QTC de DD1LD

Benediktenwand

2011-05-22T23:54:00.006+02:00

Today Maria and me activated the highest summit DL/BE-016 in the Benediktenwand group. At least two different summits were on the activation list, but we cancelled the second activation of the Achselköpfe, DL/BE-015 due to a heavy thunderstorm approaching from the West side. We tried to descent as accurate and as fast as we could, but the thunderstorm was a bit faster and the rain finally caught us close to the parking spot. The weather changed entirely unexpected, we had great sunny and chilly morning, but afternoon it started raining cats and dogs!

Anyway, it was a nice tour finalized with 40 QSO on 30m & 40m in CW within one hour OP time. Even though I only gathered 8 points, this activation was worth the effort - it was a great pleasure to HAM sitting in the sun and enjoying the pile-up and a great view from the Benediktenwand.

DD1LD/P on the Benediktenwand, DL/BE-016

(in the background is the Starnberger lake)

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

GAE Award #002

2011-05-10T23:31:00.011+02:00

Fürs Wochenende war ein schönes Wetter angesagt. Zu schön, um einfach zu Hause zu hocken oder an der Isar mitten in der Stadt faul rum zu liegen! Ich entschied mich dieses Mal für SOTA. Da Andy, DL2DVE mich zum German Alps Explorer Award mehrmals anspornte, fiel die Auswahl auf die Allgäuer Alpen, weil mir bloß eine Aktivierung in DL/AL für den besagten Award fehlte. Ein kurzes Telefonat mit Bernhard, DL4CW half mir sehr, die attraktivsten Gipfel für meine Tour auszuwählen. Geplant war die Aktivierung von den doppelt referenzierten Kühgundkopf, B’schießer und Pfonten. Bernhard und ich waren uns nicht sicher, ob der Steig vom B’schießer zum Pfonten halbwegs schneefrei wäre, aber der B’schießer und der Kühgundkopf dürften eigentlich machbar sein. Tja, es ging aber besser als erwartet!

Ich aktivierte insgesamt 4 unterschiedliche Gipfel. Drei davon sind als DL/AL und OE/TI doppelt referenziert. So gelang mir eine technische Aktivierung von insgesamt 7 Gipfeln, wodurch ich 7 x 8 = 56 alpine Punkte in einem Tag erreichte. Durch die Aktivierung des letzten in meinem Log immer noch fehlenden Allgäuer Gipfels erfüllte ich alle Voraussetzungen für den German Alps Explorer Award und bekam das Diplom #002.

Um vier in der Früh klingelte mein Wecker gnadenlos…

Diese schöne knapp 13-stündige Tour war ziemlich anstrengend, ich hatte maximal 25 Minuten für jede Aktivierung. Die Rohnenspitze, OE/TI-644 war nicht eingeplant, aber ich war etwas schneller unterwegs als ich dachte. Die Aussicht von der Rohnenspitze war bezaubernd, das Gaishorn, OE/TI-356 war so verlockend nah und immer noch voll mit Schnee bedeckt. So entschied ich mich lieber, den Kühgundkopf, DL/AL-049 und OE/TI-652 auf dem Rückweg mitzunehmen als den Gipfelsturm des Gaishorns zu wagen, d.h. von der Rohnenspitze musste ich an den bereits aktivierten Ponten, DL/AL-046 und OE/TI-449 und B'schießer, DL/AL-047 und OE/TI-643 nochmals vorbei. Den Ponten konnte ich teilweise umgehen, aber der B'schießer musste an dem Tag gleich zwei Mal überquert werden. Der Andrang auf 40 Meter war wie immer riesig, aber ich musste nach höchstens 25 Minuten QRT oder QSY 30m (bzw. auf 40 Meter) machen. Außerdem spielte der CW-Keyer verrückt(?!), was zu einer Verzögerung führte. Ich hoffe auf Verständnis bei allen Jägern für diese Blitzaktivierungen! Insgesamt waren es 156 QSO (3 davon sind S2S mit S5 und HB9) auf 30 und 40 Meter, d.h. ca. 22 QSO von jeder Spitze. Danke an alle Jäger!

Auf dem Bscheisser

73 de Dzianis (OE/) DD1LD/p

Easy going...

2011-05-05T10:31:00.010+02:00

I spent two days on the roads in Baden Württemberg again. I was able to manage two quick activations in the evenings. The both summits are easy to reach and do have a kind of charm, e.g. the Teck has an old castle with a restaurant on the top. Just take a look at these links:

DM/BW-074 (Hohenkarpfen), 10 points, 11 QSO on 30&40m
DM/BW-695 (Teck), 8 points, 32 QSO on 40m

HAMing on the Teck is family friendly.

I could hardly wait to test my new dipole antenna I designed especially for wooded hills. This low hanging 2x10m long dipole worked quite impressive! So, now my portable ultra light antenna can be configured as a GP, L or inverted V antenna depending on summit top. HAMing on the Hohenkarpfen I recognized that the demand for QSOs was exceptionally low, later I got a message that the SOTAwatch was off-line for a while and many chasers were missing my signal even though I was CQing at 7031.5MHz. Long live SOTAwatch!

Soiernspitze activated

2009-08-29T16:17:00.014+02:00

Data: August 27, 2009
Summits: Schöttelkarspitze (DL/KW-024, 2050m) & Soiernspitze (DL/KW-029, 2257m)
Points: 8 (DL/KW-024) + 10 (DL/KW-029)
QSO: 6 + 9 on 2m FM
Walking & climbing: 8 hours
Total distance: 23.5km
Altitude difference: 1400m
Tour time: 12 hours
Landscape: fantastic
People: few
Enjoyment: endless ...

Dzianis Soierntour (red line - up, blue one - down)

Just started climbing

Gams met close to the Seinskopf

Schöttelkarspitze (DL/KW-024), 2050m

Dzianis sunning on the Schöttelkarspitze after breakfast

Lonesome Karwendel

Soiernspitze (DL/KW-029), 2257m not far away

The Soiernsee, 1557m

On the way down

Last look at the Soiernspitze before leaving the Lakaiensteig

Alpspitze & Hochblassen activated

2009-07-30T22:47:00.016+02:00

The via-ferrata to the Alpspitze, DL/WS-022 had been on my list for a long time. Recently I bought a new Salewa set I was keen to try out as soon as possible. I was just waiting for a sunny and stable weather to climb the Alpspitze, and the perfect weather came on Sunday, July 26, 2009.

Stefan, Dzianis, Maria and instructor Leo after climbing

We completed a short training with the DAV Summit Club one day before, on Saturday, July 25. Maria climbed her first via ferrata like someone who climbed dozens of them. She enjoyed the training very much and I hope she would like to accompany me next time.

Next morning I packet my VHF/UHF Kennwood Handy together with the set and a lunch box in the rucksack and started driving towards Garmisch Partenkirchen...

There were a few people as I arrived at the summit at 9:40 a.m. but just one hour later the top was mercilessly overcrowded.

Dzianis, DD1LD on the Alpspitze (DL/WS-022), 2629m high, with the Zugspitze in the background

Six QSO (and even S2S one with OE5PEN/p) on 2 meters in FM came in my log and I went on to scale the Hochblassen (DL/WS-020) and to try climbing the Jubiläumsgrat. I was enjoying the great weather and fantastic views all way long.

Just arrived at the Alpspitze in the morning

The weather could not have been better

The Hochblassen (on the left) waiting for its first activation,
the Jubiläumsgrat (on the right) is a very imposant, long and exposed ridge

Are there ants on the stone? No, these are climbers overcrowded the summit!

The Hochblassen is a very hard nut to crack und requires extremely good alpine experience. I found the entrance to the Jubiläumsgrat at the third attempt. Frankly speaking I was operating just under 2700m close to the summit like the alpine SOTA rules allowed as I meet a couple of tough climbers finishing their “stroll” along the Jubiläumsgrat and talk to them for a while. I will try the crossing next year... hopefully not alone. The activation succeeded by 6 QSOs on 2m FM.

I chose the way back through the Grießkar avoiding hordes of "tourists" flooding the Höllental

Only "nonSOTA" mountain goats bore my company

I decided to descend via the Grießkar to avoid hordes of climbers flooding the Höllental and eventually pick up the Kreuzjoch (DL/WS-037) on my way back. It was a long lonesome walk through the impressive kar and via Bernadeinsteig passing the idyllic Stuibensee. Last six FM QSOs came in log on 2m as I made the side trip to the Kreuzeck.

The Stuibensee at 1921m altitude

The scenic Wetterstein (actually I was over there, too)

It was an excellent day culminating in 18 relaxed QSOs!

Ham Radio Week 2009

2009-07-01T12:39:00.004+02:00

Here are some extracts from my journey book...

