CW Argentine Group and LU6Z Operation

LU1DZ, Alberto U. SILVA, LU6EF, Raul M. DIAZ and LU7XP, Jorge F. VRSALOVICH are nowdays the responsibles for the operation of this Argentine group with more than 300 radio-operators members.

The last operation was organized by this group in the Laurie Island LU6Z radio station between 5th December, 1995 to 26th february, 1996 with the logistic support of the National Antarctic Management and the Argentine Navy, and also with the cooperation of Argentine Air Force and Argentine Federal Police, and without any economical sources from the outside and without any help from any comercial firms of communications. With the exclusive motto in life, they are giving to the radio amateurs all over the world the chance of keep in touch with Antarctic radio countries.

LU6Z reached the mark of 23.559 QSO’s and 140 countries. This was made possible due to the available personal actitudes of its operators: Hector M. OMBRONI, LU6UO and Ernesto J. DURANTE, LU1ZPF. During the installation of the antennas they confronted against temperatures. and severe wheather conditions, and during the operation of the station fighted against several operative difficulties like propagation conditions, electromagnetic storms and the base traffic: everything together was the main reason to become 7 Mhz the most frequent used Band.

Hector, LU6UZ and Ernie, LU1ZPF, those who were recently living a real adventure on the Laurie Island, started their account giving us their impression about propagation, saying that the propagating condition in particular day, usually did not apeare the following day, this is why in one hand in front of one Asia opened, in the other hand it was only for a short time and not often.

Their were desesperated when they could hear a lot of stations in the bands but they did not get any answer to their calls. They were earnestly seeking after the permanent sostained traffic in any band, in spite of their former antarctic experiences, they had to develope difterents field work technics, like band changes, aerial changes, etc., but nothing of these methods gave them a denouement under the DX world pressure, they only could give the best part of themselves, staying the most time in activity.

In one of those tentative plans to improve the available power, Hector put two new tubes in the FL1000Z amplifier and after some working hours, they exploted !! so they had to go back to the old tubes.

They have several anecdotes, about how they used to sleep on the ship floor, cause it was too crowded, they also have to take part of the base staff, working as underloaders of the ship and also had to do another logistic task for survival during their staying in the island.

They saved the good climate period doing outdoor activities like locating in due place the directional and installing between others dipoles and wires a Hertz Zepp. aerial at the top of 30 meters high towers.


Draft Notes

Antennas: 4 rotary elements for 20-15-10 meters and 1 element for 40 meter. Hertz Zepp. and 40 m. full wave Delta loop antennas with Swan tunner and Long Wire with home brew T tunner 20m. slooper also.

Tranceivers: Yaesu FT101ZD and ICOM IC726 with Autek audio filter. Yaesu FL1000Z and 2 x 813 gnounded grid home made Kw. amplifiers. Two 30 meters high towers of the Base were used for wire and beam antennas.

Keyers: Bencher paddles with Autek memory and home made keyers give commfortable and smoth operation.

Their were transported in a five days trip by the Argentine Navy Icebreaker Ship Almirante Irizar in his way to different places in the Antarctic continent.

The 10 watts radio beacon on 28.211 Khz. with a vertical ground plane received several reports from South America stations.

The MIR space ship was conected in 2 m. VHF band with 40 Watts and vertical antenna. 65 SSB and CW QSO’s with LUs and LZ0A in South Shetland Is. were made using the RS12 satelite, up link on 21.220 khz. and down linkg in 29.420 khz

Others DX operations and expeditions supported by the GACW

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CW Argentine Group Box 9 - 1875 Wilde - Buenos Aires - ARGENTINA