|
9A2U
/ 9A1CEU |
|
IOTA Contest 2003 - Soapbox |
|
Posted: 5th November 2003 2E1GUA:
First time with the callsign on HF. 2E1OIC:
First contest and had a great time. Roll on 2004 The XYL will call and I
will log next year. Found SDI to be an excellent program. Everyone with
whom I made contact was very correct A big thank you to all behind the
scenes after the contest ends. 4S7NI:
Wanted to enter 4S7 in contest logbooks, marginal success with low
power, dipole antenna & dead band. 9A/OK2SG:
My first island operation - very nice. 9A2GA:
Again QRV this year but propagation wasn't so good. 9A6C/P:
Contest was great fun, unfortunately I woke with a terrible headache
after Sunday morning nap and was mostly useless. I think next year will
generate some strategy to make a better score. 9V1RH:
Propagation from SEA very much down from last year. Lost last 1½
hours due to heavy electrical storm. Lost utility power. AA4V/P:
We started with heavy rain and lightning from a tropical
depression....conditions were marginal but we were pleased that we had a
bit of an opening on 15 ...conditions gradually went away until there
was not much left to work that we could hear...QRN from storms. BRS91529:
May I say how much I enjoyed the contest this year. It was good fun to
'bag' all those island stations and spend the weekend 'playing radio'.
My only regret was the total loss of 28 MHz on my rig! Anyway as I was
top SWL last year, I put aside my problems with the lack of 10 metres
and defended my honour. BV2B/BV9W:
Very bad propogation and two hours thunderstorm made frustrated. C6ASB:
Fun to be on the "DX" side for a change! CS4B:
Bugio Island: even without water and power (this is the real DXpedition)
is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Please create an SSB
multi-op class. CS5C:
We did it again! The Corvo
team CU9D+ three new members set up the IOTA contest stations on Culatra
Island. Our special thanks
to the Associação de Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes for giving us
permission to use the kindergarten premises. Our apologies to anyone who
lost contact with us. We
suffered failures with our multiplier transceiver, computer link,
antenna filter and a linear amplifier. DE0MBS:
It was my first IOTA-contest. Perhaps the value of islands is too big
with being multipliers plus the 15 points. I guess that will make it fun
for most G-Stations. But on the other hand there is no difference
between for example a DL- and a W-QSO on 80m. For SWLs it is a problem
that many running stations don't correct a callsign on the air they got
wrong at the first instance. So for example I had to log DF1IAQ as heard
from a running G-Station. I never heard a correction as he confirmed the
report of the DL-station which by my guess could have been DL1IAQ who is
an active contester. And I'm quite sure the G-Station has typed the
correction in the computer log. But that's life and I enjoyed the time
just listening (on other occasions I'm QRV as DL8MBS). I used no other
means like packet or cluster etc. For me it takes a lot of the personal
challenge from contesting - especially in listening ability. But that's
a voice from the dark past: I restarted amateur radio after nearly 20
years’ break, so for me it's the comparison between two different
worlds and not a development I would have experienced step by step.
Thanks for the contest and the work. DK5ZX:
Not so good conditions on the second day I think. DL0HGW/P:
Bad HF condx, but see you next year again! DL4HBA:
Thanks for the great Contest!! There were many DX-Stations I could work. DL4MCF:
Bad condx on 15m and 10m made it impossible to reach my score from 2001.
TNX for great activity from all the islands, especially from UK. DL5AWI:
The fun was great this year also. On second day the condx not good here.
Hope to hear all again next year! DL7VWH:
Tnx to all stations who heard my QRP. DP1POL:
I was really very much looking forward to IOTA Contest, but very poor
conditions due to geomagnetic activity meant that every QSO was very
hard work. Now, I am hoping for better conditions and warmer weather
during IOTA Contest 2004 when I will once again operate from Helgoland
Island (EU-127) in the North Sea. EA6AZ:
No time to participate in the contest. Next year will be better. EI7IQ:
I attach this year’s entry for the IOTA Contest.
