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TY7C – DXpedition to Benin by F6KOP Radio Club DL3GA's story
In autumn 2017, the F6KOP team asks me if I want to join them as a CW operator for a trip to Benin. I enjoyed activating Ivory Coast with them earlier that year (TU7C), so I don't hesitate and agree. The visa can be obtained by mail this time, this is done in a week. And some of my fellow contesters also join the team: Jo DJ3CQ, Christian DL2MDU and Arno DL1CW. The first part of the trip leads me to a good friend who lives near Jean-Luc F1ULQ. He picks me up in the early morning of the next day and we take a TGV to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The entire team meets here for the Air France flight to Cotonou. We can note that all our baggage has arrived with us and the local transportation crew is waiting. As we leave, the airport is shutting down for the night. We take a highway-like road towards Togo, but the longer it takes, the smaller the roads. Finally we are “riding” a dirt road until we arrive at our resort “Casa del Papa” at 02:30 AM. Strong LED lights illuminate the vicinity near the road – will they create lots of QRM ?
___ Thursday, March 08, 2018 After a short night, we take a breakfast and then start putting antennas together. I help handling the 20m VDA, but it seems to have its secrets so it takes more time than expected. But once it is up, it works pretty well immediately. Next I take care of the 80m GP, a rather simple antenna yet very effective. It's ready for operation fairly soon. But the more we get into the day, the hotter it gets and we have to take breaks in the air-conditioned room that will be our shack. As a consequence, we can't finish the 160m GP. At dinner time, we are ready for the first QSO as TY7C. The dinner, by the way, promises that we won't have any opportunity to complain during the time of our stay. Two hours of my shift remain when we actually man the stations, but we need almost half of the time to sort out problems. Fortunately, the above-mentioned LED lights don't cause QRM, so I can work many callers from Japan and Europe listening and transmitting on the 80m GP. Xavier F5NTZ takes over on time. I don't just share the room with Arno DL1CW, our shifts are also at the same time. After a hard day, we need rest.
___ Friday, March 09, 2018 My next shift starts at 07:00 and I take over from Jo DJ3CQ who is still working on 80m running greyline QSOs with USA although it's already light. I can continue for another 30 minutes, but then my calls remain unheard. Some coax problems are reported and solved before I can start operating on 17m. Quickly, a pileup over more than 3 kHz builds. I work callers at a high rate, but it doesn't get smaller. There is more than enough for Xavier to do when he comes to take over. Unfortunately, breakfast time is over so Arno and I just get some slices of cake and lukewarm coffee. We join the team erecting the 160m GP. It's not easy but when it's finally up, it works well instantly. We give ourselves a break before the next shift starting at 16:00. The CW station is still on 17m and I have mega fun working Europe and USA. Later, the log statistics will prove that I set a new personal record with 550 QSOs in three hours. After dinner, I continue for Xavier while he has dinner. Now on 40m, an unbelievable number of big signals is coming in. But it's hard to keep the rate up, so I decide to call Japan only and this works much better. At the same time, Arno calls Japan on 160m. It's the right time for this, but the Beverage antenna is not ready so no success. As the JA signals on 40m get smaller and smaller, I accept calls from anywhere and work the first stateside callers on this band. Xavier comes back from dinner, so I can finally get some sleep.
___ Saturday, March 10, 2018 Arno and I have shift at 03:00. It takes lots of discipline to operate at this time of the day, and we find a shack with only Jo at the CW station – everybody else gave up and went to sleep. I stay on 40m while Arno works CW on 80m. The loudest signals come from USA, but hour by hour more callers come in from the east, along the “wakeup” line. For most of the time, my pileup is 4 kHz wide, but at the end I must collect the few callers “up1”, many from the western USA now. Xavier arrives and I help him switch to 20m. It's a little too early for breakfast, so I go back to bed for some sleep. Arno stays longer at his station, goes to breakfast from there and then comes to wake me up. I hear that Christian DL2MDU has been struck by severe stomach problems, so he can't be on duty today. Damien F4AZF has a similar problem, but he's doing his very best. My next shift starts at 13:00, but first it takes longer than expected to get lunch, then I'm “transferred” to put up the 10m VDA. Once this antenna is ready for use, I can start working on 15m. In the beginning I can work many stations with a good rate, but the width of the pileup never exceeds 1 kHz and at the end of my shift I'm calling CQ. After a break at the pool it's time for dinner. We enjoy a round of Mirabelle liquor sponsored by one of our team, it's his birthday. My shift begins at 23:00, but I volunteer for some extra time at the SSB station on 40m. Big signals are coming in, but many callers are not listening or they have problems to hear me. This reminds me why SSB is not my favorite mode and I'm happy to change to 80m CW when it's time. However, conditions are obviously down. Almost every call must be pulled out of the noise with a lot of effort. With the first callers from north America, I accept calls from there only which makes operation more fluent. But I'm more than happy to hand over to Xavier as he arrives.	