Welcome to 14DA161 Dorota
July 17, 2009 by Darren
The Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) is proud to introduce to you 14DA161 Dorota whom is the Club’s most recent darling of the airways in Europe. One of the most well thought-of and active YL radio operators in the Freeband DX Community, Dorota’s resume as a DXpeditioner on any stage is equally remarkable with a substantial number of stirring IOTA, MILL, DXCC, LOTA and SES activities in the past 5 year to her name.
Some of the most distinguished of these activities occurred in Andorra (51 Division), Gibraltar (55 Division) and Hoedic Island (DIFM AT-017) (EU-048) respectively.
A former member of the Fox Radio club and a current member of the Free DXers group respectively, 14DA161 Dorota’s location is Toulouse City (JN03RN) in South Western France which is the capital of the Midi-Pyrénées region, the largest region in metropolitan France and the capital of the Haute-Garonne department too. Toulouse City is also situated on the banks of the River Garonne, 730 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
In addition to being the home QTH for Dorota and husband 14DA058 John, Toulouse City is also the home base of the European aerospace industry, with the headquarters of Airbus, Galileo positioning system, the SPOT satellite system, and CNES’s Toulouse Space Centre (CST), the largest space centre in Europe.
When DXing in the field, Dorota uses an Icom IC-7000 transceiver, a G4-ZU antenna (spider beam 11 home made) or a ½ wave vertical antenna on a 10 metre high mast, with an electrical generator as her power source.
One of 14DA161 Dorota’s main aims upon securing DA-RC membership is to form a committed DXpedition Team to undertake dx adventure to some of Europe’s most wanted DX entities. “I’m very keen on field radio activities,” says DA-RC’s newest affiliate from 14 Division. “And with John, I am planning a few new activities soon as SOTA…”
Away from the demands of the hobby, Dorota enjoys long trips in the car and the adrenalin rush of mountain hiking. Like many YL’s, she also loves hunting for inexpensive or second-hand goods such as antiques, clothes, furniture, music, used household goods and food at open aired flea markets and is always on the lookout for a bargain!
As well as being guaranteed to be one of her new Club’s most popular members, 14DA161 Dorota is sure to feature prominently in the logs of participants in DA-RC’s 2009 YL Contest later this year.
On behalf of everyone associated with DA-RC welcome to the Club Dorota. We look forward to working your and John’s next major DX activity — whenever and wherever that may be on the globe — and trust that you will be valuable source of breathtaking DX tales in the future!
23DA/NA-097 Jamaica Island, Log, Part 3
July 11, 2009 by Darren
| PROG TX | DATE | GMT | CALLSIGN | NAME | FREQ | MODE | RST |
| 201 | 3/06/09 | 23:00 | 14KW605 | CHRIS | 27.580 | USB | 5/7 |
| 202 | 4/06/09 | 19:59 | 14SD049 | SANDRINO | 27.510 | USB | 3/3 |
| 203 | 4/06/09 | 20:04 | 14AT154 | CYRIL | 27.510 | USB | 3/2 |
| 204 | 4/06/09 | 20:22 | 14AT047 | YOANN | 27.630 | USB | 3/2 |
| 205 | 4/06/09 | 20:24 | 14KW010 | DAN | 27.630 | USB | 3/2 |
| 206 | 4/06/09 | 21:13 | 14DA101 | CHRISTIAN | 27.580 | USB | 5/3 |
| 207 | 4/06/09 | 21:18 | 14FR057 | GILLES | 27.580 | USB | 5/3 |
| 208 | 4/06/09 | 21:23 | 14RI107 | YANNICK | 27.580 | USB | 3/2 |
| 209 | 4/06/09 | 21:25 | 14DI079 | — | 27.580 | USB | 3/3 |
