Finally, after 18 years and without focussed effort...
Zone 23, KH6 and the two other missing States are confirmed via Lotw. the DXCC counter on 10m reaches also 200.
This means that for 10 and 15m all award work is done. With only 2 States missing on 20m and an almost DXCC on 12m, the Steppir has performed all what was needed :
DXCC on all 5 bands from 20-10, WAS and WAZ on 20/15/10m.
But I still have mixed feeling about the missing of zone 19 in the contest. I think I have found the root cause of the problem...
To be continued...
donderdag 28 november 2013
zondag 24 november 2013
CQ WW CW contest : Ode to the sun
Oh dear Sun, you gave us so many solar flux this weekend, that all my objectives became true !!
Thank you my dear...
CQ-WW-CW contest 2013, something to never forget.
I must admit : the last months I was so busy with running contests to achieve every week a better position in a local competition.
This took so many hours and hamradio became a bit ... 2nd place.
I wasn't motivated for the contest. The fieldday preparation style of the last years, the fatigue during the nights, the effort on Monday morning to put everything back on place... pff not this year.
I decided to do a single band game.
It was rather difficult :
10 m : I need zone 23 confirmed for WAZ and 3 States for WAS, but this is the weakest band on a 3 el steppir (in fact 4 elements are needed on a 5 m boom in stead of 3 elements. There are some measurements available on the internet)
15 m : perfect antenna, but I have 200 DXCC, WAS and WAZ
20 m : can be done in years where sunspot is less. 200 DXCC & WAZ. 48/50 WAS
40 m : I really need to pick up my 2 el yagi. The antenna is still at ON7SU... I need my new car arriving one of the comings days.
80 m : no reception antenna
160 m : ok, I only have 44 confirmed countries, but is 2013 the ideal year for 160m, and no reception antenna ?
Anyway - in contradiction with the opinion of my friend ON5ZO - for me, a contest is always an aid to fill in DX award needs. DXCC/WAS/WAZ first, contest result second.
So I decided to go for 10m and take all needed time to work JT (zone 23). Second goal : work KH6
Third goal : go from 194 cfd countries to at least 200...
I know that with the yagi at 24m, it's difficult to work local countries. So I have put the Ultrabeam vertical with 2 elevated verticals in the garden to quickly change the angle.
This was a disaster. Not one occasion where the vertical performed better than the yagi. Good to know !
I'm also interested in the record database of CQWW. For 10m SO-A, ON4IA is currently the record holder, with ON4WW and OT4A on place 2 & 3. A nice group of contest stations.
Conditions were superb. I have never expected this. Some minor point : Japan was not super (only 17 contact), and also seen after the contest : zone 19. I have no explanation for it, but I didn't work zone 19, which is on the same direction of Japan. Zone 37 is also missing, but that's not suprising. All 38 other zones were contacted. USA was outstanding with 734 QSO's.
Let's hope that I made a contact with Montana and South Dakota.
Worked : 4 JT stations. I hope at least one will finally confirm zone 23 !
KH6 on Sunday morning. Super !
And I'm sure I made contacts with at least 6 new countries.
RI1ANP contacted me spontaneously from Antartica (why is N1MM not giving a multiplier for the country ?). So did a V31, FS, C5, T6, KL7 and finally OY. Very happy to have them as a multiplier.
1690 QSO's later, with a claimed score of 668.325 points, I dare to claim a new Belgian record. It will be even a high score in zone 14. Because of the good conditions and clear signals, I foresee a low amount of penalties.
137 countries in one weekend with a 3 element yagi. Super contest !
I also remarked a relative sportive attitude. Often (and this is new for me) I was able to play with the 500 Hz in stead of the normal 250 Hz. And QRM/lid operation/... wasn't too high this year.
Thank you all for your QSO !
I will foresee a special QSL card for this contest...
Thank you my dear...
CQ-WW-CW contest 2013, something to never forget.
I must admit : the last months I was so busy with running contests to achieve every week a better position in a local competition.
This took so many hours and hamradio became a bit ... 2nd place.
I wasn't motivated for the contest. The fieldday preparation style of the last years, the fatigue during the nights, the effort on Monday morning to put everything back on place... pff not this year.
I decided to do a single band game.
It was rather difficult :
10 m : I need zone 23 confirmed for WAZ and 3 States for WAS, but this is the weakest band on a 3 el steppir (in fact 4 elements are needed on a 5 m boom in stead of 3 elements. There are some measurements available on the internet)
15 m : perfect antenna, but I have 200 DXCC, WAS and WAZ
20 m : can be done in years where sunspot is less. 200 DXCC & WAZ. 48/50 WAS
40 m : I really need to pick up my 2 el yagi. The antenna is still at ON7SU... I need my new car arriving one of the comings days.
80 m : no reception antenna
160 m : ok, I only have 44 confirmed countries, but is 2013 the ideal year for 160m, and no reception antenna ?
