Although the trans-polar path is still open for a few hours each night, the longer days we have now (15 hours today) make DX-ing increasingly less rewarding. And with the current major solar disturbances in effect, there was really no purpose in keeping the beverage antennas up. As many will know this is reindeer pasture, and I noted hundreds of migrating reindeer on my drive across the mountain plateau towards Kongsfjord on Saturday morning. Beverage antennas and reindeer with antlers don't go along well, so it was time to reel in the wires. Except one, which is less exposed to damage.
Magnificent Easter weather on Saturday. A bit windy but clear skies made antenna work quick and easy and I got it all done by afternoon. And that was a good thing because Sunday arrived with quite dense snowfall which made outdoor activities less attractive.
The drive back home to Vadsø took a bit longer than the usual 2h 15min because of slushy roads and a flat light whiteout across the mountain plateau. The available "navaids" in circumstances like this are red-coloured snow poles and contrast-enhancing sunglasses. The snow poles are visible on the blog's background image.
I've spent much more time on DX-ing this season compared to previous years. I set a goal early in the season to publish monthly logs on my blog. This has obviously been a booster for motivation, and the number of new stations logged is surprisingly high:
USA (30), Japan (7), Australia (6), Mexico (3), Ecuador (2), New Zealand (1) and Indonesia (1). Most of the US stations have been logged before at the KONG-HQ and Smøla-HQ by my much more active companions Ole and OJ. So, it's a bit of playing catch-up on my part.
A few photos from last weekend:
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| After arrival |
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| At work. Starting point of the 310 beverage to the right on the snow (still up) |
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| At work. Reeling in the 340 beverage |
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| No fun Sunday |
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