Activating Chao da Poza II (EA1GIB)

This is a video of a QSO with EA1GIB from the summit Chao da Poza, SOTA reference EA1/LU-010.

The summit has an altitude of 1405m and an associated score of 6 points.

Chao da Poza (EA1/LU-010)

On this video I am setting up the station for my SOTA activation of Chao da Poza. The summit has an altitude of 1405m and is located on the border between the provinces of Lugo and Leon.

I was using my FT-897 with a 2.4m whip and an FC-40 automatic antenna tuner. The video was recorded by Anca (YO8SOY).

OK2JUA (Czech Republic): SOTA Ref. EA1/LU-010

Last Thursday I activated SOTA summit EA1/LU010 (Chao da Poza). I made 7 QSOs on 15m SSB. The first on ewas with Czech station OK2JUA (operator Tony). You can see it on video here.

The weather was wonderful. Clear sky and a very nice temperature at 1400 metres of altiture.

Italy (IK2DZN)

I have just received this nice eQSL card from Italian station IK2DZN (operator: Claudio) for a QSO on the 15m band in July 2007.
Claudio has been Licensed Ham since February 1984: from 1984 to 1993, resident in the province of Bergamo and from 1994 to present, resident in the province of Milano.

United States (W2AJI) on 20m

This is a video of a QSO with American station W2AJI (operator: Mike) from North Carolina on 20m SSB. First licensed in 1961, this year marks 46 years of continuous operation of W2AJI.

Mike has been associated with the wire industry for over 39 years, involved in the production of conductors from copper and copper alloys, and currently is the General Manager and Chief Operating Officer of Wheeler Industrial Corporation. Station equipment at W2AJI includes a Ten Tec Orion II with MC 60 microphone, Yaesu FT 1000MP Mark V with a MD-200 microphone, W2IHY EQPlus, and modified W2IHY noise gate, driving a Command Technologies HF 2500 or Alpha 76CA. Tower number 1 holds a five element 20 meter monoband yagi with a 44 foot boom at 75 feet. Tower number 2 holds a six element tri-band yagi with a 24 foot boom at 50 feet. Bases of the towers are 1025 feet asl. 20 meter SSB is the main mode of operation.

Canada (VE3UUH) on 15m SSB

This is a video of a QSO with Canadian station VE3UUH (operator: Bob) from Jasper, Ontario, SW of the capital city Ottawa, on the 15m band.

Bob has been licensed since 1992. He enjoys chasing the DX or a quality rag chew. He is a hobby musician. He plays the guitar, mostly rock, blues, Indie music. He also enjoys fishing, cottage life, life in general. He invites one and all to check out his music site at www.myspace.com/robcalver warning his music is not for the faint of heart!!

Morocco by night on 20m SSB (CN8ZG)

This is a video of a QSO with Moroccan station CN8ZG (operator: Hassane) from Salé on 20m SSB. The QSO was made by night.

Salé (Berber: Sla / Sala, Arabic: سلا‎; from the Berber word asla, meaning "rock") is the twin city to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. Today it is home to approximately 500,000 people, mostly impoverished factory workers. It was once a self-contained, self-ruled Republic with international scope, situated on the mouth of the Bou Regreg river on the Atlantic coast.

Germany on 15m with my FT-897 manpack (DK1MHW)

This is a video of a QSO with German station DK1MHW (operator: Hans) on the 15m band, using my Yaesu FT-897D manpack with a 2.4m whip.

Today I received his eQSL as well. I hope he enjoys this video.
The trees in the background are laurel trees. Laurus nobilis is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub reaching 10–18 metres (33–59 ft) tall, native to the Mediterranean region.
Bay Laurel is the source of the bay leaves, which are used for their flavour in cooking. It was also the source of the laurel wreath of ancient Greece, and therefore the expression of "resting on one's laurels". A wreath of bay laurels was given as the prize at the Pythian Games because the games were in honor of Apollo, and the laurel was one of his symbols ever since his unsuccessful pursuit of Daphne. In the Bible, the sweet-bay is often an emblem of prosperity and fame. In Christianity, it symbolizes the Resurrection of Christ and the triumph of Humanity thereby. It is also the source of the word baccalaureate (laurel berry), and of poet laureate.