Anyway - in contradiction with the opinion of my friend ON5ZO - for me, a contest is always an aid to fill in DX award needs. DXCC/WAS/WAZ first, contest result second.
So I decided to go for 10m and take all needed time to work JT (zone 23). Second goal : work KH6
Third goal : go from 194 cfd countries to at least 200...
I know that with the yagi at 24m, it's difficult to work local countries. So I have put the Ultrabeam vertical with 2 elevated verticals in the garden to quickly change the angle.
This was a disaster. Not one occasion where the vertical performed better than the yagi. Good to know !
I'm also interested in the record database of CQWW. For 10m SO-A, ON4IA is currently the record holder, with ON4WW and OT4A on place 2 & 3. A nice group of contest stations.
Conditions were superb. I have never expected this. Some minor point : Japan was not super (only 17 contact), and also seen after the contest : zone 19. I have no explanation for it, but I didn't work zone 19, which is on the same direction of Japan. Zone 37 is also missing, but that's not suprising. All 38 other zones were contacted. USA was outstanding with 734 QSO's.
Let's hope that I made a contact with Montana and South Dakota.
Worked : 4 JT stations. I hope at least one will finally confirm zone 23 !
KH6 on Sunday morning. Super !
And I'm sure I made contacts with at least 6 new countries.
RI1ANP contacted me spontaneously from Antartica (why is N1MM not giving a multiplier for the country ?). So did a V31, FS, C5, T6, KL7 and finally OY. Very happy to have them as a multiplier.
1690 QSO's later, with a claimed score of 668.325 points, I dare to claim a new Belgian record. It will be even a high score in zone 14. Because of the good conditions and clear signals, I foresee a low amount of penalties.
137 countries in one weekend with a 3 element yagi. Super contest !
I also remarked a relative sportive attitude. Often (and this is new for me) I was able to play with the 500 Hz in stead of the normal 250 Hz. And QRM/lid operation/... wasn't too high this year.
Thank you all for your QSO !
I will foresee a special QSL card for this contest...
woensdag 20 november 2013
Banaba challenges
This is one of them : an expedition that gives you a second chance because you missed the first one.
I didn't contact the Banaba crew some years ago.
It's one in the series of Clipperton, Annobon, Malpelo....
So second chance, no contact this time is no option.
I normally go to the shack during the week, because the bands are much more calm and no lid's (or less of them) in the air.
This time I couldn't make free time on Tuesday and Friday. So I decided to erect the tower on Friday evening to give it a chance on 40m. No T33A heard. Sure, many stations were calling in the dark but I never heard a 59 nor 599. I heard birds on frequency, tuning amplis, policemen everywhere. Pfff... and then ...
I should not have written it, but this appeared on the cluster.
I seemed that even the second chance should be gone forever.
On Saturday morning before going to QRL I gave it a last try. The cluster announced 21020 and 18070 but ON was in the dark and they were working the eastern countries of EU.
Just before shutting down the tx T33A appeared on 14260. Three calls and I was in the log. Huray !
This must be DXCC 300. Finally !
Next step : CQWW CW. Single Band Assisted anyway. I want some sleep this time.
Maybe SOSB A 10m....
I didn't contact the Banaba crew some years ago.
It's one in the series of Clipperton, Annobon, Malpelo....
So second chance, no contact this time is no option.
I normally go to the shack during the week, because the bands are much more calm and no lid's (or less of them) in the air.
This time I couldn't make free time on Tuesday and Friday. So I decided to erect the tower on Friday evening to give it a chance on 40m. No T33A heard. Sure, many stations were calling in the dark but I never heard a 59 nor 599. I heard birds on frequency, tuning amplis, policemen everywhere. Pfff... and then ...
I should not have written it, but this appeared on the cluster.
I seemed that even the second chance should be gone forever.
On Saturday morning before going to QRL I gave it a last try. The cluster announced 21020 and 18070 but ON was in the dark and they were working the eastern countries of EU.
Just before shutting down the tx T33A appeared on 14260. Three calls and I was in the log. Huray !
This must be DXCC 300. Finally !
Next step : CQWW CW. Single Band Assisted anyway. I want some sleep this time.
Maybe SOSB A 10m....
woensdag 13 november 2013
Ampli tubes are warming up
I didn't power-up the tx since a number of months. As always, no time - correction - other priorities
that prevented me to go to the shack.
On Monday, after a holiday weekend outside the qth, the shack was cleaned up (the huge amount of OJ0V cards were everywhere on my desk) and the ampli put on.
But I missed the important window of 7-8 hr utc to work both K9W and T33A. Damn, I needed these two entities since I missed the previous Banaba expedition some years ago.
This morning I left our qth and went quickly to my shack-qth to make (try to make) the two needed contacts.
