Story 18DX/EU067/MI The story about activation 18DX/EU067/MI: 9/8/06 Day was spent unpacking, taking a quick dip at the beach further down and watching the UEFA football game on TV. 10/8/06 I found the road leading up to the radio beacon and also hunted around for other spots to transmit. Tried calling, but no propagation in the afternoon. Went back up in the evening, beside a discarded toilet, put the antenna up and made my first contacts only to realise that i had plugged the radio in wrongly. Small parenthesis - the car has a battery problem and i looked around for a new battery on the island but they were expensive as they over-price stuff on the islands. 11/8/06 Mostly spent running around the island swimming, fishing and relaxing. 12/8/06 I decide to go up to the mountain again and set up the antenna. No sooner than i set up the antenna, a jeep comes, stops for 5 minutes watching me and leaves. Naturally, after what happened on the television with regards to the terrorists in the UK and America and with the amount of police cars around the island, i take down the antenna and head home. 13/8/06 With nervousness setting in i go up the mountain again to a diffferent dirt road and set up antenna. Propagation holds and i make 40 contacts until the jeep returns and someone gets out and starts to look with the jeep's lights towards me. Again, hurried packing and i am off. 14/8/06 I take the trip up to the mountain and i gaze at the sign that says Milos Radio Beacon and finally decide to try a different location. Tried calling from a beach, propagation is dead and i decide to go fishing and try my luck later without luck. 15/8/06 New location at a beach and some contacts without avail as the propagation isn't very strong. 16/8/06 A different location on one of the highest peaks in Milos but slightly against the direction of propagation that i would have liked - result : 1 hour of calling without luck and back to the hotel as it is a 1 hour trek to the place without lights and a nasty dirt road. 17/8/06 One last try on the last location when i find that the fuse blew. Tried to see what the problem was, changed the fuse and the fuse blew again. Back to the hotel and i discover that the cable is torn and there was a short-circuit thus blowing the fuses. Tried reparing and i put a new fuse only for it to blow again. 18/8/06 I look for new fuses on the island and there was one store that sold electrical goods that was open. Only small fuses - no large ones - that dont fit into the fuse holder and i am fuming at the nostrils. 19/8/06 Packed and left the island. There will be a new activation from a different island coming in september/october - dates to be confirmed and stuff but this time no YL, just radio, food, beer and 48 hours of DX. Rig used : Yaesu FT-840 Antenna used: Vertical 1/2-wave, donated by Panos. Till the next activation. 73 de Alex 18DX010 return