CQ BERU - Commonwealth Contest Arrives With Hopes For Continued High Band Action

By Jamie Dupree NS3T  radio-sport.net 
Posted March 9, 2011

After a good weekend of propagation for the ARRL DX SSB Contest, the big beneficiaries of that could be those participating in the Commonwealth Contest, as the familiar "CQ BERU" will be heard on the bands this weekend.

For those not familiar with the Commonwealth Contest, it's a competition open only to amateurs in the United Kingdom and countries that were once part of the sprawling British Empire.

It means hams in Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India and many other countries in Asia, Africa and the Carribean get to chase each other on the bands, without hams from the United States and most of Europe being in the pileups.

Contest organizers have tinkered with the rules and categories in recent years and it seems to have paid off, as 2010 brought another increase in the number of submitted logs, along with a bump in participation from India.

One of the more popular categories is now the "Traveller Award," as organizers say it is "proving to be a major success."

"Not only do participants invest much time and effort into organising entries from some interesting places, but, knowing that these rare entities are available with less QRM than usual, act as a further attraction to serious and casual entrants alike," read the write-up for the 2010 Beru.

"The end result is increased activity around the Commonwealth, which is good for everybody."

Among the many contesters that you might hear on the air this weekend, 9M6/VO1AU, VP2V/G3PHO, J6/G3PJT, J88DR, G3TXF as VP2MXF, G3RWF as 5X1NH and much more.

"One of the fun features of BERU in recent years is the Teams competition," said Chris GM3WOJ, who will be operating from GB5CC, which is the only UK station that other UK stations can work in the Commonwealth Contest.

"There will be VK, VE, etc HQ stations active as well," he added on the UK-Contest reflector.

Full teams will be on the air from the UK, Canada, Australia and Africa - as well as the "Rest of the Commonwealth" squad.

For those unfamiliar with the Commonwealth Contest, it has a rich history in ham radio contesting, and is often referred to as the "original DX contest."

What does BERU stand for? That's probably the question most people will ask this weekend if they hear that on the bands - British Empire Radio Union is your answer.

The overall winners have most often been from Canada, and that was repeated again in 2010 as John Sluymer VE3EJ came out on top.

For much more information on this year's contest and all kinds of history about past years, be sure to check out the home page of the Commonwealth Contest.

The 74th Commonwealth Contest begins at 1000z on 12 March and ends at 1000z on 13 March.