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DX This Week – Interview with SV1OA

Bill AJ8B ([email protected], @AJ8B, or

www.aj8b.com) CWOPs Member #1567
Summer is really flying by. I am starting to do some 160M
antenna planning. I met with Joe, W8GEX, and we mapped out two
Beverage antennas that I am going to try this year. I will have the
details for those in this column next week. However, I will tell you that
one will be pointed to 45 degrees and one to 90 degrees. Shooting for
Europe and Africa from my location. I am sitting at 55 countries confirmed on 160 and I hope to
add to that. I will keep you informed!
I received a follow up email on last week’s DX Term of the Week, Q-Signals, from
Uncle Frank, K1FJ, indicating that I missed 2 Q-Signals from last week. Honestly, I missed
three. I had left them out so that I could expand on them in the future, but now is as good a time
as any.
The first is QRN – a Q-Signal used to indicate atmospheric noise such as lightning. I also
use this for man-made interference such as LED lights, bug zappers, or any other source of
interference that is essentially static.
Secondly, there is QRM. This Q-Signal is used to indicate interference, such as someone
calling on top of the station you are talking to. Many times, this is an accident, but many times
there are hams who would rather operate anonymously and talk over a transmission, play music
or even re-broadcast news or sports. I have heard all of these, and it really causes confusion,
especially in a large pileup. QRN is not illegal, but QRM usually is. That’s not to say that I have
not transmitted on top of someone else, but once I realized it, I apologized and moved off
frequency.
Finally, a newer mnemonic is DQRM or Deliberate QRM. This is such as issue that

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the Northern California DX Foundation has set up a grant to challenge hams to find a solution.
On their webpage, you can find the following:

“The Northern California DX Foundation recognizes the negative aspect deliberate QRMers are
having on our hobby. We believe this is a problem that can be mitigated by applying amateur
operators’ vast knowledge and receiving tools to good use. In order to spur research into solving
the problem the NCDXF Board of Director’s at their latest Board meeting allocated $100,000 to
help develop solutions.

NCDXF will entertain grant proposals from individuals and/or groups that specifically outline
their approach to identify bad actors. A group of directors led by Craig Thompson (K9CT) and
Don Greenbaum (N1DG) will weigh the probability of success of these proposals as well as
monitor the progress of the grantees.

Funding is available for R & D as well as implementation of the technology. It is hoped that
manufacturers will also assist us with equipment and resources. “

That is indicative of the scope of the problem, and I certainly hope that a solution can be found.
Thanks, Frank, for the email.

This week I have an interview with Leonidas, SV1OA. Fascinating guy and a great
operator. Enjoy!

Interview with SV1OCA—Leonidas

When I asked Leonidas to answer a few
questions he quickly agreed—answering
the questions and sending along quite a
few pictures.

AJ8B: How did you first get

interested in amateur radio?
SV1OCA: I was introduced to the
radio at work, in 1983. I am an
Armour-Cavalry Retired Officer of the
Greek Army, since 2017. It was the
most indispensable tool during my UN
mission in Iraq (UNGCI), in 1992. I successfully passed the exams for the entry-level amateur
radio operator degree, in 2011 after attended training courses at the Ham Association of Greece
(HAG). My first callsign was SW1OCA and I worked on 2 m VHF and 70 cm UHF. I upgraded

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my license to A-Class and got the callsign SV1OCA in 2013, then I started using the HF bands. I
joined the Radio Amateur Association of Greece (RAAG) in 2015.

AJ8B: Do you have a favorite band or mode?

SV1OCA: I don't have a favorite band; it depends on propagation. I prefer to work in FT8 mode.

AJ8B: What time of day and days do you like to operate?

SV1OCA: I am retired so all days are the same for me, I maintain the same operating routine. I
like to work in the mornings so I can work the Pacific region (JA, ZL, VK, etc.)

AJ8B: Any secrets to your success?

SV1OCA: I wouldn't describe myself as overly
successful, patience helps. Patience and
listening are the keys. The most important thing
in life, and especially in radio is, to be patient,
and persistent. I like to be improved and
competitive with myself.

AJ8B: Any tips that you can share?

SV1OCA: Patience and perseverance are the
keys to being successful in the hobby, as well as
having fun and enjoying what you do.

AJ8B: Describe what you are currently using:

SV1OCA: Using: Yaesu FT-857D transceiver,
Yaesu FT-8800R transceiver, Homemade
Vertical Multiband HF Antenna, SIGMA EUROCOM SE HF X-80 & HF-360 Plus KIT,
Diamond X300 vertical Vhf-Uhf, Antenna Coupler RAN 306 designed and made by SV1NL,
Antenna Tuner MFJ-945E, S.B. Interface designed and made by SV1RK, MFJ-915 RF Isolator.

AJ8B: What advice do you have for

those of us trying to break pileups to
work DX?
SV1OCA: As I said before, listen well
and be patient. Today the FT8 -
Fox/Hound FT8 mode makes
everything much easier. With patience
and perseverance, you can work rare
DXs and/or DXpeditions without a
problem using a medium-class antenna.

