Reviews

OH73ELK – Urlaub am Ende der Welt

Ich lernte Raisa und Alex 2018 per Funk kennen, woraus sich ein reger Emailaustausch und weitere Kontakte entwickelten. Im letzten Jahr war es nun so weit, wir verbrachten einen wunderschönen zweiwöchigen Familienurlaub in OH73ELK Ferienhaus, das sie liebevoll und auch nicht ganz zu Unrecht als „Radio Cottage“ (Funkhütte) bezeichnen. Zu dem Ferienhaus mitten im Wald gehören neben einem 800 m langen Privatstrand mit Bootssteg auch eine Sauna und

visiting OH73ELK in winter

Im Februar zu OH73ELK zu fahren, war eine gute Idee. Wir haben die weiße Stille und Einsamkeit genossen. Der Schnee war so tief, dass nicht alle Antennen besucht werden konnten. Den Weg zur Sauna haben wir am ersten Tag frei gegraben. Trotz bedeckten Himmels war es weiß und hell. Wenn die Sonne schien wurde es noch schöner. Die Funkstation funktioniert tadellos. Etwas über 3500 QSOs gelangen in knapp 12 Tagen, der Großteil in CW und

Wild life is amazing for photographers here

I spent one week in OH73ELK with my brother. This is the place when you can charge batteries and chill out. Quiet (also noise level has  Z-E-R-O dB) and remote. First time in 10 years we could feel silence. Lots of pikes in the lake that we also enjoyed:) We used a boat a lot to see the beautiful lakes! That was a wonderful time that shows that Ham Radio can connect people (because we met together when we made QSO between Raisa and me from Antarctica)! Seba SQ1SGB also VP8/SQ1SGB and brother

SUPing in the middle of nowhere

This year we came to the ELK in summer instead of early spring and it was amazing. Because the lakes were not frozen this year, we were able to do sports like swimming and SUPing which was very nice. I think that nothing can compare to SUPing on a very still lake in the middle of nowhere. As for the Hamradio part, I believe there are very few stations comparable to the ELK of course the S0 noise and quite good equipment. At the time the propagation to NA was

Unplanned contest at OH73ELK Shack

During my roadtrip in Finland in July 2023, there was a mandatory stop that I had planned, OH73ELK!
What an amazing experience ! These few days in ELK has been beyond my expectations. Living here in the middle of nature, in this sublime environment, was pure happiness. I really enjoyed it.
And of course the ELK radio shack with its sublime antennas. Very hard to resist making radio in these conditions ! After few QSOs, I realized that the bands was

Vacation of a Lifetime

My friends thought I was crazy to go to Finland in winter, but I must disagree. Finland (and OH73ELK) in winter is amazing and beautiful! As you see in their photos, OH73ELK is a beautifully constructed cabin on a small island. The cabin is warm and cozy and the workmanship is exemplary. What you don't see in the photos is

A perfect two week holiday

Incredibly beautiful is this place on an island in the middle of the endless forest of the southern Finnish lake district. We spent two unforgettable weeks in this magical place. The house including shack and antennas offer all the luxury to have a really good time and still be able to experience the beauty of nature up close. There is an easy-to-understand manual in the house and the sauna. Alex & Raisa were always available via Whatsapp. We did a lot of things besides Ham Radio like

Beautiful cottage in a magic forest near a mesmerizing lake. 
We came to this beautiful place from the US with my family. It offers not only a well-equipped radioshack with eight (!) various antennas but much more activities for a family vacation. In the summer, the water in the lake is warm enough for swimming, and the daily temperature can reach 86 degrees. Fishing is excellent; you can use the boat, but we didn't need it. It was the season of blueberries, and we picked lots of them within 50 feet of

IARU HF 2022 Contest from ELK SHACK

It was a spontaneous idea to visit OH73ELK and use the ELK station and its Contest Call OG7Z for IARU HF 2022 Contest. I contact Raisa and Alex just a week before the contest. Luckily the station was available for rent for a weekend, what more the owners were there just before our (me and my daughter Karolina) arrival, so we had a chance to meet R&A on the road. All was superb, including the Contest results (at least for me) 

White Nights​ Vacation on "ELK ISLAND" -  ideal for switching off

Just before Midsummer, YL Dani and OM Michael DL5LCR spent 8 days in June 2022 at OH73ELK's cottage. The days didn't seem to end (White Nights!) and there was so much to see and do. We were lucky with the weather (air 22°C and water 18°C) and so we were able to explore the lake landscape by boat, have a barbecue, go for long walks, set up the DX Commander antenna and use the great Finnish sauna. Day trips to Savonlinna with

Time to visit Sauna

We experienced varied and relaxing days there. While my XYL Maria explored the area and tried fishing, I was able to enjoy IC7300 with the excellent RA1AOM Morse key and the 3-3-5 element Yagi  - big pleasure. The remaining antenna park was also used. When the weather got worse, it was time to visit the sauna. This is also a special experience. Birch wood brought the heat, the partly ice-covered lake brought the cooling down. It was also nice to be able to experience breathtaking nature without

The best cottage in Finland!

