The Amateur Radio Club Ptuj – Radioklub Ptuj has had its space in the west tower of Ptuj Castle since 1955. The dominant position above Drava and Dravsko polje has provided many generations of operators with plenty of successes in establishing amateur radio broadcasts worldwide. From here, we managed to establish thousands of connections over the radio, made many friends and in many competitions achieved a high ranking worldwide. Over the years radio technology advanced so much that the antenna technique in the Castle became too basic to achieve high results. Restrictions on the installation of antennas due to the protection of cultural heritage led us to begin to look for a suitable location that would offer the club more opportunities for development. Not far away, on Gomila at Mestni vrh, we found suitable land, which is far enough from the settlement, but at the same time close to the city. The important thing is that the land is located on the top of the hill and offers possibilities for the club to develop on VHF and HF frequencies. The site itself allows the club also to develop ARDF activities (amateur radio direction finding or fox hunting). As it is located at the second highest peak in the Municipality of Ptuj, the location is also excellent for the operation of the ARON network, that is amateur radio network for communication in case of emergency.

We presented our idea and wishes to the management of the Municipality of Ptuj, where they listened to us, but at the same time expressed their desire that the antenna from the castle should be removed. Since without the antenna our operation is not possible, the members of the club decided to do everything necessary with the help of the municipality for the operation of the club at a new location and remove the antenna in 2018 and move it to Gomila.

The antenna is on the castle for more than 60 years …

More than 60 years the antenna at the castle enables the operation of the Radioklub Ptuj, many radio amateurs around the world envy our privilege that the antenna is placed there. In the past there were already requests to remove the antenna from the castle, but we managed to keep it at the castle as we had no other place to move it. This time, the set of circumstances is different. On the one hand, we found a suitable location that offers us opportunities for development. On the other hand, the city authorities, societies and individuals strive for a more attractive appearance of the city. We believe that the antenna withdrawal is our contribution to the more attractive appearance of the city. We also believe that with a modern station on Gomila, we will offer opportunities for the development of amateur radio in Ptuj and give young people a great opportunity to get to know radio waves and decide on technical professions.

Gomila – our future

The radio amateur station on Gomila will consist of a two-container structure, with floor plan of 40 square meters and two towers for radio amateur antennas, both 22m high. A 3x20A electrical connection and an optical connection will be built. On the tower there will be a meteorological station and a panoramic camera.

The containers will be surrounded by wood panels on the outside, which will cover the robust construction and incorporate the facility into the environment. Inside, one container will serve as a working space, while in the second container there will be a room for resting and socializing. In the intermediate space a sanitary facility and the entrance to the building will be arranged.

On the towers we intend to create a modern antenna system for HF and VHF areas.

For VHF we will build antennas to cover four directions:

• in three directions fix systems 4 x 7el yagi antennas
• rotating system of two yagi antennas on top of the tower 2 x 17el.

For HF the following antenna system is forseen:

• on the east tower, the tri-band yagi antenna will be on the pivoting top for 20, 15 and 10 m, and 3el yagi for 40m. At the lower part of the tower, one tri-bander will be fixed in the direction of Japan and additionally one shorter tri-band in the direction of 135º.
• on the west tower on the rotating top there will be a 5el yagi antenna for 20m, 5el for 15m, 6el for 10m and WARC yagi. At the lower part of the tower, the antennas will be fixed in the direction of USA 5el yagi for 20m, 5el yagi for 15m, 6el yagi for 10m and additionally a tri-band in the direction of 240º
• four phased vertices for 40m
• vertical antenna for 80m
• inverted L for 160m
• reception antenna system for 160m and 80m consisting of several beverage antenna.

In the workspace, a switching system for selecting antenna with band-pass filters is provided for smooth simultaneous work on several frequency ranges (bands) with several radio stations. It will be also possible to work with radio stations via a remote connection.

Start of the construction …

With the construction of the station we started in October 2017. We carried out preparatory earthworks, laid foundations for the building and of the first tower, and laid 75m of rods into the ground for earthing. We laid out an electric power cable and an optical cable hose. Before that, we rebuilt and prepared the first tower for installation.

