OERadio

Activity Contest on the Tischberg – my first Sporadic E from a summit

Michael | OE5HKT — Mon, 17 Aug 2026 06:00:00 GMT

Today was activity contest day again – this time the destination was the Tischberg (OE/NO-200) at 1063 m above sea level, in JN78io. Tischberg – OE/NO-200

After a week of coughing and a runny nose it was finally time for some radio again. I was accompanied by Tobias, OE5OBI, who kindly volunteered as a porter. 😉

The operating position on the Tischberg: cable out into the terrain, everything else done sitting down.

As usual I started on the 2 m band. Conditions were not exceptional, but perfectly decent. In the end there were just over 40 QSOs in the log – enough to be happy with for a start.

Michael, OE5HKT, operating the contest under the tarp.

After that I moved briefly to 70 cm. The yield there was rather modest with just five QSOs, so I decided to try something new. I asked Christian, OE5BCG, whether we could give 6 m a go.

About 15 minutes of rebuilding later the Hentenna was finally up. At first I was puzzled by a strange signal in the waterfall – until I spotted the mistake: the connector was not properly tightened. As soon as that was fixed, Christian was already audible on 50.150 MHz: 59 – that worked really well!

I briefly told him about the modifications I had made to my IC-705 for contest operation, then I went hunting for more stations.

The IC-705 modification: a home-made PTT box plus the green frame from the 3D printer.

I heard a station from 9A and another one from S5. Unfortunately my 10 watts were probably a little too little power to get through. Then a very faint M0 station became audible. The signal kept improving and eventually I was able to identify M0RDX. Sadly no QSO came about here either.

So I started calling CQ myself. For what felt like ten minutes I called CQ on 50.160 MHz and also spotted myself for SOTA – but at first: no answer.

Then I briefly heard Jörg, DG0JMB. Unfortunately he could not copy me either. And then suddenly: 59+60 – G8BCG!

Wonderful!

1400 kilometres on 6 m: G8BCG, 59004 in SSB, 11:29z – logged in the SOTA app.

My first Sporadic-E QSO from a summit. I was genuinely amazed at how well it worked. Naturally I had to tell OE5BCG right away: his callsign namesake was on the air!

Shortly afterwards I heard in the speaker: “… what a nice prefix …”

That is when I knew: Christian was in the log as well.

What a lovely birthday present! 🎂📻

A really successful activity contest with plenty of nice QSOs, a small technical adventure and, for me, a very special highlight on 6 m.

Thanks for a great day!

73
Michael

Der Beitrag Activity Contest on the Tischberg – my first Sporadic E from a summit erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

126.9 Kilometres on Half a Watt: How Carinthia's Mesh Network Grew to 32 Sites in Two Weeks

Michael | OE8YML — Sun, 16 Aug 2026 09:30:00 GMT

Between a site on the Koralpe and a Slovenian site called Dol-Gače lie 126.9 kilometres. That is not a calculation and not an estimate but an actually observed radio link: one heard the other. The transmit power involved is 500 milliwatts, half a watt. About as much as a baby monitor, less than a mobile phone puts out.

What makes it possible is a radio network that has grown quietly and rather quickly over the past two weeks. It is called CarinthiaMesh, works on 868 MHz and carries text messages without a mobile network, without the internet and without a contract. How that works in principle and what you need to take part is covered in our article MeshCore: radio without a mobile network. This piece is about something else, namely who actually built the network.

One thing up front, because everything else follows from it: the network belongs to nobody. There is no operator you sign up with, no association that decides over it, and no authority that could admit or reject anyone. The firmware is open source, the map is public, the guides are free to read. Switch on a device and you are part of it. Put up a repeater and you make it bigger for everyone else.

From nine to 32

Fourteen days ago, nine repeaters were visible in Carinthia, meaning fixed stations at elevated sites that pass messages on. Today there are 32. The strongest day was 15 August, when four sites appeared at once: Nötsch, Gerlitzen, Altenberg and the Leppner Alm.

Together the 32 Carinthian repeaters forward around 28,000 messages a day. The entire network this analysis can see comprises 611 nodes across several countries. Carinthia contributes only a small share of the stations but carries roughly 40 percent of the observed traffic. That has to do with geography: stand on a mountain here and you see a very long way.

If you would rather watch it move than read it as a number, the map has a live view in which every forwarded packet shows up as it happens. No device and no sign-up required, you simply watch. On an ordinary evening it shows quite clearly which sites do the work and which are currently just listening in.

The live view at map.carinthiamesh.com/#/live: every dot a node, every colour a packet type, the timeline of the past hour along the bottom. This particular look comes from a quiet morning, so there is not much going on. In the evening and on tinkering weekends the same map looks considerably livelier.

Part of it is better visibility, not more hardware

Before the numbers take on a life of their own, a caveat belongs here, in the middle of the text rather than at the end.

The map only knows a repeater once somebody hears it. That takes observers, stations that record the radio traffic and report it. Of the four observers currently running, three appeared in the very same period in which the network supposedly grew by 23 sites.

Which means: some of the new sites may well have been standing there before and simply went unheard. In this statistic, "new" reliably means no more than "heard for the first time". You can turn that into a figure like "+311 percent", and arithmetically it even holds, but it claims more than the data supports. The growth is real. A substantial part of it is nevertheless just a better view of what was already there.

The sites that carry the network

Not every repeater works equally hard. Six stand out clearly:

Site	Forwards in 24 h	Role in the network
St. Ulrich (Lavanttal)	3,749	on air since 3 August
Pölling (Lavanttal)	3,708	the oldest of the leading group, since 9 July
Göriacher Alm (lower Gail valley)	3,576	33 neighbours, the crossing into Slovenia
Koralpe	2,807	feeder into Styria and further east
Knappenberg-PV (Hüttenberg)	2,237	only since 13 August and already in the leading group
Knappenberg	2,201	second site of the same group

More interesting than the ranking is how it has changed. Three sites currently carry around 39 percent of Carinthian traffic between them. A week ago it was 81 percent, and that with less total traffic than today. The load is measurably spreading out. For a network without a central authority that is precisely the good news, because it no longer hangs on two or three mountains.

One detail that is easily misread: the Dobratsch has only medium traffic despite its position. That is not a shortcoming. Two older sites simply pass the same packets along faster, which leaves nothing for the newcomer to do. In a mesh network, little traffic does not mean "bad" but often just "quiet area" or "quicker neighbour". The title image of this article, incidentally, shows exactly that site: the mast on the Dobratsch, with the small solar panel and the enclosure between the big dishes.

Across the border

The most interesting site is the Göriacher Alm in the lower Gail valley. It has 33 direct neighbours, four of them in Slovenia: Krvavec at 78 kilometres, Kriška gora at 61, Dobrča at 52 and Zabreška planina at 46 kilometres. Through this one site Carinthia hangs off the Slovenian network, in which 56 nodes are recorded.

To the east the Koralpe takes over. From there the network reaches into Styria and as far as the Hochwechsel in Lower Austria, 109.2 kilometres away.

Notable is how Italy is connected, namely not via Carinthia. The Italian cluster in the Veneto and around Gorizia hangs off the network through Slovenia. The straight-line distance would be shorter, but radio waves follow mountains, not maps.

Eight people, many hands

Behind the 32 sites stand at least eight different operators. Each decides for themselves where their device goes and how they run it; coordination happens voluntarily at most. Some of it is purely private initiative, elsewhere somebody has chipped in.

One example of that: at four sites the hardware came from the association KÄRNTEN FUNKT, which in turn had it sponsored. In early August a delivery arrived from Strali Solutions, including three solar-powered outdoor nodes and a further solar node with panel, plus handhelds and a few smaller boards. The association documented that publicly, along with the reasoning behind it: handhelds are rarely in short supply, fixed infrastructure is. Those sites are nonetheless put up and looked after by individuals, just like all the others.

What tends to get lost amid all the number-counting: there is no provider, no funding and no mandate, and there is nobody who ordered any of this. Every one of these boxes is up there because somebody carried it up, mounted it and connected it, in their spare time and mostly without anyone taking notice. The forwarding figures in the table above are ultimately the receipt for a few afternoons of hillwalking with tools in the rucksack.

What has grown around it

A small support structure now belongs to the radio network. It did not emerge in one place but in various corners of the community, and all of it is open to anyone:

#kf, an open channel that KÄRNTEN FUNKT runs in the MeshCore network. It is one of several; across regions people still meet in the Public channel.
mesh.kaernten-funkt.at, where that channel can be read live in a browser, without a device and without signing up. If you want to know whether the whole thing is for you, just watch there for a week.
wiki.carinthiamesh.com, the initiative's wiki. It has existed considerably longer than the latest build-out; the people around the Koralpe and Klagenfurt started it. By now it holds 24 pages, among them the repeater list, a device list with prices, troubleshooting and sensors.

What it offers anyone

You need not be a radio amateur and you sit no exam. A device costs from about 20 euros, after which there are no fees, no contract and no provider who will eventually switch it off. Two devices talk to each other for as long as they have power.

In everyday terms that means short text messages where the mobile network ends. On a mountain hut, in the gully behind the ridge, on a tour, across the grounds at a club event. Via a repeater on a mountain, two or three kilometres of handheld range quickly become an entire valley. It is no replacement for a phone, being too slow for that and text only. But it works without everything that usually sits between two people.

On top of that comes the part that is hard to explain and easy to experience: you write "hello" into a channel, and a few kilometres away somebody you have never heard before answers, over a connection involving no provider and no data centre. For many people that is exactly why trying it out turned into a hobby.

Sixteen sites are on the list

The planning list currently holds 16 sites, from vague notion to "under construction". It reaches well beyond Carinthia: Golzentipp in East Tyrol, Hochkönig and Untersberg in Salzburg, the Edelweißspitze on the Grossglockner High Alpine Road, the Zirbitzkogel in Styria.

At four of those sites the person is missing. They are pure suggestions from terrain analysis: the map says a repeater there would help a great deal, but nobody has yet come forward to climb up. A ready-to-run spare device is waiting. Whoever has a suitable site gets the hardware.

What makes a site suitable is unspectacular: a clear view into the valley or over a ridge, power or a sensible solar solution, and permission to mount something. An attic with a south-facing window has already achieved more than many a summit.

Joining in

The network grows exactly as far as people build it. Four ways in, from non-committal to hands-on:

Watch. Read along on mesh.kaernten-funkt.at for a week and follow the traffic in the live view of the map, both without a device and without signing up. If you are still interested afterwards, the rest is worth it.
Switch on a device. A board for 20 to 60 euros, the right radio parameters, and into the channel. Every device that listens makes the network more useful for everyone else.
Report your range. Anyone who notes down where they reach which repeater fills a gap hardly anyone is filling: for most sites nobody knows exactly what area they cover. Such measurements are unglamorous and worth more for planning than any simulation.
Offer a site. An attic with a view down the valley, a hut, a mast, a company roof. If you have the spot, you need not buy the hardware yourself, a ready-to-run device is waiting.