The TY7C operator team
___ Sunday, March 11, 2018 I start my shift before 10:00 so Jo can have some breakfast. I run 20m with many callers from Japan, but soon the stronger signals come from Europe and then daylight attenuation wipes out almost every signal. I check 12m because we have a VDA for this band now, but it's not open. So I return to 20m, work the few callers and spend some time calling CQ. I notice that Damien is also spending a lot of time calling CQ on 17m SSB. He agrees to trade bands with me. A wild pileup builds quickly, but soon it's time to hand over to Xavier. Arno and I go for lunch. It's delicious as usual but hard to finish today. We are visited by Nicolas TY2AC who brings a IC 7300 to replace a weak TS 570D used on the FT8 station. Later we gather for team photos (including TY2AC) with sponsor banners. Then it's time for some antenna work. The 20m VDA doesn't look good, some elements of the telescopic mast slipped down. We correct that and secure them with stronger tape. We also modify the guys of the 160m GP so it is bent somewhat less. As we are done, it's time for my next shift and I continue working on 30m. Many callers here, but we also want to give Japan on 160m a chance. So for technical reasons I trade stations with Arno. The later it gets, the lower the demand on 30m. Jo takes over for a while so I can get dinner. Back in the shack, I QSY to 80m and work mostly Europe. According to the DX cluster, my transmit frequency is covered by radar noise in Japan, but later I can work some JA stations. On the way to our bedroom, Arno reports that one Beverage antenna was completely deaf, the other one not very helpful. So he just worked Europe on the GP – room for improvement...
___ Monday, March 12, 2018 It's all Arno's fault !! Or rather his phone's... The wake-up call went off one hour late. Arriving at the shack, Jo already quit, but I try for more QSOs on 40m with quite some success. I hear callers from all over the world, even Japan, apparently long path. But it's getting slow after a while. The RTTY station is leaving 30m, so I take it and work Japan and Europe. Our transmit signal seems to be rather weak, so I must call many stations several times before I get a response. Some don't come back at all which costs them the QSO. After helping with optimizations on the 160m GP, I try to work PSK on 12m with the mixed station for a while, which is somewhat tricky. DL4MCF is my first contact, followed by a number of stations from southern Europe. I shut off the Windows sounds to avoid that they are sent along with the PSK signal, and I find out that an annoying “de “ can be avoided by pressing the Escape key in the right moment. But it's not my favorite software for the digital modes, so some details remain a mystery to me... I take a walk across the resort and its beach. The Casa del Papa is a very nice place in general. There are many lodges of different categories, a large restaurant area with bar, a big pool and much more. Guests can take a bath in the ocean, rent boats or surf boards in the lagoon or just relax in the wellness area with spa. On my evening shift, I take over 15m from Jo with a good rate. I extend my time so the others can go for dinner. After my dinner, I rearrange the Beverage antennas for the night. Both seem to work better than the GP on the 80m band which is full of QRN tonight. Xavier will give it a serious try during his shift.	The German lodge
___ Tuesday, March 13, 2018 It's that terrible night shift again, starting at 03:00... Jean-Luc is reported to suffer from a cold, almost lost his voice – not good for a SSB op. So Arno (160m CW), Damien (80m SSB) and I (40m CW) try our best this night. I can work a high rate for about two hours and a half, then the band closes completely. Same on 80m SSB, only 160m keeps bringing in QSOs. I run software to check FT8. There are some weak signals but nobody hears my CQ. After a while, 40m seems to get better again – I work a few stations in normal mode. My shift would be over now, but Xavier takes over from Arno at the main CW station and nobody comes to work on my station. So I change back to CW on 40m because the band gets more and more busy now. First it's even a tough job to find a clear frequency, my first one is overrun by someone else's pileup. But the second attempt is fine, I work VK and ZL. After an extra hour, another op comes so I get time for breakfast and relaxing. I go back to the shack after lunch. But before I resume CW operation, I install the latest WSJT version on the RTTY computer, maybe we can take advantage of it if the bands die down again next night... I start operating on 15m, but only few callers get into my log. Later, Damien would like to trade bands with me. On 20m, I'm quickly facing a tremendous pileup. But soon Xavier arrives for his shift and takes over. I ask Jo if he would like to try for some nice operator photos. I've known Jo for a while but I didn't know that he just loves such photos. Our resort includes some pile-work cottages in the lagoon, the perfect spot. Planned as a snapshot, we are now putting quite some effort into this, and Jo will spend even more time on optimizations in his spare time between shifts. The result exceeds my expectations by far. I feel tired this evening but can't sleep before or after dinner. Nevertheless I start my 23:00 shift on time. I volunteer for 160m and stay on this band all the four hours. So far, the operators reported little success because of huge QRN even on the Beverage antenna. An improvised loop installed only a few meters over ground works pretty well, so I can increase the QSO count on this band from 300 to 500 and work even Arizona and Wyoming. More than once, I hear Damien work a station on 80m SSB that I just logged on 160m minutes ago. It's really exhausting to work on this band because usually signals appear only for a few dits and dahs before they are covered by QRN again. Xavier continues the effort but with less success...