My parents and I were there for three full days (two days of travelling and three in the cottage). The trip from Helsinki airport to the cottage was very scenic. The island and the cottage itself are awesome. The nature is outstanding. There are lakes everywhere and because we were there in April the lakes were still frozen which in my opinion, is even better :)  On the HAM side of the vacation, the OB 11-3 and 100w allowed me to do 1700 QSO in 3 days, which i did as follows:

85 DXCC Countries in 6 days

The stay is a unique experience, we spent a week with XYL in the ELK cottage and it is an ideal choice for anyone who loves peace, solitude and beautiful nature. Ham radio equipment is the dream of every radioamateur, 3-3-5 el yagi, vertical and inverted vee antennas  with a 1.5 kW PA allowed me to do 85 DXCC Countries in 6 days ! 

We can highly recommend. 73 de Vlad, OK2WX

OH73ELK, syncing the nature and QSO

CQ, CQ, CQ, dear fellow hams! OH73ELK holiday was my dream come true.

This QTH has a crystal clear reception, QRM is unbelievably low if at all. Even without the power amp I was responded from several countries and continents by the first call; after sauna & lake, with very good reports.

ここは、フィンランドで最高のコテージだと思います。このコテージの敷地だけでも、神宮球場２つ分以上の広さがあり、家具や設備が整った3ベッドルームのメインハウス、サウナ小屋、湖畔のバーベキュー小屋、ボート、釣り道具など、家族全員で楽しめます。薪で焚いたサウナに入ったり、そのまま湖に入って泳いだりできて、日本人が描くフィンランドのイメージそのままです。
　私にとって、ここは、まさにパラダイスです。

Funkerparadies im Winter in Finnland

Zwei Wochen Ferien in Finnland bei OH73ELK, Traumferien im finnischen Winter, ein gemütliches, warmes Haus, bestens eingerichtete Küche und noch viel schöner: eine traumhafte Funkstation. 

Bei klirrender Kälte und zugefrorenem See genossen wir zwei Wochen in der Abgeschiedenheit von Finnland, auf einer Insel, alleine!

What a week!

Have 100% fell in love with this place! The cottage is just fantastic and its location is stunning!! Both Alex and Raisa have thought of everything and nothing is too much hassle. Great place to get away from it all, and has an amazing Amature Radio station to communicate to the world for those who have a licence. This place would be great for winter or a summer stay, so is really an all year destination. We are already looking at dates to come back. As they say '73' for now..... But we will be back soon!! 73, M0BLH

Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB 2019

For the Scandinavian Activity Contest SSB 2019 Guenther DG7EE, Daniel DJ4MF and Rene DL2JRM went to OH73ELK in October.

Just for an Extended Weekend but with a lot of fun. We enjoyed the Autumn in Finland and the Sauna beside the Contest. With the Contest Callsign OG7Z we hopefully got a good place in the competition with all the Big Gun!

The Station became not cold ​

We spent Two Wonderful Weeks in the most Beautiful Cottage @ OH73ELK.

Silence, mushrooms, swimming, fishing and the perfect Environment made everything to a relaxed hollyday.

The Station became not cold and a few more contacts has been taken.

For sure we will come back soon!

An idyllic place that inspires calm and tranquility 

(s."read more" for the Spanish version)

Location, house itself and radio equipment are spectacular! The cottage is located in a forest, witch is on an island in a huge area with hundreds
of lakes... An idyllyc place that inspires calm and tranquility, as well as beauty wherever you look. The house is perfectly prepared for living and I
have to say it is very welcoming. You can see it in the photos, but in reality it is even better and more beautiful!

Ein (Funk-) Paradies im Norden Europas: OH73ELK

Statt im 40m-Band mit S7 bis S9 QRM Pegel im Linzer Industriegebiet nun doch nur unterhalb von S1 das Rauschen zu hören ist ein tolles Empfangserlebnis auf der Insel in Finnland bei OH73ELK. Auch Maximilian (14) vom vergangenen Amateurfunkkurs konnte mitfahren. Derzeit ist OE5NRF der jüngste Funkamateur Österreichs und auch der jüngste Funkamateur an der Station von OH73ELK. Eine SOTA Aktivierung durfte in OH nicht fehlen: OH/JS-053, Pekkolanmäki – 202m   73! OE6PGM Gerhard

Privater HAM Contest von ELK aus

Das Erste was uns überrascht hat beim ELK, ist die Ruhe! Nach dem Alltagstress und Hamburg-Tempo, konnte sich meine Familie wundern und freuen! Eine weitere Überraschung - fast gleiche Ruhe, wenn man Transceiver hört (kein QRM). Was mich noch in Finnland wundert, dass solche Ecken mit jungfräulicher Natur immer noch auf der Erde existieren! Noch vor der Reise kam ich zu Idee von ELK aus einen kleinen privaten Contest mit den OMs aus meinem Amateurfunkclub (DL0AT E13) zu machen.Gesagt - getan!

