Thank you CQ magazine for sponsoring the CQ WW DX Contest. As a by product of all the wild and woolly happenings on the CW bands this weekend, I did complete my mission by acquiring all the QSOs needed for QRP DXCC. In fact, I even went over by one - I now have worked 101 DXCC entities since beginning this back in February of 2004.
The last six to bring me over the top were:
YS4/DF7OGO - El Salvador
HK4CZE - Colombia
CN3A - Morocco
OA4SS - Peru
9L5A - Sierra Leone
LN9Z - Norway
I encourage all to take on this challenge. It was fun; and I did it off and on over the past almost six years. Most of them were worked while we've been in the sun spot doldrums. So if I was able to do this, anyone should be able to in the next few years as the sun heats up again.
The equipment here was not special - all told, two rigs were used - my K1 and my K2. Antennas varied depending upon the situation. It was either Hamsticks, the PAC-12, Buddipole or Buddistick, G5RV or Butternut HF9V vertical. The G5RV and HF9V accounted for the most. No beams, yagis, towers or other "enhanced" antennas. Just basic antennas you'd find in the typical suburban Ham back yard.
What's next? Maybe I'll start over; but this time QRPp. That should get me to begin to tear my hair out!
73 de Larry W2LJ
Well done Larry! That's a great accomplishment and testament to persistence and good technique.
ReplyDeleteGood job, Larry! I'm working on the QRP DXCC myself and my score is 68 at the moment, all with SSB. http://home.broadpark.no/~mnygaa/dxcc.html
ReplyDelete72/73
Mads
LA1TPA
Congratulations! Though I'm not QRPer (100w) a few guys in my club are QRP enthusiasts (K2ZC & W2JEK) and I follow your blog.
ReplyDeleteI also logged new DXCCs this past week with 3 new ones in the 2 days before the contest and 3 more during the contest. Faroe Island, Botswanna, Somoa, Madagascar, Guernsey & Zambia.
Congrats again.
Thanks guys, for the kind words. Mads - WOW! 68 countries on QRP SSB? Now THAT is an accomplishment. My hat is off to you, sir!
ReplyDeleteDave, those are all great catches! I tried listening for Guernsey and the Faroe; but they were both very weak for me. I figured I wouldn't stand a snowball's chance of being heard. All I heard of the others were the pileups. You know who else has gigantic pileups that I couldn't seem to crack? Cyprus.
73 de Larry W2LJ