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Activating HZ1WRTC Special Call from HZ1HZ Station
17/01/2023
During my visit to Saudi Arabia in Januray 2023, I had
the chance to pass by and meet Laila HZ1HZ in her house on the
way back to Tunis from Jeddah.
Leila was very kind allowing me to operate her station.
At the time, she and other members of the Saudi Amateur
Radio Society were activating HZ1WRTC Special Call. I
did use it too on 15m CW, pile-ups were big!
First Satellite Activity from 3V8SS
04/01/2021
 The last week of Dec 2020 was dedicated to Satellite
operation from 3V8SS Station. The station license
includes VHF, satellites with 2m Uplink were selected.
I built a 2m/70cm 4/5 Dual Band yagi based on DK7ZB with
small modification to fit the frequencies I use.
I did trials on linear satellites, it unfortunately
didn't work with semi-duplex operation. I was limited to
FM birds, mainly SO-50, ISS and SO-27.
During 6 days of operation, 37 QSOs were performed and
10 DXCCs confirmed. Curfew (and cold weather) restricted
operation to day passes.
Thanks to Philippe EA4NF for being so patient
encouraging me (for months!) to move a bit away from HF
and get started with satellites.
I find satellites operation a real fun that should
be resumed in the future.
7X7X Low Bands DXPedition Story
12/01/2020
Back in March 2014, The Algerian and Tunisian Amateur Radio Associations have
signed a cooperation agreement to reinforce relations through joint activities.
Part of the agreement was to exchange visits and conduct DXPeditions.
7X7X Team Photo
The idea of arranging a DXPedition in Algeria end of 2019 was appreciated by
both association. Preparations started end of October 2019.
The objectives of the DXPditions were set as follows:
- To activate Algeria on all bands with focus
on 80/160
- To work maximum number of stations in Japan and North America on Low
Bands
- To take part in Stew Perry DX Challenge
- To learn more about DXPedition planning & preparation (for future
bigger plans)
- To involve youngsters in DXPedition activities
- To reinforce the relations between Algerian and Tunisian hams
We wanted to make this DXPedition a good opportunity to boost youngsters
interest in the hobby. We involved 4 youngsters in the event; Sarra 7X2QV (23
years, YL), Lotfi 7X2QC (21 years), Marwa 3V8CB (24 years, YL) and Ahmed
3V1B/KG5OUE (22 years). Three of these youngsters were in YOTA events held by
IARU.
The rest of the team included Afif 7X2RO (co-Leader), Ash 3V8SF/KF5EYY
(co-Leader), Mohamed 7X3TL (27 years), Redha 7X5QB and Abdelghani, 7X2TT/M0NPT.
The QTH was carefully selected west of Bejaia, 25m above sea level directly
sloping to the Mediterranean. A mountain was right behind us restricting the
path to South America, Africa and New Zealand.
Ash 3V8SF/KF5EYY Operating Stew Perry 160 CW
The Tunisian team flew from Tunis to Alger on December 28th. We had 3 hours of flight delay. I was
very worried I won't be able to be QRV for Stew Perry DX Challenge.
We arrived late to Bejaia city joining the Algerian Team after
4 hours of drive (Thanks Mohamed 7X3TL!). Although we didn't manage to arrive before darkness as
originally planned, we immediately started putting up the 160m inv-L. Setting up
the beverages to NA and JA was impossible in darkness and the unknown hilly area
so I went for Stew Perry with the TX antenna only; a 26 meters high inv-L with 4
x 20m radials (later became 8). With the help of Ahmed 3V1B tuning the antenna
didn't take much time.
At 21:26z, the first QSO is made on 160m CW. I was running 900W and using TS-480
as a radio. After about two hours, the first US station was logged then many
followed. It was amazing how quite the band was.
By 07:30z, I had 428 QSOs in log and 3015 points with the longest distance being
10009 km in a QSO with N6JV. That was very promising for the rest of the
activity.
In the meantime, Abdelghani 7X2TT was operating through Eshail and continuously
making demonstrations and providing information to the youngsters on satellite
operation and set up.
