Contest report OK2A - from IARU UHF/SHF Contest 2021 - sorry - bad automatic translation only: Report from the UHF Contest is unfortunately in CZ only - but here you have here at least bad automatic translation. Join the pictures, qso maps and results tables directly from CZ report. For possible interest: logs are here http://www.ok2kkw.com/log_cz.htm The story: http://www.ok2kkw.com/00003016/uhf021/uhfc21.htm OK2A - IARU UHF Contest 2021 - despite difficulties towards the goal Unfortunately, our external member Dirk ON5GS was unable to take part in the race this year. Let's hope it works out for him next time. Alongside our little things on the hill came DM3JAN and DH5FS plus our big help, Rasťo OM3BH. And since it's polite to give the guests the floor first, let's see what OM3BH wrote in our report: Hi, all our antennas pre 70cm I got an e-mail the same day before the race, or I wouldn't want to take part in a UHF race. At first I didn't want to travel to the west of Chiech, since I'd only flown in from CT3 a few days before. During this period, I'm always busy in my employment, so I didn't think much of the team. But on Monday I was reminded at work that piatok 1.10. we have a paid job (Energy Day), so I decided to travel. I didn't participate in the VHF race at the last time and the transfer from JO60 štvorc attracted me. The Ore Mountains have welcomed us with a nice, sunny weather. In the east direction dominates the mass of Klínovec, which made it known that the smerom on my homeland would not be a disco. Occupied me as they will win stations from OK2 and OM. We started the race with a one-liner from the cause of technical problems, which it is not possible to be all ripe. See OK1DIX. Spomeniem always in such situáciach to the poor camarat Joža OM3NA, who in such a case announced to him with typical humor: "all rise." Generally acclaimed : "on the poor and the son of a bitch will fall" :-)). OM3BH when building 3cm parabola But to the race. We started when the competition was getting really excited about us. For one system that was capable of transfers, stations came from the DL but also a few PAs. After an hour I fell asleep to the gear and wanted to advertise that we were going to drop some relays in the RX path. There was an increased noise at the time of arrival, and no stations were heard. I didn't know at the time that it was a wide-band noise. I have to admit, I haven't met that level of noise back home. After all, we're sort of hidden in the lowlands, and there's no hill for miles around, and so we're spared that kind of noise. After a while, Lad found out what the problem was, yet he knew the local conditions. But since we're not made of sugar, we moved on. The night after the next piece of equipment was installed, we started moving forward of the stations. I personally enjoyed the race. After all, for me, the "leftovers" were exotic stations that were not available to us at home under normal conditions. I've been an assistant on both the UK connections I can only dream about at home. Stations from the east (Om) have been weak, except for few exceptions, and we have made some connections in this direction 3 or 4 times. This seems to have been a natural obstacle A natural obstacle in the era of the state’s Klínovec. With all the technical problems involved, I think it's a good result. For me, it was a new experience and a pleasant weekend. Give me a thumbs up! After that, it's a night train ride home. The speedster was full, since it was just after the football derby, the Sparta. Every station was patrolled by the police and policed. I'm not interested in sports, which is why I was surprised by how many Sparta fans traveled home to Olomouc. OM3BH We hope that Rincewind will find his way to us next time! And what Lada wrote: I don't know what we've done to deserve Murphy's displeasure, but this year's UHF / SHF Contest has been marked by a continuous series of problems and failures. We've been careful. After several delays, we installed fixed cables on the bulkhead mast, which makes it much easier to build and dismantle antennas. An old PA with a GS23b was also prepared. Hungarian, a product of HA1YA, which should be called DoDo – Finish at Home). For me, it was a new experience and a pleasant weekend. Give me a thumbs up! After that, it's a night train ride home. The speedster was full, since it was just after the football derby, the Sparta. Every station was patrolled by the police and policed. I'm not interested in sports, which is why I was surprised by how many Sparta fans traveled home to Olomouc. OM3BH --------------------------------- We hope that Rasto will find his way to us next time! And what Lada DIX wrote: I don't know what we did to deserve such adversity from Murphy, but this year's UHF/SHF Contest has been marked by a consistent series of problems and malfunctions. We prepared carefully. After several delays, we installed solid cables on the truss mast, which makes it much easier to build and dismantle the antennas. An old-fashioned PA with GS23b (so-called "GS23b") was also prepared. Hungarian, a product of HA1YA, which should be called DoDo - finish at home) , in which we gradually replaced and redesigned about everything. This time we replaced the stripline with copper and redesigned the fastening as well as the tuning and binding. OK1VPZ then prepared a new transistor twin-driver to give it the necessary drive power. Friday night it was still an idylla On the hill, as always, we arrived with XYL Majka, OK1DYX already on Thursday afternoon and hit a keg of certified lager from the Mill brewery. We also managed to get something ready for construction. At night, Karl OK1FLY arrived first with a new reinforcement, our old friend Rasto, OM3BH and then they also came OK1VPZ with OK1TEH. Friday construction starts The weather was fine, OK1DAQ and, surprisingly, OK1JFR arrived on their BMW motorcycle, followed by OK1HWU, but soon there was a string of problems. The first was when the new coaxials for making antenna-to-fix coaxes failed to