| 210 | 4/06/09 | 21:26 | 14DA911 | ERIC | 27.580 | USB | 3/2 |
| 211 | 4/06/09 | 21:24 | 14FR310 | JAMES | 27.580 | USB | 2/2 |
| 212 | 4/06/09 | 21:28 | 14ET015 | DAVID | 27.580 | USB | 5/3 |
| 213 | 4/06/09 | 21:30 | 14AT471 | DANIEL | 27.580 | USB | 3/3 |
| 214 | 4/06/09 | 21:33 | 35SD079 | PETER | 27.580 | USB | 4/3 |
| 215 | 4/06/09 | 21:42 | 35SD127 | THOMAS | 27.580 | USB | 2/1 |
| 216 | 4/06/09 | 21:44 | 1AT259 | VINCENZO | 27.580 | USB | 2/1 |
| 217 | 4/06/09 | 21:55 | 30AN236 | JAVIER | 27.570 | USB | 5/7 |
| 218 | 4/06/09 | 22:00 | 19AT515 | RON | 27.570 | USB | 5/3 |
| 219 | 4/06/09 | 22:01 | 19SD245 | MICHAEL | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 220 | 4/06/09 | 22:04 | 26XX020 | RICHARD | 27.570 | USB | 4/5 |
| 221 | 4/06/09 | 22:07 | 26AT114 | PAUL | 27.570 | USB | 4/3 |
| 222 | 4/06/09 | 22:08 | 26SD103 | ERIC | 27.570 | USB | 4/2 |
| 223 | 4/06/09 | 22:10 | 26FB117 | GEOFF | 27.570 | USB | 3/2 |
| 224 | 4/06/09 | 22:11 | 26SD379 | PADDY | 27.570 | USB | 5/2 |
| 225 | 4/06/09 | 22:13 | 29SD134 | ALAN | 27.570 | USB | 3/1 |
| 226 | 4/06/09 | 22:14 | 26SD215 | RICH | 27.570 | USB | 4/2 |
| 227 | 4/06/09 | 22:15 | 29AC67 | NOEL | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 228 | 4/06/09 | 22:17 | 26DX047 | DARRAN | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 229 | 4/06/09 | 22:18 | 1OP177 | GIANNI | 27.570 | USB | 5/9 |
| 230 | 4/06/09 | 22:19 | 14KW148 | BRUNO | 27.570 | USB | 5/7 |
| 231 | 4/06/09 | 22:20 | 13PE7 | OLIVER | 27.570 | USB | 4/3 |
| 232 | 4/06/09 | 22:23 | 13MM2 | — | 27.570 | USB | 4/3 |
| 233 | 4/06/09 | 22:24 | 1SD047 | FRAMCESCO | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 234 | 4/06/09 | 22:26 | 1RWE595 | ANDREA | 27.570 | USB | 4/2 |
| 235 | 4/06/09 | 22:27 | 26AT030 | MIKE | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 236 | 4/06/09 | 22:38 | 31BC013 | RUI | 27.570 | USB | 5/3 |
| 237 | 4/06/09 | 22:29 | 1NY04 | — | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 238 | 4/06/09 | 22:30 | 13IR117 | RUDI | 27.570 | USB | 3/2 |
| 239 | 4/06/09 | 22:31 | 26SD412 | MARTIN | 27.570 | USB | 5/7 |
| 240 | 4/06/09 | 22:32 | 14FR062 | JEAN CLAUDE | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 241 | 4/06/09 | 22:32 | 26FR026 | RUSSELL | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 242 | 4/06/09 | 22:33 | 1RA023 | CLAUDIO | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 243 | 4/06/09 | 23:34 | 14SD196 | LUDOVIC | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 244 | 4/06/09 | 22:35 | 16ZK001 | LAURENT | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 245 | 4/06/09 | 22:37 | 19AM193 | — | 27.570 | USB | 2/1 |
| 246 | 4/06/09 | 22:38 | 1AT1888 | ANDREA | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 247 | 4/06/09 | 22:39 | 45OK010 | NEMANJA | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 248 | 4/06/09 | 22:40 | 14IF304 | — | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 249 | 4/06/09 | 22:43 | 14RI308 | FRANCK | 27.570 | USB | 3/2 |
| 250 | 4/06/09 | 22:45 | 26FB204 | SIMON | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 251 | 4/06/09 | 22:46 | 163SD151 | SIMON | 27.570 | USB | 3/5 |
| 252 | 4/06/09 | 22:48 | 68TLOO1 | ROGER | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 253 | 4/06/09 | 22:55 | 30DA239 | FERNANDO | 27.570 | USB | 5/3 |
| 254 | 4/06/09 | 22:56 | 163SD136 | STEVE | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 255 | 4/06/09 | 22:56 | 163SD200 | PETER | 27.570 | USB | 3/3 |