A few comments: I enjoyed the contest as usual. I felt that
conditions were only average. The policy of powerful stations
"holding" a frequency by mechanically (or electronically)
repeatedly calling CQ, without having any listening facilities is to be
condemned. This happened on
a few bands. Obviously team
members were unavailable for whatever reason to operate on the given
band/frequency at the time, but the team decided to squat the frequency
anyway by calling CQ without leaving a gap. Disgraceful! I wish to thank
all involved in the contest for its organisation - a great job is one
from start to finish. I am
looking forward to next year's event already. ES0MC:
First contest with my new (for summer QTH) callsign ES0MC - but perhaps
ES5MC/0 would have been more attractive... (?) Still, did a bit better
than in 2002. :) CU next time! ES1QD:
73! to all IOTA friends. This year at home but 2004 on some of the
Estonian island. ES4MM:
Here very poor condx! Tnx all fer nice QSOs. 73 . Hpe cul next year! F/ON5MF/P:
First time in the low power exp. class with only verticals (10-15-20-40)
+ a low dipole for 80m. This expedition was planned in only 1½
weeks! We had great fun but it was a pity that the conditions during the
contest were not half as good as the evening before... F5VHQ:
Could not make it to one of the French islands. Great opportunity to
test new homebrew portable ant.
CU next year - definitely from an island... G0AJH:
Very enjoyable as usual. Please make stations give their call more
often. Very tiresome to
wait 3 mins only to find you have already worked a station! No 10m
activity so worked more 40m this year.
The 12-hour format is great.
It allows you to fit in shopping, meals and sleep!
Looking forward to 2004! G0DIZ:
Many stations failed to identify every contact, had they done so I could
have quadrupled my score G0MRH:
Found this contest to be hard work because of the propagation conditions
which were poor and my limited station.
80 Watts into a doublet at about 16ft is a test on its own. G0MTN:
After last years experience, this year I managed my best ever score /
mult total from my 7 attempts at this category.
The trick it seems is NOT TO RUN! The rate meter is *not* your
friend. 3pt QSOs are not worth the time - as a single Op (SO1R) chasing
15pt IOTAs and getting new mults leads to a better overall score.
A respectable SO2R station would blow away any SO1R entry - in
effect allowing run and mult search just like the multi-ops - allowing
huge scores to be reached. Good contest though, if stressful :-)
A thinking man's event. Bad conditions on Sunday - I did a few
band trawls for mults, but carried on waiting for an improvement in
propagation that just never appeared! G2AFV:
Usual severe key clicks from EU. Condx
abysmal on 10 and 15m G2HLU:
Conditions not as good as 2002; 10m useless to me, 15m poor, 40m
disappointing, 20m most useful band G3GLL:
Conditions not good on HF bands. Plenty of activity though.
I intended to enter the 12hr section but went a little awry with
my times! G3GMM:
Generally good contest all round, with all bands open during Sunday
morning. G3JJZ:
Wow, what conditions! I
thought VHF was slow enough! G3KKQ:
Rig K2 @ 5W. Ant 50M Loop. & R3 Vert. Poor Condx Nil hrd on 10m .15m
no DX heard. GB90RSGB: Lost many dozen - maybe 100s - of QSOs due to
nature of the callsign. Only very very rarely did any station copy it
correctly first time. A big problem was the other GB90RSGB/* stations
(where * = RSGB District number): many stns refused to work me saying I
was dupe. G3LHJ:
Great contest as always but harder going this year with the poorer condx
especially on 15/10m only "1" QSO on 10m. G3OOK:
Generally poor propagation. Virtually nothing on 10m. Slept in on Sunday
morning which didn't help any! G3RSD:
First time have entered mixed mode. Interesting!! G3SAD:
Conditions poor on most bands with 10 a waste of time and 15 almost as
bad. G3TXF:
Used WriteLog for the first time. I hope the Cabrillo format is OK. I
have tried to make the "Categories" correspond. Thanks for
adding an Assisted section to the IOTA Contest. Pity that conditions
were abysmal for much of the Contest. G3UFY:
Prior engagement meant I missed the afternoon & early evening.
Conditions not wonderful either G3YMC:
My first attempt at this contest now there is a QRP section. Conditions
seemed pretty poor and it was certainly hard going. I was particularly
disappointed in the post dawn period - 80m was noisy, 20m and higher
were dead, so everybody was packed into 40m! 170 QSOs in 12 hours is
decidedly a low score, perhaps I chose the wrong hours for my session... G3ZRJ:
Glad to give a few points away despite having a very nasty virus which
meant heading either for bed or the loo after a few mins operating.