In the following days, the team added a full Quarterwave vertical for 80, a 2
element Fritzel yagi for high bands, a 7 elements yagi for VHF and a GP for 30m
then adding a coil for it to operated on 40 as well.
7X7X QTH
Looking at the area where the beverages were supposed to be installed, I
realized how pictures were miss-leading; vegetation was much higher, rocks were
much bigger, slopes were much sharper! No way we can put beverages in there.
Fortunately, we were prepared with a B-Plan, so Ahmed and Marwa put up a single
K9AY loop that we manually rotate between the two main directions. It worked
REALLY well!
We did our best to operate 2 stations at a time. We had a quite few technical
issues that we had to overcome. The major technical issue was with the TS-2000
'randomly' changing its power output (!!). That was the only radio with a
separate RX connector. I used it the second night (when it was fine) but that
didn't last long before I had to go back to the TS-480.
Marwa, Sara and Ahmed Setting up the 2 Elements
Fritzel
We are satisfied with the QSO count and we ended up with 5800 QSOs in 4 days,
the operating schedule was intentionally not made tight since part of the
DXPedition objectives was to socialize and build a strong team capable of making
bigger plans in the future.
On December 31st, we had a nice BBQ dinner together in-situe that we really
enjoyed! That was the time we were running FT8 for the Japanese friends.
The log inluded QSOs split as follows: 38% CW, 55% SSB, 7% FT8. It was nice to
see youngsters favoring SSB operation over FT8.
We had 1121 QSOs on 160m and 798 QSOs on 80m. 356 US stations and 30 JAs worked
on 160.
The DXPedition team highly value the support we got from NCDXF, LSDXA and MDXC
along with some other individual hams. This support is a solid investment into
the future of ham radio hobby. I urge all DXPeditioners to involve youngsters
in their future trips and do their best to make it easy and least costly for
them.
My 80m pileup (by WX0V)
My 160m pileup (by WX0V)
Article on 7X7X appearing in CQ
JAPAN February 2020
[Read more..]
Operating 4U1ITU from ITU Headquarters in Geneva
21/07/2019
After attending Friedrishchafen HamRadio 2019, I was
taken by my friend Ludo HB9EOU to his QTH in Nauchatel
Switzerland and I was happy to operate from his station
there.
The day after, we went to Geneva and we operated
together 4U1ITU station located in the ITU headquarters
building.
Thanks to all those who made that happen.
Visit to Tunisia's Shortwave Broadcast Site
10/11/2018
The Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens (ARAT) has
arranged on October 31st 2018 a visit to the Shortwave
Broadcast Station of Tunisia located in Sidi Mansour,
Sfax.
The site also includes 2 verticals for MW broadcast used
before for Radio Sfax.
The facilities are not currently operational for budget
constraint.
See more photos
here.
160m Toploaded Vertical in 3V8SF
21/09/2018
Preparing for the new season, I designed and built a
top loaded
vertical antenna for 160m in 3V8SF location. The
antenna is 17m high with two top loading wires 12m each.
For instance, the antenna has 8 radials, 19m each. A
shunt match coil is added at feedpoint.
First testing night QSOs - 21/09/2018
The map above shows the stations I could QSO during the night of September 21st.
The antenna performed really well with 100W only. Unfortunately, the beverage
antenna was disconnected.
More info could be found in Topband page.
YB9/KF5EYY from Bali, Indonesia (OC-022)
15/08/2015
During my stay in Bali Indonesia for honeymoon, I had
the pleasure to meet Made YB9AY in Sanur Area. YB9AY
Station is located in Made's house within the fences of
his hotel Wirasana Bali.
The YB guest license requires showing to ORARI Official
your Passport, a valid
license (check countries list able to have guest
licenses), a passport photo and fees of 150'000 Rupiah
(about 10 US$). Click
here
to see my guest license.
Propagation from this part of the world is very
different. High bands start opening in late hours of the
afternoon. QRN is relatively high. local QSOs can be
made on low bands.
I made few QSOs on Friday July 24th then decided to
operate a little bit in IOTA contest hoping for more
activity. I did over 120 SSB QSOs on 15 and 20.