arrive in time. He didn't deliver them until the afternoon OK1KN straight from the post office. However, it took some time (TNX Karle) to connect them, so the antenna lifting remained until Saturday. In the meantime, at least we've built bands 23, 9 and 3cm on the bunker. There were more people this time, during Friday our German friends Fred also came, DH5FS and Janek DM3JAN, so the construction went off without a hitch We didn't know about the buried dog that would snap at us in the race. Friday night then went very well in the wake of fire, toasted goodies, valuable drinks and guitar. Jirka OK1HWU and Jarek OK1KN when building 23cm antenna It started in earnest on Saturday. Rasto and me climbed up the mast and began hauling up the material. After the first haul, the Chinese electric winch switch smoldered. Attempts to repair it only resulted in a waste of time. Manual hauling had to be used. Luckily, Ivan had, OK1DAQ still had its climbing gear with it, but it was all about learning more slowly. In the meantime, it was discovered that OK1TEH had forgotten the controller for the 23cm rotator in Prague, so he took the OK1VPZ halfway to Prague, where his other son Jan had brought the driver (TNX). But this backfired elsewhere, because there was no one to check and operate the 70cm device, as Matej was fully occupied at 23cm. The check started about 30 minutes before the race and showed that it was not correctly cabled in the new configuration. Three antennas weren't listening, and one PA wasn't keying the PTT. To do this, the mysterious interference of the S7 appeared on the 12x6 antenna, fading, fading and reappearing. Meanwhile, the race began, but white cloaks still moved around the rig*). OK1VPZ solved the interference in the form of the oscillating 7824 stabiliser after an hour-long examination and put the emergency variant one PA into the 12 x 6 antenna. I sat down at the rig and Rasťo at the second laptop with AirScout and chat ON4KST We have more than an hour of loss and limited configuration. Starting the race, the first QSO is at 15:06Z. Pile up stations from DL is decent, even stations from PA are coming. Nice weather apparently lured more people out. Conditions also seem to be quite good, but other directions are noticeably absent. We did not yet know about the difficulties in the 23cm workplace, because the network connection via PLC did not work either. I'm sure Matej will write more about this in his report. Saturday morning - building 70cm antennas Around 1615Z, there was a break of about 20 minutes again to allow Vláďa OK1VPZ to run 2 more directions. Then there was the repair of the non-keying PA, where a defective switching FET in the new double driver was detected. Why he left is a mystery. Unfortunately, the corresponding antenna relay remained in the RX position because of this, and the power from the other antennas must have executed one LNA in the meantime. This antenna did not listen until the end of the race. The only positive thing was that by the end of the day the PLC network was up and running and the 23cm connection was matched. That's where Jarek calls me, OK1KN from the 3cm workplace, there's trouble with the rotator. I run to a 400m bunker and indeed, the rotator refuses to set software stops and does not respond properly to buttons. Probably a bad contact inside or a fallen wire. Fortunately, I manage to put it into emergency mode where it can be operated, but the operator must be careful not to twist the cables. Fred DH5FS and OK1DIX at 70cm At 70cm we alternate at the rig with Rasto and Fred, while observing that the double PA 2x 700W gives approximately half the power in both branches, while furiously flashing alarms of imbalance. We have to pull off the wake-up call so the protections don't turn it off. But it wasn't all over. During the night there was a bang and the GS31b tube marched off in the oldest tube PA. It wasn't until midday on Sunday that Vova managed to put Fred's PA in his place, who, as he put it, had arrived to ward off Murphy. But he seemed more likely to summon it. :-) The race itself was not bad. Good participation in the DL and slightly above average conditions caused us to do 600 despite the problems with the rig and the time lost we made 600 QSO and 195000 points, which is the second best score in the club's history. Delighted by the unusual 5 YO stations, traditionally long QSO with YT5W and YU1LA, then long QSO to SM (our ODX SM6BFE, JO68DQ, 923 km), 20 I and 9 F stations (of which F1NZC from JN15MR was particularly successful, 891km). On top of that "standard" G3XDY, G8T and Maurice, F6DKW from Paris. It was also unusual that traffic did not stop completely at night. The only slightly weaker direction this time was S5 and part 9A. What the outcome might have been if all had worked as intended is anyone's guess. Even so, the result could have been better, but on top of all the technical problems, unfortunately, for most of the race we were bothered by the interference with the broadband noise from OK1KAD in the Keys. Despite previous warnings, they reused the TRX FT991A, which is known for its broadband noise, with PA 250W. There was no problem with the signal itself, but as soon as they germinated, the S5 to S8 noise sprang up all over the band as the antenna turned. After warning and routing, the situation improved somewhat, but very weak signals they still did not pass through the noise. On top of the "already traditional" interference from OK1OPT on the CW. Race over. We know the result at 70cm compared to the competition won't be glorious, but it turned out well for the misery, and in the end we withdrew the loss. We even have a few more QSO in the finale than OL3Z, but it's not good enough points. The positive effect was that this time more operators were available at 70cm, which allowed working most of the time in pairs and more use of chat and AirScout (TNX Rasťo, Fred and Janek). The composing went quite quickly, with our Crucible friends (OK1JJI and his friends) coming to see us again, who helped