Start the video at 20:00 Sorry in French
For same price in FRANCE
mercredi 4 février 2026
21 and 22 February 2026 you can listen all the the French departments and French overseas territories
Rules of the contest French HF Championship "Coupe du REF SSB"
https://concours.r-e-f.org/reglements/actuels/reg_cdfhfdx_en_20250315.pdf
F stations send RST+Dept number (or Prefix for overseas French stations) Ex for F6XXX: RS 59 dept; 75 So it's simple to know who the department number is.
Bands 80, 40, 20, 15, 10m
https://www.contestcalendar.com/contestdetails.php?ref=260
What is a French département?
https://www.axl.cefan.ulaval.ca/europe/france_departements.htm
A department is a territorial division that can be either an administrative district or the territory where the departmental authority operates. The departmental capital is generally the seat of the prefecture and the local government services, but some exceptions exist.
There are 101 departments as administrative districts and 94 departments as territorial authorities
The other territories of the French Republic are not departments. They nevertheless have a similar code.
Five overseas collectivities:
975: Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, a department from 1976 to 1985, has not been part of the European Union since 1985 (OCT);
977: Saint-Barthélemy, a single collectivity, formerly attached to Guadeloupe, has not been part of the European Union since 2012 (OCT);
978: Saint-Martin, a single collectivity, formerly attached to Guadeloupe, is part of the European Union (OR);
986: Wallis and Futuna, a single collectivity, has never been part of the European Union (OCT);
987: French Polynesia, also designated an overseas country since 2004, has never been part of the European Union (OCTs).
An overseas country with a sui generis status:
988: New Caledonia, has never been part of the European Union (OCTs).
An overseas territory with a special status:
984: French Southern and Antarctic Lands, without a permanent population, composed of five districts: the Crozet Archipelago; the Kerguelen Archipelago; Saint-Paul and Amsterdam Islands; Adélie Land; and the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean.
A unique collectivity, falling under the State's private domain:
989: Clipperton Island, formerly part of French Polynesia, without a permanent population.
Seven overseas collectivities of the French Republic share their territory with departmental constituencies:
Three collectivities with special status (CSP):
69M: Lyon metropolitan area with the Rhône constituency (69);
75C: City of Paris with the Paris constituency (75).
The collectivity of Corsica with the constituencies of Corse-du-Sud (2A) and Haute-Corse (2B).
Three single territorial collectivities (CTU) located overseas:
972R: Martinique (972R) with the Martinique constituency (972);
973R: French Guiana (973R) with the French Guiana constituency (973);
976R: Mayotte (976R) with the Mayotte constituency (974);
Example: Île-de-France region
Paris is the French department number 75
In this region there are 12 271 794 inhabitants
I remember in the 90s when i was younger, I listened to all the French departments on the weekend of this contest
French overseas departments and territories
FG Guadeloupe
FJ Saint Martin
FH Mayotte
FK New Caledonia
FM Martinique
FO French Polynesia
FP St. Pierre & Miquelon
FR Réunion I.
FT TAAF
FW Wallis & Futuna Is.
FY French Guiana
Beware of excess: how many cups of coffee does it take to consume too much caffeine?
According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a healthy adult should not exceed 400 mg of caffeine per day, the equivalent of four 200 mL cups per day. Consuming too much coffee can have harmful effects on your health.
1. It's a proven medical fact that we should sleep in multiples of 90 minutes. Most sleep 90 mins on early Sunday morning, and some on Saturday morning too. In general, it seems like a good idea to get 3 hours in before the contest starts, which is easy in Europe, but difficult in West USA. Varied feelings about whether to get a'lie in' on the Friday morning, but certainly not good to have a very late night on Thursday. 'Adrenelin' seems to be a big factor for some in keeping you going through the weekend. For others, the opposite is true - relaxed and laid-back gets them through. Whether you're wired or tired, it makes little difference to the final result. It's the ability to sustain concentration that matters.
2. Drink in moderation, but regularly. Drink to quench your thirst. Do not drink caffeinated beverages. Caffeine will lower the blood sugar level thereby affecting the ability to concentrate. Coke, tea and coffee contain caffeine. Milk will make talking difficult - radio and TV news readers avoid milk. Unsweetened fruit juice, a little often, is good. It is far more difficult to wake up if you have managed to get to sleep with a high caffeine level.
3. When to eat? Stick to eating at regular intervals. Every 6 hours with a small snack at 3hr intervals is good. Normal eating times are also good. It's what your body expects.