___ Wednesday, March 14, 2018 I get up a little early and go for breakfast. I hear that Jo had already been there so there's no need to replace him at the shack for the time of a breakfast. At 10:00, I take over on 17m which keeps me really busy. A power failure is no problem because the hotel's generator kicks in after a minute. But then a military OTH radar ruins the lower part of the CW band. This time the pileup doesn't return to its former strength, but I still hand some callers to Xavier as he arrives. After lunch, I catch up on sleep. Before starting my shift, I have a look at the DX cluster. We are spotted on 30m CW but we're not QRV there... I take over 12m while Arno works on 10m CW. We are both working mostly Spain and Portugal with some South America in between. Later I change to 30m, but after working a few big signals, a pulp of small signals remains. Jo comes to replace me so I can get dinner. He changes to 80m where many callers from Japan keep him busy. After my return I continue working Japan until the new day seems to mute their signals. But even after accepting calls from anywhere, callers from East Asia make it into our log again and again. Xavier is working on the RTTY station this night, so Christian takes over from me this time.	GPs and VDAs near the lagoon
__ Thursday, March 15, 2018 After a good night, I get up and take over from Jo on 160m. A few more CQs, but no response at all. So I switch to 20m and soon I'm working on a decent pileup from Europe. A growing number of them are dupes. Callers from Japan show up and I call them selectively, but there are not many. Nevertheless, the rate remains over 100. After the shift, I spend some time at (and in) the pool, one of my favorite spots here. And another favorite spot is next: The restaurant for another delicious lunch. Then I return to the shack to run the mixed station. In order to learn something about the IC 7300 and MMVARI, I work RTTY on 20m. This works well in the beginning, but then more and more people call me without really listening – this sucks... I'm glad to take over the CW station when it's time for my regular shift. I'm asked to try 12m, and it works with good results for a short while. But the opening ends soon, leaving only a chance for callers from EA and CT. At 200 QSOs I give up and switch to 17m which was abandoned by the SSB op. It suffers some phase noise from the RTTY station on 15m, but most callers are stronger and I can also work weaker signals while the RTTY station doesn't transmit. It's the first band to excel 3000 CW QSOs. Several stations from East Asia get into our log although a significant part of the distance lies already in the dark. The DXpeditions from TN, TJ and 3C0 are active now, which causes conflicts on the bands. Twice we hear that our transmit frequency is flooded by another pileup...
___ Friday, March 16, 2018 Arno and I force ourselves out of bed for the “horror shift” starting at 03:00. Jo reports that he was not happy with the conditions on 160m, but I stay on this band and try my best. Nevertheless, I can work a friend in DL who works barefoot with an inverted L. During breakfast, we watch about twenty locals dragging something across the beach with a rope. It turns out to be a boat with fishermen – I've never seen this technique before. I replace Xavier for the time of his breakfast, now on 40m. But first I'm losing my transmit frequency, then power fails several times – no fun. Taking some stereotype beach photos with Christian is more fun. After lunch, I take over from Jo on 12m. It's a lot of work in the beginning, the conditions are certainly above average. But soon the pileup is down to a trickle. Damien is also bored in SSB on 10m, so we trade bands one more time. The best times for Europe are mostly over but I can work a number of stations from South America and the Caribbean – plus India !? As Xavier takes over, my rate is down to one QSO every ten minutes, so he QSYs to 20m immediately. After dinner, I take over from Jo for his dinner. Still on 20m, I can bring a high rate of callers into our log – because of improved conditions or because of the beginning weekend ? Before my next regular shift starts at 23:00, Arno and I try an idea for the Beverage antenna. Its signal has been very weak, so why not lift it to about one meter above ground? We must cross one footpath in 2m, trees and some stools from the beach bar do the rest. I try it during my shift, the QRN is now almost as loud as on the GP. Jean-Luc eliminates the preamp, this helps. But the heavy cracking noise and the QSB let only parts of callsigns pass. On the other stations, Damien (SSB on 40m) and Arno (RTTY and CW on 80m) are running pileups successfully. After more than three hours, my head feels like filled with compressed air – I'm ready for bed. But within minutes, the noise goes down, more and more callsigns get through. I increase the CW speed and work one caller after the other. Those who kept trying and trying are now rewarded with a QSO. Xavier appears to take over, I hope he can continue in these conditions. I'm totally finished and go straight to bed.