Unfortunately, Made didn't have a key or cable for CW.
Made YB9AY is a keen 6m operator. He is a former ORARI
President and one of the most active radio operators
among thousands of other hams in the island.
CQ WW SSB 2014 from CN2R M/S
13/10/2014
Jim W7EJ kindly invited me to join him in a Multi/Single
effort from his station CN2R located in Casablanca
Morocco. It didn't took me two days for me to confirm my
attendance.
The team was composed of W7EJ, EA8RM, I4UFH, HB9DUR,
W7ZR, EA9LZ and myself 3V/KF5EYY.
Our plan was to use 1 Run Station and 1 Mult Station. 2
other stations can join the RUN group as in-band
stations or as additional MULT station. All the stations
were interlocked accordingly.
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CN2R Team |
Myself operating
15m |
Antenna towers at
CN2R |
Jim arrived early in October and had to set up two new
towers for the MULT/In-Band Stations. The towers were
over 250m away from the shack for the stations to be
used within 20kHz from any MULT or RUN station. Rotors are driven through WiFi. Each tower was
equipped with an A4S and an inverted-V for 40.
The main RUN and MULT stations have three different
antennas on each band pointing to different directions
with selection possibilities.
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Jim on RUN Station |
Interlocking Master
Panel |
CN2R Team |
Contest start wasn't that good but the team could
overcome the stress and enjoy. Preparations and fixing
didn't finish by contest start, Jim still had to fix
some issues with WiFi rotors.
The Partner station wasn't unfortunately ready for use.
Over 1500 QSOs were made on the
In-Band stations. The contest ended up with 9818 QSOs
and 25 million points.
3V RBN NODE SETUP - FIRST IN NORTH AFRICA
13/10/2014
Thanks to LA7QIA's support, I set up a Reverse Beacon in
3V8SS Radio Station. The set up
consists of an SDR-IQ by RF SPACE, CW Skimmer by VE3NEA,
W3OA's SkinScan, and a dipole antenna. I sometimes
switch it on other antennas as needed.
This Skimmer (named "3V/KF5EYY") is the first in North
Africa.
Appreciate the help of N4ZR, VE3NEA and W2RF.
See spots by 3V/KF5EYY Reverse Beacon
here.
Spots by 3V/KF5EYY Reverse Beacon
YASME Excellence Award 2013 awarded to KF5EYY!
17/02/2014
I was nominated in 2013 to be awarded the YASME
Excellence Award. Part of the price value went to
support ARAT's activities.
This is what YASME said: "Ashraf Chaabane,
3V/KF5EYY, has become an energetic representative on all
fronts of Amateur Radio in Northern Africa and globally,
presenting a positive role model for Amateur Radio
throughout the Arab world with his enthusiasm and
competitive spirit. His mission is to see the day when
Tunisia issues him that country’s first individual
Amateur Radio license. Chaabane will represent Africa as
the team leader for the African team in WRTC-2014".
The full press release can be found
here.
KF5EYY Qualified to WRTC 2014!
20/10/2013
I'm proud to announce that, following the past 3 years
of competition and the selection process run by WRTC
committee, I will be representing the African Continent
in the upcoming WRTC that will be held inshallah from
July 8th to 15th 2014 in Boston, USA.
I selected Hrane YT1AD to be my team mate in this
competition.
The World Radiosport Team Championship (WRTC) is held
every four years and consists of approximately 50
two-person teams of amateur radio operators competing in
a test of operating skill. Previous WRTCs have been held
in Seattle (1990), San Francisco (1996), Slovenia
(2000), Finland (2002), Brazil (2006), and Russia
(2010). You can learn more about the history and results
of previous WRTC events at www.wrtc.info.
SO2R Technique for the first time in a 3V Station
13/08/2013
WAEDC CW was my first ever attempt using SO2R Technique. An Array Solutions
Device was kindly brought by YT1AD. Cabling the device wasn't that difficult and
it had solid performance all the contest long.
The new technique provided me with extra multipliers and QSO points and I would
expect a more extensive use of this technique in the upcoming contests.
For more details, please have a look at the contest story.