CQ from the Elks

Earlier this year, I stumbled over a rather unique and funny call-sign, OH73ELK. After a quick research on the net it became clear that this is a station located in the beautiful Lake District of Finland, in the Savonlinna region, and that this station can be rented for a DX holiday. I quickly contact the owners, Alex and Raisa (home call: UB1AOA), and, after checking holiday possibilities with QRL, we quickly agreed on a week in late April 2019, and Alex and Raisa added that they would be happy to have the First ham operator visiting from Belgium

We hear just the noise of trees...

We have pass one funny week in Finland. The cottage of Raisa and Alex is located inside the wood outside the village.
It a very quiet place. We hear just the noise of trees leaf and the wind noise, nothing else. The region is touristic and lot of stuffs are to be discover.The Ham shack is well appointed and you don't miss to make nice QSO. 

Message from Miika, OH2BAD and XYL Raili:

Recovering from the annual Finnish SRAL national Field Day is always a big challenge. This year (2019) we were 857 people present at OH3W, trying to remember faces and connect them with names and voices. In 58 years of active participation it has become almost a stress and you deserve a total relaxation after such a week-end! 

6 wonderful days at OH73ELK cottage

I have been hamradio operator for almost 33 years and have never thought to operate on such beautiful scenery and station in my life.

My wife and I arrived on the 5th July to OH73ELK cottage and for us was our first time in Scandinavia, first time in Finland and first time we rented a car (I do not like to drive, that’s the reason that I mention it here).

Fantastic opportunity to combine my love of exploring the world and my lifelong interest in radio 

Thanks to Alex and Raisa, OH73ELK Radio Island has giving me a fantastic opportunity to combine my love of exploring parts of the world that I have not visited before and my lifelong interest in radio. Their holiday home is amazing. The forest and lakeside location is breathtaking and the relaxed and peaceful way of life is a million miles away from what I'm used to back in England. It is truly fantastic.

World Wide Flora & Fauna near OH73ELK-island: first ever activity from OHFF-0091

When I booked my vacation at the OH73ELK-QTH I was focused on having some holidays right in the middle of nowhere together with my 10 years old son Ole. Planning what to do I could not resist to have a look on spots to activate with my radio gear. Nowadays in all dense populated areas and even a bit outside you are faced to any kind of disturbances on the radio bands. Beside the chance to work from an area that would be almost free of man-made or any industrial noise I became interested in if there would be any spot to activate

My DX experience as Dutch ham station PA3FTP

And then it's that time again, the holiday expedition to Finland is over. OH73ELK was a great experience. Both as a holiday destination but especially a new experience as a radio amateur. From 20 to 26 May I have been QRV almost daily for one or more hours at 10, 20 and 40 meter SSB. I worked in many new countries that I found in NL much more difficult or possibly just not working, such as Australia, Japan, Taiwan or Uruguay to name but a few, also 5 or 10 watt QRP stations that just arrive in Finland 5-9 +. If the frequency is empty noise less than 1 s point, delicious.

My family loves Finland very much. We love for pristine nature and special atmosphere, which is only here. In Finland I “charge my batteries” for Moscow bustle..We know Alex and Raisa because we take part in international ARDF competitions together. During our last trip to Finland, I was glad to have to visit the hospitable Ham Radio Shack and to work On The Air with the Prefix OH/R2AOI  and also as OH73ELK. There is also a great place to train in ARDF, it remains to draw a map :). This, apparently, is Alex’s next step in popularizing the radiosport.

This year I wanted a special holiday. I was looking for an holiday that could combine my OM needs as well as the needs of my family.

I wanted to be able to play with Hamradio because at my QTH condition are not great, because during the year personal impediment did not allow me to be an active OM.

OH73ELK is a wonderful amateur station! Thanks to the hospitality, we (PE2W and YL) spend a couple of nights and enjoyed the environment and the radio station and the fabulous antenna's. Made some nice DX's Japan, South Cook Islands, Ascension Island, South Korea. If you wanna enjoy the silence, nature and enjoy the HAM radio, this is the place to be! P.S. I made a 3D virtual tour about the place of our Ham holiday 73, de PE2W

We have visited holiday cottage OH73ELK twice during 2018. The first time was in June. In instance we fell in love with the cottage and the surrounding nature where main elements are pure water lake and peninsula of an island. The radio station with its tower and antennas has been professionally built having in mind maximum comfort for the licensed guests. More antennas and accessories are in the works :)