Questions are sorted out fastest where the devices are actually running: in the Telegram group Kärnten Funkt – MeshCore or on the initiative's Discord server. Both are open to anyone.

To have a look for yourself: the map of all sites is at map.carinthiamesh.com, the ongoing traffic in the live view, the channel to read along at mesh.kaernten-funkt.at, the guides in the wiki. One of the associations taking part is KÄRNTEN FUNKT, though you need not be a member of anything to get on the air.

How MeshCore compares with the other licence-free systems is set out in PMR, Meshtastic and CB radio compared, and anyone looking at all this from an emergency communications angle will find the sober framing in blackout preparedness.

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Transparency Notice

All figures in this article come from an analysis of the map API at map.carinthiamesh.com, the neighbour data of the nodes and the public site list, as of 16 August 2026. Distances are observed radio links, not calculated lines of sight. The number of active sites reflects what the four observers hear, which makes it a lower bound and not a full survey. The title image shows the site on the Dobratsch, photo: Michael, OE8YML. This article was written with the support of AI (Claude, Anthropic) on the basis of that data and reviewed by the oeradio.at editorial team. Corrections, additions and measured coverage areas are welcome at kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag 126.9 Kilometres on Half a Watt: How Carinthia's Mesh Network Grew to 32 Sites in Two Weeks erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

D-STAR Explained: Reflectors and Callsign Routing

Michael | OE8YML — Sat, 15 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio) was the first digital voice system designed specifically for amateur radio — and it is still in daily use. This article explains what happens under the bonnet: how the voice gets onto the band, what the four callsign fields in your radio mean, how reflectors and callsign routing relate to each other, and how to get on the air when there is no repeater in range.

If you are after the practical entry route in Austria — registration, local reflectors, first steps — that is covered in D-STAR in Austria. And if you are still deciding which system suits you at all, start with D-STAR vs. DMR vs. C4FM vs. M17 vs. TETRA.

Where D-STAR came from

D-STAR was developed from the late 1990s by the JARL, the Japan Amateur Radio League, funded from public money earmarked for promoting amateur radio. Icom was the only major manufacturer to turn the standard into products — which is why D-STAR is effectively an Icom world to this day, even though the specification itself is published openly.

The decisive difference to everything before it: D-STAR was never conceived as "digital FM" but as a networked system from the outset. Every transmission carries callsigns, and even the first generation of repeaters was designed to be connected to the internet. DMR, C4FM and later M17 all followed that lead.

What actually happens: GMSK, AMBE and 4800 bit/s

In voice operation (DV mode, Digital Voice) D-STAR sends a 4800 bit/s data stream, modulated as GMSK, in a bandwidth of roughly 6 kHz — narrower than an FM channel. That stream splits up as follows:

2400 bit/s of voice, encoded with the AMBE vocoder
1200 bit/s of forward error correction (FEC) for exactly that voice data
1200 bit/s of data running alongside the voice

DV mode works on 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm. The AMBE codec is proprietary and licensed — the main criticism levelled at D-STAR, and precisely the reason open alternatives such as M17 and FreeDV exist.

In practice the difference to FM shows at the edge of coverage. Analogue degrades gradually into noise; digital stays clean for a long time and then simply stops — the notorious cliff effect. What that sounds like day to day, and why digital audio is not automatically "better", is described from practice by Alex OE8HAM in D-Star — far more than just voice.

A compact explanation of the D-STAR basics: modulation, network structure, operating (Video: Jonathan M0JSX – Ham Radio, YouTube).

The data channel: what travels alongside your voice

Those 1200 bit/s next to the voice are the genuinely underrated part of D-STAR. They carry:

your own callsign and the destination fields (more on those in a moment)
a short free-text message stored in the radio — usually name and QTH
your GPS position, if the radio has a receiver

That is why a D-STAR radio shows, after every received transmission, not merely that someone spoke but who, from where and how far away. Exactly that is visible in the title image of this article: an Icom ID-31 displaying its receive history — the other station's coordinates, grid locator PM95VQ and a distance of 76.2 km. For a handheld on 70 cm that is information you would otherwise have to ask for.

The four fields: MYCALL, UR, RPT1 and RPT2

Every D-STAR transmission contains four callsign fields. They are the reason the system scares off newcomers — even though three of them are set once and then forgotten.

MYCALL — your own callsign. Enter it once and you are done. Without MYCALL no gateway will pass your transmission.
UR (Your Call) — the destination. For normal operating this reads CQCQCQ, a general call. Only direct routing or reflector commands put anything else here.
RPT1 — the repeater you are transmitting through, including its module letter (e.g. OE0XXX B for the 70 cm module).
RPT2 — usually the same repeater with module G: the gateway, that is, the way into the network.

The module letters grew historically and are the same across the entire D-STAR world: A = 23 cm, B = 70 cm, C = 2 m, G = gateway. Remember that and you will immediately understand why a reflector is called XLX905 B or why a repeater entry ends in C.

Callsign routing: the idea hardly anyone uses

D-STAR's most elegant trick: instead of CQCQCQ you simply put the callsign of the station you want into UR. The network looks up which repeater last heard that station and routes the connection straight there — without either of you needing to know where the other one currently is. That is telephone-grade convenience by radio, and it has existed for over twenty years.

That it is rarely used has two reasons. First, callsign routing requires your callsign to be registered with a gateway — otherwise the network does not know the station. Second, day-to-day operating has shifted to the reflectors: there is always somebody there, whereas calling a specific station assumes that station happens to be switched on. The callsign database behind it all is nowadays largely maintained by the ircDDB network.

How registration works in Austria is set out step by step in our Austria article. Short version: one-off, free of charge, and not even mandatory for plain reflector operating through a hotspot.

Reflectors: REF, XRF, DCS and XLX

A reflector is a server on the internet that ties any number of repeaters and hotspots into one shared room. Whoever is linked to a reflector hears everything spoken into that room anywhere in the world. Functionally that matches talkgroups on DMR or rooms on EchoLink.

Four systems grew up side by side, differing only in their linking protocol:

REF — the classic, Icom-adjacent system using the DPlus protocol. Requires registration in the US Trust network.
XRF — open reflectors using the DExtra protocol.
DCS — Digital Call Server, likewise open.
XLX — the modern multi-protocol reflector. It speaks DPlus, DExtra and DCS simultaneously, translates between them, and can additionally bridge to C4FM and DMR. XLX needs no D-STAR registration.

Linking happens through the UR field: reflector name, module letter and an L for "link" — for instance XLX905BL. To disconnect, a U for "unlink" in the same place is enough. Afterwards UR belongs back on CQCQCQ, otherwise you will wonder why nobody answers. That is by far the most common beginner's mistake.

Reflectors and talkgroups explained across D-STAR, DMR and C4FM (Video: HamRadioConcepts, YouTube).

The path of a QSO

The D-STAR signal path: via repeater and gateway, or straight through a hotspot — either way you end up in the same reflector. Graphic: oeradio.at

DD mode: 128 kbit/s, but only on 23 cm

Besides voice, D-STAR has a second and much faster mode: DD (Digital Data) carries 128 kbit/s in roughly 150 kHz of bandwidth. That allows genuine IP over radio — the repeater becomes a network access point and the radio hangs off your computer via Ethernet.

The catch, which many descriptions gloss over: DD exists on 23 cm only, and it needs specific hardware at both ends. In Austria it has remained a curiosity; anyone looking for data over radio in practice is better served by HAMNET or Packet Radio. Those 128 kbit/s still belong in the story — around 2004 they were a small sensation.

No repeater in range: hotspot, terminal and access point mode

Not everywhere has a D-STAR repeater within reach. Three routes get you there anyway, and all of them end in the same reflector:

Hotspot: a small board (MMDVM, ZUMspot, DVMEGA, openSPOT) running Pi-Star or WPSD. It produces a weak signal inside your home and dials into the reflector of your choice over the internet. How to set one up is covered in Set up a Pi-Star hotspot — DMR and C4FM included.
Access point mode: a second Icom radio takes on the hotspot role and connects to the internet itself.
Terminal mode: here nothing is transmitted at all. The radio goes online directly over USB, Bluetooth or LAN — useful from a hotel room. The IC-705, IC-905 and IC-9700 do it over LAN; handhelds use a PC or the Android app RS-MS3A. You need an IPv4 address, and behind some carrier-grade NAT that turns into a fight.

If you would rather build than buy, we describe a comparable concept for the analogue world in Build your own SVXLink hotspot.

Radios: what does D-STAR today

An early example: the Icom IC-91AD, on which D-STAR capability was still added by plug-in module. Photo: Zuzu, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

D-STAR remains effectively an Icom domain. Currently in the range, among others:

ID-52E (PLUS): handheld for 2 m and 70 cm with GPS, Bluetooth and a colour display — the standard way in.
ID-50E: the more affordable handheld option.
ID-5100E: mobile rig for 2 m and 70 cm with a touchscreen. (Older texts often mislabel it "IC-5100" — the radio is the ID-5100.)
IC-9700: base station for 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm, and the only current radio with DD mode.
IC-705: portable from HF to 70 cm, D-STAR included.
IC-905: the microwave rig, likewise with D-STAR.

One quirk of the newer models: using the RS-MS1A app they can send pictures — slowly, but it works, and it shows the data channel can do more than position reports.

Linking reflectors on the radio, shown step by step on the ID-5100E (Video: Icom UK, YouTube).

Five pitfalls from practice

UR left unchanged: after linking, UR must go back to CQCQCQ. Otherwise you keep sending commands instead of speech.
Wrong module letter: one space too few and the reflector command goes nowhere. The fields are eight characters wide and the module letter belongs at the far right.
MYCALL empty or wrong: without a registered callsign the gateway passes nothing — the repeater acknowledges, the network stays silent.
Hotspot too strong or on the wrong frequency: a hotspot is a transmission too. Respect the band plan, keep the power minimal.
Speaking too soon: digital systems need a moment to establish the path. Wait a second after keying up or the first word is lost.

D-STAR in Austria

The Austrian network hangs off its own reflectors, chiefly the multi-protocol reflectors XLX232 and XLX905, with modules on DCS009 also in use. Because several of these reflectors are cross-linked between modes, you will also meet stations there running C4FM or DMR gear.

Which reflector is currently linked to which, and which repeaters are attached, changes constantly — so we point at the live dashboards rather than printing a snapshot. Details, registration and the current contact points are in D-STAR in Austria; the analogue repeater landscape around it is described in VHF/UHF repeaters in Austria.

