If you took part in the IARU HF Championship on the second weekend of July and you happened to work one of five stations operating from the grounds of the Euston Estate in Suffolk, England, you were also part of the field test for the World Radiosport Team Championship taking place next year.

The five stations were on the air from actual site locations for an important training exercise, testing of the masts, antennas and radios -- and a little experimentation -- to prepare for next year's competition. Volunteers got a chance to practice setup of the equipment and give a thorough test of the scoreboard and IT networking system.

Despite some minor issues, the exercise was declared a success - right down to the report from the operators that there were no issues with interference between stations, which were running 100 watts. The organizers wrote on the WRTC website: [quote] "Activity will be different next year - hopefully 10m will be more co-operative - and the interest in chasing 50 real WRTC stations will be higher." [endquote]