It's an honor for me - but I don't feel like a top station... I'm just an ordinary radio amateur... I'm just very interested in VHF technique and the desire to learn the physical phenomena of very short waves within my capabilities. Unfortunately, lately I have been limited by free time, work and family.
I started amateur radio in 1979 as a young boy. My pedagogue father, a physics teacher, had a small book about radio receivers, where I found a description of a simple "crystal". Grandpa - a handy electrician - helped me stretch the antenna, my first LW - and I tried to get the parts: a 500 pF tuning capacitor, headphones, a diode, and wire for the coil. The receiver worked on the first connection.
In my hometown, in Fiľakov, there was a good radio club - then OK3KKF - here I met Ervín OM7PY (ex OK3CPY), Jul OM7JG (then OK3CPN), Jozef OM3WBC (he didn't have a brand then... hi) and others. I made the first connection on 80m CW with HA8KAZ. I remember - my hand was shaking, it was hard for me to key. The radio club at that time had decent equipment - SOKA 747 and FT 225RD - we did experiments on VHF - satellites AO-7 and AO-8, then also RS, and also with meteor scatter. At that time we had an FT 225 terminal with a power of 50 W, a tape recorder, a memory elkey and an 8 el antenna. Quag. Even with such equipment, complete MS connections could be made.
In 1983 I got my first custom tag - OL9CQN. I worked from home on 160m s TCVR domestic production and antenna Inv. Vee. On 2m I had a tcvr SSB/CW semi home made, and a second similar "hybrid" tcvr on FM with 2×8 el Quagi horizontally and vertically. I made my first Es connections on 2m under my own brand. I studied in Košice - electrical engineering, of course - from where I worked at rk OK3VSZ. In Košice, I also met Ondrej OK3AU in person - our good relationship lasted until his death. I learned a lot about VKV from Ondrej. Since then, I have broadcasted on KV only occasionally.
In 1986 I got my second own brand OK3TEM. Not long ago, I bought a tcvr Icom IC202 and made an end with GU29. Then F9FT antennas came into fashion, I made a sixteen-element version. Broadcasting was better with such a device...hi.
I have had the brand OM7AQ since 1994. I mostly broadcast on VHF/UKV (2m, 70cm, 23cm and 13cm), but in theory I am QRV on all KV bands as well. Therefore, in theory, because I only have antennas for the lower bands (from 14 MHz...) hi.
You can find my score on VHF bands in various rankings. I have half for 2m DXCC – hi, 50 countries and 293 squares. I've already met the Sat DXCC conditions via satellites - but I don't have them all yet QSL… At 2m I managed several complete ones EME connection, I also did experiments on 70 cm. My big dream is to regularly work EME in the 70 cm and/or 23 cm bands. But I'll probably wait for that. Recently, due to the lack of free time, I have hardly made any progress. From 1985 I work with Roman OM3EI on the magazine Rádiožurnál. I consider it a great success that people write to me about how they started working via satellites and that my articles and contributions in RŽ were a great inspiration for them.
As for my private life - since 1989 I teach - various electrotechnical subjects, lately electronics and computer technology. I have a wonderful family, a wife with great understanding for my hobby and two beautiful daughters. In addition to amateur radio, I work with computers (programming...), art and culture.
On my pages you will definitely find something that you can still use - devices, antennas, etc.: www.OM7AQ.host.sk a https://qsl.net/OM7AQ/.
Zoli , OM7AQ