In the summer of 1996 I received an invitation to visit the amateurs of Hungary. To make the trip more productive I decided to combine it with a tour of the neighboring Yugoslavia. I wrote about my project to Savez Radio-Amatera Jugoslavije, the Yugoslav Amateur Radio Association, and to a radio club in Belgrade but they did not answer. I had better luck with Dule YU1BD with whom I had several QSOs, and who even invited me to stay in his house.

From Budapest I was suppose to take a train to Belgrade but just a day before my scheduled departure I received a radio message to get off in Novi Sad because Dule YU1BD will be waiting for me there. I already bought the train ticket all the way to Begrade, it was about $39.00. The train was dirty and run-down, the toilets indescribably filthy. The Hungarian conductor demanded an extra 500 forints, about $3.40, for "a reserved seat." I paid the 500 forints and I asked the conductor which is my reserved seat. She said that any free seat can be it. On my way back, it was a totally different train: new and spotless, the price of the ticket was the same, and no extra fees were charged. At the border, neither the Hungarian, nor the Yugoslav customs officers looked at the luggage piled up on the racks. For the first time in my life I did not have anything to hide, and they did not want to look in my bag. They took away all the fun from my border crossing.

In Novi Sad I got off conform the received instructions and I recognized Dule YU1BD from the picture on his QSL card. Dule YU1BD and Slobodan YU7HI, a local ham, were waiting for me. Slobodan, licensed in 1975, looks just like Buddy Hackett, the movie and TV comic, even had his loud and jovial laugh. He is servicing gambling machines in casinos and hotels. Slobodan YU7HI operates on SSB and CW, has wire dipoles for 40 and 80 meters, a ground plane for 20 meters, and an 11 element Yagi for 2 meters. He has a nice QSL card.

We were looking for hams. In this large city we found only one; Alex YU7YG. The rest according to Buddy Hackett’s clone were on vacation and out of town; or inactive; or active only on VHF and UHF with HTs, so not too much to photograph. We went to Alex YU7YG, an electronic engineer licensed in 1952. Alex works mostly on digital modes; CW, RTTY, Pactor, and Amtor. He uses a 7 element Yagi for 10-12-15-17-20 meters, and a vertical for 30 and 40 meters. On the back of his QSL card is a table with percentages of the cards he received from various countries. On the top of his list is Belgium with 55.1%, on the bottom is Italy with 0.7 %. US is not doing bad with 41.3%. His averages comes to 21% and he is asking "What is with our Ham Spirit?"

The YT7, YU7 and YZ7s are in the northern part of the country, in province called Voivodina. I was disappointed not finding more hams in Novi Sad but we had to continue our trip.

We went to Dule’s house in Krusedol, about 30 miles north of Belgrade. Dule YU1BD was YU1NYW when he was living in the capital city. He was licensed in 1963, and is a retired electronic engineer. Dule has a home made motorized 50 foot crank-up tower with a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, and a 10 element vertically polarized Yagi for 2 meters. He gave me a souvenir: a 10 billion dinar banknote (yes, 10 followed by 9 zeros) with a picture of Nikola Tesla. I always wondered how it feels to be a billionaire. Nothing to it, I stayed the same nice and modest chap I always was. I found out that it is true, money can’t buy happiness; at least not with what was withdrawn from circulation.

I stayed a night in Dule’s house then we drove to Indjija to see a radio club with a station YU7BXY. We found there three operators without personal call: Zeljko, Dragan, and Drazen, all able to operate both SSB and CW. While in the US most of the clubs are mainly for meetings and rarely have radio stations, in Yugoslavia, and in general in eastern Europe, almost every club is equipped with complete stations. Many hams have passed licensing tests and became operators but did not receive personal callsigns and don’t have their own equipment. It results the need for radio clubs where these operators can work. Hams with personal calls can also operate club stations, and they do that mostly during contests. YU7BXY is operational in SSB and CW and it has a BBS.

In the same city we saw another club station, YU7AKB, located in a technical school named after the Serb inventor Mihajlo Pupin.

Talking about clubs; an amateur goes to a club meeting without his wife, also a ham. Other members inquired why she did not come.

"She was in a nasty mood."

"Why was she in a nasty mood?"

"Because I did not want her to come."

We left Voivodina and continued by car to Obrenovac which is in Serbia. There we saw the station of Zika YT1AU, ex YU1FU. Zika, licensed in 1970, is electrician at the largest power plant in the country. He is the secretary of the YU1AUT club station and he speaks fluent English. Zika works on all bands, SSB, RTTY, packet, but 90% of his QSOs are in CW. He has the Drake line, a computer, a home made transverter and a 100 W amplifier for 6 meters feeding a 5 element quad; also a 2 element Yagi for 40 meters, a dipole for 80, a 16 element horizontally polarized Yagi for 2 meters, and a 9 element vertically polarized Yagi for repeaters. As these are not enough, he was preparing to install a TH6DXX antenna. Zika YU1AU is a builder, a contester, and a DXer with 285 countries confirmed. With Hrane YT1AD, Zika operated the 3V8BB club station in Tunisia; and he was 6W/YU5AU in Senegal.