Ham Radio Week, 25-28 June 2009

Thursday. I packed my car with all the necessary stuff I could need for Ham Radio and, naturally, I didn't forget my both portable stations. I left Munich in the morning surrounded with heavy rain clouds but as I drove near to the Bodensee the weather became quite pleasant to activate one more summits. I chosen OE/VB-111 and OE/VB-512 due to their proximity to F’Hafen and due to a great view down to the Bodensee...

...I was looking for a nice flat place for operating on the Pfänder, OE/VB-512. And I found a suitable one, but I saw someone’s portable mast with a stretched dipole. Aha! There was a guy setting up his station for SOTA, who could it be? “Hi, I’m DD1LD”. “Hi, OE8SPW…” Paul was kind enough to let me use his station and I started CQuing. I made a couple of QSO, gave QRX and left Paul alone struggling with the pileup. “See you tomorrow Paul”. “Sure...”

Paul OE8SPW struggling with pileup on the Pfänder, OE/VB-512

Friday. I just laid the last SOTA Flyers on the table as I saw the first international SOTA guest at the booth – Milos S57D came to visit us already in the morning and dropped a couple of lines in the guest book. The second “guest” was Algäuer Regional Manager Bernhard DL4CW followed by Axel DL6KVA...

...A couple of hours later two GMA team members arrived at the booth with new GMA flyers and SOTA/GMA stickers. I would like to express my personal gratitude to them! Hagen DG4PB and me had a long discussion about GMA in general and possibilities for collaboration between SOTA and GMA...

...As announced Phil G4OBK, Andy MM0FMF and Daryl G0ANV turned up at the booth and they were already expected...

.. I made a loop in the pavilion A1 and was quite surprised to see the Slovenian booth with a huge SOTA logo. No doubt, Slovenians are “very active” activators...

...The international get-together succeeded. I personally was very glad to see many “Bergfunkfreunde” at the booth chatting with each other. I guess there were around 30 persons at the booth. Anyway, one case of Bavarian beer and one of “Apfelschorle” were empted with success, too!...

...As I asked Ruda, OK2QA what he was going to do tomorrow he promptly answered “I’m going to activate a summit near to F'Hafen...”

...In the evening Gerd DF9TS, Andy DL2DVE (both alpine regional managers) and me had supper in the fresh air close to the Gehrenberg DM/BW-348 sitting in the sun and enjoying a great view to the Bodensee. After that I activated this summit in FM doing some publicity for SOTA for half an hour. Let’s see, how many times the Gehrenberg and the Pfänder were activated during Ham Radio 2009...

Records in the guestbook: DD1LD, S57D, DL4CW, DL6KVA, OE7PHI, DL1DVE, DL3VTA, DF5WA, DJ5PN, F5NHJ, DF9TS, DG4PB, OE5EEP, OE9GWI, HB9AFI, DJ8LD, DL1FU, MM0FMF, G4OBK, G0ANV, HB9DOT, OK2QA, DG6TOM, DJ5AV, DL2LUX

Saturday. The SOTA-DM Manager Andy DL2LUX appeared at the booth and brought fresh supplies of SOTA flyers. After I had a little talk with him I got going again to find Alain F6ENO. Finally I succeed, many thanks to Alain for taking time for these very long discussions...

...“Wanted” Steve G1INK finally turned up at the booth and wrote a few lines into the guestbook. We very liked Steve’s record “Vote YES for P100!!!”...

Steve G1INK, Andy DL2LUX und Dzianis DD1LD at the booth

...The Bergfunkers lunch was well attended. Phil G4OBK joined the lunch with his “taff” XYL Judy accompanying him on his recent SOTA tours. It was a pleasure to have with us Fritz, DL1FU in a very good mood. Berthold DF5WA came with his son Andreas DJ5PN...

Bergfunker lunch was well attended

Records in the guestbook: OE8SPW, F6ENO, OE5DIN, HB9BRJ, IZ0EWJ, DL4FDM, G1INK, DJ2GMS, DO1DJJ, HA5AZC, DL3JPN, DL3VTA, DL5MEL, HB9BAB, and we also saw a brand new QSL OE/G4OBK/p

Sunday. The last SOTA and GMA flyers and stickers were “out of stock”...

...I meet the SOTA-OE manager Christian, OE1CWA and a part of his team. We were talking about the current situation in the Alps and about common activation days/weekends...

...The guest book was still growing with QSL cards, photos and entries. I found a nice picture of DL5MEL and his horse Jacky who both activated the Orensberg according to the new SOTA General Rules...

Records in the guestbook: HB9BGG, OE1CWA, OE9WLJ, OE9HGV, OE9RWV

Summary.

Now I can recognize many activators and chasers by face if I come across them. It’s really great to personally meet all those people with whom I made hundreds of QSO but never saw before.

The international SOTA community is growing. There were many newcomers who would like to start with SOTA/GMA...

In conclusion, I would like to thank the DARC Committee for DX and HF-Contesting for their support and great ham spirit! And many thanks to all of you who dropped in at our SOTA corner!

See you at Ham Radio 2010!

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

SOTA roundtrip to the Black Forest

2009-04-24T21:19:00.020+02:00

Thursday, April 9, 2009. Personal business caused me to spend one day nearby Frankfurt. I offered Maria to accompany me on tour and she certainly agreed. As I usually do, I also packed my SOTA equipment in the car. In the late afternoon we had enough free time and decided to visit the Grosser Feldberg, 879m (DM/HE-003) in the Taunus Park close to the city. We drove by care to a parking spot on the top and walked the last part, just like the SOTA rules require. We also hoped to enjoy a great view from the top, but our hopes were completely dashed as soon as we achieved the summit – Frankfurt’s down town was too far away and, frankly, the overview over Taunus was not really spectacular, too. Just as we both found this hill quite boring I set up my portable station at app. 6 p.m. and started CQing permanently struggling with QRM emitted by several telecommunications towers. Altogether 10 QSO were done with my brand new antenna on 40m in CW although I was expecting more chasers. After a short snack break at sunset we made a loop around towers and came back to the car. The easily earned 10 points and a brief journey through the Taunus Park culminated this Thursday 9th of April. More about the Grosser Feldberg you can find at Wikipedia.

DD1LD/p on the Feldberg

Friday, April 10, 2009. Next day afternoon we went to the Mummelsee in order to activate the highest summit in the Northern Black Forest – Hornisgrinde, 1164m (DM/BW-019) being already activated 12 times (!). We were so happy to have warm sunny weather over Easter that we spontaneously decided to spend Easter time in the Black Forest and make the most of the opportunity to visit our good friends leaving in Karlsruhe. The Mummelsee was quite overcrowded these days, therefore, we decided to start with hiking the Hornisgrinde. We enjoyed a nice short walk through the forest still lying under snow, on the top we found very fast a spot in the high moor (called in German “Grinde”) suitable for operating.
CQ SOTA de DD1LD/p… First chasers in log… Spotting… Enjoying one of these pile ups I so love… 27QSO in CW on 40m just in 20 minutes.
The new antenna concept seemed to work well, all the signals from UK were quite strong, and there were no problems with working neighbor stations, too.
We went for an afternoon stroll and easily gathered 10 points for that. Not bad! We ate our supper at the Hornisgrindeturm, went down another way and pushed on to the hotel Bon Bini Schloss located on the Silberberg (unfortunately not referenced). In the late evening we planed our next tour for Saturday the 11th of April, which should be tougher than previous two, but not so tough we finally had.

Mummelsee still frozen

On the way to the Hornisgrinde

Saturday, April 11, 2009. On Saturday after a long breakfast we went to the beautiful Stausee am Schwarzenbach. We put the Badener Höhe, 1002m (DM/BW-047) and Streitmannsköpfe, 989m (DM/BW-494) on the “to be activated list”. The path to the Badener Höhe was everywhere well signposted, we parked somewhere in the middle between the reservoir and Herrenwies and started hiking towards the Badener Höhe through the Herrenwieser See. The Herrenwieser See was still frozen like the Mummelsee we visited one day before but the passage was almost snowless. There is a lookout tower in the hill top called Fridrichsturm build by Duke Friedrich I. von Baden in 1891. Actually, this kind of observation towers is typical for many hills in the Black Forest. We found a nice place on its foot and I got set up my rod aerial and began CQing on 40m in CW. As soon as I worked two-three chasers I was spotted and I felt very well when enjoying a short but huge pile up and comfortable sitting in the sun at a chill temperature of 20°C. We packed, returned to the Herrenwieser See and moved on towards our next destination – Streitmannsköpfe (not activated, a new one). The problem we had to struggle with straight away were direction signs, actually, there were no direction signs to the Streitmannsköpfe at all. We got lost several times but thanks to Garmin we somehow arrived at the summit. Almost every hill in the Black Forest has a dozen of roads around it leading to the unknown, it is very easy to get lost without direction signs. We both found the Streitmannsköpfe, its top and the passage quite boring but in spite of everything the first activation was worth the effort. We paid a short visit to this hill, I interrupted operating because it started spitting. It looked like a rain but we only got a few drops. The propagation on 40m was very good, all the signals were unexpected strong despite numerous trees around. In the early evening we were going back to the car along the picturesque Stausee looking as pretty as a picture. On the way back we briefly stopped at the dam, took a couple of pictures and then jetted to the Bon Bini Schloss (which revealed to be a nice family hotel with a great view down to the Huzenbach valley) for dinner.

