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What use is an F-call?\n\nFor a little while now I\u2019ve been working towards obtaining my DXCC, contacting 100 countries. When I talk about it, often the first question is, how many contacts have you made? I\u2019m always a little ashamed to admit that I\u2019ve yet to make my first.\n\nOften I then get lots of helpful advice on what to do.\n\nLet me share with you what I\u2019ve been doing since I made the commitment to obtain my Low Power, or QRP DXCC. As I said at the time, I don\u2019t know if this is going to take a week, a month, a year or a decade, but I intend to get there, if not for others, but for myself as a personal challenge.\n\nMy first quest along this road was to get on-air. I started thinking that I would do this from my car, set-up my mobile vertical at a suitable location and just start making QSO\u2019s. I spent a fair amount of time scouting for locations, found a few to test and after sitting for a couple of days in these spots a number of things became apparent to me.\n\nMy antenna, as great as it is, is a pain to set-up for an hour. It\u2019s fine for a day or a weekend, but not for an hour here or there.\n\nSecondly, I didn\u2019t feel particularly inconspicuous sitting parked in my car with a big stick standing next to it and at night I felt particularly uncomfortable.\n\nSo, after doing some research and evaluating how much space I have available at home, I came to the conclusion that I should get my shack set-up at home with a suitable antenna.\n\nI\u2019ve been researching antennas and as you might know, have settled on a Magnetic Loop Antenna. This in turn lead me down the path of finding a suitable and eventually with the help of several amateurs, building a variable capacitor. All credit to them. Then I couldn\u2019t measure the capacitance of this contraption, so I needed the ability to measure small capacitance, in the order of Pico Farad, something my Digital Multi-Meter is completely incapable of. So I built an LCR meter.\n\nAlthough I\u2019ve been soldering for years and every time learning more about this art-form, this was the first time I actually built something. So, now I have a variable capacitor, an LCR meter, I\u2019m working on how to feed my loop and control the actuator that adjusts the capacitor, I\u2019m getting closer.\n\nOnce I\u2019m on-air, I\u2019ll still need to sort out logging and QSL and no doubt I\u2019ll learn more about what else is needed. One I know is needed is Morse and I\u2019m struggling a little with that, but a day at a time.\n\nI aim to get to the point where Neil, VK6FSKB got to recently when he heard a station calling on 15m. He called back and made a QSO with GB0IDD, the special event station for the 2012 UN International Day of Disability.\n\nSo, learning, doing and having fun. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. What have you been up to lately?\n\nI\u2019m Onno VK6FLAB