The end of 2025 signified 10 years of contesting since I rekindled my contesting activities since the 1990s. Over these 10 years I have been working hard to achieve good results and do the best I could. Additionally, the Hereford Amateur Radio Society has embraced contesting from 1.8MHz to 24 GHz. So below are some of the main highlights of my (and the club) contesting achievements in 2025.
Personal results.
Practical Wireless 144MHz QRP Contest.
2025 marked my 5th consecutive win in this event, which has not been done before and also my 10th in total, also not been done before.
You will notice 2020 is missing. That was the Covid year and whilst I did enter that (and did acheive a much higher score than the ‘winner’) I mistakenly thought that as it was an exceptional year as we were not allowed to go portable we were allowed to use KST chat. After the event I realised this was incorrect and owned up to being in KST to the adjudicator. UNLIKE the ‘winner’ who was ALSO in KST against the rules. I know because I saw them there but he never owned up like myself.
BTW, I enter PW QRP as Hereford VHF Contest Groups as that is what we called ourselves in 1990.
| Year | Winner | Callsign |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2017 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2018 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2019 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2021 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2022 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2023 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2024 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
| 2025 | Hereford VHF Contest Group | GW1YBB/P |
RSGB 144MHz Backpackers.
Again, 2025 signalled my 5th consecutive win in section 3B. Again, 2020 and Covid messed things up. Initially the VHFCC said, as we were in lock-down, that the Backpackers Trophy would not be awarded. When we were allowed out portable I did some VHF Championship events for Hereford club instead. And then found out that the trophy HAD in fact been awarded and this was won by Andrew G4XZL who won the 2 events that were able to run. Normally it is the best 3 from 5 events. I was a bit miffed the VHFCC moved the goalposts, but now I am well used to that! I have won 9 of the 17 section 3B Backpackers since it started.
| Year | Winner | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | GW4IDF/P | 2733 |
| 2010 | GW4RWR/P | 3000 |
| 2011 | GW4RWR/P | 3000 |
| 2012 | G4XZL/P | 2877 |
| 2013 | GW4RWR/P | 3000 |
| 2014 | G(W)4XZL/P | 3000 |
| 2015 | G(W)4XZL/P | 3000 |
| 2016 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2017 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2018 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2019 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2020 | G4XZL/P | 2000 |
| 2021 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2022 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2023 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2024 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
| 2025 | GW1YBB/P | 3000 |
ARRL RTTY RoundUp 2025.
RTTY is quite new to me as although I did get it going once on 80m for the RSGB CC series in 2017 I haven’t been on it since and now I am amazed I ever did before. I had an absolute nightmare of a job setting this up at the end of 2024 and had to walk away a few times. My woes are detailed here.
I persevered thankfully and had a few small goes from home at the end of the year. But once I had a working home setup I was able to use that as a known platform to setup and test a portable setup at home ready for 2025. So for this contest I went to a fantastic location with a borrowed 3 band dipole. The contest is a 5 band contest with no single band section so I was limiting myself to 3/5th of scoring opportunities but that did give me the excuse to have down time and re-charging time when the high bands stopped working. As this was my first proper go at an RTTY contest I was delighted to win my section. It’s fair to say my QRP pond is quite small but equally true to say I was second in the world and the only 3 band station in top 5.
Better than first loser in the World was setting an all time DX record (entire World outside USA) for the section.
This qualified me for a wall plaque trophy!
CQ WPX RTTY 2025.
Enjoying the RTTY contesting I took the gamble again that a QRP station in a great spot could again survive in a busy contest like CQ WPX. I found in ARRL Roundup I could squeeze in amongst all the louder signals. WPX does have single band sections so I chose to do 15m as it is reliable as a rule and I could easily mod my wire moxon to suit. 15m also closes so that is nice for a break and recharge batteries, for radio and mine! Though RTTY is very civilised operating as I was able to eat and drink while working pileups at the same time! Love it.
The ‘pond’ was slightly bigger in this section and I was delighted to be World winner:
Even better my score was a new World all time record! Woohoo. Another wall plaque!
CQ WW RTTY 2025.
The CQ WW contests are the biggest of the year so I was keen to try again with a good effort. This time I went for an aluminium tube 15m moxon which is actually my G1YBB design 15/10/6m 2 ele on each but I ditched the 10m and 6m elements. Again I banked on a superb location launching my little signal into the ether far and wide. CQ WW in fact….literally.