us. We're in no hurry. We're staying on the hill until Monday morning. Tonight we arrive together keg and assess the race. There's never been so much trouble. At least the weather was good. It's not rainy in the morning compared to the forecast, so we'll be fine driving home. With the hope that next time it can only get better, he enjoys the NSL OK1DIX. N.B. : *) saying "white coats" was brought to the club once by David, who said that if "scientists in white coats must be milling around the equipment at the race" there is a race in the freckles. ------------------------ As OK1TEH saw it: How was the UHF Contest at OK2KKW? Unlucky, first of all, because so many technical errors and other problems haven't happened for quite some time. Random in passwords: OK1TEH broke his thumb on his right foot on the Wednesday before the race, burned the gate through which we pull 70cm antennas, at 70cm went 3 out of five PA, at 23cm 10 after the start of the race there was a destruction of the half-inch to the highest antenna, poured Redbull into the 23cm Thinkpad keyboards and at 3cm for a change there was a near fatal failure of the control rotator.. All problems that didn't show up in the pre-race testing. Well, as they say, sometimes luck sits on an ox. But first things first: The October race is always the climax of the season for us at the club. This year the preparations for the race were very intense and revolved exclusively around the 70cm zone and the renovation of our hut. The main goal is not reached. All problems that didn't show up in the pre-race testing. Well, as they say, sometimes luck sits on an ox. But first things first: The October race is always the climax of the season for us at the club. This year the preparations for the race were very intense and revolved exclusively around the 70cm zone and the renovation of our hut. The main objective is not the building of the Towers of Babylon, but an attempt to simplify all the activities needed in the construction of antennas and equipment. Unlike other clubs, because of the green conservationists, we can leave almost nothing built on the hill, and 99% of all equipment has to be carried as mundane, to which everything has to be adapted.. The first step was to paint our single fixed standing mast, which we took care of and which took me a number of long hours in high winds and on which around 10 litres of paint fell. More and more work followed, we spent every weekend of September on the hill, and the process culminated, in fact, after the UHF Contest, with the installation of a brand-new roof. With this I would say thanks to Karel, OK1FLY, without whom it would not be possible, Láďa DIX and no small credit for providing the key material also belongs to Jirk, OK1FPG. Thanks guys! In the background, OK1VPZ worked intensively to build a new driver that would give 2x 80W with 1dB compression, radical redesign of the watch circuits of the twin SSPA, etc. The last work on HW was still going on 2 days before we left for the coma, so unfortunately we could not take advantage of the beautiful weather and the long weekend a week before the race on the hill. The first problem came on Wednesday night when a thick wooden slab fell on my bare foot from a height of one meter. There was a trip to the surgery, where I was informed after an X-ray pic that I had a 1cm-long hairline crack in the last piece of my thumb and if I had French clubs at home. That I would be dragging hundreds of kg of iron up two flights of stairs the next morning I preferred not to tell the doctor ;-) By Thursday I was on my last one, but eventually everything was loaded and we were able to ride the 260km journey to the Ore Mountains. On the Hill We arrived on the hill unusually late until about 22h on Thursday and so there was no time to wonder who was who and since the early hours of Friday morning we tried to build the maximum possible. The weather was good for us, the sun was shining and it wasn't raining, but it was pretty cold around 0C deg, and there was a lot of wind. Friday's work was very long for a number of reasons, although before the race I bought 6 pieces of the new Scotch 23 self-vulcanization tape from 3M, unfortunately I forgot to pack it and so there was suddenly a problem where to get one, since in the Ore Mountains only rubber bands in connectors do not trust hi. But there was a major problem with the new Ecoflex 15+ cables, which we wanted to use as new jumpers for stacks at 70cm and which ran 1 week late to my work until Friday morning, so it took a lot of time to get them (TNX OK1KN) up the hill and reconnect them. The result was that the antennas at 23cm and 3cm on Friday night were in place, but we didn't start building the antennas for 70cm until Saturday morning... On Saturday I had a wake-up call at 7:30am and by 10:00 I had all the HW for the 70cm in the hamshack plugged in and could go on to build the 23cm device. As soon as I got to the RV, I was stunned to find that I'd forgotten the remote for the North Rotator at home. Fortunately my brother relaxed despite a lot of loud swearing and brought the control at least halfway, so an hour before the start of the race the control was finally in order in hamshack, uff. The first control of 23 and 3cm looked hopeful, all transmitting and listening, so I could continue to engage. At 70cm in between, scientists in white coats were running around installing the necessary technology. The last 12x6el antenna was erected about 30min before the start of the race. Unfortunately, the problem with the oscillating stabiliser for the power switch was detected at the first cranking, which was reflected in the fact that the LED was on, but there was spontaneous interference at the LNA level, which appeared to be from the VN line. Added to this were problems with the PLC connection that connects 400m away workplaces. As a result, the traffic did not start until more than an hour after the start of the race, at a time when the competition was already ahead by over 100 QSO and 20,000 points. Into