Better luck next year I hope G4BGW:
Condx quite poor - could hear some NA stations but great difficulty
working them - maybe the R7 doesn't like heavy rain! Great contest as
usual. G4DDL:
Mainly EUs worked condx poor. Best score ever though and with only 25 W
to a LW. G4FAL:
First IOTA contest. Contest exchange difficult in CW so stayed on SSB
mostly. G4FOX/P:
FT1000mp @ 400 watts TH5 for 20/15/10 & dipoles 80/40 Very enjoyable
weekend apart from lack of sleep and assistance. The Bar-B-Q was
excellent thanks to the ladies! G4IFB:
This was my first proper contest entry from home in several years, and I
thoroughly enjoyed it. Despite the lack of a linear, I still had plenty
of interest for EU005. IOTA
is clearly one of the major worldwide events. Maybe next year I'll
venture somewhere more exotic if I can find an island to myself! G4JFS:
Hi folks, Well, here it is. Pretty impressive I'm sure you'll agree -
all 13 QSOs of it :) Needless to say, it's really a check log. I was
selfish this year; I was out to get some new ones, interesting ones, and
give some friends a few points. I shouldn't grumble, after all I did get
two new ones. However, looking at the list of who was planning to be on,
I expected more. Maybe those operations just didn't happen or maybe
their operating hours didn't coincide with mine but some of them just
didn't get a mention on the reflector (I was hoping for a valid NA-140
but W3TBG only got 2 mentions on the reflector). I did hear one or two
other new ones but they were too weak for me to work. Sunday morning was
disappointing; only VP2MX from the Caribbean on 7MHz (weak and with a
big pile up) and a noisy 14MHz. Despite all these disappointments, I'm
looking forward to the next one! Good luck with all the checking and
thanks for organising the event. G5XV:
Band conditions well down on last year, particularly noticeable was the
significant drop in QSOs on 15 metres. G6PZ:
Working two GB90RSGB stations on same weekend!
Everyone too 'worse for wear' to do night shift! GI3XRQ/P:
Conditions seemed down compared to last year though still a lot of fun. GM0FGI:
10m almost useless, 15m disappeared on Sunday also. Needed a better
antenna on 40 and 80m to make improved scores on these bands. With low
power (relative to big guns) difficult to get runs going. Spent most
time searching out island stations. Habit of many stations not to give
calls signs wasted much time. First attempt at full 24 hours. With
better 80m antenna would have kept going later into evening/morning.
Enjoyable contest. Would be useful if islands with low/no resident
amateur population had higher bonus to encourage more island searching
by big guns. GM2T:
We all enjoyed the contest once again from the Island of Tiree.
The Bands were certainly not the best and it was very hard work
during the "wee" small hours. Nearly lost an aerial through
the cows thinking it was somewhere they could scratch their backs!
Lastly as always the hospitality shown by the people of Tiree was second
to none, a very good reason for returning each year. GM3CFS:
Plenty of activity, but little from Africa or South America. Conditions
very poor on 21MHz and on Sunday practically dead and 28MHz pretty
useless most of the time. GM3PPG/P:
Enjoyed annual trip to Outer Hebrides. Tried new vert beam on 20m but
still only a few JA on 20/15.10m only opened to Eu and S. Am on Sat pm.
Aurora affected HF bands? 4 squares gd on LF bands but low
activity from Caribbean es N.Am. Mni tnx to all who called and RSGB/HFCC
bods! GM4EMX:
Where was the DX? - Like pulling hens teeth! Target was to work 400 + so
not a happy bunny Hi. GM4SID:
Pity that 28 MHz was dead. Reduced
total this year mainly because of it. GM4V:
This was the first attempt at IOTA by the Forth Valley Contest
Group (FVCG). Although we are a new group, most of us knew one another
already and three of us were part of last year's leading UK IOTA effort
at GM5A. Planning for our
trip started in February and it certainly came good when we saw the
church hall we had rented for 4 nights (Thursday to Monday). We had
ample space for all our gear and beds as well as a large kitchen, a bar
(which we stocked!), a fridge freezer, a BT phone point and good
"washroom" facilities. Outside we were equally well catered
for with a large car park and fields almost all around which we had been
told we could use! All antennas were erected with no major problems,
other than the tower briefly jamming, and occasional re-organisation of
the wire radials on our 40m vertical being required each time the local
sheep wandered past. The rest of our gear was, for a change, set up at a
fairly leisurely pace with no real headaches to resolve.
