First activation this year: PAFF-0018, Utrechtse Heuvelrug

Temperatures were a bit higher than usual for a couple of days, so this Sunday I jumped on the bike to activate PAFF-0018 close to Amerongen castle, which also counts for PA-00081 in the COTA-PA program. I set up my station in a field about 500 meters from the castle.

Just after 10 in the morning the activation was started and 90 minutes later I had 60 QSO's in the log. Very nice propagation on both 20 and 30 meters, best DX being UA9CEJ in Sverdlovsk.

Equipment: QCX mini with a small amp under the chair, paper logging and a palm mini paddle. 10 meter mast with a 2-band vertical. There is a short video available at spectra.video.

Success at Rijntakken PA-0108!

 

This time I picked a spot close to the river and also brought another antenna. It's a 2-band vertical for 20 and 30 meters. Propagation was pretty good, maybe because I was much earlier than last time.

 

 

I brought a small amp which outputs 30-40 Watts, left on the picture. On the right is a 16 Volt battery pack. QSO map in the next picture.

A try at PAFF-0140 Zoommeer

 

Most of PAFF-0140 (a lake and river with some wetlands) is not accessible unless you have permission, but you can set up your station at the edge of the area. I wasn't very lucky: had to camp behind a dike under a 40m high windmill. Here's a screenshot from Google maps.

 

 

Propagation was lousy and 20 meters crowded with a contest going on. The windmill created a lot of noise on the radio. I made 8 QSO's in one hour and gave up in the end... Need to pick a better spot next time I am here!

Activation of PAFF-0108 Rijntakken

This is my first WWFF activation. It's a 12 km bicycle ride to the ferry between Rijswijk and Wijk bij Duurstede, close to PAFF-0108. I set up my station in a field on a small dike close to the river Lek.

I brought a 10 meter spiderbeam pole with an endfed antenna for 20 and 30 meters. The rig is a QCX mini with about 4 Watts output. Propagation was fairly good, got an RBN spot from WZ7I on 20 meters, but activity was low. I worked more stations on 30 meters. 

 

 

Only 14 QSO's  in the log after 90 minutes. One P2P QSO with Wilfried, DL7UWR/P from DLFF-0029, Schorfheide-Chorin. I will try to use my WWFF activations for the GoGreen XOTA program. QSO map of this activation here.

Running the SKCC weekend sprint from Brittany

We set up camp at the North Coast near Lannion. Saturday afternoon I put up the vertical near the camper van about 200 meters from the sea. Propagation was bad but managed to make 11 QSO'S during the weekend with 4 US stations: K3WW (being strong as always), KB3NSK, KF6C and N3MVX. I really liked the oldtimer theme and gave away 46 bonus points myself. The pic shows my QCX being operated from the suitcase, 25 Watts output. All contacts made with a RM31 Czech army straight key.

Another POTA at Golfe du Morbihan

Good WX here in Brittany, so I had another go at POTA F-2550. Being active later on the day, propagation was a bit better and I made 17 QSO'S including one DX with N1XV.

Really enjoyed using the QCX with amplifier. 25 Watts output using a Li-ion battery pack.

Activation of F-2505 in Bretagne

We arrived in Bretagne yesterday while on holiday and today I discovered we are in the middle of a large parc called "Golfe du Morbihan", POTA F-2505. In the afternoon sun I set up my 2-band vertical and made 12 QSO's in CW on 20 and 30 meters. It took me about an hour. So propagation wasn't great but it is the first activation of this POTA.

Activation of POTA PA-0091

 POTA PA-0091 is called Rijntakken and consists of a large area of mostly floodplains along some of the largest Dutch rivers called Waal, Lek and IJssel. It is one of the largest Natura2000 area's in The Netherlands. From my QTH it is a 30 minute bike ride to this POTA along the river Lek. I chose a spot on a dike by the river close to the village of Rijswijk where the ferry crosses to Wijk bij Duurstede.

Even though this POTA is big it had never been activated before, not even in FT8 😂. I made 19 QSO's in CW. The new antenna proved to be working good with RBN coverage all over Europe, both on 20 and 30 meters,

Activation of POTA PA-0197

 

PA-0197 is dominated by large plantations of ash wood, primarily used for creating wagon wheels and wooden handles for tools. After a one houten bike ride I set up my antenna on one of the paths leading to an area where trees had been harvested recently. It took me more than an hour to get the required 10 contacts in CW. I got good coverage through Europe. The second QSO was a surprise: N4RKK in Florida, my best POTA DX so far.

This has been my third POTA attempt and my second successful activation. Rig used: 20m QCX with 20W amplifier and a vertical dipole. All QSO's with a Czech RM-31 straight key.

Activation of POTA PA-0077

 

It's a 30 minute bike ride to PA-0077 (Lingegebied & Diefdijk-Zuid Provincial Park), my second POTA activation. It's a flat area with pasture and some plots used for wood production. I set up my vertical dipole and made 15 QSO's in about one hour using a straight key. Worked my first POTA DX with UA9CUJ after answering his CQ.

These flat areas seem to work better than being in the forest. Good coverage throughout Europe and even was spotted by W3LPL with 10 dB around 10:00 UTC.

First POTA activation PA-0200

 

From my QTH it's a 90 minute bike ride to the highest point in the area: "Amerongse Berg" at 69 meters ASL. It's a flat hill top among pine and beech trees. You have to walk there or make a steep and challenging bike ride on sandy roads. This hill and surrounding area counts as POTA PA-0200. I arrived around 08:00 local time and took my 20 meter QCX plus amp, a battery pack and my 10 meter spiderbeam mast with a vertical dipole. Propagation was very bad, the band wasn't open yet and only managed to make 3 QSO's with Ukraine, Sardinia and Spain. I guess I need to plan my trips better...

QCX challenge along the river

 From my QTH it is a 20 minute bike ride to a nice location along the river Lek with clear views in all directions. The location is a parking spot on the dike a few meters above a landscape with floodplains (8 meters ASL). For the 13:00 UTC QCX challenge I took along a 10 meter Spiderbeam mast and a vertical dipole. In between 2 hailstorms I managed to make 2 QSO's with IT9IFI and OK2BQN with a straight key. Quite challenging operating conditions... 30 minutes operating time.

The QCX challenge is monthly QSO party. You don't need a QCX transceiver to participate but the more people you work with a QCX, the more points you get. There is a Discord channel available to make skeds and your score can be submitted to 3830scores. More information at qrp-labs.

Testing the QCX in the garden

 Last november I bought a QCX mini with an amplifier and this weekend I put them in a metal case. It was time to test it. So I put up my 10 meter fiberglass mast in the garden and attached a vertical dipole. The QCX is powered by a 12.5V power bank (top right in the picture) consisting of 16 Li-Ion recycled laptop batteries. I made a QSO on 14.053 with Geir, LA3CB and Piotr, SP2UKH with my Palm paddle.

Propagation wasn't great this afternoon but I got some good EU coverage. The RBN picture shows spots after calling CQ with the straight key at 12 wpm. The 20 Watts output from the amplifier helps a lot!