Z3/EA8DBM (KN12cb)-Nord Macedonia
Z3 Nord Macedonia
DXpeditions are fascinating not just because of the thrill of pile-ups but also because of the unexpected twists and adventures they often bring. It’s not just about operating from rare locations; it’s about embracing the journey, the unknowns, and the challenges. In this line of work, you have to find the “zest” in every obstacle that comes your way, remain stoic, and avoid burning out – otherwise, the stress will wear you down.
For example, my recent trip had an ambitious but straightforward plan. I was supposed to fly to Bari, Italy, retrieve my car from the service center, stay the night, and then test my newly repaired antenna feed the next morning. If everything worked as expected, I’d catch the 22:30 ferry to Greece, drive 200 km to the border with Macedonia, and set up in a spot I found online with perfect sunrise and sunset views.
Things started off well. I picked up the car in no time and thought, "Why waste an extra day here?" I decided to catch the ferry that evening and do my tests in Macedonia instead. I boarded the ferry, received confirmation from my Airbnb host that all was set, had a light dinner with a lager, and the sea was calm. Everything was going smoothly. I should have known this was a bad omen.
In the morning, just as I disembarked from the ferry, I received a message from the Airbnb host saying there had been an error, and he was canceling my reservation and refunding my money. Great. Now I was stranded, with no place to stay and spotty mobile internet that made it nearly impossible to search for alternatives near the Macedonian border. After some digging, I found a location about 80 km away in a small village near Bitola. The area looked decent in the photos: the west was open, and the nearby mountains didn’t seem like a problem.
Yet the navigator showed a baffling travel time of over an hour and a half for just 80 km. I didn’t have many choices, so I booked the place for two days. The drive confirmed my suspicions. The village was deep in the mountains, accessible only via narrow, winding roads barely 2.5 meters wide. The area was almost deserted, home to just a handful of elderly residents, a few monasteries, and plenty of sheep. Shepherds roamed the hills armed with guns, thanks to the wolves that also called the region home.
By the time I arrived, it was already 3 p.m., and the site was nothing like the pictures. The "lawn" was a tiny 5x5 meter patch of grass, with the east blocked by a house, the south by two towering pines, and the west by an old transformer booth. Perfect!
Still, I needed to test my equipment. The sun was high enough, so I quickly set up the antenna, swapped out the feed and LNA for spares, and checked the SWR for transmission. Everything seemed great – SWR was 1.08, thanks to Paul W2HRO’s setup. I aimed for 7 dB of sun noise and… nothing. I double-checked everything, and while the SWR for reception was normal, the sun noise barely registered 1-1.5 dB. Another fiasco.
To top it off, it started raining. I covered everything with cellophane and went to bed, hoping things would look better with a fresh perspective in the morning.
They didn’t. The light rain turned into a steady autumn downpour, with thick clouds covering the sky. There was no way I could operate from this spot, so I packed up and headed out. I needed to leave this land of monasteries, wolves, and narrow mountain roads behind.
In the north of Macedonia, about 250 km away, I found a more promising location with an open lawn to the south. I could book it for just a day, which gave me some flexibility. If the azimuths were blocked, I’d simply move again the next day. As I drove, I mulled over why the reception failed and eventually had an epiphany: it could be two simultaneous problems. The only thing I hadn’t replaced yet was the coaxial cable between the transverter and the LNA.
I arrived at the new spot around 4 p.m. The sky was still overcast, with light rain. The sun was completely invisible, and I didn’t want to risk getting the equipment wet. After a couple of hours, the rain finally let up. Although the clouds still hung overhead, I slowly assembled everything in the dark, without a rotator or controller, using manual guidance. This was purely a test run. I found a short piece of RG58 coax in storage and used it to complete the setup. Everything was ready.
Finally, the exciting moment of truth arrived—the first switch-on. But instead of joy, I was greeted by the unmistakable sound of electrical arcing. The familiar smell of burnt electronics wafted from the amplifier power supply, followed by a little puff of smoke, just to complete the scene. Perfect, right? Apparently, the power supply had met its untimely end.
Luckily, I had a spare in the car, so I swapped it out quickly. Soon enough, I was back in action and ready to go. When the moon was calculated to rise from behind the mountain, I set the azimuth roughly by hand and asked ON4AOI to listen for me. And then… BINGO! Reception was crystal clear!
As if on cue, the clouds dispersed, and there it was—the moon in all its glory. I logged 33 QSOs during the first pass.
And just like that, the adventure ended on a high note, a reminder that DXpeditions aren’t just about making contacts. They’re about perseverance, creativity, and embracing the unexpected twists that turn a simple radio operation into a story worth telling.
