One day's work gives a good snapshot of conditions

Right, before I start, I have to give you a health warning. This blog may contain traces of HF DX!!! There you have it. Conditions have been nothing short of fantastic this past few months, as you might have gathered from reading my enthusiastic musings on this site.

The 9N7MD Nepal team - worked a few times, thanks!

Today might, as a snapshot, give you some idea of just how good things are. This morning at 8.13am I worked 9N7MD (Nepal) on 10m CW for a new band slot, having worked them on 17m CW yesterday as a new band and 10m SSB as a new one. That was followed by BA5HAM in China on 10m CW at 8.21am. It's great how early ten metres is open in the mornings. I have worked DX at 7.30am, before sunrise!!

V31QS in Belize was a new country on 12m when I worked him at 5.41pm on that band. I used 400 watts from the Acom 1000 linear which I have a loan of currently and it didn't take long to break the pile.

E51MAN (Bill N7UO) on Manihiki, North Cook Islands, was put into the EI2KC log for the second time, this time on 12m CW. I had to give him 400 watts and it took a while, and he was very light on the MA5B which is a rotary trap dipole on 12m, but I made it through. He had both Europeans and North Americans calling him. Yesterday evening I worked him on 10m CW at 17.58 with 150 watts. It was a brand new DXCC for me yesterday and now I have him on two bands.

This was followed shortly afterwards by E51CG on South Cook Islands on 10 metres SSB. This time I was running just 90 watts. I heard him working MI6CWC and figured he must be hearing Ireland so gave him a call and I was next in the log. South Cook Islands was a new one for me last month (Oct 23rd) when I worked Bill N7OU who was at that stage E51NOU on Raratonga. A month ago I had never worked E51-S. Now I have South Cook on four band slots.

PZ5T in Suriname was a new country on 12m when I worked him at 19.18 this evening with 300 watts.

VP2MWT in Montserrat was worked on 15m CW with just 100 watts as a new band slot at 19.50.

VP8LP, Bob in the Falklands, was a new DXCC on 20m when I nabbed him with 220 watts at 20.13.

And this was followed by XW3DT in Laos on 30m CW at 20.24, using 400 watts.  A week ago I worked XW3DT on 20m CW as a brand new DXCC so two band slots is nice.