TS8TI DXPedition to Djerba
Island AF-083
18/05/2013
ARAT (Association des Radio Amateurs Tunisiens) has organized a DXPedition to
Djeba Island (AF-083) in collaboration
with an Italian team led by Fred IK7JWX. The callsign
we chose was TS8-Tunisia-Italia.
The main goal of the DXPedition was to activate this
rare island and give radio amateurs a TS8 prefixe! The DXpedition was also a
great opportunity to ARAT members to get in touch with skilled operators which
will positively impact their knowledge and operating performance.
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TS8TI Team |
Ash KF5EYY
operating TS8TI |
Part of ARAT Team |
ARAT role was to organize the activities by aquiring
license, logistics, booking, etc. The Italian team was kind and donated a TRX
and 3 vertical antennas to ARAT Club 3V8ESG based in the Engineering School of
Gabes.
I arrived to Djerba island two days before the
DXPedition's end. I operated only CW and made over 1000 QSOs in 9 hours.
Propagation was excellent and was open towards JA and W/K in the same time with
only 100W and a GP antenna right on the beach.
For more information about the activity and other ARAT activities, please visit
www.arat.org.tn
CT-37HF Triband Antenna installed in 3V8SS!
26/11/2010
Many thanks to Andy
RA9CKQ for sponsoring the antenna, the tower, PC
interface and antenna switcher. And to Al 4L5A for
sponsoring the G-800 Rotor.
Special
thanks goes also to all the scouts and everyone who helped realizing this in
such record time!
More
photos:
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Preparing the platforms for the rotor
and bearing
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Antenna assembly
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Setting the antenna on the tower using a crane
DXCC Award Received!
30/09/2010
I received
today my DXCC award for 102 confirmed DXCCs. All these were confirmed
electronically via Logbook of the World LotW (See certificate at left).
Thanks to Vitor PY2NY who sponsored all the payments as money transfer
from Tunisia to foreign
countries is not possible.
The next objective will be the 150 Milestone. Paper QSL Cards will be needed to achieve the target as soon as possible.
You can find a list of all LotW users by visiting HB9BZA
website.
QRV as TA1/KF5EYY from TA1KB
May 17, 2010
At least one week vacation was
mandatory for me to rest from a whole year continous work. My request for
vacation was accepted and I decided to travel
to Turkey. Preparations were very quick and within 2 days I depart to Istambul.
Just before I leave Tunisia, I
gave a call to Mr.Aziz Sasa TA1E, the president of the Turkish Radio Amateur
Club (TRAC).
The first three days
in Istanbul were dedicated to tourism. Then I had the
chance to meet Mr. Aziz several times and other Ham Radio friends there.
Mr. Aziz took me to TA2KA and I assisted to an emergency exercice with him where
the purpose was to transmit as much emergency messages as possible.
I was surprised
seeing how developped the emergency communication system made by Ham Radio in this country. The TRAC has a full support from the government thanks to this.
The local authorities sponsored 3 cars to TRAC which transformed it into mobile
emergency communications center.
I was also able to visit TA1KB Club station. I made a 30-minutes pile up on 20m as TA1/KF5EYY. The pile-up was big and I made around 60 QSOs.
My warm thanks goes to Aziz, Mamduh and all the other guys I met for the hospitality and kindness.
[More..]
QRV from NR5M Super Station
February 13, 2010
I went to the United States during the month of
February 2010 for business. Eric NM5M answered to my call in CQ Reflector seeking
for
radio amateurs in Texas. We met together, he was so kind and helped me
passing the exam for the US License.
During the ARRL CW Contest, Eric took me to NR5M Super Station in Hempstead, Houston
(about 4 hours driving south of Dallas). We arrived about 3 hours after the
start of the contest. We joined the team and we
activated the 10m Stations. I was running the Multiplier Station. Eric was
running pile-up.
NR5M is a huge station
owned by Goerge having over
20 towers for antennas and 2 stations for each band. Every station is equiped
with an ICOM, Micro Keyer II, Alfa 77S Amplifier, a computer with LCD Screen,
antenna rotors and selectors for stacked antennas, etc...
More info about NR5M
station
here..
[More..]
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