VHF NFD 5 – 6 July 2014

Mediocre is a depressing word, but this year it most probably embraced the weather, operating conditions and activity levels. Some might see that as over-generous. Many found 6m a great disappointment – a period of enhanced propagation disappearing just hours before the start – but there were one or two moderate surprises to be found. 4m was flat and 2m little better. A few early morning lifts visited 70cm and 23cm. On 4m and above, operators pondered the reasons for the apparently low UK portable numbers and puzzled what had happened to the usual European participants. Even PA6NL was conspicuous by absence, since in many past years this station has appeared in almost every entrant's log.

2014 will not be recorded as the most rewarding of VHF NFDs, but at least there were no reports of heat-strokes, nor floods this time.

The adjudicators welcome you again to the interactive style of results tabling. Just click on the relevant icons to download any certificates which your team may be eligible to receive and to see their UBNs. These two items are accessible only to the person who uploaded the entry logs for their team. Also, but available to all, are verbatim soapbox comments plus details of equipment and antennas employed by each station.

RULES. The Rules remained unchanged from those of 2013 and saw the second year of the Multi-band, Single Station (MS) section for Portables.

INSPECTIONS/COMPLAINTS. Several site inspections were made during and preceding the contest. Nothing untoward was found. However, Inspectors were disappointed to find a “no-show” at several registered sites. One such Inspector gave up a whole day, drove 75 miles and walked a mile up a steep track, only to find absolutely no sign of the registered group of four stations. See more on this in later paragraphs.

There were a few complaints of interference and wide signals. Some were appropriately logged by both stations, corrective action taken and subsequently cleared. However, two stations in proximity with each other, made particularly rancorous comments to the CC after the event. These were unaccompanied by log entries, contemporaneous exchanges, or any action which might have led to alleviation or correction.

Several contest stations were spotted via the DX cluster / reverse beacon network who were calling in the segment of 6m reserved for Intercontinental working. Whilst not a transgression in itself, issues might have arisen had this been on or close to 50.110 MHz and particularly if stations in Europe (same continent) had responded. The CC is considering whether further guidance should be given.

PORTABLE NUMBERS

Registrations: 221 stations registered – down 26 from the 247 doing so in 2013 [228 in 2012 and that was a foul weather year!].

Entries: Overall station entries numbered 181 – down 48 from the 229 in 2013, [167 in 2012].  

Thus, there were 40 fewer portable stations on-air this year than had registered. It is noticed from Soapbox posting that at least three Clubs/Groups suffered catastrophic equipment and/or operator problems and were unable to field as many stations as they hoped at the time of registration. However, these are exceptions. The majority of no-shows comprised the entirety of the would-be entry from 11 clubs/groups, many of whom had only registered about a week earlier. Apart from the significant effect on activity, there are several spin-offs. Not one group used the CC Chairman's mobile telephone number, as detailed in the Rules, to text (preferred), speak, or leave a message advising of their inability or disinclination to take part. Nor, indeed, did any make contact with the CC before, during, or at any time after, the contest. At least one registered contact number was 'not available' when the inspector was attempting to contact them. Thus, scarce volunteer CC resources were deployed to undertake pointless inspection journeys. Also, Sweepers had no advance idea of the identities and numbers of stations not to search for. Last - moment inability to field a station is wholly understandable, but this 'not-bothered' behaviour is unprecedented and extremely disappointing. It is hoped that the 2015 event will show a significant improvement in this regard. At the time of writing, the CC has still to consider whether any form of forward penalty should be levied.

Numbers of Stations entering – by Band: 50 MHz: 46 (49 in 2013) [40 in 2012], 70 MHz: 35 (41) [31], 144 MHz: 46 (68) [45], 432 MHz: 40 (52), [37], 1296 MHz: 21 (19) [14].

Numbers of Groups entering- by section: Total 62 (80) [54]. Open: 17 (14) [16], Restricted: 18 (28) [20], Low Power: 10 (12) [10], Mix & Match: 10 (14) [12], Multi-Single: 7 (12) [-].