this came other malfunctions, so Saturday at 70cm was very bad.. What I had a chance to watch from my 400m out post, catching up with the competition was particularly successful on Sunday morning, so the final result at 70cm was unexpectedly good. Rasťo, OM3BH in particular was a big help to us. Not only did he replace me on the mast, building antennas I wouldn't climb with a broken thumb, but he helped, by an operator's large margin, an unexpectedly good result. Me, OK1TEH, in the workplace 23cm started the race 8 minutes late, did about 15 QSO and the other PA reports too high PSV. This disabled the smaller antenna at the beginning, which I have caught with my back to the larger 2.4m dish, which was rather unfortunate, since I had nothing to turn into OK when routing the large parabola to JO31. I prepared before the race even a third direction, which was only on a 2m-high pipe, so I could only turn it from north through west to south. Originally I wanted to put 100W into it as on Field Day, so now I've repositioned the horse and let in a full 300W from the no longer usable antenna and it was pretty obvious, but I haven't fully replaced the highest-placed antenna.. It's not much to have a 2m antenna at 2m above the ground in a cubicle where I'm surrounded on almost every side by taller trees. I would also point out that there was quite a bit of wind outside, so how else was it not possible to lower the antenna with the faulty cable for repair.. Otherwise, to remember, at the beginning of the race, OK1ADT also came to visit us at the bunker, who wondered at the sight of our listing that he expected us to transmit from the hill and yet we broadcast from the forest ;-) Then on Sunday we get points from his home about 300km away, TNX. Back to technical problems, however, we later identified a problem after returning home - a broken pin at the connector to which the 3m-long flexi jumpe connects signal super and so I'm still trying to throw a sked down to 70cm, where we also do Chris after a while, great! You know that there is good activity and so it is possible to make a number of connections even after midnight. At 1h and 40min local time I observe a very nice plane in the direction of YO and after agreement manages an unexpectedly smooth connection with YP2DX KN05 781km and points will also give me good old friend Dani, YO5LD, TNX. A little later we also do Dani at 70cm, where by the way in KN05 he uses LNA from OK1VPZ hi. DM3JAN took 3cm turn with OK1KN Sleep in a frozen caravan sitting up was not much, but thanks to the stronger connection through the 5kW trafo (tnx Jarda) we have more electricity and so I allow myself to brazenly let go of the 2kW direct heater and it is good again. I wake up in the morning before sunrise at 04:00UTC and I witness a beautiful spectacle of Sunrise, it's just a shame I left my camera on the hut. In the morning, activity were relatively low, however, nice connection with I4UJB is going well, OM3RRC, OM3CQF, IV3DXW and others. I have the greatest interference from 260 degrees from new radar, which unfortunately is also a direct aiming to JN18. Despite interference problems, however, the CW connection with F5HRY 780km is successful, F6HMQ 765km and an hour before the end of the race even with F6KRK 796km. Only F1AZJ/p was missing this time, to the complete joy of joining France, F1NZC, F5DQK and F1CXW. By then, my antenna is heading to England, where a G4ZTR 848km (it's a pity no one left the M1CRO) can be done via one of the airplanes baked. We have already tried this several times in past races and we have heard each other a few times, but the full connection was only this time. To make matters worse, old acquaintances PE1EWR 660km and ON4KBE 615km will also call me at the SSB. It also pleased QSO with Jirka, OK1RMR, 3Z3Z and after a hard-earned test I also logged Ivica, 9A2UV, QRB 691km. Normally we do it on the first call, this time it didn't work until about the 6th test. However, I did not hear Zlatko 9A2SB and Ivan YU1LA had a problem with RX, so I had to let my appetite go to Belgrade, which I was rather sorry about, because in September 23cm NAC Ivan came out with a new 67el yagi and had in Prague signal like a cannon. Maybe next time. By the way, I'd like to mention few connections to SP, I haven't done this much SP at 23cm in a long time and they were all stations from SP2 right through nearby 20m higher and 1km away Wagnerberg hill. I managed to do both SN2P JO93 and SP2HMR JO94, 11xSP is my new record, TNX for patience! I finish the race with a pleasant number of 224QSO and 78,238 points. After all, the forest-covered Burning Ground is not 200m higher Keystone or tree-free Forest, so on this page the end result is great. The OK or DL count this time was +- the same as in previous races, more pleasing as in the PD a nice 12xI. However, the final results this time include OL4A. The overall difference is very close and I am rather sorry that due to the cable fault I was unable to use my highest antenna and third PA, however it is only a sport and if I did a third consecutive year of golden hat-trick I would definitely earn a few more races from Mr Murphy for it at least several more races at least bad weather hi. Now a few more words on the 9cm band, if those few QSOs are even worth commenting on. All the pre-race preparation this time revolved around the 70cm band and so the next higher bands got a bit sharp, so there was no time to even finish the new 9cm device and even fix the FT847. Still, some nice connections have been made, I am especially happy about the easy QSO with DK1KC and OE5VRL at 250km. On the other hand, OK1KUO were a lot of teasers this time at 260km and did not answer my calls, so for example, sked with OE3A I did not even test.. If this nice band of commerce doesn't take away from us, then perhaps something can be done about this state of affairs in 2022.. Jarek has already commented on the 3cm band, OK1KN. I only sat at the facility late at night and early in the morning. I am very happy about the CW QSO