He has been on the air for 40 years now, with an interruption during the Balkan War in the 90s. It is going to be his third WRTC as a competitor, so actually he does not need a presentation for the contester community. Besides, many active contesters have visited his legendary hilltop station and even more active operators use his products.
The success of the 1st place Europe (claimed) in CQWW phone boosted our hopes of similar fortunes in the CW leg @ 4O3A. One month later, the majority of the crew returned and the focus was very much on setting a new EU record.
As always the SSB crew were the guinea pigs and there were a few tweaks to be made in the setup. We needed more flexibility from the SSC-XL system.
Među vijestima koje sam tijekom svibnja ove godine dobio preko brojnih radioamaterskih DX-biltena, jedna mi je posebno zapela za oko: International DX Festival – Montenegro 2006. Onima koji najviše vremena provode na kratkome valu, jasno je o čemu se radi. Odvajajući se od unije sa Srbijom, Crna Gora postala je operatorima zanimljiva jer je time dobila status novog entiteta.
Until recently the 4O3A location was mostly used in contests to compete in the SOAB category. Whilst visiting Tallinn in early 2014, we struck a deal to put together a serious M/S entry for 2014’s CQWW SSB & CW Contests.
With WRTC2014 behind us, preparation began in the summer. These days, from a technical standpoint, the Multi Single category is very complex.
What would you do if one morning you woke up in a new DXCC country?
On the morning of May 22, 2006 Ranko Boca, YT6A, a leading DXer and contester in what used to be Serbia-Montenegro, got up on the always beautiful and sunny coast of the Adriatic Sea and looked over the crystal clear waters of Kotor Bay. The previous day’s popular vote was close, but Montenegro was now ready to declare its independence as the fifth spin-off (joining 9A, S5, T9 and Z3) of the former Yugoslavia.
An interview with 4O3A was published in the famous Spanish URE magazine.
¿Qué recuerda de sus primeros años como radioaficionado?
En 1975, cuando empecé a ir a la escuela secundaria decidí unirme a un radioclub. Como muchos de mis compañeros, estaba hipnotizado con la radio y con toda la tecnología que implica.
The place is called Obosnik, a hilltop at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. Montenegro means Black Mountain and this tiny republic is mountainous, however the mountains are black only when silhouetted by the setting sun. At daytime this country is extremely attractive, The Bay of Kotor itself is regarded as World Heritage by the UNESCO and every day thousands of tourists pass the landmark of Montenegro, viz. the station of Ranko Boca, 4O3A on Obosnik.
World traveller and photo-journalist Henryk Kotowski SM0JHF brings readers a snapshot of one of the world’s largest and most impressive amateur radio installations, 4O3A in Montenegro.
The Bay of Kotor in Montenegro is visited by thousands of tourists every year. Most likely, very few of them realize that the antenna towers visible at the top of the hill at the entrance to the bay are actually part of an amateur radio installation.
Why is that when you clear whole weekends on your calendar for a contest, sometimes that turns out to be the only time left to get serious antenna work done? Months ago l hoped to smoke-test my 40-meter antennas in the 2002 CQ WW CW. Naturally, Saturday, after a great night smoke-testing 80 meters, which didn`t need smoke-testing. I got the last 40-meter Yagi built and in the air Saturday night l finally got to play with my new toys.