SOTA roundtrip to the Black Forest

Thursday, April 9, 2009. Personal business caused me to spend one day nearby Frankfurt. I offered Maria to accompany me on tour and she certainly agreed. As I usually do, I also packed my SOTA equipment in the car. In the late afternoon we had enough free time and decided to visit the Grosser Feldberg, 879m (DM/HE-003) in the Taunus Park close to the city. We drove by care to a parking spot on the top and walked the last part, just like the SOTA rules require. We also hoped to enjoy a great view from the top, but our hopes were completely dashed as soon as we achieved the summit – Frankfurt’s down town was too far away and, frankly, the overview over Taunus was not really spectacular, too. Just as we both found this hill quite boring I set up my portable station at app. 6 p.m. and started CQing permanently struggling with QRM emitted by several telecommunications towers. Altogether 10 QSO were done with my brand new antenna on 40m in CW although I was expecting more chasers. After a short snack break at sunset we made a loop around towers and came back to the car. The easily earned 10 points and a brief journey through the Taunus Park culminated this Thursday 9th of April. More about the Grosser Feldberg you can find at Wikipedia.

DD1LD/p on the Feldberg

Friday, April 10, 2009. Next day afternoon we went to the Mummelsee in order to activate the highest summit in the Northern Black Forest – Hornisgrinde, 1164m (DM/BW-019) being already activated 12 times (!). We were so happy to have warm sunny weather over Easter that we spontaneously decided to spend Easter time in the Black Forest and make the most of the opportunity to visit our good friends leaving in Karlsruhe. The Mummelsee was quite overcrowded these days, therefore, we decided to start with hiking the Hornisgrinde. We enjoyed a nice short walk through the forest still lying under snow, on the top we found very fast a spot in the high moor (called in German “Grinde”) suitable for operating.
CQ SOTA de DD1LD/p… First chasers in log… Spotting… Enjoying one of these pile ups I so love… 27QSO in CW on 40m just in 20 minutes.
The new antenna concept seemed to work well, all the signals from UK were quite strong, and there were no problems with working neighbor stations, too.
We went for an afternoon stroll and easily gathered 10 points for that. Not bad! We ate our supper at the Hornisgrindeturm, went down another way and pushed on to the hotel Bon Bini Schloss located on the Silberberg (unfortunately not referenced). In the late evening we planed our next tour for Saturday the 11th of April, which should be tougher than previous two, but not so tough we finally had.

Mummelsee still frozen

On the way to the Hornisgrinde

Saturday, April 11, 2009. On Saturday after a long breakfast we went to the beautiful Stausee am Schwarzenbach. We put the Badener Höhe, 1002m (DM/BW-047) and Streitmannsköpfe, 989m (DM/BW-494) on the “to be activated list”. The path to the Badener Höhe was everywhere well signposted, we parked somewhere in the middle between the reservoir and Herrenwies and started hiking towards the Badener Höhe through the Herrenwieser See. The Herrenwieser See was still frozen like the Mummelsee we visited one day before but the passage was almost snowless. There is a lookout tower in the hill top called Fridrichsturm build by Duke Friedrich I. von Baden in 1891. Actually, this kind of observation towers is typical for many hills in the Black Forest. We found a nice place on its foot and I got set up my rod aerial and began CQing on 40m in CW. As soon as I worked two-three chasers I was spotted and I felt very well when enjoying a short but huge pile up and comfortable sitting in the sun at a chill temperature of 20°C. We packed, returned to the Herrenwieser See and moved on towards our next destination – Streitmannsköpfe (not activated, a new one). The problem we had to struggle with straight away were direction signs, actually, there were no direction signs to the Streitmannsköpfe at all. We got lost several times but thanks to Garmin we somehow arrived at the summit. Almost every hill in the Black Forest has a dozen of roads around it leading to the unknown, it is very easy to get lost without direction signs. We both found the Streitmannsköpfe, its top and the passage quite boring but in spite of everything the first activation was worth the effort. We paid a short visit to this hill, I interrupted operating because it started spitting. It looked like a rain but we only got a few drops. The propagation on 40m was very good, all the signals were unexpected strong despite numerous trees around. In the early evening we were going back to the car along the picturesque Stausee looking as pretty as a picture. On the way back we briefly stopped at the dam, took a couple of pictures and then jetted to the Bon Bini Schloss (which revealed to be a nice family hotel with a great view down to the Huzenbach valley) for dinner.