AJ8B: What is your favorite contest?

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SV1OCA: My favorite contests are IARU HF World Championship, CQ World Wide WPX
Contest and Balkan HF Contest.

AJ8B: I can see you are a veteran of many DXpeditions. Which was your favorite?
SV1OCA: I have never taken place in any DXpedition so far although I have worked several
DXpeditions and many of them were new DXCC entities for me as you can see at the "My QSL
Cards DXCC" section of my "QRZ.com" page. I liked "VP8PJ - SOUTH ORKNEY ISLANDS
2020" because it was a well-organized and executed DXpedition in a very challenging
environment. I am seriously involved in obtaining International Amateur Radio Awards. As you
can see at my "QRZ.com" page there are IARU, Region 1, Region 2, Region 3, ARRL DXCC,
WAS, CQ USA-CA, WAZ, JARL ADXA, JCC-100, JCC-200, JCC-300, WAJA, AJD, NZART
NZR, SARL All Africa etc.
Awards are an
amusing way of contacting
new and different entities
in a more relaxed and
informal manner than in a
contest.
#1 DXCC HONOR
ROLL" is considered as
the supreme award for
DXers and it is the dream
of many radio amateurs, as
well as mine. Of course,
there are many additional
awards which make our
hobby equally interesting.

AJ8B: Where are you going next?

SV1OCA: I would like to participate in some DXpedition in the future if the chance is given.
Until then I will continue to work awards as of: ARRL, CQ, JARL, NZART.

AJ8B: I loved seeing all of the QSL cards

on your web page. In addition to mine,
another club member, K4ZLE, has their card
shown. Any QSLing hints?
SV1OCA: The QSL card has been the most
important part of Amateur Radio
communications procedure for many years.
In accordance with this principle, I like very
much to collect paper QSL cards. The hint I
have to give is that one has to send their
QSL card after every QSO is done.
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AJ8B: What coaching/advice would you give new amateurs?
SV1OCA: Although I am a fresh amateur myself, I always keep the following rules:
Adhere strictly to the DX Code of Conduct.
It's not how good you sound; it’s how you sound good.
It is not the class of license the amateur holds, but the class of the amateur that holds the
license.
Nothing is impossible for the one who will try.

AJ8B: If I were to stop by for a visit, what local place would you want us to visit?
SV1OCA: The Acropolis and the Historical
Center because the city of Athens has a vast
history. I would also recommend a
place with sentimental value for our hobby.
Asyrmatos" (English: Radio), the Asyrmatos
Park is located here in the Municipality of
Agios Dimitrios, ten minutes’ walk from my
QTH. The area that originally belonged to
the Ministry of National Defense and served
until 3 decades ago the telecommunication
needs of HCAA-Hellenic Civil Aviation
Authority, HNMS-Hellenic National
Meteorological Service, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Hellenic Police began to be
granted in parts to our Municipality since
early 1980 so that it could be used as a green
space for sports, culture and recreation. With
the great efforts of our active Mayoress, it
will also become a telecommunications museum after its completion. Proposals for cooperation
with the Municipality have been made by the Radio Amateur’s community about the installation
of a radio station and various volunteer activities related to emergency telecommunications
coverage.

AJ8B: What local food would you want me to try?

SV1OCA: The Greek cuisine is excellent with a lot of delicious foods. Popular among the
tourists are Greek salad, souvlaki, moussaka and numerous others.

AJ8B: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. Is there anything you would like to
share with us?

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SV1OCA: The Many thanks to the SouthWest OH DX Association for the interview, it's always
important to get to know radio amateurs in any
part of the world. I am honored to see your
interest in showing my passion for radio
amateurs. I was happy to share this information
with you.
Thank you, Bill, for giving me this
opportunity to answer your questions it was a lot
of fun and I enjoyed it.
73 de Leonidas, SV1OCA

https://www.qrz.com/db/SV1OCA

DAH DIT DIT DIT DAH DAH DIT DIT DIT DAH

Here is an update from Bernie, W3UR, of the DailyDX and the WeeklyDX, the best source for
DX information. http://www.dailydx.com/ . Bernie has this to report:

The long-awaited Swains Island (OC-200) DXpedition is confirmed for October 4-17.
This operation was originally planned for 2020 but was postponed due to the global COVID-19
pandemic. A contract has been signed with the island’s proprietor, a sailing vessel has been
reserved, and many corporate, organizational, and individual sponsors, led by the German DX
Foundation, are supporting the effort. Antenna construction and testing is well underway.
Ten operators will keep six well-separated stations on the air around the clock, on CW, SSB,
RTTY, and FT8, 160 through 6M. The team leader is Hans, DL6JGN, and the co-team leader is
Ronald, PA3EWP.
Swains Island, also known as Olohega, is an atoll in the Tokelau chain, the most
northwesterly island administered by American Samoa. Although culturally belonging to

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