with Vlad OM3CLS from OM3RRC at 415km and the Girogio IK3GHY over the plane also had a nice signal, on the contrary it went very hard with OK2TUH. For as long as I can remember, this is the umpteenth time in a row that he's been over good audibility on the 378km problem. It also doesn't help that Jirka TUH isn't QRV in the morning, when conditions always improve a little. Well, maybe next time it'll be a little better, we'll see. Incidentally, to remember, the 3cm upgrade of the NF tract FT847 took place just after Poldark day, which had a very positive effect on the necessary impedance of the headphones and thus the power of listening. I suspect that after years of this, perhaps the 23cm noise problem will be solved and it will bring us more QSO. What to write at the end? I suppose it would be possible to write something along the lines of comparing our little David's racing to Goliath's competition, which knows that it can build its Babylonian towers with unlimited PAs with impunity on all bands, knowing that the CR will never be punished for it. My friends sometimes ask me if we still enjoy it in this uneven environment. My answer to that is that no Tower of Babel grows into the sky and if sometimes in a good bunch of people "by fair means" can win over the 1080el "fullHD" antenna system competition, then we are pleased with such a victory. I just hope for myself that next time, all of our moves will be functioning without malfunction, because as VPZ says, for me, winning a race is the one where nothing gets potted. 73 and heard at the next race tawdry is enjoyed by Matej, OK1TEH ------------------------------- As Jarek OK1KN saw it: Hi, I've been asked to write something to the UHF contest as well, so just briefly... Earlier on Thursday I received a call from Matej that a delivery of a coaxial cable from SSB de had unexpectedly stalled, via tracking it was only possible to find out that it was located on the DHL terminal in Germany. I was therefore asked to arrange its delivery to the hill, fortunately the van turned up around noon on Friday in the centre of Prague, so I was able to set off with a delay in the direction of Spáleniště. Here the cables were eagerly awaited, and Karl proceeded immediately to provide them with the appropriate connectors. Also eagerly awaited was the cauldron of stew I had brought, which served a very late lunch. With a slight delay on Friday evening, the antennas were able to burn to 23 and 3 cm, which required a certain amount of man power, and there's no shortage of critical moments in the wind. We left the construction of 70 cm of antenna systems for Saturday and devoted ourselves finally to roasting specialties of chef Karl and other goodies from Majka. The construction of 70 cm antennas and the workplace will most definitely be reported in detail by other participants of the tour, I will briefly mention the course of the race on the 3 cm band, which I am devoted to with advancing age almost exclusively. The race itself, given the weather, which did not promise to cross any major fronts in the next 24 hours, was a so-called "tough", meaning trying to connect via weak tropo signals or airscatter QSO. The start was quite satisfying, DL1SUZ 360 km, DL3IAS 346 km, OE3A, OE3KEU 354 km, when suddenly the rotator began to behave quite erratically, spinning only to one side without the influence of control buttons and without set stops, so that after a while the control cables were dangerously wrapped around the mast. Unfortunately, the rotator control is handled purely by software, so the operator is in the position of stupid John. Fortunately, the summoned IT guru Lada OK1DIX managed to put the controls in a state where the rotator was spinning on both sides, somehow the indication also worked, only it was necessary to determine and remember the direction over which I must not rewind the antenna in view of the malfunctioning stops. Fortunately, more than an hour's stoppage did not significantly affect the overall result, given the above conditions of dissemination. Amazingly, this time there was nothing to do on the band without RS condx until late at night, so I lay down around 24 UTC, almost like a merry bunch at a bonfire. The morning was again under the sign of the hard-fought QSOs, with the exception of making all known stations with adequate equipment. It is worth noting the ODX connection with IK3GHY, which Giorgio and Matej have so rehearsed that it is a pleasure to behold. Just wait for Airbus and QSO have assembled in a few minutes. I made some of the connections in the sweat of my face several times. Overall this time 45 QSO is up by 10 less than a July, a total of 12.076 points is also not great, but it seems that no one will have more. In short, the conditions on the SHF weren't much across the EU, although the weather was relatively nice, with strong winds probably to blame for completely upsetting the air layers. The composing took place quickly and in relative peace this time, thanks to the help of the "Jares" boys, I went to Prague with Rasto OM3BH, who was rushing on the night train to Slovakia. Most stayed on the hill until Monday (it is not economical to bring back an unfinished barrel), which proved counterproductive in the final, thanks to the meaningless condition of sending the diaries to the European evaluation within 34 hours of the end of the race, moreover, on Monday 4.10.2021 there was at least an Internet blackout in Prague, so the daily Láda would not have had time to send anyway. Unfortunately, it is the 3 cm band, where there was a real chance of being well placed in the European standings, that will pay the most for this crazy regulation. In the end, only to thank all counter-stations for the connections made, which this time required considerable patience and I look forward to hearing in the next races! Jarek OK1KN ------------------------------------- Let us also express OK1VPZ, which in his opinion did not make the race this year... The calendar has swung to October, there is an astronomical autumn, we