2003 showed what a good band 70cm really is. Significant openings to Scandinavia occurred in 5 of the 12 sessions - a much better record than the corresponding 2m events can boast. Overall activity was actually slightly up on 2002 with 15% more session logs received from about the same number of entrants - those who liked the contest stuck with it. Some sessions were clearly more popular than others, with some of the best conditions in the summer creating the greatest enthusiasm. While activity is not huge in this contest, do give some thought to coming on when you're at home on a 2nd Tuesday evening of the month - it's probably your best regular opportunity to enjoy some DX on 70cm.
Winners were clear in both sections with Bryn Llewllyn, G4DEZ & The South Birmingham RS, G8OHM taking their respective sections. However - the competition was for the runner-up positions, with both of these being closely fought. In the Single Operator Fixed section, Neil Whiting, G4BRK beat Roger Piper, G3MEH - a particularly notable achievement with around a 13dB ERP disadvantage. In the Open section, David Millard, M0GHZ went out portable after a house move which leaves him without proper antennas and high power, and just managed to dislodge the ever keen Stephen Bunting, M0BPQ/P and the Reigate ATS G5LK/P.
Andy Cook, G4PIQ
Single Operator Fixed Pos Call Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Score QSO Pwr Any Best DX km 1* G4DEZ 129584 0 63096 72917 82849 64119 91924 578907 0 159188 174403 0 6000 317 400 2 x 28Y SK6AL 934 2* G4BRK 91485 72604 34690 0 0 60324 81720 264720 0 147662 62388 0 4749 223 30 21Y SM6CEN/M 1104 3 G3MEH 0 0 47112 87765 26208 47052 56052 3388 10060 94080 0 509795 4681 262 250 2 x 23Y OZ2QF 916 4* PE1EWR 14007 18664 0 31968 27100 37500 16950 219127 36081 91714 58476 47256 2872 209 120 2 x 21Y SM6DJH 910 5 G3YDY 14889 2588 6040 15952 7830 17685 0 107450 42500 79758 33330 131865 2158 197 50 9Y SM6DJH 1011 6 G0ODQ 0 0 0 0 0 0 22626 34236 57012 0 0 0 1305 62 150 2 x 21Y OZ9KY 846 7 G8HGN 51974 0 0 0 0 12992 0 138030 0 49940 8148 0 1203 97 50 2 x 21Y OZ9KY 782 8 G1ZJP 0 98736 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1000 29 400 4 x 28Y DF2VJ 632 9 G8FBG 0 0 0 0 80756 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 975 33 400 2 x 28Y DL5NAV 591 10 M0WYE 0 0 0 4320 3496 0 8268 0 2376 0 4064 0 246 38 50 16Y GW8AWM 272 11* G8AHK 0 0 12334 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 195 18 10 88Y PA5KM 314 12 G3YJR 526 0 1768 0 0 3275 819 19215 0 1916 372 0 137 44 5 19Y OZ9KY 782 13* 2E1GUA 1002 0 0 0 0 0 4590 4490 1230 1518 2416 10572 123 43 20 19Y DL3TW 690 14 M0DDT 12761 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 98 9 100 21Y PA5KM 352 15 G3JJZ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10136 0 6300 0 0 57 26 25 19Y PI4KGL 322 16 M1DUD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 8652 0 0 0 0 15 6 2 6Y OZ9KY 698 17 G4XPE 0 0 0 0 0 0 336 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 25 25LP G4DEZ 107 Open Pos Call Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Score QSO Pwr Any Best DX km 1* G8OHM 0 0 0 51492 84285 56424 53340 351739 10736 15786 43428 63752 6000 238 400 26Y OZ9KY 861 2* M0GHZ/P 0 0 0 0 0 42642 49644 155130 0 0 0 0 2127 82 120 21Y OZ9KY 936 3 M0BPQ/P 0 5310 8680 0 0 0 0 0 1995 0 0 0 2017 36 40 21Y PA5KM 271 4 G5LK/P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 119250 0 79216 0 2000 77 400 4 x 28Y DL6YBF 530 5 M0WYE/P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 53218 0 0 0 0 151 19 25 16Y OZ9KY 789