Amateur Radio - Contesting

In recent years much of my operating time has been spent during contests, mostly organised by the RSGB. There are variations from contest to contest but the basic idea is to make contact with as many other radio amateurs on a specified frequency band(s) between certain times, as possible. Contestants exchange and log information unique to themselves, then upload their logs via the internet to the appropriate organisation. The entry logs are then compared using dedicated software and any contacts where the sent and received information doesn't tally are counted as invalid.

Helped by my home being located high on the Chiltern Hills at 215m and I have enjoyed a certain amount of success in RSGB VHF and UHF contests, including winning the John Pilags Memorial Trophy in 2000 to 2003, 2007, 2013 to 2015 and 2017; the G6ZR Memorial Trophy in 2002; and the Thorogood Trophy in 2013 and 2014.

Me being presented with the John Pilags memorial trophy by then RSGB president Don Beattie, G3BJ

Me being presented with the John Pilags memorial trophy by then RSGB president Nick Henwood, G3RWF

To try to give a little back to the hobby I served as a member of the RSGB VHF Contests Committee for several years in the 2000s. This involved me in adjudicating contests, suggesting rule changes and delivering presentations to radio clubs to try to boost entry levels to contests.

Kind permission to use these photographs was given by Steve Thomas M1ACB and Don Beattie G3BJ.