OZ1GER and OZ1FTU preparing for the 5th antenna-mast disassembly and cable fixing Each year a different contest, and each year the unexpected happens. With all the moving parts of equipment people and logistics -it is always fun! Having established the basic station and equipment with a recent change from tube PAs to LDMOS we where ready for what looked like a technically stable contest. It did not really happen, but in the end it all worked out. A new feature to be tested in 2025 was a remote operator. AG6QV residing in Seattle on the US west coast was to operate the station during the late night hours giving the rest of the crew just a little sleep. All equipment was tested and serviced (we thought) before the contest and OZ1GER, OZ1FTU, OZ1FDH and PA5DD, where all ready to start the assembly on friday. An unexpected event! The weather forecast for Friday September 5 promised record rains and thunderstorms, not the best conditions for driving across the country ...

September is the month of late summer days, the smell of morning dew in the fields and the feeling of a summer almost gone. However, this was not exactly the case for this years VHF contest. It was more like a collection of low pressure ridges with high accompanying joyful winds and heavy rain. For the past 5 years we have been lucky with the weather during the VHF September contest, and just a week before the contest the weather forecast looked nice, but then it started to turn bad. At one point there was a storm warning, and if you are at the top of a hill right next to the ocean that is not a very good combination. We had experienced the October contest 2008 with a full gale and where considering to cancel this years contest, but fortunately the weather forecast got slightly better and we decided to go all inn as usual. Preparations As always we started preparations a little bit too late building, repairing and fixing equipment, but as the week before the contest arrived everything seemed ...