We even had time to carry out RFI tests on the radio-microphone
system used in the adjacent church.
A few strategically placed ferrites resolved the single small
problem we found. However,
the priest indicated that if anything was heard through his speaker
system it may liven up his sermon! Having once more evaluated several
software packages before the contest we decided to use NA again.
Although NA is not perfect we knew from past IOTA experience how
to work around its minor deficiencies.
WriteLog tests on the bench and during CQWW had highlighted the
serial number and mult window problems which we now see other stations
had! Sticking with NA
proved to be a good choice as it worked almost flawlessly throughout.
Only two minor problems occurred during the contest and only one
of these was attributed to NA! Much
praise is however due to Robert MM0ANT for ensuring that we had our
first RF problem free NA network. This
was a big bonus! DX Cluster access was a bigger challenge.
We had access to a BT phone socket and had also taken equipment
to allow us access using GPRS on a mobile phone.
Sadly, due to weak mobile phone signals, the GPRS option had to
be abandoned. While this
wasn't too much of a problem it meant that we ended up struggling with
RF on the phone line whenever we used 40m.
This kept interrupting our internet connection and undoubtedly
lost us some mults, particularly when you consider the higher than usual
amount of time spent on LF as a result of poor HF band conditions.
As with G4MJS at MD4K we consider Mult Hunting to be very
important and as a multi-op entry our mult station is constantly doing
just that. Even our Run
Station joins in by passing new ones to other bands for the Mult Station
to pick off. As has often
been said of IOTA "The Mult is king!" and anyone who ignores
that fact will crash and burn in the results table!
Returning to the subject of conditions, although we found a
little activity on 10m at the start this soon disappeared and we found
ourselves moving down the bands towards LF in an attempt to find decent
QSO rates. Particularly on
Sunday this presented the dilemma of whether to stay LF and get
reasonable numbers of 15pt QSOs with UK stations or move back HF and try
to get some mults but with a lower rate!
We decide to take the LF option for most of Sunday to benefit
from the influx of UK Full and Intermediate Class B licensees who had
just gained HF access. We
therefore relied on our Mult station to boost the score on 20m and above
during that period. As a
result we only had 110 QSOs on 20m and above on Sunday, most of these
being on 20m. Was it a good move? We
think so but all will become apparent when everyone else’s scores are
known! On the subject of the new HF access for UK Full and Intermediate
Class B licensees, it was noticeable how good the general operating
practice of these stations was. It
is very refreshing to come across this and is surely promising for the
future of UK HF contesting. Well
done to those concerned! Now a few less encouraging points..... The
welcome and help which we received from the locals was superb.
We would love to go back again but surely it is more sensible
heading south since our score has now suffered due to auroral effects
for the last two years (GM5A 2002 and GM4V 2003).
Watch this space!!! GM5C:
Excellent day apart from rig blowing up! GM7X:
Poor conditions -- I blame this for my score being lower than last year!
Less activity, but maybe this was just the conditions. GN0ADX/P:
We had a great time this was our fifth consecutive year at Rathlin
Island. Weather was also good! GX6YB:
The Bristol Contest Group were back in the Isle of Wight this year after
two years away in PJ2. Unfortunately
we were soon reminded why we had decided to go to the Caribbean -
English climate! The weather was the lowlight of what was otherwise a
great weekend. One operating tent was completely destroyed by a storm we
had on Thursday. The high
wind and driving rain returned on Saturday about two hours into the
contest. Luckily the mobile
towers and antennas survived, though we hadn't risked cranking them
right up. The highlights were good food, drink and a great team.
There were no problems with the radios, which seemed to be
putting out a very good signal on all bands.
Unfortunately, our PC network didn't go quite so well.
WriteLog showed its resilience to network ups and downs (due to
RF), and didn't lose any QSOs - as far as we know. However, the already
strange serial number allocation of WriteLog was completely confused.
Our apologies to other stations and the adjudicators for
non-serial, duplicate and missing serial numbers. We're confident though
that the numbers in the log are what we gave on the air. Sadly, we got
our tactics a bit wrong (e.g. too little time running on 40m) and have
finished with a low points per QSO ratio.
One of many things to fix next year. Conditions were generally
poor, with 10m was virtually unusable.
