ZL/LY3UM from RF72

After four days of waiting and hoping my suitcase with the antenna would turn up, it became clear: it’s over. I had to cancel my flights to ZL7 and try to get a refund on my rentals. My only remaining hope was to at least get on the air from ZL if the gear ever showed up.

The weekend passed, a new work week began, but the airport staff has the same old story: “We don’t know anything, we have nothing here, basically — bugger off.”

Then I remembered Nathan, ZL1NJR, who was active from the North Island a few years ago. I got in touch, and he kindly let me borrow his 1.8m collapsible mesh dish to give it a shot. However, based on my experience, the silver coating on those mesh antennas degrades very quickly, especially near geothermal or volcanic areas (and we’ve got plenty of those here). There’s a good chance the antenna might be “dead” by now.

But with few options left, I rented a car and dashed to Nathan’s place and then to a hardware store, racing to get on the air before my MS (Meteor Scatter/Moon Schedule) window. Four hours later, everything was assembled and fired up. I tried to do a Sun noise test, but unfortunately — nothing. It’s possible I’m just missing the focus since the cables aren’t routed through the center and are just fed from the side. Plus, the Sun had already dipped behind the neighbor’s house.

Time to stop guessing and try it on some real signals.

2026-03-23,06:28:00,2026-03-23,06:30:57,JJ3JHP,PM75,1296.101000,Q65,-27,-23,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,06:46:00,2026-03-23,06:59:17,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.101000,Q65,-27,-28,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,07:02:00,2026-03-23,07:06:00,OK1KIR,,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-15,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,07:09:00,2026-03-23,07:11:08,RW6HM,LN14,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-18,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,07:44:00,2026-03-23,07:48:00,PA3DZL,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-29,-25,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,08:00:00,2026-03-23,08:04:00,RY4C,LO42,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-18,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,08:04:00,2026-03-23,08:08:00,DG5CST,JO60,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-23,08:08:00,2026-03-23,08:12:00,RD4D,,1296.101000,Q65,-26,-18,,,,,,,

8 QSO

++++++++++++++++

As soon as the sun came up, I made a quick run to the hardware store. I had to replace the tape measure that went missing with my luggage, and I also picked up a pipe for the counterweight and several rolls of adhesive aluminum foil.

And then, on the way back to the shack, a miracle happened: the airport called and asked where they should deliver my missing luggage. Bingo! Miracles do happen.

While waiting for the delivery, I set the optimal focal length on Nathan’s dish and did a cold sky vs. Sun noise measurement. The result was catastrophic: only 0.5 dB, whereas it should be around 5 dB given the current SFI (Solar Flux Index).

Rotorua, a town famous for its hot springs and geysers, is only about 100 km from Hamilton. The travel guides even warn you not to be surprised by the smell of hydrogen sulfide in the air. I’m certain the silver-plated mesh suffered the same fate as my gear did back in Tenerife and during the Montserrat expedition. The sulfur in the volcanic atmosphere quickly turns silver into non-conductive silver sulfide.

So, I’ll be waiting for my own foil-covered antenna to arrive and will work with that instead.
+++++++++++++

After waiting half the day for a courier who never showed up, I decided not to risk missing the moonset. I jumped in the car and drove back to Auckland Airport myself to rescue my “Pelican” case and antenna.

That’s an hour and a half each way, plus an hour for the setup. Finally, at 18:40 UTC, I announced my CQ on the logger.

I keyed the TX, fully expecting a massive pile-up, only to see the SWR hit 1.8... Not surprising, since in the rush I’d forgotten to connect the feeder from the PA to the septum! Thank God I noticed it immediately—the amplifier survived unscathed.

2026-03-24,06:48:00,2026-03-24,06:52:00,UA3PTW,,1296.101000,Q65,-07,-10,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,06:56:00,2026-03-24,06:59:56,W1AW/KH6,,1296.101000,Q65,-07,-18,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:02:00,2026-03-24,07:06:00,RA4HL,,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-17,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:14:00,2026-03-24,07:16:02,VK4CDI,QG63,1296.101000,Q65,-25,-20,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:18:00,2026-03-24,07:20:03,ES3RF,KO29,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-24,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:30:00,2026-03-24,07:34:00,SM5DGX,,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:36:00,2026-03-24,07:40:00,JA4LJB,,1296.101000,Q65,-14,-14,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:42:00,2026-03-24,07:46:12,OH3LWP,KP11,1296.101000,Q65,-17,-23,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:50:00,2026-03-24,07:54:00,OK1USW,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-21,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:58:00,2026-03-24,08:02:00,IK3COJ,JN65,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-21,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,07:59:00,2026-03-24,08:03:56,PA1PS,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-24,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:02:00,2026-03-24,08:06:00,G0LBK,,1296.101000,Q65,-18,-21,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:09:00,2026-03-24,08:11:49,OK1VUM,JN79,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-26,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:10:00,2026-03-24,08:14:00,OK1DFC,,1296.101000,Q65,-11,-09,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:14:00,2026-03-24,08:18:00,IK7EZN,,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:27:00,2026-03-24,08:29:09,OK1IL,JN69,1296.101000,Q65,-28,-26,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:32:00,2026-03-24,08:36:00,YO2LAM,KN05,1296.101000,Q65,-16,-15,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:42:00,2026-03-24,08:46:00,OE9ERC,,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-09,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:43:00,2026-03-24,08:47:00,ON4AOI,JO21,1296.101000,Q65,-13,-09,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:48:00,2026-03-24,08:52:00,G4CCH,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-20,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,08:52:00,2026-03-24,08:56:00,IK2DDR,,1296.101000,Q65,-20,-17,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,09:00:00,2026-03-24,09:04:00,G4YTL,IO92,1296.101000,Q65,-22,-22,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,09:04:00,2026-03-24,09:05:53,R1NW,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-18,,,,,,,