Most summits in the Black Forest have an observation tower like Badener Höhe here

DD1LD/p on the Badener Höhe testing a new antenna concept

Streitmannsköpfe (on the back) still waiting for its first activation

Picturesque Stausee

It looked like a rain but we only got a few drops on the Streitmannsköpfe

Sunday, April 12, 2009. Sunday was supposed to be a lazy day. After our check-out was complete we drove to Forbach and made a short excursion. Then we leisurely moved on by car to the Hohloh, 984m (DM/BW-054). The only “very last” part had to be overcome by muscular strength. The course of events seemed to become like a standard: climbing an observation tower (here Kaiser-Wilhelm-Turm), looking for a nice sunny spot, setting up the radio and aerial, operating, packing all the stuff away, walking around and finally going back to the car. One may ask what Maria was doing whereas I was operating. She also was relaxing all the time lying in the sun and reading a fascinating novel. So I had enough time to additionally test my new aerial on other bands and in SSB. I made a couple of contacts on 30m, 21 ones in CW and even 9 QSO in SSB on 40m. The antenna showed a quite outstanding performance in spite of its small size. Afterwards, I listened to the radio on 30m again and followed some QSOs for a half an hour before we decided to take a look at the Hohlohsee. We made a short loop around the lake lying in the high moor and surrounded by a wooden footbridge, red a couple of very informative warning signs being up everywhere and finally decided to move on in the direction of Karlsruhe. In all, the Hohloh was an easy haul worth 10 points!

On the Hohloh. One may ask what Maria was doing all the time...

Moor-Hohlohsee

A warning sign

I remembered that there was a local hill called Merkur, 668m (DM/BW-103) nearby Baden-Baden being worth 6 points and having a Gasthaus on the top. It could be a nice place for dinner! In less than one hour we were on its foot and started hiking on the zigzag way. Even though the Merkur is lower than Hohloh the climbing was comparatively more strenuous and we arrive at its top too late to have dinner there. Maria asked me for a concise operating what I followed without argument, 2 QSOs on 30m and 11 ones on 40m came in log. I had some problems to catch chasers on 40m because firstly, the SOTA frequencies were occupied by contesters and secondly, we were just too late. Many people were looking at me like I was an alien, they got confused faces as soon as I started pulling the fishing rod and twisting a piece of wire around it. The Merkur has a great view around but is quite overrun due to proximity to the famous resort Baden-Baden and the last, but not the least, there is a cableway. Unfortunately I had a little of time to enjoy this great view, we were expected in Karlsruhe and time was running away. We arrived at the parking place in the early twilight and after a short break got in the car… the late evening we spent with our friends in Karlsruhe.

Of course we chose the zigzag path

"Challenging" zigzag path to the Merkur

Merkur has a nice view around

Merkur tower build in 1837. Where the QRM was coming from?!

Monday, April 13, 2009. For Monday we planned to leave Karlsruhe afternoon to get home early and avoid frustration of stucking in a traffic jam. I was so keen on a SOTA pile up that we decided to make a stop right now after we passed Stuttgart and activate the Kornberg, 779m (DM/BW-094) very close to the highway. We needed a good half of hour to reach its top and a couple of minutes to set up all the equipment and to make ourselves comfortable before I started CQuing. I was just keying TRX to tune Elecraft T1 as I heard “QRZ?” and “call?” Yes, chasers were listening out on 7.033MHz like a cat is lying in a wait for a mouse. The first CQ run was answered by two chasers at once! I enjoyed a nice pile up and Maria - her novel for the next half of an hour. Altogether I grabbed 25 QSOs in CW and 8 points. There were no communication towers around in comparison to Merkur where I also had to struggle with QRM, and all the signals were crystal clear like an icicle. The Kornberg is a dull hill having a flat and bald top surrounded by trees, therefore, we went down as soon as I worked the last chaser, we rather decided to dine and spend the last bit of the day in Ulm, what turned out to be a right decision. We left Ulm in the twilight and we arrived at Munich at 9 p.m. and, thus, happily finished our five days journey trough Germany we both enjoyed very much.