15m and 20m were good for Europe, but poor for DX.
40m was quite good for DX, and Antarctica was a surprise on 80m.
Overall an enjoyable contest, though we came away with the feeling that
we could have done better. The
competition raises its game every year as this contest establishes
itself as THE big contest of the summer months. H2G
(5B4AGC): Awful conditions on 10m resulted in a very low mult HA1DAE:
After few years back again in the contest and, I am very happy.
My station only FT902DM PWR 100W Ant: 80m Inv V. array, 40m:
sloping dipole to South America, other bands: this antennas with
homemade antenna tuner. Thank you very much for every body who QSOed
with me. Thank you very much for EI5DI his very good software. Easy to
use. HB9CQS:
Dear IOTA friends, My usual SWISSLOG does not support Cabrillo, so I
downloaded GenLog and used it for the first time during the IOTA
contest. I sincerely hope that the enclosed files are in order. I went
for quality in stead of quantity and in spite of lousy conditions
managed to work 5 or 6 new island groups. Noticed quite a few contest
stations working above 14300kHz. I2AZ/1:
Not very good conditions especially on higher bands. On 10 meter 0 QSO!!
Hope next year to be better. I2WIJ:
Yet another crazy IOTA operation from home! I like this contest, so I
had fun, even if I definitely prefer to operate from an Island! IC8WIC:
No conditions this year to Asia and West Coast Always the great fun. IK0HIT:
Thanks for another good one. Poor propagation - but dedicated
participants. IK2RPE:
Non-existent propagation on High Bands IN3ASW:
Did twice the points than last year, although propagation was really
bad. IV3DYS:
This is my first IOTA-Test it is very good and interesting Test ... Ciao
& 73's. CU in the next IOTA-Test! IZ0EHL/0:
Not very good antenna in my country house. I am happy for some new one
islands for my IOTA award. TNX and I hope best in the next. IZ1ANZ:
Only to honour the IOTA Contest my first experience IZ7AUH/P:
Many problem electrical generator was off.... IZ8EDL:
Little time for the contest, hopefully next year. JA1BPA:
I participated in this contest for the first time in my 30-year ham
career. It was a lot of fun although the conditions were not good and I
had to work on Sunday morning. It is good that you have 12-hour
category. JA1YPA:
Not good condition this year at contest. JF2SKV:
I enjoyed the contest and QSOs with excellent operators. Thanks! Must
improve my antenna and skill for next year. Thanks to all for contacts! JG1VGX: Condx were bad!! K1KU:
I had enough fun in this one that I'm motivated to find me a Maine or
Canadian island next year and be the DX for a change. Great contest! K3VY:
Conditions very poor. I did
get 12 new IOTA numbers. I have 194 confirmed 214 worked. When I get 205
confirmed I will send in for BASIC CERTIFICATE ! K5ZD:
Always fun chasing the islands! KC0IGY:
First IOTA contest. Having
lots of fun contesting when possible. KG1E:
First IOTA contest was a lot of fun, even with the poor band conditions. KI6MX:
My first contest - enjoyed it and learned a lot. LA1K:
Hmm, the IOTA contest is fun, plain and simple. Full-blown effort next
year! LA6IHA:
It was fun but conditions were not at their best... LA9RY:
Started with K-value 5, increasing to 7 during a 9 hour period the night
before and after the test showed maximum K=3. Nice to be in this contest
for the first time. Operated from my summer house. LU7DW:
Only few hours from home... I hope to be on an island next year. Is
better to be in the other side of the pile-up LX1NO:
Poor behaviour of IL7M whom it took many QSOs to sometimes mention his
IOTA reference, most often only when being asked. That's definitely
against the rules! M0AFZ:
Great fun but terrible conditions! M0BAO/P:
Very poor wx on Saturday caused antenna problems. M0RHI:
Condx not bad. Gave me a good chance to test a portable set-up at the
home QTH which worked. Will make a serious go of it next yr. Excellent
Contest! M5KJM:
First time I've entered looking forward to next year M5Q:
Static rain for most of the evening and night. What happened to 10m?
Some good DX to be worked on 20m and 40m during the night if you went
hunting, some nice new IOTAs worked. M6C:
Great day, learned a lot. M6T:
Good fun as usual. Shame about the lousy conditions on 15 & 10. MM0BQI/P:
First two hours fantastic then someone moved the propagation!