___ Saturday, March 17, 2018 Arno's alarm goes off one hour early (oh this nasty little time zone problem...). I'm still exhausted by the effort on 160m last night, but can't get back to sleep either. At breakfast, the team makes plans for antenna removal. On my next shift, I take over 17m from Jo. But first it's heavy radar, then the pileup of another DXpedition that throws a curtain of QRM over me. Arno runs CW on 10m with few callers, but Jo is rather busy with FT8 on 12m. So I trade bands with him and have a quickly growing number of callers. I started simplex but need split now. When checking the potential frequency range, I find many signals calling me there already. I increase CW speed and run a fast pileup rate one more time. The band is open to almost any area of Europe and the Near East, but one caller from 9Q gets into our log, too. Xavier comes directly from lunch to take over, but later he reports that the band closed soon thereafter. At lunch, we summarize what a good time we had here. The food has always been delicious, the beer cool, the weather nice and sunny at about 30 degrees C every day and at least Arno and I stayed clear of diarrhea and flu. I take another walk for some photos. Passing by the Beverage antenna, I find it lying on the ground. I had already asked myself if it was better to put it on the ground for the last night on 160m, so there's nothing to do. But it's torn a few meters from the grounded end, I repair that. I walk to the shack somewhat early where Jo seems to be logging the last tiny signals on 15m. He's happy to hand over to me, so I QSY to 40m and look for a good frequency outside the CW and RTTY contest turmoil. There's a clear spot at the edge between RTTY and SSB, so I start calling CQ and spot myself. Strong thunderstorm QRN gives me a hard time, but QSOs keep coming. Nobody comes to take over for our dinner, but my shift buddies and I are hungry, so we decide to announce QRX and go anyway. The seafood dish is delicious again and accompanied by rosé wine and even some of Damien's Mirabelle liqueur. At the next table, about ten new guests catch my attention, they speak German – stopping over for a Safari ? Then we return to the shack. I continue on 40m and hear decent signals from Japan with little QRN. Very close to 30000 QSOs on the Wintest log (CW and SSB), I hand over to Xavier. He promises to try 160m when the time is right for this band.	DL3GA takes a break (photo by DL2MDU)
___ Sunday, March 18 As planned, we start dismantling the low band antennas at 07:00. But after a while, Arno and I need to be at the shack for our shifts. I change from 80m to 30m and instantly work stations from Europe as well as Japan. The signals from Japan are stronger, so I work them exclusively. This runs pretty well although a significant noise floor is not helpful. But suddenly the noise disappears, maybe an electric device that has been switched off... I work another 200 QSOs until it seems that my frequency is covered by some local traffic in Europe – so I announce QRT. I walk to the antenna site but the team has already dismantled “my” 40m GP. So I go for breakfast and continue dismantling antennas afterwards. First I remove the VDA for 10m, then the VDA for 20m. Operation still continues on 12 to 17m, so I walk to our lodge and pack my personal bags. Lunch is another delight, a complete fish artfully decorated with a variety of vegetables. After that, we remove the last antennas and clean the terrain. Jean-Luc and Damien pack the material bags and finally assign two of them to each team member. The hotel staff serves a last round of beer while our transportation crew arrives and loads our baggage. Then we say good-bye, board the vehicles and start our trip. It was dark when we came, we barely saw anyone. Now at daylight we see that the road is flanked by countless inhabited cottages. As we reach Ouidah, the bus needs a break for some fresh engine cooling water. Then we take the highway to Cotonou airport. Apparently, we are early because we have to line up outside the terminal building and wait one hour. Finally in the building, we are facing trouble with oversize baggage. Just before boarding, one of us is asked to come for another clarification. He's not back when boarding starts and a bus takes us out to the plane. Here we have to line up for another check of passports, boarding cards and carry-on luggage checks. Some of these cases have padlocks and our “missing” team member has the keys. But suddenly he's back so we leave on time.
___ Monday, March 19 At 06:00 local time and light snow, we land at Charles de Gaulle airport. We clear formalities and find that all bags arrived with us. The F6KOP support crew is already waiting and invites the team for a cup of coffee. We take the equipment to their mini van, then we part friends for the trip home. Jean-Luc, Damien and I have more than one hour time until our train leaves. Coming from Brussels, it arrives on time but then gathers delay. We stay relaxed because there are no connecting trains at stake – not even for me because I have a stopover of more than 90 minutes in Strasbourg. I thought I could draw a ticket for the last phase of my trip from a vending machine, but none of these things recognizes my destination in Germany! Room for European improvement... But there are agents who can sell me a ticket, so I make it home at last.
Sincere thanks to the F6KOP team for making it possible. Thanks also to the crew of the “Casa del Papa”, I won't forget my stay at this beautiful place! TY7C operators: Jo DJ3CQ, Arno DL1CW, Christian DL2MDU, Andreas DL3GA, Henri F1HRE, Jean-Luc F1ULQ, Damien F4AZF, Raymond F5MFV, Xavier F5NTZ, Philipp OE7PGI
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Back to homepage: Deutsch English