FIXED SWEEPER OPEN NUMBERS

Entries: 24 logs were submitted for FSO (34) [23]. This is a reduction of 29% from 2013 numbers.

Band Distribution: 50 MHz: 4 (9) [6], 70 MHz: 6 (8) [6], 144 MHz: 6 (8) [6], 432 MHz: 4 (5) [3], 1296 MHz: 4 (4) [2].

FIXED SWEEPER RESTRICTED NUMBERS

Entries: 60 logs were submitted for FSR (127) [85]. This is a crash of 53% from 2013 numbers.

Band Distribution: 50 MHz: 9 (33) [15], 70 MHz: 8 (16) [8], 144 MHz: 18 (40) [33], 432 MHz: 16 (30) [22], 1296 MHz: 9 (8) [7].

LOGGING.

The adjudicators report that the standard of logging was about usual for VHFNFD ie below that of all other CC - organised contests. Most errors were due to mis-logged callsigns, serial numbers and incorrect locators or those which were implausible since they would have put the station in a location unmatched to the prefix. Inexperienced operators may form just part of the problem. Errors can arise from transcription errors (log taken in manuscript and typed up later, possibly not by the logger), Rs become Bs, Zeros become Os and so on. Keyboard errors occur, where keys adjacent to the intended are pressed, but no-one appears to have undertaken proof - reading. Sometimes, a prefix is implausible for the band in use eg: 144 MHz, T29CTI logged. Tuvalu might be right for 50 MHz on a good day, but the station was actually TM29CTI in JN18 (logged correctly). There were the usual wet squares and IO/JO transpositions. IO00 and JO99 are favourites.

A further negative influence is using a loudspeaker, rather than a headset, with other 'voices' intruding in shared station accommodation. So too, can fumbling with a hand-microphone while trying to write/type. There were also a few stations consistently sending their locator or serial numbers which did not match that which they recorded in their own log. Stations have not been penalised for recording what was actually sent. There were also cases of “Not - In - Log” where, seemingly, one or both stations had not confirmed with whom they were in contact.

 

PORTABLE RESULTS

Open Section: Wexford VHF Group appears at the head of the overall, numerically listed, Open section table, in position #, with a normalised score of 4213 points (6357 last year). Readers are reminded that only UK-based entrants are eligible for Awards and all band-scores are normalised against the highest scoring UK-located station. Readers are also reminded that over the last decade, Wexford VHFG has been the only regular non - UK entrant and is eligible to enter since all of their operators are members of RSGB. When numbers justify, a separate table may be generated for non - UK entrants. As a consequence of the normalisation process, Wexford VHFG's scores on 50 MHz and 70 MHz are each greater than 1000.

In 1st place is Blacksheep CG with an overall score of 3640 points, who take over the Surrey Trophy from last year's winner Pembrokeshire CG, who are placed 4th this year. In Runner-up place is Colchester and A1 CG (a subtle change in title from many previous years) with 3344 points. In 3rd place is Reigate ATS & Crawley ARC with 3217 points. The highest placed Scottish station is Cockenzie & Port Seton ARC, who retain the Tartan Trophy yet again.

Restricted section. This year's winner is again Warrington CG with 3271 points, who retain the Martlesham Trophy. It was a close run finish with South Birmingham RS, who is in 2nd place with 3209 points. In 3rd place is Middlesex DXG, with 3107 points. Dropping a little down the table this year is Lothians RS, with 2727 points, but they get to keep the Cockenzie Quaich for another year as highest-placed Scottish group.  

Low Power section. In 1st place again is Lagan Valley ARS with 3000 points (1000 on all three bands), well ahead of the field, and who retain the Arthur Watts Trophy. In 2nd position is Bolton Wireless Club with 1577 points. Loch Fyne Kippers are placed 3rd, with 1420 points and, as highest placed Scottish station, retain the Scottish Trophy for another year.

Mix and Match section. In 1st place again is Telford & DARS with 2963 points, who retain the G5BY Trophy. Rochdale & DARS remains in 2nd place with 2176 points. In 3rd place is Northampton RC with 1687 points.