Few problems this year except two bulls and an electric fence ten
feet from the shack! The MP noise blanker works quite well. See you next
year from the top of the island. MU0FAL:
An unexpected unplanned entry made things interesting, I just love the
exchange in this contest on CW. Makes for a good rhythm in pileups. N0YO:
This was my first contest using the new tower. The extra 25 feet makes a
lot of difference. Just wish I would have had the time to do a whole 24
hrs. N1BCL:
Had a great time and I am already looking forward to 2004. N1DX:
This was an expedition - W0NO brought all towers, antennas in a van from
Kansas! K0BJ brought FT-847 and K1TWF brought SB-1000. N2GC:
Despite lousy conditions activity for this contest seems to be getting
better every year. Nice to see the many island activations from this
side of the pond. CU next year. N4DL:
This was my first IOTA contest. I
had a lot of fun and will be back next year. N4UH:
The rhombic worked great into Europe and the TH7 filled in the rest of
the world. Conditions fair and made this 84 year oldie work! N9RV:
Good activity, especially from the UK.
Too bad conditions went south after the first six hours.
40 meters to EU was especially bad.
But fun working the islands. OE3ZK:
Poor conditions - but it was fun! OH0R:
After 7 times of operating from Sandström Reef we decided to do
something else this year... Discussion with OH2TA at SRAL's summer camp
just one week before the contest led to this joint venture operation
with OH DX RING, the old club behind the Brändö contest site and many
fine contest operations and DXpeditions with several callsigns (OH2AM,
OH0AM, OH0R, OH0B etc. etc.) Unfortunately Mother Nature was not on our
side and the radio conditions were very poor from here north. Even the
Europeans were very weak and difficult to copy on all bands. During the
contest we had to go QRT three times and disconnect everything because
of thunderstorms. Over 100 QSOs were lost from the log (between
0830-0930) because of hard disk failure in one of the computers. During
that time we had one station only QRV until a lightning strike very
nearby... OH3TZ:
A nice event even without any on-line computers, etc. The humble result
is no problem, because to the old brain and the shaky hands it was good
rehabilitation. OK1-35783:
Really nice contest. Perfect thing is 12 or 24 hours "system".
See you next year.73! OK1ANN:
I am in IOTA Contest every year from 1998. It is my favourite contest
because I am Island Hunter. OK1TFH:
It is my best contest from all other world contests. ON7TQ:
In spite of not being on one of the islands this year we had great fun.
Been one of the operators, the last 4 years, as PA6TEX from-EU038 but we
could not make the trip this time. ONL-3647:
after 24 hours of listening in this years contest I thought this was my
worst result in 6 years of IOTA contests. Conditions on this side were
bad to very bad, especially during the night. For some stations I had to
listen for more than 10 minutes to copy their callsign. When I was
completing my log I noticed that I scored lesser contacts, but more
points!!! OZ/DF0TX:
Had a nice time on Romo Isl. with DXing and swimming in the North Sea. OZ/DJ1AA/P:
Bad bad bad DX conditions. I was so sad about the possible scores. But
anyway I had a lot of fun during my first IOTA contest from a real
Island. In the past I worked only from at home. 73 and see you next
year. Mirko DJ1AA ex OZ/DJ1AA/P Romo Island EU-125. OZ1DUG:
1st HF contest participation OZ1DYI/P:
Power: a 90 W solar cell - there is no electricity at the QTH OZ8AE:
Condx not as good as I expected but this contest seems to grow every
year and I am having fun taking part in it. Using IC-746 max 100 watts
to Inv L-ant for 80 m, 43 m vertical LOOP for all bands 40-10 meters
plus a TH3-MK4 at 11m. PA/DH5HV:
First time IOTA contest for me from EU146 during summer holiday. Enjoyed
it very much with my friend PA3BSQ. (He did CW) Next time maybe another
Island. PA0IJM:
A nice contest with a lot of activity from the islands. Have fun with
the control of the incoming logs. Best
73 and hope to meet you again. PA0TON:
Tnx for the opportunity to work some new islands. PA3AFF:
It seems to me that CW speed increases each year! PA3GZC:
Many thanks for organising and checking. PA5KT:
Just testing some things. No efforts. Condx were bad. PA7XG:
Mainland stations have regretfully little to offer to this contest. Thus
my thanks to participants who were kind enough to accommodate my
callsign in their logs.
