Although not a record-breaking one, it was a very successful VHF PA. However, I wasn’t able to make contact with OM0AB and LZ2ZY, even though I could hear them.
Early spring weather greets me this morning on Černecký Hill. It’s +3°C, and it’s windy, but bearable. I skillfully set up my 4 x 5-element DK7ZB Yagi antennas. There’s no change in the setup, but I made sure the audio connector wasn’t loose, and I resoldered the power cable in the HA8ET preamplifier while I was still at home. It clearly helped.
The downside of USB devices
At the beginning, I’m struggling a bit with USB again. I’m using a dual USB-to-COM converter, and one of the USB-to-COM ports is occupied by the Arduino. It seems that even when connected to the same ports as before, the port number occasionally changes. I only managed to configure one, which provides the interface to the rotator, and the VHF PA started working.
February VHF PA
Radu LZ2ZY writes via ON4KST, expressing interest in a sked. We try it, and I can actually hear him. Draho OM3CQF can hear him as well. However, Radu cannot hear me. We also tried a bounce off an airplane, but despite the situation looking promising, the contact did not go through.
My call to him, however, sparked interest, and several stations were waiting on the frequency, hoping to make a contact. A big thank you goes to OE3CIN, who waited perhaps the longest. In the first hour, I log 39 contacts.
I see that many Italian stations are active. I try I4GHG at 668 kilometers and succeed right away. Next came IK4GNG at a distance of 649 kilometers, followed shortly by IU4CHE at a similar distance. I was surprised by Franta OK7WA, whom I don’t often encounter on VHF. Michael DB7MM/P adds another multiplier, and Daniel DM1DF confirms it as well. I’d already heard OL1B earlier, and now the contact is successful, adding JO80 to my log.
Countries by Number of VHF PA Contacts, February 2024
I also manage a contact with E73PS, which is 572 kilometers, but more importantly, another multiplier. A glance at the map shows that JN86 is missing. No shame in asking—I’ll ask Tamás HG1DRD for a sked. His station could be described as a “big gun” (he has antennas on a 70-meter-high mast). Thanks to Hans-Peter OE4WHG, JN87 comes in a little while later. I notice that Janko OM8OM is also connected to ON4KST. I try to contact him. The signal isn’t strong, but that doesn’t matter. However, if I hadn’t pointed my antenna exactly at KN09, I don’t think I would have picked up the signal even when OM8OM was calling me. Janko, thank you!
I3QJZ from JN55 is coming in with an excellent signal. It’s unbelievable that, even at nearly 600 kilometers away, some stations sound as if they’re right around the corner. I’m still working IK3SSG from the same locator square, but here I’m having a much harder time exchanging the call sign. Hubert OK1MHU is also adding JN69. N1MM+ can’t count locator squares—it can only display a map of them. The map looks very good, which is further enhanced by IK4ZHH from JN63 and OK1KAD (OK1CSM) from JO60.
Map of Locator Squares in VHF PA, February 2024
I tried making a contact with Jožko OM0AB. I received his signal clearly several times. I heard him make a contact with Janko OM8OM. Unfortunately, he didn’t hear me. In the end, there were 103 contacts across 27 locator squares, which is nearly 10,000 points.
