LY4L Mindaugas “Mindis” Jukna

Team: Northern Europe 2

Country: Lithuania

Age: 38

Occupation: Business Process Expert – ERP / Oracle EBS

I was thirteen in 1988 and there was a geography lesson where the teacher came in with some guy. He offered to visit the school’s radio club where everybody could talk to people from other countries. Those days it sounded like fiction and my only connection with foreign countries were my pen pal friends. I and another classmate, now known as LY4I, were hooked straight away. It was an incurable radio disease. A year later my younger brother, now known as LY4Y (aka M0UNN) was infected as well. First contest – 1989 CQWW SSB as UP1BXT with first night spent at school radio shack and using sleeping bags on school desks. It was cool! Now I realize why I am in love with team contesting. January of 1990 I received my personal ham radio license as LY2BUF. It became LY2UF soon afterwards and LY4L in 2006.

In 1993 I became a student at Kaunas University of Technology and joined KTU Radio Club. There I met Algis LY2NK, my second teacher. Twenty years later and I still have loads to learn from this wise man. At KTU RC and at LY7A radio station the hobby transformed into a passion for radiosport. The biggest kick was to operate from LY7A, because my home shack was just a modest radio and w3dzz antenna. Now I have a permission to erect one 60 foot tower at my mother-in-law’s with a four-bander antenna and some wire antennas. Used this set up in the last 20-30 contests with pretty good results. LP is my choice, because amplifiers are sooo expensive.

WRTC will be my first Radiosport Olympic Games. I am sure I will get good pile ups and tons of experience. It will be my honor to shake hands with the best contest men and have an eye ball with radio friends from near and far. I will have the possibility to win WRTC with great man Gediminas LY9A, and that’s a best point! If we don’t win, we will put up a good fight. And that’s a promise!