Biography

Since my childhood I have been interested in electronics and mechanics.

At the end of the seventies, while at high school, I discovered HAM radio. In 1988 I obtained the class A operator certificate.

After a hiatus of 17 years, I have been active again since September 2016, with a modest HF amateur radio station by today's standards.

I am a "search and pounce" type of operator. A habit from my SWL days.

My main interest is going towards DX hunting on the HF bands with SSB as preferred mode.
While digital modes don't appeal to me really, I use FT8/FT4 modes anyway, as it has unfortunately become the core activity of many DX-stations and DXpeditions.

At least once a week I upload my log to LoTW, Clublog, QRZ and eQSL.

Below you can read more history and info regarding my station.



I respect meticulously the principles set out in the booklet "Ethics and Opereating Procedures for the Radio Amateur" by John Devoldere, ON4UN (SK) and Marc Demeuleneere, ON4WW.
http://www.on4ww.be/OperatingPracticeEnglish.html
A must read.
The hobby would be much more enjoyable if every HAM radio operator applied these recommendations!



I was born in 1959. Married to Gerda in 1982. We have a daughter (°1986) and 3 grandchildren (°2012, °2015 and °2018). We all live in Kortemark. Our town has 13000 inhabitants, spread over 5 parishes on an area of 56,43km², of which 8,5% is inhabited. Kortemark is situated in the middle of the province of West-Vlaanderen, 25kms South East from the coastal city of Ostend and 25kms South West from the medieval city of Bruges.

Altough I have a college education in electronics, almost throughout my entire professional career I did work for various law enforcement agencies. I am retired since 1 november 2022.

I have been interested in both electronics and mechanics since childhood. In the early seventies I had become an avid music lover and I particulary enjoyed the nocturnal "album format" emissions by Radio Caroline on the medium wave band. I was fascinated by the way this MW offshore pirate radio stations managed to transmit from written off small cargo ships or fishing vessels. A self-repaired Grundig 2053W set from the fifties, with built-in rotatable ferrite-antenna, was my companion. This set is still in the shack.

Later on I discovered broadcast-transmissions on the 49m band. In 1979, after purchasing a Sommerkamp FRG-7000 general coverage receiver, I came across communications on the to amateur radio allocated HF-bands, and slowly got in to this great hobby as a SWL (ONL5810). It has stuck with me ever since!

In 1988, I succesfully went for the class A-operator certificate and was assigned the ON7AH callsign.

Until 1991, I really enjoyed discovering DXing on HF, despite antenna restrictions. As a S&P operator I collected 209 DXCC coutries out of only 1203 non-contest QSOs.

Unfortunately, the following years, other pursuits had to be given priority and gradually I got rid of almost all my amateur radio equipment. Transceivers were sold and peripherals went to either fellow villager ON4ANE or to the scrap metal dealer.

In July 2016, after a house move, I was able to return to the hobby. Restarting with a Kenwood TS-180S from 1980, an end-fed random length wire antenna with 9:1 UNUN and a homemade tuner. Gradually, my station was upgraded to a (according to today's standards) still modest HF station.

Man-made noise:
I have successfully taken steps to reduce man-made noise on RX:
A mains filter at the 240V entrance of the shack, an adequate RF ground system individually connected to each device and common mode chokes on all coaxial feedlines.
Unfortunately, I still experience a lot of inconvenience caused by the non-compliant and neglected electric fence installation in the horse pasture next to my plot. The owner is not approchable on this subject.

Logging:
In my shack, located in the garden, I use N1MM+ for logging. On a regular base all N1MM+ and WSJT-X data are stored into DXLab's DXKeeper. Every QSO made since 1988 is then uploaded to LoTW, QRZ, Club Log and eQSL. Unfortunately, all the pre-2017 contest logs are lost.

QSL cards:
I collect paper QSL-cards for CW and SSB contacts only. I reply to all QSL cards received via bureau.

Regarding digital modes:
Altough digital modes don't appeal to me, I use FT8/FT4 in order to build up my DXCC score. Dissapointed to notice that more and more DX-stations and DXpeditions choosing FT8-mode as their core activity. FT8 is a great invention, but impersonal, and besides a few mouse clicks, it doesn't demand a lot of operating skills really (at least for the operators who have read and understand the manual). It is more like watching a sick goldfish in a bowl of water.

Look for FT8 Etiquette for DXers by 3D2AG on Antoine his QRZ page https://www.qrz.com/db/3D2AG

Confirmations for contacts in digital modes only via LoTW, QRZ.com and eQSL.


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Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Transceivers (They don't make them like this anymore!):

2 x Yaesu FT-1000MP (1995 and 1996)

Kenwood TS-180S (1980)

2 x Icom IC-7200 (2011) one travel rig and one for FT8.



Antennas:
-G3TXQ hexbeam by MW0JZE, Create RC5-1 rotor on a 4 x 3m aluminium self supporting mast with electric winch
-Inverted V dipoles for 80, 40 and 30m band
For outdoor activities:
-dipoles for 80, 40 and 20m
-inverted L random length end fed with ON7FU 9/1 UNUN and LDG IT-100 autotuner
-homebrew vertical for the 10, 15 and 20m bands



Antenna tuners:

DU-3000T by HA8DU

Daiwa CNW 419

Yaesu FC-700

LDG IT-100 autotuner