70cm activity contest (UKAC)

 This evening is the November 70cm activity contest organised by the RSGB. I go on briefly with my 10W SSB and the 2m omni big-wheel.

UPDATE 2019z:  2 stations worked, then I gave up! Furthermost was G4CLA (105km).

Almost forgot - 2m UKAC submission

Not quite sure why I bother as I know I shall be well down the results! 

Last Tuesday was the 2m leg of the RSGB organised activity contest (UKAC). Despite running 10W and an omni I submit my results, despite stopping on for very little time. Conditions seemed a bit "up". 

The map shows the stations worked in 30 minutes.

2m activity contest (UKAC)

A reminder that the November 2m activity contest (UKAC) is on tonight starting at 2000z. Although I usually submit an entry, there is no need to do so. Many just come on to enjoy the activity. Because of my poor voice and low power I do not stop on long. 

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2024&contest=2mukac .

UPDATE 2038z: 4 stations worked with my 10W and omni, then I stopped as it was too hard with my poor voice. Best DX was GW1YBB/P. I have no idea (yet) how far this was.

70cm activity contest

Every month the RSGB holds a 70cm activity contest on a Tuesday evening.  Because of my voice, I rarely stop on very long. Also, I suspect this contest is attracting fewer entries, people preferring FT8. The map shows the QSOs I managed with 10W and a 2m big-wheel omni antenna.

2m activity contest (UKAC)

This evening was the 2m activity contest organised by the RSGB. 

As usual, I was running 10W PEP to my big-wheel omni antenna. 

Because of my poor voice I was only on for 30 minutes. 4 QSOs were made. See map.

Last Tuesday on 70cm QRP SSB

Once a month I try my luck with 10W pep on 70cm in the activity contest UKAC. Because of my poor voice I rarely stop on more than 30 minutes. 

Also, I only have a 2m big-wheel omni antenna. Talk about making things hard, HI! 

In all I made 3 QSOs with the furthermost G4CLA (105km). He must have great antennas and ears.

70cm activity contest entry

Often I forget to submit my entry into this UKAC session. With my pathetic score I shall never even be close to winning, but it is good to show my support. 

It is great to see the activity. The "real" stations were working some serious DX.

70cm activity contest yesterday evening

With 10W SSB and a 2m big-wheel omni I usually struggle in the 70cm UKAC (activity contest), but I usually manage a few contacts. Last night was different. 

Firstly, the impression I had was there were fewer people on.  This could partly be due to the holiday season and people being away.

Also those that were on I could not work. After about 20 minutes I just gave up having worked nobody! Perhaps the combination of higher local noise and fewer people make all the difference to QRP stations like mine.

I should be on the 70cm UKAC next month. We'll see.

2m activity contest last Tuesday

My mother-in-law would have called me a gunner. Why? Because I am "gunner do this and gunner do that". 

Several days ago I was going to submit my (pathetic) entry into the RSGB organised 2m activity contest (UKAC). I nearly forgot and submitted my entry just now. 

I get the feeling this contest is waning in popularity. Yes, there are still plenty of entries, but I seem to have fewer QSOs than I once did. This could be because urban stations find my 10W PEP harder now with increased local noise?

The map shows the QSOs with 10W PEP and the big-wheel omni antenna. I only stopped on very briefly.

2m activity contest tonight

With my 10W PEP SSB and big wheel omni antenna I usually try for up to an hour before my voice screams “stop “. My usual best DX is 100-200km.

Not sure if it’s just me but I am finding it harder to work stations . 

This is probably a combination of fewer stations and higher local noise levels for many stations.

UPDATE 2120z:   After 3 QSOs my voice shouted "stop!!", so I stopped.

2m activity contest this evening

After 5 QSOs with 10W SSB to my big-wheel omni, my voice had had enough, so I went QRT. 

Battling with repeating my callsign is no longer fun. In fact it is hard work. As my voice is now poor, I really struggle in SSB contests. It used to be fun whereas now it is far harder.

70cm UKAC on Tuesday last

It is my view that interest in this contest is waning at the expense of FT8. Overall, I do not stay on long with my 10W pep to the 2m big-wheel omni antenna, but I get the feeling it is mainly the dedicated people who come on. If my voice was better and I stayed on longer far more could have been worked. 2 stations were worked.

70cm activity contest (UKAC)

This evening was the 70cm activity contest. I worked a couple of stations with my 10W pep SSB to the 2m big-wheel omni antenna before I went QRT after about 40 minutes.

70cm UKAC activity contest results

You would not exactly say I am a contest nerd. One thing is certain: guess who will never win! If I come half way up the table I'd be very pleased!

I like to submit an entry into the activity contest even though I stay on very little time, use 10W SSB and a 2m big-wheel omni antenna. In the low power section I am 43rd out of 70, which is not bad.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&year=2024 .

70cm activity contest last Tuesday

My entry (never a winning score with just 2 QSOs, 10W, short period on air and a 2m omni antenna!) was submitted this morning. 

It is my view that this 70cm UKAC is on the wane with fewer people active. The 70cm FT8 activity contest on the other hand is "humming". It looks like many people prefer FT8 to SSB these days. FT8 works with far weaker signals, but like so much these days, it has less human interaction. 

We seem to becoming a society with far less human contact sadly.

Am I alone in thinking impersonal AI call centres are a pain?  "Say in your own words what you are calling about". "You want to talk about xxx. Is that correct?".  Say "yes" or "no". Actually I would rather speak with a human being!

70cm FT8 UKAC activity contest

Stations spotting my 2.5W FT8
on 70cm earlier this evening

It never fails to amaze me how far 2.5W FT8 to the 2m big-wheel omni goes on 70cm.  On RX, stations as far as S.Eire, the Netherlands and Germany are always copied on 70cm FT8 irrespective of conditions.

2m activity contest last Tuesday

Although there is absolutely no chance of me coming remotely close to winning and despite only stopping on for 15 minutes, I usually submit an entry if I am home. This time I totally forgot to submit my entry. Just now I remembered!

2m activity contest (April)

This evening was the 2m section of the 2m activity  contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB. As usual I was running 10W pep SSB to my omni big-wheel antenna. I only stopped on about 16 minutes as my voice is poor, but managed to work JO03 square, which is a first this year.

2m UKAC (activity) contest in March

The results of this March contest have been released. 

In the low power section, I am about half way up the table. Only staying on for a fraction of the time because of my poor voice and omni antenna, this is quite pleasing. 

Not scientifically, my impression is there is reduced activity in this contest, whereas there seems to be increased activity in the FT8 activity test.

70cm activity contest

Yesterday was the 70cm leg of the RSGB organised activity contest (UKAC). I was on for only about 45 minutes with my 10W and 2m omni big-wheel antenna. 5 stations were worked.