TY7C – DXpedition to Benin by F6KOP Radio Club
DL3GA's story

In autumn 2017, the F6KOP team asks me if I want to join them as a CW operator for a trip to Benin. I enjoyed activating Ivory Coast with them earlier that year (TU7C), so I don't hesitate and agree. The visa can be obtained by mail this time, this is done in a week. And some of my fellow contesters also join the team: Jo DJ3CQ, Christian DL2MDU and Arno DL1CW.

The first part of the trip leads me to a good friend who lives near Jean-Luc F1ULQ. He picks me up in the early morning of the next day and we take a TGV to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport. The entire team meets here for the Air France flight to Cotonou. We can note that all our baggage has arrived with us and the local transportation crew is waiting. As we leave, the airport is shutting down for the night. We take a highway-like road towards Togo, but the longer it takes, the smaller the roads. Finally we are “riding” a dirt road until we arrive at our resort “Casa del Papa” at 02:30 AM. Strong LED lights illuminate the vicinity near the road – will they create lots of QRM ?

___ Thursday, March 08, 2018

After a short night, we take a breakfast and then start putting antennas together. I help handling the 20m VDA, but it seems to have its secrets so it takes more time than expected. But once it is up, it works pretty well immediately. Next I take care of the 80m GP, a rather simple antenna yet very effective. It's ready for operation fairly soon. But the more we get into the day, the hotter it gets and we have to take breaks in the air-conditioned room that will be our shack. As a consequence, we can't finish the 160m GP. At dinner time, we are ready for the first QSO as TY7C. The dinner, by the way, promises that we won't have any opportunity to complain during the time of our stay. Two hours of my shift remain when we actually man the stations, but we need almost half of the time to sort out problems. Fortunately, the above-mentioned LED lights don't cause QRM, so I can work many callers from Japan and Europe listening and transmitting on the 80m GP. Xavier F5NTZ takes over on time. I don't just share the room with Arno DL1CW, our shifts are also at the same time. After a hard day, we need rest.

___ Friday, March 09, 2018

My next shift starts at 07:00 and I take over from Jo DJ3CQ who is still working on 80m running greyline QSOs with USA although it's already light. I can continue for another 30 minutes, but then my calls remain unheard. Some coax problems are reported and solved before I can start operating on 17m. Quickly, a pileup over more than 3 kHz builds. I work callers at a high rate, but it doesn't get smaller. There is more than enough for Xavier to do when he comes to take over. Unfortunately, breakfast time is over so Arno and I just get some slices of cake and lukewarm coffee. We join the team erecting the 160m GP. It's not easy but when it's finally up, it works well instantly. We give ourselves a break before the next shift starting at 16:00. The CW station is still on 17m and I have mega fun working Europe and USA. Later, the log statistics will prove that I set a new personal record with 550 QSOs in three hours. After dinner, I continue for Xavier while he has dinner. Now on 40m, an unbelievable number of big signals is coming in. But it's hard to keep the rate up, so I decide to call Japan only and this works much better. At the same time, Arno calls Japan on 160m. It's the right time for this, but the Beverage antenna is not ready so no success. As the JA signals on 40m get smaller and smaller, I accept calls from anywhere and work the first stateside callers on this band. Xavier comes back from dinner, so I can finally get some sleep.

___ Saturday, March 10, 2018

Arno and I have shift at 03:00. It takes lots of discipline to operate at this time of the day, and we find a shack with only Jo at the CW station – everybody else gave up and went to sleep. I stay on 40m while Arno works CW on 80m. The loudest signals come from USA, but hour by hour more callers come in from the east, along the “wakeup” line. For most of the time, my pileup is 4 kHz wide, but at the end I must collect the few callers “up1”, many from the western USA now. Xavier arrives and I help him switch to 20m. It's a little too early for breakfast, so I go back to bed for some sleep. Arno stays longer at his station, goes to breakfast from there and then comes to wake me up. I hear that Christian DL2MDU has been struck by severe stomach problems, so he can't be on duty today. Damien F4AZF has a similar problem, but he's doing his very best. My next shift starts at 13:00, but first it takes longer than expected to get lunch, then I'm “transferred” to put up the 10m VDA. Once this antenna is ready for use, I can start working on 15m. In the beginning I can work many stations with a good rate, but the width of the pileup never exceeds 1 kHz and at the end of my shift I'm calling CQ. After a break at the pool it's time for dinner. We enjoy a round of Mirabelle liquor sponsored by one of our team, it's his birthday. My shift begins at 23:00, but I volunteer for some extra time at the SSB station on 40m. Big signals are coming in, but many callers are not listening or they have problems to hear me. This reminds me why SSB is not my favorite mode and I'm happy to change to 80m CW when it's time. However, conditions are obviously down. Almost every call must be pulled out of the noise with a lot of effort. With the first callers from north America, I accept calls from there only which makes operation more fluent. But I'm more than happy to hand over to Xavier as he arrives.

