- [NEWS UPDATE]
Pista, HA5AO says he has received the LotW certificates for his Z22AO, 9J2AO, A25AO and V51/HA5AO callsigns. The QTHs are fully booked. The visa to Namibia is applied and hopefully will be granted soon. All the equipment and antennas tested and packed in 3 baggages. The total weight is 92 kg, excluding personal stuff. He leaves on 1st September and will arrive to Victoria Falls International Airport, Zimbabwe on the 2nd Sept. The first signals can be expected on 3rd. A reminder of his schedule below in previous news update.
Pista also says the QTHs are in or around natural parks. The lodges are protected by electric fence keeping the big wild animals away. These electric fences may generate high noise level, but he hopes that it will not make CW impossible. He was advised that monkeys and baboons can enter the premises, and hopes they will not damage his main antenna – this is the reason Pista decided to use the sturdier Hustler vertical antenna and not the lightweight DX Commander even if it significantly increases the weight of his baggage.
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- [MARCH 3]
Pista, HA5AO – celebrating 50 years anniversary of his HAM license – informs DX-World that he will be active from four African countries in September/October 2024. The operating sites are within 40-80 km circle of the common borders of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Namibia. Ten days of operation can be expected from each country on CW, SSB, and FT8 from 80m up to 6m. The licenses are in hand, the QTHs are booked. He will use K3S and FT-710 transceivers with KPA 500 power amplifier. The antenna is a DX Commander vertical for 40-6m bands and multi-band inverted-V (80m-6m) on a 12m HD Spider pole, donated by Spiderbeam. The planned schedule is as follows,
- 03-13 September, Zimbabwe, Zambezi National Park as Z22AO, QRA: KH21ww
- 14-23 September, Zambia, Victoria Falls region as 9J2AO, QRA: KH22wc
- 24 Sept-04 October, Botswana, Chobe National Park as A25AO, QRA: KH22oc
- 05-14 October, Namibia, Katima Mulilo region as V5/HA5AO, QRA: KH22dm
Other details, QSL policy and OQRS can be found here.