Multi-band, Single-station section. In the second run of this section, still, sadly, with no Trophies yet to award, 1st place goes again to Cambridge & DARC with 2568 points (1000 on 432 MHz and 1296 MHz). After a very close run for the top of this section, 2nd place goes to Milton Keynes ARS with 2553 points. In 3rd place is Workington & DARC with 2320 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 and Active 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. The adjudicators have taken account that a significant number of registered stations did not subsequently become “active”.

Overall:

Overall Leader: G3XDY with 3000 points, a three - band entry with scores of 1000 points on each of 70 MHz, 432 MHz and 1296 MHz.

Overall Runner-up: GW8ASD with 2912 points, a five-band entry with a score of 1000 points on 70 MHz.

Band Awards:

50 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Silver Award: G4ELJ

50 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Bronze Award: G0BBB

FSR Bronze Award: GW8ASD, M5MUF

70 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Silver Award: G3XDY

FSO Gold Award: G3NPI

FSO Silver Award: GW4RWR, G8CUL

70 MHz: FSR Band Leader and Gold Award: GW8ASD

FSR Silver Award: M5MUF

FSR Bronze Award: G3SPJ, G4RYV

144 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Bronze Award: G0BBB

FSO Bronze Award: GM6JNJ, G6DOF, GM4JR

144 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Silver Award: G0GQT

FSR Bronze award: GW8ASD, G4APJ, M5MUF, GW3ATZ, G4CTU

432 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Bronze Award: G3XDY

432 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Bronze Award: G4KCT

FSR Bronze Award: G0GQT, G4APJ, GW8ASD, G3UBX

1296 MHz: FSO Band Leader & Silver Award: G3XDY

FSO Silver Award: G4KCT

FSO Bronze Award G4BAO

1296 MHz: FSR Band Leader & Bronze Award: M5MUF

FSR Bronze Award: G8EOP.

The running total of Gold Awards in now 3. Congratulations to G3NPI and GW8ASD for their achievements this year. They join G3MEH who received this Award in 2011.

CHECK LOGS.

These were gratefully received from: G8SEQ (2), G8ZRE (2), M0WTD/P (2), G8CMU (2), 2E0NNX (2), M0UKD (2), M0YGM, G4YHF, G4WLC/P (2), G4BEE (2), G3YTU, G0VFW (3), G1ONE, G6GVI. Numbers in brackets indicate number of bands for which check-logs were submitted, where greater than 1.  

BAND REPORTS

The following, band by band, shows 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 DK, DL, DM, DN, 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: 421 individual callsigns were worked (554 in 2013) [372 in 2012]. These comprised: 9A: 1, D4: 1, DL: 6, EA: 1, EI: 15, F: 13, G: 267: GD: 4, GI: 5, GJ: 1, GM: 29, GU: 1, GW: 20, I: 4, KP4: 1, LZ: 1, OE: 1, ON: 13, PA: 18, S5: 2, SV: 15, Z3: 1.

Radiating from the geographical centre of the British Isles, the footprint embraced 6 rings of contacts: local - out to 600 km, 1200 km, 1800 km, 2400 km (with 15 SV stations active), 4800 km (with D44 active) and 6500km (with just one contact in KP4). Maybe there were further hops but just no maritime mobiles there to give a QSO. Overall, most operators found conditions disappointing.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 154, was worked by Blacksheep CG M0BAA/P (JO01) in Open section.

Band Leaders: Open #: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62); Open 1st: M0BAA/P Blacksheep CG; Restricted: M0MDG/P Middlesex DXG (JO00); Low Power: Lagan Valley ARS (IO74); Multi - Single: GW4YNL/P The A Team CG (IO82); FSO: G4ELJ (IO91); FSR G0BBB (IO91).

ODX achievements: Open: GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG (IO71) 6480 km in QSO with KP4EIT (FK68) Ciales, Puerto Rico; Restricted: G5TO/P Sheffield & DWS (IO93) 4727 km in QSO with D44TS (HK74) Sao Felipe, Cape Verde islands; Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74) 710 km in QSO with ON8DM (JO01) between Poperinge and Ypres, Belgium. Multi-Single: GW4YNL/P The A Team CG (IO82) 1164 km in QSO with DK7YY (JO73) near Baltic coast border between Germany and Poland – south of Szczecin. FSO: G4ELJ (IO91) 2040 km in QSO with Z35T (KN11) Shtip, Macedonia. FSR: G8ATK (IO91) 2041 km in QSO with Z35T (KN11).