The last activated Kornberg close to the highway

Altogether I made 165 QSOs, activated 7 summits (one first activation) and picked up 64 points. The new aerial concept was successfully tested on 30m and 40m bands, it will only need some minor improvement. My FT-817 all-rounder I specially tuned for SOTA activities did a good job!

Many thanks to all the chasers who worked me!

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD & YL Maria

CQWW-CW-2008

DATUM: November 29–30

STANDORT: DL0TUM, in der Münchens Mitte
ANTENNEN:
= 10/15/20 – 3el. Yagi (mit keinem besonders guten SWR)
= 40m – Vertical
= 80/160m – Dipol
LEISTUNG: ca. 600w und 400w auf 15/10m
SOFTWARE: Win-Test, DX-Cluster, KEIN CW-Skimmer

ANFANG. Verlief nicht reibungslos. Als ich ins Shack kam, stellte sich heraus, dass die Lampe an der Wand kaputt war. Ich habe überall rumgesucht, hatte aber keine andere Lampe und keinen Ersatz finden können. Das zweite Problem war, dass es keine Internetverbindung zum Cluster gab. Tja… eine Kopflampe aufsetzen und alle Rigs miteinander verbinden, Antennen anschließen, Internetzugang reparieren. Huuu, geschafft! Der Contest lief aber eine gute halbe Stunde. Kopfhörer und Kopflampe (oder umgekehrt - zuerst Kopflampe und danach Kopfhörer) drauf und funken! Als ich es mir von dem Gerät gemütlich gemacht habe und nach einer freien QRG suchte, tauchten plötzlich zwei ernst aussehende Typen auf und schauten den anderen Typen im Sportanzug mit Hausschuhen, Pilotkopfhörer und Kopflampe (d.h. mich) völlig perplex an. Auf dem Tisch im Flur stand ein Korb mit Essen und lagen meine Klamotten überall rum. Zuerst gab es eine Pause…eine lange Pause… dann kam die Frage, was ich hier um eins in der Nacht mache. Es hat sich herausgestellt, dass die Typen zu Security gehören und von einer „netten“ Frau (die gegenüber wohnt und anscheinend unter Schlaflosigkeit leidet) angerufen wurden, mit der Bitte zu überprüfen, was für eine Gestallt mit der Lampe auf dem Dach und im Gebäude mitten in der Nacht herumtorkelt. Ich fasste mich so kurz wie ich konnte (was ich hier mache und vor allem warum ich die Kopflampe trage) und lud sie ein, sich das Shack anzugucken und Morsezeichen anzuhören. Alls sie sich vergewissert haben, dass ich in der Wirklichkeit kein Penner bin, haben sie meine Personalien aufgenommen und gingen endlich weg. Es ging dann eine Stunde zu spät richtig zur Sache. Es hat etwas Abenteuerliches, mit der Kopflampe zu funken, aber doch nicht die ganze Nacht durch, ich habe mich ziemlich oft vertippt und meine Augen fühlten sich gar nicht glücklich.

HELD DES CONTESTES 2008. Ist meine YL, die trotz Ihrer Zeitmängel mir eine Tischlampe am Sonntag mit der U-Bahn brachte.

MITTE. War ich immer noch gut im Rennen. Hatte ständigen Hunger nach QSOs und Schokolade. 20m und 40m waren die absoluten Renner. Machte viel S&P auf den anderen Bändern. 15m Band war extrem instabil, ab und zu kamen bloß die Signalfetzen an.