In the same town we visited Boban YU1GP, a railroad clerk licensed in 1990. He is the treasurer of the YU1AUT club. Boban is using a Kenwood TS-530S, and a 1 kW home made amplifier feeding a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters or a wire dipole for 40 and 80 meters. He also has a Yaesu FT-225RD and an 11 element Yagi for 2 meters. Boban has 160 countries for DXCC. In his house we met Ilija YT1MYI, a surrealist painter who lives in the next building.

We also met Dobrica, YU1PE, ex YU1PUF, a retired officer, licensed in 1985. He is using an FT-101Z, and some home made equipment, a ground plane for 10-15-20 meters, and a multiband wire antenna. His 2 meter antenna is a Ringo Ranger. Dobrica worked 200 countries.

Also in Obrenovac we saw Dule YU1WQ, licensed in 1964, he is installing and maintaining heating systems. Dule has a FT-101ZD, a home brewed 1 kW amplifier, and a ground plane for 10-15-20 meters. He is using a computer for RTTY, is on packet, and worked 150 countries.

Talking about power; did you ever notice that using a wattmeter you know exactly how much power you have, however using two of them you are never sure. Also, that it is much easier to disassembly an electronic device than to reassemble it, and that not all improvements will make things work better.

We continued our trip and we arrived to Belgrade where we met Fex YU1DX and Vjekoslav YT1RBV. Fex Is the secretary of SRJ, Savez Radio-Amatera Jugoslavije, the association for the entire country. Each province, like Serbia (number 1 district), Montenegro (number 6), Voivodina (number 7), and Kosovo (number 8) have also their own leaderships. Fex YU1DX, 4N70DX on special occasions, took me to Zeleznik, a section of Belgrade, to the house of Dragan YZ1DO, the secretary of the local radio club YU1AZK, and I spent there the night. During my visit to Yugoslavia, only on five occasions I stayed in hotels, in the rest I was invited by local hams. Staying with amateurs, and talking with them for hours, was much more interesting than sleeping in hotels. And cheaper too.

Next morning, I met Beli YT1FNK, a taxi driver, licensed in 1993, operating only on 2 meters. Beli came with his car and drove me to the offices of SRS, Savez Radio-Amatera Srbije. Their club station YU1SRS is using the YT0M call in contests. At SRS I met a couple of hams and Zarko YU1MK, the editor of "Radio," their excellent bi-monthly publication. Zarko is retiring at the of the year and the new editor probably will be Svetozar YT1SV.

I also met there Aco, YU1AA, the president of SRS, who later took me to many other hams. He gave me a recent Yugoslav Callbook which I sent to the publisher of the Flying Horse Callbook to update its YU list.

The Yugoslav Radio Amateur Association, member of IARU, is well organized. There are many kind of activities, both in the numerous clubs and by individual hams. Years ago, the YU hams had the best equipment in eastern Europe because they had more freedom of travel. Thousands of Yugoslavs worked in western countries, in special in West Germany, and they could afford and had the chance to buy all sorts of modern appliances. In the recent years however, the economic situation of the country deteriorated because of the war in Bosnia and the blockade that followed. The sale tax for example is 26%. In these days there are very few dealerships selling radio equipment. One ham wrote to such a dealer:

"Please send me a transceiver; if is any good I will send you a check."

"Please send us your check - the dealer wrote back - if is any good we will send you a transceiver."

With all the difficulties, many Yugoslav hams have managed to obtain foreign made transceivers, build lots of equipment, participate in contests, even go on DXpeditions.

In Yugoslavia there 6 categories of licenses, from the highest "A" to the lowest "F." The maximum allowed power is 1.5 kW; on the WARC band and on 6 meters only 300 Watts. The minimum age for personal calls is 18, but younger people and hams without personal calls, after passing a test, can operate radio club stations, under the supervision of a licensed amateur. The test for the "A" license requires code operation at 20 words/minute and the "A" hams have all band privileges. The no-code "E" licensees can use maximum 30 Watts on 2 meters and 70 cm.

Now back to the visits. We saw Mirko YU1AD, licensed in 1950, a retired electronic engineer, fluent in 7 languages, including English and Hungarian. Born in 1925, Mirko is one of the oldest ham in Yugoslavia, and the only living founder of the YU radio amateur association. Mirko was a "partizan," a freedom fighter in World War II. He is a constructor, he designed and built lots of pieces of equipment, published hundreds of technical articles, some even in the American CQ magazine, in the RSGB Bulletin, Practical Wireless, Radio Communications, etc.

We visited Vlada YU1NM, owner of a store selling radio parts with an inventory of over 6,000 different items, tools, kits, books, and magazines. Vlada authored 10 radio books, published in over 30 editions, some even translated and published in Romania. Amateur radio license plates are not allowed in Yugoslavia; some hams proudly display their callsign on the rear windows of their cars, and so does Vlada.

On the top floor of Vlada’s store building is the radio club YU70AHI and YU1AFS. We could not see it because it was in reparation, damaged by a leaky roof.

There are very few places one can buy radio equipment, most of the equipment made in Japan, are brought in by occasional travelers, and there are very expensive. In the US, before I buy a piece of gear, I call up six dealers, check their prices, and order it from the most economical source. It happens however, that after I receive the merchandise, I found out that a seventh dealer ran an even cheaper special sale on the same item.