PA9ZZ:
A lot of fun. The IOTA Contest gets better every year! PI4HQ:
To start with: thanks again for the perfect organisation of the IOTA
contest in the past and in 2003! For us it was great fun again. Our
group is growing so fast so maybe next year our club might need an extra
island so all ops get a change at the mike or key! Needless to say
conditions were not like the past two years but the increasing activity
guaranteed again very crowded bands and a lot of multipliers to search
for. Big thrill was the CW activity from all corners of the earth on 40m
and the many brand new operators on the HF bands from the UK. PS2I:
special thanks to PY2GA, PY2EB, PY2AKR, PY2BW (for lending us his linear
amp) and to our wives (hi hi hi)...
and all friends from São Paulo Contest Group. PU5HAS:
10m was too hard. I am class C, I can only operate in 10m and 80m in
this contest. I was using a dipole for 10 and for 80.Equipment: Ft-707
and an old PC. RV6BC:
Good contest!!! SM6AVD:
This traffic is nowadays too rapid for my 73 years of age and my shaking
fingers. But I got 2 "new ones". SO1CE:
Nice contest again but poor condx CU in 2004! SO1VAF:
We had a lot of fun-propagation on 10 and 15m were poor nice contest
again CU in 2004- tnx vy 73! SP5UAF:
Had very limited time. It's a pity. Perhaps next year... SV1XV:
Poor propagation on 20 m on Saturday evening and no propagation at all
on Sunday morning despite a Solar Flux of 104. K-index was around 4.
Very good conditions, low noise and strong signals during the night on
40 and 80 m. Still, I managed to work a few new IOTA entities. SV5/G4DHF:
HF conditions gradually deteriorated throughout the weekend. Found it
difficult to hold a run QRG in the face of high power mainland stations. SV9/PA0NMH:
Not intended to travel to Crete, realised at last the IOTA-Contest would
be during my stay. Big fun, however only limited time available. None of
the contest programs known to me produced a proper Cabrillo format,
hence a look-alike in Excel. TF8GX:
Terrible conditions on all bands. TM3ON:
Very difficult start - bad condx - 10m only a few QSOs in CW -Why still
need nrs ?? the essential of the QSO RST+Nr the essential is the IOTA
REF ( 15pts-multi) -only the not IOTA stations : RST+Nr !!! HOPE TO BE
BACK IN 2004!! UA1QV/P:
Propagation was very very bad 27 of July...It was my
"General-repetition" before RDA Contest Worked from field
conditions (RDA: VO-12) with simple equipment specially. In RDA Contest
I shall take part in "Field" group. But very interesting
Contest - IOTA - without any reasons!!! TNX! UA3AGW:
My first ever IOTA Contest operation! Thanks for nice opportunity to
gain more islands for still young IOTA participant with only 500 isl
cfmd. UA9FGJ:
This contest was hard work. UR5IFB:
Very nice contest but big QRM from fixed station to island station
73 cuagn in next year!!! UT2IWT/P:
Worked from an island Lyapina. For the Diploma of an Island of Ukraine. UT8LL
(UR8LV op.): I had activated callsign of Victor UT8LL to memory from his
own position UV7M:
Good Contest! UY5LQ:
I liked competitions. I
shall be very glad to meet the next year! All of good luck and many
thanks! UY5ZZ:
Great contest, but very poor conditions on 21 and 28MHz...Only 6 new
IOTA for my collection. See you next year! VE1JS:
Conditions were basically lousy throughout the contest but I had fun in
spite of it all. The antenna restrictions for low power stations must
go!!!!! Put the
restrictions on High Power stations if you must have them. VE1RGB:
What a fun contest! And two
new countries, to boot! I am reasonably new at contesting and very
inexperienced with electronic log submission processes. My score won't
win any prizes, but nonetheless I do hope to have my results officially
entered. Anything I need to
do to make that happen (within my capability, that is), please let me
know. And please pass my
thanks on to that anonymous group of folks who labour long and hard to
make contests such as IOTA a success.
I am well aware that such things do not just happen all by
themselves. VE3CTD:
Torrential rain and mud! Background noise of rain on tents made contacts
difficult. On-air activity curtailed. VE3MR:
Having operated in the past from EU-146, I know the big difference
between being the hunted and the hunter, hi! VE7TUB:
We were operating as a Special Event Station. Celebrating the 37th World
Championship Bath Tub Race. Please use this Log for checking purposes.