ENTTÄUSCHUNGEN.
= 160/80m Dipol (ob DJ3WE berühmter Winkeldipol besser wäre? :-)
= 15m Band am Sonntag (DQ4W war aber bei mir ein fetter Multi :-) Viele Multis gingen mir durch die Lappen. Der nur ein paar Km von mir entfernte DF3CB schrubbte Länder, die ich gar nicht hören konnte. Mein Nachbar DK1KH arbeitete einen Nordeuropäer, von dessen Signal ich nicht mitbekam.
= 40m Band am Sonntag, kein Run nach Amerika, der mir wertvolle Punkte bringen sollte. PA/PI ist ein fehlender Multi auf 40m (gibt es so was!?)
= 10m Band sowieso

ENDE. Der Hunger nach QSO und Schokolade liess nach, aber nach Multis und Schlaf wuchs. Wegen Störpegel war die Jagd nach Multis äußerst schwierig. Ich kam viel weiter als ich hören kann. Mit Mühe habe einen JA auf 80m ins Log bekommen. CQ-Rufen brachte nicht viel, zurück kam nur SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH und SCH-SCH-SCH und wieder SCH-SCH-SCH, ab und zu kam der eine oder andere Ami durch. Nachdem meine Ohren eher vom Rauschen als vom Kopfhörer „angeschwollen“ waren, habe ich mich entschieden, vorzeitig aufzuhören... Hätte wahrscheinlich ca. 100k vor allem durch Onepointer mehr holen können.

SPEKTAKULÄRES QSO. Mit B1 auf 80m. B1 wurde im Cluster gemeldet, und WinTest zeigte sofort, dass ein dickes rotes Multi zu arbeiten ist. Ich habe von dessen Anwesenheit auf dem Band gar nichts mitbekommen, allerdings habe ich gehört, wie die anderen Stationen ihn arbeiten. Als die Anderen rufen anfingen, gab ich mein Rufzeichen zwei Mal. Dann kam Ruhe, ich habe im Rauschen bloß ein schwaches L gehört. Die Ruhe setzte fort. Wahrscheinlich wurde ich gehört und gemeint! Ich gab mein Rufzeichen wieder zweimal, zurück kamen nur einzelne D und L, den Rest konnte ich nur erahnen. Ich schickte mein Rapport durch und drückte die Eingabetaste. An nächsten Tag schrieb ich Interesses halber die B1 Station an, ob ich tatsächlich gearbeitet wurde. In ein paar Tagen, nach dem ich mein Log bereits eingereicht habe, kam eine Antwort zurück – Congratulation, you are in log!

2008 vs. 2007. Eine deutliche Verbesserung. Diesmal habe ca. 30% mehr Punkte ergattert als in 2007 bei einem etwas größeren Zeitaufwand!

AUSKLANG. Im Bett. Bis gestern schlief ich nach jedem großen CW-Contest mit Dah-Dit-Dah-Dit Dah-Dah-Dit-Dah. Diesmal war es SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH-SCH… Die erste Variante wäre mir viel lieber.

OUTLOOK 2009. 2 Mio. Punkte?! Es wird sehr, sehr hart, diese Grenze zu knacken.

FAZIT. Ich bin ziemlich zufrieden, besonders mit DXCC auf 20m, obwohl… (ihr wisst schon)… es besser laufen konnte :-)

ERGEBNIS. Lässt sich sehen =>

Magic Band Opened

27.05.2008. Worked with a piece of wire and QRP @ S5 Noise... Last column is DX.


28.05.2008. A short time skip to Ukraine in the evening with the culmination - UY2MQ and ODX > 2000km.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Ein kleines Monster wurde geschaffen

Ein kleines Monster wurde geschaffen… aus verschiedenen Teilen kaputter UKW-Antennen. Die Antenne besteht aus 13 Elementen, hat einen VSWR von ca. 1.1 und dürfte einen Gewinn von ca. 12dBd aufweisen. Die Antenne passt nicht ganz auf meinen Balkon, da ihre Länge über 4.5m liegt, aber sie lässt sich in 3 Teile zerlegen. Mit den ersten zwei Teilen - neun Elementen - kann man auch gut funken (VSWR = 1.1-1.2). Auf Anhieb ist mir heute ein QSO mit Djuro, 9A9C in JN85LI und ODX 519km problemlos gelungen. Ausgangsleistung – 50W. Ein einziges Problem wäre ein starker Wind...

