Every year, ARK organizes an annual Christmas tree party. The event functions as a nice break in an otherwise stressful exam period. We serve porridge and gløgg, and even dance around the tree when it becomes too late in the evening.

LA1WUA doing SWR measurements on the Christmas decorations.

The most important part of this party is to bring about Christmas with the annual Christmas QSO, where LA1ARK, typically placed in the workshop, runs a QSO against LA1K, typically placed in the shack. Some years, we’ve also tried to use the Christmas tree itself as an antenna or placed the antenna in the tree, but we went for portable antennas attached to the radios themselves this year. Usually, the president and the station manager has the privilege of doing this tradition, but due to the circumstances this year, our social manager (and organizer of the party), LB7JH, and our workshop manager, LB0VG, did the honors.

It is traditional to create a new antenna on the fly.

LA3WUA showing LB0VG and LB7JH how to use the network analyzer.

Christmas QSO in progress.

Important information to exchange is the amount of snow in either end, what the participant on the other end wishes to receive as Christmas gifts, whether the participant has gotten anything nice as a Christmas present, whether the other participant thinks he or she might get a horse for Christmas, etc.

The Christmas QSO was a great success also this year. We wish everyone happy holidays, and a happy new year!