Departure from my house in the Drôme department is on Friday, March 17, at around 5:00 UTC in the direction of the Italian border, pausing only for some last minute shopping for supplies.
450 km later, at around 4:30 UTC, we arrive at the border, and head towards the town of Menton in southeast France.
I arrive at my friend Enric’s house on the French Riviera where I stay, a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Liguria.
Here I leave my things and take the time to eat, discussing plans with my comrade and making a mental check of all necessary items for the dx adventure.
Eventually, I resume in the direction of the Principality of Monaco — the world’s second smallest country.
Approximately 30 minutes later by car, I find myself at the predetermined DX-stination, bustling with nervous energy for some serious radio action.
Guided by previous research and recon information thanks to my friend Yves 14RS100, I drive to the heliport area on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, to investigate if I can settle down and start to activate.
In warm sunshine and beneath blue sky, I find a place to park the car and install the station in the mobile, ensuring all DXcessories are in working order.
For this rare 11m band activity, I am with the Yaesu FT-891 transciever, accompanied by the HEIL Pro-Set elite headset.
At the foot of the rear passenger’s side is a 130 amp slow discharge battery with a 250 watt RM Italy KL-503 amplifier.
For initial ops, a verticle President WA-27 antenna mounted on a tripod is in the middle of the roof of my car and a PC for logging purposes and access to cluster is at my fingertips.
It’s around 13:00 UTC when I launch the first call as 107DA/DX, and straight away I hear my friend and fellow DA-RC member Nicolas 14DA026 calling.
The QSOs, however, start with great difficulty, but soon I have operators from Europe, South America and even Asia in the log.
I realize that the stations are there but with the mobile antenna it’s not enough, so I decide to take risks and move to another location on the dam with a very reduced passage to pass by car.
A sign forbidding any traffic without authorization creates some tension in my mind but the risk is worth it to increase log numbers and provide a genuine opportunity for the 11m DX Community.
Behind a small fence I set up, putting the turntable under a wheel for a mast and a 10m Spiderbeam with the Thunderbolt SSD-58 by Hawkins.
I see very quickly that this solution is much better and the log increases.
I close the first part of the 107 Division activity with 124 stations ITL, many of whom are grateful for the “New One”.
The next day — Saturday 18/03 — I arrive at the same place and I install the same setup, this time adding an inverter to be able to feed the PC.
Unfortunately, the WX is not the same as the day before.
The wind is rising more and more from the sea and the mast does not stop shaking in all directions.
As a result, listening becomes very complicated due to QRM and QSB burst effects as the lightweight fiberglass antenna is jostled back and forth in the wind.
Finally, after several hours of activation and having discussed on the phone with good friend Thierry 14DA073, I decide to remove the 5/8 wave verticle and install a one element Bamby.
Great news is that the result is much better for me and apparently for everyone else as there is an influx of new stations logged.
I finish this second day with 143 more operators in the log.
Sunday morning — 19/03 — I journey to the same place again where I install the Bamby and, as the wind is gone, I mount the antenna a little higher (about 7m).
QRV, I launch multiple calls on the international call frequency, 27.555 MHz USB, but there’s nothing in return.
Unfortunately there is no opening.
Later in the morning, I’m thrilled to meet Jean-Pierre “3A2NH” — a radio amateur from Monaco.
We exchange pleasantries for a good while, then I return to the car, to test propagation and resume calling.
Alas, there’s still no propagation, only the squawks of visiting sea birds that hover around the car.
The bad luck intensifies when a scooter stops in front of the car and I’m confronted by a policeman (See pictured right).
I do not have great illusions, I know very well that our passion is not well seen here, so the resistance is not unexpected.
In spite of my arguments, the law enforcement officer — guided by the commands of his hierarchy — orders me to disassemble the station and leave the area, or risk incarceration for trespass.
So that’s how the “107DA/DX” activation ends — with an adrenalin rush of mighty proportions!!!!
Fortunately, the previous 2 days of 27 MHz activity were more prosperous with almost 300 stations ITL, spread over 43 DXCC, among them many sponsors of the activity.
To these special guys, and to those who made the log for 107DA/DX, I thank you for your support.
73 de Stef 010
Log Summary
- DXCC Worked: 43 [1, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 21, 22, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34, 35, 43, 47, 50, 56, 79, 91, 93, 97, 104, 115, 119, 136, 153, 161, 163, 173, 184, 196, 205, 304, 311, 315, 350].
- DA Members Worked: 18 [3DA001, 3DA002, 3DA007, 3DA011, 3DA148, 14DA017, 14DA024, 14DA026, 14DA028, 14DA037, 14DA044, 14DA049, 14DA059, 14DA073, 22DA010, 43DA001, 104DA104 and 311/13DA012 (311DA/DX)]
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