DX with Zeus in the yard..

Ever been to the island of Crete? It’s a MUST - not only for DX but to relax, meet friendly people, learn about the famous „Retzina Wine" and discover ancient places where the european culture has it’s roots.

KM35cf is a superb place to work from, a great take-off all around with the horizon to most of Europe 100 kilometers away across the sea. It’s a lot of fun to work 4X4, 5B4, I8 and I7 just with a small Handy across the water like I did few times. 800 kilometers running 3 watts, thats something! The location is just between Sitia and Palekastro, half the way on top of the mountain side, 235 a.s.l.. A nice ground to place your camper on or a tent. In 1998 we had some trouble with QRN caused by transformers nearby. A windmill power plant is located on that certain place and 380V coming from the windmills are transformed to 20.000 volts. Transformers are somewhat ancient too (it’s Crete...) producing a nice noise-floor from 160 meters to 144 MHz. Due to the extreme loss they have now rebuild the whole system and no noise should occur anymore. This place sees strong wind most of the year, especially from June to mid-September when wind speed is up to 100 kilometers from time to time.

There are 230 Volts available! Ask the local major of Palekastro. He is now familiar with Ham-Radio (and a good friend of mine) and will hand you the key of the TV-station which is nearby. No money to pay but a nice contribution is o.k.. His name is Jorgo Kafesakis, ask me for his phone number.

How to go: From Central Europe taking the ferry boat from Ancona, Italy, is the most common way. Go to Patras (Peloponnes), next stop is Pireaus (harbour of Athens), take the ferry boat to Heraklion, Crete. Some 2 hours to drive frome Heraklion to Palekastro where you will find very cheap and comfortable holiday flats. By plane: Heraklion airport, at the end of 1999 Sitia will have an international airport too.

Palekastro ist THE place to stay, very few tourists, a nice small town and great beaches all around, even during high-season (July/August) you may have whole parts of the beach on your own.

The 1998 HF/VHF Dxpedition by DK5YA, DF7KF, DC9KZ, DF9OX, DF3KV and SV1BTR/9 was the first ever to that square! There are still a lot of hams which are in need of KM35 and, of course, SV9 too. So go there, have fun and big pile-ups!

For further details send me a mail 

More about the 1998 VHF DXpedition here