Five band DXCC worked in less than 23 months

I have just received a QSL confirmation from OH2TA for a QSO on 30m via ARRL Logbook of the World. This is my 100th QSL on 30 metres, and is a very very special milestone for me. I now have 100 or more countries confirmed on FIVE bands, meaning I qualify for 5-band DXCC, which I will be applying for at the earliest opportunity.

This has been achieved entirely though LoTW - I will not be using any QSL cards to apply for 5-band DXCC. And I have only registered EI2KC with LoTW, meaning that all of the contacts towards the 5-band DXCC have been made since 3rd March 2010. In effect, I've achieved 5-band DXCC in less than 23 months.

I hope this should be encouragement for any small station wishing to work DX. For a long time here I was using just 100 watts and a vertical. The addition of the MA5B minibeam last summer made a big difference and in early Winter I added an Acom 1000 to give me 400 watts when needed.

I will say one thing - CW (morse) has been a big factor in all this. While I love SSB/phone and I also dabble in RTTY and PSK, CW has helped me get my country total way up. I have 191 DXCCs confirmed on CW on LoTW, and 125 on phone. So learn the code - it will help your totals!