[ADXA] [Fwd: [The Daily DX] WHAT DO YOU DO IF ONE MORNING YOU WAKE UP IN A NEW DXCC COUNTER?]

[Earl]

FYI !!  from Daily DX  with permission.
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The following report is from Martti, OH2BH, now in Montenegro:

WHAT DO YOU DO IF ONE MORNING YOU WAKE UP IN A NEW DXCC COUNTER?

While in Montenegro, one thing is a must. Find YU6DZ, Rajko, who has been a
most productive local operator in the Republic of Montenegro since its birth
and who has delighted the bands with his solid presence.

Driving to his house through and under climbing gravevines and honeybee
hives shows immediately that there is a ham there spelled with a capital H
--- a 4-element quad overlooks the property and the man himself with Mama
Margarita are there to welcome us.

Over an expresso and cookies we talk, and we talk some more over some
homemade brandy.  Ugh, gulping the stuff down, it is strong like the signals
on 20M this morning.

"Life will never be the same again now that QSOs are coming in left and
right", says Rajko, a 65-year old retired Chief Naval Security Officer.  "My
days have got a new routine.  Yes, there's breakfast and lunch and dinner,
but nowadays there are QSOs in between them.  It's only some twenty days and
I have more than 6,500 of them", Rajko muses.

He is considering on updating his current Yaesu FT101B to more modern gear
but Mama Margarita objects.  "If Rajko gets into this changing mode, he may
update everything - and I may have to go as well".  Margarita is full of
happy life and humor and nowadays even more so.  "I have started to collect
stamps and I get a full bag every day.  We are now seen as popular favorites
by our mailman".  And then we open some of the letters that have arrived
today.

"It only took a few days until I realized that it would not work on my own
frequency but I saw that the tubes of my separate VFO would still light up,
and I gave them some rock and roll", Rajko continues.

But I find many people not in the log - and we start leafing through the
pages of Rajko's logbook filled with handwritten entries that look like
objects of art.  The QSOs go fine all the way, but then in the final stage
people do not understand that the confirmation phase is equally important.
It's a matter of not leaving a good affair halfway through.  "I cross them
out - look at these... there was a QSO but no more.  They should make a
solid one and not run away", Rajko points out.  He tunes up the trustworthy
FT101B and lets his old electronic key sing, and sure it does.  We realize
that he wants to be perfect on the end part - maybe even throw in a CQ
before starting the next QSO.  Do we all remember that CQ means "I seek
you"?  Surely Rajko does that and then some more.

That gives us a chance to review his logbooks and find out the first ten
that got him during his first days.

USA: W7CB, W6LZ, W3UR, W3LPL, NG8Z, W3BGN, N4OA, N6AR, K2VV, W5UN
JA: JJ2LPV, JA4DND, JA3FGJ, JE2LUN, JA1EOD, JA2XKM, JG3FPD, JJ2LPV, JA2FMW,
JR2JLO 
EU: YZ7AA, I2ZBX, HB9AFI, DL6KVN, LA6CF, LX1NO, SM5DJZ, OK1TM, SP8AJR, OH2BU


But we find a treasure there as well: with his transverter and 7 watts Rajko
has added HI3TEJ, NL7AU/4, N4IS and W1JR to his book on 6M!

Mamma Margarita is packing up something for us to take home, as they do in
those friendly corners of the world.  We get two jars of honey and two
bottles of brandy made by YU6DZ from their own berries.  We are hugging and
hoping to see again.  It's a warm feeling to have met Rajko and Margarita in
their own element - under the climbing grapevines and and the 4-element
cubical quad.

As we back out, my cell phone sends a text message - it's from Bernie, W3UR.
"I am just working Rajko on RTTY".  But Rajko is still standing on the
driveway and waving us goodbye.  We did not see anything looking like RTTY
in the house.  But I just answer Bernie: "DX Is". 





-- 
Earl F. Smith - N5ZM 

PO Box 20065
White Hall, AR  71612-0065