Meteor scatter contest activity continues to show modest growth. There were 37 submitted logs that indicated 157 unique callsigns and 120 active grids in the Rally. These numbers represent increases of 15, 27, and 17 percent, respectively, compared to the 2004 Winter Rally.

The top overall score of 8904 belongs to Bruce, N5SIX, who piled up 66 QSOs while in three different grids without the aid of the Pingjockey website. Bill, K0AWU had another impressive showing in the Winter Rally by making good use of his strategically located, multiband VHF blowtorch. His QSO count of 85 was best overall. Top honors on 6-meters goes to to Dennis, K7BV, who racked up 73 contacts with his impressive 4-bay antenna array. John, KM5ES, led the way on 2-meters by making 51 QSOs from his eastern Oklahoma QTH. Both W5UWB and K4AL reported a pair of QSOs on the always challenging 220 MHz band.

As participation increases, more awards get claimed. Twenty of the 32 available certificates found new homes. The debate on QSO point values for the different bands rages on. Many are clamoring for a bigger payout on 2-meters. Another issue is whether we need to separate single- and multi-band award categories. Do we want to encourage contesters to build multi-band stations by eliminating that distinction? Post your thoughts on the WSJT discussion group for the contest committee to consider.

A very appreciative THANKS to those who submitted logs in the form of an electronic spreadsheet. This saved your scorekeeper many hours of drudgery associated with transcribing data. The next rally on the calendar will coincide with the eta-Aquarids shower in the spring of 2006.

-- Mike, WB2FKO for The Rally Committee; January 22, 2006