Operatiom from the Pyrénée mountais with handheld transceiver
The lower frequency of 14 MHz band, around 14.120 MHz is said to be "fréquence des francophones" (frequency of people who speak French). Not only hams in France, but also in French-speaking regions such as Tahiti, New Caledonia, Réunion, and even in Australia where the immigrated French hams are active are chatting. When the radio waves propagation condition was good, I contacted with them very often and became acquainted with various people. When I had a chance to visit France I met them (eyeball QSO). I was welcomed very friendly and sometimes I was invited their home, although it was a first time to see face to face. This is the real pleasure of amateur radio. About hams of south/southwest France, I contributed an article to CQ ham radio magazine (CQ publisher) December 1989 issue p. 358.
F6HEG Roland
Roland, who lives in suburbs of Nîme in the south of France, equip a 14 MHz four elements mono-band Yagi-Uda antenna. The location of his house is so good that I could understand why his signal reached to Japan so strongly through long-pass rout (passing Southern Hemisphere). I was invited a dinner with his family. (July 1989)）
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F6IUS Luis
Toulouse, a small city in southwestern France, is also famous for its aviation industry represented by Airbus SE. The house of Luis is located on the hill in the suburbs and the location for the radio communication is very good. I visited his house twice, in December 1990 after July 1989 when I took this picture. Every time, I was welcomed by delicious wine of the region and regional cooking "Cassoulet" and "foie gras". I reminisce his French with Southwestern accent.
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F6IKT Marcel
Marcel is an old timer living in the small town of Mézin, about 100 km straight northwest of Toulouse. There is a self-made tower in the garden, and the antenna goes around with the tower. It's not too tall, but it's good location always assure to transmit a strong signal. His collection of vintage radios was very attractive. I visited his house again next winter. (July 1989)
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F6BOC Gérard
I made the first contact with F6BOC Gerard in March 1991 on the 21 MHz band. After that I had some contacts and I decided to meet him taking opportunity of visiting his region at the end of the year with my wife. He was living in Argenton l'Église, a small village near Saumur on the Loire River in central France. After visiting the castles on the Loire river by car, we went to the village on the evening of December 28. It was already dark and I didn't know the way, so he guided us by radio. We had a feast with his parents. On that day, I stayed at a small hotel in the village, and the next morning I was shown the radio station again and communicated with several stations. On that day, I was invited to visit Saumur Castle together.
 The shack of F6BOC Gélard |
 The antenna of F6BOC with my wife |
F5LIT Emmanuel
In August 1998, when I was staying in Caen, Normandy, I was strolling in the garden of the famous castle of William the Conqueror with my handheld transceiver. I transmitted to try communicate using Caen's 145 MHz repeater and he was the one who happened to call me. He went west about 75 km from Khan, He lived in Sainte-Mère-Église, famous for the Normandy landing operation, about 75 km west from Caen. So I could not meet him at that time. After that, I was able to communicate from Japan on the 14 MHz and 21 MHz bands or with EchoLink. He came to Japan in May 2005. I met him for the first time in Kyoto, and since it was the day of the traditional Aoi Festival, I guided around Kyoto. At night, we ate together at a small Japanese restaurant, and we were very happy. He contributed an article about his visit to Japan to the September issue of the French radio magazine MEGAHERZ.
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 An article contributed to French radio magazine MEGAHERZ of September 2005 issue. By clicking the image, pdf file will be displayed. | ||
After that, we are always connected each other by radio and Skype. When my son was staying in Dijon for language training in 2015, he invited him to his house on the 6th June, the memorial day of Normandy Landings Operation. The following year, in May 2016, I drove Normandy and I dropped in at his house for the first time. And recently I occasionally talk with him using D-Star, a new digital communication mode.
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