The TY7C operator team

___ Sunday, March 11, 2018

I start my shift before 10:00 so Jo can have some breakfast. I run 20m with many callers from Japan, but soon the stronger signals come from Europe and then daylight attenuation wipes out almost every signal. I check 12m because we have a VDA for this band now, but it's not open. So I return to 20m, work the few callers and spend some time calling CQ. I notice that Damien is also spending a lot of time calling CQ on 17m SSB. He agrees to trade bands with me. A wild pileup builds quickly, but soon it's time to hand over to Xavier. Arno and I go for lunch. It's delicious as usual but hard to finish today. We are visited by Nicolas TY2AC who brings a IC 7300 to replace a weak TS 570D used on the FT8 station. Later we gather for team photos (including TY2AC) with sponsor banners. Then it's time for some antenna work. The 20m VDA doesn't look good, some elements of the telescopic mast slipped down. We correct that and secure them with stronger tape. We also modify the guys of the 160m GP so it is bent somewhat less. As we are done, it's time for my next shift and I continue working on 30m. Many callers here, but we also want to give Japan on 160m a chance. So for technical reasons I trade stations with Arno. The later it gets, the lower the demand on 30m. Jo takes over for a while so I can get dinner. Back in the shack, I QSY to 80m and work mostly Europe. According to the DX cluster, my transmit frequency is covered by radar noise in Japan, but later I can work some JA stations. On the way to our bedroom, Arno reports that one Beverage antenna was completely deaf, the other one not very helpful. So he just worked Europe on the GP – room for improvement...

___ Monday, March 12, 2018

It's all Arno's fault !! Or rather his phone's... The wake-up call went off one hour late. Arriving at the shack, Jo already quit, but I try for more QSOs on 40m with quite some success. I hear callers from all over the world, even Japan, apparently long path. But it's getting slow after a while. The RTTY station is leaving 30m, so I take it and work Japan and Europe. Our transmit signal seems to be rather weak, so I must call many stations several times before I get a response. Some don't come back at all which costs them the QSO. After helping with optimizations on the 160m GP, I try to work PSK on 12m with the mixed station for a while, which is somewhat tricky. DL4MCF is my first contact, followed by a number of stations from southern Europe. I shut off the Windows sounds to avoid that they are sent along with the PSK signal, and I find out that an annoying “de “ can be avoided by pressing the Escape key in the right moment. But it's not my favorite software for the digital modes, so some details remain a mystery to me... I take a walk across the resort and its beach. The Casa del Papa is a very nice place in general. There are many lodges of different categories, a large restaurant area with bar, a big pool and much more. Guests can take a bath in the ocean, rent boats or surf boards in the lagoon or just relax in the wellness area with spa. On my evening shift, I take over 15m from Jo with a good rate. I extend my time so the others can go for dinner. After my dinner, I rearrange the Beverage antennas for the night. Both seem to work better than the GP on the 80m band which is full of QRN tonight. Xavier will give it a serious try during his shift.

The German lodge

___ Tuesday, March 13, 2018

It's that terrible night shift again, starting at 03:00... Jean-Luc is reported to suffer from a cold, almost lost his voice – not good for a SSB op. So Arno (160m CW), Damien (80m SSB) and I (40m CW) try our best this night. I can work a high rate for about two hours and a half, then the band closes completely. Same on 80m SSB, only 160m keeps bringing in QSOs. I run software to check FT8. There are some weak signals but nobody hears my CQ. After a while, 40m seems to get better again – I work a few stations in normal mode. My shift would be over now, but Xavier takes over from Arno at the main CW station and nobody comes to work on my station. So I change back to CW on 40m because the band gets more and more busy now. First it's even a tough job to find a clear frequency, my first one is overrun by someone else's pileup. But the second attempt is fine, I work VK and ZL. After an extra hour, another op comes so I get time for breakfast and relaxing. I go back to the shack after lunch. But before I resume CW operation, I install the latest WSJT version on the RTTY computer, maybe we can take advantage of it if the bands die down again next night... I start operating on 15m, but only few callers get into my log. Later, Damien would like to trade bands with me. On 20m, I'm quickly facing a tremendous pileup. But soon Xavier arrives for his shift and takes over. I ask Jo if he would like to try for some nice operator photos. I've known Jo for a while but I didn't know that he just loves such photos. Our resort includes some pile-work cottages in the lagoon, the perfect spot. Planned as a snapshot, we are now putting quite some effort into this, and Jo will spend even more time on optimizations in his spare time between shifts. The result exceeds my expectations by far. I feel tired this evening but can't sleep before or after dinner. Nevertheless I start my 23:00 shift on time. I volunteer for 160m and stay on this band all the four hours. So far, the operators reported little success because of huge QRN even on the Beverage antenna. An improvised loop installed only a few meters over ground works pretty well, so I can increase the QSO count on this band from 300 to 500 and work even Arizona and Wyoming. More than once, I hear Damien work a station on 80m SSB that I just logged on 160m minutes ago. It's really exhausting to work on this band because usually signals appear only for a few dits and dahs before they are covered by QRN again. Xavier continues the effort but with less success...

