02/24/2008 | OH0JFP One contest with 3 different call signs

The ARRL DX Competition is one of my favourites. If only the atmospheric and ionospheric conditions in this part of the world could be beneficent, this contest would be real fun.
This year I was curious to check out the new antenna my friend Sture, OH0JFP has built for 7 MHz this winter. Friday morning was sunny and still in Stockholm. I decided to go to Aland Islands. A few hours later, on board the ferry boat, I almost got seasick and the islands were white and slippery when we landed in Mariehamn. As usual, I could say, storm and snow.
Friday night no sign of any opening to North America on the 40 meter band so I decided to get some sleep instead. Saturday early afternoon I picked weak Long Path signals of K5GO and N2IC. Strong signals came from ZL, KH and T32. Incredible!
I checked the 20 meter band and it was wide open to East Coast so I logged some Big Guns while running honest 100 Watts to the 5 element 14 MHz Yagi. Sometimes I had to call 5 or 10 times before I got through other 100-Watts-stations. I used my own call sign portable OH0.
At 18.00 Z the first East Coast stations made it through on 7 MHz to Scandinavia. The rate was very low throughout the night and at 01.30 Z on Sunday morning virtually no one heard me in North America. Extremely strong stations from Italy, France and Balkans were running like mad, several South Americans were kept occupied by callers I heard nothing of.
Sunday noon local time I was back on the ferry to Sweden. Got home around 4 P.M. local time and extended the fishing rod on the balcony of the apartment I live in. The 20 meter band was hot and I managed to get several QSOs using my 100 Watt transceiver and the 20-ft helical radiator.
I have submitted 3 logs for The ARRL DX Competition CW 2008 - OH0JFP 40 meter HP, OH0/SM0JHF 20 meter LP and SM0JHF 20 meter LP - and 3 photographs to the Soapbox.

Henryk SM0JHF -- SM0JHF