For some time now ,the DL0HEU contest group had the inclination to plan a DXpedition. Ideally our destination should be within
reasonable travelling distance for us and must prove to be a popular selection
with as many takers as possible. The
choice fell on Liechtenstein HB0, as I knew of a
excellent location 2015 metres above sea level on the Sareiserjoch.
After quick consultation if this DXCC was in demand ,the
decision was finalized. HB0 is mainly sought after out-side off
Our antenna designer Eric had
a workable goup of 4 times 10 elements of yagis built in no time at all. With 16dB(D)
and corresponding QRO it should produce a reasonable signal to the moon .
Two weeks before the big day the antenna group in H-frame was tested,and found to be good. The
weight and ease of handling was also of great importance ,it
should be light and field operative for quick and easy assembly . The rig
comprised of my IC-7400, HA1YA (GS35b) PA and a MFG1302 PreAmp.
Stephans 600watt BEKO and his IC-746 would be used as
back-up.
Shortly before the date Eric,
DF9UX took ill and had to call off as the altitude of our QTH would not have
helped his condition. So Stephan and I met on Saturday morning at 5am and
drove with a fully packed Galaxy (my Ford) to
Once there
, we had the small matter of transporting all of our equipment from car
, to chairlift, from chairlift to the hut up in the mountain. 2 hours and 7
fully packed chairlifts later we had arrived. We were
very kindly allowed the use of the HB9QQ’s antenna mast and by 15.00 hrs we
were ready to attempt our first signal.
It was a big surprise when we
immediately received an answer from DL8GP after we had only some TX tries - he had been waiting
for us on the MakeMoreMilesonVHF announced frequency.
It was clear that our QSO had been quickly picked up in Cluster and
corresponding chats. The pile up had begun and we had only 1
and a half hours until the moon went down. So already on the first day we could complete 11 EME contacts.
We had the exceptional luck
that the weekends weather was ideal. So in the evening
we attempted to send via Tropo conditions. The
only entirely open direction from Sareiserjoch
is in the direction W- NW. The
After 19.30 in the evening we
were alone in the mountain hut. The hostess, who is incidentally an excellent
cook, left the QTH for home. In between operating on radio we had enough time
to enjoy the wonderful mountain scenery. It was breathtaking. Below us a sea of mist covering low lying valleys
while above we enjoyed the sunshine and surrounding peaks. Later the sun
was sinking in the west. These moments alone made everything worthwhile. We
captured some of the images on camera, and anyone interested can have a look at
a few photos my homepage.
On Sunday another early
rise at 3.30am as we wanted to serve VK/JA window. That is the part of the
world that was mostly requested for HB0. We managed 1 QSO with VK2KU and 3 QSO’s with JA. Unfortunately
lots of EU station called in between with the result that a few QSO’s with JA didn't work.
During a pile up it is often
easier to simply take the strong stations but we worked hard in trying to
fish out some of the quieter signals.
Now and again as with
every DXpetition, we were visited by the "funk- devil", and only after some time
realised that we were no longer signalling via the moon as the square pipe
had come loose in elevation rotation , and we were merely warming a
neighbouring mountain up with our highpower.
Also a
malfunction with our antenna plug from our PA cost us somewhat in
entrance sensibility. Despite everything, during Sunday we could log
50EME QSO’s and were very satisfied with the result.
Stephan, DK5TE was still
relatively fit in the evening and made some Meteorscatter
operating. MS
was only possible with at least 20 degrees
elevation, that coupled with poor shooting star activity ,meant
that not many QSO’s could be logged, however 12 hard
won stations and the ODX with UT6UG with his 1558 km distance was quite
impressive.
The last EME business
would take place on Monday morning as the moon
rose. Getting out of bed was NOT EASY, yes,
operating on DXpedition is a heavy workload, with
guaranteed sleep deprivation. 2 strong coffees later however, Stephan and
I was back in action. Firstly ON7EH used his impressive ground gain
with his 2M12 and called us with a fantastic signal -19 dB. There
after we could getUA9SL, UT2XQ, HA6NQ, PE1BTX and RX1AS logged.
Unfortunately all good things
come to an end, but with a total of 65 stations located via the moon, we were
very pleased.
After breakfast we dissembled
the antenna and carried all the station equipment to the chairlift ready for
transport. Monday afternoon, back home, Stephan and I agreed that it had
been a very special experience to sit on the end of the pile ups. So now
the only question is ....where to next time??? Of
course on again via EME and Meteorscatter on 144 MHz.
To finish off we would
especially like to thank MakeMoreMilesonVHF
for the supply off their DXBlog where during the DXpedition we could log our QSQ’s
via GPRS . Also a big thank you to DF8GH, Claus, club manager of local
section P29, who brought us N -T connectors at the last minute.
A big THANKS also to MicroHam company who supported us with the brand new “USB MicroKeyer
II” interface with his “low noise” build in soundcard.
(This text was translated from German into English by my Scottish friend
D B. !! Thank You !!)