Zrenjanin radioclub (YU7AOP)

This is a video of a QSO with Zrenjanin Radioclub - YU7AOP (operator: Boris) on the 15m band. This is the second QSO I have made with this station in 2010. You can see a video of the other QSO here.

The radio club at Zrenjanin was established in May 1933, and was active from 1933 to 1941, but there was no activity during WWII. In 1949 amateur communication started to be more popular, so in 1951 the first radio station on short wave was aired for the first time. Its callsign was YU1ARO which is later substituted with YU1AOP. As of today both YU7AOP and YT7P are in use.

Activating SOTA EA1/CR-028 (Monte Francoi)

Today I went with Ernesto (EA1LQ) to activate Monte Francoi for the Summits On The Air programme. The summit was far away from the road so we had to carry the radios for half a mile or so, with spiny gorses and slopes up to 100 per cent. But in the end it paid, as you can see on this video featuring a QSO with EA8UP (Chano) from the Canary Islands:

We made five QSOs each on the 20-, 17- and 15-metre bands, with countries such as Italy, Germany, Greece and Israel.

South Africa (ZS1AX)

This is a video of a QSo with South African station ZS1AX (Ben) on the 10m band.

The recording finished early because the camcorder run out of storage space.

Canary Islands on 12m (EA8CQW)

This is a video of a QSO with EA8CQW (Oscar) from the Canary Islands on the 12m band. It was raining in Tenerife.

Tenerife is known internationally as the "Island of Eternal Spring" (Isla de la Eterna Primavera).[37] The island, being on a latitude of the Sahara Desert, enjoys a warm climate year-round with an average of 20° - 22°C in the winter and 26° - 28°C in the summer and high sunshine totals. The moderate climate of Tenerife is controlled to a great extent by the tradewinds, whose humidity, principally, is condensed over the north and northeast of the island, creating cloud banks that range between 600 and 1,800 meters in height. The cold sea currents of the Canary Islands, also have a cooling effect on the coasts and its beaches and the topography of the landscape plays a role in climatic differences on the island with its many valleys.

Crete on 12m (SV9GPV)

Today the propagation was very good on the higher bands. This is a video of a QSO on the 12m band with SV9GPV from Crete.

Crete was the center of the Minoan civilization (circa 2700–1420 BCE), the first advanced civilization in Europe. The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans. Will Durant referred to it as "the first link in the European chain." The early inhabitants of Crete settled as early as 128,000 BC, during the Middle Paleolithic age. However it was not until 5000 BC that the first signs of advanced agriculture appeared, marking the beginning of the civilization.

Moscow on 15m (RK3BU)

This is a video of a QSO with RK3BU (Alex from Moscow) on the 15m band.

Alex has made a very interesting adaptation of a Yaesu FT-897 to accommodate 11 D-Size batteries.

Italy with the Clansman PRC-320

Today I was trying my Clansman PRC-320 with a random wire antenna and I made an interesting QSO with Italian station I1ASU/P.

The contact was valid for the Italian Castles Award with reference SV133. I checked it out and it corresponds to the Castle of Ortovero, a municipality in the province of Savona, region of Liguria.

Dominican Republic: The country no. 71 (HI8LAM)

I have just received an eQSL from Dominican station HI8LAM (Operator: Luis) of a QSO on the 15m band when I was activating the Torre de Hercules lighthouse. This makes the country no. 71 validly confirme for my eDX100 award.
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Christopher Columbus arrived on Hispaniola on December 5, 1492, during the first of his four voyages to America. He claimed the island for Spain and named it La Española. In 1496 Bartholomew Columbus, Christopher's brother, built the city of Santo Domingo, Europe's first permanent settlement in the "New World". The Spaniards created a plantation economy on the island.[19] The colony was the springboard for the further Spanish conquest of America and for decades the headquarters of Spanish power in the hemisphere. Christopher was buried in Santo Domingo upon his death in 1506.