Year of DXing 2012

January 2012

HNY 2012! And welcome back to my webpage... Been a long time since last update... As told before been too busy to even work anything.

First real qso in January was Henri TJ3AY on 10m, where I now have a nice 4element monobander up at about 10m AGL. Beam seems to be working fine, SWR is good and difference to vertical is visible. 7X2ARA was also active on 10m and worked them with FB signals both ways.

Worked a new one on 12m, TN2T DXpedition to Congo.

Been listening on HK0NA during the week and weekend, with some spare time, it would surely be possible to work them, heard 58 max on 20m, 15m and 12m... Nil yet on 10m...

Here you can see the 10m setup...

February 2012

Nice start for the month, Mariana Island AH0J in log on 10m after info from Janne OH1SDR. Janne texted me that he worked him on 10m just and so had to be possible for me too, one call and 59 TNX both ways.

Then one day at home with my sick little QRP princess and I worked HK0NA Malpelo DXpedition, first on 15m then 12m and finally after 30mins from 1st qso, on 10m. Signals were not very good but easy to work them in greyline... A quick snapshot from them calling CQ...

During my short summerholiday for a week there was one nice opening.... Was listening all evening to NA for my first stateside station but nil so far, then Markku OH8UV chatted on ON4KST chat with a JA station about testing conditions to JA... They made a qso. That finished the NA watching and all antennas were turned to JA... Managed to work some stations. During this peak opening Markku worked something around 100 or over qsos...

July 2012

Few qsos made on the 1st day, YO5OPH, LZ2DF and SV5BYR... Just to see how conditions are...

Got my 6m 5el LFA buil ready, just putting it up after finishing the feed for the antenna. Taking down the 4el 10m yagi and setting the 5el 6m yagi in that tubetower so I can test and compare it with the old 3el DK7ZB model antenna.. First impressions are giving me a happy smile. SWR is good no need to change anything. Listening to some beacons, LFA noise level is much better, no so much noise from the surroundings. Beacons heard much better.

First qso worked with the new 5elem LFA antenna. Left rig and antenna waiting for opening to 1A when left to work this morning... Monitored KST chat and saw that 1A0C came on the air, then remote monitoring from QRL to homeQTH and once heard them, gave one call and reply was instant! Was in the log 100%. Nice first qso with new antenna. It works!

Still working a few test runs with the new beam, OZ1AXG, OZ1DJJ worked on 50MHz JT6M, both qsos done in two three minutes..Also later worked Janne OH5LID from his home QTH in KP41KL.

A new # worked when Markku OH8UV was down to KP32HD as oh8uv/4, on CW, fb conditions. Few SM stations on ISCAT, SM4IVE/2 and SM4KYN both from new squares for me.

Been monitoring for NA loooooong time.... Tonight on the 20th.... K1TOL.... tii taa taa tii...... @ 2234UTC K1TOL in the log on 6m CW from loc: FN44VG with a distance of 5973km.

CQ by K1TOL...

Janne OH5LID was on expedition again... Cruising in ES, YL and LY... worked him from 5 new different locators...

Time for IOTA contest... Janne OH1SDR and I went to Kustavi Island EU096, wich is about 50-60km from Turku... Setting up on Saturday morning all band antennas... Endfed halfwave verticals for each band... 10, 15, 20 and 40m. For 80m only a FD4 wire antenna that works from 6-80m. After all antenna work, BBQ time... Lunch and then straight into the contest.. Noticed 40m vertical was not working, had to solder antenna feedbox connector again. Also some trouble with two radios and QRM between them.. But managed.
Worked around 400qsos just for fun and didnt send log as rules had changed this year and both ops worked all stations on the bands...

August 2012

Was down to Kustavi early this month and installed FT897, 9el yagi and my small BNOS linear for 2meters... Perseids meteor shower is coming... Decided to give out OH10TA ( OH ten TA ) from KP00pn IOTA EU096 also on 2m MS... Worked about 35 qsos, missing all workdays at office and also most of Saturday and the peak on Sunday. Longest qsos were still over 2000km, so I am very pleased.

Screenshot from OK2PMS calling for me

Now back to planning QSL card for the call OH10TA... Special call, special card... Ofcourse designed and made by Emil @ Gold Print Service.

Sorry for not writting for a while... been too busy, or lazy...

Well, whats happened since last, planned the card for OH10TA call, frontside of the card and fbackside of the card

Many cards have already been witten and sent out, all direct cards are out and some burocards were sent later...

September 2012

Seems was too active early August and didnt work much in the end, Neither September except it was the otherway around, nothing first then last two weeks all radio...

