The John Moyle Field Day Radio Contest (the “Radio Contest”) is a WIA sponsored Australian and New Zealand radio contest aimed at obtaining the most points through diverse radio contacts over the course of a 6-24 hour period while operating as a portable station.
See the 2021 event information here
2020 Results
Mafeking Amateur Radio Group had a small footprint of operation on the weekend with three operators, braving the oncoming COVID-19 saga in Victoria. The weekend was enjoyable but spirit was mildly dampened by the COVID pandemic. No log was submitted for the 2020 event, but fun was had by all participating.
2019 Results
Miraculously, station VK3SCM managed to obtain exactly the same number of contacts this year as was made in 2018: 109! We worked hard and fast in the 2019 contest, but this was due to needing to make up for 6h of lost time due to a suspected dead radio and a return trip to Melbourne to obtain an alternative HF unit. Within half an hour of arriving back on site, members learnt a valuable lesson to never trust Advanced License holders (especially when they’re tired) to check that patch leads actually work, and that a Faraday Cage is a very real concept! With the broken patch lead replaced, VK3SCM took to the air and searched to smash last year’s record, but only managed to retain the same contact numbers as per 2018. A fun time had by all, and many lessons learnt.
You can see our results by downloading our 2019 Event Log.
2018 Results
John Moyle Memorial Field Day was a big success for Mafeking Amateur Radio Group, with 5 key participators activating the station over the 24h contest period. We enjoyed some interesting weather, made over 100 contacts, and gave many their first opportunity to get on the air – let alone having a go at their first contest.
You can see our results by downloading our 2018 Event Log.
Well done to all who participated, and special thanks to Top Gear Scout for their assistance in both allowing us to use the site for the weekend, and for feeding us too!
Mafeking and the Radio Contest
Mafeking Rover Park operate as a portable station for the Radio Contest. This event provides an opportunity for current amateurs and amateurs-to-be to have a go at a Radio community focused event (as opposed to a Scout focused event like JOTA) at Mafeking Rover Park, work their hand at mobile setup operating, and expanding the program available to offer at our campsite.
The Aim
The aim of the contest is to obtain as many diverse contacts as possible while operating as a portable station. Points are scored for the number of conversations (QSO’s) recorded. More points are awarded for the more challenging a QSO is to obtain. For example, a simple voice contact on a HF radio is worth 2 points, but if the conversation is via morse code instead of voice, the QSO is worth 4 points. Several other point scoring criteria apply, and full details can be found in the linked rules and regulations extracted from the January/February WIA Magazine.
Contest Rules
As a formal WIA contest, there are relevant rules and regulations that stations must comply with should they wish to lodge their results as a competitive team. That said, we do not have to be competitive and can take a relaxed participation approach, but the spirit of competition does make for a more exciting and challenging experience for the event. If a serious challenge doesn’t appeal, it is still a fantastic opportunity to get on the air while the airwaves are a buzz of activity with other radio amateurs extremely active across Australia and New Zealand.
Contest rules can be downloaded as a PDF here.
If you would like more information or to get involved, please email events@vk3scm.com.