Direct QSL cards starting to arrive

Some of the direct QSL cards I sent for have started to arrive in recent days. Today I received a card from K2EK, William in Florida. I also got a card from VK3MO, Ian in Australia. That is my first confirmed Australia contact, so I was grateful to receive it. Of course, I was delighted to make the contact in the first place. Ian Williams is a very famous ham radio operator, who works with a 20-element (four stacked five-elements) beam on 20 metres and can regularly be heard chatting with stations in Ireland, the UK and Europe at night time. It is usually early morning for Ian and he likes to work a bit of radio before heading to work.

I also got a card today from JA7DLE and that is my first confirmed contact into Japan - so thanks indeed for the prompt reply Sano san.

I had been away in Lanzarote for a few days at the end of last week and when I came back I was happy to have received QSL cards from both YI9PSE and VO1MCE. YI9PSE, as a lot of you will know, was a DXpedition to Iraq about a month or two back and I worked them on seven different band slots. Thanks a lot guys - and it's a lovely card. VO1MCE is the callsign of the Irish Loop Amateur Radio Club which operates from the Myrick Wireless Interpretation Center in Newfoundland. That is the location of one of the early Marconi wireless stations - this one opened in November 1904 at Cape Race. Here is some detail from their QRZ.com page:

Because of its location and powerful wireless station, Cape Race Radio could reach far into the Atlantic. It is probably most famous for its role in the loss of the Titanic and the part it played in handling the distress traffic (CQD & SOS) and relaying the information via "landline" and cable to the rest of the world. The call sign of the station from 1904 to 1912 was MCE. After the Titanic disaster, Cape Race became VCE, the call that it held until l967 - when the station was decommissioned by the Canadian Government. Cape Race was the first point of contact with ships coming to North America, and the last point of contact for ships going to Europe. It also was a telegraph station, and still is a Light Station and Fog Alarm Station.

I reckon at this stage I have about 23 countries confirmed by QSL card. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I only recently started sending cards via the bureau and direct so I wasn't expecting much up to now. I will keep you posted as more come in.