Preparations that lasted almost six months were finally completed, but as usual, a couple of days were not enough.
The trip to EA9 was not intended as a full-fledged expedition but rather as a stopover for a couple of days to see what it’s like and find a good spot for a possible visit in winter. Not long ago, Zdenek OK1DFC closed this DXCC above 23 cm, so I didn't have any hopes for some kind of pileup.
I traveled around the entire region, trying to find a place with an open view of both sunrise and sunset, especially considering the lowest declination of the moon. With very little time left before moonrise, I stopped at these coordinates: 35.9128919440062, -5.3588360675172755 (perhaps this will be useful to someone in the future).
The moon appeared above the horizon just as I connected the last coax cable. It was a happy moment to make the first CQ call, and after a short time, YB2MDU began to call. I heard it loud and clear at 20 dB and hoped for a quick QSO, but no one could hear me. It was time to check the output power, which, of course, turned out to be about 5 watts. In my haste, I had forgotten to boost the transverter. In the next period, I had 200 watts, but unfortunately, YB2MDU had already lost sight of the moon. By the time I reached David G4YTL, the moon had gone behind the trees.
With the low declination, activity was traditionally low, so there are only four QSOs in the log.
SP9VFD -13/ -13 dB
SP5GDM -20/-20 dB
CT1WO -21/-23 dB
EA8DBM -20/-20 dB
June 23 on Sunday, I will be active with moonrise from about 22.00 utc …
Everything is ready - I'm waiting for the moon)))…
Now have nice moon !!
It was a great night with an amazing moon and good visibility. The antenna worked perfectly, allowing me to hear everyone! Unfortunately, not everyone who wanted to participate could do so, as the moon was low on the horizon, limiting the opportunity for many.
2024-06-23,00:05:00,2024-06-23,00:11:59,SP9VFD,JN99,1296.101008,Q65,-13,-13,,,,
2024-06-23,00:27:59,2024-06-23,00:27:59,SP5GDM,KO02,1296.101008,Q65,-24,-24,,,,
2024-06-23,00:47:00,2024-06-23,00:49:57,CT1WO,IM58,1296.101008,Q65,-24,-21,,,,
2024-06-23,02:10:00,2024-06-23,02:21:57,EA8DBM,IL18,1296.101008,Q65,-20,-20,,,,
2024-06-23,22:10:00,2024-06-23,22:13:59,YB2MDU,OI53,1296.101008,Q65,-22,-25,,,,
2024-06-23,22:20:05,2024-06-23,22:20:05,UA3PTW,KO93,1296.101008,Q65,-21,-24,,,,
2024-06-23,22:20:00,2024-06-23,22:23:59,DK4RC,JO60,1296.101008,Q65,-11,-11,,,,
2024-06-23,22:26:00,2024-06-23,22:33:59,UA9FAD,LO88,1296.101008,Q65,-24,-24,,,,
2024-06-23,22:34:00,2024-06-23,22:43:57,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.101008,Q65,-25,-24,,,,
2024-06-23,22:44:00,2024-06-23,22:48:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.101008,Q65,-08,-24,,,,
2024-06-23,22:58:00,2024-06-23,22:58:00,IQ2DB,,1296.101008,Q65,-21,-25,,,,
2024-06-23,22:59:00,2024-06-23,23:03:59,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.101008,Q65,-17,-21,,,,
2024-06-23,23:12:05,2024-06-23,23:12:05,DL1SUZ,JO53,1296.101008,Q65,-25,-25,,,,
2024-06-23,23:33:57,2024-06-23,23:33:57,G4YTL,IO92,1296.101008,Q65,-27,-32,,,,
2024-06-23,23:33:00,2024-06-23,23:36:00,DL4DTU,,1296.101008,Q65,-20,-27,,,,
2024-06-24,00:27:59,2024-06-24,00:27:59,G0LBK,JO03,1296.101008,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-06-24,00:39:59,2024-06-24,00:39:59,PA0BAT,JO31,1296.101008,Q65,-21,-23,,,,
2024-06-24,01:11:59,2024-06-24,01:11:59,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.101008,Q65,-25,-31,,,,
Tomorrow, I'm sailing to the mainland, then heading to Bosnia E7/EA8DBM (JN93). If everything goes well, I plan to be active from July 1st to July 4th.