70MHz CW CONTEST - 15/5/2022

The number of entries in the 2022 70MHz CW Contest was 30 (fifteen in section AO, ten in section AR, five in section AL and one check log) - exactly 50% up on 2021, but also 39% down on 2020 in what has been a volatile entry level in recent years, probably due to the impact of COVID. A total of 60 valid callsigns appear in the logs - almost identical to 2021's total of 58 - from nine DXCC entities (DL, EI, G, GM, GU, GW, OZ, PA and S5), 19 big squares and 33 post codes. The best DX was between G7RAU (IN79) and  S51DI (JN76) at 1598km - one of five contacts with two different S5 stations.

Congratulations go to the section leaders:

• Open - Phil Guttridge G3TCU/P (who also wins the Bill Capstick G3JYP Memorial Award)
• Restricted - Mike Devereux G3SED
• Low Power - Andrew Vare G4XZL.

A comment of 'No comment' probably captures the event pretty well. Apart from one entrant who commented that conditions were good and two who felt they were average, the most common opinion (by a factor of around two to one) was that they were flat or poor. Nevertheless a very limited number of contacts were made using sporadic E and tropo. There were few comments on activity but those that were received reported them as average or low, and this is borne out by the fact that several entrants were only on for part of the contest.  There were a small number of complaints about noise and one of deep QSB. Only one comment on the weather was received - 'poor' - and this was predictably from one of the portables!

Quin Collier G3WRR

g3wrr@rsgbcc.org