Scandic Tour 2024 - Part IV

2024-08-25. Hjelmen, LA/RL-309, 206m, 1 point.  On the to Stavanger on Sunday we had some time for outdoor activities and walked to the Hjelmen, which was right on our way. The short walk is easy and family-friendly, and the views of the fjords are awesome. The weather changed constantly between sun and rain, it felt like every quarter of an hour or so. Of course, it started to rain as soon as I sent my first CQ into the ether 😁. The propagation was like a roller coaster ride, the signals on 17/20m were changing from zero to S9 and then back to S0. In total, 21 QSOs in CW were logged in 25 minutes of operating time.  

The view point on the Hjelmen, LA/RL-309.

2024-08-26. Hirtshals Fyr, ARLHS DEN-017. This was a purely technical activation of the Hirtshals lighthouse for the GMA Triathlon during our family trip to the lighthouse and to the WW2 bunker museum before we began our long journey home. I was lucky to get 7 QRP QSOs in CW on 20m in 10 minutes of calling CQ while the rest of the family enjoyed their breakfast. Overall, it is a really interesting, historical and educational place, a worthwhile spotlight, and where our children had a lot of fun. 

Hirtshals Fyr, ARLHS DEN-017.

2024-08-26. Lysnet, OZ/OZ-008, 131m, 1 point. It was nothing more and nothing less than a quick QRP activation as a stopover on the way home. Lysnet is the ninth highest point in Denmark, I would not describe this hill as interesting or attractive, however, it was another unique for me. There is a OZFF next to the summit, but we didn't have time for it. In less than 20 minutes of operation, 20 QSOs were made on 20m, the reference was successfully activated in CW, and I called it a day. This was the last activation in Scandinavia as we still had a long way home ahead of us.

Short stop and last activation at the the Lysnet hill, OZ/OZ-008. 

Tnx all es 73 de Dzianis, OZ/DD1LD

Scandic Tour 2024 - Part III

2024-08-17. LA/AA-118, Lauvåsknuten, 617m,  2 points.  It was the first activation of this mountain. I started in Tveit and followed the path up to Svartetjønn. The rest of the hike, which I liked the most, was pathless. An experienced hiker will find his way to the top 😉. To give you a direction: you have to cross the saddle between Skjebbettjørn and Orretjønn. What a beautiful and secluded area there! 

View from the summit. There is a small water source at the very top.

View from the summit. 

 Once I got to the top, I had to wait a moment until a short shower had passed. I found a nice, sheltered spot near the summit and was able to get 26 QSOs on 17/20/30 m despite very poor propagation and deep QSB. The weather was stable with some short, very localized rain showers and gusts of wind. I definitely enjoyed the hike and the surroundings more today than operating the radio.

Operating QRP from LA/AA-118, Lauvåsknuten. There is a small cairn on the top. 

2024-08-19. LA/RL-089, Hustveitsåta, 1187m, 4 points. It was a micro adventure through all vegetation layers from 0m ASL to 1187m. It was quite a strenuous hike, the route length was 20 km with too much water, wetness, mud, swamp, wet stones. My feet were completely wet when I reached the summit. I had to take my shoes off twice to cross an ice-cold stream on foot. At the top it was cold and very windy, I put on all the clothes. However, the unpredictable and capricious weather in western Norway was kind to us and meant that we didn't have any rain for quite a while.

 

The propagation was awful, with a lot of QSB. However, it was more than enough for a successful activation - 23 QSOs on 20m in 30 minutes standing behind the stone wall. I haven't tried the other bands, a few QSOs more or less wouldn't have made any difference. Instead, I decided to take a little more time to enjoy and absorb the beauty of the nature.  

I tried to do everything at high speed, since, unfortunately, I started the hike a little late to wait out the morning rain. The neighboring summit Vardanuten, LA/RL-149 would have been possible to hike and activate, but would have taken at least another three hours and I didn't have time because I had to pick up my family in Sauda. Overall, I was very satisfied with the tour. I just like being in fjells, unfortunately it happens too rarely.

On the way to the summit. 

My operating spot on  LA/RL-089, Hustveitsåta. The stone tower protected us from the wind.

View from the summit. 

