Arctic Hounds
Skuggi the Giant Arctic Labrador and Birta the Giant Arctic Vizsla keeping watch.
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My four-legged friends
Birta – Magyar Vizsla and Skuggi – Labrador enjoy the fine weather in the snow.
Alexey, VE2XAA visited my station and operated the IARU HF contest with the call TF4X.
He made 1876 QSOs for a total score of 770,400 points in the contest.
Alexey became interested in visiting my station after we worked on 160 meters when he was QRV from Zone 2 in last years CQ World Wide Contest.
Propagation was poor due to Aurora and as a result most of the contacts were made on 20m.
Despite 24 hour daylight, Alexey made 14 QSOs on 160 Meters during the contest.
Before the contest Alexey operated my station as TF/VE2XAA and made another 2,300 QSOs for a total of more than 4,000 QSOs during his stay.
Here are Alexey´s comments on his operation :
First of all I would like to thanks Thor TF4M for a great opportunity to see and use his
Super Station with unique Antenna Farm on the surface of 1500 hectares!
Before the contest I decided to participate in phone category but during first 6 minutes
of the contest was no phone QSO at all! So the mode was switched for CW and run
started on 20 m band – the only opened band at the moment. Time to time I did check
15m and 10m but it was no whisper on the bands. Finally I did a few QSO on 15m with
big troubles but 10 m was close during the contest completely. 20m was surprising: I did
expect that run on 20m will stop after a few hours as usually for my home location; that
will be already no new stations on the band and I can start hunting for multipliers; but
pile-up had no stop! The flat rate of 120-140 QSO was continued after 5, 6, 7…hours
of the run! The stations with High Power, Low Power and QRP had almost the same
signal level! The Otradalur Antenna Farm did a work perfectly and stack-match box
let me separate EU-USA-JA directions just with push on one button! Amazing! In 10
hours I had already more than 1200 QSO only on 20m and did expect to have a good
run on other bands to make same number of QSO for other 14 hours. But after 12 hours
of run somebody on the sky decided to switch off the light, put night Aurora cover on
Iceland and told: OK guys, now you can relax and go to sleep, it will be no propagation
for you for next few hours! It becomes nightmare: all bands closed, only big-guns were
on the bands, QSO rate drops for 10-20 per hour… Nice moment was on 160m: “Arctic
King” antenna was doing the work very well: on each 1 kHz distance I heard HQ or other
powerful stations with S7…S9, but they did not hear my 1 kW signal! Probably they
had other receiving directions except Arctic. With big difficulties spending 2-3 minutes
for each contact I was able to make a dozen QSO on 160m despite 24 hour day-light at
Island! Thor TF4M did not very good antenna, but exceptionally perfect!
Thanks to every one for the contacts and hope to see you in the other contests.
73! de Alexey VE2XAA
The local hot pool.
Birta – Magyar Vizsla with VE2XAA
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Spring is just around the corner and most of the snow is gone.
Birta (Magyar Vizsla) and Skuggi (Labrador) enjoyed the warm weather.
The children of Otradalur, Skuggi the magnificent Labrador and beautiful Birta (Magyar Vizsla)
I snapped a few photos of my beautiful Birta today while we were doing some antenna work.
My sweet noble Goði. He was only 6 Months old when he was run over by a hit and run driver on November 25, 2005.
He will always remain in my heart.
Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone Silence the pianos and with muffled drum Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead Scribbling on the sky the message He is Dead Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my North, my South, my East and West My working week and my sunday rest My noon, my midnight, my talk, my song; I thought that love would last for ever: I was wrong.
The stars are not wanted now: Put out every one Pack up the moon and dismantle the sun Pour away the ocean and sweep up the wood. For nothing now can ever come to any good.
W.H. Auden