Jetzt bin ich auf den nächsten UKW Contest gespannt.
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

The highest summit in MF activated

The highest summit in MF - Rotwand was activated on Saturday, May 10, 2008. It was a quite nice afternoon walk from Spitzingsee to Rotwandhaus. I needed less than 2 hours to hike Rotwand, but I lost too much time for hiking Ruchenköpfe DL/MF-055 and Auerspitz DL/MF-056 because of the muddy snow still lying in the Alps. I really enjoyed climbing Ruchenköpfe (actually a neighbor rock requiring a climbing level of I-II) and aslo solitude and peace on the summit. There was an extremely small spot for operating (see pictures). The last summit – Auerspitz brought 8 points but no pleasure to stroll in the snow up to knees, on the way back to the Rotwandhaus I got my feet wet through.

All together 68 QSOs were done on 40m in CW, and 3x8 = 24 points were gained. Here are some pictures...

DD1LD/p on Rotwand, DL/MF-058, 1884m.

In the background - Hochmiesing, DL/MF-057.

On the way to Rucheköpfe, DL/MF-055.
In the background - two climbers I met later close to Rucheköpfe.

DD1LD/p on Ruchenköpfe, DL/MF-055, 1805m.

There was a very tight spot for operating!

DD1LD/p on Auerspitz, DL/MF-056, 1811m.

The stone wall was protecting from the wind.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

DARC UKW-Wettbewerb im Mai 2008

Ich habe nur ein paar Stunden mitgemacht. Ein mühsames Geschäft... Rauschen... „Kerosinlampe“ Yaesu... Schwache Signale... 50W out... Wieder Rausch-sch-sch-sch-schen...

Zum Einsatz kam das erste Mal eine 4-Element Flexa-Yagi auf dem Balkon (Tnx Wolfgang, DK7MCX), das Ergebnis war nicht besonders berauschend, was eigentlich zu erwarten war. Eine bessere Antennenkonstruktion muss her! Ideen? Freie Sicht nach Westen – keine Chance! Norden und Süden wären evtl. möglich…

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
144MHz – 60 QSO (13 QSO in CW) – 21 Loc – 10200 Points – 170km Average;
ODX – 521km mit IK5ZWU/6 in JN63GN.

Gearbeitet Locators aus JN58SE (rot markiert)

Alle Verbindungen mit Stationen im Norden und Westen entstanden durch Reflexionen, da die Antenne nach Süd-Osten (Richtung Alpen bzw. 9A) ausgerichtet war. Fast alle Signale aus diesen Feldern waren verbrummt, aber gut lesbar, und in CW stellten sie überhaupt kein Problem dar. Heute ist mir wieder ein QSO auf 200km in SSB auf diese Art und Weise geglückt.
Nach Süden ging es einigermaßen gut. Wenige Stationen aus dem Osten. Ich habe F und HA gehört, aber diesmal nicht geschafft, sie ins Log zu kriegen. Ich bräuchte mehr Leistung… Am besten – einen anderen Standort für /P-Betrieb?

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD
P.S. Wer funken will, findet Wege!

SP DX Contest 2008

Nach dem versäumten Russian DX und CQ WPX SSB war die Sucht nach CW kaum zu bündigen… Ich habe nur ein paar Stunden mitgemacht, da die Anzahl von QSO sehr schnell in die Sättigung gelangen war. Die höheren Bänder waren nicht zu gebrauchen. Das Log mit insgesamt 165 QSOs wurde als SO-AB-LP-MIXED eingereicht.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

DARC VHF-, UHF-, Mikrowellen-Wettbewerb

Trotz Zeitmangels und starken Windes wollte ich ein bisschen mitmachen. Am Sonntag hat der Wind meine Balkonantenne fast weggeblasen, in der letzten Minute konnte ich sie doch retten… Ich sah meine Elk - Antenne samt Holzplanke bereits runterfliegen, als ich das Ende der Planke mit beiden Händen gegriffen habe… Uh!