T33A was only available in rtty on 20m, and I do not have equipment for rtty. K9W was on 15m cw but only eastern Europe was heard. After an hour, the signal got stronger and I started to call. Very difficult because the operator was sweeping frequency all the time.
I have had a lucky moment (power helps a lot) : he took me out of the pile-up via the long path. New dxcc worked !
I even had double luck : some minutes after my qso, the well famous European zoo woke up and qrm was made on the call-frequency. K9W couldn't do anything else than go to ssb.
What a shame ! Again and again, expedition after expedition...
Is this the reason why T33A was working JA and W and not Europe ? Anyway I had no possibility to hear T33A, and I had to go to qrl...
In a very last effort, I could make a second qso with K9W, this time on 12m ssb via the short path.
Steppir is very nice instrument to play in this kind of conditions. Quickly band change, instant lp/sp change.
To be continued....
that prevented me to go to the shack.
On Monday, after a holiday weekend outside the qth, the shack was cleaned up (the huge amount of OJ0V cards were everywhere on my desk) and the ampli put on.
But I missed the important window of 7-8 hr utc to work both K9W and T33A. Damn, I needed these two entities since I missed the previous Banaba expedition some years ago.
This morning I left our qth and went quickly to my shack-qth to make (try to make) the two needed contacts.
T33A was only available in rtty on 20m, and I do not have equipment for rtty. K9W was on 15m cw but only eastern Europe was heard. After an hour, the signal got stronger and I started to call. Very difficult because the operator was sweeping frequency all the time.
I have had a lucky moment (power helps a lot) : he took me out of the pile-up via the long path. New dxcc worked !
I even had double luck : some minutes after my qso, the well famous European zoo woke up and qrm was made on the call-frequency. K9W couldn't do anything else than go to ssb.
What a shame ! Again and again, expedition after expedition...
Is this the reason why T33A was working JA and W and not Europe ? Anyway I had no possibility to hear T33A, and I had to go to qrl...
In a very last effort, I could make a second qso with K9W, this time on 12m ssb via the short path.
Steppir is very nice instrument to play in this kind of conditions. Quickly band change, instant lp/sp change.
To be continued....
zaterdag 21 september 2013
OJ0V qsl status Sep 21th
I've a small delay in treating the OJ0V qsl. Due to a QRL-QTH move, almost all available time has been taken away the last days.
This is the status :
All direct QSL's received until Sep 10th have been sent. Only one I station has to be handled.
All OQRS QSL's received until Jul 23th have been sent. Only one UR station must be go out on Monday morning.
All buro QSL's introduced via Clublog until July 23th are transferred to the buro.
There are about 10 postal direct cards to be handled together with about 50 OQRS direct cards. This will be done somewhere in the middle of this week.
About 10 direct cards doesn't have enough green stamps (they will be sent by the buro) or are not in the log (they will receive a answer on it).
This is the status :
All direct QSL's received until Sep 10th have been sent. Only one I station has to be handled.
All OQRS QSL's received until Jul 23th have been sent. Only one UR station must be go out on Monday morning.
All buro QSL's introduced via Clublog until July 23th are transferred to the buro.
There are about 10 postal direct cards to be handled together with about 50 OQRS direct cards. This will be done somewhere in the middle of this week.
About 10 direct cards doesn't have enough green stamps (they will be sent by the buro) or are not in the log (they will receive a answer on it).
maandag 2 september 2013
OJ0V QSL cards ready for sending out !
Yes, the cards are now delivered !
Here it is :
The calendar looks like this :
Wednesday-Friday Sep 4th : sending out all direct QSLs that were received via the postal services
Monday-Tuesday Sep 9th : sending out all OQRS direct cards that arrived until 2013/07/21
Wednesday-Friday Sep 11th : sending out out all OQRS direct card that arrived after July 21th
Friday Sep 13th : buro request via clublog will be offered to our club QSL manager. After sorting, the package will go to the national buro for further tranport.
Here it is :
The calendar looks like this :
Wednesday-Friday Sep 4th : sending out all direct QSLs that were received via the postal services
Monday-Tuesday Sep 9th : sending out all OQRS direct cards that arrived until 2013/07/21
Wednesday-Friday Sep 11th : sending out out all OQRS direct card that arrived after July 21th
Friday Sep 13th : buro request via clublog will be offered to our club QSL manager. After sorting, the package will go to the national buro for further tranport.
zondag 11 augustus 2013
OJ0V QSL status : update
Our design is now ready for printing.
Max did a very nice graphical job and we're very happy with it.
I expect that the sending of the huge amount of direct QSLs can start first week of September.
Buro cards ordered via Clublog will be processed and ready for the October QSL sort in our club.
Max did a very nice graphical job and we're very happy with it.
I expect that the sending of the huge amount of direct QSLs can start first week of September.
Buro cards ordered via Clublog will be processed and ready for the October QSL sort in our club.
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