Read on: our digital voice series

D-STAR is one mode among several. In our series Digital voice in Austria each of them is covered separately:

D-STAR in Austria — reflectors, registration, getting started
DMR in Austria — BrandMeister and talkgroups, plus DMR for beginners and a look inside the BrandMeister network
C4FM / Yaesu Fusion in Austria — the analogue-compatible counter-proposal
M17 in Austria — open digital voice with Codec2, no AMBE licence
TETRA in Austria — professional trunked radio on amateur bands, plus TetraPack in the BrandMeister network
SVXLink in Austria — reflector operating with any FM radio, and how to build one yourself
Set up a Pi-Star hotspot — one hotspot for D-STAR, DMR and C4FM
The big comparison — which system suits whom

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Transparency Notice

This article was researched and written with the support of AI (Claude, Anthropic) and reviewed by the oeradio.at editorial team. In August 2026 it was thoroughly revised and extended with the technical fundamentals. The figures for modulation, data rates and DD mode come from the JARL specification and Icom product documentation; the model designation ID-5100 was corrected (it previously read "IC-5100"), and the reference to 128 kbit/s now carries the restriction to DD mode on 23 cm. Title image and equipment photo come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences, with photographer and licence given in each caption; the signal-path graphic is our own. The embedded videos come from external YouTube channels and reflect their authors' views. Corrections are welcome at kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag D-STAR Explained: Reflectors and Callsign Routing erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

Legendary Amateur Radio Transceivers – Radios That Made History

Michael | OE8YML — Thu, 13 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

Some amateur radio transceivers are more than mere technology — they are milestones that fundamentally changed the hobby. From the glowing valves of the post-war era to the Software Defined Radios of today, certain transceivers have shaped generations of radio amateurs, enabled new operating modes, and secured a permanent place in the history of our hobby. This article looks back at the radios that truly made history — and explains why they remain unforgettable to this day.

The Valve Era — Pioneers of Glass and Metal (1950s–1970s)

In the early years of modern amateur radio, valve-based equipment was the gold standard. Anyone venturing onto the shortwave bands needed not only a licence but also a solid understanding of RF engineering — and often a generous budget. Yet some equipment from this era proved so outstanding that it is still revered today.

Collins KWM-2 (1959) — the Cadillac of Ham Radio

If there is one single device that defines the word "legendary" in amateur radio, it is the Collins KWM-2. As the first genuinely practical mobile HF SSB transceiver, it united transmitter and receiver in a single enclosure — a concept we take for granted today but which was revolutionary at the time. It covered 3.4 to 30 MHz in 200 kHz segments and handled SSB and CW; AM and FM were deliberately left out. Collins' mechanical filters set benchmarks for selectivity and signal quality that remained unmatched for decades.

The build quality was so high that the KWM-2 was also used by the US military and professional radio services — units from Vietnam-era stocks still surface on the collectors' market today. With more than 24,000 built between 1959 and the mid-1970s, it is the most-produced Collins valve rig of all. To this day, well-preserved units fetch over 2,000 euros on the second-hand market.

The Collins KWM-2A — the revised KWM-2 with extended frequency coverage. Photo: Nite_Owl, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

A KWM-2A with a military past: technology, history and operation of the classic (Video: Real Ham Radio, YouTube).

The Collins S-Line (32S/75S) — the Dream Team

For those who wanted even more Collins quality, there was the legendary S-Line: the 32S transmitter and the 75S receiver. This combination of separate transmitter and receiver offered a flexibility and signal quality that many radio amateurs still consider unmatched. The S-Line was the ultimate setup for DX chasers and contesters of the 1960s and 1970s.

The title image of this article shows exactly such a station: the 75S-3B receiver on the left, the 32S-3 transmitter on the right, and a desk microphone of the same era in front. Sit down at a setup like that and you quickly understand why that grey-and-beige finish became known as "the Collins look" — and why complete S-Line stations command their price at collectors' fairs.

Drake TR-4 Series (1964–1978) — the Contest King

The Drake TR-4 series from Miamisburg, Ohio was America's answer to Collins — somewhat more affordable, but with an excellent receiver that was extremely popular among contesters. The TR-4 arrived in 1964 as a development of the TR-3; the final version, the TR-4C, was built until the spring of 1978 and is considered one of the finest valve transceivers ever made. Drake's passband tuning was far ahead of its time and was later adopted by many manufacturers.

Drake TR-4 with matching W-4 wattmeter and MS-4 speaker — the classic Drake station of the 1960s. Photo: RadiomanPA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Heathkit HW-101 (1970) — the Electronics School in a Kit

The Heathkit HW-101 was more than a transceiver — it was an education in RF engineering. Designed as a kit, it taught an entire generation of radio amateurs how to solder, measure, and understand analogue circuits. Anyone who successfully built an HW-101 knew their equipment inside and out. The radio offered solid performance across all HF bands while being significantly more affordable than products from Collins or Drake.

The numbers show how well the concept worked: the HW-101 appeared just before Christmas 1970, stayed in the catalogue until late 1983, and an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 were built in that time — by the buyers themselves, component by component. Many Austrian radio amateurs made their first QSOs on a Heathkit and still fondly remember the feeling of switching on the transceiver they had built themselves for the very first time.

Heathkit in its typical green: the SB-101, the closely related sibling of the HW-101 from the upmarket SB line. Photo: RadiomanPA, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What it takes to get such a kit rig back on the air after more than 50 years is shown in the video below: from the eBay find through the power-supply overhaul to the first QSO — a realistic preview of what a restoration actually involves.

From eBay find to working station: restoring an HW-101 (Video: Will Everett, YouTube).

The Solid-State Revolution — a Paradigm Shift (1970s–1990s)

With the advent of high-performance transistors, a fundamental transformation began in the 1970s. Valves disappeared first from the front-end stages, then from the mixers — only in the final amplifier did they hold on for a long time. The Japanese manufacturers Kenwood, Yaesu, and Icom took over market leadership from the American pioneers during this era.

Yaesu FT-101 (1970) — the Icon of the Japanese Era

The Yaesu FT-101 was one of the first Japanese radios to gain worldwide recognition. Launched internationally in 1970 and sold in the United States from January 1971, the series stayed in production until 1978. Its hybrid design, with transistors in the front-end stages and valves in the final amplifier, combined the best of both worlds and delivered a dependable 100 watts. The illuminated twin meters above the large tuning dial made it instantly recognisable in any photograph. The FT-101 proved that Japanese manufacturers could build world-class equipment — at a fraction of the Collins price. The later FT-101E became the most-produced variant of all.

Yaesu FT-101EE: twin meters, a large tuning dial and a valve PA — the face of the early Japanese era. Photo: Lenn0r, copyrighted free use, via Wikimedia Commons.

Kenwood TS-520/TS-530 — the Affordable Gateway to HF

The Kenwood TS-520 (1973, still sold under the Trio brand in parts of Europe) and its successor the TS-530 were hybrid transceivers that gave many radio amateurs affordable access to HF operating. The receiver and driver stages were already fully solid-state, while a pair of 6146B valves did the work in the PA. That mix delivered an excellent balance of performance, ruggedness and price. In Austria, these radios were particularly popular and brought countless OMs onto the bands who could never have afforded a Collins rig.

Kenwood TS-520: semiconductors in the receiver, valves in the PA — the radio that made HF affordable for many. Photo: Hp.Baumeler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Icom IC-735 — the Compact All-Rounder

The Icom IC-735, released in 1985, marked a turning point: it was one of the first truly compact and entirely solid-state HF transceivers. No more valves, no warm-up time, instantly ready to operate. With a general-coverage receiver and 100 watts output, it set the standard for a new generation of compact base station transceivers.

Kenwood TS-440S — the Workhorse

The Kenwood TS-440S earns its place on this list as one of the most reliable and versatile radios of the 1980s. Its general-coverage receiver with excellent strong-signal handling made it a favourite among shortwave listeners and active radio amateurs alike. Many TS-440S units are still in daily use after more than 35 years — a testament to the quality of this radio.

The IC-706 — the Radio That Changed Everything

The Icom IC-706 deserves its own chapter, because no other radio changed amateur radio as fundamentally as this little marvel from 1995. Icom marketed it as the world's smallest HF transceiver, and it created an entirely new class of radio: the all-band mobile with HF, 6 m and 2 m in a housing barely larger than a car stereo. Competitors took years to catch up. The later version, the IC-706MKIIG, added UHF (70 cm) as well.

The IC-706 revolutionised portable operation, mobile operation, and even home station use. Suddenly you no longer needed a separate 2-metre radio. You could switch from HF to VHF without changing equipment. For QRP enthusiasts and portable operators, it was a game changer. The IC-706 was also a popular choice for remote shack operation thanks to its compact form factor. Thousands of IC-706 units remain in service worldwide on mountain summits and in vehicles to this day.

Modern Legends — SDR and the Digital Revolution

With the new millennium came the era of Software Defined Radio. Initially dismissed as exotic niche products, SDR-based transceivers have since fundamentally reshaped the market.

Elecraft K2 and K3 — the Spirit of Heathkit Lives On

The Elecraft K2 (first shipped in January 1999) and the K3 (announced in 2007, delivered from 2008) proved that the kit concept not only survived into the 21st century but thrived. The K2 remains the only full-featured desktop transceiver available as a complete kit. The K3, meanwhile, is a high-performance radio that regularly achieves top placements in international contests — on its introduction it topped the Sherwood Engineering receiver tests, still the reference for strong-signal performance. Elecraft has carried the spirit of Heathkit into the modern era: a radio you build yourself that nonetheless competes with the most expensive factory-built equipment.

Icom IC-7300 (2016) — the SDR Revolution for Everyone

If the Collins KWM-2 was the Cadillac of amateur radio, then the Icom IC-7300 is the Tesla — the radio that brought a new technology from a niche into the mainstream. Icom showed it at the Tokyo Ham Fair in August 2015 and it reached shacks from 2016: the first affordable transceiver with a direct-sampling architecture, digitising the RF signal without analogue mixing stages and processing it in an FPGA. Add a real-time waterfall display, and suddenly every radio amateur could see at a glance where the activity was on the band.

Icom IC-7300: direct sampling and a waterfall on the touchscreen — the display that changed band operating. Photo: Hp.Baumeler, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

More than 100,000 units sold worldwide make it the best-seller of its class, in Austria as elsewhere. For newcomers interested in the technology behind SDR receivers, the IC-7300 offers a perfect entry point into the world of software-defined radio — without the complexity of a pure SDR system.

As of 2026: at the JARL Ham Fair in August 2025 Icom unveiled the IC-7300 MK II, the first real successor in ten years. It adds a built-in CW decoder, an HDMI output for an external monitor, a LAN port for remote operation without an intermediary server PC, USB-C, and separate SMA sockets for a dedicated receive antenna. The measurable gains are mostly in the receiver: around 105 dB RMDR at 2 kHz spacing and roughly 12 dB less phase noise than its predecessor. It costs noticeably more than the original — which means the classic IC-7300 is likely to remain on the used market exactly what it was when new: the best value in its class.

