Category Archives: MJ2017

Today was a normal weekday. So after our 8.00AM breakfast we drove to the station with a short stop for shopping on the way in. The idea was to run a few more calls before the 1st stage of the dismantling of the station.

The start was no good. The 20m receiver was blocked with every signal which cam on on any other band. It costs us 2 hours of searching and frustration before we solved the problem. And as we are used to it was a minor issue putting the correct cable at the correct connector….

After we solved the problem Alex PA1AW took down the 6m yagi. Despite we only made 6 qso’s with it it was worthwhile putting it up to be ready for early ES openings on the magic band. Unfortunately there were no openings but probably will be there tomorow now our antenna is down.

After lunch we decided to do antennawork first. Where Jo and Alex went to the roof to take down the 2m yagi, the 60m dipole and the 12m vertical, Roberto and Ronald went to the garden to takedown the 40m vertical and 40 radials. It took us 1,5 hours to finish these task and to get back on the radio.

Just an hour before we had to go to prepare us for diner to meet up with the local contestteam GJ2A and spent the evening with a nice meal and a beer, one of the amplifier died. A strange smell followed by a total black-out does not realy promise good things. When opened no scarfs were noticable and the smell was there, but no marks helping us to find the cause. Another amplifier went Silent Key.

Our first and only night not in the radioshack was a nice one. We met up and talked about radio, antennas etc etc. Before we new it the light was dimmed and we were ask to leave. Around midnight we hit the bed for a 7 hour night of sleep, what a luxury situation.

We will QRT tomorrow around 1200z so expect activity in the morning. After that the wait is anoter few years for us to return there.
73 Alex MJ/PA1AW

A bit later the daily update for May 9th. . No internet access makes it hard to update the website unfortunately.

Today we could concentrate on the radio. May 9 is a public holiday in Jersey. Liberation Day, celebrating the end of worldwar 2 for Jersey means no shopping or other inconvenience keeping us from the radio  🙂

Alex PA1AW again started on 2m MS but around midday no power from the amplifier. As we had problems before the initial checks were doen but soon it was clear that there was no high voltage so the problem needed further attention. After a close look the verdict was clear: the amp was silent key. The running qso with SM6CEN was succesfully completed with only 100W but took a bit longer….. 🙁

On the other bands the interference between the station was the only issue we had. Choosing the right antenna combinations to maximize results and minimize interference becomes part of the daily routine. Unfortunately not all bands can get the attention they might need because of this issue but we try hard to work around it.

The 6m antenna netted 6 qso’s with no propagation at all. Unfortunately but we knew we were early in the season this time. We at least gave a few neighbouring F stations new mode qso’s on 6m  🙂

In the evening special attention was given to 60 and 160m upon request. We think this special attention payed of and the pile-ups we serious by times. Same on 20 and 40 were the band opened very well to North America. Many stations made it in the logs.

Now the qso numbers are:

More statistisc will follow shortly.

Some pictures to tell the day in:

Can you guess the operator ?? Post a comment with your answer…

After a relatively short night we started off at 8AM with a nice breakfast in the hotel. It looked like a beautiful day but the wind (always present) made it feel a lot colder as we thought from the inside. On our way to the station another stop at the supermarket to ensure we would have lunch and dinner for the next two days. Tomorrow the shops are closed due to Liberation Day. Although it was not that easy we managed to obtain al we needed for the next few days 🙂

At the station Alex PA1AW had a close lo0ok whether he could repair the 6m yagi so we could as 6m to the operating bands. It was not easy but thanks to a heavry soldering iron a new cable was connected to the antenna and after a few hours the first CQ could go out on a closed band. Day 1 on 6 meters brought 7 qso’s with 3 F-station just on the mainland. A good start I hope.

The other operaters started of on the bands and they were in reasonable shape today. Despite the weekend was over the runs were still there and made Q’s made it in the log.

In teh afternoon some of the oprators took a little break for sightseeing the neigherhood. As you can see on the pictures, Jersey has very nice nature and beaches to offer too  🙂

At the end of day approx. 8000 Qso’s are in the log. More details will follow.