Ham Radio Operator - M0YKS

Beaming 135 degrees across Africa I worked into Comoros Island - D68CCC up on 15m mid morning from my shack. It is a new country for me and also a rare one taking it to up to 139 DXCC. The location looks wonderful, I am sure the MDXC Dxpedition have enjoyed there time operating from such a beautiful place. Its half term at college and I am on holiday all week, so you can expect to hear more from me throughout the week as I catch the tail end of the world wide DXpeditioners that are still operating here and there. Best 73 happy Ham ing!

After browsing through my contest log I realised that some pretty cool DXCC popped up during the contest. My station was pretty awsome and I worked the same number of Zones as last year but gained on the Countries by three this time around.

Despite conditions not being amazing I had a great weekend with lots of fun throughout the contest. My equipment worked well for me and I managed to work many DX during the CQWW contest. In total I made 319 QSO with 68 DXCC and 18 world zones entered in my log. I operated on 80 through to 10 meters using all three antenna setups. I was lucky enough to get plenty of time in and some great DX was caught over the weekend pushing my total DXCC count up to 138. I also caught lots of video footage of my participation,  I hope you enjoy it. Best 73

I was able to catch two passes earlier of the ISS making contact with a school in Italy. The signal was 5/9+60db to my Yaesu FT-847 Earth Station and satellite antenna array. I caught the first pass on video which is in Italian, I understood some of it but dont speak much Italian lol chow! 73.

I recently injured my back which is slowly getting less painful and to avoid aggravating it I have been resting up and monitoring the HF bands. I have heard plenty of DX stations from 80m through to 15m throughout the day and late into the evening. Propagation is definitely up and good reliable openings have made it possible to fully test out my equipment in preparation for the up and coming CQWW contest next weekend. My DXCC count has risen to 135 as I have worked lots of stations over the past 10 days. I listed a few of my recent favourite DX using my Yaesu FT-1000 and amp Running 400w into the 3 element Cushcraft MA5B were: XE1CQ - MEXICO on 15M V55JOTA - NAMIBIA on 15M V31JW - BELIZE on 20M ZD7FT - ST HELENA ISLAND on 17M JH1MDJ - JAPAN on 17M A41NN - OMAN on 15M OD5VB - LEBANON on 20M The beam is excellent on the higher portion of HF and the recently constructed homebrew 80m dipole is everything I hoped it would be, im hearing N.America most evenings. The performance...

I awoke this morning to a great start as I got straight into Japan working 5x5 signals both ways with japanese station JH1MDJ up on 17 m just now.  The exact frequency was 18.156 and my Cushcraft beam heading was at 30 degrees. I was running 400 watts from my Russian amplifier. Let's hope this is a sign of improving conditions. It's been a long time since I heard Japan at least 2 years. This week radio conditions have been interesting, I worked Liberia and Belize taking my DXCC total up to 133 DXCC as M0YKS (last 5 years).

I took a picture this morning before leaving for work of my latest homebrew 80 meter dipole. It's working out very well so far, I worked GB4BIT last night who was portable on Bardsley Island, Wales. I will be operating from my shack again this evening. Hopefully conditions will be good. Best 73 have a good day.