___ Wednesday, March 14, 2018

I get up a little early and go for breakfast. I hear that Jo had already been there so there's no need to replace him at the shack for the time of a breakfast. At 10:00, I take over on 17m which keeps me really busy. A power failure is no problem because the hotel's generator kicks in after a minute. But then a military OTH radar ruins the lower part of the CW band. This time the pileup doesn't return to its former strength, but I still hand some callers to Xavier as he arrives. After lunch, I catch up on sleep. Before starting my shift, I have a look at the DX cluster. We are spotted on 30m CW but we're not QRV there... I take over 12m while Arno works on 10m CW. We are both working mostly Spain and Portugal with some South America in between. Later I change to 30m, but after working a few big signals, a pulp of small signals remains. Jo comes to replace me so I can get dinner. He changes to 80m where many callers from Japan keep him busy. After my return I continue working Japan until the new day seems to mute their signals. But even after accepting calls from anywhere, callers from East Asia make it into our log again and again. Xavier is working on the RTTY station this night, so Christian takes over from me this time.

GPs and VDAs near the lagoon

__ Thursday, March 15, 2018

After a good night, I get up and take over from Jo on 160m. A few more CQs, but no response at all. So I switch to 20m and soon I'm working on a decent pileup from Europe. A growing number of them are dupes. Callers from Japan show up and I call them selectively, but there are not many. Nevertheless, the rate remains over 100. After the shift, I spend some time at (and in) the pool, one of my favorite spots here. And another favorite spot is next: The restaurant for another delicious lunch. Then I return to the shack to run the mixed station. In order to learn something about the IC 7300 and MMVARI, I work RTTY on 20m. This works well in the beginning, but then more and more people call me without really listening – this sucks... I'm glad to take over the CW station when it's time for my regular shift. I'm asked to try 12m, and it works with good results for a short while. But the opening ends soon, leaving only a chance for callers from EA and CT. At 200 QSOs I give up and switch to 17m which was abandoned by the SSB op. It suffers some phase noise from the RTTY station on 15m, but most callers are stronger and I can also work weaker signals while the RTTY station doesn't transmit. It's the first band to excel 3000 CW QSOs. Several stations from East Asia get into our log although a significant part of the distance lies already in the dark. The DXpeditions from TN, TJ and 3C0 are active now, which causes conflicts on the bands. Twice we hear that our transmit frequency is flooded by another pileup...

___ Friday, March 16, 2018

Arno and I force ourselves out of bed for the “horror shift” starting at 03:00. Jo reports that he was not happy with the conditions on 160m, but I stay on this band and try my best. Nevertheless, I can work a friend in DL who works barefoot with an inverted L. During breakfast, we watch about twenty locals dragging something across the beach with a rope. It turns out to be a boat with fishermen – I've never seen this technique before. I replace Xavier for the time of his breakfast, now on 40m. But first I'm losing my transmit frequency, then power fails several times – no fun. Taking some stereotype beach photos with Christian is more fun. After lunch, I take over from Jo on 12m. It's a lot of work in the beginning, the conditions are certainly above average. But soon the pileup is down to a trickle. Damien is also bored in SSB on 10m, so we trade bands one more time. The best times for Europe are mostly over but I can work a number of stations from South America and the Caribbean – plus India !? As Xavier takes over, my rate is down to one QSO every ten minutes, so he QSYs to 20m immediately. After dinner, I take over from Jo for his dinner. Still on 20m, I can bring a high rate of callers into our log – because of improved conditions or because of the beginning weekend ? Before my next regular shift starts at 23:00, Arno and I try an idea for the Beverage antenna. Its signal has been very weak, so why not lift it to about one meter above ground? We must cross one footpath in 2m, trees and some stools from the beach bar do the rest. I try it during my shift, the QRN is now almost as loud as on the GP. Jean-Luc eliminates the preamp, this helps. But the heavy cracking noise and the QSB let only parts of callsigns pass. On the other stations, Damien (SSB on 40m) and Arno (RTTY and CW on 80m) are running pileups successfully. After more than three hours, my head feels like filled with compressed air – I'm ready for bed. But within minutes, the noise goes down, more and more callsigns get through. I increase the CW speed and work one caller after the other. Those who kept trying and trying are now rewarded with a QSO. Xavier appears to take over, I hope he can continue in these conditions. I'm totally finished and go straight to bed.

