IARU HF World Championship

The IARU HF World Championship contest was both good fun and instructive. The contest is 24 hours long, which for a single operator can be tiring. I put in about six hours. I didn’t have any big goals since it was my first IARU contest. However, I did want to work at least three bands on SSB. This I was able to accomplish with contacts on 15, 20 and 40 meters albeit with only one contact on 40.

A couple of fun things happened during the contest. I contacted NU5DE who wasn’t in the contest but was running one from California: The Skinny Dipping Contest. I told him I was close to some water (I was at the Oak Bay Marina) and might join in. He lamented that they run the Skinny Dipping Contest every year on the same weekend as the IARU contest. They were always getting drowned out.

I was working 20 meters near 14.300 when I was contacted by VE7UBA Alan Guilbault who commented that my signal was very loud at his location in Oak Bay south. I noted that I was at the Oak Bay Marina. “No wonder” he commented. Interestingly enough, Alan had just joined IslandHF and wanted to get together for coffee. It’s on the agenda, Alan.

Lastly, I heard VE7RAC on 40 meters at 7.180 but I just couldn’t contact him. My 50 watts just couldn’t get through the mountains and the static. Too bad.

The IARU contest is great fun. If you didn’t work it this year, try it in 2024.