Ich habe die Antenne einschieben müssen, das hatte allerdings negative Auswirkungen auf die Signalstärken und die Anzahl der QSOs. Die Bedingungen waren meines Erachtens nicht besonders gut und alle Signale – mickrig. Zum Einsatz kam ein Yaesu FT-857D mit 50W auf 2m und 20W auf 70cm. Was mich immer und immer zum Grübeln bringt, dass viele OPs in SSB statt in CW operieren!? Nur 10 QSO in CW kamen ins Log.

Gearbeitet Locators aus JN58SE (rot markiert)

Zwei spektakuläre QSO waren

• in CW mit 9A5Y, der auf mein CQ-Rufen in CW zurückkam, ODX – 518km;
• in SSB mit OM3W, das QSO hat mehr als 5 Minuten gedauert, ODX – 505km.

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
144MHz – 55 QSO – 15 Loc – 7131 Points - 129.7 Average

Ich war auch ganz kurz auf 70cm QRV – 3 QSO in SSB und 4 QSO in CW kamen ins Log. ODX war OE5D in JN68PC mit 131km.

Kurze Zusammenfassung:
432MHz – 7 QSO – 2 Loc – 279 Points - 39.9 Average

Beide Logs wurden eingereicht.
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

DD1LD Ultraleichte Antenne

Ich habe endlich Zeit gefunden, meine Ultraleichte KW-Antenne für SOTA-Aktivitäten zu dokumentieren. Die Beschreibung befindet sich HIER (.pdf, ca.140kB).

Mittlerweile verwende ich diese Antenne nicht mehr, da ich mich für eine leichtere Ausführung entschieden habe. Bausätze gibt’s auch nicht mehr. 

Viel Spaß beim Lesen! 73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

Ammergauer Alpen – aktiviert

Vorderes Hörnle, DL/AM-109 wurde aktiviert mit 11 QSO
Mittleres Hörnle, DL/AM-108 wurde aktiviert mit 15 QSO
Hinteres Hörnle, DL/AM-058 wurde aktiviert mit 19 QSO
Stierkopf, DL/AM-164 wurde aktiviert mit 14 QSO

Hinteres Hörnle, DL/AM-058

Insgesamt 59 QSO, eine Erstaktivierung und 2x(4+3) + 2x(6+3) = 32 Punkte sind meine Beute heute. Alle QSO wurden auf 40 Meter in CW gefahren.

DD1LD/p auf dem Stierkopf, DL/AM-164

Meine neue „alte“ Antennenkonstruktion mit einer Verlängerungsspule in der Filmdose wurde erfolgreich getestet. Wie erwartet brachte die Antenne keine großen Überraschungen, alle RST waren zwischen 339 und 599, sie ist aber etwas leichter geworden und lässt sich auf 40 Meter besser abstimmen. Eine detaillierte Beschreibung der Antenne folgt in Kürze.

Es war ein schöner, sommerwarmer und sonniger Tag!
73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

Semi automatic key evening

14 QSO were done on 80 meters just for fun... The log is submitted.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

ARRL DX CW 2008

Manche Leute lesen, schauen fern oder nehmen Pillen, um einzuschlafen… Ich habe gefunkt…

40 m – 133 QSO, 33 States/Provinces
80 m – 18 QSO, 8 States/Provinces
Total - 151 QSO, 41 States/Provinces

States/Provinces worked in CW with 100w
and 8m-long wire on 40 m

Gute Nacht,
Dzianis, DD1LD

Winter Activation of Wallberg and Setzberg

Here are some addtional pictures to the activation of Wallberg and Setzberg on 10th February 2008 (see below).