As I write the results are not yet out but barring a disaster on adjudication the raw scores are showing me leading a quite small World pond:
Also the current all time section record is 265,457 pts so I am keeping the fingers crossed!
Hereford Amateur Radio Society results.
RSGB VHF Championship.
This is a year long series of individual contests that all go towards a league table like overall championship. There are two trophies available to win for the VHF Championship, the affiliated society (AFS) and the Open. AFS is scored by all club members scores going into the pot and the Open section is just the best score for the club or group, typically larger groups operating portable.
Hereford have previously won the AFS Trophy 5 years in a row, the only club to do this:
VHF Championship AFS Trophy
| 2025 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2024 | CHESHAM & DARS |
| 2023 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2022 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2021 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2020 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2019 | HEREFORD ARS |
| 2018 | HARWELL ARS |
| 2017 | HARWELL ARS |
In 2024 we didn’t have any many out for these weekend contests, we’ve been winning a lot for several years and now really have only the core members entering. We were actually leading until the last weekend which was the 1.2GHz and 2.3GHz Trophy contests. With no entrants on 2.3GHz and only Clive G8LNR out for 1.3GHz Chesham picked up two 1000point wins and beat us.
For 2025 we decided that was not acceptable and made a renewed effort to regain top spot. Which we did:
Not only that in 2024 I noticed that we were also leading the Open section until the last weekend where Colchester getting two 1000point wins mean they overtook us, so for 2025 I was determined to see if we could win this one too.
Which we did:
No club or contest group has won both sections before. Not bad for a genuine local club with actual local members going to club meetings. Not bad at all.
Practical Wireless 70MHz Contest.
As I do like to support the PW contests as my first ever contest was PW 144MHz QRP in 1990 I have also been entering the PW 70MHz contest in the Low Power section. I have won the Low Power section for 5 consecutive years from 2018-2022. However in 2023 I couldn’t make it due to holiday commitments so I asked Wayne MW0LKX if he fancied taking up my slack. Wayne rose to the occasion as I knew he would and won the Low power section. And in 2024 and 2025. So that means Hereford ARS members have won the PW 70MHz Low Power section for 8 consecutive years:
| Year | Winner |
| 2018 | GW1YBB/P |
| 2019 | GW1YBB/P |
| 2020 | GW1YBB/P |
| 2021 | GW1YBB/P |
| 2022 | GW1YBB/P |
| 2023 | MW0LKX/P |
| 2024 | MW0LKX/P |
| 2025 | MW0LKX/P |
Also of note is the club also came 2nd in 2017 operating from the club HQ at Geoff G8BPN’s QTH. And also that both myself and Wayne have had higher scores in the Low Power section than the winners of the Open section. Also in 2022 Hereford won the Low Power AND the Open section with Dave G4ASR winning Open.
24GHz Contests.
In stark contrast to the HF contests several of the club members, Andrew G0JCC, Tim G7KTP, Dave G4ASR, Dave G4FRE and Paul GW6UAJ have expanded upwards from their 10GHz highest band to 24GHz. (Paul has higher still). 24GHz is a whole new kettle of fish and needs either line of sight or things like rain scatter and reflections off towers etc to make the QSO. The guys were already going out portable but Tim was very keen to do well so I volunteered to help carry his gear to the summit of great takeoff mountains in the Black mountains. I say mountains as they also change location (roving) to work the few people that are QRV again for more points.
For the 24GHz Trophy this meant myself and Tim first ascending Pen-Y-Gadair and working all we could then packing away, descending, driving to Hay Bluff and ascending another 700m+ mountain, involving a 3hr total break in operating before working more again from the second mountain. This did work well for us and Tim made a record number of 27 QSOs to win the 24GHz Trophy:
The microwave guys also do a 24GHz (and beyond) cumulative set of contests which Tim entered mostly on his own as well (I think I helped maybe twice) and though he was pipped to the winning post in the individual events he won the overall series with a high average score and another trophy:
I think it’s fair to shake Hereford ARS shook up the microwaves world a little this year and you will notice 3 of the top 4 scorers are club members! Andrew and Paul in fact both winning one each of the four events.
The above only encompasses some of the highlights, the club and myself have entered and won a LOT of contests across the bands in 2025.