In the following months we are waiting for the placement of containers on the prepared foundations and the installation of the first tower, the construction of the intermediate space between the containers, the construction of the façade, interior arrangement and electrical installations. In the coming year we will have to purchase for the assembly (all antennas will be manufactured by ourselves!) about 500kg of aluminum tubes of different diameters and other bonding materials (insulators, screws …). We will need about 1000m of coaxial cables. In the next year we will prepare all the necessary for the construction of the second tower.

In the last phase we would like to update our radio technique by purchasing linear amplifiers, interfaces and switching techniques for antennas.

Total investment is estimated to be EUR 40,000.00. With the help of some donors, the Municipality of Ptuj and our own funds, we started the construction. Club members have contributed 600 hours of volunteer work. In the continuation of the project, we will from our own funds and together with the municipality provide a quarter of this amount.

However, for the completion of our project we need another EUR 20,000.00.

What do we offer?

• In the residential part of the building we will dedicate 280x100cm of the wall to our donors. For each Euro donated, we will dedicate 1 cm2 of space on the “Wall of Donors”, where your name, call sign or company logo will be displayed (eg: 10 Eur = 10 cm2)
• All donors will be published on our website (donor, bronze donor, silver donor, gold donor and premium donor)
• As the station will provide top results in competitions, we will enable each silver, gold and premium donor among radio amateurs to use the station in one or more competitions
• Each donor will receive our special, memory QSL card with our note of thanks
• We will remove our antenna from the west tower of the Ptuj Castle

How can you help us?

We are convinced that:

• our project is important for the development of amateur radio in Ptuj and wider area
• with the project we open a new, important chapter in the development of the club
• we are building a top-level competition station on Gomila
• we will enable young generations a modern environment for amateur radio participation
• we add an important object for emergency communication in cooperation with the Protection and Rescue System in Slovenia
• the project “Radio amateur station with a sightseeing point at Gomila” is a good starting point for an additional tourist offer of Ptuj
• the removal of the antenna from Ptuj Castle is an important contribution to the appearance of Ptuj

If you agree with us at least one of the statements, help us with your donation.

Your contribution to the construction of the station of the amateur radio
club Radioklub Ptuj at Gomila at Mestni vrh can be made in different ways.

You can donate:

Via Paypal:

Donation on bank account

Donations in EUR can be transferred to the bank account of the
amateur radio club:

Bank account name: Radioklub Ptuj
Bank name: Delavska hranilnica d.d.
Bank account address: Ulica heroja Lacka 12, 2250 Ptuj
IBAN Number: SI56 6100 0000 2477 145
BIC: HDELSI22

We kindly ask you to write into the reference field following information:
Donation to the club and write your name and surname, callsign or company name
For other forms of donations or questions please do not hesitate to
contact:

Aleksander Špindler, S57K

radioklub.ptuj@gmail.com

PREMIUM DONATOR

Karel Dvoršič – S57UCP (SK)

ZLATI DONATOR

SREBRNI DONATOR

BRONASTI DONATOR

 Otmar Gaiser s.p. – PATI

MERCATOR d.d., Gradbeni center Ptuj

Vinogradništvo Andrej Polanec

ELEKTRO MERITVE MK d.o.o., Ptuj

Aleksander Letonja s.p.

Marjan Orlač s.p.

Ivan Dobnik, S51DI

Herman Škrinjar, S51NM

Zlatko Starček, S51MA

Daniel Rižner, S52DR

Anton Maček, S51I

Sandi Špindler, S57K

Mitja Pintarič, S57PM

Boris Založnik, S56GW

Jozefa Kostelac

Jožef Stopar, S53DS

DONATOR

OBI Ptuj

KONEKT, Bojan Sep s.p.

Darko Dobnik, Zlatoličje

Dušan Vrabl s.p., Ptuj

Branko Urek s.p., Ptuj

Simon Ravnič, S53ZO

Boštjan Vončina, S55O

Đorđe Panzalović, S51PD

Darko Smiljan, S54DS

Srečko Ajd, S57WOS

Matija Brodnik, S53MM

Henry Pfizenmayer, K7HP

Tone Valentan, S51TC