What the IC-7300 MK II actually changes compared with the original (Video: Waters and Stanton, YouTube).

Icom IC-705 (2020) — the New Portable Standard

The IC-705 defined a new category in 2020: the fully featured SDR transceiver for the field. With HF, VHF, and UHF, a built-in battery, touchscreen, GPS, D-STAR, and Bluetooth, it combines practically everything a radio amateur needs in a backpack. For SOTA and POTA activators in the Austrian Alps, the IC-705 has become the standard radio. Its 10 watts of output power, combined with a good antenna, are enough for worldwide contacts — that is the fascination of QRP operation in its purest form.

Icom IC-705: SDR technology, battery and touchscreen in backpack format — today's standard for SOTA and POTA. Photo: Batchman99, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Yaesu FT-818ND — the QRP Legend

The Yaesu FT-818ND (2018) is the updated version of the legendary FT-817, which appeared in 2000 as the world's first self-contained all-band HF/VHF/UHF transceiver with an internal battery — and redefined portable operating in the process. With a maximum of 6 watts, robust construction and modest current consumption, the FT-817/818 has brought more radio amateurs to mountain summits than any other radio. It is proof that sometimes less is more.

At the end of December 2022 Yaesu ended production of the FT-818ND, officially because of the worldwide component shortage. That closed a 22-year era with no direct successor announced. Anyone looking for a radio of this class today ends up with a used FT-817/818 — or a new and considerably pricier IC-705, or QRP rigs from Elecraft and the Chinese market (Xiegu, (tr)uSDX). That is precisely how the FT-818 turned from an everyday radio into a legend: it is finished.

Flex Radio 6000 Series — the Future Is Software

The Flex Radio 6000 series, introduced from 2013 alongside its SmartSDR control software, takes a radically different approach: there is no front panel with knobs and dials. Everything is controlled via software on a computer. This may seem alien to traditionalists, but Flex Radio has taken remote operation to a new level. A Flex Radio can be controlled from anywhere in the world over the internet — with latency that is barely noticeable. For radio amateurs who want to operate a remote antenna in the countryside from their city home, it is the ideal solution.

What Makes a Radio Legendary?

Not every successful radio becomes a legend. What distinguishes the radios presented here from the hundreds of other models that appeared on the market over the decades? Several common characteristics can be identified:

Innovation: Each of these radios introduced something new — whether it was the first compact SSB transceiver (KWM-2), the first all-band mobile radio (IC-706), or the first affordable direct-sampling SDR (IC-7300).
Timing: These radios appeared precisely when the technology was mature and the market was ready. The IC-7300 would not have worked five years earlier — ADC technology was not yet advanced enough.
Reliability: Legends endure. Many Collins KWM-2s and Drake TR-4s are still in operation after more than 50 years. That speaks to a build quality that is hard to match.
Community: Around each of these radios, a loyal fan base has formed that shares experiences, develops modifications, and keeps the equipment alive.
Emotional connection: Anyone who made their first DX contact on a particular radio never forgets it. Legendary radios are linked to memories that transcend the technology itself.

Collecting Vintage Radios — Tips for Beginners

Collecting and restoring old amateur radio equipment is a fascinating hobby within the hobby. Those interested should keep several points in mind:

Check condition: Valve equipment can develop problems with dried-out electrolytic capacitors after decades of storage. A power supply overhaul is often the first necessary step.
Find documentation: Original manuals and circuit diagrams are worth their weight in gold. For most radios mentioned here, they are available online.
Secure spare parts: Certain components such as Collins mechanical filters or specialised valves are becoming increasingly rare and expensive. Anyone planning to operate a radio long-term should buy spare parts in advance.
Use the community: For virtually every legendary radio, there are online forums, mailing lists, and local groups. The Collins Collectors Association, Drake enthusiasts, and the Heathkit community are just a few examples.
Be patient: Good specimens regularly appear at flea markets, club meetings, and in online classifieds. Those who wait patiently often find bargains.
Be cautious with eBay purchases: Shipping heavy valve equipment carries risks. Local collection is always preferable.

An Austrian Perspective

In Austria, the worldwide development is reflected with some distinctive features. In the 1960s and 1970s, Collins and Drake equipment was popular among well-heeled OMs, while many newcomers started with Heathkit kits or home-built transmitters. Heathkit clubs were active in several provincial capitals and nurtured new talent.

With the arrival of Japanese manufacturers in the 1970s, the market shifted dramatically. Kenwood, Yaesu, and Icom offered excellent equipment at prices that were affordable for the average radio amateur. Today, the IC-7300 is by far the best-selling HF radio in Austria, and the IC-705 has established itself as the standard radio for SOTA activations in the Alps. Those who want to learn more about the history of amateur radio in Austria will find a detailed article in our archives.

Looking Ahead

Which radios will become the legends of tomorrow? The trends point to a continuation of the SDR revolution: even wider-bandwidth receivers, even better signal processing, even more seamless integration of digital modes. At the same time, there is a counter-movement — radio amateurs who deliberately choose simple technology and achieve maximum results with minimal equipment. Devices like HackRF-based portables or simple QRP kits show that the builder spirit of Heathkit lives on.

One thing is certain: the next legend is already waiting in a development laboratory to change amateur radio once again. Perhaps it will be an AI-powered transceiver that pulls signals from the noise that no human ear can perceive. Perhaps it will be a radio that blends amateur radio and the internet so seamlessly that the boundaries between them dissolve. Whatever it may be — the radios described here have paved the way. If you are interested in amateur radio as a hobby, you will find many more articles about technology, operation, and community on our site.

Which radio is your personal favourite? Do you still have a Collins KWM-2 in the shack, or are you out on the mountains with an IC-705? Share your stories with the community — because every legendary radio also has a personal story to tell.

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Transparency Notice

This article was researched and written with the assistance of AI (Claude, Anthropic). The editorial team has reviewed and edited all content. The article was revised in August 2026: production figures and unit numbers were re-checked, the IC-7300 section was extended to cover the MK II version presented in 2025, and the FT-818ND section now notes the end of its production. All equipment photographs come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences; the photographer and licence are given in each caption. The embedded videos come from external YouTube channels and reflect their authors' views. Despite careful review, occasional inaccuracies may occur — we welcome corrections via email to kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag Legendary Amateur Radio Transceivers – Radios That Made History erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

IOTA (Islands on the Air): Island DXing and Awards

Michael | OE8YML — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

First the awkward news: Austria has not a single IOTA island. Not the Donauinsel in Vienna, not the islands in Lake Wörthersee, none at all. Anyone in OE who wants to activate an IOTA reference has to cross a border — and that is closer than you might think: the nearest group is a good three hours' drive from Villach, in the Kvarner Gulf.

Why that is, what IOTA actually counts, and how a landlocked operator still gets to play — all below.

What IOTA is

Islands on the Air is the oldest and largest island award programme in amateur radio. It was invented in 1964 not by a society but by one man: Geoff Watts, a British shortwave listener and publisher of a DX bulletin. Only in 1985 did the RSGB take the programme over, and for many years it was run by Roger Balister, G3KMA. In 2016 administration moved to the independent, not-for-profit Islands On The Air (IOTA) Ltd, which has run it in partnership with the RSGB ever since.

Today the programme covers around 1200 IOTA groups, of which more than 1100 have been activated at least once. A group is not necessarily a single island — it can range from one islet to hundreds of islands.

The saltwater rule — and why OE gets nothing

Here is the point that causes most of the confusion: IOTA counts sea islands only. Islands in rivers, inland lakes and enclosed bays are explicitly excluded. That rules out everything an Austrian would think of first — the Donauinsel just as much as any island in the Wörthersee or the Neusiedler See.

A landlocked country therefore cannot hold an IOTA reference, and according to the official reference list Austria has none. The same goes for Slovenia: its coastline is too short and has no qualifying island.

Reading reference numbers

Every group carries a continent prefix plus a running number:

Reference	Group
EU-005	Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales)
EU-110	Istra group (9A)
EU-136	Kvarner group (9A)
EU-179	Black Sea Coast group (UR)
AN-008	South Orkney Islands

The prefixes are AF (Africa), AN (Antarctica), AS (Asia), EU (Europe), NA (North America), OC (Oceania) and SA (South America). QSL cards from island stations usually print the reference prominently — here on a card from Signy Island in the South Atlantic:

QSL from VP8CFM, Signy Island, South Orkney (1991) — the IOTA reference AN-008 sits right in the header. Photo: Brian Mallon, Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

The awards

The basic award is „IOTA 100 Islands of the World": 100 confirmed IOTA groups with at least one per continent. After that it continues in hundreds — 200, 300 and so on. Continental and regional awards and special honours come on top.

For the competitive side there are the annually published performance listings: Honour Roll, Annual Listing, plus separate tables for VHF/UHF, club stations and SWLs. Confirmation is by traditional QSL card via the checkpoints or electronically — how that works in practice from Austria is in our article on QSL cards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LFNMlASFbo

Video tip: David Casler explains the programme from the ground up in „Islands on the Air (IOTA), Another Operating Activity".

The IOTA Contest

Once a year the award programme turns into a contest — and for many people that is the actual way in. The essentials:

When: the last full weekend of July, Saturday 1200 UTC to Sunday 1200 UTC. In 2026 that was 25/26 July.
Bands: 3.5 / 7 / 14 / 21 / 28 MHz
Modes: CW and SSB — no digital modes
Exchange: RS(T) plus serial number; island stations append their IOTA reference, e.g. 59 378 EU136
Categories: Island or World station, single operator (assisted/unassisted), 12 or 24 hours, high power / low power / QRP
Points: 15 points for a QSO between different IOTA references, 5 points island-to-world, 2 points world-to-world. The multiplier is the number of different references per band.

The scoring tells you everything about the character of this contest: whoever operates from an island wins. From the mainland you are a point supplier — which is still fun as a first outing, because you will log more island references in 24 hours than in the previous six months. How to approach such a weekend is in Contests for beginners.

What you can actually do from Austria

Chasing from home

The simple route: collect. IOTA stations show up on the usual clusters and on the Reverse Beacon Network, and activations are announced in the DX bulletins. For a start, see DX for beginners — pile-up discipline on a wanted reference is the same craft as on a DXpedition.

