Ten DXCC entities from a public park

On this video I call CQ from a public park in Acea de Ama with my Yaesu-SGC manpack radio and make 12 QSO with 10 differents DXCC entities.

I made QSOs with EA1LQ, SV2HXX, PA2CVD, ON7HLU (Hakim), RA1OD (Dima), RV1CT (Genna), R3BT, F4HDI (Franck), HA5OKQ (Jozsef), G6UKV (Phillip), EA8OT, IW0HLE.

Backpack portable from a public park

On this video I operate portable from a public park in Acea de Ama, near A Coruña, using my backpack transceiver.

I made QSOs with England (G6TUH), Asiatic Russia (RV9DC) and Eastern Spain (EA5YI).

Portable ham radio from Beiramar

This is a video of portable radio operation from a public park in Perillo, near the city of A Coruña, called Beiramar.

I was using my FT-857D light backpack transceiver and had the help of my son Adi to extend the counterpoise wires, and my friend Robi, who recorded the operation on video.

SOTA activation of Breamo - Christmas 2012

This is a video of the activation of Breamo (SOTA reference EA1/CR-035) to wish merry Christmas to my SOTA friends around the world. I was using an FT-897D with an internal antenna tuner and a wire antenna.

It includes a couple of QSOs with American stations. Thanks very much to everyone and Merry Christmas to all.

Romania (YO4RIU) on 12m SSB

This is a video of a QSO with Romanian station YO4RIU on 12m SSB.

I was using my mobile setup consisting of an FT-857D, an FC-40 antenna tuner and a 4m whip antenna.

EA1IEZ's first SOTA activation

Ernesto (EA1LQ) and I accompanied Abel (EA1IEZ) in his first SOTA activation, in Alto do Anxelio (EA1/CR-020), which is a summit relatively close to A Coruña.

It turned out to be extremely windy up there, but Abel managed to make a lot of contacts. Welcome to SOTA!

Finland (OH1TIN) on 15m

This is a video of a QSO I made in February from a public park called Beiramar, in Oleiros, near the city of A Coruña.

I was using may usual backpack radio considting of a Yaesu FT-857D, an SGC SG-211 smartuner, a LiPO battery and a military whip antenna.

Yaesu FT-897D with internal YT-100 antenna tuner

Here are a couple of pictures of my FT-897D with an LDG YT-100 antenna tuner fitted inside.

In the first picture you can see the rear top view of the radio. As you can see, I added a couple of binding posts for wire antennas and a push button to activate the tuner. I also plan on adding another UHF connector for coax-fed antennas in the near future. I am just waiting for the connectors to arrive.

In the second picture, you can see the rear bottom view, with the four phillips screws that hold the tuner board in place. The back cover is raised a couple of milimiters so that the tuner has enough room inside the battery compartment.

QSO with Norway from Cova da Serpe (EA1/LU-046)

This is a video I have just found of an activation of Cova da Serpe two years ago that was unpublished so far.

The backpack radio is based on a Yaesu FT-857D with an SG-211 smartuner. The red hat is a blend of Romanian and SOTA style. Plese do not confure with Gangnam style.

Yaesu FT-897D with internal antenna tuner: First test

I this video you can see the first test of my new project: a Yaesu FT-897D with an internal antenna tuner.

I intend to use this as a table-top portable radio. This is not intended as a backpack transceiver for SOTA operations in adverse conditions. For that purpose, I have opted for my FT-857 manpack, which is smaller and lighter.
Thanks to Robi and Ernesto (EA1LQ) for the help with the construction and tests.

Testing my FT-857 manpack: Cedeira (EA1/CR-010)

This is a video of an SOTA activation of Cedeira (EA1-CR-010). On this video I was using my light manpack radio consisting of an FT-857D, an SG-211 tuner and a whip antenna.

I was accompanied by Ernesto (EA1LQ) who is also an avid SOTA activator.

My FT-857D manpack

Here are some pictures of my low-weight FT-857D backpack transceiver. It consists of an FT-857 transceiver, an SG-211 automatic antenna tuner, an antenna base for military whips, and a 5200mAh LiPo battery pack. The particular whip I use has a metric thread (M10). It was property of the army of the GDR.
The frame is made of aluminum and the total weight of the set is around 4Kg. I developed this backpack transceiver with SOTA (Summits on the Air) operations in mind, so I gave priority to low weight and rapid deployability, for when weather conditions are adverse. The rucksack also protects the radio from bumps and from the elements.

Pantelleria Island (IH9YMC)

Last Sunday I made a QSO with Pantelleria Island (AF-018) on 15m SSB.
Pantelleria, the ancient Cossyra , is an Italian island in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, 100 km southwest of Sicily and just 60 km east of the Tunisian coast. With an area of 83 km2, it is the largest volcanic satellite island of Sicily.

