From Galicia to the Stars: QO-100 and the Minimalist Revolution

TOMIÑO, GALICIA — In the damp, wind-swept corner of northwestern Spain, where the Minho River separates Galicia from Portugal, one might expect fishermen or winemakers to dominate the local scene. But tucked quietly among the eucalyptus and granite is a ham radio enthusiast reaching orbit—literally. Welcome to EA1URT, the Baixo Miño section of the Unión de Radioaficionados Españoles, where high ambition meets low-tech brilliance.

A Humble Station, a Celestial Reach

Since October 2020, club president Víctor Ucha Rodríguez (EA1GAR) has been punching far above his technological weight. Using just two watts, a Chinese WiFi amplifier, and a repurposed 80cm offset dish, he has been an active participant on QO-100, the world’s first geostationary amateur radio satellite.

His setup is almost defiant in its simplicity. A DXpatrol MK2 up-converter delivers modest RF to the uplink; reception is handled via an unmodified Ilusion-brand LNB, connected to a cheap SDR dongle and controlled by SDR Console software. While others brag about kilowatts and rotatable towers, EA1GAR proves that elegance lies in efficiency.

Baixo Miño: Remote but Not Isolated

Despite its rural setting, Baixo Miño’s section is far from parochial. The club’s use of QO-100 not only symbolizes a deep understanding of radio propagation and satellite operations, but also a philosophy: accessibility matters. In an era when entry into satellite comms is perceived as expensive and elitist, EA1URT reminds us that innovation often emerges from constraint.

Their callsign—EA1URT—has quietly appeared across logs from Europe to Africa and beyond, riding the 10.489 GHz downlink with surprising fidelity. The local geography helps: Galician hilltops provide clean sky views, and cooler temperatures keep the modest gear running reliably.

The Hacker Ethos, Iberian Edition

There’s something deeply European about Baixo Miño’s radio culture—a blend of pragmatism, curiosity, and lightly anarchic experimentation. It recalls the early days of homebrew computing: tinkerers making the most of consumer parts, tweaking and testing not for profit, but for the pure joy of connectivity.

Indeed, Víctor’s operation is a manifesto against overengineering. No rack-mounted kilowatt amplifiers, no GPS-locked oscillators. Just resourcefulness—and a little luck with eBay. In an age of corporate satellites and gigabit downloads, his signal whispers: we are still here.

Galicia as a Gateway

Looking forward, the Baixo Miño section sits at an inflection point. With interest in space-based ham operations growing and QO-100 acting as a gateway drug to more ambitious systems like Lunar-OSCAR or Mars relays (should they ever come), clubs like EA1URT may hold the key to democratizing the final frontier.

Whether perched atop Monte Aloia or beside the mouth of the Miño, Baixo Miño’s operators remind us that the stars are within reach—not through scale, but through skill.