A view from Setzberg (1712m), DL/MF-025

Wallberg (1722m), DL/MF-026

DD1LD/p and DL2DVE/p on the Wallberg

Andy, DL2DVE/p in action

DD1LD/p doing CW on 30m from Wallberg

That was a wonderful day...

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

SOTA - last activations

3 February 2008. Two “one point” mountains close to Miesbach were activated, both are quite boring. The first one is DL/MF-084 (Wallenburger Kogel). 18 QSO in CW on 40 meters were done. The second one DL/MF-086 (Stadlberg) was activated in the course of BBT (Bavarian Mountain Day). Stadlberg has a good view northward bound, but some trees toward the west. 44 QSO on 2 meters in SSB with ODX of 536 km (JO31OM) were collected in one and half hour with 6 watts output power. The log has been submitted for both BBT and SOTA entries.

Total score is 2x(1+3) = 8 points.
62 QSO were done: 18x20mxCW and 44x2mxSSB.

Worked locators in BBT from JN57WS (red) .

9 February 2008. The remaining three summits in the Blomberg & Co. area were finally activated - DL/BE-004 (Enzenauerkopf), DL/BE-005 (Angerlkopf) and DL/BE-036 (Fahrtkopf, first activation). It was a nice long walk on a beautiful sunny day. I only met two people during the whole walk… I had all these summits for myself only and enjoyed peace and solitude. But I suffered first losses – some one animal stole one radial I was away for a couple of minutes. I assume it was a huge crow I saw (and hear) in a near tree. Incredible!
The total score gathered is 3x4 (regular) + 3x3 (bonus) = 21 points.
35 QSO were done: 15x30mxCW and 20x40mxCW.

Operating in snow on DL/BE-005 (Angerlkopf).

10 February 2008. DL/MF-025 (Setzberg) was first activated. QSO: 15 on 40m in CW and 2 on 2m in FM. It was a quite hard and risky tour because of deep snow and glazed ice on the north side, but a fantastic view offered a reward. Just a few of people dared to climb Setztberg in winter time. I was QRV for a short time on 7.028 (QRM), because Andy, DL2DVE and his family already were expecting me.

Setzberg is waiting for its first activation. North side.

DL/MF-025 (Setzberg) conquered... A view towards Tegernsee.

Later DL/MF-026 (Wallberg) was hiked together with Andy, DL2DVE. A great weather and beautiful surroundings made our SOTA activities more pleasant. Andy successfully tested his just assembled KX-1 on 40 meters with overall output power of 3-4 watts. Due to the WPX RTTY contest and QRM Andy shifted to 7.002 MHz. We operated in CW, tried in SSB and were QRV on 2 meters in FM. We tested and discussed about various antenna concepts and we also have to think about QRP band filters (especially for KX-1) if we want to operate on different bands simultaneously. Many curious passers-by asked us what we were doing, Andy and me did some publicity for SOTA and for ham radio, too. We all enjoyed that wonderful day very much! Pictures are coming soon...

Two stations were on the air from Wallberg DL/MF-026.

28 QSO were done: 12x30mxCW (by DD1LD/p), 9x40mxCW (by DL2DVE/p), 3x40mxSSB (by DD1LD/p) and 4x2mxFM (by DL2DVE/p).
Total score is 2x(6+3) = 18.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

P.S Many thanks to all the chasers who worked us!

Handtastenparty auf 80m

Meine ersten QSO mit der Handtaste überhaupt…
Handtastenparty macht wirklich Riesenspaß...
Nächstes Mal mache ich definitiv mit…

Insgesamt wurden 41 QSO gemacht und 203 Punke in der Klasse B erreicht. Ich schätze, ich werde irgendwo in der Mitte landen ;-) Wie immer – ich habe schlecht gehört, so gingen mir sämtliche QSOs (besonders mit der A-Klasse) durch die Lappen.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD

P.S. Die Ausschreibubg ist hier.