2024-08-21. LA/RL-126, Tinden, 1564m, 6 points. Probably, it was the most beautiful SOTA tour so far. I was so happy to be able to enjoy the absolute solitude and endless beauty of the Norwegian fjells and mountains for a long while. This tour will remain in my memory for a long time. 

The trail starts at the Bauta (Memorial) Knut Vesthassel and is partially marked. The hike is long but technically easy. However, you need to have very good orientation skills in pathless terrain. The weather was stable without rain. On the way down we were suddenly surprised by the fog, which caused us to lose our way twice. But it wasn't too bad 😏. As soon as we descended below the fog line, we found our way home.

The temperature was slightly above 0°C, so that I didn't have any problems with cold fingers while keying in CW. So I stayed on the summit a little longer than usual. The propagation was poor, like all those days. Nevertheless, 38 QSOs were logged on 17/20m in 45 minutes of operating time with some DX to NA on 17m.

Another six-pointer, LA/RL-128 was very close, but due to family commitments I did not have time for it. And besides, because of the fog in the rough terrain, I wasn't sure. 

For me, there is nothing more beautiful in Norway than hiking through the fells.

On the way to the summit.

In the pathless terrain.

Arrived at LA/RL-126, Tinden, 1564m.

Operating QRP from LA/RL-126, Tinden, 1564m.

View from the summit.

The fog is coming... 

On the way down. 

Tnx all chasers es 73 de Dzianis, LA/DD1LD

Scandic Tour 2024 - Part II

2024-08-23. LAFF-0186, Vikaneset. Today I had my first experience with the LAFF Norway. I must admit, I was a little confused. Let me explain.

At laff44.blogspot.com I found this, I quote: 

"If you want the activation to count towards the international activator award, you have to a) make at least 44 QSOs, and b) stay in the area for at least two hours."

a) is clear and within the general WWFF rules. b) is a ridiculous rule that doesn't make much sense to me. First, if the propagation conditions and/or weather are bad, why on earth do I have to spend 2 hours outside in the rain without making a QSO? Second, theoretically I could collect 44 QSOs in 30 minutes, then read a book in the car for 1.5 hours, and then “I have stayed in the area for at least two hours,” right? Or I could collect 44 QSOs in 30 minutes, then cook and enjoy my lunch, and then just make a few QSOs to fill 2 hours. What does "stay in the area for at least two hours" mean and how to document this? Some questions simply remain unanswered. To be honest, I never understood why there should be additional national rules, it just makes things unnecessarily complicated. There are general WWFF rules and that's all! Well, rules are rules, and to be on the safe side, I decided to be on air for 2 hours net, that means at least 2 hours of logged on-air time. That was the plan. 

The Vikaneset is a medium-sized nature reserve, it's a 5.2 km long forested mountainside between Saudavegen and Saudfjorden.

Saudafjorden. The Vikaneset nature reserve is in the picture on the right.

In order not to damage the sensitive nature, I decided to place the radio station on the north side of the reserve near the small bridge and as close to the road as possible. Near the gravel road down to Saudafjorden a found a sign saying "Naturreservat". 

 Sign to Vikaneset nature reserve next to the gravel road. 

I was on air at 8:00 UTC. In 1 hour 20 minutes net operating time I collected 58 QSOs on 17/20/40m. The propagation worsened, the pile-up dried up and the QSO rate deteriorated. I decided to take a break and visit with my family the Ryfylkemuseet in Hustveit , which was very close to the Vikaneset nature reserve, and then come back to the reserve to continue with the activation. Our children had a lot of fun in Hustveit and around.

The museum is an interesting tourist spot and is open 24 hours a day. Life was hard back then.

A water mill and a water sawmill. It was hard work back then.

Three hours later I came back to the operating spot and enjoyed another pile-up at 17/20m. I got additional 33 QSOs in 40 minutes of net operating time. The 17m band was kind of weak today, the 20m band was in good condition. Unfortunately, the rain got heavier and heavier and I skipped 40m and finally QRT'd. In total, 91 QSOs (mainly EU plus KD1CT) were completed within 2 hours of net operating time. This means that the rule b) is fulfilled, at least I hope so. The log and evidence have been submitted to the LAFF coordinator.  Let's see whether the activation will be qualified.