Most summits in the Black Forest have an observation tower like Badener Höhe here

DD1LD/p on the Badener Höhe testing a new antenna concept

Streitmannsköpfe (on the back) still waiting for its first activation

Picturesque Stausee

It looked like a rain but we only got a few drops on the Streitmannsköpfe

Sunday, April 12, 2009. Sunday was supposed to be a lazy day. After our check-out was complete we drove to Forbach and made a short excursion. Then we leisurely moved on by car to the Hohloh, 984m (DM/BW-054). The only “very last” part had to be overcome by muscular strength. The course of events seemed to become like a standard: climbing an observation tower (here Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm), looking for a nice sunny spot, setting up the radio and aerial, operating, packing all the stuff away, walking around and finally going back to the car. One may ask what Maria was doing whereas I was operating. She also was relaxing all the time lying in the sun and reading a fascinating novel. So I had enough time to additionally test my new aerial on other bands and in SSB. I made a couple of contacts on 30m, 21 ones in CW and even 9 QSO in SSB on 40m. The antenna showed a quite outstanding performance in spite of its small size. Afterwards, I listened to the radio on 30m again and followed some QSOs for a half an hour before we decided to take a look at the Hohlohsee. We made a short loop around the lake lying in the high moor and surrounded by a wooden footbridge, red a couple of very informative warning signs being up everywhere and finally decided to move on in the direction of Karlsruhe. In all, the Hohloh was an easy haul worth 10 points!

On the Hohloh. One may ask what Maria was doing all the time...

Moor-Hohlohsee

A warning sign

I remembered that there was a local hill called Merkur, 668m (DM/BW-103) nearby Baden-Baden being worth 6 points and having a Gasthaus on the top. It could be a nice place for dinner! In less than one hour we were on its foot and started hiking on the zigzag way. Even though the Merkur is lower than Hohloh the climbing was comparatively more strenuous and we arrive at its top too late to have dinner there. Maria asked me for a concise operating what I followed without argument, 2 QSOs on 30m and 11 ones on 40m came in log. I had some problems to catch chasers on 40m because firstly, the SOTA frequencies were occupied by contesters and secondly, we were just too late. Many people were looking at me like I was an alien, they got confused faces as soon as I started pulling the fishing rod and twisting a piece of wire around it. The Merkur has a great view around but is quite overrun due to proximity to the famous resort Baden-Baden and the last, but not the least, there is a cableway. Unfortunately I had a little of time to enjoy this great view, we were expected in Karlsruhe and time was running away. We arrived at the parking place in the early twilight and after a short break got in the car… the late evening we spent with our friends in Karlsruhe.

Of course we chose the zigzag path

"Challenging" zigzag path to the Merkur

Merkur has a nice view around

Merkur tower build in 1837. Where the QRM was coming from?!

Monday, April 13, 2009. For Monday we planned to leave Karlsruhe afternoon to get home early and avoid frustration of stucking in a traffic jam. I was so keen on a SOTA pile up that we decided to make a stop right now after we passed Stuttgart and activate the Kornberg, 779m (DM/BW-094) very close to the highway. We needed a good half of hour to reach its top and a couple of minutes to set up all the equipment and to make ourselves comfortable before I started CQuing. I was just keying TRX to tune Elecraft T1 as I heard “QRZ?” and “call?” Yes, chasers were listening out on 7.033MHz like a cat is lying in a wait for a mouse. The first CQ run was answered by two chasers at once! I enjoyed a nice pile up and Maria - her novel for the next half of an hour. Altogether I grabbed 25 QSOs in CW and 8 points. There were no communication towers around in comparison to Merkur where I also had to struggle with QRM, and all the signals were crystal clear like an icicle. The Kornberg is a dull hill having a flat and bald top surrounded by trees, therefore, we went down as soon as I worked the last chaser, we rather decided to dine and spend the last bit of the day in Ulm, what turned out to be a right decision. We left Ulm in the twilight and we arrived at Munich at 9 p.m. and, thus, happily finished our five days journey trough Germany we both enjoyed very much.

The last activated Kornberg close to the highway

Altogether I made 165 QSOs, activated 7 summits (one first activation) and picked up 64 points. The new aerial concept was successfully tested on 30m and 40m bands, it will only need some minor improvement. My FT-817 all-rounder I specially tuned for SOTA activities did a good job!

Many thanks to all the chasers who worked me!

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD & YL Maria

CQWW-CW-2008

2008-12-25T23:04:00.009+01:00

DATUM: November 29–30

STANDORT: DL0TUM, in der Münchens Mitte
ANTENNEN:
= 10/15/20 – 3el. Yagi (mit keinem besonders guten SWR)
= 40m – Vertical
= 80/160m – Dipol
LEISTUNG: ca. 600w und 400w auf 15/10m
SOFTWARE: Win-Test, DX-Cluster, KEIN CW-Skimmer

ANFANG. Verlief nicht reibungslos. Als ich ins Shack kam, stellte sich heraus, dass die Lampe an der Wand kaputt war. Ich habe überall rumgesucht, hatte aber keine andere Lampe und keinen Ersatz finden können. Das zweite Problem war, dass es keine Internetverbindung zum Cluster gab. Tja… eine Kopflampe aufsetzen und alle Rigs miteinander verbinden, Antennen anschließen, Internetzugang reparieren. Huuu, geschafft! Der Contest lief aber eine gute halbe Stunde. Kopfhörer und Kopflampe (oder umgekehrt - zuerst Kopflampe und danach Kopfhörer) drauf und funken! Als ich es mir von dem Gerät gemütlich gemacht habe und nach einer freien QRG suchte, tauchten plötzlich zwei ernst aussehende Typen auf und schauten den anderen Typen im Sportanzug mit Hausschuhen, Pilotkopfhörer und Kopflampe (d.h. mich) völlig perplex an. Auf dem Tisch im Flur stand ein Korb mit Essen und lagen meine Klamotten überall rum. Zuerst gab es eine Pause…eine lange Pause… dann kam die Frage, was ich hier um eins in der Nacht mache. Es hat sich herausgestellt, dass die Typen zu Security gehören und von einer „netten“ Frau (die gegenüber wohnt und anscheinend unter Schlaflosigkeit leidet) angerufen wurden, mit der Bitte zu überprüfen, was für eine Gestallt mit der Lampe auf dem Dach und im Gebäude mitten in der Nacht herumtorkelt. Ich fasste mich so kurz wie ich konnte (was ich hier mache und vor allem warum ich die Kopflampe trage) und lud sie ein, sich das Shack anzugucken und Morsezeichen anzuhören. Alls sie sich vergewissert haben, dass ich in der Wirklichkeit kein Penner bin, haben sie meine Personalien aufgenommen und gingen endlich weg. Es ging dann eine Stunde zu spät richtig zur Sache. Es hat etwas Abenteuerliches, mit der Kopflampe zu funken, aber doch nicht die ganze Nacht durch, ich habe mich ziemlich oft vertippt und meine Augen fühlten sich gar nicht glücklich.

HELD DES CONTESTES 2008. Ist meine YL, die trotz Ihrer Zeitmängel mir eine Tischlampe am Sonntag mit der U-Bahn brachte.

MITTE. War ich immer noch gut im Rennen. Hatte ständigen Hunger nach QSOs und Schokolade. 20m und 40m waren die absoluten Renner. Machte viel S&P auf den anderen Bändern. 15m Band war extrem instabil, ab und zu kamen bloß die Signalfetzen an.