2024-09-18,19:10:00,2024-09-18,19:14:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-23,,,,
2024-09-18,19:20:00,2024-09-18,19:30:00,PA3DZL,JO21,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-22,,,,
2024-09-18,19:30:00,2024-09-18,19:34:00,UA3PTW,,1296.100999,Q65,-18,-19,,,,
2024-09-18,19:37:00,2024-09-18,19:40:00,SP5GDM,KO02,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-23,,,,
2024-09-18,19:44:00,2024-09-18,19:50:00,ON5GS,,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-20,,,,
2024-09-18,19:54:00,2024-09-18,19:54:00,PA9RX,,1296.100999,Q65,-19,-20,,,,
2024-09-18,19:55:00,2024-09-18,19:58:00,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.100999,Q65,-18,-21,,,,
2024-09-18,19:58:00,2024-09-18,20:02:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.100999,Q65,-10,-13,,,,
2024-09-18,20:02:00,2024-09-18,20:06:00,SP7EXY,,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-20,,,,
2024-09-18,20:09:00,2024-09-18,20:12:00,G4CCH,,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-16,,,,
2024-09-18,20:13:00,2024-09-18,20:16:13,RA4HL,LO43,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-17,,,,
2024-09-18,20:17:00,2024-09-18,20:20:00,DL1AT,JO61,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-23,,,,
2024-09-18,20:24:00,2024-09-18,20:24:00,ZS4TX,KG30,1296.100999,Q65,-28,-26,,,,
2024-09-18,20:25:00,2024-09-18,20:28:00,IQ2DB,JN45,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-32,,,,
2024-09-18,20:38:00,2024-09-18,20:42:00,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-21,,,,
2024-09-18,20:52:00,2024-09-18,20:54:00,DK4RC,JO60,1296.100999,Q65,-11,-14,,,,
2024-09-18,20:59:00,2024-09-18,21:02:00,UA9FAD,LO88,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-23,,,,
2024-09-18,21:10:00,2024-09-18,21:10:00,CT1WO,IM58,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-23,,,,
2024-09-18,21:18:00,2024-09-18,21:18:00,UA9YLU,,1296.100999,Q65,-28,-19,,,,
2024-09-18,21:23:00,2024-09-18,21:48:00,OK1IL,JN69,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-26,,,,
2024-09-18,21:52:00,2024-09-18,21:56:00,DL8FBD,JO40,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-25,,,,
2024-09-18,22:02:00,2024-09-18,22:08:00,PA3EXV,JO32,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-22,,,,
2024-09-18,22:11:58,2024-09-18,22:11:58,PA3FXB,JO33,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-25,,,,
2024-09-18,22:16:00,2024-09-18,22:24:00,PY2BS,GG66,1296.100999,Q65,-17,-20,,,,
2024-09-18,22:26:00,2024-09-18,22:32:00,G0LBK,,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-22,,,,
2024-09-18,22:59:00,2024-09-18,23:08:00,DF2VJ,JN39,1296.100999,Q65,-28,-25,,,,
2024-09-18,23:10:00,2024-09-18,23:20:00,G4YTL,IO92,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-24,,,,
2024-09-18,23:36:00,2024-09-18,23:36:00,DK5AI,JO51,1296.100999,Q65,-26,-26,,,,
2024-09-19,04:01:00,2024-09-19,04:04:00,NC1I,FN32,1296.100999,Q65,-14,-16,,,,
2024-09-19,04:06:00,2024-09-19,04:10:00,KB2SA,,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-27,,,,
2024-09-19,04:11:00,2024-09-19,04:16:00,N5TM,EL29,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-23,,,,
2024-09-19,04:23:00,2024-09-19,04:28:00,IK7EZN,,1296.100999,Q65,-28,-25,,,,
2024-09-19,04:43:00,2024-09-19,04:46:00,KA1GT,,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-22,,,,
2-nd moonpass 15 QSO
2024-09-19,19:32:00,2024-09-19,19:38:00,OK2DL,JN79,1296.090999,Q65,-19,-21,,,,
2024-09-19,19:47:00,2024-09-19,19:52:00,IK3COJ,,1296.100999,Q65,-32,-23,,,,
2024-09-19,19:55:00,2024-09-19,19:58:00,SM6CKU,,1296.100999,Q65,-24,-24,,,,
2024-09-19,20:03:00,2024-09-19,20:10:00,DK3WG,JO72,1296.100999,Q65,-27,-30,,,,
2024-09-19,20:16:00,2024-09-19,20:16:00,ZS6JON,KG33,1296.100999,Q65,-28,-22,,,,
2024-09-19,20:28:00,2024-09-19,20:28:00,ES3RF,KO29,1296.100999,Q65,-30,-28,,,,
2024-09-19,20:34:00,2024-09-19,20:40:03,PA0BAT,JO31,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-26,,,,
2024-09-19,20:43:00,2024-09-19,20:46:00,DL7UDA,,1296.100999,Q65,-21,-22,,,,
2024-09-19,20:50:00,2024-09-19,20:56:06,DJ2DY,JN39,1296.100999,Q65,-30,-25,,,,
2024-09-19,20:59:00,2024-09-19,21:04:00,DG0FE,,1296.100999,Q65,-22,-22,,,,
2024-09-19,21:08:00,2024-09-19,21:10:00,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-27,,,,
2024-09-19,21:27:00,2024-09-19,21:34:00,EA8DBM,IL18OH,1296.100999,Q65,-27,-26,,,,
2024-09-19,21:40:00,2024-09-19,21:46:00,OK1IL,JN69,1296.100999,Q65,-23,-26,,,,
2024-09-19,21:53:00,2024-09-19,21:58:00,PA7JB,JO22,1296.100999,Q65,-25,-26,,,,
2024-09-19,22:24:00,2024-09-19,22:28:00,F4KLO,JN18,1296.100999,Q65,-20,-15,,,,
Total: 47 QSO
It seems like there’s been very little activity lately—perhaps everyone has already figured out Z3, and there’s no longer a need for it. Even the second moonset didn’t get any responses. Given that, I’ve decided to wrap things up early so I can gain an extra day for the journey back.
I’ve also decided to postpone my trips to TA and ER until next year. A lot of minor issues have piled up, and before my major expedition to the Caribbean in October, I need to recalibrate the parabolic curvature—it feels slightly off.
For now, I’m heading back to EA8. Apologies if this caused any inconvenience to anyone.
Thank you very much for the donations: Aldo IK3COJ and Jan PA3FXB !!!