Activating on holiday

The more interesting route — and surprisingly close to home. Croatia has exactly five IOTA groups, and two of them sit within the usual Carinthian holiday radius:

Reference	Group	Well-known islands
EU-110	Istra group	Brijuni, Sveti Nikola
EU-136	Kvarner group	Krk, Cres, Rab, Lošinj
EU-170	Dalmatia North group	Pag, Ugljan, Dugi otok
EU-016	Dalmatia South group	Brač, Hvar, Korčula, Vis
EU-090	Palagruža Islands	Palagruža

Krk is reachable by bridge, no ferry needed — you can drive right up to your operating site. For the licence side, CEPT applies: with an Austrian licence you sign 9A/OE8XYZ, no prior application. Anyone planning this seriously should still check the current Croatian regulations beforehand and announce the activation — nobody finds an unannounced reference.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1mIdFhCMm4

Video tip: „Ham Radio from a Desert Island — IOTA EU-179 Adventure" documents a real activation from an uninhabited island in the Black Sea, including logistics, antenna work and weather.

How it differs from SOTA and POTA

IOTA is older and slower than the modern outdoor programmes — and that is a property, not a criticism. An IOTA activation is a journey, not an afternoon out. There is no app-based self-spotting as with POTA and no points for the climb as with SOTA. In return, a rare island reference carries a weight that one more summit rarely matches — and for landlocked operators IOTA is the programme you combine with the summer holiday rather than with a weekend.

In short

Founded in 1964 by Geoff Watts, with the RSGB from 1985, with IOTA Ltd since 2016
Around 1200 groups, saltwater islands only — no river or lake islands
Austria holds no IOTA reference at all, and neither does Slovenia
Basic award at 100 confirmed groups, at least one per continent
Contest on the last full weekend of July, 1200–1200 UTC, CW and SSB on 80–10 m
Nearest activatable groups: Istra (EU-110) and Kvarner (EU-136) in Croatia

Sources

Islands On The Air (IOTA) Ltd — programme overview, reference list, performance listings (retrieved 10 August 2026)
RSGB: IOTA Programme — founding by Geoff Watts, award levels
RSGB Contest Committee: IOTA Contest 2026 — dates, bands, categories, scoring
IOTA Most Wanted List by prefix (PDF) — complete reference list

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Title image: Baška on Krk, Kvarner Gulf (IOTA EU-136). Photo: Arne Müseler, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE, via Wikimedia Commons.

Transparency Notice

This article was researched and written with the support of AI (Claude, Anthropic); the details come from the IOTA Ltd and RSGB pages and from the official IOTA reference list and were checked by the oeradio.at editorial team. An earlier version of this article contained two errors: it credited the 1964 founding to the RSGB and gave „EU-120" as a reference for Austrian Danube islands. In fact the programme was created by Geoff Watts, EU-120 denotes the English coastal islands, and Austria — having no saltwater islands — holds no IOTA reference at all. The images are freely licensed; author and licence are given with each image. Found an error? Write to us at kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag IOTA (Islands on the Air): Island DXing and Awards erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding): Fox Hunting

Michael | OE8YML — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

Five transmitters are hidden somewhere in the forest. Each one comes up for exactly one minute, then the next takes over. You have a map, a compass, a direction-finding receiver and running shoes — and you have to work out the order in which to collect them so you are not the last one home. This is ARDF, Amateur Radio Direction Finding, also known as fox hunting or radio orienteering.

The most important sentence first: you do not need an amateur radio licence. Competitors only receive — nobody transmits. At the Austrian ÖVSV events you can even borrow a direction-finding receiver when you register.

What is ARDF?

ARDF is orienteering with an extra dimension: the controls are not printed on the map, they have to be found by their radio signal. It combines stamina, map reading and direction-finding technique — and a fast runner who picks the wrong route loses to a slower one who takes clean bearings and plans well.

The sport is organised internationally: IARU Region 1 publishes the rules that Austrian events follow too. You do not have to treat it as a competition, though — the ÖVSV explicitly welcomes beginners, and an event takes about an hour.

How a classic event runs

Five transmitters plus a finish beacon are placed in the competition area. The five foxes transmit one after another on the same frequency, each for exactly one minute, in a five-minute cycle. You tell them apart by their Morse identification:

Transmitter	Code	Slot in the cycle
Finish beacon	MO	continuous, own frequency
No. 1	MOE	first minute
No. 2	MOI	second minute
No. 3	MOS	third minute
No. 4	MOH	fourth minute
No. 5	MO5	fifth minute

The scheme is elegant: after MO comes E (·), I (··), S (···), H (····), 5 (·····) — the number of dots is the transmitter number. You do not need to be a CW expert; after two cycles you count the dots without thinking.

The rest of the rules in brief:

Not everyone hunts all five. The number of transmitters depends on your category — from three plus beacon in the older classes up to five plus beacon in M21. The order is free; only the finish beacon must be registered last.
The foxes are well spread out: at least 400 m apart, and the nearest one at least 750 m from the start.
Effective course lengths run from roughly 5 to 10 km depending on category, and total climb must not exceed 6 % of the course length.
Each transmitter is marked with the orange-and-white orienteering flag (three 30 cm squares) and an electronic punching device — usually SportIdent, as in orienteering.
Two bands, two days: at championships 80 m and 144 MHz run in parallel with six transmitters each. One group of categories runs 3.5 MHz on day one and 144 MHz on day two; the other group swaps.

The four formats

Classic 80 m (3.5 MHz)

The standard discipline. On 80 m propagation in the forest is predictable, the signal largely follows the ground wave. Bearing errors come less from reflections than from terrain shape and your own impatience.

Classic 2 m (144 MHz)

Technically the harder version: on 2 m, slopes, rock faces and forest edges reflect the signal, and a clean maximum can point in completely the wrong direction. Recognising reflections and discarding false bearings is where you win time — especially in alpine terrain.

Sprint

Short, fast and spectator-friendly: two loops of five transmitters with a spectator control in between. The transmitters do not change every minute but every 12 seconds, so a full cycle lasts one minute. The second loop uses a different frequency and faster keying. Planned winning time: about 15 minutes. Transmitters stand only 100 m apart, and the event is often held in a city park.

Foxoring

The beginners' discipline — and tactically the most interesting. The approximate transmitter positions are printed on the map, but the transmitters run on just 10 milliwatts: audible only within about 30 m, and definitely not at 250 m. So you navigate to the circle on the map like an orienteer and then take bearings for the last few metres. Get lost and you hear nothing at all — but you need very little direction-finding experience to succeed.

The technology: transmitters

An 80 m fox transmitter of the kind hidden during a competition: small enclosure, timer control, wire antenna. Photo: Axel Schwenke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The foxes are not improvised boxes but built to IARU specification:

80 m: 3.510–3.600 MHz, 1 to 5 watts, mode A1A (keyed unmodulated carrier), keying speed 8–15 WPM, vertical antenna.
2 m: 144.500–144.900 MHz, 0.25 to 1 W ERP, A2A (tone-modulated carrier), horizontal polarisation, antenna 2 to 3 m above ground.
Foxoring: only 10 mW — the finish beacon still runs at normal power.

So the difference in range between the bands comes less from power than from polarisation, antenna height and propagation behaviour. And note: the transmitters must be operated by licensed radio amateurs — only the competitors need no licence.

The technology: receivers and antennas

One misconception is stubborn, so let us be clear: you do not use a Yagi on 80 m. A Yagi for 3.5 MHz would be twenty metres wide — nobody carries that through a forest.

80 m: a ferrite rod or small loop antenna. It has a figure-of-eight pattern with two sharp nulls, so you do not aim at the maximum but at the point where the signal disappears, which is far more precise. The figure-of-eight gives two opposite directions; a switchable sense antenna resolves that by turning the pattern into a cardioid with a single null. Two bearings from different places, crossed in your head, give you the line.
2 m: a compact handheld antenna, typically a two- or three-element Yagi or an HB9CV — about arm's length, swingable on the run. Here you aim at the maximum and reduce sensitivity as you close in, otherwise everything sounds equally loud.

The receivers themselves are specialised sets with adjustable attenuation and a signal meter. Kits and small production runs from within the sport are common, alongside ready-made units from Czech and Chinese manufacturers. For a first outing the rule is simple: borrow before you buy — the ÖVSV provides receivers on registration.

What to bring yourself: stereo headphones with a 3.5 mm (three-pole) jack and a 9 V battery, plus trail shoes and long trousers for the undergrowth.

Video: what it looks like in practice

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4PH0EWskaw

ARDF in Austria

The ÖVSV runs around 17 direction-finding events per season, spread from April to October across almost all regional associations. Most of them count towards the Austrian ARDF championship. Carinthia's contribution this year was Döbriach on 22 July, embedded in the DX camp at Lake Millstatt.

Still to come in 2026:

Date	Location	Region	Event
16–22 August	Târgoviște, Romania	—	25th IARU R1 ARDF Championship
Sat 29 August	Ebenau	OE2	80 m
Sat 5 September	Vienna-Kaltenleutgeben	OE1	80 m foxoring + 80 m classic
Sun 13 September	Telfs-Mieming	OE7	80 m, at the OE7 regional field day
Sat 19 September	Bad Loipersdorf	OE6	2 m, at the Thermenland meeting with flea market
Sat 17 October	Mureck (Röcksee)	OE6	80 m, season finale with roast chestnuts

Briefing at most events is at 10:30, start at 11:00. The current calendar is at ardf.oevsv.at.

Registering

An informal email to peilen@oevsv.at with your callsign or name. First-timers also give their year of birth (for the category) and say whether they need a receiver and an introduction. Both are available free of charge. You can leave a mobile number for last-minute SMS updates; those are also posted on the ARDF site.

Why it works so well for newcomers

ARDF is one of the few amateur radio activities you can take part in fully before passing the exam. No callsign, no rig to buy, no antenna negotiation with the landlord — running shoes will do. And anyone who then wants to know why a ferrite antenna has two nulls ends up looking at the licence exam all by themselves.

There is also the sporting appeal that many people miss in the hobby: a clock, a ranking, and a direct link between skill and result. If that appeals, contesting is the on-air equivalent — and for a first playful taste, our Funkparcours is the lowest possible threshold. More on the subject in Youth and amateur radio.

Alpine terrain: curse and blessing

In Austria you rarely run on the flat. Steep slopes cost energy and distort your sense of distance; on 2 m, rock faces produce reflections, and on 80 m hilly ground appears to shift the bearing. The rules cap total climb at 6 % of the course length, but you still feel the metres that remain.

The compensation: in the mountains, route choice becomes the real discipline. Whether you cross the gully or run around it decides minutes — and that is exactly the attraction.