We went to see "Elmax" a repair shop specialized in amateur radio equipment. They had there gears made by Kenwood, Yaesu, Icom, even some vintage Collins transceivers. They also build new equipment on special orders; I saw a very nice 1 kW amplifier. The owner is Max YU1MM, his wife is Rose YT1NZN. Working there is Milan YT1WG, Miroslav YU1CY, and Isidor YT1FID. The shop is a meeting place for amateurs, with or without any business. I met there Mata 4N1AW, who in 1978 operated from Iraq, Dragan YT1DJ, and Ben YU1XW.

Next to visit was the radio club "Avala" YU1BEF, second call YU1BBC. Every club has a name; the most favorite names are Nikola Tesla and Mihajlo Pupin, two famous sons of this country, each with important contributions in electrical science. If these two names are already taken then a new club will go for a geographical name; Avala for example is a big mountain. Every amateur has to be a member of a club; this club has about 100 active members. I met there Nenad YZ1ZA, the club’s president, Milos YU1VF, Jovan YU1JM, Sveta YT1RGS, and Tom YU1VK.

The next club to see was YU1FJK, in contests 4N1A, the oldest in the country. It has 400 dues paying members. Meetings are Mondays from 6 to 10 PM. I wrote to this club before my trip asking their help to meet local hams but got no answer. Big club, little help. The club has 4 sections in Novi Beograd: YU1KNJ the student section on the university campus; YU1AAV, the Kozara section; YU1ANO, and YU1AFI. Occasionally, as for the 70th anniversary of ham radio in Yugoslavia, they have used special calls, like YU70F or YU70K.

They operate on SSB, CW, Pactor, Amtor, and they were first in YU to use RTTY. The equipment is the usual, with a SB-220 1kW linear amplifier and a TH6DXX antenna for 10-15-20 meters. What is unusual is their 2 switchable 3 element wire Yagis for 80 meters, one oriented to East, the other to West. No wonder that with the 4N1A call, in 1990, 1991 and 1993, in the CQ WW WPX contests, on 80 meters CW, in the single operator category, they came out on first places. Personally I am skeptic about their "single operator" claim, what did the other 399 operators do, nothing at all?

In the club I met Ivan YU1UA the vice-president, Rata YT1YD, licensed in 1956, the oldest member of the club, Acim YU1YV, Milos 4N1DXX, Zvonko YT1WA, Sini YU1RA, Dragan YZ1DSD, Ivan YU1UA, Dule YU1EA, and Mina YT1FMA, a pretty young lady who accompanied me on many visits.

The next to see was another big club YU1IOP, with a BBS at YU1C, with Seki YZ1PWA as the Sysop. There were about 25 amateurs around the table, eating, and discussing ham stuff. I met and photographed many operators: Sasha YT1VUK the club’s president, Aco YU1AA the president of the Serbian Radio Amateur Association, Nebojsa YU1XH, Milorad YZ1EFS, Bull YT1RNV, Moma YT1PDM, Milenko YU1IO, Lidia YT1LID whose husband is Dragan YT1SDV, Mira YT1MIR with her husband Uros YU1EG, and pretty Mina YT1FMA, I mentioned before and I may mention again.

With Aco YU1AA and Mina YT1FMA we drove up to the weekend and contest station of Milenko YU1IO, located in Grocka, south of Belgrade. He is a journalist. There on an elevation of 660 feet, Milenko has his 2 meter rig with two 4CX250B tubes, capable of pushing 700 Watts, 1.3 kW for a short time, into a 4 times 15 element Yagi. His 66 feet high, tilt over tower is home made. On EME he made over 30 QSOs, and on 2 meters he contacted K, VE, JA, and about 14 European countries. At home he has a Yagi for 10-15-20 meters.

Many hams and radio clubs have huge towers and antennas. It doesn’t seem to be any restrictions or zoning laws. Here in New York, if I put up a pole with a flag on the top, I am respected patriot. If the pole has a couple of traps on it, I am a villain ruining the real estate values. Some property owners who did not clean their yards in years, are even concern about the esthetics of the neighborhood. Moreover, if anything bad happens in their household, like a washing machine or a lawnmower is breaking down, or their teenage daughter got pregnant, they claim that is because their neighbor’s amateur radio transmissions.

In Belgrade we saw Buda YT1RBB, an attorney licensed in 1993. His wife is Jela YT1EYL, and their daughter is Jasmina YT1RYL. All three have VHF licenses, operate only on 2 meters with an HT and a home made 25 Watt amplifier. They live on the ground floor of a 16 story building, and the coax cable from their 12 element home made Yagi to the rig is 247 feet long.

Speaking of attorneys, one member of this noble profession asked a client if he can pay for his services.

"Certainly, I have a brand new Mercedes."

"OK, I will defend you. What is the accusation?"

"Stealing a brand new Mercedes!"

