SM7ALC in Skurup Sweden

This mornings radio contact was SM7ALC in Skurup Sweden. On the southern coast of this country, he had an exceptional signal into the eastern coast. I don't hear many DX stations using a straight key but this morning the signal was 599 in both directions.

Day 50

I completed my 50th daily DX contact this morning with a station in Great Sutton England. This station (M0BAU) and also a Scottish station  (MM0CIN) were in the same general area. The English station won out; although he was barely above the noise level. He was desperately trying to keep my attention and repeated his call sign at least a dozen times before I got it right.

Fortunately, he was an E-QSL member. On my return home this afternoon from a trip to my fathers, the card was in my mailbox and apparently, he was operating QRP. I sent an e-mail to him with the hopes he could clarify this for me. My guess is yes since he was calling near the 17 meter QRP calling frequency.

Geof wasn't the only station I worked today. I also worked a familiar Italian station. (IK2SND) We've worked several times before (3) and he was an easy catch. Despite all my efforts, I could not get YU150TC in Serbia to hear me.

I'm very happy with 50 days of daily DX now. My original goal was 30 consecutive days which I met with 34 contacts. I took a week off on a travel trip and have continued making a daily DX contact everyday afterwards. I have no idea how long this trend will continue but my radio habits revolve around 17 meters every morning with an additional time in the evening on 30 meters looking for stations in the Caribbean and South America.

To say chasing DX has become a minor trend is an understatement. I've learned chasing DX is highly addictive and I've grown to love it. I know working DX is a standard everyday event with larger stations using QRO power and enormous antenna farms but with 3 watts and a 50 piece of random wire for an antenna, I'm very content.

Old Shortwave Broadcasters

Reading one of my favorite blogs in The Netherlands (PE4BAS) , brought back fond memories of the days when big International Short-Wave Stations were the delight of my generation. I liked his link (originally by PH5C)  so well that I thought I would also share it with my readers.

This video is a long one, but is guaranteed to bring back a sense of nostalgia. It also makes me think about those old receivers with "great audio". Many times, I wish those days were still here, and I can say with quite a bit of certainty, the programming was much better then, than anything you will hear on the local radio and television shows of today.



I've fed the audio on this clip into a FM transmitter and re-broadcasted  it throughout the house several times today. I can remember well my old Allied SWL Receiver  as well as an older Knight Kit regenerative receiver I listened to as a kid. Those were good days for radio...very good days.

Quite honestly, living in the city now, I can't hear many the current stations due to electrical noise and I use an internet connected wi-fi radio when listening to world wide SWL stations. Many of the stations on this video are "off the air" now due to high operating costs and maintenance issues.

But there was  something special about hearing a long distance station "over the air".  It's just not the same. It's difficult to put into words, but there was a magic associated with broadcasting in those days.

That is now gone in the modern world. There are times when I wish the old days were back.

Congratulations again to PE4BAS for the post on his blog. I would not be surprised to see this video floating around the web for several more weeks. It's sure to be a hit with the "baby boomers".

F8BBL in France

First off; I was shocked when I couldn't connect to my usual DX spotting cluster this morning. DX clusters are always good forecasters to portions of the world where there's new activity. It appears there are  technical problems but I assume it will be back online shortly. I use them mostly to look for new stations which I need for DXCC. It's not devastating to me (only an irritation) when they're down because  I continue to have my best QSO's with stations "not spotted".

This morning was no exception.

A few days ago, I had a nice QSO with Lor (F8BBL) who lives in Ttresses France. He puts a whopping signal into the mountains of West Virginia. When I talked to him a few days ago, his signal was so good that he suggested I drop my power all the way down to the very minimum. I was able to continue the QSO with one half a watt.

This morning I heard the familiar call sign, again, with another NA designation. I felt I had the obligation to say "hello" once more. We easily connected again and started another experiment; but this time, on his behalf.

I gave him the following signal reports: 

500W = 579

200W = 579

5 W = 339 

I'll follow up with an e-mail to him this morning. I was surprised to note he also has a radio blog  which I placed a link on the right side of my page yesterday. He did an excellent write up of my previous contact a few days ago. I hope today continues the reciprocity and a continuing friendship. Lor is also a "geocacher"; a sport I've participated in for many years. You will see a familiar face there when you view his blog.

