VHFNFD - WOW !!

To celebtrate the RSGB Centenary the Weather and Radio Gods got together to produce a spectacular VHFNFD.  Clear blue skies and the best conditions I've heard on 70cms for many a year.  I provided the 432MHz station for the Pembrokeshire Contest Group in IO71OP.  Again this was a single operator experience involving all setup, operating and tear down.  The two new HA8ET preamps worked flawlessly and, given the strengths of some of the DX, definitely improved the performance of the system.

Conditions were excellent into SW France and Spain throughout the event and into PA/ON/DL/OZ/LA during the Saturday evening.  In all 199 QSOs were made into 54 squares with an average distance of 501kms.  The best contact was into JO62 at 1207kms and there were 31 contacts >900kms.

It could have been much better but interference from the 144MHz station lost the majority of the first four hours of the event.  Then to cap it all, I got 200 yards out of the field and suffered a front tyre blow out.  Where is the jack - that would be under all the kit you have just packed into the Land Rover!