SOAPBOX:  G5TO/P Sheffield & DWS starts us off with the observation that Murphy had a hand in the fact that the Sporadic E – layer propagation (Es) disappeared by the start of the contest, but some compensation came with D44TS in HK74 to provide a 4000 points-plus bonus. G8WSM/P Weston - Super - Mare RS was happy enough with good weather, cider and pasties. GM3HAM/P Lothians RS believed that conditions were the worst ever. They also found that their signal became unreadable intermittently, until the cause was found to lie with the tea-urn which dropped the generator voltage each time the thermostat kicked-in! G4ATH/P Thornton Cleveleys ARS suffered a disastrous weekend, suffering problems with their generator, pump-up mast, 6m antenna, 4m transverter and a shortage of operators. The latter meant no 2m station either.  GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG suffered by lying in one of the few areas to suffer really appalling weather, with thundery downpours and static rain noise which forced station closure for hours. The only highlight was a QSO with EA.

70 MHz. 

Activity & Conditions: 147 individual callsigns were worked (196) [161]. These comprised: DL 2, EI: 6, G: 102, GD: 3, GI: 3, GJ: 1, GM: 8, GU: 3, GW 11, ON: 3, PA: 5. There was nothing to be found outside of the UK and RoI except just a few from nations bordering the North Sea. Radiating from the geographical centre of the British Isles, range was limited to 600 km. Popular opinion concludes that conditions were flat.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 97, 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 GW2OP/P (IO71) in Open section with 96.

 

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); Multi - Single: GW4YNL/P The A Team CG (IO82); FSO: G3XDY (JO02); FSR: GW8ASD (IO83).

ODX achievements: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) 705 km in QSO with ON7EQ (JO11) 12km south of Bruges, Belgium; Open ODX from UK station: GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG (IO86) 694 km in QSO with M0MDG/P (JO00). Restricted: M0MDG/P Middlesex DXG (JO00) in QSO) with GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG (IO86); Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74) 609 km in QSO with G5LK/P Reigate ATS & Crawley ARC (JO01); Multi-Single: GW4YNL/P The A Team CG (IO82) 493 km in QSO with GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG (IO86); FSO: G3XDY (JO02) 594 km in QSO with GM4ZUK/P Aberdeen VHFG (IO86); FSR: G3SPJ (JO01) 518 km in QSO with GI4GTY/P (IO74).

SOAPBOX: There were 31 Soapbox postings, but when those which only noted conditions flat  and activity low are eliminated, there is little to report which is remarkable. However, a few snippets were to be found: G0OLE/P Goole R&ES found it hard work this year, but wanted to express special thanks to stations who assisted in solving their audio problems and particularly the station who took time out later to say it was then fine.  They also suffered with a hired generator which only produced 209 volts and was so thirsty that the supply of fuel ran out. GW3ZTT/P Mid-Cheshire ARS lamented the need to shorten operations when their main generator failed on Saturday evening. Whilst all their other stations were off the air, 70 MHz was sustained by utilising the catering generator.

144 MHz.  

Activity& Conditions: 1219 individual callsigns were worked (2117) [1105] . These comprised: DL: 279, EA: 1, EI: 18, F: 154, G: 506, GD: 4, GI: 6, GJ: 2, GM: 52, GU:3 GW: 40, HB: 17, LX: 1, OE: 1, OK: 7, ON: 47, OZ: 4, PA: 76, SP: 1. The footprint covered an arc from NE to S. Radiating from the geographical centre of the British Isles, range was limited to about 1000 km and, unsurprisingly, the more distant contacts were made with stations lying on higher ground. Generally, conditions were pretty flat.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 591, was worked by G4ZAP/P Colchester & A1 CG (JO01).