In short

Five transmitters, codes MOE to MO5, one minute each in a five-minute cycle, beacon MO continuous
80 m: ferrite or loop antenna, bearing on the null, sense antenna to resolve the ambiguity
2 m: small Yagi or HB9CV, bearing on the maximum, watch out for reflections
Four formats: classic 80 m, classic 2 m, sprint (12-second slots), foxoring (10 mW)
No licence required, receivers are lent out, registration to peilen@oevsv.at

Sources

IARU Region 1 — ARDF Working Group, Rules Part B (2020 edition) with the appendices on equipment, sprint and foxoring
ÖVSV — ARDF / Amateurfunkpeilen and ardf.oevsv.at (2026 calendar, registration details)
IARU R1 — 25th ARDF Championship 2026, Târgoviște

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Title image: direction-finding competition, 1966. Photo: Fortepan / MHSZ, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Transparency Notice

This article was researched and written with the support of AI (Claude, Anthropic); the technical figures come from the IARU Region 1 rules (Part B, 2020 edition) and the ÖVSV pages and were checked by the oeradio.at editorial team. The title image and the transmitter photo are freely licensed pictures from Wikimedia Commons; the licences are given with the images. Questions or corrections? Write to us at kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding): Fox Hunting erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

MeshCore: Radio Without a Mobile Network. Now Is the Moment to Join In

Michael | OE8YML — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 21:59:45 GMT

There are moments when you can get in on a radio project early enough that your own participation still changes something. With MeshCore, that moment is now. The network is growing, the map still has blank spots, and every additional device, above all every additional repeater, makes a difference you can see the same evening.

Getting started costs less than dinner out: around 20 euros, no licence, no exam, no running costs. The Carinthian initiative CarinthiaMesh has just put up a wiki that explains the way in step by step. But the network does not stop at the Carinthian border, and neither does this article.

What This Is, in Three Sentences

MeshCore is an open-source protocol for text messages over LoRa radio on 868 MHz. The devices fit in your palm, start at around 20 euros and talk to each other directly, with no mobile network, no internet, no contract, no running costs. Anyone out of direct range is reached via fixed stations at elevated sites, much like a repeater in amateur radio.

What it is not: a replacement for your phone. No voice, no pictures. Text, and it takes seconds rather than milliseconds. That very limitation is why it works across kilometres where Wi-Fi and mobile gave up long ago.

Why This Is a Good Thing

The appeal lies in what is missing: no base station, no provider, no invoice, no shutdown date. Two devices work with each other even when nothing else around them is standing. That makes MeshCore one of the few communication paths that survives an outage of the public networks, and an obvious building block alongside self-sufficient backup power.

There is a second point that is rarely this clear in radio: the network belongs to nobody. There is no registration, no operator whose permission you need. Switch a device on and you are part of it. Put up a repeater and you enlarge it for everyone.

And it does not stop at national borders. The same frequency band applies EU-wide, the same settings work in Slovenia, Italy and Bavaria. Radio waves do not recognise customs posts. In a region like Carinthia, where some summits look into three countries, that is not theory: a repeater in the right spot links valleys and neighbourhoods across the border. Anyone living in a border region makes the network bigger simply by joining in than any single region could ever become on its own.

What You Need

No licence, no exam, no registration. Just a device:

Heltec LoRa32 V3: from around €20. Bare board, no case, no battery. Enough to try it out.
Seeed Wio Tracker L1 Pro: around €40–65, sometimes with MeshCore preinstalled. Unbox, pair, done.
Seeed T1000-E: similar class, compact keyfob format.

The one mistake when buying: always take the 868 MHz variant. The same devices exist with 915 MHz, and that is the US version and not permitted here. The product photos look identical; the difference is only in the article description.

The one mistake afterwards: the radio parameters. Two devices only hear each other when four values match exactly. The Austrian network uses 869.618 MHz / 62.5 kHz / SF8 / CR8, on the command line:

set radio 869.618,62.5,8,8

Some firmware builds start with older values (869.525 MHz, 250 kHz, SF11). With those you transmit perfectly well, just alone. The symptom looks exactly like a hardware fault: the device runs, the app connects, nothing ever arrives. Knowing this saves you an evening of troubleshooting and an unnecessary return.

This article does not need to explain more, because the rest is better documented elsewhere.

Where to Read On

Rather than copying out half a manual, here are the places to go:

CarinthiaMesh Wiki: Quickstart: five steps from ordering to your first message. Plus radio settings, channels and a carefully researched page on the legal situation. Sixteen pages in total, openly readable, no account needed. In German.
KÄRNTEN FUNKT: MeshCore: the Villach radio club has been documenting devices, regulations and practice for a while; part of the CarinthiaMesh wiki draws on it. Worth reading in particular: MeshCore and Meshtastic compared, sober and without tribalism. The club runs its own open channel, #kf.
MeshCore Flasher: flash firmware straight from the browser (Chrome or Edge; Firefox has no WebSerial). Choose the Companion role, that is the handheld for reading and writing.
Maps: map.carinthiamesh.com shows stations, channels and gaps in coverage. For Meshtastic there is our own Meshmap.

Where People Meet

On the network itself, Public is the cross-regional meeting point, and every newcomer lands there without setting anything up. Regionally it runs on hashtag channels: in Carinthia that is #at-ktn, following the #at-<state> scheme that has become established in the Austrian network. Once you know the scheme, you can find the neighbouring channels yourself. Also regularly active: #austria, #test, #vienna and #bot.

Creating a channel means typing the name, and that is it. The key is calculated from the name, so nobody has to send you anything. For exactly that reason such a channel is not private: whoever knows the name is in. Treat it like an open radio conversation; for anything confidential there are direct messages, which run end-to-end between two devices.

Off the air, the initiative talks on the CarinthiaMesh Discord server. That is the first address when something does not work, when you want to know whether anyone is already active in your area, or when you are considering putting up a repeater. On Telegram there is also the group Kärnten Funkt – MeshCore, where the people who actually have the hardware in their hands hang out.

MeshCore or Meshtastic?

Meshtastic is the better-known name and has been around in Carinthia longer. The good news: the hardware is the same. A Heltec V3 does both; the decision is made when flashing. So you do not have to commit at purchase, and if you like, you simply run two boards.

The difference is a mindset, not a holy war. Meshtastic is built for dynamic ad-hoc networks: every handheld forwards traffic, every new node improves coverage. MeshCore comes at it from the other end: only fixed repeaters forward, handhelds transmit and receive. That produces far less background traffic, and airtime is the scarcest resource there is on a shared band. In exchange, MeshCore needs people who put repeaters in sensible places.

For radio amateurs, some context: this is not amateur radio. No call sign, no exam, but also none of the freedoms of the amateur service. If you want the mesh principle with a licence, look at MeshCom or, on an entirely different bandwidth, at AREDN. We compared the licence-free alternatives in PMR, Meshtastic and CB radio.

What Is Needed Right Now

If you take one thing from this article: a repeater at an elevated site with mains power does more than twenty handhelds. Anyone with such a spot, be it an attic overlooking the valley, a hut, a mast or a company roof, can give the network more than anyone else. Before putting one up, check the map to see whether the area is already covered.

Beyond that, the project says it mainly lacks experience: how does solar operation hold up over winter? Where does it work, and where does it not? A repeater list with sites and operators is still outstanding too. Running range tests and entering the results helps concretely, and you can write in the wiki as well; accounts are created on request.

And with no ambitions at all: switching a device on and writing "hello" in the channel is already enough. Every device that listens makes the network more useful for everyone else. And the first reply from someone you have never heard of, over a link with no provider and no data centre involved, has an appeal that is hard to explain and easy to experience.

Staying Realistic

Finally, the reality check. Range comes from the location, not the device. Nothing happens in a cellar, it gets better at a window, and it is a different story entirely on open ground with a view down the valley. The spectacular distance figures circulating online almost always come from one summit to another. Day to day, between two handhelds in a built-up area, it is more like a few kilometres. Via a repeater on a mountain, that becomes a large area.

Know that in advance and you will not be disappointed afterwards, and you will understand why the repeaters are the real lever. This is not a finished product you buy. It is a network that becomes exactly as big as the people who join in make it. Order a board, flash it one evening, write "hello", and see who answers.

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Transparency Notice

Hello, this is Ferdl, the AI voice of oeradio.at. I researched this article and wrote the first draft; the editorial team then read it through and sharpened it where needed. The details come from the CarinthiaMesh wiki, from KÄRNTEN FUNKT and from the regulations themselves. Even so, an error can slip in, especially with prices and frequencies. If you spot something, write to kontakt@oeradio.at. Yours, Ferdl

Der Beitrag MeshCore: Radio Without a Mobile Network. Now Is the Moment to Join In erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

WSJT-X Modes for VHF/UHF: Q65, MSK144 & Co — and Where FT2 Actually Belongs

Michael | OE8YML — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 07:00:00 GMT

On VHF and UHF it is not power that decides, but the right mode. Everyone knows FT8 from HF — but on 2 m, Q65 still pulls signals out of the noise long after FT8 has fallen silent, and meteor scatter only really works with MSK144. This article sorts the WSJT-X modes by propagation type, using the official figures from the WSJT-X User Guide and the Q65 Quick-Start Guide. And it corrects a mistake we made ourselves: FT2 is not a WSJT-X mode — more on that below.

The waterfall is the real instrument here: what shows up as a trace is often still far below the threshold of hearing. Photo: Denis Apel, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The overview: eleven modes, four jobs

The current release WSJT-X 3.0.2 (June 2026) ships eleven protocols: FST4, FT4, FT8, JT4, JT9, JT65, Q65, MSK144, WSPR, FST4W and Echo. Only four of them really matter on VHF/UHF — the rest is either for HF (FT8, FT4, JT9), for LF and MF (FST4, FST4W) or a special tool (Echo measures your own moon echoes).

The sensitivity figures below come from the WSJT-X User Guide and denote the threshold for a 50 % probability of decode, referenced to 2500 Hz noise bandwidth. For comparison: a signal becomes visible on the waterfall at around −26 dB; it only becomes audible at roughly −15 dB.

Mode	Period	Bandwidth	Threshold	What it is for on VHF/UHF
FT8	15 s	50 Hz	−21 dB	Everyday work: tropo, Sporadic-E, aurora, aircraft scatter
FT4	7.5 s	83 Hz	−17.5 dB	Contesting, when signals are strong
Q65	15–300 s	19–1733 Hz	−22.2 to −33.8 dB	Ionoscatter, troposcatter, rain scatter, TEP, EME
MSK144	5–30 s	2400 Hz	ping dependent	Meteor scatter, aircraft scatter
JT65	60 s	178 Hz	−25 dB	The EME classic, largely superseded by Q65
JT4	60 s	17.5 Hz (JT4A)	−23 dB	Microwave EME, wide submodes up to 24 GHz

Q65: the actual VHF weak-signal mode

Q65 was introduced in 2021 with WSJT-X 2.4.0 (Joe Taylor K1JT, Bill Somerville G4WJS, Steve Franke K9AN and Nico Palermo IV3NWV). It uses 65-tone FSK and is explicitly built for paths with heavy Doppler spread — exactly what characterises troposcatter, rain scatter, ionoscatter, TEP and EME. Where Doppler spread exceeds a few hertz, Q65 is the most sensitive mode in WSJT-X, full stop.