Two uniques in DL/MF activated

Two uniques – Gindelalmschneid DL/MF-033 and Rainer Berg DL/MF-085 nearby Schliersee were activated on Sunday, January, 20.

Gindelalm, Gindelalmschneid is over on the other side

On the Gindelalmschneid (DL/MF-033), 1331 m

13 and 24 QSO were done in CW on 40 meters, respectively. Many thanks to Andy DL2DVE for lending his Garmin Geko 201 for test purpose. Even though Geko was constantly losing the GPS-signal, without it we could have wasted a lot of time for localization of Rainer Berg.

DD1LD/p operating on Gindelalmschneid

The total score gained is 2+4 (regular) + 2x3 (bonus) = 12 points.

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

Blomberg & Co. activated

A hard tour...

Inspired by the previous activation I was waiting for a sunny weekend to hike Blomberg and Zwieselberg. A good weather was promised on Sunday, and Maria and me were looking forward to having a great day. Shortly after 11 AM we were at the Blomberg cableway. We spontaneously decided to go up Blomberg by the cableway and walk down to the valley. First stop was Heigelkopf (DL/BE-002), after that we went back to Blomberg (DL/BE-001). The strong West-South wind on Heigelkopf was driving Maria crazy, I was having my 12^th QSO when she said that she was feeling cold. The pile-up was still huge, but… Sorry guys, you will understand me.

DD1LD/p operating on Heigelkopf (DL/BE-002)

On the way to Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003)

On Blomberg we took advantage of trees shielding us from the wind. The sun as well as our good mood appeared again. 11 QSO in CW on 40m were well done and we made our way forward to Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003). The sun, a great view, and a very strong wind expected us on the summit. We spent app.15 minutes for 18 QSO, took a couple of nice pictures and left Zwieselberg.

Operating on the Zwieselberg (DL/BE-003) with Maria

Next stop over – Stallauer Kopf (DL/BE-058) – is a small bare place of no interest. After 11 QSO were performed from there, we were going to finish our SOTA expedition, but as a surprise for both of us Stallauer Eck (DL/BE-006) came towards us. After last 6 QSO were rapidly done, we ran to Bad Heilbrunn as fast as we could, which we achieved at nightfall (app. 5 PM). The last summit cost a critical half hour so that we lost our way two times because of darkness. Last 4 kilometers from Bad Heilbrunn to the cableway were quite annoying… but anyway it was a great tour! I just promised Maria to choose something less exhausting if she ever wants to join me again :-)
The whole equipment did a great job! Our hard prey are 35 points, 5x4 (regular) + 5x3 (bonus).

Sunset from Stallauer Eck (DL/BE-006)

73 de Dzianis DD1LD/p es Maria

P.S. DD1LD/p in action...

SOTA - winter season opened

A beautiful day... My first winter activation...

A spontaneous decision to go to mountains was actually not really spontaneous. Totally overworked and tired I needed fresh air like a fish needs water and also some exercise. A couple of days ago I chosen some interesting summits, which could be easily hiked in wintertime, then I was just waiting for a nice weather. And what a wonderful weather we had today! In the morning I briefly glanced at a thermometer and at the sky, and one hour later I was driving my car to the Bavarian south.

Three summits were put on my list – Schwarzer Berg (DL/MF-082) and Fentberg (DL/MF-083), and eventually Stadlberg (DL/MF-086). I enjoyed this wonderful weather and idyllic surroundings so much that I decided to skip the third summit at all. No hectic, no stress, a few people (and even one inquisitive ham). What one does want more? The way to Schwarzer Berg was a bit hard to drive because of steep narrow roads covered with snow. A right path to Fentberg was not easy to find, but at the second try the summit was finally conquered.

On the way to Fentberg

Operating from Fentberg

My rich pickings I got on Friday, the 4th January are 8 points (2 regular + 6 bonus) and 23 QSO in CW on 40 meters. Almost the same people…

73 de Dzianis, DD1LD/p

P.S. My father always says: “A time spent for hobbies never will be counted by God among lifetime.”