I was thinking about doing another LAFF activation tomorrow, but somehow I don't feel like spending two hours in the pouring rain. National WWFF regulations are intended to encourage more activities, but – at least for me – they have the opposite effect, they are erecting further hurdles to make sucessfull activation more difficult.

44, 73 de Dzianis, LA/DD1LD

Scandic Tour 2024 - Part I

I did a few activitions during our family vacation in Norway. Below are a few impressions from those activities. Vi elsker Norge! It is not easy to capture the incredible beauty of this country in words, I prefer to let the pictures speak for themselves. Ham radio activities were not the focus of this family trip, but I tried to be ony air as much as possible. 

2024-08-10. OZ/OZ-001, Yding Skovhøj, 172m, 1 point. It was a stopover on the way to Norway and a very short activation of the highest elevation/hill in Denmark. 14 QSOs were made in 20 minutes on 30/40m late in the evening just to check in a new reference and a new association. Because of the strong wind, I operated in the forest right on top of the hill.

Enjoying the sunset at the Yding Skovhøj, OZ/OZ-001.  

2024-08-11. LA/VA-078, Ropstadknuten, 488m, 1 point. It was another stop on the way north and a nice, easy family hike combined with a short SOTA activation in the late afternoon. 14 QSOs were made in 20 minutes on 20/30m. I was busy with radio on the actual summit while the rest of the family was picking big, tasty blueberries.

Look-up tower close to the summit lies in AZ. The actual summit is about 250m north.

Nice weather and geat views all around.

2024-08-15. LA/AA-068, Årdalsknapen, 762m, 2 points. This was a very nice but long and not so easy family hike. We started at the Neset campsite at Byglandsfjorden. 

The Neset view point.

The muddy and wet path was easy to follow. The weather was stable almost until the end, and it only started to rain heavily on the way down, so we took it a little slower because the stones and tree roots were very slippery. The activation in the late afternoon was rather quick by 16 QSOs in CW on 17/20m. 

Reached the windy summit...

Successfully activated it in CW...

Enjoyed the view and the hike ... What more do you need?

73 de Dzianis, LA/DD1LD

Ham Radio 2024

June 28th-30th, 2024. In recent years I have skipped the Ham Radio. This year I had the time and desire to go there. Additionally I had two talks about outdoor amateur radio "An island is more than IOTA" on Friday (tnx DARC) and "20 years of outdoor radio activities in the German Alps" on Saturday (tnx Sylvia, OE5YNN). You can download the latter presentation HERE. 

"With the launching of the German Alpine SOTA Association in 2004, a new era of Alpine amateur radio activities began. Over the next 20 years, other amateur radio awards schemes and programs followed in the Alpine regions - GMA, WWFF, COTA and the most recent called POTA. Today, anyone can take part in one of the outdoor amateur radio award programs, depending on their sporting ambition, physical fitness, interests, and preferences. Thousands of references in the Alpine regions are waiting to be brought on air. A cross activation is twice as fun, and there are some awards up for grabs." 

There are some good video reports of Ham Radio 2024 on YouTube, I recommend a short overview by Arthur, DL2ART, www.funkwelle.com. And below is my short summary of the event.

Highlights 👍: 

• Meeting with old friends and like-minded hams. I spent some time at the SOTA booth chatting. The stand was voluntarily organized locally by HB9SOTA, but not by SOTA MT. A visit to the BCC booth was also a must. It’s great to see the SOTA and contesting communities still growing. The meet and greet, the personal conversations and the exchange of ideas were the best highlight and cannot be replaced by anything!   
• Ham Ralley. It was a unique experience for our younger son. He enjoyed the ultrasonic tracking of bats, soldering his own electronic owl and Morse code the most. He just turned 5 years old and was probably the youngest at the ralley. For days he was still proudly telling the kindergarten class about it. Well organized by DARC! 
• A very good selection of interesting talks, lectures, workshops and presentations. Unfortunately, there was not much time to attend all of them.    
• Campsite. This is a great place to meet new friends and get new inspiration. Every evening we took a walk around the campsite and met many extraordinary folks and learned some new things. From here it was only a stone's throw to the exhibition halls. And that's camping!  