The price is complexity: Q65 has five period lengths (15, 30, 60, 120, 300 s) and five submodes A to E with 1×, 2×, 4×, 8× and 16× tone spacing. A designation such as Q65-30A therefore means a 30-second period with the narrowest tone spacing. The base figures from the Quick-Start Guide:

Period	Tone spacing (A)	Bandwidth (A)	Threshold	with AP decoding
15 s	6.67 Hz	433 Hz	−22.2 dB	−23.7 dB
30 s	3.33 Hz	217 Hz	−24.8 dB	−26.6 dB
60 s	1.67 Hz	108 Hz	−27.6 dB	−30.2 dB
120 s	0.75 Hz	49 Hz	−30.8 dB	−32.5 dB
300 s	0.29 Hz	19 Hz	−33.8 dB	−37.4 dB

Which submode for what? The developers give concrete recommendations in the Quick-Start Guide, so there is no need to guess:

Ionoscatter on 50 MHz: Q65-30A (QRP: Q65-120E)
Ionoscatter on 144 MHz: Q65-60C
TEP on 50 MHz: Q65-15C or 30C
Troposcatter and rain scatter at 10 GHz: Q65-60D
EME: 50 and 144 MHz Q65-60A, 432 MHz Q65-60B, 1296 MHz Q65-60C, 10 GHz Q65-60D
Small-dish EME, 10/24 GHz: Q65-120E

The ionoscatter case is remarkable: K1JT and K9AN demonstrated on a 1150 km path that with 300 W practically every Q65-30A transmission is copied correctly. With a modest Yagi and 100 W, contacts out to around 2000 km are possible on 6 m on most days of the year — with a dead band, no Sporadic-E involved. It works best around midday and in summer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m4tpFBfkeY

A thorough Q65 introduction by the Front Range 6 Meter Group with Hasan N0AN, Jim W7OUU and Lance W7GJ — including practical examples on 6 m.

MSK144: meteor scatter in fractions of a second

MSK144 is the only "fast" mode that really counts on VHF. It is built to exploit extremely brief signal enhancements: meteor trails, aircraft reflections, other scatter. Where the "slow" modes send one message per period, MSK144 repeats the frame continuously — a standard frame lasts only 72 milliseconds, the shortened Sh variant with hashed callsigns just 20 ms. When a ping hits, the message is in there several times over.

Technically: OQPSK at 2000 baud, the signal occupies the full SSB bandwidth (about 2400 Hz) and is always centred on 1500 Hz audio. Transmit and receive filters should be as flat as possible from 300 to 2700 Hz, and the frequency offset between you and your partner must stay within ±200 Hz. Period lengths of 5, 10, 15 and 30 s are selectable — 15 s is the recommendation for most purposes.

This is what meteor scatter looks like: MSK144 pings on 50 MHz in a 15-second waterfall trace. Each streak is a meteor trail opening a path for a fraction of a second. Image: Chrumps, Wikimedia Commons, CC0

Best time: the morning hours between roughly 04 and 08 UTC, when the Earth turns into its orbital direction and sweeps up more meteors. Add the showers: Perseids in mid-August, Geminids in mid-December, Quadrantids in early January. If you want to practise, use the April Lyrids as a dry run before things get serious in August.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GKae4ONwaQ

What MSK144 does and how a meteor scatter QSO runs — a compact explanation with examples.

Frequencies: IARU Region 1

This matters, because many guides written in the US will send you to the wrong place: Region 1 uses different meteor scatter frequencies from Region 2. On 2 m, MSK144 here lives on 144.360 MHz — 144.370 MHz is the old FSK441 frequency, not MSK144.

Band	FT8	Q65 terrestrial	Meteor scatter (MSK144)	EME
6 m	50.313 MHz (DX: 50.323)	—	50.280 MHz	Q65-60A
2 m	144.174 MHz (alt. 144.178)	144.180 MHz	144.360 MHz	Q65-60A
70 cm	432.174 MHz	432.180 MHz	432.370 MHz	432.060–432.150 MHz (Q65-60B)
23 cm	1296.174 MHz	1296.180 MHz	—	1296.060–1296.150 MHz

Terrestrial Q65 is normally run as Q65-15B with 15-second periods, whereas EME uses 60-second periods. JT65B still sits on 144.170 MHz for terrestrial work — a leftover from the days before Q65.

And FT2? It belongs in this article only as a contrast

This page previously claimed FT2 had been introduced into WSJT-X by K1JT in 2026. That was wrong, and we are correcting it. The facts:

FT2 comes from Martino Merola, IU8LMC, together with the ARI Caserta team — not from Joe Taylor.
It does not run in WSJT-X but in Decodium, a separate fork.
The first on-air demonstration dates from 16 February 2026; since 22 March 2026 FT2 has been registered as SUBMODE=FT2 in ADIF 3.1.7.
Key figures: 3.8-second period, around 150 Hz bandwidth, decode threshold measured so far at −12 to −14 dB, clock accuracy ±50 ms.

And that threshold is exactly why FT2 has no place in a VHF weak-signal article: it is roughly 9 dB less sensitive than FT8 and more than 15 dB less sensitive than Q65-60A. FT2 is a speed mode for strong signals on HF — contests, pile-ups, high QSO rates. For meteor scatter, ionoscatter or EME it is simply the wrong tool. If you want to try FT2, we have devoted a separate article to it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3aBnIHdwx0

FT2 in practice: a speed comparison against FT8 and FT4 — including what the gain in pace costs in sensitivity.

Setup: what matters on VHF

The software is free from wsjtx.github.io for Windows, macOS and Linux. Three points where VHF differs from HF:

Time synchronisation is not optional. On HF, FT8 forgives a lot; with MSK144 and the short Q65 periods a skewed clock kills every decode. Set up NTP and check it — not "Windows time will do".
The right submode beats more power. There are almost 3 dB between Q65-30A and Q65-60A — the equivalent of doubling your transmit power, but it only costs patience.
Check split operation and filters. MSK144 needs the full SSB bandwidth; a filter set too narrow clips the signal and prevents decodes.

If you are setting up WSJT-X for the first time — sound card, CAT control, levels — this covers the basics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtY2d4eSmm8

WSJT-X from scratch: installation, audio levels, CAT connection and first steps.

In short: which mode when

Band open, signals usable (Sporadic-E, tropo, mountain reflections): FT8, or FT4 in a contest.
Band dead, but ionoscatter always works: Q65-30A on 6 m, Q65-60C on 2 m.
Meteor shower or morning hours: MSK144, 15 s.
Moon is up: Q65-60A/B/C depending on band, JT65B only where still needed.
Maximum QSO count on HF: FT4 — or FT2 in Decodium, if the signals allow it.

73 – your oeradio.at editorial team

Sources

WSJT-X User Guide (K1JT et al.) — mode parameters, sensitivities, MSK144 details
Quick-Start Guide to Q65 (Taylor, Somerville, Franke, Palermo, 2021) — submode tables and recommendations
WSJT-X project page — current version 3.0.2
VERON VHF/UHF frequency list — IARU Region 1 practice
ft2.it and DXZone — FT2/Decodium

Transparency notice

This article was researched and written with the support of AI (Claude, Anthropic). The technical figures come from the primary sources linked above. The article was revised on 2 August 2026: an earlier version wrongly attributed FT2 to Joe Taylor K1JT and treated it as a WSJT-X mode — both were incorrect and have been corrected. Spotted an error? Write to us at kontakt@oeradio.at.

Der Beitrag WSJT-X Modes for VHF/UHF: Q65, MSK144 & Co — and Where FT2 Actually Belongs erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

What Counts When Nobody Is Counting

Michael | OE8YML — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 20:30:00 GMT

Without points, hardly anyone would be standing on a summit at five in the morning. The activation programmes are one of the best things that have happened to amateur radio in the last twenty years. And still, almost everyone knows that one moment: right now you are not a person at the other end, you are a data field. About what lies in between, and what is left when nobody is counting.

First the praise, and it is meant seriously

It is only right to start with the obvious: the programmes work. Better than anything any club has ever dreamed up in the way of membership recruitment.

SOTA has taken radio amateurs up mountains who did not even know they enjoyed hiking. POTA and WWFF have moved the local club into the national park. The xOTA programmes are by now so numerous that it takes a dedicated map to keep track of them. Anyone standing in the fog at six on a Sunday morning with fifteen kilos on their back is not doing it out of pure contemplation. They are also doing it because there is a score. Because somebody is counting.

And that is a good thing. Points are not a flaw. Points are the reason somebody gets up. They are the occasion that turns a vague "one of these days I really should" into a date in the calendar. Anyone who builds an accusation out of that motivation has simply not understood how people work.

The same goes for contests. One weekend of contesting gives a beginner more operating practice than three months of listening. Anyone who has never entered one should.

So this text is expressly not about the fact that somebody collects points. It is about something smaller and more concrete.

The moment it tips over

There is a point at which a QSO changes. You notice it immediately, and it is surprisingly hard to describe. Let us try anyway, not in terms of motives, but in terms of what actually happens:

You call, you get a callsign and a report, you give a callsign and a report back, and before the last word is out the other station is already calling the next one. No "thanks", no "73". You were an entry.
You ask from the summit what the weather is like over there. Answer: "Noted, 73." Apparently the question was not part of the protocol.
A chaser gets annoyed because his callsign still has not made it through on the third attempt. Not concerned about whether you can hear him, but irritated that the line is missing from his log.
A summit-to-summit gets processed like a parcel handover. Two people are standing on two mountains at the same time, at a cost of several hours of ascent each, and exchange nothing but numbers.
Somebody asks for the reference number before they ask for the callsign.

None of this is forbidden. None of it is impolite in any formal sense. And yet the same aftertaste is left every time: to the other person you were not somebody, you were a field in a form.

The bitter part is that the effort on both sides is enormous. Two people invest hours, vertical metres, weather risk and good equipment, and then treat the thirty seconds all of it was for as a formality to be got through.

An honest objection, and it is in the rules

Before anyone who is opposed to counting on principle feels vindicated: brevity is not the same as coldness. And a chaser who wants an extended chat has the rules against him, not for him.

The SOTA General Rules are unusually clear on this point. Chasers, it says there, must operate with care to help the activator, who may well be operating in difficult conditions. And then, verbatim: "Making over-long overs, giving a full breakdown of your station and asking unnecessary questions delays the Activator and infuriates other Chasers."

That is not an aside. Anyone lecturing on their antenna construction on a busy frequency is not the better operator. They are the inconsiderate one, towards everyone else who is waiting, and towards the person standing at five degrees and wind on a summit with a very real time budget. Anyone working an activation cleanly and briskly so that as many as possible get into the log is doing exactly the right thing.

