It was shaping up to be one of those days. There was some decent DX to be had, some new countries. And some very distant stations. The problem was that I just couldn't get them in the log. Their pile-ups were too big and my station was too small. Many hams would have just switched the radio off. I came close. But I persevered, to my eventual reward.I had taken a note of the stations I wanted but couldn't get. The list depresses me when I look at it now because it includes what would have been three brand new countries for me if I'd been able to get them. Here's the list as I took it in my notebook:
9V1SV 17m SSB
5H3ME 15m CW
V85TX 17m SSB
9M6JC 20m SSB
T6MB 20m CW
9L1BTB 20m CW
9V, 5H3 and T6 would all be new countries for me. I heard 9V1SV at the beginning of his CQ and was probably the first to call but he never heard me. For 5H3 I went mobile up onto a hill to try get him but sadly it didn't happen. T6MB was weak and had a huge pile-up. He seemed to prefer working North America. I am lucky to have 9L1BTB in my log already so I was not too despondent about that.
Just like the good old Irish weather, the wind suddenly changed. I stayed up late and was rewarded. While I didn't get those new countries, I worked a lot of decent DX and was pleased, so it made up for the loss to an extent. Here are the interesting stations that I worked:
OH0/YL7A - Aland Island 20m SSB
BP100 - Taiwan - 20m CW
CO6LP - Cuba - 20m CW
VA3GA - Canada - 20m SSB
HC2SL - Ecuador - 20m CW
LU5FC - Argentina - 40m SSB
ZB2FK - Gibraltar - 40m CW
V31BD - Belize - 20m CW
ZP6SAL - Paraguay - 40m SSB
PY3UA - Brazil - 40m CW
OX3KQ - Greenland - 40m SSB
CW1A - Uruguay - 40m CW
4K6FO - Azerbaijan - 40m CW
Some notes: VA3GA worked me as his last contact of the day and went QRT afterwards; LU5FC has a good antenna height - that's his antenna system in the photo above; OX3KQ - I heard his first CQ and was his first contact - I told him that I had only just received his QSL card via the bureau today! A nice coincidence. BP100 was my first contact into Taiwan!! It is a special call - a CTARL Commemoration Station celebrating the centenary of the founding of the Republic of China.
Addendum: As if to further make up for missing the DX, I worked both Japan and South Africa today - both from the car, and both on 17 metres CW. The Japan station, JA1KIH, was responding to a CQ I was giving from the car while stationary outside the shops here in Drogheda! And the ZS was worked mobile coming in to Drogheda from Clogherhead. Nice.
