I don’t know how many of my readers work HF but there have been many stations celebrating the centenary of the IARU with special calls. I didn't count the number I saw on air but a quick tally of 25 DXCCs is my rough score with more to come. Likewise, there are many remembering the 80th anniversary of the end of WW2 with over 200 Russians listed!
My perennial problem started again a week into the month with poor reception and loss of power. The main symptom was that testing with a CW carrier, I was watching the power meter dropping from 200W down to 100 in 10 seconds and down to 50W in 20 seconds. As usual I suspected the box down the garden, so a couple of trips out in the sunshine with an assortment of screwdrivers & spanners to check the antenna switches and the Balun. All seemed OK with no burning smell. Next, I checked the twin feeders and the exposed ends of the coax, again all was well. Then into the shack to inspect the HF choke and the ATU - still no visible fault.
Then the obvious! The PSU feeding the Amp’ was showing 13.4 volts instead of 13.8. The 12V car battery I use as a capacitor was showing little if any recharge. I took the lid off the PSU to have a look & found that the negative terminal was not even finger tight; it rattled when I shook it! The voltmeter is connected to the PCB side of the terminal so had not shown the drop in voltage with the key down. With the aid of an 11mm spanner I tightened all the connections. A quick test showed the PSU output back to 13.8V and a two-hour battery charge current of nearly 30 Amps! Problem solved, and all the systems have now been given a birthday check-up.
On another matter, I was reading an astronomical mag’ that was reviewing cycle 25. The general opinion is that we have just passed the peak. However, the huge storms we had last autumn might have distorted the data. So, I’ll keep taking advantage of conditions while they last.
Now to the DX. Over a two-week period in the middle of the month I managed to work a VK2, 11 Chinese, Chile, South Africa, Hong Kong, 5 Japanese, a (very) far-eastern Russian, 2 Taiwan, Cape Verde, Nicaragua, Iraq, Bonaire, and Mali.
The weekend of the 24th & 25th was the CQWW CW contest. Loads of stations to be worked, but I had not prepared myself for quick fire contacts so only a handful of contacts made. However, the first one I did make was with 9M6NA on OC-133 which I had worked before but not confirmed. This time I’ll ask for a card! Talking about cards the postie has been kind again with an early 'Christmas' card!
By the end of the month, I had managed to add another 5 DXCCs to my annual total, but still a long way to catch up with the 'leaders'.
Cheers all
Chris G4ZCS
