Busy with the book but grabbing new ones on 6m

It's been a very busy period for me with the deadline for my new book approaching, so there has been much less time for radio. However, that hasn't stopped me from grabbing some new DXCCs on 6 metres, where there has been a decent bit of action in recent weeks.

This is my VHF antenna system. On top is the 8-el XY 2m
 beam and underneath is the 3-element 6m beam.

I have now worked 11 new entities in the 2012 E season, having only worked two new ones in 2011. The main reason for that is because I now have a rotatable three-element beam on 6 metres, whereas last year I was using a fixed dipole. The new countries worked are:

4O Montenegro
C3 Andorra
CN Morocco
CT3 Madeira
CU Azores
EA9 Ceuta & Melilla
GI Northern Ireland
JX Jan Mayen
OY Faroe Islands
SV5 Dodacanese
FM Martinique

FM5WD in Martinique, worked yesterday on CW, was my first Caribbean contact since 2010, so I was chuffed with that one. I will be listening more often for Caribbean DX entities in the next few weeks if time allows.

In the meantime, the priority lies with my book 'Newgrange - Monument to Immortality', which is due to be presented to the publisher next month for publishing in October. But perhaps if I can listen to the Icom IC-746 while writing the book, I might catch a few more DXCC on 6m !! And improve on my current tally of 67 . . . .

The receive on my IC-735 is gone quiet

I have a problem with my Icom IC-735. The RX is gone very quiet. I can still hear stations but the needle hardly moves at all. I am still able to TX and being heard quite well in G and EU but there's something amiss with the RX.

I read on the internet that poor RX can be related to a dry or cracked solder joint where the RX socket meets the main unit board. So I re-touched all the joints and still no improvement.

I love the IC-735 and especially the sensitivity of it. I would love some help in diagnosing and fixing this problem. Any help is welcome.

Very glad to catch A5A Bhutan on 40m

I am extremely happy to have worked the A5A Bhutan dxpedition on 40m CW this evening, just an hour before they went QRT. It gives me a new country on 40 metres, and gives me a total of seven slots with A5A, which I am extremely happy with. I had A5 worked on a few bands before this dxpedition, but I have filled out new bands and slots which I am very happy with. Of the seven slots worked, six were on CW, and one on SSB.

Also, I have not been as active on radio this past couple of weeks, as the deadline for my new book 'Newgrange - Monument to Immortality' is looming (in July) so I am concentrating on that.

But very happy with A5A on seven slots. Thanks guys!

Also worked tonight was OA4DX (Peru) for a new DXCC on 17m (CW) and also D3AA in Angola for a new DXCC on 40m, also on CW.