What wasn't supposed to happen, happened. But let's take it one step at a time. A temperature inversion developed during the week, bringing sunny weather to the mountains. At the same time, this improved propagation conditions, and forecasts indicated that it would hold up even on VHF PA. So off to the hills!
A morning temperature of -2°C seems manageable. On the way, however, the fog thickens, and in some sections around Myjava, visibility is down to just a few meters. Fortunately, the road isn’t icy. In Sobotište, a steep climb begins, but there’s still no continuous snow cover visible along the road. Two minutes later, however, things look different near Uchánok: snow, fog, wind. I slowly come to a stop in the snow on Černecký Hill. Someone must have driven through here recently, because there are car tracks in the snow.
I take the rotator, mast, and antennas out of the car. I’m using a Yaesu G-650C rotator with a base and mast that Jano OM0AJ built a long time ago. The rotator is more powerful than necessary, but I like its rotation speed and, above all, its connection to the PC.
The ground isn’t completely frozen solid, which I appreciate when driving in the anchor stakes. The anchor ropes start to get covered in frost after just a few minutes. Thanks to my experience from numerous portable operations, I have everything ready on time.
The first time I locked the door, the TCVR shut off. Fortunately, I just had to turn it back on. I suspect it might have been moisture, because within a few minutes of leaving the door open, the interior started to frost over as well.
Yes, propagation conditions are indeed better. Not only are the signals from the usual stations stronger, but several stations are also calling even when the antennas are pointed in different directions, which means they can hear me. I’m trying to collect locators, though it’s a slower process. But experience tells me that some stations won’t be on the band the whole time, so I might not be able to make that particular contact later. Even so, I make 40 contacts in the first hour.
At the start of the second hour, I manage to make contact with Janko OM8OM. The weather below Štrbské Pleso is beautifully sunny, with temperatures above freezing. What a contrast to the conditions on Černecký Hill! As far as I can see, the antennas and cables a few meters away are starting to turn white with frost. I’m giving the guys from OM3KUK a chance to work KN09 as well.
I also manage to work IK3SSG on the SKED and then Marco IK4WKU, who went on the air as JN54KK. It’s an excellent location:
Marco has several videos worth checking out https://www.youtube.com/@ik4wku/videos
Someone tuned in 2 kHz higher and is causing interference. I check to see who it is: DK1FG is calling me. He’s tuned to a different frequency, but his signal is as strong as a cannon! After a quick contact, I return and add IU4CHE. I don’t even know which way to point the antennas, because E70SIC is calling next, followed by SP6YG and YU7SSB. I4GHG rounded out the Italian quartet.
VHF PA January 2025 DXCC
At the start of the last hour, I take advantage of the KST4Contest frequency scanning and make several contacts with OK stations in between calls. At the end of my contact with Fedor OK1TRW, my monitor goes dark and the station shuts down. In the next second, I realize why: I’ve lost power! I head over to the generator. There’s still plenty of fuel, so I try to start it. I disconnect the cable—still nothing. I know I have a spark plug wrench in my toolbox. But the spark plug looks fine. Just to be sure, I gently brush it with a steel-wire brush. Still nothing. I take the spark plug out again and spray some brake cleaner into the intake. But even this doesn’t work… What now? The log shows 87 contacts in 2 hours and 9 minutes. I have a little over half an hour left. Given the weather and the uncertainty of whether I’ll be able to start the generator, I decide to go QRT.
Operational Statistics
Close-up of frost on the antenna
Packing up is challenging in the wind. I brush the frost off the anchor ropes. Actually, off everything. I’m packing up in a slightly different order than usual. Finally, everything is in the car. So, just two more “frozen” photos, and off we go…. By February, I’ll try to figure out why the generator wouldn’t start and get it up and running.
