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VP2MMN
 Montserrat Michael Noertemann QSL ONLY via DF8AN Neustadt 18, 37154 Northeim Germany [+] Mailing label | ||
Lookups: 10762
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| QSL: DF8AN | ||
20131114 0122UTC 14002kHz VP2MMN
Date : 14/Nov/2013 0122UTC
Freq : 14002kHz CW
Rig : SDR(PI4THT)
ANT : Mini-Whip(PAØRDT)
PC recording
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QSL address
Michael Noertemann, DF8AN
Neustadt 18
37154 Northeim
GERMANY
Neustadt 18
37154 Northeim
GERMANY
QSL pse only via DF8AN (direct or via the german buro; don't sent cards to the Montserrat QSL buro).
SWL QSL cards are always appreciated and will be confirmed 100 %
you can contact me during that DXpediton on df8an@gmx.de for skeds and I will try to contact you.
Diary from Montserrat:
08. nov. Day 1: I arrived with Fly Montserrat at 08:50 local time from Antigua (after 3 days operation and nearly 1000 contacts - ok, is not really much, but I am not only for holidays here and I had to work at the aviation security some hours, hi). Here in Montserrat it's like landing in paradise, I errected longwires for 80/40/30 on my location. I really hope, the hotel will not kick me out. .I will use a 3 ele for 10/15/20 and start today with SSB (which is unusual for me). After 6 hours I still had more contacts in the log than all contacts I made from V26MN. I had nice band openings on 6m at night. Only one problem: my cellular phone doesn't accept my german SIM card. That means nobody can reach me (unusual, but fine ;)
09.nov, Day2: starting very early with a sked FK8CP on 30m. Voila, we had a good contact and shortly after I had lots of 30 m contacts. 10 meter is widly open in all directions but very very bad disturbings through europeans.It was unbelievable (may be everyone thought, I am K9W??) I changed to 18 for Japan. Will operate 24/18 and 10.1 today and looking specially for JAs today. Now it is lunch time and I will look for a nice lobster burger (sorry guys, I am active now since 6 hours; even the coffee is finished.I MUST eat something) but will be back later. In the evening I had lots of JA's. very disciplinated guys; no disturbing, excellent operation. congrats. Finished at late night on 6 meters for SA. Got many many countries with simple 10 watts and a 4 meter long dipole.crazy
10.nov, Day 3: starting 14 CW to EU but lousy condx. 28 was wide open to each directionlots of EU and W's in SSB. I took a break to visit the local churchif you ever have a chance to come to the caribean, visit a church. The people here love singing and they sing with their hearts! After a very quick lunch 10 meters ist still open and I try to give new bands or modes to everyone. I think, specially to VO1SA who worked me immediatly whenever or wherever I operate.now it's 4:45 pm local time and I need some hours rest. (It's my work-free sunday and I'm looking if I get a piece of cake here). Will try 40 and 80 this night. look on 7001 or 3501 for me. Now it's 01:00 h utc and just a hand full operator hear me on 80 m. I will try it again later. By the way: on this island you didn't get any cake (on sundays). But you get beer on every corner. I hope it will keep me awake during the night.
11.nov, Day 4: after a long long sunday at the radio ( for more than 16 hours untill 5:00 am utc this morning) I decided to get some sleep. I couldn't believe that 14 mc is widely open the whole night and I worked lots of south americans and many many russian stations. But I must sleep. I must be at the airport arround 9 am in a awake constitution. Nobody there will believe me that I spent my days and nighs on a transmitter. Today it was a lazy day. I had some hours to work for the aviation authority (not too long but enough for that money they gave me). Than I decided to go scuba diving. In Germany I have a second small business like a second hobby to operate a small dive center (check my home page www.tauchschule-noertemann.de and you will see some pictures and may be you find the guestbook, hi) and I wounder how is diving here. It was a great dive and it is absolutly different here than in german waters: colorfull fish, little nudy branches, sponges, but all soil on the bottom is black from the vulcano erruptions. I never never saw such a beautiful black. Black stones with little clown fishes (I took some NEMO pictures) and hundreds of all color fishes. Different from our green lakes in Germany with green water and green fish. After that one hour diving I went to a store and bought a roll with 80 meter long wires. That means, I will be active on 160 this night and so you can imagine, how the appartment and the balcony looks like: full of wires, in all directions. I really beg, that they don't kick me out during the next days. Even the house maid I didn't let in anymore. In the afternoon I worked specially on 15 meters and I still wait untill the sun goes down. Look for me on 3501 and 1821 the next nights. By the way: for the price of that long wire I could go eating in a restaurants many many times. I forget the best: I had contacts witih T33A and even with Z81B. I really need both for my DXCC as DF8AN and I sit here and work them as VP2MMN. Life can be unfair.
After beeing hours on 30m because of the never ending callers from USA I switched to my today built new wire antenna. It works fantastic on 40. But I finished that band after one hour. There was a real euopean zoo and most of them have absolutly no discipline. If I call a station where I missed some of the call sign, up to five others interrupting, disturbing and making each contact impossible. Trust me, I heard lots of real weak europeans but the disturbings were so high that I decide to finish that and change on 6 m for south america. May be I will come back to 40 and 80 later when the european zoo is fnished or the eu propagation is finished. Or I take the new wires and bring them back to the shop and get my money back. It is real hard to say that but some europeans have to learn a minimum of ham spirit. This kind of disturbing isn't ham radio anymore. This only wastes my time. Than it's better for me, to watch television or go out to the garden and watch the beautiful stars on the sky and drink a beer, than giving this kind of amateurs any attention. I'm really really frustrated. Where are the good old times, when most amateurs gave another a chance to work a DX?? Times, when amateurs even with small antennas got their DX (of course, sometime it is important to wait a time). Is it really so important, to work me on 16 bands in 25 modulations??? Isn't it better, to give many many different stations a chance to get ONE contact and get ONE QSL from his DX??? I have dozens of double band and mode contacts. Why? I will promise, this kind of disturbing is the beginning end of amateur radio. I can not show anyone here in Montserrat this kind of hobby if I can only show disturbings, qrm and nothing usefull. Has amateur radio changed to CB radio?? Think about it!