Branko YU1FW, licensed in 1969, a TV camera man, is an old friend; I met him in 1973 on a previous trip. He uses a TS-520 and various other factory made equipment, as well a home made 2 kW amplifier he named Godzila. Branko operated from SV5, SV9, 5B4, 9H3, EA3, and LZ. He is on the DXCC and WPX Honor Rolls, has the 5BDXCC, 5BWAS, and 5BWAZ. In the village of Ripanj, at an elevation of about 800 feet, we found Joca YU1JS and his wife Svetlana YT1JJS. Joca was licensed in 1972, Svetlana in 1994. He works for the railroad and on their little farm. Svetlana raises rabbits, and that what they served for dinner. Their daughter Dragana died in a car accident, she was operator at the YU1AIE club station in Lapovo.

I heard of a man who found a monkey and took it home. His wife, not that cute as the monkey, told him to take it to the zoo. The next day the man still had the monkey. His wife yelled at him"

"I told you to take the monkey to the zoo!"

"I did, honey dear - answered the man quietly - and today were are going to the movies."

Another man stranded in a desert was digging for water. When he reached about three feet deep, he found a note:

"Dig three more feet."

He dig three more feet and found another note:

"Dig three more feet."

The man dig another three feet and found yet another note:

"Just three more feet."

The man continued to dig until he found a fourth note saying:

"Now you smart aleck, how would you get out of this hole?"

Driving around in Aco YU1AA’s car we were in contact, most of the time, with the hams in the area. Returning from Ripanj, at an intersection we were stopped by big policeman. I did not notice making any traffic violation but the policeman ask for Aco’s papers, then invited him to step out of the car. Not knowing the local rules I was wondering if the policeman will arrest only the driver or also the occupants of the car. While I was contemplating what can I do as a foreigner under the circumstances, I noticed that the policeman started to laugh and returned Aco’s papers. He was Zoran YU1FZN and while he was making spot checks on the road he was listening to our QSOs and knew that we were coming. I never liked people in uniform, except for my mailman who brings me QSLs, but if they are hams, they are OK with me.

Continuing the trip we got again to Zeleznik where I slept a couple of nights before. Arriving there I got again sleepy and while waiting for the hams to clean out the club before the photo session, I laid down on the grass in a little park nearby, and I slept for an hour. I often slept in worst conditions and I even had to pay for it. At the YU1AZK radio club installed in a school, where Dragan YZ1DO is the secretary, they have a large room on the top floor and some good equipment. They operate SSB, CW, RTTY, they are on packet, and they do computer logging. I met there Sima YT1SS, a retired electro-technician; Mladen YT1EBC, a postal worker; Zoran YZ1RMZ, an electrician; Branko YT1JJB a pilot with the Yugoslav Airlines; Uros YU1EG and his wife Mira YT1MIR. Next we stopped at YU1AAV, the "Kozara" section of the Novi Beograd radio club. Here again we found many operators: Slavko YU1SB, the president, licensed in 1949; Sasha YU1FM, licensed in 1963, a retired flight navigator; Al YU1VU, licensed in 1951, a retired Air Force radio operator; Sale YU1KN, licensed in 1987, a businessman; Nikola YU1WN; Dule YZ1ED, a retired truck driver. Besides these old-timers we found many young operators, under 18 years, thus without personal call, some of them champions in high speed telegraphy, like the 14 years old Milos, and Slavko, Al, Sasha, Zika, Aca, Zoki, Nenad, Nemanja, Boris, and Milos. Between the old-timers and the very young, an entire generation was missing. Possible they were working; many people work long hours, sometimes on two jobs, to have ends meet.

With Aco YU1AA and Mina YT1FMA we went to see the Akademski Radio Klub at the University: YU1EXY, sometimes 4O9W, and 4N1U or YZ1E as contest calls. As good as the university building looks from the outside, as bad are the two rooms of the club; cracked, unpainted walls, dirty and messy, and not too much equipment. The club’s secretary Igor YT1MM, licensed in 1980, writes for Personal Computer Magazine and for Radio. The club has a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, a dipole for 80 meters, and a vertical for 2 meters, but little activity except in contests. I met there Branko YU1FW, an old acquaintance.

In Valjevo, about 62 miles south-west from Belgrade, we met Toma YU1AB, ex YU1DZ, licensed in 1969, a telecommunications engineer working for the railways. His wife Sladica YU1SL, licensed in 1976, is a nurse. It would be hard to believe that Toma YU1AB has only a multiband dipole, and a 17 element Yagi for 2 meters, because he is on the DXCC Honor Roll No.1, CQ DX Honor Roll, WPX Honor Roll, has the 5BDXCC, 5BWAZ, etc. The reason is that Toma has a second house in Lajkovac, 16 miles from Valjevo, where he keeps his big guns. Toma has a couple of nice QSL cards but I did not see any of his wife’s.

In Valjevo there is a club established in 1947, YU1EBC. We met there Dane YT1DV, licensed in 1996, an RTTY operator at the post office; Djuro YU1UC, licensed in 1981, with same job as Dane; Pedja YU1VA, the club’s secretary, licensed in 1971;George YT1RGD, licensed recently in 1996; Vlada YZ1OXD, licensed in 1981, an electronic technician and private pilot; Ivan and Krle operators without personal calls. It is a big club with about 200 members. They have a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, wire dipoles for 40 and 80 meters, and a 17 element Yagi for 2 meters.

