Last week I was at a summer camp in Nagybörzsöny, and of course the radio gear came along: the Yaesu FT-857, the (tr)uSDX, and a telescopic vertical suitable for portable operation. From Monday to Saturday I logged 102 QSOs across three distinct kinds of operating — general operation whenever I had a spare moment, a two-hour POTA activation on Friday, and the European HF Championship contest on Saturday. Every single one of the 102 QSOs happened on 20 meters.

Operation Time (UTC) Radio Power QSOs DXCC
General operation Mon–Sat, whenever I had time FT-857 100 W 53 22
POTA activation, HU-0150 Fri, 15:17–16:41 (tr)uSDX 5 W 11 8
European HF Championship Sat, 17:37–19:26 FT-857 100 W 38 19

General operation

Whenever I had time to turn the FT-857 on, I worked 20 m in a mix of CW and SSB — 13 CW and 40 SSB contacts, 53 in total, spanning 22 DXCC entities from Monday the 27th to Saturday. Most of the log is the usual European spread — Spain, Scandinavia, the UK, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia, Moldova, Turkey — but two contacts stood out from a portable vertical running 100 W: KC9TXW in Vail, Colorado, and JE8AGX on Hokkaido, Japan. Neither was expected out of a temporary antenna in a field.

Map of HA5LA general operation contacts: 53 QSOs across Europe plus one station each in the USA and Japan

Globe view of HA5LA general operation contacts, showing the long paths to Japan and the USA

POTA activation at HU-0150

On Friday I had a two-hour window to activate HU-0150 — National Blue Trail Section 17: Nagymaros – Nógrád State Trail — the POTA reference closest to camp. For this one I swapped the FT-857 for the (tr)uSDX at 5 W. In 1 h 24 min I logged 11 QSOs (9 CW, 2 SSB) across 8 DXCC entities, including a park-to-park with M0MHJ, who was activating GB-5860 in the UK at the same time. Then, out of nowhere, KE1J called in from Rhode Island — a QRP contact across the Atlantic during a two-hour activation was the last thing I expected.

Map of the HA5LA/P HU-0150 POTA activation: 11 QSOs, mostly European with one surprise USA contact

Globe view of the HU-0150 POTA activation contacts

European HF Championship

Saturday was the European HF Championship. Back on the FT-857 at 100 W, phone only, I worked 38 stations across 19 DXCC entities in 1 h 49 min, trading signal reports and category numbers up and down 20 m.

Map of HA5LA contacts during the European HF Championship: 38 QSOs across Europe in under two hours

QSL cards

With DX like that landing in the log, I decided to send a QSL card to everyone I worked this week. I put together two designs: a generic HA5LA card for regular use, and a Nagybörzsöny-specific one for this camp.

Generic HA5LA QSL card design with Budapest skyline, SDR waterfall, and a straight key

Nagybörzsöny summer camp QSL card design with a trail signpost and the JN97 locator

One thing missing from this post: I forgot to photograph the temporary QTH and the antenna setup, so you’ll have to picture a camp table and a telescopic whip in a tripod. Next time.