are healing the physical and psychological wounds from this year's climax of the contest season, and so it is time to take stock of our efforts in the IARU UHF Contest 2021. As I thought about how to begin my talk, I thought of a campaign joke by my fellow OK1RI, also the chairman, albeit of another radio-amateur association, about how it would "until the body is torn apart" defend the radio-amateur frequencies in the bands above 1GHz, and I understood that it was all just (unfortunately) a fairly faithful reflection of the "sincere" promises made by politicians that I have felt lately smell all around them, and which were reflected in the virtual "like-a-convention-non-convention" of the CR (did anyone see the published result of the election of the President? Was their convention even quorate or is it already a self-perpetuating society?Accessories In fact, officials seem to be "just" concerned with strength, power, arrogance, and strengthening the "leadership of the party" that allows selected officials to race with unlimited power limits with impunity (because where there is no plaintiff, there is no judge), and if those XY directions are not enough, then the next time will be heading fourteenth, fifteenth, or twenty as needed.. However, if the competition now seems to have won by only a few % points, we have no choice but to congratulate it on the one hand, of course, which I am doing, but at the same time to ask ourselves why we should not pay them back. And what's wrong with not doing it in this race? OK1VPZ and OK1KN after the race when dismantling the low, spare 23cm antenna Well, at least it seems as if the point difference isn't staggering, and something went wrong with their (probably planned) hat-trick over "ZNK" (or our "damn non-military Club").. Surely this time - for the reasons set out below - we were not within reach of victory over OL4A at 70cm. We don't have as many permanently constructed antennas, masts, redundant devices, and we only have one connection (and that's 3x16A)... Above all - unlike those who stupidly consider themselves the bearers of the "leadership" with some "will" to represent all OK radio amateurs (although this is nonsense from a legal point of view), we just follow the rules of IARU and CTU regulator - i.e. legal performance limits. Are we weaklings when we still don't regard breaking legal limits as "boyhood", unlike other bores? On that occasion, I remember OK1RI once expressing its astonishment as to why we still came here (to JO60JJ) to broadcast even though (usually at the time) we did not win, for his contesting is said to amuse only when he wins - and as David OK1RK replied at the time, that we are not going to the race for some piece of coloured cardboard from the CRC, but because we enjoy it... Whenever one is on the threshold of such a new situation, one should think carefully about which direction to take, because belated digging of dead ends is not very effective. Fortunately, the Czech verb tradition still gives the decision-maker plenty of quality and time-tested lessons. The first thing I thought of was: "happines goes around in circles, sometimes sits on an ox", but I know others: "first win out of pocket" and "no tree grows into heaven," or "who wants to be with wolves must howl with them." But also that "luck favors the prepared." And we ourselves were not buried this time. Then, of course, there is still the last thing: "screw it and come to the pub." In the meantime, we are still leaning towards the Masaryk "Don't Be Afraid and Don't Steal", respectively. "do not be afraid and not to cheat," for this is what it means to try to achieve victory within the legal rules, which drives the svazarms to utter madness, anger and bloodshot eyes :-) and we are worth satisfying just the idea that they can't let anyone independent to measure the performance on the lower VHF bands :-))) Anyway, as the classic says: "Radio-amateur contesting only brings joy if you piss someone off with the result.."If it happens again next time, we'll be satisfied. :-) But enough philosophizing and let's get back to the race. I've written here several times that I don't give a shit about the CR scoreboard, because for me, as a technician, the victory is if nothing goes wrong with the equipment I was doing and the race goes ahead in technical ease and quiet. Unfortunately, that was not the case this year, and I was sorry to hear that. M.j. because the technical problems (except maybe the interference from the KADs) were no one's fault but my own, and that's twice as bad. It's something to think about again! The well-known saying "if something can go wrong, it will go wrong" is actually a complementary trip to the Czech one about happiness that goes around in circles.. Unfortunately, our luck was rather evasive in this race (beyond great weather). At 23cm, we not only started late, but our computer network didn't work right away, and that didn't even match the 70cm sked. To make matters worse, there were problems with the rotator's 3cm controller, forcing OK1TEH to abandon the 23cm saddle and devote an hour to the rotator problem. Let's face it: we underestimated the testing of the system before the race (or, I'll admit, completely neglected it in my swagger) and luck missed the shot this time.. But Matej will certainly write something in more detail on the subject. After only a few minutes of the race he also lost (due to the high SWR) one antenna (it later turned out that the inside of the connector was cracked)... When we lowered the antenna after the race, the total reflection changed back to a perfect SWR... there have been problems with HW this year So, however rough it was at 23 and 3cm at the start of the race, at 70cm the situation was completely trite. This was mainly due to the time slippage - first, on Friday, the control of the antenna puller on the mast was burned by flame and everything had to be done manually, which delayed the installation, then it was discovered that the rotator control at 23cm was missed and I had to