4. What to eat? The objective is to maintain a steady blood-glucose level of around 4-5 mmol throughout the weekend, with a slightly higher than normal intake of protein. In normal healthy individuals, high blood-glucose levels lead to poor concentration and drowsiness whilst low blood-glucose levels lead to iritability, short temper and loss of aptitude. 4-5 mmol, a moderately low level, will be achieved by avoiding anything containing simple carbohydrates like sugar or bleached pure white flour. So, good is wholemeal bread, bad is plain white bread. Good is potato skins, bad is creamed potato. Good is natural fruit juices, bad is sports drinks. Good is fruit, bad is sweets/candy. While sports drinks will give the body a big hit of energy, this hit is followed by a very deep low in blood-glucose levels. Complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits and grains) are good, in that they take a long time to digest, help maintain a stable blood-glucose level and help avoid surges.
So what should we eat and drink?
sandwiches of wholemeal bread, with meat or cheese
fruit/grain/granola bars (but watch out for high sugar content)
pure orange juice
water
nuts
apples
banana
5. How much to eat? In general, it is best to eat less food than you would normally.
6. Avoid smoking.
7. Keep fit. This is really quite important. If you are fit your body will react less badly to poor sleep patterns.
8. Avoid alcohol and sexy ladies !!! I joke
9. Avoid working on 'stuff' right up to the wire. Prepare well for the contest and 'know' what you have. There is a hidden side to knowing that you are well prepared. This will help you relax prior to and during the event, which is one of the keys to making it through the full 48 hours. It feels good to feel loud, and believe that your signal is getting through - 'I know what I'm doing'. Learn from the previous year. Immediately after a major contest write down what was wrong, what went wrong, what was good, and what was bad. That way, next year you will be a little more prepared, and a little more relaxed.
10. Smile when you talk. Sound happy. Even if you feel like death, don't let the other guy know it! People like to call happy people. Not a lot of good on CW, of course.
Other points worth noting...
Vitimin B can help you feel less tired over a period of time, and may be beneficial. I would not take this as a recommendation to take vitamins though - see your doctor first!
Ask your doctor before the if you have health problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
Be careful if you are a real OM (old man).
mardi 3 février 2026
Antenna is the MOST IMPORTANT for the radios listeners
You can buy a 3000 US dollars radio receiver but if you dont have a good antenna you will not listen to many radio stations or DXCC entities on HAM radio.
Sangean ATS 909 and antenna for MW
Tecsun AN-200 antenna
You can buy antenna but you can build your antenna. Some are easy to build and some are only for people who have experience with electronics and ironing.I have written many articles about MW and SW antenna and given a lot of links on my 3 blogs.
I listen radio stations via a web SDR with a very small active mini whip antenna.
https://www.pa3fwm.nl/projects/miniwhip/
You can build it or buy it. Cheap price or expensive
To listen HAM bands also an active antenna but more sophisticated
I am not far from having listened to 250 DXCC entities in 2 years with this wonderful antenna.
https://websdr-maasbree.jouwweb.nl/technical-information-hf-bands/antenna
Now I give you some links to make or buy medium-wave and shortwave antennas.
https://icomjapan.blogspot.com/2023/07/how-to-make-very-serious-antenna-for.html
https://icomjapan.blogspot.com/2023/05/free-in-pdf-ham-radio-handbook-by-w6pnf.html
https://icomjapan.blogspot.com/2023/08/all-popular-communications-and.html
https://icomjapan.blogspot.com/2023/06/antennas-for-listening-to-medium-wave.html
https://chinaradiosswl.blogspot.com/2023/06/loop-shortwave-antennas-for-swl-not-to.html
https://webkiwisdrswl.blogspot.com/2023/06/make-simple-dx-antenna-for-your-chinese.html
https://chinaradiosswl.blogspot.com/2023/05/a-super-cheap-super-easy-very-effective.html
Antenna for amateur radio SW bands can be use to listen for SWL
https://on8alt.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/easy-antennas-for-the-swl.pdf
https://chinaradiosswl.blogspot.com/2023/11/loop-antenna-for-mw-and-sw-listeners.html
https://chinaradiosswl.blogspot.com/2024/03/is-loop-antenna-for-swl-best-solution.html
https://www.dxzone.com/catalog/Antennas/
https://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/search.cgi?query=swl+antenna
Shop to buy MW and SW antennas.
Anon-CO TECSUN https://www.anon-co.com/category/tecsun-radio-antennas
WIMO https://www.wimo.com/en/antennas/receive-antennas
They are a lot of shops and factory in the world.