Band Leaders: Open: M0BAA/P Blacksheep CG (JO01), Restricted: M0MDG/P Middlesex DXG (JO00); Low Power: GI4GTY Lagan Valley ARS (IO74); Multi - Single: G4VFL/P Workington & DARC (IO84); FSO: G0BBB (IO91); FSR: G0GQT (JO01).

ODX achievements: Open: M0BAA/P Blacksheep CG (JO01) 1026 km in QSO with SN7L (JO70) Sudetes Mountains in SW Poland; Restricted: G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO93) 924 km in QSO with HB9N (JN37) near Neuchatel in Jura Mountains of Switzerland; Low Power: GI4GTY/P Lagan Valley ARS (IO74) 725 km in QSO with F0GYG (JO10) between Bethune and Arras, Nord, France; Multi-Single: G4VFL/P Workington & DARC (IO84) 716 km in QSO with F1BJD/P (IN98) between Mayenne and Le Mans, Pays de la Loire, France; FSO: G0BBB (IO91) 812 km in QSO with OZ1ALS (JO44) Sonderborg, near Danish/German border; FSR: GW8ASD (IO83) 796 km in QSO with DN2VHF (JO41) between Bielefeld and Paderborn, NordRhein-Westfalia, Germany.

SOAPBOX: G0BWC/P Bolton Wireless Club thought conditions to be a bit above average but found going hard with what they describe as a modest station. Maybe their spirits were lifted by the glorious weather on Winter Hill. G2OA/P Southport & DARC also enjoyed good weather but found everything else down on 2013 . G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO83) echoed the latter sentiments and found going difficult to sustain with a singleton operator for 18 hours! They, along with GW3ZTT/P Mid Cheshire ARS and a few others, thought that the number of concurrent major sporting events had an influence. G3WM/P Maidstone YMCA ARS suffered from a host of problems: rain noise, HV power line noise, possible failure of the RF preamp and the loss of the PA. G8MKC/P Milton Keynes ARS, in their first venture in VHFNFD (Multi-Single) suffered noise from Solar Panels, but otherwise had a good weekend. MM0CPS/P Cockenzie & Port Seton ARS expressed shock that there was no wind and the sun shone throughout both days. They heard an OM but were unable to complete a QSO.

432 MHz.

Activity & Conditions: 327 individual callsigns were worked (598) [328]. These comprised: DL: 68, EI: 12, F: 17, G: 175, GD: 2, GI: 1, GJ: 1, GM: 8, GU: 3, GW: 12, HB: 2, LX: 1, OK: 1, ON: 8, OZ: 1, PA: 15. The footprint covered an arc from NE to S. Radiating from the geographical centre of the British Isles, range was limited to about 900 km and  the more distant contacts were made with stations lying on higher ground. Generally, conditions were pretty flat, but a couple of Sunday morning lifts brought some joy to those up early enough to catch them.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs,152, was worked by G0VHF/P Colchester & A1 CG (JO01).

Band Leaders: Open: G0VHF/P Colchester & A1 CG (JO01); Restricted: G8OHM/P South Birmingham RS (IO92); Low Power: G0ROC/P Rochdale & DARS (IO83); Multi - Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02); FSO: G3XDY (JO02); FSR: G4KCT (IO93).

ODX achievements: Open: EI9E/P Wexford VHFG (IO62) 909 km in QSO with PI4GN (JO33) Groningen, N coast of Netherlands. Open Best UK: G0VHF/P Colchester & A1 CG (JO01) 846 km in QSO with DL0HTW (JO60) between Dresden and Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany; Restricted: G3CKR/P Warrington CG (IO93) 877 km in QSO with DR9A (JN48) near Baden-Baden, Rheinland-Palatinate, Germany; Low Power: G8LED/P Northampton RC (IO92) 772 km in QSO with DR9A (JN48); Multi-Single: G8MKC/P Milton Keynes ARS (IO91) 735 km in QSO with DR9A (JN48); FSO: G3XDY (JO02) 827 km in QSO with OK2A (JO60) Erzgebirge Mountains, near NW Czech/German border; FSR: G4AGE (IO93) 844 km in QSO with DR9A (JN48).

