First PAFF CCO award for I5FLN

Today we have awarded the first CCO "Chief Chasing OM" certificate - for working 75+ PAFF references - to Luciano I5FLN. 

To people active in the WWFF community it will come as no surprise that Luciano managed to get the first one. He has worked all PAFF references that have been activated so far.

Apart from chasing each and every WWFF activity there is, Luciano is also an active staff member of WWFF making sure that the reference list that forms an important basis for the WWFF and national programs remains up to date.

Congratulations Luciano - an award well deserved!

PAFF in the news

In the January Issue of the DKARS Magazine - one of the two major HAM magazines in The Netherlands - there is an article about PAFF / WWFF. 

The complete magazine can be downloaded here: January Issue DKARS Magazine 

The PAFF article is on page 56. Note that the article is in Dutch. 

PA1H on a roll

If you are an avid WWFF chaser you must have noticed a new call sign appearing from PAFF. 

Harry PA1H has been active from no less than 11 references over the last 1,5 months. He has been accompanied by his friend Nico PA7PA on most occasions (so another call you must have worked recently).

Below a couple of pictures from their activities.

Harry PA1H on the radio

Autumn activity @Deelerwoud

Antenna used @PAFF activities

Active autumn

We were blessed with good weather this autumn. Maybe there is a causal link to the level of activity - as there has been a lot of activity from PAFF this period.

We have seen activities from:

• Peter DL7VMM activated PAFF-041
• Axel DL1EBR activated PAFF-071 and 072
• Hans PE1BVQ activated PAFF-011
• Harm PC5Z activated PAFF-081 and 082 (both new) 
• Harry PA1H & Nico PA7PA activated PAFF-071 and 072
• Jürgen DL2AMT activated PAFF-074
• Krzystof SP1MVG activated PAFF-013, 070 and 077 (new)
• Karl DL2XL activated PAFF-007 and 008

Below you can find a few pictures to give you an impression of how these activators operated.

Axel DL1EBR @PAFF-071

Krzystof SP1MVG working from his car	View of SP1MVG's set-up
..	..
Karl DL2XL working CW QRP	..travelling by bicycle
Jürgen DL2AMT working from his car...	..and a more comfy chair
Harry PA1H with a convenient set-up	..transported by a convenient bike

Updated PAFF Google Maps file

At PAFF we use a Google Maps file to help you find out what the perimeters of the various nature reserves are. We have received a lot of positive comments about this feature. Travelling abroad I have found that finding the exact perimeters can take a lot of time if the local program does not specify them - and you do not want to run the risk of a having your activity declared invalid after putting in the effort.

Imperfect source
The source for our data is ProtectedPlanet (a UN organisation). There is a downside to the data they provide: due to a conversion error their perimeters are about 100m off when plotted on a Google Map. For most areas this is error can be spotted easily as roads or rivers form the perimeter. When the area is more dispersed however, finding out what is part of the reserve and what is not, can become tricky.

A good friend
With the help of a friend (thanks a million!) who specializes in geoinformatics we were able to update the file with perimeter information that fits the real world perfectly. This should prevent any misunderstanding about the location you need be in when you want to activate a PAFF reserve.

Below you can see a picture of an area where the error is easily spotted except for the complex perimeter to the west.

Original and corrected layer of PAFF-058

Some closing notes on validity
For an activity to be valid you must make sure you and all your gear are inside the reserve. For some reserves this means you have to go on foot or on a bicycle. Some reserves are more challenging to activate than others - this is all part of the game. Also, in some reserves a car park or a picknick area might be part of the reserve, but in other cases they might not be. So, do check the maps (we have put in the effort) and make sure you document your location (GPS, picture of your set-up and surroundings).

PAFF activities in August

In August we have seen activities at PAFF from several OMs, some new to the WWFF program. Four of the recently added nature reserves have been activated this month.

• Joe DF8KY activated PAFF-043
• Peter ON2WAB activated PAFF-030
• Tonnie PA9CW activated PAFF-012 and PAFF-074 (new)
• Theo PA9RX activated PAFF-075 (new)
• Peter PD1RP activated PAFF-052 
• Marcel PG8M activated PAFF-063 and PAFF-086 (new)
• Lars PH0NO activated PAFF-085 (new)

While a slightly enlarged ON team (ON6QO, ON4LAN, ON5JT, ON5TC, ON5TQ , ON2KMJ and ON8VP) came back to PAFF-015.

Below you can find some pictures and youtube links shared by the activators.

PA9CW working CW from PAFF-074 

PD1RP working phone from PAFF-052

PA9RX's set-up at PAFF-075

PG8M working from PAFF-086

PG8M working from PAFF-063

Using my new slingshot at PAFF-085

There are also Youtube clips from two operations: PA9CW from PAFF-074 and the ON team from PAFF-015.

New PAFF references live

Good news for all our activators and chasers: PAFF has been expanded with 17 new nature reserves as of today. 

As mentioned in a previous post the areas are:

PAFF-072	Terschelling	Friesland
PAFF-073	Ameland	Friesland
PAFF-074	Lageland van Texel	Noord-Holland
PAFF-075	Westerwolde	Groningen
PAFF-076	Ennemaborgh	Groningen
PAFF-077	Schokland	Flevoland
PAFF-078	Tiengemeten	Zuid-Holland
PAFF-079	Broekvelden, Vettenbroek & Polder Stein	Zuid-Holland
PAFF-080	Yerseke en Kapelse Moer	Zeeland
PAFF-081	Clingse bossen (*)	Zeeland
PAFF-082	Margaretha polder (*)	Zeeland
PAFF-083	Braakman Noorderbossen (*)	Zeeland
PAFF-084	Wallen Retranchement	Zeeland
PAFF-085	Rosendael	Gelderland
PAFF-086	Doorwerth	Gelderland
PAFF-087	Grebbeberg	Gelderland
PAFF-088	Rozendaal (Limburg)	Limburg

This set creates an even better spread of areas across The Netherlands - especially Zeeland was in need of extra references.  

The three areas indicated with an (*) require some more work to add them to the Google Maps file we compiled as surface information is not readily available. This means you will need to contact us to get details on what the perimeter of the reserve is (as we use it).

Enjoy the chasing or activation of the areas!