V31GX in 2019

Hi Bob,

To let you know I will Be QRV from Belize again this year but this time inland and in the ‘Open’ setion.

Outside the contest I will be concentrating on Top band, storms permitting.

Iain G4SGX/V31GX

UK HQ stations – call for operators

Attention all UK HF Contesters…

It’s been decided to continue operating the series of G-6XX calls in the 2019 Commonwealth Contest (aka BERU) which takes place over the weekend of March 9/10th. This is a preliminary call for volunteers with full licences** to operate the G-6XX call in each of the UK regions, namely G – England, GD – Isle of Man, GI – Northern Ireland, GJ – Jersey, GM – Scotland, GU – Guernsey, GW – Wales. If anyone has any interest in running the call in your area please email me direct.

Only essential requirements are to be able to operate all bands 80m-10m and for the whole 24hours (HQ stations are multi-op**). As an HQ bonus you can work UK stations so should be nicely busy but focus will always be on Commonwealth/DX; therefore an amp will be useful and decent antennas highly desirable (but I’ve done a reasonable job with wire antennas here albeit it’s a good location with low man made noise…)

There are already a couple of possibilities for G6XX but all suggestions welcomed. It would be great to have all 7 regions activated.

73,
Stewart, GW0ETF (gw0etf (at) btinternet.com)

** HQ stations are classed as Multi-Op so licensees below Full could operate under supervision

HQ stations 2019

Hi

A couple of pieces of news …

For 2019 GB5CC will be hosted by Nick, G4FAL.

This year the RSGB Contest Club has resurrected the old RSGB call, G3DR. We are pleased that this new RSGB HQ call will be hosted by Chris, GM3WOJ as GM3DR. This call which was originally a Scottish experimental call has not been active for 60 years.

73 Bob G3PJT

Roy Smith, G3MPB (SK)

Roy Smith G3MPB (1913 – 2018).

Despite operating from a postage stamp suburban garden and only using 100w to a multiband vertical with single 4 ft ground rod, Roy achieved the DXCC Honour Roll with 358 DXCCs to his credit. He had participated in every Commonwealth (BERU) contest since he was first licensed in 1956 or 7 and always tried to improve his previous year’s score. He arose early in the morning to catch the VK/ZLs that he could only work if he was early on the scene. In 2014 he was awarded the Commonwealth Medal.

Roy discovered an underground stream that ran beneath his garden, which may go some way to explain the performance of the vertical!

During the war he volunteered to join the RAF ‘Y’ squadron and spent 5 years searching for and copying signals from German reconnaissance aircraft. His amazing notes list all the callsigns, details and bases of these aircraft, as well as descriptions of the characteristic Morse sent by some of the regular operators. He lived in Wales for 20 years and also spent some time in Hong Kong.

He was active in BERU this year (2018) on 40 and 20 using his paddle as usual, with his distinctive sending of his call. He will be sorely missed.

Reflections in a Rosebowl

is now available for down load from here Reflections in a Rosebowl

73 Bob G3PJT

 

40m

Further to my comment about the importance of 40m this is what it looks like from VK

3B8XF

Hello  Contesters,

Here are some photos from the 3B8XF BERU entry….

http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/3B8XF/3B8-Mar-18.html

As can be seen from the BERU Score summary….

http://www.g3txf.com/dxtrip/3B8XF/BERU-DX-ped-scores.htm

…. this year was an all-time low (521) in QSO numbers and in score.

[The nice 80m vertical shown in these photos was unfortunately not being used during BERU].

73 – Nigel G3TXF

2019 possible remote operation

Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2018 15:21:29 GMT

Just to add to the discussion – VP8RAF/100 will active from the 1st April 2018 until the 31st March 2019 operated REMOTELY from the UK courtesy of Babcock Communications.   Whether it will be active during BERU is another matter.

73

Colin, G3PSM

C6AKT

KISS why I love the seaside QTHr when DX. Still cannot beat the C5 one sand bar 3 miles into the Atlantic

The VDA was in same place…. 20 sec view (in the dark!) seemed to indicate that the driven was not working properly and BOTH sides, so centre and outer of the feeder were bonded… how the heck that happened I dunno. Anyway, grabbed a PL239 dipole centre and made up a 20m gp fast, and put it up… and it worked 1st time, no time to think about other fixes it worked.

The sparking from the 80m and 40m coax was worrying and meant no 80m and 40m just when probably needed it…. maybe I need to think about lightening in next build

Still qrp I seemed to do OK. No BS really was just KX3 5W, prop was odd later in week some W5 guy said I was 599+20 and then 10 mins later 319 if lucky. QSB was complex mix of fast and slow too. I had a few qso with QRP guys in UK one he was not even 1W to an EFHW (using RG174) on 20m and he was on a hill so I KNOW propagation was there.

How the heck some of the mega guru DXers with all the antennas etc say they couldn’t hear me I dunno. On 20m RBN was saying I went from 46dB at one point with a GW to -1dB same station and I changed nothing ZL2iFB QSO on 20m as well. GL on the 4sq.

72 Dom M1KTA

Contest : RSGB Commonwealth Contest
Callsign : C6AKT
Mode : CW
Category : Single Operator (SO)
Overlay : —
Band(s) : All bands (AB)
Class : QRP
Zone/State/… :
Locator : FL15OJ
Operating time : 6h57

BAND QSO DUP DXC HQ POINTS BONUS AVG
——————————————–
80 10 0 4 3 50 200 25.00
40 20 0 4 5 100 280 19.00
20 59 3 17 7 290 700 16.78
15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
——————————————–
TOTAL 89 3 25 15 440 1180 18.20
============================================

C6AKT

Hi all,

Back in UK since Sunday pm and unpacking through bit of jetlag. Might be
a day or so (got to be at the salt mines sadly earning more DX travel
tokens) but I’ll create a report for Bob et al.

In short tnx for adding me to team Carribean hope I wasn’t too far off
the pace.

Barring logging errors I should have c85-90 QSO in the log. Pretty sure
I logged the HI9/F… stn as non-Beru doh! Not too bad show given
conditions as a QRP station, zero internet so unassistaed not that it
would have made any difference the local mobie tower was taken out it
seems. I was QRT for much of the last 5 hours through thunderstorms so
missed the expected G run on 40m sadly. I had no choice after couple
close strikes once the first storm passed over just after midnight but
the two 80m and all four 40m GP’s for the 4SQ HAD to come down, the coax
was sparking to ground. Must work out how I might keep them up next time?

The 20m VDA was replaced by a simple 20m GP that I put right at the
waters edge that performed much better, got to work that one out for
sure as should have been the other way around!

72

Dom

M1KTA/C6AKT