A bad VHF PA event that turned out better than I deserved. And yet, things were looking very promising this morning. What happened?
After a relatively slow start, weather forecasts began to multiply, predicting temperatures below -10°C for the VHF PA date. That’s a temperature that doesn’t mix well with antenna construction. But a little voice kept nagging me: what if? I’m starting at -6°C. The lowest temperature is in Myjava, -8.5°C. The closer I get to Sobotište, the warmer it gets. And on Černecký Hill, it’s -4.5°C. Sunny, light wind. So let’s get building!
Just 15 minutes before the VKV PA, everything is ready. Just a few more degrees to fine-tune the antenna’s direction. I try to transmit, and N1MM+ crashes. I try to restart it, transmit again… and the same thing happens. I disconnect both the transceiver and the rotator. I try again. No change. So I restart it… oh no, an update!
A lot of time passes, and after some more fiddling, I manage to keep N1MM running. Admittedly, without a connection to anything else, but at least I’m finally getting started. I’ve lost 25 minutes. Anyone who’s experienced something like this knows it doesn’t make things any easier. I can’t even get a handle on the situation on the band or the VHF propagation conditions. In the first hour, I log 21 contacts.
Propagation conditions seem strange. S59K, who’s in JN76IA, comes through only with difficulty. But IQ4CT, who’s all the way in JN54WE, comes through easily. So I try to look around for multipliers. YO5OHB adds KN17, and a moment later I manage a contact with Jožko OM0AB to KN08 via a bounce off an airplane! Those in the know, know… it’s a shame other stations don’t use this method as well. Their results would certainly be much better.
In the meantime, I’ve taken a quick look at the propagation conditions and activity on the band. Libor OK1DOL is working the 70 cm band, but luckily JN69 brings in OK1RDO. The neighboring JN59 is covered by Michael DB7MM/P. A few call signs I don’t usually work are also appearing, such as Karel OK1FLY or Pavel OK1PMA, with whom I share many memories from the High Tatras. Shortly after the contact with Tamász HG1DRD, the second Italian station, I4RGZ, comes in, along with the multiplier E74LE. This group is transmitting from a tent in winter conditions. They deserve a big round of applause!
VHF PA February 2025 DXCC
Mirek OL1B brought in another multiplier right after them. I was fairly lucky to time my contacts with other Italian stations: IK4GNG, IK4ZHH, and IQ3QJZ. My attempt to contact IK3XTT via a bounce off an airplane was unsuccessful, even though I could sense his signal. However, the terrain profile was extremely challenging.
To wrap things up, I’m adding a few more OK stations. A total of 27 multipliers is no small feat. But a connection with SP is missing. The resulting 9,342 points are more than respectable, considering the delay at the start. So, with the sun shining pleasantly, I’m packing up. Now I have to figure out why the software had problems. I suspect the ground loop: during transmission, voltage was induced into the USB port, which caused the software to crash. After last month’s bad luck, this is the second time I haven’t been able to make full use of the VHF PA.