Finland 2007

Details: Category: My Travelling

I was very pleased to get invitation from Contest Club Finland, and Martti, OH2BH, to be their guest and to have presentation on 12th CCF & OHDXF Contest and DX Meeting, 19-21 January 2007. Actually, I was Martti's guest and he organize one week trip from South to North Finland for me and my daughter Milica, giving us opportunity to see almost all Fins natural beauties, to meet many HAM radio friends I meet on radio over the past 25 years and to understand meaning of Fins four S – Sibelius, Sauna, Sissu and Saatana.

We arrived at on Helsinki airport at Tuesday, around lunch time. Martti, our kind host used opportunity to show us Helsinki, Finland’s capital Of course, Main Square and grand Luther church we could not miss for making photos. Also, most famous Fins composer Jan Sibelius and his monument is something unforgettable.



YT6A and OH2BH	In front of Sibelius monumen

Helsinki harbor, old town and new high tech villages around made our first day very colorful. Finland is country of laborious peoples, with strong and progressive ideas, and they really deserve to be one of the leading nation worlds wide. Everything is in perfect order where ever you look. What impressed me the most is team spirit visible in every segment of community – industry, education, and business or HAM radio?

First night we spend in Laine's home. Martti's pretty wife Leina prepared for us very unique and tasty dinner. First time in our life Milica and me tasted reindeers meet.

Martti’s shack is something I expected. High tech and comfortable. Even it is not his contest station, hardware is capable for serious contesting, too. His QSL bureau is something I was not jealous at all. One room completely crowded with QSL cards from many OH2BH’s DXpeditions or contest activities in past easily show you how many hours he has to spent replaying and sending thousands of mails out, to make many of us happier.

In OH2BH shack

As most of Fins, his main house is surrounded with a lot of land. Big country and less than one million of families make land cheap and a lot for everyone. They really know to enjoy in life.
Early in the morning we took a flight to Rovaniemi, city on North Pole circle, very famous as Santa Claus village. Also, LORDIS, Eurovision song contest winners are from that town.



Arrived in Rovaniemi	In front of Santa Claus office

Finally I felt Fins cold. Minus 15 was something I meet only on TV news. I was expecting that I will be death in few minutes. And look, it was nice!! Dry and cold, with good cloth make impression very different from me expected.
Visiting Santa Claus was most important happening for my daughter Milice. Also visiting Santa Claus post office and reading letters sent from our country make us very excited. That office send out about 700.000 letters a year, and village works more efficient than many big factories world wide.

Quick lunch and we moved at Kiitala, city little bit north, where we Martti arranged Snow Mobile safari for us. What an experience. Can you imagine us, coming from warm Mediterranean area, without any life experience with cold weather and deep snow, on big YAMAHA snow mobiles riding 90 km??? Yes, nigh teen kilometers. Fortunately, driving snow mobile is exactly the same as driving sea jets and scafanders we got for safari protect us from cold very efficient.

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After 40km we stopped at reindeer’s farm for typical Lapland lunch. We meet very nice farmer and he offer us to try to get driving licensee for reindeer. Why not? We tried and we did it. Secret we did not know before was – with that driving licensee we can drive single reindeer anywhere in world. And also, we can drive even a helicopter, but only in Sweden. After whole long day we come back at hotel and after typical Fins sauna we slept as little kids.

Next day was dedicated to me. Visiting OH8NC and his probably biggest antenna farm world wide near Oullu.

We meet Juha on airport in Kittala. He flu from Oullu with his airplane OH-KJJ, and picked us about 9 am. Not only very pleasant and spontaneous - Juha is highest level professional, leading big company with more that 1000 employees and very good contester.

First impression, when we arrived close to Juhas antenna farm was as meeting Coca Cola factory in the middle of desert. It was middle of snow desert, with very unpleasant nature, and like unrealistic you are looking at big rotary towers with biggest multi stacks world wide. Do you know what my daughter told me when we get out from the car? "Daddy, I hope you will not build something like that on Obosnik?" - I had to promise her that I will not.

The highest tower is 105m. Once, you enter there you will lose sense about dimensions. Looking “small” towers of "just" 60m with multi stacks, you will really have a impression that those towers are nothing special, comparing the biggest ones. On the highest tower of 105m Juha has stack of 2 over 2 elements for 80M, and he is planning to put up 2 element yagi for 160m. I am sure he will.

Shack is still in process of configuring. It has to be fully automated station with highest technologies built in. Remote control in real time is a part of project.

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After short visit we were again in OH-KJJ.

As copilot I was enjoying landscape and sharing contest experience with Juha and Martti during the flight. After landing in Helsinki we went to floating hotel VIKING, where 12th CCF meeting was organized.

On the boat I meet a loot of well known contesters from all over the world. My dearest friend Luck, ON4IA and other friends from 4O3T festival - N2WB, DL3DXX, many local OH’s, group from LY and Great Britain…. And many others.

Meeting was going to be in nice conference room, with very interesting speakers. My presentation, announced as - Contest Technology Have we discovered everything? Intend to be one of most interesting for visitors.

Complete presentation in Power Point, with audio files you can find HERE.
Termin was for Saturday 1400 pm and I had enough time to accept Tomo’s (SM0W) kind offer to visit his station near Stockholm downtown. Biggest antenna was 3 elements 80M, on 50m high tower. Antenna is very well known as EU record holders in CQ WW SSB 2005. Timo did 424k points and still is holding record. I tried to take it from his in 2006 hand and did it, but claimed 450k points, what is very close to his score and probably not enough much after UBN checking?

Station is in progress. Essential HAM spirit and love is visible all over around. Many antennas, from HF up to big VHF antennas for EME discover a lot of serious activities from there. I am sure that SM0W gang will be on of leading in future.

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And the rest of few days we spend little bit more in relaxing. Monday morning we meet Toni, OH2UA and Luc, ON4IA Visiting Martti’s contest station just confirm how serious contester he is.

Three big rotary towers with multistacks for each band on each tower, fully automation and very sophisticated SO2R shack. Station is near Martti’s summer home, about 70km away from his house.

Later, we visited OH2BC, well known contester and 6M fun. He just installs his stack of 3 StepIRs with 6M. Of course, tower is about 40m, rotary. If I remember well, total number of rotary towers in Finland is about 500…!? Amazing.

Last positive “frustration” Milica and I had at Monday morning. Went with Pertti, OH2PM to Sallo’s NOKIA production facilities. I meet also OH4A, who is one of Nokias employees, too (who is not?) and we all together made a tour around.

Monday evening was our last one. Martti and Pertti organized very nice dinner in SAS hotel, where we spend few typical HAM radio hours in talking and joking. We meet Hans, PB2T who just arrived in some official IARU meeting. What a small world.

I want to thanks to Martti for his warm hospitality and effort to make our trip very educative and unforgettable, to Pertti and Juha for hospitality and to all friends I meet for making this short trip memorable.

SAATANA, it was one of my most memorable trips ever.

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