Ropoco 1 Contest, 2003.

Where commented upon, most contestants found conditions to be average, which in the writers experience at such an early hour in summer is not good! Many also commented that the going particularly in the second hour was slow, and that if anything the contest is too long, which is understandable comment. However, realistically it could hardly be shorter and perhaps a more operater-friendly time slot would address both these issues: AFS may well be a pointer in this regard.
Fraser Robertson, G4BJM, once again combined the attributes of a strong signal, slick operating and high accuracy to top the table.

G3RSD using 100 watts output and an antenna at modest height achieved second place, beating the clutch of stations with 6db greater output. Antenna heights ranged from below 20ft to greater than 80ft, with a remarkable number in the former catergory, which makes the author’s antenna seem less modest than he had previously thought!

The very obvious mangling of postcodes, which clearly are then repeated ad infinitum, belies the fact that overall accuracy is high, with the mean deduction of less than 1%, with the median below 2%, the range being zero to 27% with four perfect logs, a very commendable performance. The latter figure is less than in recent events but there is no truth in the rumour that the adjudicator is heavy handed!

Over a third of the logs received were still paper based, which is disappointing. The author, although not computer literate, came to computer logging and found keyboarding to be the major problem. However, it revolutionised his contest approach and activity, so advancing years should not be a barrier. It is clear that accuracy in the computer based logs is very much higher than the paper based equivalents, which should provide further motivation.

Clive Whelan, GW3NJW.