Author Archives: dh8bqa

Aurora this afternoon

Certainly not too good for HF propagation and all the guys doing the ARRL RTTY Roundup this weekend but a nice start into the new year for the VHF fans. 😉 QSO by DH8BQA on 2 m. Type of propagation: … Continue reading

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A few 2014 statistics

Now that 2014 is history time has come to do some statistical work. 😉 As already mentioned before this has been my most “radio active” year so far. I made almost 23.000 QSOs in total: 17.845 as DH8BQA, 2.816 as … Continue reading

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W1AW portable worked in all states and overseas territories

I’m glad to report I have now worked all W1AW portable states with IA (Iowa) being the last one this week. So my qualification for the “Worked all States with W1AW” award, all the territorial stickers and the plaque is finally … Continue reading

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Merry Christmas everybody!

Wishing all of my blog readers a very Merry Christmas and already now a happy New Year! May all your wishes come true and for all of us let’s keep fingers crossed for some more good condx and lots of DX … Continue reading

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10M-RTTY & skimmer spots analysis

Moving house is slowly taking over priorities overhere so as sad as it is seeing the still good condx I decided to skip the ARRL-10M next weekend and concentrate on moving things over to the new house. Uwe, DL3BQA, will … Continue reading

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CQ WWDX CW 2014

Now that another week of QRL is gone and the weekend is here maybe it’s time to sum up my this year’s WWDX CW contest entry between packing moving boxes. 😉 Condx were excellent so my choice of band had … Continue reading

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Already 20.000 QSOs this year and still counting …

Just saw that I already made my 20.000th QSO this year this evening. Thanks everybody worked! This is by far my most “radio-active” year in my ham career so far. And there are still a few more QSO chances (i.e. … Continue reading

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VU4 – Andaman & Nicobar Islands #298

Just worked VU4KV on 30 m RTTY for another ATNO. They were spotted before on 40 m CW but it turned out to be VU2UR running a nice pileup. 🙂 Glad to catch them on 30 m rather easily now after they … Continue reading

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QSLs, QSLs, QSLs

It’s been quite a while since my last blog entry. Reason is very simple: a lot of QRL and not much interest in playing radio. Basically only worked a few W1AW portable slots here and there and a very few DX QSOs … Continue reading

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FT4TA – Things are getting out of control :-(

As you might know the FT4TA expedition is currently active from Tromelin Island, #10 of the most wanted DXCCs. I “only” worked them on 15 & 12 m so far as I know they will QSL thru LotW, that’s the important … Continue reading

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Marconi Memorial Contest ’14

Was busy with a few other things over the weekend but managed to squeeze in a few QSOs every now and then Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Worked some nice DX, too! Hope to have a bit more time next … Continue reading

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4th of July Week – 13 Original Colonies Special Event Award

Shown right is the latest addition to my awards collection: The 13 Original Colonies Special Event Award 2014. Every year during the 4th of July week there are special event stations in the 13 original colonies of the United States. … Continue reading

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The QRM festival … a.k.a. the CQ WWDX SSB contest ;-)

Well, what shall I say? Never thought it would be possible to do more than 2.000 QSOs single band on 15 m from our station (station record so far was 1.800 QSOs). Not even dreamt of > 2.400 (including dupes)! … Continue reading

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Pre-contest condx

Condx came up nicely since Monday. Flux and sunspot numbers did a big jump upwards. Yesterday saw a really nice 10 m opening. I had a lot of fun running NA on 10 m for 2.5 hours continously. Even had … Continue reading

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Short-lived but intense Aurora opening

We had another short-lived but intense Aurora opening this afternoon/early evening. Signals were very strong, SM4IVE was peaking 59A+20! It didn’t extend much south but nevertheless always enjoyable to work those other VHF enthusiasts. 😉 —————————————————————— DATE TIME CALLSIGN LOCATOR … Continue reading

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WAG ’14

The Worked All Germany Contest 2014 is history now. After doing 1.923 QSOs last year with superb conditions but only keeping my butt 23 hours in the chair the goal for this year was to finally break the 2.000 QSO … Continue reading

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VK9L – Lord Howe Island #297

Worked the VK9DLX guys on 12 SSB, 15 CW & 20 SSB without any trouble … thanks for a new one, guys! I’m sure there will be a few more band/mode slots in the log during the next few days … Continue reading

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No QSOs this week but one – ZS on 6 m

This week has been quite busy at work again so I was not in the mood to do any amateur radio in the evenings. I even ignored VK9DLX becoming active from Lord Howe which is a new one for me and … Continue reading

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TMC – The Makrothen Contest 2014 on 10 m

Well, to be honest I did not have that one on my contest radar. Yes, I knew it existed but was not aware it was this weekend. While doing a few other things I saw Mike, VE9AA, spotted on 10 … Continue reading

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Nice 10 m condx again but no luck on 6 m

Today saw much improved condx again although the forecast told otherwise. 😉 Ten was wide open, even into the U.S. West Coast late afternoon and well into the evening. The California QSO Party was going on so lots of stuff to work … Continue reading

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