Also in Valjevo we met Peter YU1CS, ex YU1JCD, a retired judge licensed in 1950. During World War II, Peter, like many of his countrymen, was a "partizan," a freedom fighter. He is a former president of the Radio Amateur Association of Serbia, now is the vice-president of the Radio Amateur Association of Yugoslavia. Peter YU1CS is active on SSB, SSTV, RTTY and all digital modes. He is using a vertical antenna for 10-15-20 meters, a G5RV type wire antenna for the same bands, and an 11 element Yagi for 2 meters.

Now back to Toma YU1AB and his second house in Lajkovac. There he has a 56 feet tower, a 4 element Cushcraft Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, the usual set of equipment with a home made 1 kW amplifier. Toma YU1AB made over 30,000 QSOs, 15,000 of them with US. He has over 500 awards. The contests awards are free but considering that the others are a couple of bucks each, to get hundreds of awards must have cost him a roomful of dinars.

Toma YU1AB is the president of YU1GTU, contest call YT1L, the radio club in Lajkovac. They use 1 kW and have 338 countries confirmed. We met there Slavko 4N1RS, Dusan YT1DL, Voja YT1DOS and his son Milan. On the top of a 60 foot tower, there is a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, an 11 element Yagi for 2 meters, and a couple of wire dipoles for 15 and 80 meters are also hanging there.

Even before my trip I heard from Tomislav 4N1KT about the radio club of Zemun, a suburb of Belgrade. Its call is YU1AVQ, contest call 4N1Z, and it is at the Voluntary Fire Department. Tomislav told me that is a big ham gathering there on every last Wednesday of the month, so I made sure to fit that day in my schedule. We got there in the evening, and from a half a block away we could hear the noise coming from the meeting room, and see the smog made by smokers rolling out through the open windows. When we entered, our eyes had to get use to the dim lights and foul air. Over 200 hams were sitting at tables, many trying to sell some junk, others eating. Lots of people just circled around and around, greeting each other with loud "Zdravo Druje." And almost everybody was smoking and drinking coffee. One guy said:

"If I drink coffee, I can not sleep."

"With me is the other way - said his friend - if I sleep I can not drink coffee."

Another fellow had an old transceiver to sell and placed a big sign on it:

"Last chance, today only, 3,000 dinars."

"How much will be tomorrow?" inquired a ham.

"2,500 dinars" was the answer, and I was wondering if this is the best marketing strategy one can come up with.

I saw there many people I met before: the Buddy Hackett clone from Novi Sad YU7HI; Branko YU1FW; Nebojsa ex YU1OBY, whom I met 23 years ago on a previous trip, was on vacation from Canada; Fex YU1DX; Zika YT1AU; and many more, as well as hams I will meet later in other cities.

When I felt that I have to come up for air, I went next door to see the club station YU1AVQ. They have a nice setup, even a 6 meter beacon, 4N0SIX, with 1 Watt on 50,004 MHz. I met there the president of the club Iovan YU1ZQ a retired fireman; Mirko YT1FKM an electro-technician; Max YU1VO, ex YU1OPX, a radio and TV repairman; Ivan YU1QC a research engineer in organic chemistry; Miso YU1GU a radio technician; and Zrinko an aircraft technician without personal call.

Next to see was YU1BKL club station, contest call 4N1S, with a very good location in a storefront, on the ground floor of a big apartment building, in a densely populated area of the capital city. Through a large window, passersby can see what is happening in the club, and interested people can be attracted to enter and inquire. At the club there is a station and a packet radio club with Dule YU1OS as its president. I met there Boban YZ1AU, Vlado YU1RN, and Nikola YU1BO. The last one to visit that evening was Boban YZ1AU. Licensed in 1981, Boban works for the county administration. He is the general secretary of the Yugoslav CW Club, and member of the radio club of Obrenovac YU1AUT. Boban YZ1AU has a dipole for 80 meters and an 11 element Yagi for 2 meters. He operates on SSB, CW, and packet, is a contester and a DXer. He has over 300 countries confirmed for his DXCC; 275 countries on 80 meters. Boban has several nice and colorful QSL cards. I spent the night in a hotel which was the best of the three I stayed in Yugoslavia. Next morning, Rade YT1FRR, his wife Cica YZ1DTS, and Milan YZ1PWO, picked me up from the hotel and we drove to Kragujevac, population 180,000, about 65 miles south of Belgrade. There we visited Ivan YU1HA, president of the local radio club YU1EFG. Ivan, licensed in 1947, a retired sergeant, was a "partizan" during World War II. His wife Radmila YU1GR was licensed in 1968. They have a good station with a ground plane for 10-15-20 meters, and a wire dipole for 40 and 80 meters. Both work only on CW and have impressive records; Ivan is a contester, made 700,000 QSOs, has 361 countries confirmed, and 1,384 awards; Radmila has 289 countries for her DXCC.

They have a second house in Knic, about 13 miles from Kragujevac, with a home made 70 foot tower, a 3 element cubical quad for 20 meters, and a 4 element quad for 10 and 15 meters. A second tower, 33 feet high, has a 5 element Yagi for 6 meters, and a 21 element Yagi for 2 meters. They also have a 2 element wire beam for 40 meters directed to the US, and a horizontally polarized Delta loop for 10 to 80 meters. They use 1.2 kW and they have lots of home made equipment. Now do you understand the 700,000 QSOs?

