IARU HF CONTEST 2023

YO8RXP @ YR0K

SOAB CW HP

Actually, 3 bands category would be more accurate

Tech Info : 99% RUN mode and little S&P

  • TCVR Icom IC- 7300
  • QRO Home made / GU43B with 80 degrees Celsius exhaust temperature
  • Vertical antenna: λ/4 for 40 meters a.k.a. 3λ/4 for 15 meters band with 18 x 11 ml radials
  • Vertical antenna λ/4 with 3 sloped radials for 20 metrs @ 9 meters up
  • External Wolfwave DSP
  • New Samson SR850 headphones

YR0K Max Rates:

  • 2023-07-09 0621Z – 5.0 per minute (1 minute), 300 per hour
  • 2023-07-09 0623Z – 3.0 per minute (10 minutes), 180 per hour
  • 2023-07-08 1513Z – 2.0 per minute (60 minutes), 121 per hour
32% worked in 40 metrs band
32% worked in 40 metrs band
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Vertical wire antenna using 18 radials made from cheap speaker wires. The performance cannot compare with 2 elements delta loop but it is omni and fast to build.
46% worked in 20 meters band
46% worked in 20 meters band
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Vertical wire antenna using 3 sloped radials made from thick copper wires and aluminium tubbing . The performance cannot compare with 3 elements flip inverted Vee but it is omni and fast to build
22% worked in 21 meters band
22% worked in 21 meters band
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Same λ/4 vertical used for 40 meters, but for 15 meters is acting like 3λ/4 so it gets same 50 ohms but about 5dBi gain @ 45 degrees take off angle.

IARU 2023 CATS EVENT

Wow, I had the pleasure of spending time with the my amazing mother cat! She knew something was not right and moved her precious little babies to safety after giving birth, probably did sense some danger somewhere in the premise. Luckily, she brought them back home just in time during IARU contest for me to capture some beautiful photos of her three cute kittens. Although the other two are a bit shy and it was hard to get a good shot, I promise to post quality pictures soon. One is tiger-striped and the other is a gorgeous reddish color. Stay tuned for more adorable kitten pics!

Box of Shame

  • High performance cannot be achieved using simple vertical antennas.
  • Radio shack still under construction, changing antenna and tuning was done by going out and manually switch everything.
  • Lots of smoking breaks, also backpain forced me to stop often, despite good quality chair. 
  • Could’ve been better ? Yes indeed
  • Am I getting younger ? No

Contest ended, so let’s pack things, clean the mess and lock down the country house! 60 Km trip back to city, get a beer and call the day off, is 19:00 local time and tomorow begins a new work week.

I extend my sincere appreciation to all the participants for their efforts and contribution towards making this a memorable event.

Respectfully, Gabriel YO8RXP