From the city of Pordenone in north-eastern Italy—a spectacular river port inside the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia—the Dx Adventure Radio Club is thrilled to welcome back to its ranks, 1DA101 Giorgio, in early June, 2024.
Our newest addition to the Italian Team resumes his membership with the DA-RC following a period away from the Freeband community to focus on other projects.
We’re delighted to see him return too!
1DA101 Giorgio is excited also, to be back on the air in the midst of solar cycle 25, and is hoping to take advantage of some wonderful opportunities to work rare DX.
A licensed ham radio operator and passionate eleven meter band DX Hunter, 1DA101 Giorgio has been active in radio communications for 15 years.
During this time he’s stockpiled more than 100 DXCC and easily satisfies DA-RC Membership requirements in the DX Hunter category.
See https://www.delta-alfa.com/about/membership/
Located a mere 90km from Venice, 1DA101 Giorgio’s QTH is located in the lowlands of the Po-Venetian Valley, south of Venetian Prealps and the Alpine foothills of Friuli.
The city’s name—Pordenone—comes from the Latin words “Portus Naonis”, which is understood to mean “port on the Noncello River”.
In fact, the city and its people are known to have a special bond with this river which is some 15km long and has its mouth at the much larger Meduna River.
The Friuli-Venezia Giulia region is famous for its strong gastronomic traditions and, according to 1DA101 Giorgio, food is an integral part of people’s identity here.
The most typical dishes in his homeland are frico con le patate, presnitz and cjarsons and also delicious desserts such as tiramisu.
The Pizzeria Re Cupido—for an authentic and mouthwatering Italian pizza—is highly recommended.
The city center of Pordenone is filled to the brim with ancient buildings and architectural marvels, including possible Castles and Fortresses On The Air (COTA) entities.
One of these is the main church of the city—the Cathedral in a Romanesque-Gothic style dedicated to Saint Mark the Evangelist.
Another is the Bell Tower, known as Campanile, which is located right next to the Cathedral.
This is a symbol of Pordenone and comes in the same Romanesque-Gothic style as the church.
On the topic of possible COTA dxstinations, the Palazzo Ricchieri—which now houses the Civic Art Museum—was built in the 13th century as a house fortress with a tower.
Another is the Castello di Torre (late 12th century), a residence of the Ragogna family and now seat of the Western Friuli Archaeological Museum.
History has it that this structure (Shown above) was assaulted in 1402 by Imperial troops, who destroyed the castle.
A few years later, however, a tower was rebuilt.
Lastly, a castle of the ancient town of Pordenone—located in Piazza della Motta—now functions as a prison.
Interestingly, in the 1980s, Pordenone was the hub of the Italian punk rock scene.
In fact, punk-rock band Prozac+ and alternative rock band Tre Allegri Ragazzi Morti were formed in the 1990s in Pordenone.
Since 1991, however, the town has hosted each summer the Pordenone Blues Festival (See pictured right).
Notable guests over the years include Kool & the Gang, Steve Hackett, Rival Sons, Anastacia, Ronnie Jones and Ana Popović.
1DA101 Giorgio maintains a versatile station, capable of attaining DX-success on several bands, including 27 MHz frequencies.
His choice of rig is a modern Yaesu ft-710 which utilizes the advanced digital RF technology.
This transceiver covers the HF Amateur Radio bands—160 through 6 meters—in a compact design that’s perfect for portable operations, but equally suitable as a home base rig.
1DA101 Giorgio is also active on VHF and UHF frequencies with a TH-9800.
This is a Quad Band UHF/VHF mobile two way radio with a detachable front panel and cross-band repeater functionality.
Giorgio also uses several handheld devices for VHF and UHF ops.
Due to the limitations of his accommodation, 1DA101 Giorgio’s antennas are limited to a collection of multi-band verticals and wires for ham and Freeband use.
He also uses a 1.8 metre long Diamond X-5000 for 144/430/1200MHz (2m/70cm/23cm) .
A HARDROCK-500 Amplifier boosts all outgoing signals and makes up for any losses in gain.
As evidenced by the pictures above and below, 1DA101 Giorgio has a passion for the outdoors and relaxing in the countryside has been a priority of his since retiring a few years ago.
“My hobbies are traveling with my motorhome, trekking and mountain biking,” he explains.
“I also love good food, especially fish!”
1DA101 Giorgio uses 27.555 MHz as his main listening and calling QRG.
He’s active on social media platform Facebook where he’s happy to provide an eQSL to confirm any contact with his station.
Alternatively, he can be contacted via the address below to arrange the exchange of a traditional paper QSL!
QSL INFOS
Via Piave 109 CAP 33170 Pordenone Italia
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