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The following was picked up off my local packet cluster. I have
sent it to both the DX and Top Band reflectors.
Hello to ALL:
I just arrived home this evening and wanted to thank so many
people for all the fine support and making the A61 visit an
enjoyable one.
I had the chance to operate from A61AF, A61AJ, A61AM and A61AH
while visiting the UAE on November 15 thru 26, 1996.
My Wife Rebecca and I had lots of great fun and had a chance to
meet and visit with some very fine people in the UAE. A special
thanks to A61AM, A61AJ and A61AH for going out of there way
daily to ensure our visit was a success.
The trip ended up taking a totally different route then planned
for 2 days before leaving Wash. D.C. At this point, I wasn't
sure if I would even be able to operate at all. This was
rectified quickly within 2 hours of arrival in the United Arab
Emirates (UAE). Rebecca
and I arrived in Dubai at
1:30 PM on Nov. 15, within an hour
we were with A61AM and A61AH partying in down town
Dubai. We didn't arrive back to our hotel until
6:30 AM the next day. It was great fun.
At this point, the plan was known. We were authorized to
operate only a few hours from A61AF, and then spent time with
A61AJ, Ali installing an Inverted L for 160 (75' high on leg and
remaining at 75'`horizontal), and inverted Vee antennas for 40
and 80 meters positioned for US contacts.
I also spent some time trouble shooting and replacing two
defective rotators, and repairing a TH11 Beam because of prior
assembly problems. A61AJ's station was now ready to go. Because
Ali, A61AJ is new to HF (1 month and about 20 QSOs) it was
important to work with him on SSB and developing skills in working the pile up
effectively. It
can be quite over whelming even to someone who has contested
before. Hi Hi. The next situation was working with Ali to
ensure he could use the equipment effectively after I left and
also assisted with CW skills.
I spent many days up and down Ali's tower and also Mohammed's
(A61AM)
tower.
We installed a new Kt-34 for A61AM and new wire antennas at
A61AJ. This was good news. Next it was time to operate. I made
about 5,000 total QSOs during the visit. These contacts were
made at A61AJ, A61AF, A61AM and A61AH in that order. It was
great fun. The 160 antenna did an excellent job. We work 44
countries and about 450 QSOs on this band.
For those who are interested, these are the following (US) call
signs logged as confirmed QSOs with A61AJ on 160 meters: K4IXT,
K3ANS, W2REH, K1AM, VE1ZZ, W3BGN, K1UD, K1MEW, W4NT, KM1E, W1CK,
KW1C, W1FJH, N3DAW, K2NV and WA3EUL.
Congrats to all. The best morning for me was
Nov 20, 1996. The signals were very
strong; Bill (K3ANS) was a gift with a loud signal.
We were also able to make 10 sat QSOs. Most of the QSOs were on
CW and about 300 QSOs on SSB.
Any way, it was great fun. QSLs for A61AJ are now being printed
and will be available in two weeks. The A61AF QSLs are now
available.
A61AJ and A61AF (Only for K3LP, ex-AA6DC) QSLs go to AA6DC call
book address. A61AM and A61AH QSLs go to KA5TQF
I look forward to visiting A61AJ next year.
To all those who had a chance to work me, congrats.
73's David K3LP(ex-AA6DC) |
