SOTA JUKEBox:
Goathikers Hamonica in Low F
Edwin, Callsign: Pd0sot [☐]
Licensed Novice ham radio operator [☐] since October of 2017.
Born in 1968 in the Netherlands (PA) i started building wire antenna's at the age of 12. Constructed multiple V shaped attic wires/sets and used them mainly in conjunction with some old Tube based radio's to recieve distant broadcast stations.
At about the age of 16 i aquired my first radio transciever for CB use in the freshly opened dutch 11 meter citizen band (FM only, 0.5 Watts RF out). Slowly but shurely i have been bitten by the DX bug seeing other people in the vincinity work stations in Italy, France and the UK using large antenna's and amplifiers.
Although 3 meters FM pirating became a substantial interest soon the digital age set in. Modems, BBS's and landlines deferred my attention from the radiohobby. Allthough i tried to set up an 11 meter packet BBS it never got in good use, not even locally. Focussing my professional life on IT and stumbling from one great job to the other left hardly any energy or time to the radio experimentation hobby , let alone becoming a real HAM radio operator (by taking a test and applying for a station license in the Netherlands)
In 2014/2015 i started to rebuild a somewhat formidable 11 meter DX station as my love for LD contacts is very persistent. Local hams and CB'ers convinced me i would be capable of becoming a licenced ham myself. (i especialy thank the ones that convinced me radically before i became aware of the fact)
Knowingly that the sunspot numbers are low in these days (Jan 2018) i started taking in course material for the Dutch Novice license (US general/CEPT Novice). For witch i passed the test in Oct 2017. Since then i am enjoying life as a HAM radio operator very much untill this day.
Besides trying to set up a decent home station (living in a small condo, no roof access) i am presently involved in portable operation, especially where possible in the SOTA program. SOTA is a international award scheme for hams that operate on Mountain summits or help other hams by contacting and aquiring points as such (more info on the sota website https://www.sota.co.uk [☐] )
Hopefully in the upcoming year i will be able to take the CEPT Full licence test and be able to operate those marvelous bands and frequency's many of you can already. For now my station is somewhat limited (40/20/10/2/.7 @ 25w) but that will not deter me to log as much QSO's as possible. Qrp is the name of the game!
My current station setup consists of a home shack and a portable station. At home (a 2nd story appartment without any access to roofed real estate) the working condition is: Kenwood TS-570D with a MFJ Magnetic loop for 7-21 Mhz (1788X (+)) running on commercial power. The portable/field station consists of a Elecraft KX2, Yeasu FT-857D, FT817ND or ICOM 706MkIIG , Yeasu FT-1DE , TYT MD-380 and some chinese HT's.
For SOTA i use a LP 38Wh Lifepo4 battery and for regular field work a 22Ah AGM deep cycle SLAB. For longer field outings i apply a 120Ah Deepcycle battery and where necessary can run some ac from my 2200VA gasoline powered generator.
In the field i primary use wire antenna's. A brief selection:
Keys: Begali Traveller (blue), MFJ Paddle (564B, 2x), American morse portable key (kit, microkey) and a MFJ Straight key (557)
Sark-100 Analyzer, Diamond SX-600 1.8-200 Mhz SWR/PWR meter
Physical Supports are 2 Aluminium masts (milspec,10m), 3 GFK 10 and 1 12 Meter masts from DX-Wire, 2 Squid poles and some sturdy PVC pipe for supporting tarps in the field.
Backpack's, Tons of Rope, Cordage. Pegs and lots of other stuff, especially a 422 coleman burner for coffee/thea etc ..
If you would like to contact me: please mail me on the address on the qrz.com [☐] page.
Proud to be member of
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