Peter GM4DTH, Danny GM6CMQ, Mike GM4IGS, Norrie GM1CNH, Brian GM4DIJ, Andy MM0FMF
The GM3HAM contest group of the Lothians Radio Society operated GM3HAM/P in the Open section of the 2m Trophy contest on 1-2 Sept 2018 from our usual site near Gatehouse of Fleet in Dumfries & Galloway. The weather was ‘damp & claggy’ (?) with intermittent rain all weekend.
Photos by Peter GM4DTH, Brian GM4DIJ and Andy MM0FMF.
Report by Peter GM4DTH:
The weather on Friday was typical of late summer with a warm sunny day. On arrival the usual camping area was found to be still unsuitable due to the activities of the cattle, so personal tents were pitched near to the site of the station. Next the military tent that will house the station was assembled. After that the four present departed to Gatehouse for an evening meal.
The following morning the sun had gone and was replaced with misty cloud and drizzle. Those conditions persisted throughout the contest up to the time to go home. The other two members of the team arrived and the station was assembled. This year a single 17 element yagi and the 4 element crossed circular polarised yagi were deployed. The station build has changed with a LDMOS amplifier replacing the usual valve amplifier. The RJ (Ratchet Jaw) box was replaced with a commercial version with an integral end of transmission pip tone.
Despite the condensing cloud conditions the station performed as expected with average propagation. The level of activity was similar to previous years with OZ1BEF at 849km being the best DX. M0OSA/M using 50W and a 1/4 wave whip was worked on high ground on the A62 over 201km path. Several contacts were facilitated by aircraft scatter which transformed a 31 signal to 58 allowing rapid contact completion. The raw log shows that 232 stations were worked over this contest.
Definitely ‘damp & claggy’!
17-element yagi plus 4-element circularly-polarised yagi.
Mike GM4IGS – out for a breath of ‘fresh air’.
View inside the operating tent.
The rig was a Yaesu FT736R with an LDMOS linear amplifier.
Brian GM4DIJ & Andy MM0FMF
Mike GM4IGS & Danny GM6CMQ
Mike GM4IGS & Brian GM4DIJ
None of that new-fangled computer logging?
It was just too much for Andy.
Path to M0OSA/M
Path to our best DX – OZ1BEF at 849km in Denmark.
Plot of all stations worked in the 2m Trophy
Provisional results (no. of QSOs similar to the last two years):
231 QSOs, 80,986 pts, best DX: OZ1BEF JO46oe 850km