Author Archives: dh8bqa

Sporadic-E on 2 m again

Posted on June 21, 2020 by dh8bqa

Not very active during the last 2 weeks. Either no condx or me being too busy with QRL stuff. Just caught two smaller 4 m openings last Sunday (June 14) to Finland in the morning and Greece in the afternoon … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Sporadic-E on 2 m again

A new square on 6 m & some thoughts

Posted on June 7, 2020 by dh8bqa

Only one QSO today: TA7OM from KN80 providing square #690 on 50 MHz. Despite this I haven’t done much on 6 m this season yet. Seems I somehow lost interest in the band as almost all activity has shifted to … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on A new square on 6 m & some thoughts

Finland on 4 m

Posted on June 6, 2020 by dh8bqa

A short opening to Finland this morning, doesn’t happen too often. KP13 for a new square, now #206. All references for OH8JGG show KP24AE as his locator but he was clearly sending KP23 himself so will probably have to wait … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Finland on 4 m

Chasing down our RFI issue – success!

Posted on June 1, 2020 by dh8bqa

Spent some time with Heiko, DG1BHA, and Uwe, DL3BQA, chasing down our RFI issue this afternoon that I had reported about in my WPX-SSB blog post. Some systematic testing revealed that it’s worse with a modified TS-590 transmitting on 15 … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Stubs & filters | Comments Off on Chasing down our RFI issue – success!

OY – Faröer Islands #45 on 70 MHz

Posted on June 1, 2020 by dh8bqa

Another new country in the log on 4 m and square #205! 😎 Glad to catch him this morning, had heard him a few days ago already but no luck back then. This time skip fitted perfectly so easy going. … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on OY – Faröer Islands #45 on 70 MHz

CQ WPX CW ’20

Posted on June 1, 2020 by dh8bqa

Well, I felt a bit uneasy before this one. There was a small tipps & tricks section in last week’s BCC newsletter about the upcoming WPX-CW contest and being interviewed I said there’s a 70% chance of good Sporadic-E conditions … Continue reading →

Posted in Contesting, Propagation, Sporadic E | Comments Off on CQ WPX CW ’20

Another 2 m Sporadic-E …

Posted on May 31, 2020 by dh8bqa

Being active in the WPX-CW contest this weekend (report to follow) I monitored 2 m in parallel and caught another ES opening. 😎 —————————————————————— TIME CALLSIGN LOCATOR TX RX BAND MODE PROP. QRB —————————————————————— 15:25 EA6VQ JM19MP -08 -02 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Another 2 m Sporadic-E …

Best VHF-DX day ever!

Posted on May 29, 2020 by dh8bqa

I’ve been active on the VHF bands for almost 30 years now and certainly experienced one or another great VHF-DX day. But what we experienced today certainly deserves the definition as “Best VHF-DX day ever”! The 6, 4 & 2 … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Best VHF-DX day ever!

Another 2 m ES opening

Posted on May 27, 2020 by dh8bqa

Another short ES opening this morning! Not positioned favourably, signals very much in & out, but some QSOs made at least: —————————————————————— TIME CALLSIGN LOCATOR TX RX BAND MODE PROP. QRB —————————————————————— 08:49 UA4ALU LN29LA -17 -05 2 m. FT8 … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Another 2 m ES opening

First 2 m ES / 4 m to the UK

Posted on May 26, 2020 by dh8bqa

Glad to catch my first 2 m Sporadic-E this year! Marginal opening to UA6 from here, FT8 had to deliver. 😉 LN26 was a new square, #587. Almost missed the opening! Was sitting on the balcony sipping my morning coffee … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on First 2 m ES / 4 m to the UK

Great VHF day!

Posted on May 25, 2020 by dh8bqa

Great day on VHF today! First QSO was with RD4AN in LN19 on 6 m. A new square, of course, as operation on 50 MHz in Russia is officially not yet allowed as far as I know. There were a … Continue reading →

Posted in DX, Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Great VHF day!

Patchy 70 MHz openings today

Posted on May 24, 2020 by dh8bqa

A few patchy openings this morning. Great to see the first double hop ES that early in the season! Looking at the differences between sent and received reports I feel I probably need more power! 😉 —————————————————————— TIME CALLSIGN LOCATOR … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Patchy 70 MHz openings today

Sporadic-E season hast started

Posted on May 23, 2020 by dh8bqa

Time to dedust the station. 😉 Didn’t do much (not to say nothing) during the last few weeks. But being a VHF addict as you know it’s time to pay more attention to the radio from mid-May for possible Sporadic-E … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Sporadic E, VHF | Comments Off on Sporadic-E season hast started

CQ WPX RTTY 2019 Plaque received :-)

Posted on May 12, 2020 by dh8bqa

Another very nice surprise in the post box today! 😎 Many thanks to Sid, NH7C, for the plaque sponsorship!

Posted in Awards, Contesting, Expeditions | Comments Off on CQ WPX RTTY 2019 Plaque received :-)

CQ WPX SSB ’20

Posted on March 30, 2020 by dh8bqa

Initially I wanted to drive to the station but motivation was rather low so only handed out a few points remotely last weekend. Spent most of Saturday afternoon on 10 m with some Sporadic-E to CT/EA and prolongation of propagation … Continue reading →

Posted in Contesting | Comments Off on CQ WPX SSB ’20

Russian DX Contest ’20

Posted on March 23, 2020 by dh8bqa

Well, it’s been a while since I last participated in Russian DX (must have been 5 or 6 years ago). Motivation was not very high this time, either. Lots of work after a second change of QRL within a few … Continue reading →

Posted in Contesting | Comments Off on Russian DX Contest ’20

ARRL DX CW ’20

Posted on February 17, 2020 by dh8bqa

After having just received the world winner plaque for my last year’s V37DX entry in ARRL DX CW it was of course a question of honour to take part this year, too. 😉 I probably “wasted” too much time searching … Continue reading →

Posted in Contesting | Comments Off on ARRL DX CW ’20

CQ WPX RTTY ’20

Posted on February 9, 2020 by dh8bqa

Second contest this year and again RTTY. Hope I’m not getting old. 😉 Motivation was not that high. As our temporary 80 m Groundplane is still up Uwe, DL3BQA, was going for a serious 80 m single band entry from … Continue reading →

Posted in Contesting | Comments Off on CQ WPX RTTY ’20

ARRL DX CW 2019 Plaque received :-)

Posted on January 23, 2020 by dh8bqa

Very happy opening the post box today! Brings back very nice memories immediately and looks great on the wall, too. 😎

Posted in Awards, Contesting, Expeditions | Comments Off on ARRL DX CW 2019 Plaque received :-)

Another January Tropo

Posted on January 21, 2020 by dh8bqa

Again some tropo, this time also fitting for JO73. 🙂 Forecast showed some possible condx for yesterday already but nothing over here while the colleagues in JO64 could already work some DX. Today sigs came up over here, too. Signals … Continue reading →

Posted in Propagation, Tropo, VHF | Comments Off on Another January Tropo