___ Saturday, March 17, 2018

Arno's alarm goes off one hour early (oh this nasty little time zone problem...). I'm still exhausted by the effort on 160m last night, but can't get back to sleep either. At breakfast, the team makes plans for antenna removal. On my next shift, I take over 17m from Jo. But first it's heavy radar, then the pileup of another DXpedition that throws a curtain of QRM over me. Arno runs CW on 10m with few callers, but Jo is rather busy with FT8 on 12m. So I trade bands with him and have a quickly growing number of callers. I started simplex but need split now. When checking the potential frequency range, I find many signals calling me there already. I increase CW speed and run a fast pileup rate one more time. The band is open to almost any area of Europe and the Near East, but one caller from 9Q gets into our log, too. Xavier comes directly from lunch to take over, but later he reports that the band closed soon thereafter. At lunch, we summarize what a good time we had here. The food has always been delicious, the beer cool, the weather nice and sunny at about 30 degrees C every day and at least Arno and I stayed clear of diarrhea and flu. I take another walk for some photos. Passing by the Beverage antenna, I find it lying on the ground. I had already asked myself if it was better to put it on the ground for the last night on 160m, so there's nothing to do. But it's torn a few meters from the grounded end, I repair that. I walk to the shack somewhat early where Jo seems to be logging the last tiny signals on 15m. He's happy to hand over to me, so I QSY to 40m and look for a good frequency outside the CW and RTTY contest turmoil. There's a clear spot at the edge between RTTY and SSB, so I start calling CQ and spot myself. Strong thunderstorm QRN gives me a hard time, but QSOs keep coming. Nobody comes to take over for our dinner, but my shift buddies and I are hungry, so we decide to announce QRX and go anyway. The seafood dish is delicious again and accompanied by rosé wine and even some of Damien's Mirabelle liqueur. At the next table, about ten new guests catch my attention, they speak German – stopping over for a Safari ? Then we return to the shack. I continue on 40m and hear decent signals from Japan with little QRN. Very close to 30000 QSOs on the Wintest log (CW and SSB), I hand over to Xavier. He promises to try 160m when the time is right for this band.

DL3GA takes a break (photo by DL2MDU)

___ Sunday, March 18

As planned, we start dismantling the low band antennas at 07:00. But after a while, Arno and I need to be at the shack for our shifts. I change from 80m to 30m and instantly work stations from Europe as well as Japan. The signals from Japan are stronger, so I work them exclusively. This runs pretty well although a significant noise floor is not helpful. But suddenly the noise disappears, maybe an electric device that has been switched off... I work another 200 QSOs until it seems that my frequency is covered by some local traffic in Europe – so I announce QRT. I walk to the antenna site but the team has already dismantled “my” 40m GP. So I go for breakfast and continue dismantling antennas afterwards. First I remove the VDA for 10m, then the VDA for 20m. Operation still continues on 12 to 17m, so I walk to our lodge and pack my personal bags. Lunch is another delight, a complete fish artfully decorated with a variety of vegetables. After that, we remove the last antennas and clean the terrain. Jean-Luc and Damien pack the material bags and finally assign two of them to each team member. The hotel staff serves a last round of beer while our transportation crew arrives and loads our baggage. Then we say good-bye, board the vehicles and start our trip. It was dark when we came, we barely saw anyone. Now at daylight we see that the road is flanked by countless inhabited cottages. As we reach Ouidah, the bus needs a break for some fresh engine cooling water. Then we take the highway to Cotonou airport. Apparently, we are early because we have to line up outside the terminal building and wait one hour. Finally in the building, we are facing trouble with oversize baggage. Just before boarding, one of us is asked to come for another clarification. He's not back when boarding starts and a bus takes us out to the plane. Here we have to line up for another check of passports, boarding cards and carry-on luggage checks. Some of these cases have padlocks and our “missing” team member has the keys. But suddenly he's back so we leave on time.

___ Monday, March 19

At 06:00 local time and light snow, we land at Charles de Gaulle airport. We clear formalities and find that all bags arrived with us. The F6KOP support crew is already waiting and invites the team for a cup of coffee. We take the equipment to their mini van, then we part friends for the trip home. Jean-Luc, Damien and I have more than one hour time until our train leaves. Coming from Brussels, it arrives on time but then gathers delay. We stay relaxed because there are no connecting trains at stake – not even for me because I have a stopover of more than 90 minutes in Strasbourg. I thought I could draw a ticket for the last phase of my trip from a vending machine, but none of these things recognizes my destination in Germany! Room for European improvement... But there are agents who can sell me a ticket, so I make it home at last.

Sincere thanks to the F6KOP team for making it possible. Thanks also to the crew of the “Casa del Papa”, I won't forget my stay at this beautiful place!

TY7C operators: Jo DJ3CQ, Arno DL1CW, Christian DL2MDU, Andreas DL3GA, Henri F1HRE, Jean-Luc F1ULQ, Damien F4AZF, Raymond F5MFV, Xavier F5NTZ, Philipp OE7PGI

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