144MHz CW MARCONI CONTEST - 1^st / 2^nd NOVEMBER 2025

After last year's excellent conditions, it was to be expected the 2025 144MHz CW Marconi Contest would be more subdued - and so it proved. All the numerical aspects of the results were down on 2024:

• the total number of entrants was 35% down on 2024, with a similar distribution between sections:

  • section 6SF - 17 (16 UK + 1 European)

  • section SF - 7 (all UK)

  • section O - 4 (2 UK + 2 European)

  • section 6O - 2 (1 UK + 1 European).

• in addition to entries submitted to RSGB, a further 451 non-entrant logs from the concurrent IARU contest were received from IARU, allowing enhanced checking!

• the number of contacts appearing in logs was:

  • all entrants - 857, 60% down on 2024

  • UK entrants - 704, 62% down

• the number of callsigns appearing in logs was:

  • all entrants - 294, 16% down

  • UK entrants - 193, 40% down

• the number of big squares appearing in logs was:

  • all entrants - 99

  • UK entrants - 46

• the number of DXCCs appearing in logs was:

  • all entrants - 24 (in descending order of number of contacts: DL, G, HA, OK, F, OM, 9A, PA, YO, LZ, SP, E7, YU, ON, GM, GW, HB9, UA, SM, UR, EI, LX and OE)

  • UK entrants - 11 (again in descending order of number of contacts: DL, G, F, PA, ON, OK, GM, GW, HB9, EI and SM)

• best DX: G3TCU/P (IO91GI) to DR7C (JO50WB) at 949km. This may be compared with 2024 in which the best DX was 1681km and 74% of entrants has best DXs of over 1000km.

Of course, the numbers don't tell the whole story - but entrants' comments present a generally similar picture. It was almost universally agreed that UK activity was very poor with contacts hard to find - so much so that several entrants came on part time only. However there was more activity on mainland Europe, particularly Germany and in fact UK entrants made more contacts with DL than with the British Isles.

Conditions were mostly reported as poor, and although some tropo was available this seemed to favour entrants in the South East: however aircraft scatter helped in some instances. But despite the downsides, two entrants did report the contest as fun! A couple of entrants' comments just to round things off....

'Dreadful WX at /P site'

' Uninspiring!'

'Some good planes'

'After my first QSO, realised that my CW is not good enough yet for contests'

Congratulations to the certificate winners as listed below.

Let's hope for better things in 2026.....

73, Quin G3WRR

q.g.collier@btinternet.com