Stations worked here during the weekend on 136kHz using normal speed CW:
Friday 26/11
Antenna down, nothing worked.
Saturday 27/11
OK1FIG (08.05UT: gave him 559, he gave me 549), GI3PDN (09.57: 57/89,
57/89)
G3OLB (15.36: 57/89, 589), DJ5DI (16.03: 559, 559), GW4ALG (17.12: 589,
589), SM6PXJ (18.46: 579, 549).
Sunday 28/11
G3YMC (08.19: 569, 599QSB), G8PX (09.56: 569, 589).
Non-UK stations heard but not worked:
OH1TN (579), OH3LYG (559), DK8KW (569), DL3FDO (569), DK9DX (569), PA0AWN
(569), HB9ASB (579), IK5ZPV (559).
During the strong winds on Friday I dropped the far end of the antenna from
the usual poplar tree and tied it to an apple tree - in order to protect
both
the wire and halyard. This proved most frustrating during the evening, when
I sat listening to OK1FIG working SM6PXJ, OH1TN and OH3LYG, but it was too
dark to re-rig the antenna and call Petr. Consequently, I got up early on
Saturday morning and had it back up to normal height by 07.55UT. As I was
retuning it, OK1FIG appeared, as if by magic, on 137.100kHz calling CQ.
Unfortunately antenna current was down and it took several minutes more to
complete the work - by the time I called Petr, he seemed to have gone. I
waited a short time, then called CQ myself and was immensely pleased to find
Petr calling me as I went over. His signal was very good, absolutely solid
copy, but there was some QSB on the path and it took an (awful!) long time
for him to copy his report at first. Eventually conditions improved and Petr
upgraded my report to 549 as we completed the QSO - his first G using normal
speed CW, and my 17th country 2-way on 136. Thanks Petr.
Conditions remained good all day with pleasantly low static levels and many
stations took advantage of this. Tom, G3OLB, is now putting out a good
signal from his new QTH in Devon, and Christer, SM6PXJ, has added an S-point
to his signal with a new PA. Petr was again a good signal during the evening
peaking RST-569 during a QSO with PA0AWN.
I woke up on Sunday morning to find the wind had returned overnight and had
stretched my antenna, which was sagging noticibly and blowing about in the
still strong gusts. I retuned it to resonance, but decided against taking up
the slack in case it broke in the wind. Just after 08.00UT both OK1FIG (569)
and HB9ASB (579) called CQ with very good signals. As no-one else seemed
about, I gave both a short call, but the antenna match was going haywire as
it ducked and dived, so not surprisingly neither heard me. A contact with
Dave G3YMC confirmed my signal was varying noticibly. An hour later, both
Petr's and Toni's signal had dropped by at least an S-point here as
conditions changed. As the wind continued throughout the day I did very
little transmitting; my signal was obviously under par and it seemed
pointless risking another pair of Mosfets.......
Regards John G4GVC near Leicester, IO92JP
** TX: Synth + 400W RF from modified 'G3YXM' Mosfet PA **
** RX: TS-850S with 3 x CW filters and 0.5ppm TCXO **
** Ant: Inv-L 60m long, 6m high at feed end, 12m high at far end **
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