The Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) is excited to introduce to you 14DA064 Bruno from Department 64 in south-western France; a professional and experienced guy who links with our club in late April, 2023.

History reveals that 14DA064 Bruno first took up radio communications in 1992 and quickly achieved a reputation across Europe as a successful Freeband DX Hunter.

Since this time he’s achieved licensed amateur status, triumphed in various radio contests on both ham and 27 MHz frequencies, and now recommences an involvement in 11m operations after a 20 year break.

He’s eager to add to his breathtaking DXCC tally of 262 entities, attained in previous sunspot highs also!

According to his membership application, 14DA064 Bruno’s home QTH is the city of Bayonne.

This is a handful of kilometers from the sweeping Atlantic coastline, near the Spanish border, and  close to the eastern Pyrenees, a department of the region of Occitania in Southern France.

Stretching along the banks of the Rivers Adour and Nive, the city is famous for its chocolate, for the excellent Basque museum of Basque history and traditions, for the summer festival — the Fêtes de Bayonne — and for the invention of the bayonet.

As the capital of the French Basque Country, Bayonne is also said to be typical of the region’s magnificent cross-cultural charms.

As shown above, a jumble of narrow townhouses adorned with colourful shutters line the riversides, while the mazelike old town is dotted with terrace cafés, street markets, and chocolatiers.

Located on the banks of Biscay Bay, in the south of the Celtic Sea, 14DA064 Bruno’s city is also thought to be the perfect launchpad for interesting IOTA and LOTA dx adventure.

In addition to several diminutive island dxstinations off the coast, the Bay was the site of many famous naval engagements over the centuries.

This includes the Battle of the Bay of Biscay in 1943 between England and Germany as part of the Atlantic Campaign of World War II.

For Lighthouse On The Air (LOTA) enthusiasts, the surrounding coastline is home to several lighthouses; magnificent seaside structures entrusted with guiding vessels safely through the waters of Biscay Bay.

In fact, 14DA064 Bruno has previously activated the Biarritz/Pointe Saint-Martin Lighthouse (FRA-072) and looks likely to activate other maritime erections in the near future with his new Delta-Alfa callsign.

Employment wise, 14DA064 Bruno’s work as a truck driver — trafficking delicatessen products such as cheese and bacon — sees him on the road each day.

Whilst he has ambitions of accumulating a dynamite home station in the near future, Bruno’s life on the road is the perfect opportunity for chasing DX on the world’s best HF band.

His impressive mobile station consist of a President Lincoln II + 12m/10m all mode transceiver and a Midland ML-45 verticle antenna, rated at 400 watts.

Away from the hobby of radio comms though and 14DA064 Bruno confesses a passion for sport.

He loves the adrenalin rush of attending rugby games with his family and proudly supports local teams such as Aviron Bayonnais and Biarritz Olympique (rugby) and Olympique Lyonnais (football).

On a different level, 14DA064 Bruno, as well as his 19 year old son, also enjoy reading Japanese comics — also known as manga — which are produced from animation cels.

Salsa — a style of Latin dance — is another of his favourite pastimes.  This is a mixture of Cuban dances, such as mambo, Pachanga and rumba, as well as American dances such as swing and tap.

Like most Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) members who inhabit the upper echelon of the citizens band, 14DA064 Bruno is QRV on the international call frequency, 27.555 MHz USB on most occasions.

He looks forward to making as many contacts as possible with his new DA callsign and hunting that elusive rare DX!

QSL INFOS

“Will QSL First”