F6GOX

Dears,

Thanks for the QSO with my station ! 

If you are a visitor to Paris or to Dordogne, do not hesitate to sent me an email, I will be very glad to meet you.

F6GOX is my first amateur radio callsign as a CW and phone operator CEPT-HAREC Class1, since 1980. I was 21.

Then I had used many calls as 4U60UO, FE6GOX, FG/TK5BL/FS, FJ5BL, FJ0A, FS9TI, HW6GOX, TK5BL, TM5T (15/06/2013 to 14/07/2014), TO6GOX. Also in some IOTA dxpeditions as TK5BL on EU-164, TK0KP on EU-104, FJ0A on NA-146, FS9TI on NA-199.

All logs are - or will be in work to be - on LoTW, ClubLog, QRZ.com and HamQTH.

Save your log or friends logs so they will never be lost again for you and for the community of hams !

I participate since many years in contests activities.

As the former president of the ARP Radio-Club de Paris 2005-2013, I have organized many activities for F6KVP.

I am active most of the time from my QTH in Dordogne (DDFM 24) where there is a nice antenna farm in a noiseless area.

After the QSO with 3Y0J DXpedition on Bouvet Island in 2023 February, confirmed current DXCC number is now 330 (335 with deleted) so I am yet running to the hard road of the #1 DXCC Honor Roll Award with these ten last ATNO (All Time New One) which are 3Y/P, BS7H, C21, CE0X, KH7K, KH8S, KH9, T31, VK0M, ZL8.

My amateur radio activities from downtown Paris (JN18EU) are scare but look for me time to time... I use here a verticale butternut HF6V and a 20 meters length inverted V end fed wire antenna for 160/80/40/30m. My secret weapon is the metallic zinc roof used as a ground screen. But the urban noise is heavy...

I also collect vintage French qsl cards, main land (F0 to F9 series), overseas territories and colonies (FA to FZ). I would very appreciate that you contact me in case of you want to give or to sell me your vintage French cards.

Do you want my QSL card ?

With GlobalQSL system I can sent you a special homebrew paper printed QSL for each regular, portable, contest or any others activities. I like take pictures and create many QSL cards with this tool ! See few exemples below :

QSL cards from downtown Paris activities...
QSL cards for specific activities...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

QSL route :

1/ You are member of an IARU QSL buro  :

=> You just have to send me a QSL request via my email. My qsl card will be directly sent by the GlobalQSL system to your qsl buro or I sent it to my REF qsl buro.

2/ You are not member of an IARU QSL buro or you prefer quickly receive a direct QSL card :

=> Send me your card with SASE and GS/IRC

All QSL directly already received are answered.

This is my record : a QSL asked 31 years later by email, the 26/07/2017... Mikhail is a lucky guy !

3/ You want to send me your QSL card via buro or via GlobalQSL :

=> via your own national qsl buro or directly to the REF QSL buro adress, which will sent your card to my local REF 24 department qsl manager.

REF
Service QSL
CS 77429
37074 Tours Cedex 2
France

In case of difficulties, sent a message to qsl@r-e-f.org

Printing, shipping and delivery QSL cards by your and mine QSL buros could take few months.

4/ Are F6GOX or my others activities on LoTW ?

Yes, all my logs since 1980, included F6GOX, 4U60UO, FE6GOX, FG/TKBL/FS, FJ5BL, FJ0A, FS9TI, HW6GOX, TK5BL, TM5T (15/06/2013 to 14/07/2014), TO6GOX are now to LoTW.

What a nice tool ! I have refound QSO checked since many years by others hams, others qso losted in computer failure as I always keep my paper logs, others qso with never received QSL or losted QSL via buro or mail services! Take a safe decision for the others hams, put your log on LotW, it now never could be lost. This also is over 53.000 records of my amateur radio life...

LoTW : QSO are now uploaded immediatly. Many thanks to CQRLOG !
Do not hesitate to send me a request email in case of error.