In Kragujevac there is another big gun: Ratko YU1NR. Licensed in 1964, a telecommunications engineer working for the post office, Ratko has a TS-530S, a 1.5 kW amplifier and lots of home made equipment. On the top of his 13 story building he has a 5 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, inverted Vs for 40 and 80 meters, and a Delta loop for 160 meters. He also has a second house in Knic with a powerful, mostly home brewed station, towers and antennas. Ratko YU1NR has over 400 awards and around 300 countries confirmed for his DXCC. He is a contester and a DXpeditioner. He operated as J68BG and V2/YU1NR in 1993, V29NR, VP2ENR, P40NR, and V47YR in 1995. Ratko is responsible for first SSTV operations in Antigua, Anguilla and St. Kitts.

Next to visit was Badza YU1FG, ex YU1PZM, licensed in 1963. He is using an FT-101E, about 100 W, with a ground plane on 10-15-20 meters, and a 6 element Yagi for 2 meters. Badza accumulated 321 countries for his DXCC operating only on CW, except for 2 meters where is uses a mike.

The radio club of Kragujevac was founded in 1925 and now has 240 members. The president is Ivan YU1HA, and the secretary is Slobodan YU1YO. Besides the usual set of transceivers they have a 1 kW amplifier, a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters, and a dipole for 40 and 80 meters. They have 326 countries for their DXCC. I met there the 83 years old Blagoe YT1MXG, licensed in 1937; Mirko YU1DR; Mile YU1QQ who has a nice QSL card; Ivan YU1HA; Slobodan YZ1ST; and Bobby a member without personal call.

Last I visited Rade YT1FRR, licensed in 1986, and his wife Cica YZ1DTS, licensed in 1991, the ones who brought me here from Belgrade. They operate only on VHF and both are members of the YU1EFG radio club. Rade YT1FRR is a radio communications technician for a road construction company, Cica works in the Zastava automobile factory, painting cars.

From Kragujevac Sasha YT1PSB drove Miodrag YZ1MCM, Zoran 4N1EV, and me, 25 miles to Jagodina. Sasha YT1PSB has a VHF/UHF license from 1995, he is an electro-technician at a power plant.

Miodrag YZ1MCM, licensed in 1987, works in an electrical cable factory. His wife is Ana YT1ECA, 19 years old daughter Monica YT1ECM, licensed in 1995, is in college, and second daughter is Isidora YT1FCI.

Zoran 4N1EV, licensed in 1975, also works in the same electrical cable factory with Miodrag. He has a short wave "B" license, more or less equal with our Advanced. He is on packet and does computer logging.

Rade 4N1RK, licensed in 1981, works ... guess where? In the electrical cable factory. I wonder what else is there in Jagodina. Rade repairs TVs on the side and is a member of the YU1AXY radio club. At home he operates only on 20 and on 2 meters, mostly with home made equipment.

Mane YT1MSO, licensed in 1983, is a car electrician. He is using 100 W with a ground plane for 10-15-20 meters, and an inverted V for 40 and 80 meters. Mane has a "B" (Advanced) license, works on SSB and RTTY, likes DX but does not have a QSL card. The local radio club YU1AXY is named after Nikola Tesla. Didn’t I tell you? That is the first choice in every city. It was established in 1948, it has about 100 members, 55 of them with personal callsign. The club has a very nice and colorful QSL card.

In one of the cities, I think it was Jagodina, I stayed again in a hotel. As they say, it saw better days; when was built it was very fancy but now the lack of maintenance was evident. The main elevators did not run, and the beautiful large mosaic wall decorations were falling apart. At the entrance, the sliding doors opened when one stepped on the outside door mat, however the electrical contacts under the inside mat worked erratically. It was fun to watch the people trying to get out, having to jump, dance, and do aerobics until they hit the right spot and the doors opened. In the morning they had buffet breakfast: bread, jam and cheese. And coffee too. Wonderful. In the lobby however, they had a most magnificent 60 feet high, deep carved wooden "totem pole." It was pretty but I was hungry.

Rade 4N1RK drove Miograd YZ1MCM, Zoran 4N1EV and me to Cuprija where we saw Mile YU1MI. A salesman of electrical and electronic equipment, licensed in 1965, Mile uses a computer for packet, has a 100 W transceiver and is building an amplifier. On his 50 foot home made tower he has a 3 element Yagi for 10-15-20 meters; two 11 element Yagis, one vertically, the other one horizontally polarized; and 3 dipoles for 80, 40 and 20 meters. Mile has an "A" class (Extra) license and a nice QSL. His daughter Dragana YZ1NZC has a VHF/UHF license for 2 meters and 70 cm.

The radio club in Cuprija, YU1IST, bears the name of, needless to say, Nikola Tesla. They use a 100 W transceiver, a 50 foot tower with a 2 element cubical quad for 10-15-20 meters, a multiband wire dipole, and a ground plane for 2 meters. They do have a QSL card. I photographed there Dobrica YT1TDK, licensed in 1984, an electrical engineer working in a hospital; Mile YU1MI, and Boban and Zoran, operators without personal calls.