go to Prague on Saturday at noon for it... so the last 70cm antenna was built only at the beginning of the race. I hastily tried everything and found that one PA did not germinate (OK1TEH did not know that the 88/11% power divider on the output of the alarm loop does not release 11% DC voltage on the output connector, which is used as a PTT signal), which required about half an hour's correction, further we found that the three antennas with the antenna relay and the LNA at the top of the antenna are not listening at all... With all the testing, I couldn't find the mysterious flaw for an hour.. In the end, I discovered that it was a strangely oscillating 7824 stabilizer, which, although it had 1 µF capacitors on both the inlet and outlet, probably oscillated with the chokes installed in the switches for the transmission of DC +24V RX for the switching of the antenna relay and the power supply of the LNA. So far, this has not happened in another plant (with the same equipment). Of course, the oscillation stopped after any configuration change, so that subsequently (already after a slight warm-up of the stabilizer) it returned with undiminished levels... It was only about an hour after the start of the race that I got the first PA and 12x6el antenna working. OK1DIX took the oar and started wkd a DLs. Then I changed 7824 and after about another half hour, two more antennas and a PA became operational. In doing so, I returned to the question of why the PTT had not been keyed in the new alarm clock and verified that it was a defective (new) FET BS170. In an emergency, I put what I found in the hut = old KF508 by Tesla. But: the fact that the PTT at the alarm didn't key meant that the LNA to our lowest antenna was exposed to a mishearing from another antenna into which power had already gone and would have caused the dart at SAV541+ to rip off if not for another, this time a manipulation fault with the antenna relay in the aged PA from HA1YA, leaving this antenna even race deaf. Now that I'm going over all the problems, it reminds me of a plane crash investigation - in most cases, it was a concatenation of a few mishaps. The result was that in practice we lost approximately 20% of our antennas compared to the plan. And since we didn't have 1,000 elements on the whole, it had to manifest somewhere, hi. I set the last PA to nominal performance only after I found the right cables from it to the appropriate cables to the corresponding antennas (did not fit the markings) and only then could I start to focus on ethernet after PLC. This device, too, had been able to work reliably on our complicated electrical installation (and we had gained a whole new, valuable experience in the process), but by then it was almost evening. So I finally had lunch and had my first Saturday beer.. part of our technology when we get home At night, though, there was a third bad-luck event: my 32-year-old and still long-term reliable PA with GS31b had once again slapped and stunk and stopped working after the summers - the tube, perhaps, because the HV would start up and the other circuits would be working, but the bottle no longer had a resting current and thus no power. It wasn't until Sunday before noon that I managed to implant 600W Italab into the line-up instead, which Fred brought as backup, but it took quite a while, because PA wanted PTT against the ground and had "circumventing relays" inside, and I no longer had any suitable cords and connectors - plus, because his Italab doesn't have our sequencer, so I had to first take precautions against the destruction of the remaining LNAs. I used the circuits of the old PA, so the RX, the sequencer and the LNA, and switching relays to the mast provided the "faulty" PA, and the lent Italab only amplified in the TX way. Whew.. And to make matters worse, in a "double" 70cm PA with TV transistor modules, three of them "quietly died" during the race, stopped giving power and stopped running the collector current. As a result, the PA gave only a weak 2x300 (while, of course, the imbalance alarm flickered furiously on the panel) and not the promised 2x700W... But the boys, even with this torso of equipment, finished the race heroically, though it was certainly no fun... And you probably won't be surprised that me, too, was quite psyched after the race, though I didn't bubble into the microphone for a minute. So down the hill this time I took home work for long winter evenings... but I'll probably disappoint the rivals - I'm not going to resign. So, if Lady Fortune reads this mewling somewhere, next time I'd like her nicely ask that the one the lady sometimes sits on be, if possible, us again for a while... Finally, I salute all radio amateurs and look forward to hearing again sometime - and not just 70cm! 73 Vláďa OK1VPZ PS: yeah, and thank you very, very much to Karl OK1FLY for his support in the production of various mechanical parts of antennas and endless patience in the assembly of cables and connectors, which cost him several otherwise free weekends. And that was when he was going to the hospital. thanks PPS: further note... stating numbers of "999 Yagi elements"-style antennas is contrary to IARU rules for VHF/UHF Contests. It can be seen in VHF Managers Handbook 9.01 on the conditions of IARU VHF races, which reads: "Antenna (SAnte); it shall be clearly identifiable how many antenna systems were in use" - see page 81. --------------------------------- OK1FLY added: Karel is demonstrating what our entire grounding has been like so far.. Friendly club wrestling through the practical application of Maxwell and Lorentz equations is no longer the issue that begins on Saturday morning by spraining the cask and unleashing gastronomic props. And the weekend radio picnic doesn't end on Sunday evening with a quick load of fiddles, so often quaint radio communication self-contained semi-finished products, and field kitchen props in the trunks of family limousines. Trabant, Zhiguli, Dacia, Jugo and similar plus by bringing the battlefield at least approximately