Just back from the hilltop about 80m ASL again this month.
This time I picked up a local ham, OZ9GH, Jan, and we had some fun setting up and running a simple station with the 10W output and a 12 element Yagi about 3m above the hilltop.
The hill is not far from Copenhagen in JO65CP (close to home, same grid), and contacts were made as far as SM6 and Northern Germany, around 200km. I estimate the conditions were average or a bit below.
A few local contacts were made on 1297.500 FM.
One was using a handheld transceiver with 1W out, and a handheld home brew Yagi, I think it was a 5 element one. He was just readable, so congratulations to OZ13JK and thanks for a nice QSO.
I will do this again when the weather is good, it's fun doing hilltop operation , even if we have to carry everything up a steep hill.
I had the radio programmed for CW CQ call etc, and made a few CW calls and got response, the first time from a German station, and that was with the antenna in the wrong direction. My first German QSO since I restarted 1296MHz activity.
It's a fun band, and I am planning to improve my home station for better 1296 operation.
