Hi!

*** News - see below including new pictures ***

I had my license in 1986 and has been active since then without any significant "dropouts".

I;m occasionally active on D-star (mobile and fixed) and sometimes I run a D-star Hotspot on 2m VHF (SG5RVH C).

I;m active on APRS (SM5RVH-3 = 24/7 Fill-in Digi (software AGWUIdigi) ,SM5RVH-7, SM5RVH-9, SM5RVH-12 = mobile/portable equipment and SM5RVH-13 = weather station).

I have a 24/7 APRS ISS Gate (SM5RVH-6 ) - from local frequency 144,800 MHz to 145,825 MHz (and vice versa). If you use RS0ISS-4,SGATE,WIDE in your path - on local frequency (and you are in the coverage of my gate) - then you will be "gated" to the ISS-frequency.

On HF I run a ALE (Automatic Link Establishment) HFN Pilot station (callsign SM5RVH) with 24/7 services for ALE-users and EMCOMM including WL2K email access.

>> Take a look at http://hflink.net/maps/map.php to see the position of ALE-users and current propagation.

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New services:

I;m running a EchoLink gateway - SM5RVH-L or number 839597 on 2 meter (145,450 MHz).

A Winmor HF-email gateway is up and running 24/7 on 80, 40, 30, 20 and 15 meter. See http://www.winlink.org/RMSchannels - choose winmor and look for SM5RVH for the frequencies I:m using. Interesting is that the use of this service is already 1 - 5 connections each day - I thought it would be less.

On 10 meter - 29,610 MHz FM - I have a 24/7 simplex repeater - a "parrot" - running with 50 watt into a MFJ-1786 loop antenna. Please give it a try - just push the PTT and make a call!

I have a local "crosslink" between our repeater on 145,600 MHz (- 0,6 MHz) and 70 cm (433,5375 MHz, 82,5 Hz CTCSS).

>> Everything above is announced on the APRS-network! Zoom in on http://aprs.fi/#!lat=58.70530&lng=16.97000

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Mobile HF-activity is done by using a FT-857 and ATAS-120 antenna for 40 - 6 meter!

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Modified ATAS-120:

>> I added a wire - about 2,6 meters long - on top of my ATAS-120. I mounted a fibreglass stick (1 meters long) in the front grill of my Audi A4 and tied the other end of the wire to the top of that stick. Now the ATAS-120 can be used on 80 meters. To tune the antenna - choose 40 meters, manually tune the antenna (see the operating manual for FT-857) to its most extended position. Change to 80 meter and check where the swr has its lowest value - if the frequency where the antenna has the lowest swr is too low - go back to 40 m and make the antenna a little bit shorter, then go back to 80 and see the difference. Soon you will find how to increase or decrease the length of the antenna on 40 (or other ATAS-compatible band) to have good swr on 80 meters. The antenna is still usable for 40 meters and higher and will tune automatically when pushing the "tune" button. When using the added "horisontal wire" the antenna should be better for mobile NVIS acitvities. I will upload a picture of the installation soon.

I found that the ATAS-120 including the added wire was usable only up to 14 MHz. Now the wire is gone - i.e. ATAS-120 returned to normal operation but - it was an interesting test! A new arrangement using a SGC-237 antenna tuner and a looong fibreglass whip will be added to the car soon.

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I like to combine being out in the woods and amateurradio. Therefore my backpack consists of a thermos of coffee, some sandwiches and 7 Ah batterypack, Yaesu FT-817, Z-817 autotuner and a 4,5 meter fibreglass whip mounted on the frame of the backpack (and some cables for "the dragging counterpoise") and of course - a handheld APRS-transceiver!

My other equipment at home consists of many coaxcables , a selfsupported 24 meter tower and its "smaller brother" - a 10 meter tower - see pictures below.

This is my 24 meter (approx 80 feet) selfsupported tower including 21000 kg (!) of concrete in the base! Some of the antennas are: Create CLP-5130-2, Cuedee 17 element 70 cm, Tonna 9 element 2 m, Fritzel FB-33 (fixed in 300 degrees), Cushcraft A3WS (fixed in 300 degrees) - incl. 10 MHz, 3 * Icom AH-7000, MFJ-1786, Dressler ARA-2000 etc. A Tennadyne T-10 is waiting to be applied on the top of the tower on a Daiwa MR-750 (3 motor) rotator.

This is my small selfsupported tower (10 meters high)! Some of the antennas are - active antenna Standard Radio AA-300, Homemade bi-cone dipole 70-90 MHz, Coaxdipole 135 - 155 MHz,

New antennas and a transverter added:

Some new antennas has been mounted in the small tower. From the top - FlexYagi 1296 MHz (48 element), 6 element 70 cm yagi (vertical), an old but reconditioned Tet Emtron HB33 and Vargarda 5 element 6 meter (yes it is back in the tower). A 88-108 MHz receiving Yagi is fixed in 300 degrees - normally I hear the FM broadcast transmitter in Halden (Norway) - approx 330 km away etc.

I have a mast mounted transverter for 1296 MHz - approx 1,2 db NF and 2 watt output (will be 20 w during the summer). IF is 144 MHz to a Yaesu FT-290RII in the shack.

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On the roof of my house there are some antennas . From left to right - Diamond CP-5, MFJ 1796 and Diamond X510

Other antennas - not in tower - are: Butternut HF9V, Icom AH-710, Diamond W-8010, and some homemade wire, beam and vertical antennas.

Hope to hear you soon on the bands!

73 de Robert