This years UHF Contest was not blessed with the good conditions of 2011, although the weather was kind, with no wind and sunshine on Saturday and just a bit of fog on Sunday morning.

Rates were fairly slow throughout, calling CQ on 23cms did not seem to generate as many contacts as expected, so KST proved useful to set up tests with some DX stations.

After 2 hours there were only 21 QSOs in the log, 16 on 23cm and the rest on 13cm. The best in this period were DK6AS (JO52), DF4IAO (JN48) and TM2W (JN37) on 23cm and DL3IAS (JN49) on 13cm. The next couple of hours saw a run through the bands with PA6NL and then some good DX with DL0GTH (JO50), a real 59 on 23cm, rather weaker on 13cm, and nil on 9cm. By 2000 there were 35 QSOs in the log on 23cm and 18 on 13cm, but no exceptional DX though. The next couple of hours gave some DX contacts with DH9NFM (JO50) and DH1FM (JO60) on 23cm. By the end of the UK Trophy contests the QSO totals were 48 on 23cm and 22 on 13cm, so not great.

I was hoping Sunday would be better (Hepburn indicated that something might happen), and it got off to a good start on 70cm with OK1XFJ (JN69), TM2W (JN37) and F5OAU/P (JN27), but tropo conditions were still flat. Moving up to 23cm DK2ZF/P (JO43) was soon in the log, followed by a QSO on 13cm too, both aircraft reflection assisted. Back on 70cm DF5GZ/P (JN47) was worked but a move up to 23cm did not go, eventually we made it on 23cm nearly an hour later. Around 0900z DK1VC (JO31) was worked on three bands and provided the best DX on 9cm. Back on 70cm DL0GTH (JO50) and DQ7A (JO61) were worked, but several tests on 23cm with DQ7A failed to produce any signals, which is unusual. It took 3 attempts to work DF0MU on 3cm but we got there in the end, and made a 6cm QSO too.

We were now on the last lap of the contest, and the bands finally began to open, with loud signals from HB9EOU, HB9XC, and HB9FX (JN37) on 70cm. Of these only HB9FX had 23cm, we had tested unsuccessfully earlier, now it was an easy tropo contact. The icing on the cake was an easy cw contact with DF5GZ/P (JN47) for an all time new square on 13cm. Right at the end I tested on 3cm with TM2W (JN37), and detected some weak CW but not enough to make a QSO.

So that was 2012 - lets hope for better conditions next year.

73

John G3XDY

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