During storm Goretti I was working 5 Meg when I noticed some strong lightning interference. I checked my weather map and found an intense snow storm over South Wales. I kept an ear open for this for a while and it faded after about a quarter of an hour. Strange!
Checking the web I noted a phenomenon called snow thunder. This is caused when the ice laden moisture in the air produces the lightning discharges we usually associate with lots of rain and huge cumulonimbus clouds.
I took the opportunity to do a system check and as it had not been raining for a day or so I decided to go out and check the antennas in the garden. I found some Fir tree branches wrapped round the dipole, so a quick prune with my long handled trimmer and I'm back in business again.
On the nineteenth the radio system started to play up, again. The SWR was moving all over the shop and the tuner was making a funny noise.
I stopped transmitting and a couple of minutes later I smelt something hot. Close inspection found the ATU was very hot! I went out to the shed and got a screwdriver and proceeded to open the beastie up. I wish I hadn't as it filled the room with acrid smoke. Inside was a disaster zone - burnt PCB, capacitors and relays, all gone up in smoke.
That stopped operations for a week or so. By chance that Friday was the evening of the sale of Gavin's shack contents at the club. I managed to get permission from the domestic manager to go out for a couple of hours, and looking on the sale bench was an MFJ ATU, just what I wanted! Luckily I was the only bidder so it is now cleaned & tested and working in the shack. I am sure that it is the one that Gavin outbid me on at a junk sale, so I am pleased that it is now in my shack.
By coincidence that week was the one of great upheaval on the Solar front with auroras down south again and with most of the bands blanked out.
My activities are a little limited to late afternoons and early evenings so the DXCC count is a bit low this month, however some good DX was had.
On the first I bagged Paraguay and a couple of minutes later N6WT in California, both on 15m.
I got Vietnam on the fifth (on 60m), on the sixth the Philippines. The ninth produced N7WET in Arizona and 9Y4C on Trinidad. I managed Aruba on 15m followed by VK8DNT, the fourteenth saw Rhode Island in the bag followed by Curacao. Because of the failed tuner there was a short break and during the testing phase I bagged a load of Russians and Brazil (just like the old days) There followed a session of WWA stations, 65 in all and I got an award! On the last day of the month I was working CW for a change and managed Gilbert ZD7BG on St Helina Isl.
So the month finished with 347 contacts and 79 DXCCs 53 of which were on 60m.
Better luck in February?
Cheers & Good DX,
Chris, G4ZCS