| 256 | 4/06/09 | 22:57 | 29EC47 | BRANDON | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 257 | 4/06/09 | 22:58 | 29CT07 | DAVID | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 258 | 4/06/09 | 22:59 | 26AT179 | ANT | 27.570 | USB | 3/2 |
| 259 | 4/06/09 | 23:01 | 1SG` | ANTONIO | 27.570 | USB | 2/2 |
| 260 | 4/06/09 | 23:05 | 26PAUL | PAUL | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 261 | 4/06/09 | 23:07 | 26ST057 | PAUL | 27.570 | USB | 3/5 |
| 262 | 4/06/09 | 23:09 | 29DOM840 | DAVID | 27.570 | USB | 5/7 |
| 263 | 4/06/09 | 23:14 | 1AT979 | ANGELO | 27.570 | USB | 5/5 |
| 264 | 4/06/09 | 23:16 | 29JB13 | JOHN | 27.570 | USB | 5/3 |
| 265 | 5/06/09 | 20:30 | 143KP843 | RAPHAEL | 27.640 | USB | 3/5 |
| 265X2 | 8/06/09 | 01:05 | 10FAT116 | ISRAEL | 27.540 | USB | 3/5 |
| 266 | 11/06/09 | 21:45 | 328MIC001 | ROCKY | 27.580 | USB | 3/1 |
| 267 | 11/06/09 | 21:54 | 328MIC006 | FRANK | 27.520 | USB | 3/2 |
| 268 | 11/06/09 | 22:13 | 328SD105 | SINISA | 27.520 | USB | 3/2 |
| 269 | 11/06/09 | 22:17 | 14ZK308 | MARCO | 27.520 | USB | 5/5 |
| 270 | 11/06/09 | 22:18 | 14AT303 | NICOLA | 27.520 | USB | 5/7 |
| 271 | 11/06/09 | 22:29 | 19AM505 | — | 27.520 | USB | 2/1 |
| 272 | 11/06/09 | 22:30 | 14GT004 | JACK | 27.520 | USB | 2/2 |
| 273 | 11/06/09 | 22:32 | 19SD401 | HANS | 27.520 | USB | 2/2 |
| 274 | 11/06/09 | 22:26 | 13IR779 | BILLY | 27.520 | USB | 2/2 |
| 275 | 11/06/09 | 22:34 | 14LAY011 | MARC | 27.520 | USB | 5/5 |
| 276 | 11/06/09 | 22:35 | 14RI029 | ROMEO | 27.520 | USB | 3/2 |
| 277 | 11/06/09 | 22:36 | 16AT186 | MARNIX | 27.520 | USB | 5/5 |
| 278 | 11/06/09 | 22:44 | 14TC001 | PATRICK | 27.520 | USB | 3/2 |
| 279 | 11/06/09 | 22:45 | 1SD019 | ALEX | 27.520 | USB | 2/2 |
| 280 | 11/06/09 | 22:47 | 13SD002 | DIETER | 27.520 | USB | 3/2 |
| 281 | 11/06/09 | 22:51 | 328LD010 | TOM | 27.520 | USB | 2/1 |
| 282 | 11/06/09 | 22:53 | 19AC155 | JACK | 27.520 | USB | 5/3 |
| 283 | 11/06/09 | 22:59 | 26RSN777 | CLIFF | 27.520 | USB | 2/1 |
| 284 | 11/06/09 | 23:21 | 14FAT503 | GILLES | 27.540 | USB | 5/5 |
| 285 | 10/06/09 | 19:16 | 40LD/DX | MARC | 27.540 | USB | 3/2 |
| 286 | 10/06/09 | 21:56 | 26FB193 | JOHN | 27.545 | USB | 3/2 |
| 287 | 10/06/09 | 20:00 | 127SD001 | JOSEPH | 27.520 | USB | 5/7 |
| 288 | 15/06/09 | 21:12 | 14DA049 | FRED | 27.520 | USB | 2/1 |
| 289 | 15/06/09 | 21:35 | 14AC048 | — | 27.560 | USB | 3/1 |
| 290 | 15/06/09 | 22:07 | 14VL5011 | ROLAND | 27.560 | USB | 3/3 |
| 291 | 15/06/09 | 21:47 | 1IR124 | ELIA | 27.500 | USB | 5/7 |
| 292 | 15/06/09 | 21:58 | 14TB010 | BRUNO | 27.500 | USB | 5/5 |
| 293 | 15/06/09 | 22:01 | 14KW010 | DAN | 27.500 | USB | 5/4 |
| 294 | 19/06/09 | 23:08 | 47DX054 | LEIF | 27.630 | USB | 5/7 |
| 295 | 19/06/09 | 23:12 | 47PL122 | ARNE | 27.630 | USB | 5/3 |
| 296 | 19/06/09 | 23:13 | 1SD204 | GENNY | 27.630 | USB | 5/7 |
| 297 | 19/06/09 | 23:15 | 13WF004 | MICHAEL | 27.630 | USB | 5/3 |
| 298 | 19/06/09 | 23:16 | 16SD125 | MARNIX | 27.630 | USB | 5/3 |
| 299 | 19/06/09 | 23:21 | 19WRC003 | MIKE | 27.630 | USB | 3/2 |
| 300 | 19/06/09 | 23:25 | 19AM525 | JOHN | 27.470 | USB | 5/8 |
Chameleon V1 Tripod Kit
July 6, 2009 by Darren
Although not designed primarily for use on 27 MHZ frequencies, the 8 feet tall Chameleon V1 HF multiband antenna, with its unique trap coil design and super flexibility, is indeed operational on 10m and a host of other bands too, although its performance is somewhat untested on 11m.