Near Jagodina is the village of Mijatovac, population 2,000. It has a single radio amateur Rade YT1DO, an electronic technician, and he is absentee most of the time. He lives and works in Germany from 1970, where he is DL1II, and only comes home on vacation. He is using a miniature, multiband 100 W transceiver, and an HT for 2 meters.

There are many Yugoslav amateurs living in Germany, they even have a radio club headquartered in Stuttgart: DK0KJ. They are the source of many modern transceivers brought into Yugoslavia.

Rade YT1DO drove me to the village Saludovac, population 500, near Paracin, to visit Dane YT1MR. Dane, licensed in 1967, worked three years in France. Now he is coal salesman, buys it from the mines and sells it to the users. He has a 200 W transceiver, a home made amplifier, a ground plane for 15 and 20 meters, and an inverted V for 80 meters. Dane does have QSL cards.

With Rade we continued our journey and went to Cicevac, population 7,000. There we visited Zika YT1AT who was licensed in 1965. His daughter Jelena YZ1AEZ lives in Krusovac and works on 2 meters. Zika has lots of equipment, a home made 1 kW amplifier, a tower with a 2 element cubical quad for 10-15-20 meters, a ground plane for 40 meters, and a dipole for 80 meters. He has 307 countries confirmed for his DXCC. We met there Bata YU1EQ, and two brothers: Vlada YU1KX and Zlatan YU1OYW. I wanted to take o picture of Zika on his tower but he was afraid to climb it, so Vlada YU1KX went up instead. At least Zika has QSL cards.

We also went to see Vlada YU1KX’s station. He has a "B" (Advanced) license and uses a Kenwood TS-830 transceiver. Vlada has no QSL card.

Their club station YU1ELM, contest call 4N1C, is located just o outside Cicevac, on a 1,150 foot hill. They have about 20 operators; 10 with personal callsign. The station has 2 towers; the one about 52 feet tall has a 5 element Yagi for 15 meters, the other one also has a 5 element Yagi but for the 10 meter band. Here Zlata YU1OYW was the one who climbed up the tower for a photo.

The DX Magazine published a couple of my travelogues and displayed on the cover pictures of amateurs on their towers. One reader wrote to the editor and criticized the fact that the hams don’t wear safety belts and that is a bad example to follow. I believe that any ham with some sense will wear a belt and even a helmet when is working high up on his tower, however when goes up for a minute or two for some photos, they usually don’t do that. Nevertheless, since then, when I asked somebody to climb his tower I also asked him to wear his safety gear, if he has any. Or, if he feels that he will fall, to let me know to focus the camera for some really good action shots. This reminds me of a ham who told a friend:

"Imagine, I fell from my 60 foot tower and I did not hurt myself."

"I don’t believe that" answered the friend.

"You better believe it; at that time I was just three feet from the ground!"

And there was a ham who was installing a new antenna and rolled out a very long piece of wire. His neighbor, not knowing too much about ham radio, watched him curiously over the fence and asked:

"This cable has no ends?"

"Nope - answered the amateur - I cut both of them off!"

In Krusevac, population 42,000, is the YU1ADO radio club. Its secretary is Lila, with a "B" license received in 1995. She works at the post office. The club has 80 members. They use a TS-430S with a 800 W Yaesu FL-2277B amplifier. The antennas are: a Delta loop for 80 meters, a dipole for 40 meters, a ground plane for 20 meters, and an inverted V for 40 meters. The club has about 200 countries for their DXCC and they have QSL cards. I met there Zoki YU1SZ, licensed in 1976, now with a "B" ticket; and Misa a club operator without personal call; Uca YU1HQ, licensed in 1980, also having a "B" license.

In the nearby village of Jasika there is another club YU1AGB and they have nice QSL cards.

I saw also Lila’s home station YZ1SL. Her family are refugees from Bosnia where she was X5SL. Her husband Saki works in a metallurgical factory, he has the X5SV call, with the controversial "X5" prefix. Their son Andrej is in high school, and their daughter Aleksandra is in college studying economics; both have operator "C" licenses without personal calls. They work on SSB and CW with a small transceiver and a dipole for 80 meters.

I got to Kraljevo and the first ham to visit was Rate YT1EKR, licensed in 1993. Rate is a driving instructor. His wife Goca YT1RGA, licensed 1994, is doing technical drawings for a construction company. Both were many years, and still are, enthusiastic CB operators. Now they have no-code "E" licenses, and with 30 W and a 7 element vertically polarized Yagi they also operate on 2 meters. Rate YT1EKR has a QSL card, but as usual, his wife does not.

Next I visited Vlad YT1BB, licensed in 1968, an electrical engineer. Vlad has a very nice station and is running 1.2 kW. He has 3 towers. The 102 footer has a 3 element Yagi for 40 meters and a 6 element Yagi for 15 meters. The 89 footer has a 5 element long John for 20 meters. His "small" 56 feet tall tower has a 6 element Yagi for 10 meters. Tied to the 2 larger towers is a 3 element Delta loop for 80 meters directed to the US. Furthermore, he has a single element Delta loop for 160 meters, a 7 or 8 element Yagi for 2 meters, and a couple of dipoles he was testing. Vlad YT1BB is a contester; worked over 300,000 QSOs, and has more than 300 countries for his DXCC.