ENTTÄUSCHUNGEN.
= 160/80m Dipol (ob DJ3WE berühmter Winkeldipol besser wäre? :-)
= 15m Band am Sonntag (DQ4W war aber bei mir ein fetter Multi :-) Viele Multis gingen mir durch die Lappen. Der nur ein paar Km von mir entfernte DF3CB schrubbte Länder, die ich gar nicht hören konnte. Mein Nachbar DK1KH arbeitete einen Nordeuropäer, von dessen Signal ich nicht mitbekam.
= 40m Band am Sonntag, kein Run nach Amerika, der mir wertvolle Punkte bringen sollte. PA/PI ist ein fehlender Multi auf 40m (gibt es so was!?)
= 10m Band sowieso

ENDE. Der Hunger nach QSO und Schokolade liess nach, aber nach Multis und Schlaf wuchs. Wegen Störpegel war die Jagd nach Multis äußerst schwierig. Ich kam viel weiter als ich hören kann. Mit Mühe habe einen JA auf 80m ins Log bekommen. CQ-Rufen brachte nicht viel, zurück kam nur SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH und SCH-SCH-SCH und wieder SCH-SCH-SCH, ab und zu kam der eine oder andere Ami durch. Nachdem meine Ohren eher vom Rauschen als vom Kopfhörer „angeschwollen“ waren, habe ich mich entschieden, vorzeitig aufzuhören... Hätte wahrscheinlich ca. 100k vor allem durch Onepointer mehr holen können.

SPEKTAKULÄRES QSO. Mit B1 auf 80m. B1 wurde im Cluster gemeldet, und WinTest zeigte sofort, dass ein dickes rotes Multi zu arbeiten ist. Ich habe von dessen Anwesenheit auf dem Band gar nichts mitbekommen, allerdings habe ich gehört, wie die anderen Stationen ihn arbeiten. Als die Anderen rufen anfingen, gab ich mein Rufzeichen zwei Mal. Dann kam Ruhe, ich habe im Rauschen bloß ein schwaches L gehört. Die Ruhe setzte fort. Wahrscheinlich wurde ich gehört und gemeint! Ich gab mein Rufzeichen wieder zweimal, zurück kamen nur einzelne D und L, den Rest konnte ich nur erahnen. Ich schickte mein Rapport durch und drückte die Eingabetaste. An nächsten Tag schrieb ich Interesses halber die B1 Station an, ob ich tatsächlich gearbeitet wurde. In ein paar Tagen, nach dem ich mein Log bereits eingereicht habe, kam eine Antwort zurück – Congratulation, you are in log!

2008 vs. 2007. Eine deutliche Verbesserung. Diesmal habe ca. 30% mehr Punkte ergattert als in 2007 bei einem etwas größeren Zeitaufwand!

AUSKLANG. Im Bett. Bis gestern schlief ich nach jedem großen CW-Contest mit Dah-Dit-Dah-Dit Dah-Dah-Dit-Dah. Diesmal war es SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH… Die erste Variante wäre mir viel lieber.

OUTLOOK 2009. 2 Mio. Punkte?! Es wird sehr, sehr hart, diese Grenze zu knacken.

FAZIT. Ich bin ziemlich zufrieden, besonders mit DXCC auf 20m, obwohl… (ihr wisst schon)… es besser laufen konnte :-)

ERGEBNIS. Lässt sich sehen =>

Magic Band Opened

2008-05-27T22:54:00.009+02:00

27.05.2008. Worked with a piece of wire and QRP @ S5 Noise... Last column is DX.

28.05.2008. A short time skip to Ukraine in the evening with the culmination - UY2MQ and ODX > 2000km.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Ein kleines Monster wurde geschaffen

2008-05-18T23:14:00.007+02:00

Ein kleines Monster wurde geschaffen… aus verschiedenen Teilen kaputter UKW-Antennen. Die Antenne besteht aus 13 Elementen, hat einen VSWR von ca. 1.1 und dürfte einen Gewinn von ca. 12dBd aufweisen. Die Antenne passt nicht ganz auf meinen Balkon, da ihre Länge über 4.5m liegt, aber sie lässt sich in 3 Teile zerlegen. Mit den ersten zwei Teilen - neun Elementen - kann man auch gut funken (VSWR = 1.1-1.2). Auf Anhieb ist mir heute ein QSO mit Djuro, 9A9C in JN85LI und ODX 519km problemlos gelungen. Ausgangsleistung – 50W. Ein einziges Problem wäre ein starker Wind...

Jetzt bin ich auf den nächsten UKW Contest gespannt.
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

The highest summit in MF activated

2008-05-18T21:00:00.012+02:00

The highest summit in MF - Rotwand was activated on Saturday, May 10, 2008. It was a quite nice afternoon walk from Spitzingsee to Rotwandhaus. I needed less than 2 hours to hike Rotwand, but I lost too much time for hiking Ruchenköpfe DL/MF-055 and Auerspitz DL/MF-056 because of the muddy snow still lying in the Alps. I really enjoyed climbing Ruchenköpfe (actually a neighbor rock requiring a climbing level of I-II) and aslo solitude and peace on the summit. There was an extremely small spot for operating (see pictures). The last summit – Auerspitz brought 8 points but no pleasure to stroll in the snow up to knees, on the way back to the Rotwandhaus I got my feet wet through.

All together 68 QSOs were done on 40m in CW, and 3x8 = 24 points were gained. Here are some pictures...

DD1LD/p on Rotwand, DL/MF-058, 1884m.

In the background - Hochmiesing, DL/MF-057.

On the way to Rucheköpfe, DL/MF-055.
In the background - two climbers I met later close to Rucheköpfe.

DD1LD/p on Ruchenköpfe, DL/MF-055, 1805m.

There was a very tight spot for operating!

DD1LD/p on Auerspitz, DL/MF-056, 1811m.

The stone wall was protecting from the wind.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

DARC UKW-Wettbewerb im Mai 2008

2008-05-08T23:21:00.016+02:00

Ich habe nur ein paar Stunden mitgemacht. Ein mühsames Geschäft... Rauschen... „Kerosinlampe“ Yaesu... Schwache Signale... 50W out... Wieder Rausch-sch-sch-sch-schen...

Zum Einsatz kam das erste Mal eine 4-Element Flexa-Yagi auf dem Balkon (Tnx Wolfgang, DK7MCX), das Ergebnis war nicht besonders berauschend, was eigentlich zu erwarten war. Eine bessere Antennenkonstruktion muss her! Ideen? Freie Sicht nach Westen – keine Chance! Norden und Süden wären evtl. möglich…

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
144MHz – 60 QSO (13 QSO in CW) – 21 Loc – 10200 Points – 170km Average;
ODX – 521km mit IK5ZWU/6 in JN63GN.

Gearbeitet Locators aus JN58SE (rot markiert)

Alle Verbindungen mit Stationen im Norden und Westen entstanden durch Reflexionen, da die Antenne nach Süd-Osten (Richtung Alpen bzw. 9A) ausgerichtet war. Fast alle Signale aus diesen Feldern waren verbrummt, aber gut lesbar, und in CW stellten sie überhaupt kein Problem dar. Heute ist mir wieder ein QSO auf 200km in SSB auf diese Art und Weise geglückt.
Nach Süden ging es einigermaßen gut. Wenige Stationen aus dem Osten. Ich habe F und HA gehört, aber diesmal nicht geschafft, sie ins Log zu kriegen. Ich bräuchte mehr Leistung… Am besten – einen anderen Standort für /P-Betrieb?

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD
P.S. Wer funken will, findet Wege!

SP DX Contest 2008

2008-04-06T14:14:00.005+02:00

Nach dem versäumten Russian DX und CQ WPX SSB war die Sucht nach CW kaum zu bündigen… Ich habe nur ein paar Stunden mitgemacht, da die Anzahl von QSO sehr schnell in die Sättigung gelangen war. Die höheren Bänder waren nicht zu gebrauchen. Das Log mit insgesamt 165 QSOs wurde als SO-AB-LP-MIXED eingereicht.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

DARC VHF-, UHF-, Mikrowellen-Wettbewerb

2008-03-02T16:31:00.005+01:00

Trotz Zeitmangels und starken Windes wollte ich ein bisschen mitmachen. Am Sonntag hat der Wind meine Balkonantenne fast weggeblasen, in der letzten Minute konnte ich sie doch retten… Ich sah meine Elk - Antenne samt Holzplanke bereits runterfliegen, als ich das Ende der Planke mit beiden Händen gegriffen habe… Uh!

Ich habe die Antenne einschieben müssen, das hatte allerdings negative Auswirkungen auf die Signalstärken und die Anzahl der QSOs. Die Bedingungen waren meines Erachtens nicht besonders gut und alle Signale – mickrig. Zum Einsatz kam ein Yaesu FT-857D mit 50W auf 2m und 20W auf 70cm. Was mich immer und immer zum Grübeln bringt, dass viele OPs in SSB statt in CW operieren!? Nur 10 QSO in CW kamen ins Log.

Gearbeitet Locators aus JN58SE (rot markiert)

Zwei spektakuläre QSO waren

in CW mit 9A5Y, der auf mein CQ-Rufen in CW zurückkam, ODX – 518km;
in SSB mit OM3W, das QSO hat mehr als 5 Minuten gedauert, ODX – 505km.