The subject of this product discussion is NOT the Chameleon V1 HF multiband antenna which I have enjoyed limited time with however, more so one of its accessories — the DXpedition Compact Tripod Kit — which I purchased on eBay at a pay now price of US $130, along with the antenna itself.
For those who don’t know, a tripod is a three-legged stand for supporting an antenna apparatus (or a camera). Obviously, the reason why I was attracted to this product (ie. the Tripod Kit) was because I saw its potential for use in the field for DX work where the limitations of space for large antenna arrays was a concern. I also wanted to investigate the design features of the Chameleon V1 HF multiband antenna tripod with a view to creating some design variations to accommodate a half wave vertical antenna such as the IMAX 2000 minus its radials or a Solarcon A99 for use on the Freeband in the future.
My Chameleon V1 HF multiband antenna tripod kit came in the original black nylon bag with the other antenna equipment: 3/8-24 Mount Bar, C Clamp 2″, 25 Feet of 20Ga Counterpoise with 3/8″ Ring Tongues, Steel Tent Stake 8″ and the Chameleon V1 Balun 9:1 for work on other bands, tucked inside.
The first thing I found with the tripod kit was that it is lightweight, weighing in at around 1.6 pounds. Obviously this is important if you are lugging the kit great distances or to rugged DXstinations such as mountain summits for SOTA activities with a heap of other radio communications gear in tow.
Once out of the bag, the tripod and antenna were assembled in about 15—20 minutes. Here, accompanying images and directions I had downloaded from the internet came in very handy. As the pictures suggest, the tripod has a liftable centre column, three aluminium legs with three interlockable positions and quick lever leg locks and non slippery rubber feet. Assembly of the antenna also was a breeze and both products appear to be very well made and robust.
On this note, I also tried fitting the tripod kit in my Expedition Pack MKII should/when I decide to try it out in the field. The folded length of 12.25 inches and upper leg diameter of 8.25 inches ensured it fit without a problem. For a portable purpose, I intend to transport the antenna, though, in two pieces into a PVC pipe. The pipe can then be used as a walking stick of sorts through rugged terrain.
In summing up, the Chameleon V1 HF multiband antenna tripod kit is the perfect accessory for field work and could easily be adapted for other vertical antennas using the B.A.R. design principle (ie. Bigger, Add, Remove or Replace). This product also reaffirmed my belief that three legged tripod systems to sustain lengths of telescopic mast are a realistic alternative for vertical or horizontal antenna erection on portable or DXpedition adventure because they are safe and sturdy and do not require excessive guying.
For more information on this product, please visit the website at http://www.chameleonantenna.com/
73 de Darren 43DA001Welcome to 29DA101 Mark
July 6, 2009 by Darren
The Republic of Ireland (EU-115) is home QTH to the Dx Adventure Radio Club’s newest member who is 29DA101 Mark. A former country coordinator with the Lima Delta DX Group, Mark resides in the medieval city of Waterford which is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour and is the primary city of the South East region of Ireland.
One of Ireland’s most capped DX Hunters with no less than 283 of the world’s DXCC entities in his log, Mark easily satisfies the DX Hunter category for DA-RC membership and is determined to add to this impressive tally with his new callsign when Cycle 24 begins to bear fruit in the future.
Furthermore, Mark’s work with Lima Delta as 29LD111 also entitles him to membership in the Leadership category, something many prospective and existing DA-RC members aspire to also.
Away from the radio communications hobby, 29DA101 Mark’s passion for DXing is perhaps equalled by his love of the outdoors and traditional sports. Here, Mark enjoys fishing, shooting sports and the extreme adventure of mountain climbing in north-western Europe and is known to often combine all three recreational pursuits on enjoyable outings with friends and family.
“I travel up to the mountains for field DXing on the weekend,” says DA-RC’s latest affiliate from 29 Division. “I do this once a month, for day and night DXing!”
An ICOM and Heil TX audio fan whose achievements span an impressive 15 years in the hobby, Mark is delighted to join the Dx Adventure Radio Club Team and looks forward to participating in many radio adventures in the future with his new Delta-Alfa callsign.
On behalf of the World HQ Team and all DA-RC members, welcome to the Club Mark. It’s great having you on board on the eve of our first anniversary.