The YU1DKL club station has an entire 2 story building right near the river, and they have over 100 members. On special occasions they can use the YU1ADM and YU1ADU callsigns. Before taking tests for higher class licenses, the amateurs have to operate a club station for one year. They have a 1 kW amplifier and a 5 element Yagi for 15 meters. I met many amateurs at this club because they had meeting with hams from all over the country. Even the press and a local TV crew covered the event. I will mention just a few I photographed: Simo 4N1SM, the club’s secretary; Slobo YU1XT; Rate YT1EKR; Boki, YU1OJ an electrician; Sasha YU1EO, a retired lawyer; Marko, Branko, and Sead, operators without personal calls. The club has several QSLs, and Simo 4N1SM and Boki YU1OJ also have personal cards.

I slept one night in the best and possible the only hotel in town; but "best" that doesn’t mean that it was a good one. My room was the stinckiest of all the rooms I ever been, and I don’t mean that literally. Inch large, black cockroaches ran around on the floor, I ran after them with my shoe in hand to kill them, but they were faster than me. At night I think I heard them laughing. The bathroom was the pits; mold and mildew, stink and stench. About 6-7 miles from Kraljevo is the small village of Vitanovac where the one of the greatest station I ever saw is located. It belongs to Hrane YT1AD, the president of the Radio Amateur Association of Yugoslavia. Hrane is in import-export business and lives part of the time in Moscow, Russia, where he is RV7AD. Because Hrane was at the ham meeting in Kraljevo, his brother Milovan YT1IM showed Simo 4N1SM who came along, and me, the whole setup. The station has a couple of transceivers and linear amplifiers, nothing unusual in the house of a very rich man. His brother Milovan did not seem to know too much. With Simo 4N1SM we tried to figure out the multitude of towers and antennas. On a 122 footer there is a 7 element Yagi for 10 meters; a 4 element Yagi for 40 meters; and a 6 element Yagi for 10 meter fixed in the direction of the US. On a 99 foot tower there are two 2 Yagis for 2 meters, one with horizontally polarized, the other the other vertically; and a 6 element Yagi for 20 meters. On another 99 foot tower there is a 6 element Yagi for 15 meters; a 3 element Yagi for 12-17-30 meters; and a 6 element fixed Yagi directed towards the US. Near the house, on a mast, is a 6 element Yagi for 6 meters. All cables are running underground despite the long distance from the towers to the building. There are also a bunch of wire antennas we could not figure out.

As Hrane was not there to tell me about his activities, judging only by the QSL cards he had there, I could see that he is an active DXpeditioner. He operated as YU5AD; 3V8BB (with Zika YT1AU); 6W7/YU5AD; 6W7S; V29AD; V26AS; J68DA; 8Q7AD; S92AD; and 9Y4/YT1AD; ZV7A; Z31AD; UT1AD, etc.

At the radio club in Kraljevo, after the meeting was a common dinner, and after that I went with Dusan, X5AA, the president of the Radio Amateur Association of the Serb Republic, to visit the hams in his part of the world. That is the part of Bosnia claimed by the Serb army. There I saw lots of military men and hardware, both their own and of the peace keepers of various nations. A soldier said: "When I was a child I wished for a gun but I did not get it. When I grew up I wished for a girl but now they gave me the gun."

A Bosnian, I don’t know if he was a Muslim or a Christian, went with his wife to a neighboring village, walking 10 steps behind her. A friend asked him:

"Why do you let your wife walk in front of you? It is against out custom."

"Mine fields" answered the man, courageous enough to break a tradition but not sufficiently brave to take a risk.

Being on the subject, a man wanted to buy a land mine. He was asked why he needs it. The man said:

"I am suspicious of my wife. I want to plant it at the back door of my house, when I come from work I go to the front door, ring the bell and yell ‘Hi dear, I am home!’ then sit down and wait for the big bang."

In one of their clubs I took some group photos and one of the hams seemed a little worried. Possible having some reasons to feel uneasy, he asked me:

"Do you send these photographs to the International Tribunal in Hague?"

"No, I replied trying to calm him down, they probably have yours already!"

When I asked them to smile for the camera, one of them just could not make it. Can anyone guess which one?

Another one on the same subject. A man trying to rob a bank gives the teller a note:

"Give me your money and don’t pull the alarm!"

The teller gives him another note:

"Comb you hair and smile; you are being photographed!"

Besides hams I met some government officials and the minister of telecommunications invited me to a restaurant. He asked me if I like lamb. I could no say "no" to a high ranking official, in a country where many people are still armed, and I said "I love it." I lied and I was punished for it; I had to eat the lamb. Not that it had a bad taste; it did not have any at all. Perhaps of a three days old chewing gum. I kept chewing on it, I knew that there is something there but it did not go down easy. I promised myself that I would never lie again, at least not in a matter of lambs. I heard however that at a recent cooking competition, the first prize went to a local chef who of a pound of lamb made 120 beafburgers, and with the rest he made a big pot of rabbit stew.

It was a six week long trip. On my return I asked my son if mom was upset during my long absence.

"Not at all - he said - but she became increasingly so, as the day of your return came closer." So much of being missed by my loving wife.