Lowlights 👎:

• A few retailers. Normally I would have bought a few things there e.g. from Wimo or Difona. But not this time. Overall, the hall A would have offered space for more exhibitors. It seems that either interest in participating is limited or prices are too high for potential exhibitors. 
• No other (except IOTA and SOTA) XOTA forums or meetings. I would have loved to meet the people from WWFF. The LOTA programs in particular would have been a nice addition to IOTA. However, I must admit that I find it difficult to assess the interest in LOTA.   
• The price of €25/day is too high for a gravel parking space with very limited basic facilities. There were few mobile washrooms and toilets, and only one washing-up area.  However, the campsite was quite full. There are not many alternatives around, the day parking ticket for the exhibition only cost €7 per day.  
• Unfortunately, we didn't find enough people to make setting up a party tent on the campsite worthwhile. Well, there were different dinners, appointments, interests, family obligations, etc.

All in all it was a great event. Would I go to Ham Radio next year? Probably yes, but ultimately it depends!

On Sunday, on the way home, we quickly activated the unspectacular and easy one-pointer DL/AL-272, which will be removed from the SOTA reference list in 2025.  OK, one more unique in the log.  

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Project 2024: The Island of Pag is more than IOTA - Summary

May 18th - June 1st, 2024. The island of Pag is a great place to spend your holydays getting to know and try new things. It is the fifth largest island on the Croatian coast with a rich history and cultural heritage. We have really enjoyed everything, and we had a great time. I think two weeks is fine for a stay, but a week longer would have been better in my opinion. The island offers many opportunities for outdoor amateur radio activities and is a lot of fun. You can easily combine your XOTA activities and expeditions with exploring the island by bike, walking and hiking, canoeing, boating and swimming in the sea, sightseeing and spending great time with family and friends.   

Welcome to the island of Pag by a local reception committee. Hello?! QRZ? 😄

Unfortunately, I had to drop some activations due to very weak propagation conditions and radio blackouts, where some activations like WWFF and COTA (requiring 44 and 50 QSOs respectively) would have been a tough job, or even wouldn’t have been successful at all, especially with QRP. Under such conditions an activation in the GMA style (where a minimum of 4 QSOs is required) is a nice opportunity to collect your new XOTA references for the GMA triathlon and boost your score. However, you may not be completely satisfied with such an activation because you will be missing the majority of your known and loyal chasers, and you will not qualify these activations for the WWFF and COTA programs. A SOTA and/or GMA activation requiring only 4 QSOs to quality and get the points was an easy job, although I always tried to get more QSOs. Depending on the actual propagation conditions I had to be very flexible and decide spontaneously whether I wanted to risk an activation or whether I would rather spend time with family and friends. My wrong decision could have resulted in me being on the air for 5 hours just to collect 50 QSOs or less, as it was the case with the activation of 9AFF-0073. It was quite difficult to plan ahead, so when in doubt I decided to stay with family. All in all, I was quite satisfied with my 13 XOTA activations and 400 QRP QSOs made with 4W. Of course, I tried to activate GoGreen as often as possible. Let me start wrapping up with my main interests – SOTA and WWFF.    

SOTA. There are three easy-accessible one-pointers on the island: 9A/PH-052, Sveti Vid; 9A/PH-057, Veli Brig; 9A/PH-060, Panos. I activated them all. For SOTA point collectors, the island of Pag is not the best place, they go elsewhere. I got three uniques credited to my SOTA account, each worth one point. Not much, however, they all offer great views over the island and are worth a visit.  

WWFF. There are five valid WWFF references: 9AFF-0138, Zrce; 9AFF-0073, Kolanjsko blato; 9AFF-0023, Lun; 9AFF-0075, Rezervat Dubrava – Hanzina; 9AFF-0074, Veliko i Malo Blato. I was only able to successfully activate three of them (marked in bold), and by more than 50 QSOs. The activation of 9AFF-0073 was lengthy and tough due to an unexpected radio blackout. I planned a GoGreen activation of 9AFF-0075 a couple of times but ended up missing that activation even though it was relatively close to our QTH because the propagation conditions were very poor over the last days. 