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
144MHz – 55 QSO – 15 Loc – 7131 Points - 129.7 Average

Ich war auch ganz kurz auf 70cm QRV – 3 QSO in SSB und 4 QSO in CW kamen ins Log. ODX war OE5D in JN68PC mit 131km.

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
432MHz – 7 QSO – 2 Loc – 279 Points - 39.9 Average

Beide Logs wurden eingereicht.
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

DD1LD Ultraleichte Antenne

2008-02-27T21:51:00.004+01:00

Ich habe endlich Zeit gefunden, meine Ultraleichte KW-Antenne für SOTA-Aktivitäten zu dokumentieren. Die Beschreibung befindet sich hier (.pdf, ca.140kB).

Viel Spaß beim Lesen!
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Ammergauer Alpen – aktiviert

2008-02-24T23:24:00.005+01:00

Vorderes Hörnle, DL/AM-109 wurde aktiviert mit 11 QSO
Mittleres Hörnle, DL/AM-108 wurde aktiviert mit 15 QSO
Hinteres Hörnle, DL/AM-058 wurde aktiviert mit 19 QSO
Stierkopf, DL/AM-164 wurde aktiviert mit 14 QSO

Hinteres Hörnle, DL/AM-058

Insgesamt 59 QSO, eine Erstaktivierung und 2x(4+3) + 2x(6+3) = 32 Punkte sind meine Beute heute. Alle QSO wurden auf 40 Meter in CW gefahren.

DD1LD/p auf dem Stierkopf, DL/AM-164

Meine neue „alte“ Antennenkonstruktion mit einer Verlängerungsspule in der Filmdose wurde erfolgreich getestet. Wie erwartet brachte die Antenne keine großen Überraschungen, alle RST waren zwischen 339 und 599, sie ist aber etwas leichter geworden und lässt sich auf 40 Meter besser abstimmen. Eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Antenne folgt in Kürze.

Es war ein schöner, sommerwarmer und sonniger Tag!
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

Semi automatic key evening

2008-02-20T21:34:00.004+01:00

14 QSO were done on 80 meters just for fun... The log is submitted.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

ARRL DX CW 2008

2008-02-18T01:18:00.007+01:00

Manche Leute lesen, schauen fern oder nehmen Pillen, um einzuschlafen… Ich habe gefunkt…

40 m – 133 QSO, 33 States/Provinces
80 m – 18 QSO, 8 States/Provinces
Total - 151 QSO, 41 States/Provinces

States/Provinces worked in CW with 100w
and 8m-long wire on 40 m

Gute Nacht,
Dzianis, DD1LD

Winter Activation of Wallberg and Setzberg

2008-02-15T00:06:00.010+01:00

Here are some addtional pictures to the activation of Wallberg and Setzberg on 10th February 2008 (see below).

A view from Setzberg (1712m), DL/MF-025

Wallberg (1722m), DL/MF-026

DD1LD/p and DL2DVE/p on the Wallberg

Andy, DL2DVE/p in action

DD1LD/p doing CW on 30m from Wallberg

That was a wonderful day...

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

SOTA - last activations

2008-02-10T22:28:00.006+01:00

3 February 2008. Two “one point” mountains close to Miesbach were activated, both are quite boring. The first one is DL/MF-084 (Wallenburger Kogel). 18 QSO in CW on 40 meters were done. The second one DL/MF-086 (Stadlberg) was activated in the course of BBT (Bavarian Mountain Day). Stadlberg has a good view northward bound, but some trees toward the west. 44 QSO on 2 meters in SSB with ODX of 536 km (JO31OM) were collected in one and half hour with 6 watts output power. The log has been submitted for both BBT and SOTA entries.

Total score is 2x(1+3) = 8 points.
62 QSO were done: 18x20mxCW and 44x2mxSSB.

Worked locators in BBT from JN57WS (red) .

9 February 2008. The remaining three summits in the Blomberg & Co. area were finally activated - DL/BE-004 (Enzenauerkopf), DL/BE-005 (Angerlkopf) and DL/BE-036 (Fahrtkopf, first activation). It was a nice long walk on a beautiful sunny day. I only met two people during the whole walk… I had all these summits for myself only and enjoyed peace and solitude. But I suffered first losses – some one animal stole one radial I was away for a couple of minutes. I assume it was a huge crow I saw (and hear) in a near tree. Incredible!
The total score gathered is 3x4 (regular) + 3x3 (bonus) = 21 points.
35 QSO were done: 15x30mxCW and 20x40mxCW.

Operating in snow on DL/BE-005 (Angerlkopf).

10 February 2008. DL/MF-025 (Setzberg) was first activated. QSO: 15 on 40m in CW and 2 on 2m in FM. It was a quite hard and risky tour because of deep snow and glazed ice on the north side, but a fantastic view offered a reward. Just a few of people dared to climb Setztberg in winter time. I was QRV for a short time on 7.028 (QRM), because Andy, DL2DVE and his family already were expecting me.

Setzberg is waiting for its first activation. North side.

DL/MF-025 (Setzberg) conquered... A view towards Tegernsee.

Later DL/MF-026 (Wallberg) was hiked together with Andy, DL2DVE. A great weather and beautiful surroundings made our SOTA activities more pleasant. Andy successfully tested his just assembled KX-1 on 40 meters with overall output power of 3-4 watts. Due to the WPX RTTY contest and QRM Andy shifted to 7.002 MHz. We operated in CW, tried in SSB and were QRV on 2 meters in FM. We tested and discussed about various antenna concepts and we also have to think about QRP band filters (especially for KX-1) if we want to operate on different bands simultaneously. Many curious passers-by asked us what we were doing, Andy and me did some publicity for SOTA and for ham radio, too. We all enjoyed that wonderful day very much! Pictures are coming soon...

Two stations were on the air from Wallberg DL/MF-026.

28 QSO were done: 12x30mxCW (by DD1LD/p), 9x40mxCW (by DL2DVE/p), 3x40mxSSB (by DD1LD/p) and 4x2mxFM (by DL2DVE/p).
Total score is 2x(6+3) = 18.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

P.S Many thanks to all the chasers who worked us!

Handtastenparty auf 80m

2008-02-02T21:40:00.001+01:00

Meine ersten QSO mit der Handtaste überhaupt…
Handtastenparty macht wirklich Riesenspaß...
Nächstes Mal mache ich definitiv mit…

Insgesamt wurden 41 QSO gemacht und 203 Punke in der Klasse B erreicht. Ich schätze, ich werde irgendwo in der Mitte landen ;-) Wie immer – ich habe schlecht gehört, so gingen mir sämtliche QSOs (besonders mit der A-Klasse) durch die Lappen.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

P.S. Die Ausschreibubg ist hier.

Two uniques in DL/MF activated

2008-01-23T23:30:00.003+01:00

Two uniques – Gindelalmschneid DL/MF-033 and Rainer Berg DL/MF-085 nearby Schliersee were activated on Sunday, January, 20.

Gindelalm, Gindelalmschneid is over on the other side

On the Gindelalmschneid (DL/MF-033), 1331 m

13 and 24 QSO were done in CW on 40 meters, respectively. Many thanks to Andy DL2DVE for lending his Garmin Geko 201 for test purpose. Even though Geko was constantly losing the GPS-signal, without it we could have wasted a lot of time for localization of Rainer Berg.

DD1LD/p operating on Gindelalmschneid

The total score gained is 2+4 (regular) + 2x3 (bonus) = 12 points.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

Blomberg & Co. activated

2008-01-20T00:01:00.004+01:00

A hard tour...

Inspired by the previous activation I was waiting for a sunny weekend to hike Blomberg and Zwieselberg. A good weather was promised on Sunday, and Maria and me were looking forward to having a great day. Shortly after 11 AM we were at the Blomberg cableway. We spontaneously decided to go up Blomberg by the cableway and walk down to the valley. First stop was Heigelkopf (DL/BE-002), after that we went back to Blomberg (DL/BE-001). The strong West-South wind on Heigelkopf was driving Maria crazy, I was having my 12^th QSO when she said that she was feeling cold. The pile-up was still huge, but… Sorry guys, you will understand me.

DD1LD/p operating on Heigelkopf (DL/BE-002)

On the way to Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003)

On Blomberg we took advantage of trees shielding us from the wind. The sun as well as our good mood appeared again. 11 QSO in CW on 40m were well done and we made our way forward to Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003). The sun, a great view, and a very strong wind expected us on the summit. We spent app.15 minutes for 18 QSO, took a couple of nice pictures and left Zwieselberg.