So the difference does not lie in the length. It lies in whether a door is left open afterwards, and who opens it. Whether a half-sentence follows the report when the frequency allows it. Whether the activator, once the pile-up subsides, asks again: "Any more callers? Otherwise I would have time." Whether anyone notices that the operator over there is activating for the first time and currently has weak knees.

Two seconds of attention at the right moment, not two minutes of airtime at the wrong one. That is what this is about.

What the SOTA rules actually say

At this point it is worth reading what the programme rules actually contain. The result is clearer than you might expect.

Rule 3.1 of the SOTA General Rules describes the purpose of the programme: to encourage amateur radio activity from summits and to provide an award system. An awards programme, in other words. Incidentally, the word "contest" appears in the entire rulebook exactly once, in a subordinate clause about contest callsigns. SOTA nowhere describes itself as a competition.

Rule 3.7.2 on scoring is even clearer. Points are claimed per expedition, explicitly "regardless of the total number of QSOs made" once the qualifying minimum is reached. And per summit only once in any calendar year.

That is remarkable once you think about it for a moment: whoever processes contacts faster does not get a single point more for it. The haste this text is about is not even rewarded by the scoring. The points document that you were up there. Not how many you caught.

And then it gets genuinely interesting. Rule 3.7.1, paragraph 14:

"All SOTA operations are expected to be conducted in the spirit of the programme. Where it is determined that an Activation has not been conducted in the spirit of the Programme, the points for the Activation will be forfeited and other sanctions may be applied."
SOTA General Rules S0.1, issue 1.21

The spirit of the programme is not a matter of mood and not a politeness recommendation. It is a rule, with loss of points as the sanction. And in rule 3.7.3, the Code of Conduct, there is the sentence you could have framed: "The Golden Rule is that all participants are required to operate in a manner that is in keeping with the spirit of the Programme."

That turns the whole discussion around. Anyone processing contacts as though a championship depended on it is not invoking the rules. They are breaking them. The programmes are sound. What occasionally creeps in is an attitude from elsewhere: contest logic, imported to a place where it was never intended.

And that is why the right question is not "who is a points collector here", but one you can ask yourself: When did I last have a QSO that does not appear in any scoring?

Anyone who cannot find an answer should not think worse of themselves. They should simply have one next weekend.

What this does to the newcomers

There is one group for whom this difference is not a matter of taste but a switch on the tracks: the new ones.

Anyone who climbs a mountain freshly licensed with a handheld and a mediocre antenna and calls for the first time up there has an expectation in mind. That expectation is decided in roughly thirty seconds. If "thanks for calling, good to work you, best of luck up there" comes back, a radio amateur has been created. If "59, 73" comes back followed immediately by a call to the next station, then there is somebody wondering what they actually took the exam for.

It applies outdoors just as it does on the repeater: whoever gets no answer stops calling eventually. And whoever only gets numbers back stops roughly as quickly, only more slowly and more quietly, so that nobody notices.

What is left when nobody is counting

A thought experiment: suppose all the databases fail tomorrow. No references, no logs, no rankings, no points. Just a mountain, a radio, a frequency and somebody out there listening.

What would you still do then?

Probably still walk up. Probably still call. And the answer that came back would be the most interesting one of the whole year, because it earns nobody anything except the two people involved.

Those are exactly the QSOs you remember. Not the four hundred entries in the log, but the one where somebody asked whether the path up top is still free of snow. The OM who patiently explained why the antenna would not tune, even though he would rather have been working DX himself. The beginner you told that his signal was getting through remarkably well for a handheld, and who is going back up next week because of it.

Points expire. Rankings get reset. What remains are people who remember you.

Ten seconds

This needs no new rule, no admonition and certainly no wagging finger. Everyone should pursue the hobby in whatever way brings them joy, doggedly too, with a spreadsheet too, with annual targets too. That is entirely fine.

The request is smaller. One more sentence, when the frequency allows it. A question that is not provided for in the log form. A "thanks, that was my first summit-to-summit" answered with more than a number.

It costs ten seconds. And it is, fairly reliably, the only thing the other person will still remember in five years.

Together instead of against each other, even when together does not appear in the scoring.

73 de OE8YML

Sources

All rule quotations are taken from the current SOTA programme rulebook:

Summits on the Air — General Rules, document reference S0.1, issue 1.21 of 01 June 2022, authorised by the SOTA Management Team. Specifically: rule 3.1 (Purpose), rule 3.7.1 paragraph 14 (Criteria for a valid Expedition), rule 3.7.2 (Scoring) and rule 3.7.3 (Code of Conduct).
The Association Reference Manuals apply in addition for each country, for Austria the ARM of the OE Association. Point bands, seasonal bonus and summit lists are found there, not in the General Rules.

Transparency Notice

I used AI (Claude, Anthropic) as a writing aid for this article. The content, the selection and the stance are mine, as is editorial responsibility. The cover image was created with AI. The situations described are generalised observations from on-air operating and refer to no particular programme, no particular club and no particular person. Comments, disagreement and your own experiences are welcome at kontakt@oeradio.at. On the subject of operating culture in particular, disagreement is the most interesting thing that can reach me.

Der Beitrag What Counts When Nobody Is Counting erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

Haunoldköpfl and Antelao: Two SOTA First Activations in the Dolomites

Harald | OE8DSQ — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:00:00 GMT

The weather forecast, the shift schedule and the construction schedule finally make the long-planned SOTA first activations "Haunoldköpfl I/AA-059" and "Antelao I/VE-001" come true. I do know these summit tours, but 20 years ago I had not yet started with SOTA.

Haunoldköpfl I/AA-059

On Wednesday, 29.07.26, I set off in Innerfeldtal at the parking area at the end of the toll road at about 1,500 m altitude. On foot I headed off at dawn towards the Dreischusterhütte, where, without any mobile phone reception, I searched desperately for the start of the route into the Kohlbrenntal.

At dawn towards the Dreischusterhütte.

It took some time before I noticed that a large excavator had completely dug up the start of the route, which is not marked anyway. Having finally found it, the scree section began.

The dug-up start of the route into the Kohlbrenntal.

In the upper part, where you can see the summit cross, there is a short section of block climbing. Having reached the summit of the Haunoldköpfl I/AA-059, the panoramic view including the view of the Tre Cime / Drei Zinnen says it all.

Panoramic view with the Tre Cime / Drei Zinnen.

First QSO on 2 m with my YL OE8GSY, it was lovely to hear her voice. Thanks to stations from ADL805, S5 and 9A, the activation was soon completed.

San Vito di Cadore and Rifugio Scotter Palatini

After the descent the drive continued to San Vito di Cadore, where the ascent to the Rifugio Scotter Palatini (about 1560 m) still followed.

Rifugio Scotter Palatini.

Over a typical Italian dinner I enjoyed the sunset by Monte Pelmo.

Dinner with a view of Monte Pelmo.

Monte Pelmo in the evening light.

Antelao I/VE-001 (3,264 m)

On Thursday, 30.07.26, after a short breakfast at the Rifugio Scotter Palatini, I started the second first activation to the Antelao I/VE-001 (3,264 m). During the ascent I witnessed a large rockfall, which did not, however, affect the route.

The rockfall during the ascent to the Antelao.

Along the wayside.

After less than three hours and a good 1,600 m of ascent, I arrived at the summit in the finest mountain weather. After the successful activation there was still a summit book entry, a geocache was placed, and there were many nice summit conversations.

At the summit of the Antelao, I/VE-001 (3,264 m).

Summit panorama on the Antelao.

On the descent I also met two mountaineers from my home municipality.

Two mountaineers from the home municipality.

In hindsight, a SOTA first activation is always a highlight when the planning works out and many people help, especially my YL OE8GSY.

73
OE8DSQ

Report and photos: Harald, OE8DSQ.

Der Beitrag Haunoldköpfl and Antelao: Two SOTA First Activations in the Dolomites erschien zuerst auf OERadio.

OERadio

Activity Contest on the Tischberg – my first Sporadic E from a summit

126.9 Kilometres on Half a Watt: How Carinthia's Mesh Network Grew to 32 Sites in Two Weeks

From nine to 32

Part of it is better visibility, not more hardware

The sites that carry the network

Across the border

Eight people, many hands

What has grown around it

What it offers anyone

Sixteen sites are on the list

Joining in

Transparency Notice

D-STAR Explained: Reflectors and Callsign Routing

Where D-STAR came from

What actually happens: GMSK, AMBE and 4800 bit/s

The data channel: what travels alongside your voice

The four fields: MYCALL, UR, RPT1 and RPT2

Callsign routing: the idea hardly anyone uses

Reflectors: REF, XRF, DCS and XLX

The path of a QSO

DD mode: 128 kbit/s, but only on 23 cm

No repeater in range: hotspot, terminal and access point mode

Radios: what does D-STAR today

Five pitfalls from practice

D-STAR in Austria

Read on: our digital voice series

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Legendary Amateur Radio Transceivers – Radios That Made History

The Valve Era — Pioneers of Glass and Metal (1950s–1970s)

Collins KWM-2 (1959) — the Cadillac of Ham Radio

The Collins S-Line (32S/75S) — the Dream Team

Drake TR-4 Series (1964–1978) — the Contest King

Heathkit HW-101 (1970) — the Electronics School in a Kit

The Solid-State Revolution — a Paradigm Shift (1970s–1990s)

Yaesu FT-101 (1970) — the Icon of the Japanese Era

Kenwood TS-520/TS-530 — the Affordable Gateway to HF

Icom IC-735 — the Compact All-Rounder

Kenwood TS-440S — the Workhorse

The IC-706 — the Radio That Changed Everything

Modern Legends — SDR and the Digital Revolution

Elecraft K2 and K3 — the Spirit of Heathkit Lives On

Icom IC-7300 (2016) — the SDR Revolution for Everyone

Icom IC-705 (2020) — the New Portable Standard

Yaesu FT-818ND — the QRP Legend

Flex Radio 6000 Series — the Future Is Software

What Makes a Radio Legendary?

Collecting Vintage Radios — Tips for Beginners

An Austrian Perspective

Looking Ahead

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IOTA (Islands on the Air): Island DXing and Awards

What IOTA is

The saltwater rule — and why OE gets nothing

Reading reference numbers

The awards

The IOTA Contest

What you can actually do from Austria

Chasing from home

Activating on holiday

How it differs from SOTA and POTA

In short

Sources

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ARDF (Amateur Radio Direction Finding): Fox Hunting

What is ARDF?

How a classic event runs

The four formats

Classic 80 m (3.5 MHz)

Classic 2 m (144 MHz)

Sprint

Foxoring

The technology: transmitters

The technology: receivers and antennas

Video: what it looks like in practice

ARDF in Austria

Registering

Categories

Why it works so well for newcomers

Alpine terrain: curse and blessing