During the first operating sessions on 8 August and 10 August 2026, I spent only a few hours on the air using FT8 and FT4 from my holiday QTH in Caucana, Sicily (JM76GS).

I only managed to spend a few hours on the air during the first two operating sessions, but still logged 66 FT8/FT4 QSOs. A great start to the holiday operation, with contacts across Europe, Africa, North and South America. The longest QSO reached Argentina – over 12,000 km away.

Top 10 DX

Call	Country	Band	Mode	Distance
LU8VLE	Argentina	15 m	FT8	12,295 km
PR2AR	Brazil	15 m	FT8	9,289 km
PT7PT	Brazil	15 m	FT8	8,106 km
KF9UG	USA	15 m	FT8	8,100 km
9J2FI	Zambia	10 m	FT8	5,979 km
5Z4VJ	Kenya	15 m	FT8	4,813 km
D2UY	Angola	12 m	FT8	4,703 km
UA3VVA	Russia (Eur.)	17 m	FT8	2,950 km
CT3MD	Madeira Island	10 m	FT8	2,836 km
M0BEW	England	17 m	FT8	2,190 km

The portable station consisted of a Yaesu FT-857D and a Yaesu ATAS-120A mounted on a tripod approximately 2 metres above ground. The coaxial feedline was grounded at the antenna using a copper ground rod. On all bands from 20 m through 10 m, the ATAS tuned successfully, with SWR typically ranging between 1.0:1 and 1.5:1.