LZ3YY Atanas Koychev Atanasov

Team: Brazil-Bulgaria Friendship Team – Sponsored Team

Country: Bulgaria

Age: 40

Occupation: Field Maintenance Engineer for GSM operator Globul

I was born in Aitos, a small town about 20 miles west of port Burgas on the Black Sea. During secondary school I mostly operated from city club station LZ1KHB. Being 13 years old, I received SWL callsign LZ1M-333 and made more than 100,000 SWL records until 1990, when I received my extra class license and LZ3YY callsign.

In 1996 I graduated with a master’s degree in telecommunications from Technical University of Varna. There I often operated from famous university radio club LZ2KKK, even once finishing 4th in CQ WW CW 40m (LZ6L). In 1997 I moved to Burgas city and began work as telecom engineer. I often operated contests from my home station, with great technical support of my father, LZ1TA. I worked for ERICSSON Telecom as installer of digital telephone exchanges. Since 2000 I have had the contest call LZ9R.

Early in 2004 I was able to obtain a hilltop property and construct a small and simple contest location. Thanks to my parents for great support and maintenance of the site. When family commitments do not allow full operation, I work from our Burgas rented home, using only 7.5 meter tall wire vertical on the roof.

From the end of 2005 I work for Globul, one of the major GSM operators in Bulgaria as a Field Maintenance Engineer. My girlfriend and I have a 10 year old girl Steffanie. We are expecting a second baby girl to be born around May this year.

Thanks to sponsors, my dream to be part of WRTC2014 participants is about to take place. WRTC gathers the elite of the contest community. It will be great pleasure to meet live people behind all that familiar callsigns, and try to beat some of them in the heat of the battle. It is great opportunity to visit USA for first time in my life and to see all my American friends.