2024 Collier Cup Round 1

10 May 2024

Competitor Time Adj. Time Time Diff. Score Bill North
Peter Lisle 20:45:00 20:45:00 00:00:00 -5 10
Alan Simmons 20:51:15 20:51:15 00:06:15 8 6
Bill Pechey 21:29:25 21:29:25 00:44:25 47 4
Graham Phillips 21:29:35 21:29:35 00:44:35 48 3
Justin Oldham 21:29:50 21:29:50 00:44:50 49 2
Chris Plummer NF 21:49:50 01:04:50 70 1
Geoffrey Foster op - - - 4

Organiser's report

I thought that I would have to cancel this event and intended to do so as soon as I got back from Essex as I had only received two entries from Peter and Alan. Imagine my surprise when I woke the computer from it’s days sleep and there is an entry from Chris Plummer, now I will have to find a site and put up an antenna. Justin Oldham puts in an entry on Thursday and Bill emails on Friday morning to ask if I have forgotten him, no I have not, but his email sent via GG did not arrive on the 6th nor has it been withheld as spam by BT.

I leave at 2:30 and come off the M40 at J 9, not the one I had intended but time is short. I reject several possible sites, so many bits of wood are becoming private, but find two really good sites, at least they would be if I could find somewhere to hide my car but it would be too far to walk at present. With time running out and a big traffic jam on the A34 I decide to use a site that I have used before, Bernwood Forest and head for the car park there. There is only one truck there but two cars arrive as I attempt to drive into a parking place.

A long drink of water and with rucksack on my back, Tx in one hand and extending pole in the other I stagger off towards the centre of the forest, near the centre and I turn right towards York Wood, walk a bit further and look for a site, sadly the undergrowth is rather sparse. Tie one end of the antenna to the Tx and I start putting it through the trees, it doesn't look very long so I join on another length and by 7:15 I am tuning up the transmitter. Next time it will be my Helical Whip and hope. Just as well that my signal makes it to the start because the approximate bearing would have been “draw a line through Horton-cum-Studley from the start.

With the first transmission over, successfully – good signal at the start- and it is time for a drink of water and, yes you guessed it, a banana and a snack bar. I am informed that there is an extra competitor who did not enter, should he be allowed to score points or should I add 10 minutes to his finishing time?

Time passes, I had thought that everyone would guess the site and be in just after 8:15 but 8:30 arrives and there is only the birds singing to keep me company. Around 8:35 someone walks past about 100 metres away, I pull my hood up to cover my white hair, I still remember Chris Plummer shouting “I can see your white hair Geoff” as he rushed towards me, I must get it coloured, pink seems very popular these days. 8:40 and I transmit again, unknown person moves away and torches shine around the antenna, just over two minutes of blank carrier plus CW at beginning and end, no one comes rushing in but at 8:45 Peter and Ruth arrive. Alan finds me on a transmission at 8:51:15.

At 9:00 I make the next scheduled transmission and ignoring the recently received rules from Bill via Paul, which turn out to be the same as the rules I already have, I leave the Tx on for all but a couple of minutes until 9:40. Bill arrives at 9:29:25, Graham at 9:29:35 and Justin Oldham at 9:29:50.

Many thanks to Bill who helped to recover the antenna and Justin and Dave who carried the Tx and pole back to my car.

The Tx was located at approximately 614 107, transmitter was the usual Mid-Thames 1920 kHz and the antenna was a long wire about 8-10 feet high with the far end rising vertically to 30 foot or so.

Afterwards we went to the Chandos Arms where Dave bought me a drink and we worried about our missing competitor who we were eventually able to contact by telephone.

Geoffrey Foster

A competitor's report

It was a good signal at the start with not much skywave. I did not think it was as far as Bernwood Forest and spent some time with almost parallel bearings. We parked next to the car park for the Bernwood Meadows nature reserve, which turned out to be a good way into the forest. I was amazed to see the meadows covered with an enormous number of orchids; we often see orchids on DFs but I have never seen so many in my life.

Our bearings were good and I knew exactly where the transmitter would be. Unfortunately, when I got closer, I managed to lose my sense of direction and wandered off in a different direction. After a while, I realised I had no idea which way to go. I followed my compass and came out in a firebreak which was not the firebreak I thought it was. Graham appeared followed by Justin O. and we all thrashed around for some time before discovering Geoffrey's carbon-fibre pole and then the transmitter site.

The others had parked in the main car park so I said goodbye and headed back to the car, confident that I knew the way. It was dark by now and the woodland didn't look the same as on the way in; that was because it wasn't the way I'd come in. I went in the right direction but about 100m north of where I should have been. Eventually, I came out at the right place having waded through a lot of mud. I must remember to bring my smart phone with me in future and use its GPS and OS maps to find my way.

Bill Pechey