Operating on the Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003) with Maria

Next stop over – Stallauer Kopf (DL/BE-058) – is a small bare place of no interest. After 11 QSO were performed from there, we were going to finish our SOTA expedition, but as a surprise for both of us Stallauer Eck (DL/BE-006) came towards us. After last 6 QSO were rapidly done, we ran to Bad Heilbrunn as fast as we could, which we achieved at nightfall (app. 5 PM). The last summit cost a critical half hour so that we lost our way two times because of darkness. Last 4 kilometers from Bad Heilbrunn to the cableway were quite annoying… but anyway it was a great tour! I just promised Maria to choose something less exhausting if she ever wants to join me again :-)
The whole equipment did a great job! Our hard prey are 35 points, 5x4 (regular) + 5x3 (bonus).

Sunset from Stallauer Eck (DL/BE-006)

73 de Dzianis DD1LD/p es Maria

P.S. DD1LD/p in action...

SOTA - winter season opened

2008-01-05T00:54:00.002+01:00

A beautiful day... My first winter activation...

A spontaneous decision to go to mountains was actually not really spontaneous. Totally overworked and tired I needed fresh air like a fish needs water and also some exercise. A couple of days ago I chosen some interesting summits, which could be easily hiked in wintertime, then I was just waiting for a nice weather. And what a wonderful weather we had today! In the morning I briefly glanced at a thermometer and at the sky, and one hour later I was driving my car to the Bavarian south.

Three summits were put on my list – Schwarzer Berg (DL/MF-082) and Fentberg (DL/MF-083), and eventually Stadlberg (DL/MF-086). I enjoyed this wonderful weather and idyllic surroundings so much that I decided to skip the third summit at all. No hectic, no stress, a few people (and even one inquisitive ham). What one does want more? The way to Schwarzer Berg was a bit hard to drive because of steep narrow roads covered with snow. A right path to Fentberg was not easy to find, but at the second try the summit was finally conquered.

On the way to Fentberg

Operating from Fentberg

My rich pickings I got on Friday, the 4th January are 8 points (2 regular + 6 bonus) and 23 QSO in CW on 40 meters. Almost the same people…

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

P.S. My father always says: “A time spent for hobbies never will be counted by God among lifetime.”

Stew Perry Top Band Chalenge 2007

2008-01-01T22:27:00.001+01:00

56 QSO were done in CW and 114 points were gathered with 100W power and my wire antenna manually tuned. No surprises this time. ODX was UA6LV (Taganrog, Russia) with 2076 km far away. One year ago - UU4JMG (Crimea) with 1991 km.

I had some periodic QRM up to S5-S7 again, that I was forced to test the noise blanker in my new rig, which was working quite satisfactory. I heard much more that I was able to reach. Where is the whole power going to?

Happy New Year and
73 de Dzianis

Xmas Contest 2007

2007-12-26T13:40:00.002+01:00

Schlechter als erwartet... Das Ziel war mindestens 100 QSO von daheim.

Erreichtes Ergebnis in 2007
Category: SO LP CW
QSO: 35 on 80m + 52 on 40m = 87
Points: 10 527

im Vergleich zu 2006
Category: SO LP CW
QSO: 19 on 80m + 35 on 40m = 54
Points: 4 536

auf 80m habe ich die Anzahl von QSO dank neuer verlängerter Antenne fast verdoppelt. Auf 40m dürften 65-70 QSO schon werden. Aber, erstens, die Bedingungen waren, meiner Meinung nach, eher schlecht, und zweitens, der lokale Rauschpegel auf 40m war unerwartet groß (OEZ?), dass ich nur die starken Signale aufnehmen konnte. Kurz gefasst: beim ersten Anruf kam ich selten als erster durch, viele Stationen habe ich gar nicht gehört.

Immerhin, eine Verbesserung von 60% (QSO-mäßig) im Vergleich zum Vorjahr wurde erreicht.

Happy Xmas es 73
de Dzianis, DD1LD

Got VY2 on 160m

2007-12-02T01:31:00.001+01:00

On the weekend I was playing with my 11 m long wire antenna. Propable one of the best tests for such a "fishing rod antenna" is chasing some DX, especially on Low Bands.

I got 9G5ZZ on 80m, and I got VY2ZM on 160m with 100W, both in CW. The distance between my QTH and VY2ZM (Eastern Kings County, Prince Edward Island) is more than 5300 km. Fascinating... isn't it?! But that is not a miracle if you take a look at the VY2ZM station. The propagation conditions must had been very good.

My best DX before (@home, 100W, CW) on the Top Band was UU4JMG with ODX just under 2000 km, one year ago. I also heard some US stations, but...

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

CQ WW DX CW 2007

2007-11-28T22:52:00.001+01:00

Nein, dieses Mal hat mich kein Onkel namens Murhy besucht. Der Onkel Murhy ist zwar bei BCClern sehr beliebt (oder BCClern beim Onkel), aber ehrlich gesagt, ich habe ihn NIE in meinem Leben gesehen, und habe keine Ahnung, wie er aussieht. Meine Schwiegereltern waren es auch nicht, meine YL hat mich zwar als verrückt bezeichnet, aber kein bisschen angemeckert, und Kinder waren es auch nicht… Wem soll ich aber den Schwarzen Peter schieben? Vorige Woche hat mich eine üble Grippe ziemlich übel erwischt, ich hoffe, es reicht aus als eine Ausrede, warum ich keine 48 Stunden bei abklingender Fieber und Bronchitis aushalten konnte.

Da ich dieses Jahr WAG fast komplett versäumt habe, wollte ich mich wenigstens beim CQ WW CW richtig austoben lassen, und mein bescheidenes Ergebnis vom vorigen Jahr zu verbessern. Als QTH wurde die Klubstation DL0TUM ausgewählt. Am Donnerstag haben wir, Matthias DK4YJ, Simon DJ4MZ und ich mit freundlicher Unterstützung von Ulf, DK5TX schnell (eine gute Stunde) eine GPA aus Angelrute (wieder)aufgebaut. Ich habe mich entschieden, diesmal mit High Power zu funken – zum Einsatz kam eine alte Dentron Endstufe (Danke an Ben, DL6RAI). Wegen ihrer Alter wurde die Endstufe geschont und mit maximal 500W-600W ausgelastet. Sie war zwar brüllend laut, aber hat tapfer durchgehalten (Ich mag sie gern :-). Die nächste Frage – mit DX-Cluster oder ohne – wurde zu Gunsten von Cluster beantwortet. An dieser Stelle werde ich wahrscheinlich vielen OMs indem widersprechen, dass das Funken mit dem Cluster einfacher oder weniger spannend und attraktiv ist. Es hilft einen oder anderen Multi ins Log zu bekommen, und man freut sich darüber. Aber… wenn man einen schönen Run hat und gleichzeitig alle möglichen roten und grünen Multis im Bandmap sieht… Was soll man denn machen? Mutis jagen oder weiter CQ rufen? Derjenige, der keinen Cluster benutzt, wird wahrscheinlich ruhig CQ weiter rufen, weil er nichts von der Existenz dieser Multis weißt, d.h. er hat’s einfacher :-)

Die ganze Teilname an dem Contest stand bis zum letzten Tag auf der Kippe, am Donnerstag fühlte ich mich matschig, und am Freitag immer noch nicht ganz fit. Aber was soll’s?! Am Freitag am Abend um 21:00 wurde die Station aufgebaut und getestet. Ich wollte 100% sicher sein, dass alles ab Anfang an funktioniert. Ein paar Stunden schlafen, schnell Tee, Honig und Zitronen samt Pillen einpacken und zur Station fahren!

DD1LD ging in die Luft am Samstag um kurz nach 00:00 UTC. Nach ersten 20 Stunden habe ich mir eine Pause gegönnt (es ging aber auch nicht anders, plötzlich ist mir aufgefallen, dass ich öfter und öfter nach dem Call nachfrage :-). Ich wollte am nächsten Morgen um ca. 6Uhr den Betrieb wieder aufnehmen, aber mein Körper streikte und wollte nicht mitmachen… Dadurch habe ich Sweet Time am Sonntag in der Früh komplett verpennt, und ab 12 Uhr ging’s mit der Jagd nach Multis wieder los. Gekämpft wurde bis zum bitteren Ende!

Hardware sowie Software funktionierten sehr gut. Keine Probleme damit! Da ich die Station teilweise mit kurzen Stückchen RG-58 verkabelt habe (insgesamt 4x1m, TRX- Endstufe- Wattmeter- Antenne), hatte ich einige Bedenken wegen der hohen Leistung. RG-58 C/U ertrug die hohe Leistung problemlos, ohne warm zu werden (Interessanterweise findet man im Internet auch keine Angaben bezüglich der maximalen Belastung von RG-58). Vom besonderen Interesse für mich waren die Low Bands. 40m GPA ging einwandfrei, der Dipol für 80/160m war auch in Ordnung und brachte manche DX-Überraschungen. Eine Enttäuschung war 15m Band, über das 10m Band möchte ich gar keine Diskussion anfangen. QRM hat sich auch in Grenzen gehalten.