GMA. I added and activated two new references 9A0/PH-001, Velo Tusto Celo and 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. It was probably the first historical GMA activation in 9A ever. Both are striking mountains and worthwhile destinations (see my activation reports in May). The nice thing about the GMA program is that you can choose your favorite mountain on the island, add a new reference to the database yourself and activate it as often as you like. So I did it and chose the places I wanted to visit. The GMA expeditions were a nice addition to my cycling and hiking tours. Nothing more and nothing less. The island's mountains are low and, similar to SOTA, you don't get many points for. It’s about exploring the island and having some fun with your radio! 

COTA. There are two current references: 9A-0184, Ruin Fortica and 9A-0264, Knezev Dvor. There could be more, however, it looks like there is no official WCA/COTA Croatia group taking care about. Since I have become an opportunistic WCA/COTA participant, the very quick activation of Knezev Dvor took place in the GMA style during our visit to the town of Pag. I needed at least one more COTA activation for the GMA Triathlon Award 2024 in Gold and did not want to miss the chance 😉. 

IOTA & WLOTA. It’s a sweet combo. Each QSO out of a total of 400 made on the island counts not only for IOTA, EU-170, but also for WLOTA, LH-1796. Because WLOTA rule 2.1.1 states: “It is not necessary to be near the lighthouse but only in the same island as the lighthouse.” Well, whether this rule makes sense or not would be another debate. The demand for IOTA and WLOTA seemed to be rather low, especially compared to WWFF.

ARLHS. There are two references on the island - CRO-055, Zigljen and CRO-092, Mandre. I have never participated in ARLHS activities before. It's not my thing at all, but I activated them both. What? 😱 Yes, and do you want to know why? My youngest is fascinated by lighthouses and my oldest by FT-8 😂. Just simple like that plus poor propagation. The activations were short and purely technical in nature in the GMA style, as required for the GMA triathlon. Nothing more and nothing less. The criteria for selecting references in the ARLHS and WLOTA programs are not clear to me, there are many more interesting and attractive lighthouses on the island. And I have no idea how much demand there is for lighthouse references.

POTA. POTA is not there yet because there is no interest and no demand yet. But honestly, I am a very opportunistic POTA participant who is watching the future development of the program. And POTA is not eligible for GMA (yet?). 

BOTA. Although the island is one of those with the longest coastline and there are many beautiful hidden beaches, I had and have no interest. I only care whether it's about Beers On The Air 🍺😉😄.

My two favorite award programs – SOTA and WWFF – are the most popular outdoor amateur radio programs in 9A. The number of SOTA references is limited to three according to the summit definition per P150, whereas GMA is offering more options for mountain amateur radio enthusiasts. WWFF is a lot of fun, the local and international community is much bigger than in SOTA and GMA combined. And maybe there will be some new WWFF references on the island in the future.

National 9A SOTA and WWFF awards are a nice bonus and a good way to remember all the activities. Tnx to the 9A SOTA and 9AFF clubs and enthusiasts!

GoGreen XOTA. The island of Pag is a perfect place for cyclists and hikers of all ages and skill levels and therefore for GoGreen activities. This is where GoGreen XOTA is fun, especially when the propagation conditions are right, since every QSO counts. Each time you activate GoGreen your GoGreen points will be multiplied by at least a factor of three due to the EU-170 and LH-1796 cross references. 

You should try GoGreen by bike when you visit this island! It's really fun! 

Click on the logo to read more about GoGreen XOTA.

My personal highlights 👍 were: 

• GoGreen expeditions to 9A/PH-060, Panos and 9A0/PH-002, Vela Glavica. I was rewarded with great views, lonely moon-like landscapes and solitude. It is probably the most beautiful corner on the island.
• GoGreen activation of 9A0/PH-001, Velo Tusto Celo. I will always remember a mini pile-up at sunset close to the Pag Triangle, where in Croatia you can, with a bit of luck, observe UFOs 🌌😉.  I wasn't so lucky to encounter UFOs or aliens, but, given the weak propagation, I was lucky enough to enjoy each of the 70 QRP QSOs in CW in absolute solitude just before dinner.
• Exploring wonderful and weird moon-like landscapes, and discovering nice hidden beaches.
• Enjoying the food & wine and having a great time with family and friends!

