December's in the log...

Hi, yes I'm late !
End of year & beginning of 2018 were very busy... ^^
December started well with ARRL 160M CW thanks to my new Inverted L : I made 50 QSOs in 4 hours of activity, 30 sections including Virgin Islands for a new one !

- HV0A Vatican City was worked on 80M & 160M CW for 2 new bands !

- Then I seriously started to learn & work FT8 in order to grab some good ones on Top Band.
I could log A71AM, YV4DYJ, EA6SX, SV5DKL, IS0GQX & W7USA from Arizona @ 0800UTC !
Still on 160M, SV9BAI & PJ7/UT6UD were worked in CW for another 2 new ones...

- On 80M CW, I could work TZ4AM from Mali for another new one !

- On December 29th, I could enjoy a short 6M FT8 opening and then work G0GGG, GM4UYE, G4AYU, G7ITD & GM4VGR... TNX guys !

- I also worked a loooot of US stations on FT8 and finally completed my WAS "LotW only" in 2 weeks, that's awesome...
 
FT8 or not be ? I don't know but other digimodes lost a lot of fans since its start...
My Digimodes total jumped to 182 DXCC at this day.

That was December report, stay tuned !

Chris F8DZY

VK9AR IOTA OC-216 Ashmore Reef in the mail !

Hi all, an expected & rare IOTA in the mail ! VK9AR Ashmore Reef is my 540th confirmed island...

Chris F8DZY

Happy New Year 2018 !

Chris F8DZY

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

Merry Christmas to all...

Chris F8DZY

W7USA (AZ) on 160M FT8 this morning...

Hi, a very nice contact on 160M FT8 this morning 30 minutes after my SR in France : W7USA from Arizona could be decoded through an up & down NA opening !
I was 1st called by WB0TEV from TX but impossible to complete the QSO, then some minutes W7USA Ray answered again to my CQ and we could log each other.
I was also called a little bit later (about 45 minutes after my SR !) by N5XZ from TX but the QSO wasn't completed too. I decoded him till 0820UTC here ! Incredible...
One hour after our contact, W7USA sent me a very nice e-mail to tell me how he was happy with our QSO as I was his very 1st EU on 160M he worked from Arizona !! Ray was sending 30W into a full size inverted V with a 25M high feeding point,.
I am still having fun with my home made inverted L @ 11,50m ! 15 new ones in 3 weeks... 
10 more to work in order to reach the 100, and so a potential 10BDXCC ! ^^
Thanks to you Ray for a so nice radio moment and a new Zone on Top Band.

Chris F8DZY

November's in the log

Hi all, a quick report on November's activity here... a good & active month.
- VK9CZ Cocos Keeling Islands was worked on 20M SSB for a new slot 
- IS0DCR Sardinia was worked on 12M SSB for a new slot
- 9U4M Burundi was worked on 10M SSB, 15M-17M-20M RTTY for new slots and a new mode

 - ZS6TVB South Africa was worked on 17M SSB for a new slot
- J5T Guinea Bissau on 12M CW, 20M RTTY, 40M SSB, 80M & 160M CW for new slots & new bands !

 - VP8CMH/MM close to South Orkney Islands on 20M CW (our 2nd QSO after 17M CW)
- YJ0JA Vanuatu on 20M CW for a new slot
- VP2MDL Montserrat Island on 30M CW
- DU1/SP5APW Philippines from IOTA OC-090 on 20M SSB (#563)
- EG1ET Spain from IOTA EU-077 on 40M SSB (#564)
- HR9/K1XM Honduras on 30M CW for a new band
- 5K1B Colombia from IOTA SA-078 on 17M SSB (#565) & for a new slot too !
- VE7ACN/7 Canada from IOTA NA-075 on 20M CW (#566)
- DU9/R4WAA Philippines from IOTA OC-175 on 20M CW & RTTY (#567)
- T77C San Marino on 80M CW
- Plus some new ones on 160M (T77C, ZA1WW, ZB2X, YL6W, EA8CMX, EA9EU...)

Chris F8DZY

Inverted L 160M @ F8DZY

Hi all, if you follow me on Twitter, you know that since some days, I am erecting an Inverted L for the Top Band...
After a lot of reading on the web and considering the "free" space on my property, I could try a half sloper and the inv L; my choice went on the inverted L.
This antenna cost me 0€.
Material ("in stock" in the garage) :
- (+/-) 42M of electrical wire 2.5mm2 (inverted L)
- 1 PVC pipe (cutted in 2 parts for insulators)
- 1 piece of PVC plate (base)
- another 50cm of 2.5mm2 electrical wire & a plastic bottle (beta-match or "hairspin")
- 1.5mm2 lenghts of wire I had from my previous vertical antenna radials' installation (8 x 48M)
The configuration of the property makes that the horizontal part of the wire seems like a sloper, but it's not... and it works !

 - Insulator (PVC pipe) : the end of the horizontal part of the wire comes here, slice it less or more in order to adjust resonating frequency... On the other side of the PVC is attached a rope, itself attached to a tree, with a counterpoise in order to slice during big winds. (Height about 10,5 meters)

- Look at this impressive sealed box ! ^^
Connection between coaxial and the beta-match is not yet soldered, as I still don't know if this Inverted L will be a permanent or a "winter" antenna...

- Some view from the top of the pylon (to NA), giving you an idea of the slope...

- Some pics during the first attempt... (R was too low)

After several up and downs, I decided to add a beta-match (hairspin) at the base, after several tests, mine is 8 joined turns (the picture below shows one of the first beta match coil tested)

I put 8 x 48m radials as I could, and connected them to the beta-match coil.
I also connected to this part the existing 48 x 24M radials from the HF3B vertical.

First tests were correct, I've been called by ZB2X from Gibraltar on my first CQs, whole Europe is covered (see RBN) . Some minutes later I was heard @ W1NT. A little bit early for NA...

Then I could work J5T from Guinea Bissau at the end of their DX-Pedition for a new one on TB !

During CQ WW, I could add YL, EA9, ZA & EA8 as new ones in some minutes... 

Now we'll see during the next months how it will perform... 

In final, as wrote it DJ0IP, all installations are different and will give good or poor result at different places... You have to test at your turn and find the good match ! Hope you enjoyed the read !

Sourcing : DJ0IP, F6BKD, F6DDR, I1WQR, F5ZV, F5AD, DK5WL, etc...

Chris F8DZY