Selbstverständlich habe ich mir vor dem Contest einige Ziele gesetzt:

Spaß, und nochmals Spaß, haben => erreicht
Über eine Million Punke erreichen => erreicht
Über 15 Hundert QSO ergattern => erreicht

Also, ich kann zufrieden sein! Nächstes Jahr könnte/ müsste/ sollte/ würde besser gehen!

Die Ergebnisse sprechen für sich selbst:

Date:	November, 24-25 2007
Call:	DD1LD
Category:	Single OP, Assisted
Band:	All
Power:	High (500W)
Mode:	CW
QTH:	DL0TUM
OP Time:	31h39

Band	QSO	CQ	DXC	DUP	PTS	AVG
160	123	8	45	0	137	1.11
80	236	13	64	0	291	1.23
40	497	20	72	2	856	1.72
20	519	26	75	3	1119	2.16
15	141	27	79	0	347	2.46
28	3	3	3	0	6	2.0
Total:	1519	97	338	5	2756	1.81
Total Score:		1 198 860

Ich danke herzlich an DK4YJ, DJ4MZ, DK5TX, und DL6RAI für die Unterstützung während der Vorbereitung zum Contest!

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

P.S. CW is definitely my mode!

RTTY WAEDC 2007

2007-11-12T16:40:00.001+01:00

A quite muddy, windy and ugly weekend! On Saturday - all day snowing and on Sunday - all day raining. It seemed to be a right weather for contesting, and that is what we did, indeed. I caught cold on Saturday but not too much, that on Sunday I felt better.

We had quite a huge team gathered: DG7RO and DO5ALX, DL6RAI and DL2MLU, DJ4MZ, and myself DD1LD, and DL2YL and DL5NDX on Sunday. Alex, DO5ALX, just got her license one week ago but she was doing great! On Saturday I had pleasure to join a great run to USA, and on Sunday I was logging dozens of Japanese on 20 meters. On Sunday at noon I went back to Munich quite tired. The claimed score is

Call: DG7RO, MS, AB, HP
Socre: QSO – 1329, Multi – 819, QTC - 1184
Total score: 2 056 509

I guess we are in the TOP 5 Europe!!!

In the late evening I was able to “funk” again for a short time. Actually, I wanted to configure Wintest for RTTY contesting at home (I was using N1MM before). I had some software problems with Wintest, it took some time to manage all that stuff with port and MTTY configurations, and, finally, DD1LD went on air.

I almost worked every DX station on 40m I could hear. My TRX showed S8-S9 noise level because of a static charge on the wire antenna due to the rain. And, of course, I supported DG7RO again giving them one additional point. Every QSO is worth!

The most exciting procedure in RTTY WAEDC is the QTC exchange, otherwise, this contest would be boring very fast (at least for me :-). It is worth asking for QTC even with a small serial number. Many stations may have thought, if one has a small serial number, he does not have any bloody idea about the QTC exchange at all. The first station was quite surprised as I asked it for receiving my QTC with my first 9 QSO. Some stations had no QTC but were ready to receive ones, and vice versa. Sometimes you happen to ask insistently about one more time like:

DD1LD: ANY QTC FOR ME? ANY QTC FOR ME?
JAxXX: NO NO QTC SORRY
DD1LD: QSL WANT U QTC? WANT U QTC?
JAxXX: (no answer)
DD1LD: JAxXX QSL WANT U QTC? WANT U QTC?
JAxXX: (after a short delay): OK QRV QRV

After I got rid of all my QTC I stopped and went to bed with "steep" 5K poits :-)

Call: DD1LD - SO, SB 40m, LP
Score: QSO – 27, MULTI – 48, QTC – 76
Total score: 4 944

Looking back to DG7RO results, I would like to have seen at least 50% more QTC what is important from tactical and/or strategic point of view.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

P.S. See you in CQ WW CW in two weeks.

VHF-CW-Marconi Contest 2007

2007-11-04T16:49:00.003+01:00

Der Gedanke, an einem UKW Contest von zu Hause aus teilzunehmen, ließ mich seit Monaten nicht in Ruhe. Wie weit kann ich denn kommen? Wieviel QSO kann ich machen? Die Gelegenheit hat auf sich auch nicht lange warten lassen - der Marconi Contest, und in CW dazu.

Ich habe am Freitag am Abend schnell bei einem Baumarkt vorbeigeschaut und mir eine 2.50 Meter lange Planke geholt. Am Samstag Mittag habe ich noch an meiner Antenne gebastelt, daraus ist eine richtig drehbare Antenne geworden, so konnte ich einen Sektor von ca. -75° bis +75° (0° ist also Richtung Osten) ausleuchten. Ich musste zwar sehr oft auf den Balkon laufen, aber der Aufwand hat sich gelohnt. Zum Einsatz kamen: Yaesu-857D mit max 50W Leistung und eine 2m/440 Five Element Elk Antenna, dazwischen - ein paar Meter RG-58. Die log-periodische Elk-Antenne zeigte zwar eine durchaus miserable Direktivität (den Gewinn auch), aber immerhin, eine Drehung von 0° bis zum Anschlag nach Süden brachte mir doch ein paar IK ins Log. Yaesu-857D ist auch ein (unter)durchschnittliches UKW Gerät, aber um Spaß zu haben, reicht es ja auch.

Meine manuell drehbare Antenne, Richtung Osten

Nachmittag ging es dann los. Gefunkt wurde es neben Essen, Unterhalten, bisschen Fernschauen und Schlafen. Manche DX QSOs dauerten gute 5 Minuten, manche landeten im Log, manche gingen verloren - oft ein Geduldsspiel für beide Seiten! Von der sagenhaften Öffnung nach PA und G am Sonntag habe ich leider nichts mitgekriegt (d.h. es gibt immer noch Potential zur Optimierung der Antenne :-) aber sie nach

England

drehen zu können, wird etwas schwierig :-) Besonders aufregend waren "nicht direkte" QSOs mit dem westlichen Teil, die durch Reflexion entstanden. Leider blieben die benachbarten Felder im Süden nicht berührt!? Hat von dort aus keiner mitgemacht oder habe ich keinen gehört? Es wurden folgende DXCC gearbeitet: 9A, DL, F, HA, HB, I, OE, OK, OM, S5, SP und especially T7.

Gearbeitete Locators (JN58SE ist rot markiert)

Kurze Zusammenfassung der Teilname:

QTH - JN58SE

QSO - 94

Locators - 34

Average (km and points) - 304.7

ODX - 657 km (JO91QF)

Total score - 28 638

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

P.S. Wer funken will, findet Wege!

CQ WPX RTTY 2007 results

2007-11-02T23:48:00.002+01:00

CQ WPX RTTY 2007 results are already published. I should be quite satisfied - world's first place in SO-40m in the ROOKIE category :-) and that from my QTH and with my 8 meter long wire winded round a rod ...

The WPX RTTY 07 report you can find here. The results are here.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

WAG 2007

2007-11-02T23:11:00.001+01:00

I was able to take part in the WAG contest for just only four hours. I did not hear well on 15 meters, and I even failed to work 4O/DD5FZ on 20 meters several times... but on 40 meters my antenna seems to work pretty well in spite of its length.

Contest : Worked All Germany Contest
Callsign : DD1LD
Mode : MIXED
Category : Single Operator (SO)
Band(s) : All bands (AB)
Class : Low Power (LP)
DOK : C12
Locator : JN58SE
OP time : 4h02
------------------------------------
80 - 0(SSB) - 0 (CW)
40 - 0(SSB) - 141(CW)
20 - 7(SSB) - 60(CW)
15 - 0(SSB) - 3(CW)
10 - 0(SSB) - 0(CW)
------------------------------------
TOTAL 7(SSB) 204(CW) 49(DXC) 523(Points)
====================================
TOTAL SCORE : 25 627

See you next year in WAG'08!
73 de DD1LD

CONTESTen auf Russisch

2007-03-14T22:02:00.001+01:00

Voriges Jahr haben wir als DQ4W beim Russian DX eine gute Erfahrung gemacht, wenn man Russen auf Russisch anspricht, was eigentlich zu erwarten war. Sie freuen sich riesig darüber, und so bekommt man manch seltene Stationen ins Log. Ich habe das Wichtigste für das Contest auf zwei Seiten zusammengefasst. Die PDF-Datei befindet sich hier

CONTESTen auf Russisch

Falls jemand noch Vorschläge zur Verbesserung hat, bitte mich anmailen.

