Corona measures?

HF from my home is unfortunately a no-go: Antenna restrictions in a rental apartment. The balcony is theoretically big enough for a 20m dipole, however the area is so QRM infested that there’s no fun operating from home. (Which is why I started with SOTA :slight_smile: )

Never used Zello, I could install it and give it a try. But would this not be a convenient application for C4FM / System Fusion? To be honest: It bought my FT-2D which because of the APRS capabilities, failed to try activating with C4FM because of the VHF contest on march 7/8 where I participated with my local radio club. so this is a feature of my handheld which isununsed so far. I know there are a couple of connected repeaters around. How many activators/chasers can use YSF? How could a group be established?

7e Jens HB9EKO

I like the idea. I could only participate in the evenings though (home office), and limping on HF with a EFHW for 20m or so…

The evenings on 20m are nearly closed as soon as it gets dark, so I’m afraid you’ll have little chances to copy other hams after sunset. The worst is the urban noisy environment you have.
Perhaps a magloop antena would give you better chances.
Well, it’s up to you.
73,

Guru

Anders als es am Sonntag bei der Verkündung hieß, stellte Anschober jetzt auch die Spazierengehen-Regelung strenger dar: Laut Verordnung sei es eigentlich nicht gestattet, mit dem Auto oder Verkehsmitteln zum Spazierengehen zu fahren. Er wäre da “zurückhaltend”.

OK, things are changing very quickly here. Let’s put it this way: It was OK to drive somewhere and go for a walk until about 4 hours ago. I will, of course now respect the statement made by the minister. Personal opinions expressed up until that statement were, as is now clear, justifiably disregarded. Sorry if you missed out.
73 de OE6FEG
Matt

Have you tried a magnetic loop? I have no experience with them myself but some people claim that they are a good answer to electronic smog and lack of space.

With regard to the topic, for me the summits themselves are the main attraction, SOTA is a little extra, and I don’t think that any ham radio activity will be any substitute, so I will just gaze at the mountain pictures on my wall and sort through all my photos on Picasa3.

We could have an informal photo competition! :wink:

The days aregetting longer, though :slight_smile:

If they ban people from going outside here in HB9 as well (as rumours say), this might be a project: Building a magloop with any kind of findings in the basement, since the hardware stores are closed :slight_smile:

Having listened to the interview in full I will just say this: the supporting text in the link does not fully match the exact words of the minister. My German is not perfect, but having listened to the interview it seems to me that he says: with regard to travelling with ones own car to the start of a walk ‘I would be reserved / guarded’. He suggests there are plenty of options in Wien. OK. When asked if he simply does not recommend travelling via public transport to the start of a walk, or if it is expressly forbidden, he says that it is expressly forbidden in the Grundverordnung. That we already knew. In other words, the minister himself does not expressly say that travelling with a car is forbidden in the Grundverordnung, that is another inference made by the press. He simply says he is disinclined to recommend it. The argument is becoming quite tiresome, I will conduct myself as if travelling with a car is forbidden, regardless of the exact legality of the Grundverordnung, which has not in itself changed since last Sunday.
73 Matt

Weirdly in Germany - Hardware stores are on the exempted list for closures along with hairdressing salons - GO FIGURE!

Heading out in the morning for probably my last couple of activations for some time as I suspect we’ll go into lock-down in Bavaria from Monday, even though the politicians are saying we won’t at the moment.

73 Ed.

The sooner, the better, I think.

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BTW, I’m now CQing on 5.3545 for some ragchewing QSO…

I’m not sure if that is meant in a negative way against Germany or me that you want to be locked up or just that you think it’s a wise decision. In any case, while there is no uniform approach EU wide, there will be differences between all countries and in the timing of each of the actions.

Matt,
I’ve just taken a listen to the video that Sylvia posted the link to and like most politicians he was unclear on some points (wanting not to answer the points I think). However, what he did say again and again was as long as you keep a metre away from other people he would recommend all outside exercise. The use of public transport to get to the park (or wherever) is NOT ALLOWED however when asked whether private cars can be used - he simply did not answer the question. The key point was to distance yourself from other people which in public transport is not possible but driving alone in your own car, that problem is gone. Whatever he said, he was trying to clarify the act that had been put into place and you really need to get a copy of that document to know the legal case.

I’m not an Austrian lawyer though - the same as the majority of people listening to Hr. Anschober.

73 Ed.

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This is what I meant, Ed. To me the lock-down is the most effective measure. The Chineese have demonstrated it and I think we should have adopted it even earlier here in EA. That’s why I think the sooner you adopt it in DL, the better. Each infected person will transmit the virus to 2-3 people and this quickly scalates in a geometric progression, so things can go out of control very quickly. In a very crowded country like Germany, with over 85 millions, such progression can easily collapse your Health care system, as well as having many other impacts (social, economic…)
I have this view not only for DL but all Countries.
We were seeing what it was going on in the area of Wuhan (China) and quickly later in Northern Italy. An earlier lock-down in Spain would have surely made things less dramatic. Other countries should try to stop the infection mecanism by adopting the lock-down ASAP.
That’s just my personal opinion.

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And again, several European skimmers copied my CQing


4 nice QSOs made it to my log: 2 DL, 1 ON, 1 S5.

73,

Guru

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Luckily for the chasers, we are not there yet and there has been quite a lot to chase today:

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Thanks for the clarification - in my opinion a coordinated approach across Europe & the UK would have been better than each country taking different actions at different times. Even within Germany each state gets to decide what to do and when but when one takes an action, others follow suit in a few days. Normally Bavaria is one of the first, which is why I feel that a lock-down is imminent. Effectively my wife and I will most likely self isolate from Monday even if their is no order. We are not ill and want to stay that way.

So today will be my last activations for a few weeks.

73 Ed.

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Perhaps in Germany, like Australia, all men would go mad if they couldn’t browse their hardware stores looking for new toys, oops, tools. I suspect there will be a problem like that in Australia where the Bunnings hardware chain is a happy hangout for many people who just like buying stuff to cut, saw, chop or paint. And the tools to do it with… :slight_smile:

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I noticed the RSGB’s HF contests are being cut back somewhat. There was one encouraging bit:

We have decided not to ban portable operation by single operators because of the potential mental health benefits associated with engaging in hobbies etc. as well as the lack of person-to-person contact in normal single operator contesting.

For the whole announcement, go to RSGB HF and VHF contest rules changes - Radio Society of Great Britain - Main Site : Radio Society of Great Britain – Main Site

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This may be a good time to remind everyone of the various Digital Voice resources dedicated to SOTA:

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I unfortunately don’t have access to these (along with some easy access 10 point summits :frowning: )although l live close to the border. Will have to to with what I find in my basement or in the grocery stores :slight_smile:

Would love to do that as well, since we are expecting a complete lock-down here, too. I am in the fortunate situation that I can do my job from home with only minor restrictions, I did not have a chance to take “corona-off” and activate, so I was speculating for a chance on the weekend. The weather report is not too promising though, and who knows what the Swiss government is going to communicate this afternoon…

73 Jens HB9EKO