My new diploma: ePFX300

Today I applied for my ePFX300 diploma, which is awarded by eQSL to those who have worked 300 different prefixes.
A few hours later, my new diploma was ready to download. Thanks Dave!
My next objective is the eDX 100, for which I have 81 entities worked.

Malpelo Island (HK0NA) on 10m SSB

This is the eQSL of a QSO with Malpelo Island (HK0NA) on 10m SSB.
I made this QSO thanks to Quique (EA1DFP). I was at home when he phoned me to tell me about the spot. As I don't have an HF antenna at home, I went down to my car to try the QSO, and was lucky to make it at the first try. There was no pile-up.
Malpelo is a small island in the East Pacific Ocean, located about 500 km (310 mi) west of the Colombian mainland. Except for a small military post that is manned by the Colombian Armed Forces, it is uninhabited. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest being Cerro de la Mona with a height of 300 metres (980 ft).
Malpelo is home of a unique shark population; swarms of 500 hammerhead sharks and hundreds of silky sharks are frequently seen by diving expeditions, making it a very popular sharkdiving location.

Portable from a public park: Romania (YO4RIU)

Thsi is a video of a QSO I made from a public park using my FT-857 manpack with a 3m-long whip antenna.

Beacuse there were people walking around, I could not extend the counterpoise wires properly, and I was using only a wire around the bench I was sitting on.
Because communication was very difficult for my counterpart Bogdan, at a given point I had to increase the power from 20W to 50W, which made the QSO possible.

Island of Antigua (V25WY)

This is a video of a QSO with teh Island of Antigua on 17m SSB. Bob W4OWY and Tom AA9A were active as V25WY and V25AA respectively from Antigua between February 14 to 22, 2012. They were on 160 – 10m, SSB, CW and maybe RTTY. QSL via bureau or direct to home calls.

Antigua was first settled by Archaic Age hunter-gatherer Amerindians, erroneously referred to as Siboney or Ciboney. Carbon-dating has established that the earliest settlements started around 3100 BC. They were succeeded by the Ceramic Age pre-Columbian Arawak-speaking Saladoid people who migrated from the lower Orinoco River.

Bonaire (PJ4J)

This is an eQSL of a QSO with Bonaire station PJ4J on 17m SSB. OS1T (ON4CIT) was active from Bonaire Island, 27 October - 9 November 2011 as PJ4J.

The Caribbean island of Bonaire, together with Aruba and Curaçao forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles. The name Bonaire is thought to have originally come from the Caiquetio word 'Bonay'. The early Spanish and Dutch modified its spelling to Bojnaj and also Bonaire, which means "Good Air".Bonaire was part of the Netherlands Antilles until the country's dissolution on 10 October 2010,[5] when the island (including Klein Bonaire) became a special municipality within the country of the Netherlands.

The United States on 15m (W2NLS)

This is a video of a QSO with Neil (W2NLS) on 15m SSB from my car, using a 4m-long military whip antenna.

His antenna is a 5-element multibander. You can see it on the picture below.

Neil was licensed first as WN2KQI and then became WB2KQI for about 47 years. When the vanity call of W2NLS came up with his initials he decided to go for it. But somedays, still, he actually will give the wrong call!

Ham Radio really shaped Neil's life. He spent many years as an editor working on magazines having to do with electronics. He first was on Elementary Electronics Magazine and then he joined Popular Mechanics as the Electronics Editor. He was with PM for more than a decade and did more than one article on ham radio.

Winter activation of Monte do Curisco

This is a video of the SOTA activation of Monte do Curisco (EA1/LE-191), a 1300+ metre summit in the Spanish province of Leon.

The weather was extremely cold (-5C) and windy. There was also a lot of QRM, at S9-level on the 20m band, so I tried the activation on the 15m band. All in all, it was a difficult activation, but I managed to make 8 QSOs.

YN2N (Nicaragua) on 15m

This is a video of a QSO with Nicaragua from my car, using a Yaesu FT-857D with a 4m-long whip antenna.

THe antenna tuner is a Yaesu FC-40, which tunes the whip from 7Mhz up.

Alto do Anxelio (EA1/CR-020)

The other day I went to activate the summit of Alto do Anxelio (EA1/CR-020) with my father (EA1AQ) and my elder son Adi. It was a fun activation, and I made a lot of QSOs.

Alto do Anxelio is a relatively nearby summit with easy access and a very important advantage for radio operation. It does not have QRM, which is often a problem in many SOTA summits that host all kids of communications antennas (TV, telephone).