The Fall season has come to a close :)

The autumn leg of my annual expedition to the 23 cm band has come to an end, and it’s time to reflect on the journey. First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported me along the way, whether through donations or assistance. Honestly, I never anticipated such overwhelming and active support. A special thank you goes out to:

AB6A, AG6EE, DF2VJ, DG5CST, DK3WG, DL7UDA, G0LBK, IK2DDR, IK3COJ, JA6AHB, K5DOG, KB2SA, KP4AJ, N1AV, NC1I, OK1DFC, OK1IL, PA0BAT, PA3DZL, PA3FXB, PA7JB, PY2BS, RC5A, UA3ATQ, UR3VKE, W2HRO, W5LUA, YL2GD, and ZS4TX.

Over the past 12 months, I’ve activated 20 DXCC entities on 1296 MHz. This journey began with OH0 and CT3 in autumn 2023, followed by EA9, E7, 4O, OY, LY, T7, TK, IS0, and Z3 in the summer of 2024, and concluded with activations in KP2, VP2V, VP2M, V2, PJ7, PJ5, FS, FJ, and KP4 during the autumn.

In total, I made 1,030 EME QSOs (inits) and logged over 24,000 HF QSOs. On HF, I operated during my “downtime” using a retractable vertical antenna and 10-100 watts of power.

All logs have been uploaded to LoTW, and paper QSLs (both direct and via the bureau) can be requested for free on my website: www.ea8dbm.com. My QSL manager handles all paper QSLs. Please note that any cards sent directly to my address in EA8 or via the bureau will likely get lost and not reach me.

The autumn journey presented no shortage of challenges—it felt like everything was working against me. There wasn’t a single location where something didn’t go wrong. It was almost as if some mystic force was at play.

The only items that remained reliable throughout were my IC-705 and the metal structure of the parabolic dish. Beyond that, both my 48V and 12V power supplies burned out, the phasing cables in the feed failed, the TX cable snapped, two feed supports melted, and the dish material degraded by 90%. The rotator controller malfunctioned, the elevation sensor cable broke, and the cables between the feed, relay, and LNA deteriorated. The rear counterweight mount broke due to increased load, and inside the PA, mounting bolts came loose. Without access to a metric Allen key set, I had to swaddle the PA like a newborn during the last two relocations to keep it intact.

Despite the setbacks, the experience was invaluable, teaching me a critical lesson: pack everything you can, and even the things you think you can’t—bring them too.

One of the most important innovations of this expedition was covering the dish with aluminum foil. Initially, I used standard kitchen foil, but this method was short-lived. After the first time the dish was folded, the foil needed to be reapplied, and strong winds would tear off pieces. Switching to construction-grade adhesive aluminum tape was a game-changer. This approach allowed the dish to survive multiple deployments (so far, six cycles of folding and unfolding) and offered greater wind resistance. While it made the dish heavier and increased the load on the counterweight and rotator, the performance improvements were well worth it.

Cold sky/ground tests showed a 3 dB improvement, while cold sky/sun measurements reached up to 10 dB—results that felt almost unbelievable. This upgrade allowed me to operate in 30-second WSJTX modes, leaving the older 60-second cycles for rare QSOs with very small stations.

During the ARRL contest, I easily completed a QSO with Gene KB7Q, who uses a similar 2.4 m dish and 500 watts. I received him at -22 dB, and he heard me at -27 dB.

I am now the proud owner of a 500-watt amplifier from AG6EE, and I look forward to testing it in future expeditions. Thanks to Paul W2HRO’s compact dish design, there are now many stations with similar setups, making these contacts more accessible. With an optimized LNA and my new amplifier, I am confident I can make QSOs with stations using 1.8 m fabric dishes and 200-300 watt amplifiers during low-degradation periods.

Coordination and patience are key, especially for operators with smaller setups. Some potential contacts listen for a few cycles on wide-band mode, dismiss the signal as too weak, and move on. Don’t hesitate to contact me via chat! I’m happy to switch to 120-second cycles, and if you share the exact frequency, I’ll know where to look for the trace. Adding the callsign to TX1 or TX2 also significantly improves decoding.

I am currently considering a winter/spring tour by plane and a summer tour by car. The focus will primarily be on CEPT countries due to simpler licensing requirements, though I’ve also applied for CN (Morocco) and HI (Hispaniola). A potential route in early March could include HI, P40, OA.

Morocco seems especially promising, as there are about six flights per week from the Canary Islands at low costs. Even if customs issues arise, the financial risk would be minimal..

In the summer, my focus will likely be on activating TF, GJ, GD, GW, and GU, followed by ER and TA closer to autumn—two locations I missed last year.

I also have plans to fly to Monaco (3A) during winter to scout for a location where I can at least set up for a few hours at night. However, traveling there by bus without prior “fitting” is risky—you could end up just wandering around and leaving empty-handed.

For the second year in a row, I’ve been trying to secure permission to activate Andorra (C3) for at least a couple of days. I’ve written to both the regulator and the president of the local amateur radio association, but sadly, I’ve received no response. It seems that official channels alone won’t suffice, and personal connections may be required—connections I currently lack.

If anyone has ideas or contacts that could help, I’d be grateful for your suggestions! :^)