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What is AFS?

AFS is a closely fought UK contest. It is conducted on 80 metres and lasts just 4 hours. It's primarily a team event although the leading individual operator gets an award. Teams consist of up to five stations and all stations must be located within 50 miles of the team's club HQ. It's all about QSOs made as all QSO count the same - 10 points.

Typically, the leading station will make around 300 QSOs but - its a very unpredictable contest!

As the band runs from 3510-3580, its chaos for most of the time. Only the strongest will triumph!

So how is it for us?

I operate with the Demontfort University club. We are a diverse bunch and for us, AFS is a huge effort each year. Many of us (like me) do not live anywhere near the club and so we have to drive miles and be accommodated at various sites in the area. Bob, G3ORY, pulls the whole thing together. He sorts sites, rigs, amplifiers and aerials for us all. An how many is that? Well we normally field three teams - that's up to 15 stations.

And we do well - very well. We have won the contest on several occasions, have had the leading individual operator spot and in most years we have two teams in the top ten - a feat that is always ignored by whoever writes the event up in Radcom.

And this year?

Our core group for the A team is G3OAY - brilliant operator. One of the Uk's best.

G3RIR and G3ORY - who operate together (the zimmer frame team)

Myself and whoever else makes the first team grade. Our club is unusually lucky in having strength in numbers.

My entry in 2001

Mark and Malc put up the aerials at Malc's rather fine QTH, near the East Midlands Airport. The aerials was a dipole at 50 feet, held perfectly horizontal with a catenery line. I supplied the station itself and we used TRLog.

The event went quite well and my score was up on previous years. Malc's QTH helps and it was nice to have a table to operate from this year. I usually operate from Mark (G4FPH)'s garage - not very confortable. The scoring rates were fair. It's never a very fast event from beginning to end. My thoughts for next year are to do more search and pounce operation. I held off this year iuntil the Last 10 QSO rate dropped below 30 and that was really too low. Next year I will try it at 40. Before the contest I said it was my last, but maybe I'll see next year!

You can see my rate graph here.

and finally, the pictures

Oh to have aerials like this at home!

err, well at least I have one of these...

Hurry up can't you!!!!!

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