VHF FIELD DAY 4-5 JULY 2015

G5TO/P: VHF NATIONAL FIELD DAY 4-5 JULY 2015

The Society has completed its second successful VHF NFD over last weekend. Despite average to mediocre conditions, the operating team made contact numbers comparable or better than many clubs in their sections.

Our entry is in the Mix ‘n Match section. For details see the RSGB VHF Contest website.

SDWS wishes to especially thank two members of the local 93 Contest Group, who are also SDWS members, for offering their services. They would have, in normal circumstances, been entering for their own contest group but were not able to do so this year so, in true “ham spirit” they said they could work with us!

Many thanks Mike G0NEY and John G4LKD ! These two experienced VHF contesters provided us with complete 432MHz station using a 20 element yagi and an Icom 9100 transceiver running around 75 watts. In photos below Mike is on the left and John on the right.

This shows what an excellent spirit of co- operation some clubs now have in this area … SDWS, Worksop Amateur radio Society, the 93 Group and the Sheffield HF DX Group, all of which will be shortly mounting a joint DXpedition to the Isle of Arran for the IOTA Contest weekend. Look for us as GM2AS outside the IOTA contest period and GM5TO during the contest.

On the other bands we had 100 watts on 50MHz (FT950 to a five element yagi), 40 watts on 70MHz (IC7100) and 350 watts on 144MHz (home made linear amp + Icom tx/rx) into a stacked 10 over 10 yagi system.

Adjudicated results are not yet published of course but here’s a brief breakdown of the scores we submitted soon after the Field Day. Some of the detailed info is not available at the moment:
50MHz (100W restricted section): 70 QSOs 13102 km points Best DX YL6BF/P in KO07 (Latvia) for 1514 points
70MHz (40W restricted section): 50 QSOs for 11597 points. Best DX 9H1CG (Malta) for 2313 points
144MHz (300W Open section): 184 QSOs (details later)
432MHz (75W restricted section): 50 QSos for just under 12,000points

These results will be updated as and when more information comes in.

Setting up the 50MHz and 432MHz masts and tent on the Saturday morning.

G3PHO’s four metre yagi waiting to be erected for the Sunday session.

During Saturday the mast carried M0GAV’s 5 element yagi for the 50MHz band….

The 144MHz station was located about 500 metres away to the South:

Andrew G0HSA operating the 50MHz station, an FT950 to a 5 element yagi at 10m above ground. On Sunday this was replaced with a 4 element yagi fed by an IC7100 for the 4 metre band producing 40 watts.

John M6JIJ logs the 144MHz stations while David M5DWI does the operating:

For 432MHz we used a very nice 20 element yagi and an IC9100