Some of operators did not copy all the important information. VO1TA:
Poor band conditions but had a good time anyway hope to cuagn next year VY1/N7FL:
Enclosed is the log for the 2003 IOTA Contest from Herschel Island,
NA-193. This was a very interesting and, at times, trying DXpedition. We
went from moments where we thought that all that we had done was for
naught when the case with the coaxial cables and antennas was lost by
the airline company, all the way up to awe, wonder, and elation when the
Beluga whales passed by no more than 50 feet off the beach next to our
tent. Propagation from inside the auroral oval usually was not good, as
can be seen from the "spacing" of the times of the contacts we
were able to make during the contest. Each contact had to be coaxed,
prodded, and persuaded out of the auroral oval during that weekend. We
learned later from another amateur radio operator in Seattle that his
daughter was able to see her first aurora that Saturday night, 2003 July
26-27. If anyone asks, that was a major factor in our level of
performance from the island this year. Perhaps it might be possible to
improve on our record next year. Debby and I have been talking about
trying this again with the benefit of all that we learned from this
trip. Now if there is only something we can do to convince the
Propagation Gods to smile upon us also . . . W2/NP3D:
I was happy to participate in IOTA Contest for the very first time. W3TBG:
We had a great time! All
the bugs we could eat. Actually,
the island food was terrific. Our
thanks to the Ewell fire department for allowing us the use of their
facilities. W4SAA/P:
Enjoyed the event. Hoped
for more CW activity from some of the island groups. Only able to make
about 20 QSOs in last 4 hrs, no JA no EU, and condx vy poor. Would like
to see a few more certificates offered in future IOTA contests. Tks Q's. W5FO:
A lot of noise here on the lower bands. Fun anyway. I'll do better next
year. W6RMK/M:
Please find attached my log for the IOTA contest.
Sorry about the crude formatting, this was my first contest,
entered on a lark while running errands with my daughter and operating
mobile. Great fun! WB2YQH:
Horrible conditions frustrated my enthusiasm and just did not go the
usual 12 hours wasting RF! WB8YJF/4:
Fun as usual. Need a new location – cars driving over radials laid on
top of gravel drive. CU next year! YD3JMO:
My first participating on IOTA YE5X:
Used this event for socialisation of IOTA to local novice operator.
Hopefully, in the future, they will be active from several
islands here. YM0T:
After a crushed electronic log nightmare in 2002,completed a fine
contest DXpedition from Kefken Island (AS-159) this year. Antennas:
Giant home made Windom (10 to 160) 35 m above ground, 80 m inverted eve
30 m above ground, 10 m vertical and a FD4 Windom as a sloper from top
of the WLH-0691 to seaside. Made 1440 QSO at just 1 QSO per minute
psychological border! But no more multiplier. Low bands were not good
due to very high noise levels. Will try for bigger score in 2004. 73
TA2RC YO3BWK
Sorry, but my rig broke at 1834, hi! YT1LT:
This is my second IOTA contest. This year is better for me but I don’t
have OC IOTA because the propagation its not good for this IOTA. Contest
is very fine and see you on the next contest. YU1WC:
This was my first IOTA contest, and I enjoyed it very much. Propagation
was not ideal, but it did not bother me. I like contests like this, with
special rules, and lot of activity since everyone may work everyone.
Those aspiring to higher scores must
concentrate on island stations. I missed a lot of IOTAs I knew were
there - but probably they worked mostly or exclusively on SSB (e.g. very
few Italian IOTAs in my log). YV7QP:
Bad conditions on 10m. FB contest!! YW6P:
Nice contest but propagation very low, nothing on 10m lot of fun
activating SA-090 thanks for calling. Z36W:
Very bad time for operation from my country. It’s too warm, for
example temp. in my shack was over 35C and it is very difficult for
operating. Anyhow I had fun and worked some new IOTAs. ZC4VG:
Bands absolutely dreadful!!! Best scores on 7 & 14 MHz, 21 & 28
MHz never really opened at
this QTH. Only one QSO to Oceania, very few into NA or Japan. Mainly
east European. At times QSOs into 'G' quite good, but very erratic. |