Best 73 Laurent

17,000 years before JC, famous prehistoric paints in Lascaux cave, Montignac, Dordogne. To visit one time in your life !	I always am active from downtown Paris, the scare DDFM 75 ! Verticale HF9V and inverted V 20 meters wire for low bands !
The TH11DX antenna system from HyGain at 21 meters high. One real good compromise with a center 6 elements log periodic cell on 10 to 20 meters for wide band swr withYagi 2 reflectors and 3 directors for gain and front to back ratio.	Local curiosity at my village : La Chapelle du Sauveur, an active orthodoxe church in Dordogne ! Diocèse de Chersonèse, Patriarcat de Moscou (Picture from Eglise Orthodoxe de France)

I spent a lot of time to renew this second-hand 11 elements Log-Yagi 5 bands Hy-Gain TH11DX and now test it on the air since July 2015.

The antenna in the field before to be renew.

There is no so simple than a Hy-Gain trap. Aluminium flexible wire for the coil and a capacitive tube, with R parallel which is about 140.000 ohms.
That is not excellent but not bad too, compare with others commercial traps...
(Do not cry about your trapped antenna losses, read first W8JI article here)

But traps could be easily improved against invaders, corrosion and bad mechanical/electrical contacts.

The screws of the coil extremities both play as mechanical and electrical contact. This is not good and source of problems.
Put an other screw at 90° to fix any mechanical stress. Use conductive grease. Increase isolation between wires with plumber teflon tape.

Prevent corrosion with ruber tape around coil and screws.

Then paint the antenna in green - so neighboroughs could not complaint - and do not forget to fix a mosquito repellent fabric to prevent insects inside the traps without close the holes for discharging the condensation water. ...

That's take some days but as it is a pleasure.... I underestimate the time to do that because of the six traps, the eleven elements and screws, nuts, bolts, lockwashers to clean, check, grease, and so... Looks the phased line for the Log-cell radiators. But I now put it on the tower and the winter can come... I am ready to be again on the air !

More on the TH11DX :

Roger COX, W8IO, is the father of this nice antenna. I have asked to him by email how to correctly tune it.

My questions and his answer could help you in case of too high swr or bad front to back ratio results:

1. Could I first tune only the log cell without the directors and reflectors parts or must I need to tune the complete antenna ?

=> "Yes. You may tune only the log cell without the directors and reflectors."

2. Tune band by band each radiators resonance frequency on the log cell by disconnected the wires to the phased line for the others radiators or all connected to phase line?

=> "Leave all radiators connected while tuning. The interaction between radiators is necessary for the antenna to work properly."

3. If I change the dimensions lenghts for the radiators, do I need to change the directors and reflectors lengths to keep gain and F/B ?

=>" I would recommend leaving the directors and reflectors unchanged unless you notice unusually low F/B."

4. Is the space between the radiators influences SWR curve ?

=>"Yes. The spacing between elements affects the VSWR curve, but not as much as the radiator lengths.

If you are only having problems on 12 and 17 meters, I would suggest these new dimensions.
 

B = 1.400 metre (20DE tip)
C = 1.135 to 1.145 metre (17DE tip)
15DE tip = 1.540 metre
12DE tip = 1.260 to 1.270 metre "
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Also I test some Innovantennas monobanders stacks of 6 elements on 10m and 15m, 5 elements on 20 meters. On the 40m & 80 meters bands, antennas are verticals, dipoles, parasitic slopers arrays system. The 160m antenna is 3 wires folded 20m+20m inverted L. Low bands receiving antennas are different loops & beverages configuration. The antennas system often changes with dxpeditions or contest/operator class.

I also try to optimize the towers sites and the heights of the antennas in accordance with the profile of my land, using for that the ARRL HFTA and Eznec softwares. Read also the K6TU propagation website for the data of your land. This is a real goal for this recent location to find the best choice of antenna type + tower site + antenna height + antenna beaming + expected coverage area ! Surprising simulation results and confirmations in the real life with good signals reports from hams or from Reverse Beacon are frequent and encourage me to continue to explore this approach.

I like VOACAP website (by Jari Perkiömäki, OH6BG/OG6G), a fantastic propagation tools for amateur radio !

 

Best 73 Laurent F6GOX.