THE 2007 HOLYLAND CONTEST

Saturday April 21^st saw the latest 24 hour episode of the ongoing Holyland Contest saga. The dust has hardly settled, yet from a talk with contest manager Mark 4Z4KX as well as my own operating impressions we can offer you this sketchy report:

First of all, band conditions were quite good, considering that there were no or precious little sunspots. The low bands were free of excessive noise, and ten meters even opened up quite well at least to Europe.

Mark 4Z4KX with Holyland Contest trophies at the Ilanot Hamfest on May 5^th.

There were a few special operations, yet the most noteworthy was 4 X 0 A T . A group of the former students of our dearly departed Ahron Kirschner, 4X1AT operated his station, a very suitable memorial, racking up many many contacts. Dov 4Z4DX operated 4X0MDC (Mediterranean DX Club) from Mikve Israel, and from the second highest mountain peak in Israel, Mt. Meron, 4X0R/P was on the air. A special operation from Masada near the Dead Sea was done by Reuven 4Z5FI and Isaac 4X1HJ. There were a few more that we have probably overlooked, and Mark says that he counted 140 different Israeli callsigns on the contest

4Z5NB’s mobile antenna farm blends in with the high smokestacks of the Hadera electrical generating station on the Mediterranean coast

Your scribe was on the air for the first part of the contest with a makeshift antenna and portable QRP setup at his mother-in-law’s QTH for the first part of the contest. On the way back to the home QTH in the south, I was amazed to make an SSB contact mobile with a Ukrainian station on 10 meters. What was amazing was that I was using a little 5 watt FT-817 running into a 2 meter 5/8 wavelength mag-mount antenna with a horrendous SWR because of no antenna matching. The band was really hot! I have only used that antenna for making local 2 meter contacts. When I got home I fired up the home station on 80 meters CW and kept busy all evening.

Mark thinks that UU7J has made a new record in the Holyland contest (was that the guy I worked while mobile?). RG3K also made an impressive number of contacts with 4X stations on all the bands. He has received already 200 logs electronically, and it will be interesting to see what will ensue when all the results are in.

- . . . –

The 4Z4IZ portable skyhook

THE ILANOT ANTENNA-FEST

You just can’t keep a good man down. Last year there was some grumbling that the proximity of this event to the Annual General Meeting of the IARC was responsible for the low attendance at the latter. The IARC committee decided not to sponsor this event with such timing, and in spite of this a few hams got it going, and without any funding or portable toilets (HI), there were more hams and families present than there were last year. In short, a good time was had by all – Abraham 4Z4IZ erected a pair of ham-sticks on a high mast, and it was through his signal on 40 meters SSB that your scribe became aware that this “pirate” field-day was on the air (sorry I didn’t know about it before). Many kilos of meat were put on the grill as burnt offerings. A good time was had by all. I hope that a similar event will take place in the fall.

4Z4IZ/P at the Ilanot Field-day/picnic/whatever

THE 4X6KJ REPORT

DXCC:

As mentioned in the previous issues, DXCC cards can be “field checked” at home (in Israel). An update from the ARRL DXCC Desk informed me that the “ten year rule” has been cancelled.

So now all cards can be checked as of 1946 and onwards.

The only remaining rules; cards for 160 meter and deleted countries, can not be “field checked”. For more information, 4x6kj@iarc.org

New 2007 Membership Cards:

Have been distributed to those that have paid their membership for the year 2007, For those that have not yet fulfilled their obligation, can still do so, after the Treasurer has received your payment, will the membership card as well as the new CD-Rom disk be send to your home address.

To “Morse” or not to “Morse”:

A continuation of the previous issue as reported in HaGal. The Va’ad (Executive) has now a number of proposals which will be brought to the membership at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM). It is ultimately the AGM that will make a decision. We will report to you in the next issue how the vote went.

Friedrichshafen:

This year IARC will be present at the Ham Radio booth at the Fair. This year the theme is in “Memory of Ahron 4X1AT”. It was Ahron 4X1AT and your scribe that originated the booth in the year 1990. So I thought it appropriate to dedicate this year to his memory.

As these writings will appear in your mailbox after the AGM, elsewhere in this issue you find the minutes of the meeting,

de Joseph 4X6KJ

- . . . –

Over the years our lives and amateur radio have changed in many ways. In the early years of my involvement with amateur radio and the IARC, I was full of enthusiasm, full of energy, full of idea’s. I joined the club and in 1983 received my license as well as joined the Va’ad and started “Sherut Le Chaver” and library in the back of our store. Over the long period of time, many interesting things happened and in many of them I have been involved as well.

The changes of IARC are now “historical” and accompanied with stories, just too many to mention here. They did not just happen like that. They came about, because a dedicated team of amateurs believed in the projects and went to work on them. They committed themselves in order to advance the hobby and the club for all to enjoy. Some in the field of technical advances, others in the administrative and international area’s of interest.

This was the spirit, which over the years unfortunately has disappeared. Today’s members have more demands and they forget that those at the management level are volunteers. Being in the Va’ad (Executive) has become an accountable, demanding, obligatory job, which besides time also costs plenty of personal money. Naturally, it generates friends and enemies; it creates bonds and relationships with other Amateur Radio Societies, from which we can only benefit and learn.

I must admit, for me it was a challenge, I have learned a lot and it gave me lots of satisfaction to carry our logo and flag to the World at large. Managing IARC became more habitual, with ever increasing responsibility and more difficult to handle, the enthusiasm faded, the enjoyment and excitement disappeared.

Therefore, I have decided, that this coming year (2007-2008) I will fulfill the term for which I have been chosen as Chairman / President of the IARC. This will be my last year.

At the AGM of April – May 2008 I will step down of all my IARC duties and responsibilities. I will not be a candidate for re-election.

It also will mark a period of 25 years of being in the Va’ad from which I will retire. I hope that during the coming year, there will be some suitable persons coming forward, to be willing to keep the torch burning.

I hope to pass the experience and knowledge acquired to another person that will lead the IARC further down the path. If nobody takes up the challenge, than the future of IARC does not look promising. I hate to be the one that, after all we have achieved, will blow out the candle and lock the door.

Joseph Obstfeld 4X6KJ

That’s it for now! A beautiful Summer (and Winter to our Southern Hemisphere readers). Keep those antennas up and let’s hear you! 73!

HAGAL INTERNATIONAL

May - June 2007