2026-03-24,09:02:00,2026-03-24,09:06:10,I2FAK,,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-18,,,,,,,

24 QSO

Total: 32 QSO

++++++++++++++

Today, March 25th, I’ll be active during my moonrise to catch the US stations. My eastern horizon is blocked by trees, so I need about 10 degrees of elevation. I expect to be on the air around 02:30 UTC.

Yesterday was an absolute nightmare. During my moonrise, I calibrated the antenna using the Sun and slewed it toward the Moon. Unfortunately, the path was blocked by a massive, towering tree that added a frustrating 3 dB of noise.

Despite the obstruction, I managed to squeeze out two QSOs with “big guns.” After that, the band went dead for me—I had to wait a couple of hours for the Moon to gain elevation and drift further North.

But during that wait, a cyclone hit with fierce wind gusts. The sky was completely blacked out by thick clouds—not a single break. To make matters worse, a gust of wind actually wrenched the antenna, causing it to slip in the rotator mount. Since the Sun had already set, finding the Moon’s azimuth again became a near-impossible task.

By some miracle, I found it and managed a few more QSOs, but then another massive gust spun the antenna again, and a sudden downpour drenched the entire setup. My “shack” is organized under a small lean-to just to keep the cables long enough to reach the tripod, so I had to scramble and pull the plug immediately.

After a 90-minute forced pause and some blind searching for the signal, I somehow managed to find the azimuth again and added a few more QSOs to the log. It was a brutal session, but we made it happen!

2026-03-25,02:31:00,2026-03-25,02:35:56,NC1I,FN32,1296.101000,Q65,-24,-15,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,02:38:00,2026-03-25,02:42:01,VE6TA,DO33,1296.101000,Q65,-19,-20,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,07:35:00,2026-03-25,07:39:57,UN6PD,MN69,1296.101000,Q65,-21,-21,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,07:40:00,2026-03-25,07:44:00,UA9FAD,LO88,1296.101000,Q65,-15,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,07:45:00,2026-03-25,07:49:56,BA7NQ,OM89,1296.101000,Q65,-23,-21,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,08:24:00,2026-03-25,08:26:04,OK2DL,JN79,1296.100425,Q65,-11,-16,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,08:24:00,2026-03-25,08:28:00,UA9FA,LO87,1296.100425,Q65,-17,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,08:39:00,2026-03-25,08:43:56,DL7UDA,JO62,1296.100264,Q65,-19,-24,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,08:48:00,2026-03-25,08:50:02,DL0SHF,JO54,1296.100264,Q65,-12,-09,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,08:54:00,2026-03-25,08:58:00,DM2CFH,,1296.100264,Q65,-15,-15,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,09:00:00,2026-03-25,09:04:00,DG0FE,,1296.100264,Q65,-17,-19,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,09:02:00,2026-03-25,09:06:00,DL4DTU,JO60,1296.100264,Q65,-12,-14,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,09:08:00,2026-03-25,09:12:00,RX3DR,KO85,1296.100264,Q65,-13,-15,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,09:10:00,2026-03-25,09:14:00,DK0ZAB,,1296.100264,Q65,-12,-14,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,09:17:00,2026-03-25,09:21:56,SA6BUN,JO78,1296.100264,Q65,-21,-22,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,10:08:00,2026-03-25,10:12:00,PA0TBR,JO21,1296.100264,Q65,-25,-26,,,,,,,

2026-03-25,10:19:00,2026-03-25,10:19:09,SP5GDM,KO02,1296.100264,Q65,-19,-20,,,,,,,

17 QSO

Total: 49 QSO

This morning, March 26th (NZ time), my rental at the current house came to an end. This place was a last-minute find after the Chatham Islands trip was cancelled, so now I have to pack up all the gear and move again. The new QTH is about 300 km to the north, locator RF73FX.

It looks like the northeast direction (for my MR) is much more open there, though there might be a small hill to the northwest towards my MS. I’ll know for sure in a few hours. The weather forecast isn’t great—stormy with high winds and rain—but I’m hoping it settles down by evening so I can be on the air for my moonrise.

++++++++++

After a 4-hour drive, I’ve finally arrived. The weather kept getting worse and worse along the way. Upon reaching the site—which, by the way, is excellent, with a completely clear MR and a nearly unobstructed MS—I was greeted by heavy rain and gale-force winds around 50 km/h.

Deploying any kind of antenna is totally out of the question right now (well, maybe a 28 MHz Ground Plane at most, LOL). So, I’m definitely skipping today’s moonpass. The forecast for tomorrow looks good, though.