12.nov, Day 5: The long wires which should work on 160 m didn't work there. But they work better that I could believe on 40 and 80 m. I think, normally a 80 meter long 1 mm wire has to work on 160.but nobody answered my calls there. SWR is pretty good, I heard last night a lot of europeans but they don't hear me. However, 40 and 80 was great. After just a few hours sleep. We had a real thunder storm, lots lots of rain and at 8:00 I had to go to my job again (it wasn't a real good sleep, I dreamt the whole night from the terrible european zoo from yesterday. Today it was just a short day to work. Everything is done very very quickly after 5 hours (easy earned money) and I came back to my bungalow and switched to 12 meters. But the whole band was lousy and everyone was real weak. Nobody set me on the packet cluster. Everything I hast to do by myself. The 10 meter Band runs perfect. Wide openings into all continents and a lot of fun with the US boys. I also worked K9W, followed by T33A and FK8CE. All three stations in just 5 minutes (ok, K9W needs 3 calls, but: he answered). I hope, they will be there next week, when I return to DL. I need them since years for my german DXCC. After calling cq on 10 m I had a huge pile up. There wasn't any break; even for a short coffee. QSO rate was up to 12 contacts per minute and that means, I already have done 3321 contacts in the past 4 days. I think, that could be become a really expensive trip to print thousands of QSL cards. But I will not finish calling cq. I forgot to say: today I got a offer from my company if I can think about the idea, to come back next spring. Of course I can think about that. The plan is, next april to come back to Montserrat and I can see the fruits of my work here. What ever that means. But for me it was clear: my VP2MMN licence has to get valid also for 2014. I'll do that tomorrow. And I should stay in april a little bit longer. May be I work a week and take one more week for holidays. And I have to bring better 160 m antennas. In this moment it is 21:30 utc and I have a beautiful sunset. A really bright read and orange over the sea looking west. To early for dinner but the right time for a ice cold beer and back to 10 meters. Now it's nearly 4:00 utc and I really need some sleep. When I come back to DL and told my collegues what I had done after work, nobody will believe me: sitting in paradise , working daily very few hours and the rest of the day instead inside the ocean or a swimming poole, sitting in front of a radio. Nobody has to understand this. However, i had much fun on 20 m todays with hundreds of north americans. Excellent operation: report, state , thank you. that's nice. I think, when I leave i can apply for worked all states award. And all of them play the same game. Nearly no disturbings, the little pistols wait untill the big guns get their contact. Great. Worked T33 on a third band. I think, they are a little bit too long on T33. I heard them nearly 20 minutes and they got a handfull contacts. Montserrat is definitly better. I had hugh pile ups and definitly no mosquitos. The out-of communication with my wife has an end: because my german cellular phone doesn't get any contact, I bought a brand new Samsung (small, easy, cheap ) and a Montserrat prepaid SIM. Now it's possible to contact some people outside of the amateur radio world. By the way: the chamber maid doesnt give up to see what's happen in the room. And she will not accept, that I clean everything by myself. I have everythin - I don't need anything. May be she thinks, I will safe the tipps. But how i can explain why I need 4 longwires. Good night now in each direction; 8:30 I have to go to work. But I try at 7:30 local time 30 m for the pacific region.
13.nov, Day 6: I forgot to wake up. But when I awake, there were only 40 minutes untill I had to be at work. And I need 15 min for driving. Quickly shower, than the first decision: a quick coffee and some toast, eggs and these terrible beans and bacon OR some 30 meter contacts. I decided for the 30 meters (sorry USA boys, I really like your kind of drinking coffee; in Germany we NEVER get a refill of coffee in the same price. Never. But warm beans and these little sausages - thanks a lot, I really really miss german breakfast.). Worked a couple of US on 30 and before someone set me in the cluster, I had to finish. It's not possible to be every day too late at work. Now - 6 hours later - I'm back at the shack. On the way back, I took a quick drive to the eastern part of the island. It's totally destroyed. You don't believe that? google "view jack boy hill montserrat" and see the pictures. I find a nice link: http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/NF10IZqJHZw-1D6zWg7G8Og-hd.jpg
the vulcano was just a little covered and I took some good pictures. And I collected some vulcano stones, which came out of the last erruption. If anyone of you is interested to get a small piece of vulcano stone, send me a email (but unitll I am here). Now I really hope, I didn't get 5000 orders; I still have enough overweight baggage. But they look nice: I collected 3 x 3 cm pieces, they are really light material, and some are black, some are red brown and some are grey. But all have some very small minerals arround. like small little mirrors arround the stone. So, if anyone is a mineral collector and wants a piece of Montserrat (better: out from devil's hell under Montserrat) let me know. But you have to pay the little postage costs for that. I will send it after returning to DL. Hmmmmm it's a business idea: I should sell out Montserrats stones. Here are millions of them. Now it's time for the radio. I just see, that I had not enough 12 meter contacts. Will be there as long as condx are good.
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will be continued
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