SOAPBOX: G0IVR/P Itchen Valley ARC, in Multi - Single, found things rather quiet and concluded that staying open for business all night was not worth it. G3SRC/P NE Surrey CG, in Restricted, agreed with the latter sentiment, but managed to wake up early enough to catch the mini- lifts into the Netherlands and Germany. G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC, in Multi - Single, decided that erection of a 70cm antenna was appropriate at 2300 clock time on Saturday, but reflected that 5 hours in bed would have been a better choice. G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC suffered a gremlin on Sunday morning, when the logging computer decided to install updates, since the wi - fi had not been disabled. This was not as bad as it might have been if conditions and activity had been better! G3WM/P Maidstone YMCA ARS suffered a broken antenna, a stuck tower, broken feeders and possibly a failed pre - amplifier too. They expressed little confidence of achieving a high position in the results table. GW2OP/P Pembrokeshire CG suffered cloud and horizontal rain from 1500 Friday until 0100 Saturday, then sunny with scattered clouds. They described conditions as either: 'poor with long, deep QSB' or 'very poor with occasional peaks'. However, fish and chips from the local caravan site were reported as 'excellent'.  

23cm

Activity and Conditions: 94 individual stations were worked (224) [80] and 140 in each of the preceding 3 years. These comprised: DL: 21, F: 4, G:46, GI: 1, GM: 3, GW: 1, OK: 1, ON: 7, OZ: 1, PA: 9. The footprint covered an arc from NE to S, but was thinly populated. Radiating from the geographical centre of the British Isles, range was limited to about 900 km and the more distant contacts were  made with the very few stations lying on higher ground. The problem on this band was numbers. Conditions were not all that bad – as the ODX achievements testify. There was just no - one out there to work.

QSOs: The greatest number of QSOs, 57, was worked by G5LK/P Reigate ATS & Crawley ARC.  

Band Leaders: Open: G5LK/P Reigate ATS & Crawley ARC (JO01); Restricted: G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC (IO81); Low Power: G3ZME/P Telford & DARS (IO82); Multi - Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02); FSO: G3XDY (JO02); FSR: M5MUF (IO92).

ODX achievements: Open: G5LK/P Reigate ATS & Crawley ARC (JO01) 845 km in QSO with F4CWN (JN03) between Auch and Toulouse, Gers, France; Restricted: G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARC (IO81) 936 km in QSO with DL0GTH (JO50) SW of Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany; Low Power: G3ZME/P Telford & DARS (IO82) 504 km in QSO with PA0S (JO21) Rotterdam, Netherlands; Multi - Single: G2XV/P Cambridge & DARC (JO02) 467 km in QSO with EI9E/P (IO62); FSO: G3XDY (JO02) 827 km in QSO with OK2A (JO60) Erzgebirge Mountains, near NW Czech/German border; FSR: GM4JR (IO85) 546 km in QSO with G5LK/P (JO01).

SOAPBOX: Most postings were short and made grim reading – spanning 'average', through 'not that busy' to 'very poor'. G0OLE/P Goole R&ES concluded that KST has become essential for this band - particularly in the North of the UK. G2BQY/P Trowbridge & DARS agreed, but observed that many users are not using the /CQ (callsign) command and so messages were likely to be missed. They were pleased that their new Solid State PA  worked well and believed it was now time to ditch the water-cooled 2C39s. G8LED/P Northampton RC reports failure of their pre-amplifier and thus very limited receive capability.

We must end the Soapbox comments with something a little lighter. So, G0VHF/P Colchester & A1 CG report: 'And a good time was had by all'.

SIGN OFF

Congratulations to all recipients of Trophies and Certificates. Thanks to all participants. Conditions and low activity made for a disappointing VHF NFD this time. Last year, I said the same, but the adjective was 'splendid', rather than 'disappointing', but such are the vagaries of VHF NFD! Finally: any reader yet to take part in VHFNFD is encouraged to find a local group or go out as a singleton portable.

73 and we hope to see you in 2015 VHF NFD from Adjudicators: Ian G0FCT, Roger G4BVY, Richard G4WFR, Dave G7RAU and Commentator John G8IYS.

21 September 2014