Udatschi w CONTESTe!
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

VHF Contest and ARRL SSB 2007

2007-03-07T22:57:00.001+01:00

On Sunday, March, 4th at noon after I took a long time for my breakfast enjoining a cup of distinctive and quite strong coffee (after that I finally got awake) I decided to try my rig in the running VHF/UHF contest. Unfortunately I don’t have any suitable antenna for 2m like 9-element Yagi or something better, I only have a standard Dimond GPA purchased for local FM chats and installed on the balcony. Anyway it’s better than nothing. I have a good view of the East side (see picture) that was right away confirmed by two QSO with OK stations and ODX about 215 km. I got a couple of QSO with stations above 100 km away, and the rest were local hams. Altogether 31 QSOs were well done! And what about the rig? The rig is definitely rubbish for VHF/UHF contests but still enough for weekend pleasure.

A couple of hours later I was in a good mood again contesting in SSB for ARRL SSB 2007: 73 QSOs on 20m band plus 2 QSOs on 40m were done; 30 states and provinces were gained. Highlights were AZ in USA and AB in Canada. That it not bad, is it?

CQ WW 160m SSB

2007-02-27T22:32:00.001+01:00

I spent a great weekend reparing antennas, working in fresh air, chatting to other hams and friends, well eating and contesting a bit in the night... And I've got VK9DNX on 15 and 20m in SSB.

Highlights: KP4, USA, VE/VO and CU. Here is the claimed score:

Date:	Februar 24-25, 2007
Call:	DD1LD
Category:	Single OP Assisted
Band:	160m
Power:	High
Mode:	SSB
QTH:	S.
OP time:	5:24

	QSOs	Points	DXC	Multies
Total:	219	1078	41	7
Score:	51 744

VK9DNX & ARRL CW 2007

2007-02-21T11:21:00.001+01:00

If you don’t already know, there is a DX expedition to Norfolk Island (VK9) from February, 15 to March, 3 organized by several BCC-members. During the CW ARRL International DX contest last week we got VK9DNX in CW on 80m and 160m. It’s a great feeling to have succeeded in making a QSO on 160m with VK9, the signals were quite weak but clear. Thanks to Ben, DL6RAI who exactly knew the best suitable time and frequencies. I hope I’ll catch VK9DNX on other bands too.

In a word, we all (Hajo - DJ9MH which call we used, Matthias - DK4YJ, Ben - DL6RAI and me – DD1LD) had a lot of fun contesting on weekend. We made 2820 net QSO on five bands, achieved 221 US state and Canadian provinces and a score of 1 869 660. In addition all of us got VK9DNX on 160m and 80m and other bands too.

CQ WPX RTTY 2007

2007-02-16T00:22:00.001+01:00

I can not say that I am a fan of RTTY and I find CW and SSB anyway more exciting. But although RTTY is a relaxing operation mode someone like me could find it amazing and still challenging. By the way you can watch TV, have a cup of coffee or a little chat with your girlfriend, enjoy your favourite beer or do whatever you are able to do else… That is a quite family-friendly ham radio opened for every licensed amateur as well for a novice as for a professional. However, you have to have a lot of patience.

Anyway, I like RTTY and I decided to join in CW WW WPX RTTY contest this weekend. Actually that was the second RTTY contest I have joined at all. Before I start describing over the course of the contest I want to mention what my equipment is: eight meter long wire and mobile FT-857. Sometimes I am astonished what I can “funken” (I like this German word rather than English “making radio communication” or “establishing radio connections”, I would say there is no any appropriate equivalent in English for this unique German word) with a wire stick.

I started on Friday in the night with 80W output power. I chosen only 40m band. Most QSO were done in S&P (search & point) mode. CQing (i.e. calling CQ) also was very useful even with the low power, because many local hams (local means European) did not call CQ at all, they went through all bands, collected QSO and disappeared again. I was surprised as two Japanese and a couple of US calls came into my log on Sunday just by calling CQ. On the other hand, my frequency was often stolen, that is someone started CQing on my frequency and I was permanently forced to search for a free one. As consequence of the frequency deficit many station were calling among SSB guys. Never mind!

As I mentioned above, you must be very patient doing RTTY. I was calling CQ, one ham came back but he did not catch my serial number for several times. As soon as he finally got my number, he was probably so happy about that he scrammed in the next seconds without leaving me his serial. The second casus is more amazing. I was having a solid QSO with a DX station and sending my serial, suddenly one “local” ham turned up, sent his call and serial number, probably picked up the serial intended for this DX station, and disappeared as fast as he appeared without to be confirmed. I quickly made a note with his call. Later I met him again calling CQ. I answered and before my last letter was sent I promptly got back “QSO B4” and he started CQing again. OK, if you mind…

On Saturday in the daytime I worked with S7-S8 of noise due to my “industrial” environment and then Maria and me went out. On Sunday afternoon I hardly ever had any run. Because of strong wind and rain causing S9-level noise due to static charges on the antenna I was able to proceed the contest in the late evening. After the planed score threshold of 500K was passed I stopped and went to bed quite tired.

Looking back to the contest I would say that was a good experience hunting DX stations with my modest performing mobile rig. I had a great feeling hardly gathered rare calls into my Log. Despite that the fun/time factor is less than by doing CW I won’t stop encouraging anyone at least to have a try at RTTY.

Highlights are JA, Caribbean, America, VQ9 and, especially, YW0DX.

Here is my claimed score:

Date:	Februar 11-12, 2007
Call:	DD1LD
Category:	Single OP
Band:	40m
Power:	Low
Mode:	CW
QTH:	home

	QSOs	Points	WPX
Total:	409	1782	286
Score:	509 652

CQ WW DX CW 2006

2007-02-15T16:47:00.001+01:00

My first CQ WW DX CW Contest... I had a lot of fun... Propagation conditions, especially, on Sunday in the evening were great!

Here is my claimed score:

Date:	November, 25-26 2006
Call:	DD1LD
Category:	Single OP, Assisted
Band:	All
Power:	Low
Mode:	CW
QTH:	DL0TUM
Soapbox:	Rig: FT-857D - Ant: 10-15-20m-Beam, 40-80-160m-Wire

Band	QSOs	Points	Countries	Zones
1,8	60	61	34	6
3,5	152	216	56	10
7	220	423	77	17
14	176	391	71	24
21	189	503	57	20
28	21	33	16	7
Total:	818	1627	311	84
Score:	642 665

WAEDC RTTY 2006

2006-11-13T10:56:00.008+01:00

That was just-for-fun participation. I was able to spend a couple of hours for contesting. I made about 170 QSO and exchanged about the same number of QTC. On Saturday at noon I interrupted the contest because of strong wind tried to break my mast. On Sunday I had another "old" problem – matchbox…

Anyway, HZ, 8P, ZL, TF, UA0 , JA, North- and South America etc. were in the Log.

Used equipment was FT-857D and 8m-long wire antenna.

CQ WW DX SSB 2006

2006-11-03T10:39:00.001+01:00

That was a hard CQuing with 100W output power, especially on 40m. “Big Guns” always stole my frequency :-) and some low power stations started to call on the some frequency, because they did not hear me at all. A huge chaos… Anyway it was a great experience for me and I worked a lot of rare stations with my 100W and a piece of wire. I got started at DL0TUM having a good beam for 10-15-20m. After a couple of hours many OPs complained about my modulation and I discontinued the contest. I went home, switched on my TRX again and made a lot of nice DX QSOs with an approximately 8m-long wire. I have just been forced to exchange my brand new pilot headset for a handmike… So, North and South America, Africa, Indonesia, Cocos (Keeling) Islands and VQ9 came in my log. Of course, I missed the beam used before, but that was a great feeling, after I passed through some tough pile-ups with my mangy station. On Sunday I took a rest and only made a couple of QSOs in the evening.

Here are preliminary results:

Date:	October, 28-29 2006
Call:	DD1LD
OPs:	DD1LD
Band:	All
Power:	Low
Mode:	SSB
Soapbox:	Rig: FT-857D; Ant: 10-15-20m-Beam, 40-80-160m-Wire

Band	QSOs	Points	Countries	Zones
1,8	26	25	23	4
3,5	39	44	26	4
7	50	77	37	10
14	82	139	42	12
21	165	322	76	25
28	3	7	3	3
Total:	365	614	207	58
Score:	162 710

WAG 2006

2006-11-03T10:36:00.001+01:00

My first WAG Contest at all, and I'm in TOP 10 Germany... I'm very satisfied with my results at which you can take a look here:

WAG 2006 Results

Yaaaaa! Yoo-hoo!

Blog!?... already started

2006-09-15T23:12:00.001+02:00

My Blog has been successfully started. I only hope, I will have enough time for writing…