Worked Martti OH2BH from Kosovo as Z60K on 20m... Work first worry later... Well atleast maybe a nice card from them. Got into 10m BPSK31 again... Some nice qsos to ZS6GRL, LU1DA, OX3WS, a new one for me ZP5TNT, BD7BW, BG4ACE, BA1PK, BG6CJR, CX8AF etc... also nice qsos on 20m, 4S7BRG, JAs, N9, K6, W4...

Mostly been active in BPSK31 now, some late night qsos and some remotely from the office, been a lazy worker...

October 2012

Worked Eero from Bermuda as OH2MQ/VP9 on 10meters... and a possible pirate, OD1USA/T6 op. Jim, not much info on him in the web...10m has been nicely open to different parts of the world, worked PY, ZC, YB, OD, 9M2, 4K, TT and many others...

Been also monitoring 12m for any openings and nice contacts. Had a nice pileup there the other day from stateside, some were a hard copy as I only got a vertical for 12m via tuner so not even a good antenna there. KP2, PZ, C6, C5, FG, HI, V4, Z6, WH0, JT...to mention some of the nice qsos made lately, some on SSB, others on BPSK31... Bands have been good.

Didnt have time to relax on the radio during CQ WW, so those points were not given out... Only a few qsos made to some friends out there trying to get records broken...

Also first snow came... Current antenna setup with a 5 & 4 el LFA yagi for 6m, 9el for 2m, 15el for 70cm, 4el for 10m... and all those verticals and dipols...

November 2012

Sorry to tell you that only 3 qsos made during the whole month... One on 2m SSB with DL5YEE during a tropo opening.. 2 others with LA1TV 6m JT6M (New # JO49tq) and OK2PMS on 6m ISCAT... Dont know what else I have been doing, maybe due my sleeping dissorder I haven´t been on the radio that much. Just continue waiting for the beginning of December and the Geminids meteorshower...

December 2012

Could the month start any better???? Wife told me its time to go to the hospital, XYL gave birth to my second little QRP princess.... Born on the 1st of December!

Gemininds shower... Planning to be active on 2m mostly. 1st and 2nd qsos looking promising, G4CDN on 6m JT6M, easy fast qso, done in a few minutes. GW8JLY Lyndon second on 2m, almost 1900km....Done.

Working all those who wishes to have a qso and trying to look for missing # for myself, getting a few new ones from G-Land...Seems those rocks are flying nice and plenty.
Few of those 2m FSK441 qsos...

DG3YEV, DJ6AG, SM1FMT, PD0HCV
RN3A, G4EZP, G4FUF, GM6VXB

G4SWX, PA3ARK, PH0HCV, GM0GTO
DF5NK , DC9YC, PA2CHR, DJ9MG
OM5CM, 9A5RJ, OE5KE, HB9SLU

YT3N, R4YM, OE3FVU, M0BKL
G0CUZ, IK1PAG, DF0BV, DG0FE
PA5MS, ON4PS, ON4KHG, G4DCV
ON5GS, GW8JLY

Big thanks to all guys who had patience when rocks were bad...

Also been building another LFA yagi, this one is for 2m... a 9element beam to replace my old 9elem Tonna. The LFA has long boom and also more gain... F/B is also good. And a low noise antenna, wich is good for MS and if I do some small EME watching now and then...

The 9el LFA is just about finished. Planning to make a comparision test with LFA vs Tonna, setting them both at the same hight and same direction to see what the difference is... Hope will be a good one. Will make a small video of the test.

Juha OH1LEG is now on Rodriguez island, 3B9... Heard him plenty, still watching cluster to get the first qso... Had to setup the 40m GP in the garden, also turned the 40m deltaloop to him... So seems just conditions are not all that good now...

Decided to setup the 3el for 15m as Juha has been quite active there... easy setup.... 3el 15m beam @ 10m AGL... HAH, made some results... Worked him when he popped up on 15m RTTY... Was a easy qso on XMAS eve... Toke the 5el 6m LFA and 10m beam down when setting the 15m beam up, so now just need to put the 4el 10m yagi back up before I miss Juha again there, tried to listen on my vertical but it was just noice.

Will keep an eye out for him on the cluster.

WP4AZT easy qso on 20m with also my friend OH1SDR on same freq... Then Juha from Rodrigues on 20m RTTY in the log.. Worked some qsos on 40m CW... some qsos to mention, Z6/SP5CJQ and W7CT... 40m PSK wörked EW7KF, CM2BK to mention a few... Z6/SP5CJQ Mikolaj also in log on 15m CW with SU9VB..

Juha 3B9/OH1LEG smsed me that he will soon be coming to 12m SSB, so took the qso on 12m SSB also... Wasn´t easy but worked. After Juha worked ET3AA also on 15m.

Time for new years celebrations... HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013 to you all and hope you get more DX next year!!!!!