Unexpectedly, OM0A made contact again on 144 MHz after a month, this time from JN99eh. The Manín Radio Club has set up a station at this location on the border between Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Thanks to this, the transmission is very clear. After all, we can all agree that if you have electricity on a hilltop, a roof over your head, an antenna too, and good company to boot, it’s priceless!
Antennas, on the left a 17-element F9FT
I reached out to Jožka OM4AQ in advance about the idea of “Record Day” because I know they’re shutting down the 144 MHz band due to interference. After all, there are kW stations nearby such as OM6A, OL9W, OM3W, and others. Years ago, OK1VPZ wrote an excellent analysis regarding QRM in contests, and many other articles and equipment measurements on this topic can be found.
We dusted off our 17-element F9FT antenna and a modified FT-847 with a tube PA. However, we only drove it to about 40% of its capacity, both due to interference and because this TCVR simply cannot draw more power from that particular amplifier.
The FT-847 is a handy little TCVR with an MDS of –142 dBm, a BDR (20 kHz) of 103 dB, and an IMD of 88 dB. The IP3 point is at –11 dBm. The unit performs well in receive mode, though the audio is slightly colored toward the high frequencies during tuning. This is likely caused by the DSP technology, which creates a ringing effect at the filter edges.
Another advantage of this TCVR is the CAT interface, which makes connecting to a PC and PA via a Microkeyer very easy.
I tried to outrun the rain from Trenčín, but I didn’t make it. Due to traffic, I didn’t arrive at Jožko OM4AQ’s place until after 1:00 p.m., and we didn’t make it to the hill until it was already raining. By then, Vlado OM3BY had already started setting up the F9FT antenna. Since we had information from the weather radar, we took a break and quickly finished setting up the antenna together. Meanwhile, Jožko OM4AQ set up the operating station.
Vlado OM3BY transmitting during the contest
Since the 144 MHz radio club isn’t active, it was suggested that we use my contest call sign, OM0A.
Vlado OM3BY kicked off the contest with a contact with OK1OPT. After that, the log began to fill up with other stations. The weather cleared up outside, and the approaching fall was showing its more pleasant side. I had a hunch from the weather forecast what was still to come, but I didn’t wish that on anyone transmitting from a car or tent at the time.
After two hours, there were 72 QSOs in the log, and I took over the relay from Vlado. After being notified, we had to switch from the headset to a handheld microphone. Phew! Operating the radio, keeping the log, and later also handling ON4KST—all while having to enter some data with just one hand—isn’t very comfortable. Anyone who’s been through it knows what I’m talking about.
Map of OM0A’s VHF Record Day contacts
ON4KST yielded several long-distance contacts, such as IQ5NN (780 km), IZ5FDD/4 (781 km), and the ODX, which was LZ6Z (913 km). There is certainly still room for improvement in this regard. The contact map shows which directions yielded the most points and contacts. The statistical map below provides further details.
Vlado was in charge of the telegraph again that night, which certainly wasn’t easy, since there were thunderstorms everywhere starting around 18UT. This is what one minute looked like. Can you count the lightning strikes?
By morning, it looked beautiful—nature seemed freshly washed. You could still find blueberries in the forest, and everywhere there were spiderwebs with droplets of water glistening like pearls. The first connection in the morning was logged at 5:03 UT, which is relatively late. Never mind; we weren’t aiming for a perfect result.
View from Veľký Javorník, JN99eh
The weather radar didn’t bode well, so the last connection, number 274, was logged by IK3XJP at 11:49 UT. The overall summary looks like this:
VHF Record Day 2018 results for OM0A
And here are some more statistics:
QSO rate by hour during the 2018 VHF Record Day
Countries with which contacts were made during the 2018 VHF Record Day
Large Locator Squares for the 2018 VHF Record Day
Directional distribution of contacts during the contest
Thank you for the contacts, for sharing your experiences and struggles with the weather, and we look forward to hearing from JN99eh and other locations, friends!
