The important bits of my ham radio log are kept in Obsidian, and my backup strategy for that is to have a copy synced to git on another machine, and another copy backed up with Backblaze.
It's not a contest log (I don't do that) and I'm not perfect about keeping it, but when it works right it lets me keep track of things like who is interested in what on various local discussion nets.
Bonus: completion on call signs, tagging, hyperlinks etc.
#hamchallenge HC14S @hamchallenge
For the 14th challenge, 'Implement and describe a backup solution for your ham radio log.’, I realised that my backup options are simple. I keep copies of my ham log in different places like QRZ, Club Log, HamQTH etc., a copy taken automatically into my personal cloud backup, and my favourite paper logbook. I’m not an active operator and do not have the need for an offsite backup. #hamchallenge HC14S @hamchallenge
#hamchallenge @hamchallenge HC13S
Last week I made 61 QSO's from an unusual location: the second highest SOTA summit in the Netherlands at 101 meters. Story at https://reflector.sota.org.uk/t/first-sota-close-to-home-from-pa-pa-006/37784
#hamchallenge @hamchallenge HC12S
Today I made a QSO with an unusual antenna (Nigel M0NGN on 7 MHz). It is a linear loaded vertical with 2 radials. The radiator is 7 meters long and consist of 450 Ohm ladder shorted at the top. This runs along a 10 meter Spiderbeam mast, so the feed point is at 3 meters high.
#hamchallenge Week 14: My #hamradio logbook #backup system is simple: My central log (to which I live-log contacts and import all my contest logs) is the console logger "YFKlog", which uses a MySQL database backend. It's running on a Hetzner VPS which creates nightly snapshots of the system disk that reach back seven days. In addition, a nightly cron-job creates a database dump which gets rsynced to another VPS in another datacenter. I also regularly upload my log to LoTW. #HC14S @hamchallenge
@hamchallenge HC22S #HamChallenge: Simulate an electric circuit. Used free LT-Spice to model a ~35W P-P RF power amplifier. Included a simple output graph showing dB gain of the circuit. Other possible simulations include input return loss, output match, time domain waveforms, harmonic distortion vs. drive level, and much more. Lots of fun to learn and experiment with this circuit simulation tool.
#HamRadio #RFDesign #Simulation
For this week's #hamchallenge : My primary logging software is #Wavelog. The webserver and backend database both run on virtualized machines in a #HighAvailability #Proxmox #cluster (same one that hosts this instance!). Those are backed up daily to another machine on site via PBS, then those backups are synced to a remote server running in a house in another city.
In addition, my log is also synced to both #QRZ and #LOTW every 6 hours or so, but I didn't think it qualifies as a true backup, since there is some data which those logs don't record.
#hamchallenge week 14: Implement and describe a #backup solution for your #hamradio logbook
Describe/document your logging arrangements. Which software do you use, how do you merge logs (if at all)? Do you keep separate logs for different callsigns? How you can export/save your log, e.g. into an ADIF file? Describe how you back up your file. Do you use a cloud service? Save it on a memory stick, external HDD, or NAS?
Let's hear all about it, and hope you will never need it!
I'm really struggling with this week's #hamchallenge HC13. I cannot think of an "unusual location" for doing a QSO. I would do a QSO from quite everywhere as long as it is not risky. So, I think, I'll skip this challenge for the time being and probably I'll find a suitable location later on this year. @hamchallenge
Completed an unusual location QSO with John K9WIC on morning of March 14. Was up on the fifth floor of a senior independent living facility and looking out the south side window onto the golf course below. Repeater was a-bit north of this location — suspecting backscatter/reflections helped to complete this 2m contact.
@hamchallenge HC13S #HamChallenge #HamRadio
(Repost with added inclusions for the ham challenge report/boost.)
There is a 10m/70cm linked repeater on a nearby mountain, which is (nearly) los to my qth, so I usually use the 2m or 70cm repeaters there. Today I had two qsos via the 10m/70cm linked repeater, one with me using 10m and one where I used the 70cm part. Well, I guess it's my (compromised) 10m-setup, but 10m did not work as neatly as 70cm. Still: HC09S I guess :).
p.s. Edit, yeah, numbers confused... sri :(.
For the 13th challenge, 'Make a QSO from an unusual location and post a picture!’, I’m like ... What??!! #hamchallenge HC13 @hamchallenge
For those interested in antenna modeling/simulations and/or working #HamChallenge HC19 @hamchallenge, but concerned about the complexity of these activities, I would like to share the easiest-to-use (free) program I’ve found so far: AN-SOF. Have SW loaded on my ham Win11 machine and ready to explore capabilities/limitations of this package.
Here’s a 20m dipole example walk-through that gives good insight into this SW:
https://antennasimulator.com/index.php/knowledge-base/complete-workflow-modeling-feeding-and-tuning-a-20m-band-dipole-antenna/
#HamRadio
#hamchallenge week 13: Make a QSO from an unusual location and post a picture!
Be creative, but please don't do anything dangerous or illegal! https://hamchallenge.org/2025/13 #hamradio
Just had a look on the @hamchallenge website and found out, that my HC12S from three weeks ago did not count. It seems, that the bot can count one week number only. But I already completed this challenge in https://social.darc.de/@DC4LW/114093167045604116 
#hamchallenge
I have an idea for the 12th challenge, 'Make a contact with an "unusual" antenna’. Let me see if that will work #hamchallenge HC12 @hamchallenge
@VE7WYC Would not be too hard to build “one” of those using PVC pipe with #12 copper (house) wiring inside. Use radials instead of ground screen. Might be fun to simulate in the upcoming HC19 #HamChallenge “simulate an antenna” activity. @hamchallenge #HamRadio (edited)
Well that would be counter productive!
Don't worry, I've got my priorities in order. For the moment I'm experimeting with getting the most out of a Technician license during an active solar cycle. Planning to write about it and the problem of this hobby's startup costs for @hamchallenge HC51.
I admit that I was lagging 5+ years behind on sending #hamradio QSL cards, mostly because the task "if I am sending a card to someone anyway, let's include all the other QSOs with them on the same card" sounded hard to express in SQL. (It is not.)
The #hamchallenge was a good excuse to finally fix that problem. Now I have both paper and electronic QSL cards, and the first bunch of 1000 cards is on the way to the press. HC01S!
https://www.df7cb.de/df7cb/log/qsl.cgi?call=DJ5CW&mycall=DF7CB