back to its original state. Today, sophisticated, complicated turbosets are in use, the complexity of which already causes considerable technical complications. Everyone who has encountered a discipline called "reliability theory," which has the number of elements of a technological chain as a multiplier of the likely origin of a disorder, knows. The resulting grievances were described by others, I would just add a quote of the classic when the nickname PA "Hungarian" was mentioned: "every Hungarian is responsible for being Hungarian!". Let alone the one with the somewhat concealed switch on the back. If it is not possible to leave the forest of antennas and bundles of thick cables installed freely at least through the season, there is no oyher choice but to start installing them at least a day earlier by a large team in good physical condition. By the end of the race, the opposite process and defragmentation comes to a lot of junk, which already takes up several trailers, station wagons, vans, and lasts long after dark. If it is necessary to be at the workbench on Monday in the job, the decimated participants fall unconscious to rest for up to a few hours in the morning. And on top of that, we're not getting any younger, the strength is waning, unfortunately. For a long time in the discussions, the realisation of some permanent installed preparations has matured in order to reduce that immediate work as far as possible. As it happens, after several years of preparation, it happened the last three weekends before the race. I participated in all of them, even managed to talk the two sons twice as a "massive power source" (thanks, boys). As a former telecommunications infrastructure technician, I am attempting to breathe the result, to the extent possible, into some semblance of a kind of staff culture and elementary lightning safety in my ground-level acchino. Climbing the masts I already save for when it comes to life. I didn't leave until the evening with Rastyom OM3BH, for whom I was waiting for him to arrive with a steel steed from a recent foreign country. We arrived at the scene shortly before midnight and in front of the family machine VPZ+TEH, barrel sprained, what more could you ask for! The kooky introduction aims to prepare the backdrop for my test story. The grounding of the detached µW workplace on the bunker had some connection to the historical outlet of the grounding, but only a bundle of 4xCY1.5 (black) "to keep it down", moreover, the method of implementation has long irritated my retina of a former inspector. I brought two earthing rods and about 12m FeZnO8mm to attach to the still used earthing, strengthen with shangles and zoom in so that the newly attached CYA25 ropes and more from my stock, expensive like coaxials, prescribed and functional even for lightning protection, would be as short as possible. I did it anyway, grounding the lower ends of the coaxials from the mast in the broadcast room of the house. When I wanted to connect the new FeZn8 wire to the long-term and bona fide use of the original "grounding point", I used one of the new bars first as a crowbar to need to shape the protruding part above the ground. I lever .... and behold, The earth moves, opens,.... and from the depths rises a massive earth system in all its majesty! Cca 1,5m twisted wire FeZn8!!!. Well say, folks, which one of you has it, right! Thank God I got the tension original state "slightly strengthened"! By now the comrades of lightning and electrons will have at least a hint of a direction into the dirt! I also secretly hope to reduce the occasional problems with PLC modems used for power-connection data, possibly the chaotic function of alarms on PA. Here I must express my strong thanks to the traditional assembly strike crew, To Jarda and his friends, who had done well in not-so-easy earthworks. I wouldn't give it any more today. The importance of covering the new-fangled zinc next to the ruins of the bunker in front of the non-leavers gained momentum on arrival when we noticed the disappearance of a piece of protective plywood from the anchor bolts for the heel of one mast. I dare not even think about the impulses leading to the disappearance of a piece of stale plywood. The originally intended measurement of ground resistance did not take place, as upon examination of my aged PU430 dwelt in a glovebox for two flat 4.5V flashlights just a kind of greenish filler....... I haven't had it in my hand for, like, 10 years and I forgot, there was no time to make amends before I left for the hill. But I've already resuscitated her, and we'll see her next time. The hill is basaltic, full of rocks, but perhaps not completely dried, miracles I do not expect. In the words of a classic: "At least I tried." The patient reader must suspect that, after the events described, I had little desire for an otherwise usual night's radio shift. However, the efficient operators were plentiful, so I was given to enjoy the comfort of luxury weather and chatting as well as the stiff and liquid consumption at the community fire pit, over-supplied with fuel cuttings during the building activities preceding the weekends. The barrel still making delicious mocha on Sunday evening, but he made a cruel joke with me. Just when I got saliva and commented on the exceptional nature of the condition, since as a rule after Sunday lunch was "By the Dryland", I back up the jar, pull in the piste, run out about two decis and "BUM", the air goes up!!! Beer God punished me for blasphemy, twice. In the long run, I long to sample the products of the adjacent Rice Brewery. But the time of my trip around never went to the usual restaurant hours, or I was in too much of a hurry or forgot. This time I arrived around lunchtime, there was a chance. But Monday, and in the off-season, they open only bye-bye. damn ! The thought that I still don't know the taste of the brewery's products, close to which I drive repeatedly and operate on weekends, is starting to generate frustration.... See you next time Karel OK1FLY