AGM and Rally

Sands will hold their fourth AGM on Monday evening and are looking forward to the next 12 months and beyond. Plenty of contests to take part in and another DXpedition planned to a Scottish Isle in 2008. In the meantime we will be attending the QRP Convention in Rochdale on 6th October. We will have plenty of radio "bits and pieces" for sale and hope to catch up with a lot of old and new friends. If you are coming to the convention please pop by and have a chat.

80m Sprint Contests

The growth and popularity in the 80m Club Championship reflects a strong interest in domestic contesting, and the mid week evening short contest format is convenient for a lot of operators. After the final sessions of the Club Championship in July, there were comments that the start of the 2008 Championship in February seemed very far away.

Another comment that has arisen due to the increased participation in the events is that winning scores can now be produced by only calling CQ. In the very beginning it was necessary to search as well as call in order to maximise your score. Competition to find a frequency to call on is increasing, especially on SSB. To secure a spot to call on, some entrants begin occupying frequencies a long time before the contest begins.

To address both remarks, the Contest Committee has decided to run two Sprint style contests this October. These are 90 minute long, 10 or 100 watt, mid-week events, one on CW and one on SSB, in a similar format to the existing 80m Club Championship. The Sprint format requires stations to QSY if a contact was solicited on a frequency, and means that different skills and operating style are needed compared with a traditional contest.

Full rules can be found on the web site www.rsgbhfcc.org and we hope you will participate in these contests in October, and let us have plenty of feedback.

Dave G4BUO
RSGB Contests Committee
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Packed Down and Back Home

Managed to get packed down and back home by mid afternoon, so we have done well. It has been raining most of the day but it did stay dry for a time which allowed the tent to dry out. Its not been the most successful Field Day we have ever done but we have all had a good time and enjoyed the radio we have done. Made well over 200 contacts but running in the" restricted section" has had its limitations compared to some of the big stations. The main thing is taking part and its nice to get out portable again before the autumn sets in!

Late Afternoon

We are all enjoying ourselves whether its operating or just relaxing! Conditions could be better but you have to take the rough with the smooth. Its the best part of the day now and it should be a cracking sunset!

Set Up and Ready to Go

Its nearly time for Field Day to start. All was set up and working about 11am local time, so plenty of time to double check things! Our 2.4ghz internet link is working well and the bacon sandwiches are on the go! What more could you ask for? Conditions seem rather poor at the moment but hopefully this will improve when the contest starts....fingers crossed!