Ham Radio Operator Peter UX5DH - life long dream of DXCC

1. 2020 Ham Radio Christmas Story.

By Victor Goncharsky US5WE/K1WE, FAIRS director for European operations.

New Ham radio technology knocks on our doors. Both youngsters and old timers are involved in the process of learning and using these technological achievements.

The person I’m going to tell this story, Peter Choporov UX5DH, is the ham since early 60s.

Peter is the FAIRS member who was involved in many FAIRS VHF repeater and packet radio projects in Ukraine.

Recently Peter has bought and installed two digital DMR repeaters in Lvov UR0WUB and on Trostian mountain in Carpathians UR0WUC. FAIRS Ukraine has provided the licensing support for this project.

APRS Packet radio nodes UR0WUB-1 and UX5DH-3 in Lvov using the equipment from the “Eurasia Foundation” grant No. 95-0031 “Ukrainian Digital Amateur Radio Network” is being used for this project. These APRS nodes are also being maintained by Peter UX5DH.

In late December 2018 I introduced Peter to a new digital mode FT8 and proposed him to try it by using the equipment he had: ICOM IC7000 transceiver and FD4 multiband dipole. Several weeks were spent to cure RF feedback and bad SWR issues but finally the first FT8 QSO was made on 30m. It did not take long for Peter to become a FT8 addict.

For less then a year almost 7000 QSOs were made on all bands 160 to 6 meters, DXCC awards (Mixed and Digital) were received. As Peter told me, he was dreaming to put DXCC on the wall from his first steps in ham radio when he saw them in Ham Dad Vlad’s U5WF (UB5WF) shack and finally after almost 60 years Peter’s dream came true!

To improve his DXCC Challenge totals on low bands Peter made a full sized horizontal delta loop for 160 meters. This antenna was found to be much better then FD4 both for receive and transmit on 160-40 meters. The table below shows Peter’s DXCC Challenge totals achieved in less then a year with a simple barefoot setup and wire antennas.

So the opinion that DX-ing is easy with FT8 seems to be overestimated but it is wonderful to see Peter’s call UX5DH on the screen and realize that it is possible to come back on the HF bands after many decades of absence and still have a great fun. Welcome aboard, Peter!

Vintage Computer -Computer workshops in old Soviet Union

Bugbooks

My wife and I have had many great travel experiences during the past 40 years and perhaps a few first. Our first trip to the Soviet Union in 1990 was justified to the Soviets as a visit to teach about using microcomputers for automated data collection. This workshop was in Lviv Ukraine in October. We had about 20 engineers and scientist participants in the class. They were very enthusiastic & this information was only available to a very restricted group. Most of the participants did not speak English and  I could not lecture in Russian. Victor Goncharsky UR5WE did the translation for me.  We have made 15 or so visits to the Former Soviet Countries and I have learned speak Russian.

Click on photo to enlarge 

Teaching in Ukraine 1990

Here we are in Lviv, Ukraine October 1990 teaching our first Soviet Instrumentation Workshop. Great experience. I had brought several suitcases full of  hardware to interface the computers with external devices -  The folks that organized the workshop had made arrangements to have 10 IBM compatible PC computers in the class. They worked just fine and the DOS software worked good also.  - the computers were good Soviet pirated IBM clones.  We did about 10 workshops during the early 90's in the Soviet Union and later known as the independent countries of the Former Soviet Union. Here is the full story about this visit "CLICK" A bonus from these visits are some home built Soviet computers in our museum.

This was exciting for us and the Continuing Education group at Virginia Tech (VT)  made available 'Continuing Education Units' (CEU's) . This  may be the first ever (CEU's) issued in the Soviet Union. I was a faculty member at VT from 1967 to 1998 teaching Instrumentation and Automation in the Chemistry Department. Some of the university administrators including the Dr. Jim McCommas the University president were very supportive of our work in the Soviet Union.  I was recognized for this kind of International work just before retiring from VT.  

                    Here is the CEU certificate for our Workshop participants in the Soviet Union.

CEU certificate issued in Soviet Union

Click on document to enlarge 

We had been teaching these kind of workshops for many years before the Soviet Union visit in 1990.

Typical Automation Workshop by me and colleagues 

Here is a poster from my regular classes at Virginia Tech.

Electronics for Scientist at Virginia Tech

David & Gaynell Larsen

My wife Gaynell and I have had some really great adventures in foreign travel  teaching and doing amateur radio work.  On many visits we took addition people to assist these adventures. In 1992 I had some funds to take a professional film producer - here is some of his work " FAIRS in the former Soviet Union"   .  We have made dozens - maybe even more than 100 trips- during the past 40 years.  A few years  we did 4 international  workshops and mission visits -- We still do at least one a year. Our last was just one month ago - here is info about this fun mission visit to Dominica. We still have a some travel energy but it does seem we are getting older another 25 years or so will be just right.

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