For SW, it's not hard and expensive to have an dipole inverted V if you have a garden (you can make it); a vertical half-wave antenna will be good to listen to 10 to 20 meter bands ( size 5.50 meters ) for the MW a cheap loop is good or an active antenna MLA+5 its a good way because building an MW antenna is hard.
https://www.amazon.fr/SPORTARC-Antenne-r%C3%A9ception-active-MLA-30/dp/B0B5GGQLZ3
Good DX and 73
Also, UHF and VHF antennas are very important
MW Free Radio: Dutch MW pirates: a history and how to hear them
MW Free Radio: Dutch MW pirates: a history and how to hear them: The Dutch MW pirates are a well-known phenomenon. However, knowledge of these stations has traditionally been almost non-existent among most...
I listened to this MW station every weekend in the 90s in my place in Paris (500 kilometers) from the Netherlands. He sas SIO 555
SSB contests 7 February and 8 February 2026
10-10 Int. Winter Contest, SSB: 0001Z, Feb 7 to 2359Z, Feb 8 on 10 meter band.
https://www.ten-ten.org/qso-party-rules/
European Union DX Contest: 1200Z, Feb 7 to 1200Z, Feb 8
FYBO Winter QRP Sprint: 1400Z-2400Z, Feb 7
British Columbia QSO Party: 1600Z, Feb 7 to 0359Z, Feb 8 and 1600Z-2359Z, Feb 8
Minnesota QSO Party: 1400Z-2400Z, Feb 7
lundi 2 février 2026
How to know the propagation on SW in ONE MINUTE
Choose your continent and the band
So i am in Europe and i want to see the propagation now at 13:30 UTC
Can can search for example propagation on 20 meter band at 16 UTC
I try 10 meter at 13:55 and I listen t5/9 A71AT from QATAR
I spot him, he was in QSO with NK2R so also good propagation for north america in Europe
Propagation was good at 13h UTC
Grey line
Propagation from Europe to A71AT Mohamed in Doha Qatar
If you use WEB CLUSTER DX SUMMIT
Click on the call of the DX
After click on VOACAP Predictions
On QRZ.COM
For SWL
Move the BLUE on your QTH and the RED on DX
Good DX and 73 de frank FØDUW / SWL F14368 since 1980
Ham Radio nets for operators seeking DX contacts or SWL
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What's a Net?
A net is a gathering of Amateur Radio operators on a specific frequency at a specific time and day, usually on a recurring basis. Nets are an opportunity for Hams to get together, chat, and test equipment on the air. A lot of hams and SWLs try to get new DXCC entities with nets. DX nets are organized to help amateur radio operators make contact with stations in distant locations or regions where amateur radio operators are scarce. By checking into a DX net, a ham could have a chance to contact another station he or she might otherwise not be likely to hear by randomly tuning across the amateur bands
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amateur_radio_net
https://hamnetlist.blogspot.com/2021/08/hf-net-around-world-dx-nets-by-time.html
An AM net video
dimanche 1 février 2026
THE BEST SHOP IN EUROPE FOR SWL AND HAM OPERATORS
Wimo is located in Germany and can speak 5 European languages. I order a few times there, and there is a French man who helps me when I have some questions.
It's the best place for amateur radio equipment, and they also have some things for SWL.
CB radio operators can find transceivers and antennas.
For pirates they can "open" the TX
Example
Only 918 Euros
Icom IC-718 HF Transceiver
A very good antenna at €12,963.00
So if you are not rich, look on the website; they also have low prices !
FOR SWL
You can trust this shop. A few years ago I ordered a nice ICOM TX and antenna for UHF VHF, etc., and all was perfect !
The UHF VHF was for the ICOM 706MK2G but this TX have a big heat problem.
"The Icom 706 Mk II and the G models run warm due to a compact design, which offers limited space for heat dissipation, and their significant power draw even on receive. It's normal." So i sell it !!!
Nice radio and some people know to do something to stop the heating problems.
Nice UHF VHF antenna
https://www.wimo.com/fr/accessoires/accessoires-radios/alimentations?wm_filter=act&at_brand=Microset
If you are in EUROPE this shop is the best, for SWL they dont have cheap radios receivers but maybe you can find somethings there.
GOOG DX and 73 de frank SWL FØDUW / FØDUW
QSL card for HamSphere 4.0 in SSB or CW
samedi 31 janvier 2026
Do you know FRANCE have 23 DXCC entities all over the world ???
https://chinaradiosswl.blogspot.com/2024/11/do-you-know-all-23-dxcc-of-france.html
Why is France the world's second-largest maritime power?
Since the 2016 reform, France has 11 million km² of Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This is the largest in the world after that of the United States. This territory ensures France's presence on all oceans. It contributes to the country's economic dynamism and guarantees it a leading diplomatic role. March 16, 2024
Look some QSL cards from 23 DXCC entities
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