Where we are
360 ° Panorama JO30EM (Quicktime)
360° panorama of the site during CQWW DX SSB Contest 2006 - Quicktime player required (6MB)
JO30EM - 50.5208N, 6.375E
The location in JO30EM is a big flat meadow at about 620m above sea level, one of the highest points in the northern Eifel mountains, very near to the Belgian border. There are some trees some 100m away in nearly all directions, and we are located at the edge of a windmill park, consisting of 15 130m high machines. The takeoff from about 270 to 120 degrees is very good, with only declining ground into that direction for many kilometers, while to the south there are higher hills in the southern Eifel mountains, and to the south-west there are higher hills in the Belgian Ardennes.
This spot is clearly one of the best suited places (beside the high spots in the Sauer- and Siegerland) in North-Rhine-Westphalia for VHF contesting. While the proximity to The Netherlands and England with their good microwave activity helps our score on 23-3cm, we are a little bit too far away from the Czech Republic and other countries east and south-east of us with their extraordinary high activity on 2m to gain really many points from there. Anyway, we are still working good distances of 900-1000km to the east with some well-equipped stations.
Actual webcam image taken from http://www.stadt-schleiden.de
