rewarding. Sweeper G4NBS (JO02) bemoaned a perceived lack of CQs by Portables and their refusal to accept requests via cosited stations operating on other bands. Just as well, since that is akin to a Sweeper CQ and could have resulted in disqualification. GM3TKV/P Moray Firth ARS (IO87) found conditions very poor and enhanced tropo absent. They believe that their lack of contacts was down to stations refusing to beam north. They cite 25 stations audible in eastern England but only 3 worked and conclude that there is no point entering VHFNFD from NE Scotland. It is not their expectation to participate again. Sweeper GM4JR (IO85) found going hard and reaches the same conclusion re: stations failing to beam north.  To end on a brighter note and quoted verbatim from G8TA/P Wolverhampton RS: “Mostly drunk and full of bacon. Great Weekend. Beer to QSO rate just right”. A gem.  

23cm

Activity and Conditions: 224 individual stations were worked. These comprised: DL: 54, EA: 7, F: 41, G: 70, GI: 1, GJ: 1, GM: 3, GU:1, GW: 5, HB: 1, LA: 1,OK: 3, ON: 8, OZ: 3, PA: 24, SM: 4. The footprint suggests some correlation with the tropo enhancement on 144 and 432 MHz, but limited by topography (ie the station needs to be on or in front of high ground) and/or demography (ie whether there were stations actually present in the area). Coverage was restricted to the UK and a coastal band about 100 km deep running from the western Baltic right round to Cape Finisterre in NW Spain. Additionally, there were three “fingers” running from the mouth of the Rhine, south through Charleroi in Belgium, south-east to Cologne and on to The Jura mountains with a single HB, and west through Hannover and on to the Harz mountains of Germany and the Sudetes in the Czech Republic.    

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 118,  was worked by Wexford VHFG EI9E/P (IO62) in Open Section. The greatest number of QSOs worked by a UK station went to Colchester RA (JO01) in Open section with 104.

Band Leaders: Open: Open #: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open 1st: G0VHF/P Colchester RA (JO01); Restricted: G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO93); Low Power: G3ZME/P Telford & DARS (IO82); Multi-Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02); FSO: G3XDY (JO02); FSR: G4NBS (JO02).

ODX achievements: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) 1230 km in QSO with DL0GTH (JO50) Schneekopf (Snow head) mountain, between Frankfurt & Leipzig. Open Best UK: M0NFD Northern Fells CG (IO94) 1238 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93) 25 km SE of Bayonne in Pyrenees; Restricted: G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC  (IO81) 1271 km in QSO with OL4K (JO70) Sudetes mountains; Low Power: G3ZME/P Telford & DARS (IO82) 1040 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93); Multi-Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02) 993 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93); FSO: G4KCT (IO93) 1214 km in QSO with EA2DR/1 Cantabrian mountains, S of Santander; FSR: G3EOP (IO93) 1159 km in QSO with TM7G (IN93).

SOAPBOX: G2AS/P Sheffield ARC (IO93) report better conditions to Europe than last year and pleasure with an ODX of 899 km into eastern Germany - given 20 W and a 35 ele yagi. A QSO with TM7G at over 1100 km was a one-way, unfortunately. They suffered overpowering wideband noise for much of the weekend, which meant that only signals over S6 could be copied. A chat with locals revealed that two had noted the same problem for 7 months, but this was after the mast had been luffed and the feeder changed in a search for the culprit. The two locals attributed it to PLT on the National Grid. Hopefully an expert will be able to help here, otherwise 23cm is off the menu from that site. G2XV/P     Cambridge & DARC (JO02) found activity low on Saturday night/Sunday which was their chosen Multi-Single operating period. G3OHM/P South Birmingham RS (IO92) enjoyed some good QSOs, despite an antenna fault and problems with the KST connection. Sweeper G4NBS (JO02) lamented that a KST connection was not available so reducing DX workability. Unfortunately, a QSO with EA was incomplete and would have been a 1st. He managed FSR 1st , nevertheless. Sweeper G3TCT (IO81) was pleased by contacts with southern France plus the Netherlands and Germany, but a disappointingly low QSO count overall. He (wrongly) assumed that the use of KST is not allowed in VHFNFD. It is indeed permitted. Self-spotting is what is not.  Sweeper G4BRK (IO91) found excellent tropo, working TM7G also on 13cm - where that station was stronger! He thought it a pity that the higher bands are not included in VHFNFD. M0NFD/P Northern Fells  CG (IO94) tried hard, but found conditions not too good.  At least nothing broke this year. G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC (IO81) described conditions as brilliant – although better on the Saturday morning, before the contest started!  G4RFR/P Bracknell ARC & Flight Refuelling ARC (IO80) found fantastic DX to EA and southern F on the Saturday.

SIGN OFF

Since we started with quote from Tale of Two Cities, we can close with one: Sidney Carton said: "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." After the contest, I went to bed at 1900 and slept for 14 hours.

Congratulations to all recipients of Trophies and Certificates. Thanks to all participants. Weather and conditions for most, together with numbers of entrants, made for a splendid Centenary VHFNFD. Finally: any reader, yet to take part in VHFNFD, is encouraged to find a local group or go out as a singleton portable. If you do not know of a local group, the CC can put you in touch. Also, get some experience by taking part in the monthly Activity Contests.

73 from Adjudicators: Ian G0FCT, Steve G8GSQ, Roger G4BVY, Bob G0KYS, Richard G4WFR and Commentator John G8IYS.