*MEET* 161DA010 Maciek

The Republic of Poland in Central Europe is home to leading Freeband DX Hunter and accredited Ham 161DA010 Maciek who links with the Dx Adventure Radio Club in May, 2024.

History says that—in 2009—Maciek (Seen pictured above and below) was one of the earliest DA-RC members, before taking a break from radio communications back in 2014 to focus on his family and building a profitable career in the lucrative mining industry.

The great news, however, is that he’s returned to the hobby and is thrilled to reconnect with his old Delta-Alfa callsign and ‘010’ unit number.

Far from his early days as an SWL enthusiast with walkie-talkies glued to his ear, 161DA010 Maciek, too, is excited to be back amongst like-minded friends in the midst of solar cycle 25.

He’s determined also to add to his already formidable tally of 217 DXCC entities confirmed and push up towards the magical ‘300’ mark in the not so distant future!



According to the World Atlas, 161DA010 Maciek’s country extends from the Baltic Sea—an arm of the Atlantic Ocean—in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south.

More specifically, our new Polish DX Man resides in the southern part of the country, in a tranquil village known as Gołkowice.

This is said to have origins dating far back to 1278!



The second largest village in the Godów commune, Gołkowice is positioned on the border with the Czech Republic (329 Division) and is acknowledged as being part of Gmina Godów in Wodzisław County.

The village is purportedly just 12 km away from the center of Krakow, nestled within the Wieliczka Foothills, famous for its salt mines and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978 and the Wieprz River.

Local fishermen will agree that this is a tributary of the Vistula River and known to be well stocked with minnows, chubs and a few brook trout.



According to the history books, 161DA010 Maciek’s village has been famous since the 19th century for the fascinating acts of baking famous puppets called ‘Gołki’.

Legend has it that during the visit of Emperor Franz Joseph to Krakow, a special oven was built in which a puppet was baked from 150 kg of flour and then served to the emperor and the entire court.

For this, he supposedly gave the Gołkowice the privilege of free trade!

On a different note, the wooden Saint Anne Church (See left), built in 1878, is an important historical site and the oldest remaining in the village.



A former member of Alfa Romeo (AR) and the Echo Tango (ET) or ‘Extra-Terrestrial’ clubs back in the early 2000’s, 161DA010 Maciek now has a mission to rebuild his once impressive station to its full glory.

Providing a full 100 Watts of power, a high performing Yaesu FT-2000 transciever—with an accompanying MH-31B8 standard microphone—has already been added to his home radio shack where space has been cleared for future purchases.



Outside his 2-storey home, overlooking carefully manicured gardens, is a 5/8 President Black Pirate 5R antenna guyed to several points of his roof, with a large yago soon to come.

According to the online specs, this fiberglass/graphite vertical antenna’s 5 radials combine to greatly eliminate noise and increase bandwidth.

161DA010 Maciek will no doubt concur that performance for DX is great with these antennas which have become a popular DX weapon in many European countries.

This is due, in part, to an extremely low angle of attack and about 5dB gain (dBd).

The omnidirectional stick antenna also handles an impressive 2500 W PEP which is enough to crack any rare DX pile up!



In addition to Ham, 11m and CB radio applications, 161DA010 Maciek confesses to many interests and recreational or leisure pursuits.

“I like motorbikes and motorsport,” he reveals.

“I also love nature, animals and photography.”

During the working week, 161DA010 Maciek has been employed in mine rescue for roughly 16 years, but in mines in general for coming up to 2 decades.

He’s grateful for weekends and free time which enable him to enjoy his radio time, and chase DX on the world’s best HF DX band, 11m!



QSL INFOS

Maciej Tkocz, ul.Rzeczna 6, 44-341 Gołkowice, POLAND