It's a beautiful sunny day here in Central NJ, so as per my custom, I headed out to the Jeep, the KX3 and the Buddistick at lunchtime. From the get go, it seemed very disappointing. There wasn't a whole heckuva a lot of DX activity. What I was hearing were stations I have worked before and you don't want to keep pestering guys on the same bands, just to get a contact in the log.
I started calling CQ at the 20, 17 and 15 Meter QRP watering holes with no takers. I was slightly discouraged (Momma said there'd be days like this), and was ready to pack it in and head on back to my desk, slightly early. That's when I decided to give 17 Meters just one extra twiddle before coming in.
TM70UTAH - Courtesy of Reverse Beacon Network
Bam! There was TM70UTAH loud as all get out! This is a Special Event station, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Allied landing at Utah Beach on D-Day in 1944. First call and they were in the books! I have to admit, I was so excited when I heard them that I had to send my call a few extra times as I fumbled it in my eagerness to work them. I did hear a confirmation of W2LJ come back to me and I was smiling ear to ear. Next, just a few KHz down, I heard SP3DOF calling "CQ DX". One call and I was in Jerzy's logbook.
TM70UTAH site - Courtesy of QRZ.COM
The funny thing is, that TM70UTAH wasn't even mentioned in that ARRL article on D-Day Special Event stations that I posted from the ARRL just a few days ago. So in addition to TM70JUN, keep an ear open for TM70UTAH. I would like to work both of them!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
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