And lowlights 👎 were:

• Radio blackouts and poor propagation conditions under which QRP is no longer fun.  A small team from the Croatian 9AFF club organized a WWFF expedition to the island of Pag from May 11th to 15th, just a few days before our arrival. The team had to contend with severe blackouts in radio waves propagation, and for this reason, some activations were cancelled and postponed. Their brief report is available HERE on the 9AFF site.   
• Missed [GoGreen] activations of 9AFF-0075, Rezervat Dubrava – Hanzina and 9AFF-0074, Veliko i Malo Blato. For me it would have been two new ones. 9AFF-0075 in particular would have been a nice GoGreen ride along the coast.
• There are a few more interesting and potential GMA spots that I wanted to go to but gave up due to lack of time.
• Long travel times and stress, road constructions and traffic jams, road and tunnel tolls 😠. 

I finally earned the GMA Triathlon Award in Gold in May 2024 👍💪

Do you want to try it too ? 😉🍀

All in all, a great time for the whole family and lots of fun with the outdoor radio! It never gets boring there, on the island of Pag! 

Tnx all es 73, 44, 11, 77 de Dzianis, DD1LD

X-12: EU-170 und X-13: WLOTA LH-1796, Island Pag

Unser Urlaub war sehr schön und wie immer kurz. Bei all den XOTA Aktivierungen auf der Insel dürfen zwei andere Referenzen selbstverständlich nicht fehlen:

• IOTA: EU-170 und IOCA: CI-082
• WLOTA: LH-1796

Denn die WLOTA Regel 2.1.1 besagt: „It is not necessary to be near the lighthouse but only in the same island as the lighthouse.“ Aber ob diese Regel sinnvoll ist oder nicht, wäre es eine andere Debatte 😉.

Und es waren 400 QRP QSOs geworden, die für IOTA sowie auch für WLOTA zählen. 

 Jedes auf der Insel gemachte QSO zählt nicht nur für IOTA: EU-170 sondern auch für WLOTA: LH-1796. 

Tnx all es 73 de Dzianis, 9A/DD1LD

X-10: ARLHS CRO-055, Žigljen und X-11: ARLHS CRO-092, Mandre

Es war meine erste dedizierte Aktivierung von ARLHS Leuchttürmen. Die ARLHS und WLOTA Programme waren mir nie richtig sympathisch, und ich wurde nicht warm mit Leuchttürmen. Deswegen handelte sich um eine kurze und rein technische Aktivierung im GMA-Still für den GMA-Triathlon im Rahmen von Familienaktivitäten. Bei einem kurzen Ausflug nach Mandre, durfte ein Spaziergang auf der Seepromenade natürlich nicht fehlen. Es dauerte nicht lange, bis die Kinder einen kleinen und schlichten weißen Leuchtturm fanden. Es war die ARLHS #CRO-092. Bei den heutigen schlechten Ausbreitungsbedingungen fiel die Wahl auf FT-8. Den Kindern machte der FT-8 Betrieb deutlich mehr Spaß als mir 😉, sie "aktiverten" mit.  

 ARLHS CRO-092 in Mandre wurde mit 5 QSOs in FT-8 auf 20m eingecheckt. Der Leuchtturm ist kein schönes oder besonderes Bauwerk. Warum wurde ausschließlich dieser Leuchtturm beim ARLHS referenziert, blieb mir ein Rätsel !?   

Am Abend schafften wir noch die zweite und die letzte ARLHS Referenz #CRO-055 auf der Insel zu aktivieren. Die Bedingungen waren etwas besser als am Tag, es ging zügig. Der Ort war schön und der Sonnenuntergang fantastisch. 

ARLHS CRO-055 und WLOTA LH-1796 in Žigljen wurden mit 10 QSOs in FT-8 auf 20m aktiviert.

Der funktionale rote Leuchtturm befindet sich auf einer kleinen Insel. Mein kleiner Sohn ist von Leuchttürmen fasziniert.

Eine halbe Stunde später. QRT.

73 de Dzianis, 9A/DD1LD