You can find his blog here:  F8BBL

Aircraft from the Ukraine

I love to read about the countries I work on the radio but sometimes the history of a country demands volumes of information in hundreds of different books.

This morning I worked a very weak station in the Ukraine (UY3QT)  not far from the 17 meter QRP frequency. It was a real challenge to pull out of the noise. After a brief Wikipedia read, I discovered this aircraft is a product of their country.

I've worked the Ukraine several times (5) but never realized this country builds the largest aircraft in the world. Being a believer in giving credit where credit is due; it's difficult to comprehend the size of this machine and its capabilities. It's a true giant.

The Antonon-225 was originally built to carry this Russian Space Shuttle; but when the program was scuttled in the 90's, other uses were soon discovered. Today this aircraft is used to carry cargo all over the world. Even looking at these pictures, you just can't grasp it's size.

 I also worked stations in Guatemala City (TG9ADM) and Slovenia. (S59AA)

A Test in France

This morning while working familiar stations on the 17 meter band, I heard a very loud and familiar F8BBL in France. He was calling for NA stations, and I had worked him just the other day, and got a 599 report. This morning as the QSO continued, he suggested I drop power and do a short test. Before the session was over, I was below one watt, and he could still hear me. Sometimes you're just the right distance for the band conditions.  hihi

Per E-mail this afternoon: 

3W = 559

2W = 549 

500 MW = 439 

I also worked several other familiar stations this morning. My first was the always workable, and familiar YN9SU in Nicaragua and I soon followed with PA4VHF in the Netherlands. A little after breakfast, I returned to the radio and worked DL1DGS in Germany and had another short contact with F8GGD also in France but the band changed suddenly and dropped out.

Today is going to be another sunny, but cooler day in the valley. I'm having trouble with my left foot so will probably hit the road again with the bike this afternoon. We have lots of level roadways to ride and traffic is sure to be light on a Sunday morning.

Day 46

I'd love to see France some day, but until then, I'll have to be content to with admiring their artists, sharing a bottle of their good red wine with friends, and talking to Hams who live there. French artist Claude Monet used an interesting style that captured the feelings of places and not the imagine. I've always like his work.

This morning, before I put my shoes on, I worked F8BBL in Tresses France. The operator used the name of Lor and we briefly passed along the necessities and excellent (599) signal reports--- which was both ways. He sounded like he was just next door. Before the morning ended, I also had nice QSO's with other hams in Germany and Italy.

Downstairs for coffee afterwards and a quick breakfast, I found myself back upstairs in the radio room and couldn't resist the temptation to say hello to YN9SU in Nicaragua. I like his new key which produces a buttery smooth sound. It's the only signal I've ever heard from that country and he always answers on the first call.

My next contact was in Switzerland with HB9ICE who was transmitting from the Zurich International Airport and commemorating Swiss Air.  I love those "Special Event Stations" and always try to work them.

My next contact was a challenging QSO with DK0SU who was using the "club radio station" at Stuitgart University in Germany. I took quite an effort to exchange our information because of QRM and heavy QSB. Tom and I shifted back and forth several times to nearby frequencies to complete the QSO. This University is a leader in the automotive engineering fields.

I also worked another French station this morning, but despite being spotted at least a dozen different times on the cluster, can't find anything on the web about it. Should anyone stumble across the specifics for TM5OENSO, please contact me. I've looked everywhere but can't find an explanation other than it's a Special Event Station listed only in France.

My last contact was a short QSO with IZ4DLR near Bologna Italy. Ivan was very complimentary of my 3 watt signal and a random wire antenna and made the remark that it was MORE than enough for a solid copy in his country. We also commented on the weather. He has heavy snow with 9C temps today.

That was it for the morning hours.  I'm VERY happy with these contacts. As usual, I'll be listening for the Caribbean stations again this evening. The weather is beautiful here today in West Virginia with temps in the mid 50's (f). I'll enjoy the mid day hours riding the bike around town.

It's been a productive radio day so far. I've not worked any new countries this morning; but this is my 46th Day of working at least one DX station, every day that I'm on the air. If not for taking a trip to a warm place last week (The Bahamas), they would be consecutive.

Since the beginning of this year, (Janurary 1, 2013) --  I've now worked 105 stations; of which 95%  have been in the DX Category. It's been much fun.....