Biography

How it all began ...

As a 13-year-old boy, I developed a keen interest in electrical engineering and began conducting my first experiments. For example, I constructed a Wagner hammer.

I found the broadcasts of the BBC's "German Language Service" particularly captivating. The evening program commenced with the words, "Big Ben hat soeben sieben Uhr geschlagen. Hier ist der Londoner Rundfunk mit seiner Sendung in deutscher Sprache." They aired an "East Zone Programme" and a "Programme for East Germany." Following the news, there were shows like "Der verwunderte Zeitungsleser" or "Tom Berry gibt nun den Situationsbericht." Tom Berry's sonorous voice, accompanied by a gentle English accent, inspired me to imitate him. I eagerly shared with my classmates at the Francisceum in Zerbst what I had heard the previous night. Soon enough, they gave me the nickname "Tom Berry", which my former classmates still use when we meet at class reunions.

To gain independence from the family radio receiver, I constructed a 1-V-1 device equipped with three RV12P2000 tubes. However, I ended up tuning into the neighboring 40 m amateur radio band instead of the shortwave broadcast band. As a result, I often found myself avidly following QSOs in AM and later in CW on this band, acting as a SWL (shortwave listener). It was during this time that my interest in amateur radio was ignited.

The desire to transmit myself quickly emerged. To achieve this, obtaining an amateur radio license was necessary, along with demonstrating proficiency in Morse code at a speed of 60 characters per minute for both listening and transmitting. Additionally, membership in the GST (Society for Sport and Technology) was required in East Germany.

The GST provided Morse code courses, which I attended starting in September 1957. Reaching the required Morse code speed for the Deutsche Post examination proved challenging for me, but I persevered with determination. In 1959, I successfully passed the exam and was assigned the callsign DM3YSG in 1960. I retained this callsign throughout my studies and subsequent scheduled scientific "Aspirantur" at Dresden University of Technology. During my time there, I worked under a dual callsign at the University Club Station DM3ML.

In the GDR, my final callsign was Y27AL. After the GDR joined the Federal Republic of Germany, I was assigned the callsign DL1DXA, which I continue to hold to this day.

73 Uli - DL1DXA

Worked DXCCs:

Equipment

Location JO61TB:
TS-590SG / ACOM1010 / Groundplane and 1/4 wave sloper for 160 m

Location JN58UH:
TS-850SAT / FL-2100 / ZS6BKW Dipol (self-built)

SOTA / GMA / QRP:
KX3 / FT-470 with RH-770 (Diamond)
Doublet 2·9m / 300 Ω feeder (self-built)

SBW:
FT-7900E (2m/70cm) / DJ-G7E (23cm)
DBY3-LB (2m/70cm), 11el (23cm)
SGlabs 13-cm Transverter

144 MHz:
TS-590SG / TR144H / self-built PA (450 W)
2 · 9 el. F9FT (G=13.5dBd)

432 MHz:
TS-790 / 17 el. self-built (G=13.5dBd)

1296 MHz:
IC-705 / self-built Transverter (DD9DU) / 60W PA with MRF9060
1.5m BBQ Dish or 35 el. Yagi

2320 MHz:
IC-705 / Transverter MKU23G2 / 100W PA with 2x MRF6S21140HS@28V
1.5m BBQ Dish

5760 MHz:
IC-705 / Transverter MKU57G2 / 250mW / 8W self-built PA with F4450-14D
1.5m BBQ Dish

10368 MHz:
IC-705 / Transverter MKU10G2 / OCXO / 6 W PA self-built with MGFX38V0005 (Mitsubishi)
60cm PFA

24 GHz:
IC-705 / Transverter (DCM modification) / PA 0.2 W / 30cm PFA